In article , "Morgans" wrote:

"Paul Smedshammer" wrote

This is a bit long winded but I'm looking for qualified opinions as to
what
might have happed to an almost total loss of power while in cruise flight
in
my Mooney M20F.

Giant snip

It sounds almost like conditions were perfect for induction ice, but is that
possible with this type of injection? Is there any provision for heat, or
just unheated alternate air?

This, from a definite unqualified person. Me. g

The Mooney M20F has a fuel injection system so there is no carburetor nor
'carb heat'. I'm open to anything that could have caused this. Ice is a
definite possibility in the fuel system. It hadn't rained but the overnight
stay at the airport I left from had the most intense ground fog I have ever
experienced. I would say there was 50 foot visibility on the ground that
lasted a good 10 hours. I was thinking this could have caused some
condensation to pool water on the inside of fuel tanks. Maybe after flying
out, that condensation shook loose from the walls and pooled up and got sucked
in.

That being said, I was well above moisture and it was over 65 degrees F at the
4,500 feet I was at. The weather breifer made no mention of icing conditions
and I didn't see any on the DUATs reports. I was VFR on top for the 30 miles
that overcast was spread. This really opened my eyes as this problem happed
just about 8 minutes into the 30 miles. It couldn't have happened at a worse
time. I was very lucky I had the altitude and that it cleared up and normal
power was restored. If the problem persisted, I would have definitely bent
the plane up as a minimum and at the worst been killed and possibly cause bad
results to folks on the ground. I definitely have a greater respect for VFR
on top.

Paul