Question Leave mixture "set" on landings or go full rich?

[Neal]

I've seen conflicting "techniques" on the mixture control. Mike Busch mentioned in his EAA AirVenture seminar this past year about leaving the mixture set vs throwing cold fuel into the engine. In the spirit of not fouling plugs, I can also see leaving the mixture "set" and also for various density altitude's. The downside though is you may be "set" for lean of peak (LOP) which is also for a power setting and you do a go around, then what? Yeah, you could just push the mixture in for that.

Plenty of pro's/con's on mixture control, leaving it "set" as you come in for landing or going full rich. What do you do and what's your opinion on why?

 

[Waldom]

I would want the mixture control in full rich in most cases. At high density altitudes, you would need to keep in mind that leaning immediately after applying power during a go around could be necessary. With a rich mixture, you can be assured that the engine won't stumble with the application of full throttle in that situation.

The exception would be if the density altitude was so high at the landing airport that the airplane is at the edge of its performance envelope and/or if you are dragging the runway for an inspection knowing you will be doing a go-around. In that case, you might want to take the time to run up to full throttle and lean for best power at pattern altitude prior to making the approach.

 

[Neal]

I can see a difference depending on how you lean. If you run ROP such as leaning to 100 degrees ROP as some do, that could probably be something you could leave set. I run LOP and that's typically for a power setting and probably not ideal to be relying on for a go around at WOT. I'll probably stay with going full rich entering the pattern but interested in what people do.