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Many of you have asked, or been polite and not asked, about my unfortunate engine failure at 500' on take-off, Xmas morning, 2021. I said I would not discuss anything on social media until the NTSB Investigation had been completed and, honestly, I was over the pain of the loss. It's time. I have posted an extensive story about that fateful day on the Lancair Live Forum, and the link is the first one below. That said, the good news is I started the massive undertaking of rebuilding the plane and the progress since the 11th of January has been nothing short of spectacular. Considering I have spent half my winter at my Florida home, going down for two weeks every month, and we've logged well over 600 man hours on the rebuild already, I'm very happy about the progress. I would consider documenting the entire process here again (like I did on the initial build) but time on the project trumps time on the computer posting everything on two forums. The second link below is my rebuild. The third link is for the Lancair IVPT I am finishing for another builder (with his help) and it is really close to final inspection. Thanks for the patience to all my past friends on this forum. The one picture attached is my last Med Flight before my unfortunate engine failure. This little guy LOVED my plane (300 knots, pressurized and a warm cabin in the winter really helped!!). It's so sad he was only with us 7 more months after that flight. Tom Sullivan https://www.lancairlive.com/viewtopic.php?t=183 https://lancairlive.com/viewtopic.php?t=177 https://www.lancairlive.com/viewtopic.php?t=189

There's a simple battery capacity self-test procedure in the manual for the G5, and it doesn't take very long to do. If you're worried about the battery condition you might just run that and see what it says. G5 Capacity Test, from 190-01112-11, G5 Part 23 AML STC Maintenance Manual and ICA. 4.2.8 Battery Capacity Check 1. Without power applied to the aircraft, turn on the G5 by pressing the power button in the lower left corner of the unit. 2. Note the remaining battery capacity (%) at the top left corner of the display. 3. After about a minute, the remaining capacity will change from (%) to time (hour:min). 4. If the remaining capacity is less than one hour (1:00), allow the battery to charge until the capacity shows greater than 95% and repeat the check. 5. If the remaining capacity is less than one hour (1:00) after charging, the battery must be replaced.

This is very likely an internal piece of the pump. There is no way that a .5”x.25” piece of metal made it through the plumbing that leads to your pump.

Hi All, I recently had two separate attempts by scammers on MooneySpace to lure me into a trap. Because they were so close in time I made some observations on their techniques. This is what I noted. I hope others find this helpful: Firstly, they started chasing me only after I posted a question to a real classified thread. This leads me to believe that once a legit seller posts an advertisement the scammer “follows it” to receive auto notifications. Then once a member (like me) posts a question to a real ad the scammer gets auto-notified of a potential target and goes to work quickly. Secondly, and this is were its gets dirty, the scammer private messages a member target with a link to the original forum ad and subject line and text content in such a way that it looks like the member target is getting a legit response to a real question they just asked in the forum. Some nice words accompany a phone number, and with that they hijack the conversation. Please know It can look convincing. Had they not made a grammar error on the first attempt I may not have paused to reassess the communication. Folks may have different thoughts on how best to deal with this but I plan to: 1) private message sellers directly with any questions I have about an ad rather than posting those questions on the classifieds thread for a scammer to see. 2) when I post an ad I will explicitly tell folks to PM me directly and to not post questions on the ad. 3) I will delete old ads and repost as necessary versus bumping ads to break the thread following feature the scammer needs to target folks. Thanks for reading, Good luck out there! Z Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I believe this Home depot handle is similar to what we have on classic Mooney: It says three inches between screws... https://www.homedepot.com/p/Liberty-Liberty-Ethan-3-in-76-mm-Polished-Chrome-Cabinet-Drawer-Pull-P13101H-CHR-C/204151776

I would do the capacity check as @EricJ suggested. I have even pulled the cb for the ADI airborne and just let it run on battery for an hour or more to see if the timeline was realistic. If you let it run for a good long time on just battery, you can also see if it recharges at all since it will be lower than your current ~70%.

When I got tired of the indefinite backorder of Plexus and started to get low I tried out the A-Plex and have been very happy with it. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/pages/cs/plexiglascleaners/cx-56955.php

Actually, I could. If I had the equipment. The equipment costs about $25k and has a yearly calibration cost of over $1000.

Don , why on earth , would someone send money , without recourse .. If the seller won't use PayPal , its a scam...If they want to do friends and family , its a scam.. Its that simple... If they are trying to save 3% , then its on them , not you... Buyers , PAY ATTENTION... When we (Sellers) ask for 3% extra to cover banking fees , IT PROTECTS YOU , noy us...

I was contacted by a Mooneyspacer asking that I make him some teflon seals for the H&E Vintage Flap Pump. I though I would let the group know that I plan on making these for one person. If anyone wants and needs these, Please PM me. John Breda

I’ve been an airline pilot for 24 years, and a captain for about half of that. Bomb procedures are considered sensitive information that isn’t supposed to be discussed. I edited my response to just give a few common sense items to think about. You have to consider the number of passengers who will be injured during an evacuation. That number, even amongst able-bodied adults, is much higher than you’d imagine. And what about the elderly? Or the passenger that they said that was in a wheelchair? How many broken ankles and sprained limbs are worth the speedy evacuation when nearly all bomb threats are hoaxes? I think the captain did a good job, and I wouldn’t want to second-guess his actions. But it would be nice if the airport support personnel could’ve done their jobs more quickly. That was a long time to have to wait for stairs and busses.

Inspired by this Facebook Mooney Pilots Group post: List of things to buy when I close on my first plane? I saw prist/plexus mentioned somewhere for the windshield cleaning. What else? I'm buying a Mooney M20R Ovation. Pre-buy found one thing slated for correction this week, moving forward with escrow and will probably close in a couple of weeks. This is my first airplane - the phrase I keep using is "I don't even know what questions I should be asking" in the process. I've been fortunate that several people have taken me under their wing to help me along the way. The seller has been absolutely fantastic and spent several hours with me the other day to show/teach me everything he could think of / wished someone had done for him when he bought it. I've been trying to figure out what essentials I should be buying right away, what are things I'll probably want pretty quickly, and what tips/tricks will save me a lot of pain and aggravation. How would you rank these lists? Anything that you would add or skip? Basics (Immediate Need): Hangar (found one - it's far but will be a good home until something closer opens up) Canopy cover (coming with the plane - I've seen notes on tail cover, is this something I should get?) Gnats Jar (have one) Tow bar (coming with plane) Pitot cover (w/ spare) Chocks CO detector (my sentry has it built in, should I get another?) Checklist (have always used Qref, who makes a good one for the M20R?) Pee/Puke bags Do it yourself cleaning and maintenance: Spray detailer to clean leading edges (brand?) Windscreen: Prist/Plexus (or Lemon Pledge) RainX for Plastic Chrome polish for spinner Microfiber Rags (different colors for windscreen and skin - lots of them) Blue shop towels Vacuum cleaner with long hose for interior Fuel Filter Funnel (for self serve - any recommendations) Oil, Filters, CamGuard, and Funnel (planning on changing oil myself) Safety Wire Creeper Simple Green Aviation formula Tri-Flow Compressor & Basic tools Nice to haves / lessons learned: Rear window shades Organizer for Baggage Comfy slippers to fly in Garmin InReach Cowl plugs Extra cam locks for cowling Cowl plugs Tie Down Straps (preferences) Spark plugs & wrench Battery Minder Power Supply Do I need this: Black Max engine dehydrator General recommended things to do: Join MAPA Transition training (scheduled) Mooney Safety Foundation pilot proficiency programs (PPP) Thanks!

I was just perusing the letters to the editor in the June AOPA Pilot and saw one where a reader described a G3X failure where red X's started appearing on one after another G3X instrument until nothing was available. The problem turned out to be a bad GEA 24 (engine monitor) that swamped the CAN bus shutting down communications between the G3X and the LRUs. This was on a SLSA that didn't have a standby G5 or GI 275, but presumably those instruments might have been affected also. In my installation, I have a AV-20-S for a backup attitude indicator and it is not connected to anything common to the Garmin equipment except for pitot and static sources. I felt it important to have some non-Garmin technology onboard to keep me upright while I troubleshoot a catastrophic failure in the primary equipment. In this case, I would pull all the LRU circuit breakers and then bring them back on line one by one to isolate the bad LRU. It should be possible to get most everything working again.

Actually, I think this might be normal behavior for an aging battery. My G5 is 2-1/2 years old with about 250 flight hours. My SOP is to power up the G5 on it's battery during preflight to check the battery level. I look at the percent charged but don't often wait for the full capacity test to complete where it switches from percent to time. When new, it showed 98%. Lately it has been showing 93 - 95%. Today, I noticed that it showed 86%. I ran it on ship's power with the battery minder and it indicated charging (lightening bolt) and 100% during that time. After two hours, I shut off the master and powered up the G5 on battery for the capacity test. It still showed 86%. When it switched to time, it indicated 4:14.

Yes, I’ve been flying it since the accident.

https://www.faa.gov/documentlibrary/media/advisory_circular/ac 43-6c.pdf https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-43/appendix-Appendix F to Part 43

Has anyone verified that the seats are the same for the pre-66 (?) birds? On the early applications, the O-ring is positioned on the Teflon valve seat (a la the OP's). On the later models, maybe 66 and later the o-rings are positioned in machined grooves on the opposing pump half.

Geez Tom, That is quite a story. You are fortunate on many levels. It reads like you picked the best option you had and then did just about everything right to ensure the best outcome. 3kts above stall to stopped in 138’ is pretty intense deceleration especially when accomplished with tree impacts and undulating terrain. You and Beth are lucky to have walked away from such an accident. You are in the unusual post accident position of not having much if anything to second guess. By my reading of the events, you did everything you could to ensure the best outcome and it worked.

Tom, Thanks for the update. I hope to see N994PT again some day. It was an amazing build. Nice work "flying as far into the crash as you can." PM/email if you need a ride between FL and MI -dan

Thanks for sharing the story and details about the rebuild - very cool to see!

If everything is working, it takes 30-45 minutes.

@Yooper Rocketman thanks for all of the information. Glad that this experience turned out so well considering everything. Do you still have your M20K Rocket (N1017L)?

We'll get you some turbine time before too long!

Tom, Was really wanting this updare. Awesome progress. I still want my ride My first day of retirement today. My bird went straight from avionics to its first annual. Looking forward to many Up North trips this summer. Scott

Nicely done! Very glad you and your wife got through that well. Cool to see the progress and please do post updates!

I sympathize, this would seem weird to anyone who has an understandably simplistic idea of battery capacity. But it's useful to understand there's really no direct way for a G5 or cellphone or any other battery-powered device to determine how much charge remains in the battery; so this idea of "percent charged" is something of a lie. Modern battery-powered devices use computer algorithms based on empirical tests to estimate time/percent remaining, and those algorithms get less accurate as the battery ages. Every such algorithm has weird corner cases that the designer desperately tries to avoid exposing to the end user, but sometimes they creep through. Weird discontinuities are one aspect of that. Another is the huge variability in how much longer a battery lasts once it's down to the "red zone" (10%, or whatever). For some excruciating detail on this, you can start with https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-903-how-to-measure-state-of-charge. Full on nerds like myself can go on to look at individual ICs that implement certain charge counting algorithms, e.g. https://www.analog.com/en/products/max17263.html

A bottle of champagne would be high on the list! Congrats!!!

@Max Clark My answers to the question marks in your list: 1. I have a tail cover, used it once in 8 years when I parked for two weeks outside at a coastal airport. No birds, no need. 2. The Sentry CO detector is sufficient. A second portable one is an optional backup. 3. I prefer Checkmate checklists. Qref is also good, its a matter of personal preference. 4. I use an engine dehydrator. I don't have a Black Max but I recommend using something if you won't be flying at least once a week. One add - safety wire pliers. Having them just to safety the oil filter will be worth the cost. Cheers, Junkman

This fits PERFECTLY in the luggage area. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DFLFTBQ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 Don't forget spare fuses, bulbs, intertube (1 Front, 1 Main), Alternator belt, portable tire inflator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRG5VR5R?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I've heard that if you have a Cessna Turbo 182 that is AOG because of the clamp that Textron Parts moves you up to the top of the list. They would probably want an N-number that didn't fly this morning though on FlightAware . . lol

Twice other spacers have been scammed by someone masquerading as me. Once for an item I was not even selling. The private messaging system is fairly secure, but at some point a seller has to provide a phone number, email address or real address for payment. I think what happens is the scammer sees someone posting interest in an article and then jumps on your user name to provide an email to take the correspondence offline. Please use caution and do some cross checking before sending money. Aerodon Donald Hague

@DCarlton $300 in August 2022 (91.411 and 91.413). Precise Pitot Static 310-430-1941 based in Riverside. He came to my hangar at KPOC; I left the check on the seat, he left the cert! Could not have been easier.

Perfect Thats what I need! Thank you

I had it done a couple of months ago, but I flew into his home airport rather than having him come to me or a group on my home field. It was $350 with no repairs.

I have seen that issue twice on two different planes in the last couple of years - both times it was a leaking intake gasket causing the mixture to run lean. You might want to check it out.

Thanks @0TreeLemur. We submitted the online report and sent the few pieces of feathers that remained to the email at the Smithsonian that the report specified. Today we got an email that they discovered the culprit: a green-tailed towhee (Pipilo chlorurus). It is a large sparrow, weighing about 29 grams. Truly a duck would have caused significant damage. Ute

Aero Cosmetics Wash n Wax gets rid if most everything. Use Blue for most of your plane, Red for the belly.

Do you see the yellow lightning bolt symbol on top of the battery symbol indicating that the battery is charging when the master and avionics switches are on? I'd double check the G5 by powering it up on it's battery with ship's power off by pressing the power button on the G5 to see if you get the same indication as when ship's power is on. If you have a battery minder, I would turn off everything except the G5 and turn on the master and avionics switches and let it sit for a few hours and see if the battery charges.

Thanks John. The PM section says you are unable to receive messages. I’ll take 4. Thanks for your contribution to the community. -Matt

Send me a PM. John Breda

@jetdriven What is this 'dangerously high bank account' you speak of? And, more importantly, what causes it? I'm certain others here would be interested in answers!

Dear Yariv, we had a similar problem on our M20J. You could not retract the flaps from full to take-off setting. Retracting completely did work however. We also were quite convinced that it would have to be a limit-switch problem. After changing the switch the problem was unchanged. We then had to learn that a cable was chewed up by a mouse that had lived behind the sidewall lining of the baggage compartment. Wouldn't hurt to have a kook, I think...

You are going to get a flood of opinions with this topic, so I will start by saying that you should think about your primary mission before choosing. I think the main reason many of us buy a Mooney is to go fast. Not for the hundred-dollar hamburger, but for destinations commonly hundreds of miles away or even across the country. I doubt that a well-cared-for Mooney will cost any more to maintain than other brands, and I would bet lunch that the Cirrus will cost more to maintain. Also, if you are concerned about retractable gear, a 210 is probably not for you.

Post pic

I have a model 244CEC1-S2 I purchased back in 2016. I know of one time that I plugged it into the airplane and forgot to plug the charger into the wall, and I came back to a flat battery about 3 days later. I took a look through the manuals on the BatteryMINDer web site and couldn't find anything that addressed this. However I did find this in the FAQs: Q: How long can I leave the BatteryMINDer connected to my battery? A: As long as it is plugged in you can leave the BatteryMINDer hooked up to a battery indefinitely. It will never overcharge or damage your battery. That implies you can't leave the BatteryMINDer hooked up to your battery if the BatteryMINDer isn't plugged in. That fits with my experience. Cheers, Junkman

You can fudge there also by cracking the Alt air to insert the proper weenie wag.

What is it about the Bravo turbo that made them think that 1750 is ok in the first place? Is the turbo itself specially built? Ceramic coated or something to wick heat? (and all the resulting burning out the tit probes, the exhaust valves, exhaust tubes, etc aside). I am just asking what was their thinking and what engineering did they have to put forward 1750 in the first place where most turbo engines limit at 1650?

I just wing it like everyone else.