In article , "clyde woempner" wrote:
VFR on top, not good if you and the plane are not capable of IFR flight.
Did the forcast call for any broken or scattered conditions along your route
of flight, if so where?? Water in the fuel system can lead to freezing in
the fuel line as you gain altitude. The weather report would give you the
freezing level. This can of course block and/or restict the fuel flow.
But, second guessing the problem is not too smart, I strongly suggest you
have a shop check it out, maybe a fuel pump was sucking air from a loose
fitting, etc. Have it checked out, and watch out for Mt. Diablo. Just
remember, always have options:
Clyde

I agree that VFR on top is not the best idea if you and plane are not capable
of IFR flight. But in this case the Mooney M20F is fully capable of IFR
flight and I'm working on my IFR ticket. Not that my working on it makes any
difference in this case. However, I thought I understood the risk here and
felt that while it was risky to try and make it over this 30 mile socked in
overcast with totally clear skies above, it was worth the risk as I needed to
get home (I know - Get There Itis) and this engine was just over 50 hours SMOH
along with overhauled mags, generator, fuel servo, and prop governor at the
same time. The engine was performing perfectly. Famous last words?

I don't think an IFR ticket would have helped a whole lot in this case. It
would have provided for 1 attempt at an IFR approach with only 45% power
maximum available and 600 foot overcast with 3 miles max visibility in mist
below me.

For those interested, here is photo of what it looked like about 10 seconds
before the event.

http://www.coreutilities.com/mooney/RoughEngine.JPG

Trust me, I learned my lesson and I will not be going VFR on top like this
again without options like enough altitude to glide to a visible landing
site and the IFR ticket in hand. Even then I'm going to think twice about
attempting it. A second engine would have been great to have!
Paul