Leaderboard

Just got a new panel back today. Sucks that there was a fuel leak found that needs to be dealt with but I am very stoked on the panel. It's been 3 long months, but thats a price you have to pay for good quality work. Craziest part to me. Useful load went from 1137.1 to 1216.5.

I put my name on a few wait lists for hangars, where I live they are quite long. Never expected to get one and thought being tied down outside wouldnt be that big of a deal. After several months of lugging a generator down to heat the engine, washing the plane 2 times a month (4 hours every time), dealing with a cover every time I want to fly I some how managed to get into a hangar. Been in it 2 weeks and its worth every dollar spent, less cleaning, electricity, no cover. Just gotta get some chairs/couch and a mini fridge

Those will be maintenance access panels on both sides. It will also be able to have louvers added in the future by just switching out the panel if needed say for a turbo’d Mooney.

Do you mean the other way? More air/fuel would result in cooler CHT and EGT. Do you mean #1 robbing from #4? Based on the data analysis, savvy doesn't think there is any possibility of anything but a very minor (if any at all) intake leak. They're just not seeing the symptoms. They are agreeing with it most likely being a carburetor issue. I've checked all the rigging, its good. Marvel suggests overhaul every 10 years or so, because o-rings and such tend to dry out and cause the issues I'm seeing. I pulled the logs, it was last touched in 2005, 1300 hours ago. So, regardless of what else I may find, I think it's a good idea to have it overhauled.

I was out working on some commercial maneuvers today...no restrictions on flying here in Florida. After doing some steep turns, Lazy 8s and steep spirals, I turned back to Herlong (KHEG) for cheap fuel at $2.82/gallon. But my friend @Mooney_Allegro suggested that on Flight Aware it looked like I was creating a monster, and he's right: Godzilla shows up very well! I would never be able to do that on purpose. Happy Easter everyone! Jeff

First flight in just under a month. I’m glad to, since I’ve said if my plane flies less than once a month I give you all permission to kick me in the crotch till I sell it or go flying... Made a run to Redmond and back. It was almost a perfect flight. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Working on fitting the lower cowling. I expected to have an issue with the carb air box and that is a definite need to redesign. The much more sloped cowling is going to require a new lower profile carb air box. What I didn’t expect was an issue with the landing light. I found that the O-360 muffler hits it. I now understand why as the difference with the fuel injected O-360’s moves the muffler down and aft. O-360 is up and forward due to the carb. I will have to move the landing light to the center on the carbureted Mooneys. I’m also thinking I will need to move one of the air fittings on the muffler shroud. I did manage to get it on today and do some initial fitting to verify if I’ll have any other issues.

Alex is like light years ahead of so many puppy mill pilots and CFI’s (and even Regional pilots) right now as he is racking up some serious time. I find this quite interesting how a working man puts himself thru training (the CB route), miraculously gets a low-time job that gives ample PIC time, and who’s job appears to be pandemic-proof. Just think of all of those poor souls who have put six-figures into their training and they are sitting on their butts and will probably still be sitting still a year from now.

Every once in a while we need a reminder about ramp and propeller safety. 50 years ago today, I was a line boy. I was filling my fuel truck through the top hatch (can't do that anymore) at the FBO/Flight School/Flying Club at KRHV. I was working at to earn money for my PPL. It was night and I was on top of my truck so I had a wide view of the ramp. Two airplanes were fired up and running. Both 172s. One was having an alternator problem. The owner of the FBO, a United pilot, was helping the renter. He was standing at the open left door, cycling on and off the master switch. Obviously the beacon and nav lights would go off when. he cycled down. It happened in the blink of an eye. A returning pilot was walking across the ramp. He obviously thought the engine he heard was the 172 behind him. It was not. I yelled at the top of my lungs to stop him, but too late. He walked into the running prop of the airplane with electrical difficulty. If there was a small grace, he hit the upswing. I never in a million years would have guessed a human body could bend the outer 12 inches of a prop blade back almost 90 degrees. I never would have guessed he would have been alive. But he was. I grabbed all the windshield towels in my fuel truck and came running over. The owner's wife was an RN, she instructed me to "wet them down. quick". So I ran over to the wash rack and hosed them down and ran back. She packed the gash and held him together until the ambulance arrived. He recovers but had to walk with two canes for the rest of his life. He lost a large amount of intestine and bowel and suffered from "short bowel syndrome" which shortened his life. The scene that still is etched in my mind to this day is using the wash rack hose to rinse guts and entrails and watching them go down the storm drain. There are some lessons here that were life long for me. I always run the beacon when the master is on. In fact, I just leave the switch on. I can buy new bulbs and flashers if the voltage spikes get them. I religiously adhere to FAR 91.209. (a)2 I don't stop the beacon and nav lights at night until the airplane. is in the hangar or tied down and getting ready to close and lock the door. I can charge the battery later I never walk within a wing span's distance of an airplane on the ramp and two times that from the props or engines.

To hopefully help others I want to share my carb replacement experience, even though admitting to buying two overhauled carbs in the space of less than 6 months will probably result in my membership in the CB club being revoked. I had an EDM 830 installed in 11/2017, about a year after I bought the plane. They were not able to put the carb temp sensor in because the carb was so ancient that it didn't have the spot to put the sensor. The shop said the carb would have to be sent out, drilled, and tapped in order to install the sensor so I just left the sensor on the shelf. In October 2019 I decided to replace the carb with an overhauled one for three reasons. First, the last time mine was overhauled according to the log books was 1997 (22 years ago), it would allow me to have the carb temp sensor installed, and by buying an overhauled unit the plane would only be down for one day to have it swapped out. There are two carbs that are listed for the O-360A1D that is in my plane, a 10-3878 and 10-4161-1. https://msacarbs.com/technical-data/engine-eligibility/ The carb that was in it was a 10-3878 which did not have an "M" stamped on it. There is a bulletin from Marvel-Schebler to modify the 10-3878 in Mooneys to increase fuel flow at WOT for better cooling. I will attach the bulletin here and upload to the "Downloads" section. When that is performed it is supposed to have an "M" stamped on the plate to identify that it has been done. Mine did not have the stamp and I the engine log states that it was a 10-3878 that was installed with the engine overhaul so I bought a 10-3878 and had my AP/IA swap it out. After swapping it out I noticed that I did not have the same fuel flow as before and I had to back off on RPM's to keep my cylinder's from getting too hot where I did not have to do that before. The doghouse on my plane is in very good shape, and I had already replaced the baffling around the cowl opening and the felt around the starter/generator so I knew that I was not having air flow issues from that. Also, the only change to the system was the new/overhauled carb. I kept track of the data from my EDM 830 and got in contact with Marvel Schebler. Prior to swapping out the carb the average high fuel flow at WOT was 16.2 with an average high CHT on the #3 of 408. The highest I ever saw #3 get was 420 and that was departing Chandler, AZ in the afternoon late in June 2019. (It was hot enough I had to wear gloves to pre-flight because the skin of the plane was too hot to touch). All of these temps were running full RPM and WOT with the only measure taken to reduce CHT's was climbing out at 120 mph. These numbers were taken from seven flights over June-Sept 2019, hotter months. After swapping out the carb the average high fuel flow at WOT was 14.8 with an average high CHT on the #3 of 434. The highest I saw was #3 at 453 departing Fullerton, CA in November of 2019, much cooler than AZ in June. On these flights I did have to reduce RPM and climb out at 120mph+ to try and keep the CHT's down. Had I left it at WOT and full RPM the CHT's would have climbed much higher. These numbers were taken from fifteen flights over Oct-Feb 2019-2020, much cooler months than the first set of flights with the old carb. Also make note that there are no adjustments that can be made to increase the fuel flow at WOT. I went back and forth on emails with Marvel-Schebler checking different things that they recommended. By supplying the serial number of the carb that went in my plane to them, they confirmed that it bench tested at 16.7 gph at the factory and they expect to see between 16-17 gph on that model. After research I was able to find where people talked about a "Mooney Mod" for the carb but could not find anything specific other than mentions of it and that it was supposed to improve fuel flow. Further inquiries to Marvel-Schebler about this resulted in them providing me with bulletin A11-62. It involves conversion kit 666-660 which in 1962 was $12.80 but now is $228 from Aircraft Spruce or $244 from Marvel-Schebler if you can get it. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/eppages/carbconvkit.php https://msacarbs.com/product/conversion-kit-666-660-f/ I took the bulletin to my AP/IA and asked if he would tackle it but he said no, that he would send it out to a carb shop. After considering the price of the kit, plus the cost of the carb shop to perform it, plus the week+ down-time to pull the carb, send it out, and reinstall, I decided to purchase the overhauled 10-4161 so it would be a one day swap. After replacing with the 10-4161 the average high fuel flow at WOT was 16.3 with an average high CHT on #3 of 411. The highest I saw #3 get was 425. This was over six flights in March-April of 2020. As with the flights in the first test group, nothing was done to mitigate the CHT's other than climbing out at 120 mph. These numbers are similar to what I was seeing with my old carb. I think that the 10-3878 that was previously in my plane had the modification done to it but was not noted. The increase of 1.5 gph fuel resulted in a decrease in CHT's of approximately 25° F, however this is a lower number than what it would actually be as I was backing off on RPM's to keep the CHT's down where with the higher fuel flow I was not backing off RPM's. I do not know what they would have climbed to because I was not willing to push the temps that high. It would appear that an increase of even 1 gph of FF at WOT and full RPM is probably worth a decrease of at least 20° in CHT's. If you are looking to replace the carb on your O-360 A1A or A1D I would strongly recommend the 10-4161, it is the richer of the two carbs. If you are having issues with high CHT's, I think it is worth looking at your FF at WOT and full RPM. If you are not seeing 16+ gph you are likely seeing CHT's that are 25+° higher than what they should be. A11-62.pdf

http://eaaforums.org/showthread.php?7222-Training

Here you go Brice, the numbers and info from my double carb replacement experience.

@dzeleski, your hangar needs a rollaround toolbox, a table and a chair. Plus a beverage refrigerator, shelving and some comfortable seats . . . . Maybe an airport bike? Push broom. Trash can. Air compressor. Posters for the walls. A hangar is as much of an excuse to soend money as a house . . . .

That is awesome. To be honest, I have a partner in my biz and we were between fractional ownership in a King Air or small jet (Phenom 100) or buying a smaller plane I could fly. I went back and forth 10 times and finally decided that I have missed flying too much. For what we spent on the Acclaim we could have had a third share of a King Air or a 1/4 of a Phenom but it wouldn't be "ours" and I wouldn't get to fly it....I traded off some of our mission capability for my own enjoyment of flying. Our mission would be much better handled with a jet, most of the places we fly to have asphalt runways that can handle jet traffic, but if we get there I want it to be me flying the plane. My dad went from C210 to C303 to C414 to C90A King Air to Citatation Mustang, and now back to C414 over the years of my flying so I've watched him transition up (and now back down after retirement) and I am getting my twin license so I can fly the C414 when I'm home as he doesn't put enough hours on it. I would have finished up my IFR rating this month and been doing the twin training by month end had the coronavirus not landed...I already paid the rest of the block hours to finish my IFR in the states and had reserved a Seneca for the twin rating but all that's getting pushed out now... Anyway, congrats on the move up to a Falcon 10, that's an interesting choice of plane but I'm sure there's a story....

I think I've spent 50% of the purchase price of my plane on hangar fees over the last 3 years and 4 months, and it has been worth it to have it inside.

Very NICE LOOKING Mooney! Tom

Yet for whatever crazy reason, you can go on a bender and be legal to fly 8 hours after your last drink, but you can’t have a single glass of wine at a 5pm dinner and fly home at 9pm

I looked at all the responses here and didn't see any that addressed the spark plugs ( I could have missed it) Have you ever tried a different pair of spark plugs? Have you ever tested the ignition leads for shorts or opens? Even new plugs can come with problems. I'm thinking ignition problems with high a high BMEP setting (high power related) Maybe a hot spot on one plug causing slight preignition? I'm really thinking cylinder specific instead of carb specific unless the carb maybe has something diverting the airflow. How about the AD on the old 2 piece venturi that came apart sometimes? Has that been checked? I didn't notice if you have actually taken the intake tube off and looked at all that stuff very carefully? Cracks in the rim of the intake tube where it seats against the head? Really look it over good off the engine? Can you remove the intake tube and then bolt it back on without the connector rubber tube and see if it will tighten up and seat properly. With a gasket in place! If it does, after a good internal cleaning try a new gasket and re attach the intake tube for another try. How about a new rubber coupling at the same time to try? I'm into doing the easy and cheaper stuff first.

Thanks for the return...I did see those Lancair with turbines.... I have a lot of hours in simple airplanes, spread over a lot of years. My last (owned) airplane was a 172 with a 180hp STC and a constant speed prop, and that was 10 years ago. The Acclaim was a stretch for me as a pilot, and I plan on taking a guy with a lot more experience than me on the first few trips,.... the turbine Lancair seemed more like assisted suicide and the chance of me finding insurnace was nil....but definately for the next plane...

I like what you're doing. That's gonna be a nice panel. Personally, I wouldn't spend anything on a USB charger. A $20 adapter in the cig plug will work just fine. Spend the money on other things. If it were me, I would move the ignition switch to the bottom left corner of the panel and then I'd also move the clock to the left side. That space between the 6pack and the center stack is valuable real estate. You might want to add a CDI in that spot some day.

pfft, it's n a10. should be worried about the runway.

Stopped in at Williston (X60) today and topped off my tanks with $2.60 per gallon self-serve. Full service was $3.10 per gallon. If you’re in the vicinity, you might want to take advantage of this while it lasts.

The Elves!

In 1972 I saw my girlfriend's cousin coming home from her shift as an ER nurse at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro. She said it was an awful night. A man was brought in that had walked into a spinning propeller at the airport. The prop entered his forehead just above his eyes, vertically and exited the back. I would have thought such an injury would have been instantly fatal but, she said when he came in, he was conscious, talking and holding his hands against the sides of his head to keep it from parting. He talked to his wife on the phone before dying. Anytime an ER nurse is shaken by something, well...She said it was the worse thing she had ever seen. She didn't think she could go to work that night. There were tears at some point. Just a few years ago I asked her if she remember that. Yes, it was one of the two or three worst things she saw in the ER in 25 years. Every time I get near a propeller, I think of her story. I cringe seeing someone near a prop on a running engine.

I have a framed print of that in my office too. My Dad purchased it at The Air Force Museum in Dayton.

Where is all the heat going? I don't know. But I would guess...its not making so much heat in the first place. Isn't the idea of why LOP is good that the flame front is slowed and so lower ICPs are like a milder hammer hit on your cylinders that don't end up absorbing as much of the energy into the cylinders but allow the pistons to move instead. So more efficiency. If that is the case then less waste heat to the engine cylinders. If an engine were 100% efficient there would be zero loss of energy to heat and the engine would remain at room temp. Or... second story would be the engine is producing less horsepower if the spark is retarded (or was it advanced? I can't remember which it would be). If that's the case, then less of the fuel is being burnt and instead its being thrown out the exhaust. I am guessing its the first story. Can I just cut and paste that flight page? https://apps.savvyaviation.com/flights/3853708/48446df0-afdd-4388-aed0-c4294ced4d40 I think this is more engineering than math. Its ok - I like em' both.

I posted a picture of my engine monitor readings over on the surefly thread for you Anthony - and all.

Anthony I am replying to your question over on another thread - the flight 2020 thread - where you asked how my CHTs are following my remark that I was able to run LOP well for the first time since I owned this plane, now that I have the surefly. And that I need more testing to see how it performs at higher settings. So review - I flew Tuesday and I was playing around with LOP. All temps have been lower, LOP or ROP since we installed the surefly several weeks ago. EGTS, TIT, CHT, everything, at all settings, ROP or LOP. And strikingly, I used to get a tad bit of rough LOP and also I was TIT limited to LOP at anything above about 60%. Tuesday I was running at 65% LOP and I was VERY cool on all settings. In fact, I consider the CHTs were actually too cool (-4C OAT at around 5500 where I was playing). See picture where CHTS are ranging from 257-276, EGTs ranging from 1394-1512 and TIT is at 1373 (and that is most striking since otherwise this was typically at 1600+ for this particular setting). Clearly 257 is just too cool - and too much of a good thing. I would need to run her harder to keep temps up if this is what is happening in general. I might well be suspicious of the sensor if this was the one reading that was low but every single reading is cooler from all the various sensors, and low by a lot. And the airplane was flying smoothly and powerfully at this setting. What's not to like? Looks like the old bird has a new trick! Next time I get up I will see how well she goes LOP at a higher setting that this 65%'er. Maybe I will try 72% and 75%? Some of the "big boys" over in Bonanza-Beechtalk land use LOP as a way to run 85% cruise settings taking advantage of the slower burn results in lower temps indicating lower ICPs. So in LOP world - its all about how much fuel you are pushing through. E.g. if I were able to push through 18.9gph at 13.7 hp/gp= 260hp or 85%. Imagine how fast I would go if that were attainable as a cruise setting and everything were very cool then maybe I would consider it. I am not thinking that will work but I bet 75% or 228hp and 16.7gph might be attainable? Never before - but maybe now?

Which is doubly frustrating when some of the airport dining establishments are either really nice bars (e.g., Sedona) or microbrews (e.g., Havasu).

Unless I missed something what I have distilled from this thread is that the op has a ff and distribution issue. The distribution issue is most likely a consequence of the low ff through the tired carb. The carb is older and overdue for an oh or maybe replacement. @ragedracer1977 have you tried to increase the ff a little on the carb? Is that possible? Seems to me it can’t hurt to try and see how the temps react? You'd be surprised the difference in temps even 1gph can make! I fly the IO360 and don’t have any carb experience but 15.5 on TO seems low to me. I typically see 19.5 gph WOT full rich @ sl. Just thinking out loud.

true statement.

Unless your flying a plane full of passengers.

Replacing spark plugs was the first thing I did when this started. Didn’t help. Then I installed the surefly and new fine wires. Didn’t help. I thought I addressed this earlier in the thread, but maybe I didn’t. I pulled all the intake tubes and oil return lines. New gaskets and new connector tubes on all 4 intake tubes, and new rubber connectors on the return lines. Didn’t help. I have to assume the AD was taken care of sometime in the last 57 years.

While your guess is as good as mine, I am thinking the squarish things on the side are perhaps where access doors might go. Any other guesses before we get the real answer from the man?

Hangars are awesome

In cruise I normally see 190-198 29/2300 ROP. Never seen it above 200 in any of my panel pics.

I know a fellow who has a C with a fresh engine that ought to have a SabreCowl II. @AGL Aviation

That's a beautiful work of art! We are grateful for you and your presence in our Mooney world, and most grateful for your presence and assistance on MS.

The bottom of that plane is highly armored... For protection against ground fire... Jack it up, fix the gear, fly to paint shop... The plane went up in value because its a one piece belly that has been proven to be runway proof already! My first avatar photo for MS included a pair of A10s landing in the background over my plane at SnF around 2010... PP thoughts only, not an military plane historian... Best regards, -a-

I wonder if I can buy that A10 at a discount now that it has damage history of a gear up?

No need to send them across the country and pay hundreds for the privilege! Yokes are easy to do yourself. I did mine with leather I had left over from interior.

I was driving down to Mexico about 6 weeks ago and about 20 miles south of KGBN in the middle of the Goldwater range, there were two A-10s shooting at a target about 1/2 mile west of the highway. They would fly around at about 3000 AGL, then line up on the target, pitch down at about a 45 degree angle and then shoot that awesome gun. I could see the smoke trail from the gun then the dust kicked up on the ground from the bullets hitting the ground. Too cool!

Interesting pictures. Looks like he landed with ordnance on the wing in one picture, then the hero shot has clean pylons. Surprised they didn’t punch the pylons off prior to landing. I Know a few guys that fly them and absolutely love the Jet!! The thing is massive!! -Matt

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-military/2017/08/15/air-force-capt-lands-a-10-with-no-canopy-no-gear/ A gun misfired and his canopy departed uncommanded. Nose gear wouldn't fully deploy so landed emergently.

Sellers invariably offer their sub-standard planes at absurd prices while buyers undervalue your superior aircraft.

Upgrade of M20F and early M20J gross weight to 2900 lbs.

A couple of items yet mentioned: 1) could there be an exhaust flange leak throwing heat over the probe? 2) have you confirmed adequate oiling of that cylinder (oil return line restricted causing poor oil flow thus causing reduced heat dissipation...)?

First cut of the Maglite reflectors. Belt sander will smooth them off.

⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️ THAT is great advice. Whole-heartedly second that idea.