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A bit of light reading if you're bored over the weekend. TL;DR: Stall switch failed on me, and the $2500 price tag for a new replacement is downright stupid. A few months ago I noticed that the stall switch (lift detector) on the 201 I'm currently flying didn't work too well - in that the stallhorn might or might not activate even as the airplane entered imminent stall condition during the last moments of flare during landing. Interestingly, around that time I also noticed that during descent (in excess of 500fpm) in clouds/rain I would hear a distinct, but faint, high-pitched tone from the ceiling area. A few days ago I returned home after a rather challenging X/C trip that mostly took place in the soup, even with a "fun" encounter with light icing too. Upon arrival late at night, I hangared the plane and plotted -D-> to MYBED. The next morning I returned to the hangar to take care of a few things, and at this time I turned the master on to check the voltage since I had it trickle charging overnight. As soon as I flipped the master on, the stall warning came on in full force and wouldn't quit. Playing with the lift detector vane didn't help (although I could hear a very faint pitch change in the stall warning tone) but pulling the STALL WARN circuit breaker stopped the madness. I searched this forum and found out that I was not the only one to encounter this issue: https://mooneyspace.com/topic/17546-stall-warning-stuck-on/ https://mooneyspace.com/topic/15399-stuck-stall-warning/ I opted to leave the airplane alone at that time and to see if any supposed moisture buildup in the stall switch would clear up in a few days. It didn't. After letting it sit for 4 days the horn was still blaring as soon as I turned the master on, so I removed the switch from the airplane (not the worst, but not easy either) and confirmed with a multimeter that even when not activated, there was only 1.2kOhms between N.O and Common. The Mallory Sonalert SC628 (the generic P/N of the 201 stallhorn) has a current draw of approx. 7mA at 13VDC using data interpolated from the datasheet. This roughly translates to a roughly 1.8kOhm impedance assuming no other resistance in the circuit. When a 1.2kOhm "resistor" (i.e. faulty switch) is added in series with this device, the voltage differential across the Sonalert drops to 4.6V, but the thing about these smaller Sonalerts is that despite their listed operational voltage of 6~28V, they actually activate around 1V and are quite loud even at 3V. I have disassembled the switch as much as I can. The Safe Flight lift detector system is attached to the leading edge curved piece via 2 MS20470AD4-3 (or -4?) rivets which can be drilled out with a 1/8" dia. drill and punch. The lift detector assembly itself is basically a custom-order variant of the Honeywell BA or BE series SPDT microswitch housed inside a custom formed sheet aluminum cover then secured via two long MS20470A4-?? soft rivets, although the rivets are bucked so that the bucktail looks identical to the head. One could try drilling these out too, but they are prone to rotating with the drill bit, so I found the best method of removal was to carefully use a file to shave off one of the heads, then to use a 1/8" dia. punch to press/pull the remains out. The vane lever (constructed of stamped stainless steel) is secured at its fulcrum using a pin, which also can be pressed/pulled out of its place using a very small diameter punch or some other improvised device (I used an awl to expose enough pin on the other side, then carefully pulled the rest out with a needle-nose plier. It appears that the switch itself is not one of Honeywell's hermetically sealed types, which in my opinion is a huge no-no given the fact this switch is literally exposed to oncoming air/rain/debris. Thus, the plastic plunger slips right out of its place, so care should be taken not to lose this part in addition to the aforementioned lever pin. The Honeywell (or rather, its subdivision "Micro Switch" in Freeport IL) switch can be opened up to reveal its conductive innards by separating the upper "roof" from the main body, albeit with much difficulty. Safe Flight uses some sort of yellow electrical tape in an apparent attempt to seal this joint but I have found the tape's material to age very poorly, peeling unevenly and leaving an unsightly pattern of sticky residue upon eventual removal. Alcohol and/or brakleen easily removes this though. The "roof" is secured to the switch body via a combination of press fit and 3 tiny pins, 2 located on the LH and RH sides, and one at the rear. I learned this after-the-fact when the roof separated from the body and 3 pieces of plastic debris fell out with it. In my case, the breakage was clean and CA glue (aka superglue) did the trick. The switch innards are very simple; in the image above, the switch's Common conductor (on the far right) is connected to a springy copper arm that extends from the right to the far left. The arched shoulders on this arm bias the arm upwards as such to normally make contact with the upper electrode (the gold colored rectangular tab on the left) which is connected to the N.C. port, but this port is not threaded/used in this switch. When the vane at the wing L.E. lifts during high AoA, the opposite end of the vane lever pushes down on the plastic plunger, and the bottom end of the plunger pushes this copper arm down, causing it to detach from the N.C. electrode and to make contact with a similarly-shaped N.O. electrode below. A distinct clicking sound can be hear d during this operation. I rinsed down the switch body with liberal amounts of contact cleaner and then tested the contacts again with a multimeter; the check was OK. Chances are some conductive debris got lodged between the Common and N.O. electrodes. Reassembly of the switch consists of reattaching the "roof", securing it with the 3 tiny pins, inserting the plastic plunger (flat end goes into the switch), then reattaching the vane lever with the securing pin. I have taken the liberty of securing the switch to the Safe Flight housing using 2 sets of #6-32 screws, AN960-6L thin washers and MS21044N06 nylock nuts, and likewise for securing the assembly to the leading edge curved piece as well. Especially disappointing (and frankly, anger inducing) is that this switch was removed, factory repaired, and reinstalled according to a logbook entry dated 15 January 2016, which means this switch only lasted just over 5 years and about 150 hours T.I.S. before failing again. (The previous owner apparently didn't fly much) According to a Cessna 170 forum thread, a factory overhaul for an unheated lift detector (which basically involves Safe Flight switching out the Honeywell switch and putting it back into the housing) cost $400 in 2007 and according to another MS thread, $1200 in 2017. That is f***ing outrageous. Mind you, the price above is for overhauls/repairs. Aircraft Spruce lists a new Safe Flight Model 164 switch at $2575. A Honeywell BE-2R-A4 switch costs $12 on Sager Electronics. Even if, say, a custom-order variant of the BE series switch was batch-produced with an MOQ of 10,000 for $1,000,000 ($100 ea.), FAA PMA certification efforts cost $400,000, the aluminum housing cost $50 per unit, and the labor to assemble one was a generous 2 hours at $100 per shop-hour, this amounts to a valuation of $390 per switch, which translates to a 660% markup. During my days as an avionics tech, I've seen some unremarkable products sold at absurd prices (such as the Astro-tech LC-2 clock, a $10 Walmart kitchen timer sold at $400) but the Safe Flight lift detector takes the prize for the dumbest piece of s*** sold at the most d e n s e markup considering it's tech straight out of the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century. I've seen TSO'd comm radios sold for less than this switch. I understand that businesses need to generate profit to stay afloat; I may have given the lift detector a pass if it incorporated some ingenuity or special attribute that reflected some sort of significance in its R&D. My day job involves selling industrial electromechanical devices with a comfortable (but fair) markup because they're some of the best performers on the market and I know the engineers put in so much effort designing and refining them in years past and present. But the lift detector is nothing more than a custom-order microswitch from the 1940s with no meaningful R&D since, probably, the 1950s or 60s. To sit on decades-old tech and offer them for a markup so high that it might as well get RVSM is beyond my comprehension. Well, maybe it's not that much beyond comprehension. I know Safe Flight has some pretty technically advanced products such as their powerline detectors and helicopter pedal shakers, and I can only assume that their lift detectors contribute only a tiny portion of their revenue portfolio at this point, so all things considered, they couldn't care less about these relics of the past. Normally, the nature of the market would dictate that someone else would pick up the slack to offer reasonably-priced competition, but given the current rate at which new airplanes are produced and the relatively high entry barrier of PMA certification, such a venture is unprofitable and unattractive. If anything reflects painfully well the shattered remnants, the empty shadows of a once-hopeful general aviation industry, it is the flat-out unimpressive Safe Flight lift detector and its ludicrous pricing. At the end of the day, this is just one of my biggest pet peeves that I know is beyond my personal control, but one that I still can't help but be frustrated about. If you've made it this far, kudos to you for actually sitting through this entire monologue. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

It's not amazing when bright people disagree on new and unknown/poorly supported science. Don't confuse political motivation/posturing with actual science and well established facts. And, do let me know when you come up with an example of pretty much any individual human activity that does NOT affect others. The argument that an individual's action affects others, thus justifying limitless control, leads to totalitarianism whereby every aspect of an INDIVIDUAL's life is controlled by group-think because it would all so selfish to do otherwise. That is the slippery slope we are on and, that is NOT freedom. Life is a risk and part of that risk IS living with the actions and consequences of others; like it or not. I am NOT saying COVID is to be brushed off, but I do think it has become a poster child for FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) resulting in politically motivated overreach. Meantime, please don't trot out the tired guilt trip on me. I'm going to continue to wash my hands, stay home if I'm sick, and wear a mask when I'm forced to (inside businesses), but NOT out of fear, and poorly established 'science.' Generations may well look back on this 'pandemic' and wonder why we stopped living, and destroyed small businesses over a virus!

Here ya go, the best idea yet

Mask wearing IS political. any attempt at saying otherwise is disingenuous at best. we only got the pathetic “stop the politics” drivel when someone was brave enough to not follow the leftist party line. and Carusoam lose the “I feel sorry BS” stop lying and say the truth.

Even if joe goebells said something really intelligent in his time... would it be thoughtful to repeat it here, today? let’s stay focused on the issues related to flight, flight safety, and how to get along with the rest of the community... The next election isn’t for another year and a half... let it rest... Find another Avenue... Stay positive... Share your solution to common challenges... I hear you. I feel for you. I wish you well. Best regards, -a-

Ah yes of course . Thanks for the heads-up! Yes, I am an A&P with an avionics tech background. I used to do quite a few bench tests and even some component level repairs when I used to work at a 145 shop. As for the legalities, the work done on the switch, a "component part", is a minor repair, minor alteration done with reference to AC43.13-1B (accepted practices), much in the same way someone might repair a nav light bulb receptacle, for example.

How about you wear the correct mask that protects YOU, an N95 and let the rest of us decide how we want to protect ourselves which may mean we choose not to wear one? Enough of this guilt crap which does nothing but pit us against each other.

Masks as mandated and worn serve NO medical purpose. It is a control devise. Phyc-0ps At best mask wear may delay the inevitable. Unless this particular Covid virus is different than every other Covid virus the vaccine will be only partially effective and will need to be reformulated when the virus changes. This is not like polio. It will not be eliminated. This is like the seasonal flu it will constantly change. But, every person in the world WILL at some point be exposed to this virus. The mask will not stop the inevitability of that fact. The virus is man made. It was not an accidental release. It was done on purpose. It is being used to coerce and control. The “pandemic” will be over when it is politically expedient for it to be over. The Spanish flu virus still exists. We don’t take a vaccine for it. It no longer kills. Food for thought.

Here's my two cents: 1. I choose to take my medical advice by people who have medical expertise. So far, every medical expert with meaningful credentials and knowledge of this pandemic has said masks work. For me, its not political, its that some people think the earth is round and some people think the earth is flat, and I just don't make counter-science decisions because someone tells me I have to do it to take some sort of political stand. Wearing a red MAGA hat is political. Spreading a deadly virus contrary to science is not a political expression, its just stupidity. 2. Back to aviation, this whole thread is sad to me. I read today that masks will be optional at Oshkosh absent any prevailing government order to the contrary, and you know, Wisconsin. So this convinces me that unless there's a real change in attitudes, or the virus rates decline dramatically, we will be unlikely to go because I do not choose to risk my health and that of my family and colleagues and husbands' colleagues because its clear from this thread that some people attending will refuse to take reasonable precautions. Oshkosh is something we look forward to every year and we were sad to miss it this year, and I had been hopeful since its a mostly outdoor event and capacity could be managed or limited, it could be done safely, but this thread is making me doubtful that the pilot community is ready to take the necessary steps to get us there. 3. For the person who said he's aircrew and doesn't wear his mask in the cockpit, please ask your FO or Captain - honestly - how he or she feels about your choice. My husband is also aircrew and I would prefer him protected (and protecting me) from exposures in the cockpit especially on a short trip (such as one or two leg, I get on a longer trip exposure might be inevitable), we have lots of older relatives that we come into contact with and just because you think this isn't important to you doesn't mean it isn't important to us. Even if you don't believe it helps, consider it a courtesy or a kindness. 3. Someone said they only know people who took precautions got covid. A story for you. I recently went on a "club" ski trip. My "pod" tried to be very careful, we wore masks, did not go to any indoor dining or indoor bars, we avoided riding lifts with those outside our pod, we had comfortable distanced outdoor socialization and apres ski with others, and enjoyed an overall great ski trip (we also visited Yellowstone, snowshoes, and snow mobile). Our pod tested for covid before and after the trip (negative). We wore our masks on the airlines and in the terminal going to and from and dutifully masked up anytime we went indoors or were in close proximity with others outdoors. All this said, we knew taking this trip posed some risk, but we thought we could do what we pilots do every day - make science and evidence-based decisions to minimize this risk to ourselves and each other. Many of the other participants on the trip did not follow these precautions - they socialized in each others condos, went to big group indoor dining events, did not get tested, wore masks for the shortest duration required and under duress of the local ski mountain rules. There were several times where the group tried to convince our pod to be less careful and that we should join them in some of their risky activities because covid was no big deal. ... in any event, the outcome was there was a massive covid outbreak amongst the other people who attended the trip -- somewhere near 25% -- of course none of them got tested in the days after attending trip like we had, so in addition to them getting covid, there were reports of several spouses (that did not come on the trip) who also got covid, and I suspect some of the people they work with probably got it too. So far there haven't been any deaths (one hospitalization), and I hope it stays that way.

I thought we were brought together in this forum by means of our love for and ownership of mooney aircraft. Why must politics and religion creep in here, which are merely divisive forces? Not interested. Try Facebook/Twitter

Acid rain,not ozone depletion really? next ice age, didn’t happen, global warming, fits well with next ice age. Both were used politically to gain the same result. ”Climate change” rebranded global warming. “carbon footprint” political buzzword with no real meaning. Life on earth is Carbon based. Without carbon life does not exist. How can carbon be “Evil” if it is the very basis of ALL life on this planet. Takes real “basic” science to call carbon evil. ‘if this is “Basic Science” the the word Basic has lost its meaning and now means “politically expedient” as in we self righteously call it science but it’s just political leftist grandstanding. can I be any blunter. “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” Joseph Goebbels the media has become the propaganda arm of the liberal view. If it is pushed in the media it is by definition a lie. If it is censored by media and tech it Must be the truth. The same forces that burned books in Berlin are busy in America today.

Apologies for the delayed reply @thomas1142 @Stan and @flyer338 Have been down in Melbourne for the past 3 weeks and have just done a 1700km run home in a day to beat a border closure in QLD - by road unfortunately. Have J and K working as well as new versions of R and R-310STC. I have spent some time rebuilding them off a consistent base to make support ( or lack of!) easier. Give me another week or so to clean up and I'll post all together with links. PatrickF

There is a lot of real flying done the last 100 feet above the ground.

I'm going to host my first Mooney YouTube livestream on my Mooney 201er YouTube channel Sunday Feb 14, 2021 at 2100Z, 4PM EST, 1PM PST. Join for a casual chat about Mooney flying adventures, flying in Canada and the Caribbean, LOP ops, cross country, and whatever else comes up. It's like coming to one of our NJMP flyins minus the flying, hamburgers, and Alan's scary face. Everyone's welcome to join. You are welcome to post questions or topics you'd like me to address here on Mooneyspace and I'll try to get to them. Especially if you won't make it live but will watch the archive later. This will be the link for the Livestream on 2/14/21 at 4PM EST: https://youtu.be/NLLWrpsPVmU

That’s where we’re headed if you believe the science!

I think the statute of limitations has run out by now, and I wasn't an A&P at the time. I used to hang out at the crop duster place back in the 90s. The Air Tractors would eat voltage regulators on a regular basis. It was costing Joe $1500 to get them repaired. He asked me to take a look at one. I trouble shoot it and it was a small signal transistor which was available at Radio Shack. It cost $0.85. I put it back in the Air Tractor and fired up the PT6 and everything was working again! The strange thing was that every part in that voltage regulator was available at Radio Shack, which is strange because they had such a limited selection of these kind of parts. Even the regulator IC was available, it was the only one Radio Shack carried. It almost made me think the original engineers purposely built it with Radio Shack parts. There was only 4 small signal and one power transistor along with a 16 pin IC. I stopped troubleshooting them and would just replace all the parts, I could do it in about 15 minutes. The total parts bill was ~$7.00. Joe said my regulators lasted longer than the ones he paid $1500 for. I never charged him.

I spent 3 years based without fuel, but it was available during FBO hours 10nm away. When taking off on 13, that was toward my fuel stop. Takeoff, wheels up, call departing the pattern, switch radio, call inbound, climb to 1000agl, reduce to 23" / 2300, call 5 miles out, lean, reduce power, enter pattern, land. Engine on to off was 12 minutes if I was on speed and made the mid-field turn off; if I took of on 31 away from the field, the flight was 15 minutes engine on to off. Fun times! Much nicer than my current 3-hangar taxi . . . .

I keep extras. The gear one is what usually fails. It’s more complex ( and an inch taller) because it’s intermittent beep.

Norwood is the home of a long standing MSC... KOWD... The flight from KOWD to KBOS is less than 15nm. The taxi time was probably longer than the actual flight... Great Mooney log page! Thanks for sharing it... Best regards, -a-

Give me a controversy, tell me which side I am on and I can make a case. Google makes it easy, whatever side you want to argue. In the science community there is a study that proves anything you want, because the dollars come from people with agendas. When. lay people say, "Follow the science", they mean "their science". It has been that way for a long, long time. Just ask Galileo.

I agree completely! But @bradpstarted it, he started a thread that had nothing to do with aviation in the least. I would be happy if the moderator just deleted non-aviation threads, they just drive us apart! I guess I could choose to abstain, but some statements just can't be left alone.

When I had the COVID my wife and mother in law didn't wear masks or distance, social or otherwise, and neither got it. Just because the staff didn't get sick, doesn't mean the masks had anything to do with it. Was there a control group that didn't wear masks that we can compare? I wear a seat belt in the airplane all the time, in the truck about half the time, I wear a helmet on my dirt bike, because I know I will have horrendous crashes. I wear a helmet skating because I know I'll crash because it reduces the bleeding. I wear a helmet when riding my bike to keep the club members from giving me a hard time. I only wear a helmet on my street motorcycle when I go on a long trip because of the wind noise. This is America we get to make our own choices.(well, we used to anyway)

Ah—Fun topic: Outdated and poor aviation designs semi-supported at high prices. I had a propeller heat control module fail. The replacement was $3500 as I recall. I took apart the old module (hey, I’m a retired engineer & can’t restrain myself at times). Inside I found a single-sided PCB with a 555 timer, a couple of diodes, one connector and three relays. That’s it. The Bendix connector is admittedly expensive, as are good relays, which these were not. A generous estimate for the component bill of materials is $250. Or in China a contract manufacturer might pay $30. Like the OP I repaired the thing and now I have a spare.

Lol exactly, I just transferred $2500 from savings to my airplane account since now it will happen for sure,

Anyone remember the Adam 500?

Always amazing when bright people disagree on basic science. Masks, climate change, seat belts, helmets. And feel their personal needs do not affect others, even when others get hurt or have to pay for their right to hurt themselves or be selfish. People become more emotional than rational. Generations will look back and not believe it, that some said the earth is flat.

Ok Bryan, take your advice from whoever, but don’t preach to us how you’re so much better than those of us who don’t agree with you.

Hey all, just wanted to pass on my experience at Paragon Aircraft Services at KCDW this week. I have been looking for a data driven, knowledgeable shop after some less than stellar experiences elsewhere to deal with some troubleshooting and small fixes to my ‘78 J. Steve at Paragon was ultra-responsive, smart, and friendly. He was able to fit me in for an Engine monitor upgrade, took care of SB 388C after reviewing engine monitor data, plus a few other lingering issues. They seemed well versed on the Mooney and gave daily email updates on the progress of the work. I’ve found that at some other shops everything seemed to take an hour, but my bill reflected actual time worked. If it was 25min to complete, that’s what I was charged. If he thought something could wait or wasn’t necessary, he let me know. If your a Savvy Aviation client or subscribe to the Mike Busch school of thought, Steve is an account manager there, so you know his maintenance philosophy will line up with yours. Flew the plane back today, everything was completed as requested, and I couldn’t be happier. Hoping this will help someone else in the same position I was in. -Matt

Assuming you have a separate intercom panel and given the fact that both pilot and copilot stations are having difficulty hearing both radios, my prime suspect is the headphone amplifier circuitry is at fault inside the KMA24. Reference the basic block diagram of the KMA24 circuitry below: In order to "mix" various audio sources (i.e. marker beacon, comm 1, nav 1, comm 2, nav 2, etc.) into one headset output, these audio sources are passively mixed through a network of resistors, which has the side-effect of attenuating each respective signal. In order to bring these signals back up to original amplitude, the mixed audio is then run through an amplifier before being sent out to the headphone jacks (or perhaps, in your case, the "radio" input of the intercom unit). The cabin speaker and headphones use separate amplifier circuits, which may explain why your cabin speaker still works OK. As for resolving this issue, my suggestion is to take it to an avionics shop that is knowledgeable with old-school avionics (i.e. won't throw new boxes at it right away). There exists an adjustable potentiometer (R201) which controls the amplification level of the Headphone Amp, so perhaps an attempt could be made first to see if that makes any difference. If adjusting the R201 potentiometer doesn't make any appreciable difference, there is a good chance the voltage regulator that supplies power to the amplifier itself is at fault. (If this is the case, then this might explain why you're still able to *faintly* hear the radios - the amplifier is inop and is operating at 1:1) Reference: King KMA24 Maintenance Manual 006-05180-0001 Revision 1

Good News, the right angle connectors off the old seatbelt worked perfectly. The mechanic pulled off the plastic housing and put it around the old connectors - voila. It's a match. I've also cooked up a tag for the cotter key to warn folks to disconnect the airbag wire before removing the seats.

http://txtopaviation.com/events/2021-texas-top-aviation-fly-in-at-lajitas-golf-resort/ second time great event with several new aircraft in attendance ... please contact Hank Gibson for information... Beautiful new runway open and amazing beautiful area .

There are two types of holes used with our pressure gauges.... 1) FP... has the internal hole to minimize needle fluctuation... that is called a snubber. the internal hole works really well as a damper... as long as air is the only thing traversing through the hole... an external hole would be bad for liquids.... 2) The MP... has an external hole that is to keep the gauge clean... an internal hole wouldn’t keep the gauge clean... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic... Best regards, -a-

My personal interactions with the Rotax engines (with hangar neighbors) has been less than stellar. Plus they don't put out a lot of power. I'm not sure the case or crank designs are strong enough for two more cylinders. There are an awful lot of people who swear by them, though. A local flight school had a fleet of diesel DA-42s and converted most or all of them to IO-360s. That had to be fairly painful, but maybe they had factory support. Diamondstar sold them with the IO-360s after the Thielerts became somewhat less popular, so there may have been a factory conversion program for the schools. There are other engine makers that seem to be doing reasonably well, too, like UL, who do offer both 4- and 6- cylinder versions of their engines. Also, Lycoming has been going in the direction of modernization for a while, including the IE2 and Thunderbolt engines, which are both available. The IE2 has been shipping on modern certified airplanes.

If they only had masks!

I would agree if the person not wearing the mask, owned the entire risk and it could only impact them....this risk potential impacts others. Essentially by not wearing a mask, they are forcing others to accept the risk of covid without asking. I'd revise the wording to say, "Wear a mask if you feel like others may want you to" and who wouldnt? This illustrates the point.

Wear a mask if you feel you need one. All should not be forced to submit. The death rate for earth is 100% everyone will certainly die. We all want to put the odds in our favor for a long prosperous time here. Should any of us figure out how not to die that could be either a blessing or a curse but that would be up to you to decide.

I don't think we know that, but that's what they want you to believe. I won't stop you from wearing it if it makes you feel better. How did human civilization survive for all these millennia without masks?

Totally dont get it...We'd not be here if people donned a mask as soon as we knew to do that.

Since I’m an aviator, and this joke is from an aviator, which to my way of thinking , makes this applicable to an “aviation jokes”......

I was in this same situation 4 or 5 years ago. I was told by several A&P/IA's that I'd have to replace the wing. I went so far as to source a used wing and was looking at shipping options. Two MSC's I talked to said it could be repaired. I ended up going to SWTA where they brought in a sheet metal specialist who worked on it to remove all the corrosion, and apply a fix that was prescribed by a DAR (is is DAR or DER)? The whole job ended up costing $2600. A good MSC will save you money rather than costing you money. But it's your money...

I can't comment on the difference between the "new" version vs. the "classic" version but... The "Industrial Pro" model allows you to change the alarm set-point from the default (35 ppm) to a higher level (up to 100 ppm for the initial LOW alarm). I like that feature and will opt for that model when replacing my existing unit because... ... due to the fantastic sensitivity of these devices it's not unusual for the alarm to activate while idling or during ground maneuvers as small amounts of exhaust enter the cabin through a vent, window, or door. When the red lights start flashing my wife and/or passengers can be alarmed by this unnecessarily. The 35 ppm level is the NIOSH max for 10 hours continuous exposure and isn't a concern at all for short term exposure. Once in flight the display will gradually decrease to "0" in a short while. I'd prefer to have no flashing red lights and alarms going off until the reading reaches 50-100 ppm which is the level at which a slight headache might occur after a couple hours. Only the "Industrial Pro" version allows this. CNoe And THANKS AGAIN to @DanM20C for bringing this issue to our attention and very likely saving a few lives along the way!

Half the older Mooneys with the fuel selector valve between the knees have a PVC T handle sliding around on the floor. It is used by us, older, non-flexible types to reach and turn the fuel selector. Apparently it is needed in newer Mooneys during the winter months.

Upgraded a 730 to add MP and RPM.

I was fortunate to have recently found one of those “good” ones. Made an offer sight unseen within about 15 minutes of it being listed on controller!

My personal experience: I purchased my Mooney M20K 231 while I was training for my PPL. I was covered as a student pilot with 0 hours in a Mooney and only 2 hrs RG/HP for $5,400. Of course I was required to have a PPL and 15 hrs of transition training before I could be covered solo and 35 Mooney PIC hrs before passengers would be covered. That coverage started 3/27/2020. I am currently shopping for insurance and currently I have 130 total hours and a little less than 90 hours in my Mooney. The quotes I have received so far have been between $5,700 and $7,500 and most companies have refused to quote at all. I have been told that Mooney insurance has increased drastically but was not given a reason. I was naively hoping that my insurance would go down once I got my PPL and proved that I could actually fly the airplane. I'm also naively hoping that once I get my IR it will go down but I'm the first to admit that I tend to have too much of a positive outlook. Dewayne

Can't help you on the proper lengths (but sometimes the parts catalog offers a clue). If its qty 2 of the same part.... they should be equal length. What I can tell you is that people do screw it up replacing parts. I just changed my hoses between engine and oil cooler. It was a good thing I went with the numbers in the parts catalog and what precision hose had on file... the prior (replaced) hoses had one that was 3" off, and the installer routed it strangely to accomodate, creating rub and wear and other issues.

I regularly fly with my dog back and forth from Maine to Florida at 8-9000’ Can I fly higher? Sure. But why would I subject my beloved dog to altitudes that are sure to cause her stress, not to mention the physical problems associated with high altitude flying. To save some fuel? Get there a little quicker? To fly over weather? Those excuses are bull crap. No one is holding a gun to your head if it’s weather your trying to avoid. Wait for better weather before departure or land until the weather clears. If your doing it to save some fuel then maybe the cost of flying is more than you can afford. Adding a fuel stop is not the end of the world. You and your pet could probably use a bathroom stop anyway. To say pets don’t suffer from altitude sickness is baloney. Read articles published by WedMd and others. They clearly state what good rules to fly your pets by. I will never subject any animal to any altitude above 9000’. Even with pet O2 masks, I don’t believe is a safe thing to do. My dog won’t tolerate anything on her face for very long. To do otherwise shows me you have no love for your pet and shouldn’t have one. This means you GSXRPILOT. Sixteen thousand feet without pet O2 is the stupidest thing I’ve heard yet. I am always amazed at how some pilots flying unpressurized airplanes regularly fly into the flight levels. If you want to do it solo or with another human on oxygen, fine. Don’t subject your pet to it.

I run a trucking company. I do not do LTL van shipments, but I do get a good bit of business from companies who avoid them like the plague. Instead of shipping with YRC or similar, where it will be cross docked and beat into a bloody pulp, they’ll have me run it on a dedicated straight truck. We call them hotshots, but they are essentially F-350’s with either a van or a flatbed trailer. It makes sense for their products, as they ship long girder beams averaging 20-30’ long, so the extra money they pay to keep it dedicated isn’t too bad, as it’s a relatively bulky product already (justifying its own truck). LTL guys have a shit job. It’s absolute chaos and I feel their pain, but what is inexcusable is their complete lack of responsibility. They pretty much hide their insurance policies. The general liability and auto liability policies are public record, but their cargo insurer , which isn’t always the same, is not.