Leaderboard

I just fly earlier, higher or sweatier, no magic

Time for an update. Got it all back together and weighed it - got 1778 lbs empty weight. It's pretty much ready to fly minus some paperwork. My I/A friend is working on paperwork and in the meanwhile I'm continuing to fix little cosmetic things. Most recent was the cowl. Lower cowl is in pretty good shape, but the top half had a crack up front near the spinner and lots of little cracks on the top surface. Seems this is a pretty common problem: Here's what the top looked like. Everywhere there were cracks, I sanded down the paint to glass. I scarfed out that darkened area and put a single layer of glass on top. Later on I sanded everywhere down to the gray primer - sorry forgot to take pics of that. Someone had glued a curved piece of aluminum tubing around the lip of the spinner. Obviously wasn't doing the job: So I ground all of that out and got down to clean glass, then put a couple layers of glass behind it. Once that was set, I scarfed out the front of the crack and layed multiple layers of glass in there as well. Each time I do glass, I paint on epoxy, then the glass and get it wetted out, then peel ply, then paper towel and finally some method of holding things tightly together. Usually clear packing tape but sometimes have to get a little creative. So that took care of the lip around the spinner. There were also spots around the air inlets that were delaminated and worn through: So using similar techniques, I cleaned it up down to clean glass and then built up layers of new glass. Didn't get a very good pic but this will give you an idea. Later on I scarfed in glass on the outside as well to make that lip square. Then I took care of the cracks along the top of the cowl. The glass wasn't really broken through but kind of flexible, with the epoxy kind of broken loose from the glass fibers. There were some old patches done over top of the stiffener channels but they had way too much resin in the glass and it was real stiff and breaking loose. I ground all that off carefully and got down to clean factory glass, then started laying new glass on top. I did one layer just over each stiffener, then two layers over the whole area: That pic only shows the start but anyway, after getting all the glass wetted out I used a simple vacuum bag setup to squeeze it all together. I wrote about the process in more detail here: But it worked very well, highly recommend this if you do a fiberglass repair to the cowl. I can't think of any other way to hold this much area tightly against the surface while squeezing out excess epoxy. I ended up with a very thin, light and stiff patch that is similar to the factory glass. Here is the finished result (disregard the painting overspray): I know two layers (3 over the stiffeners) doesn't sound like a ton but as far as I could tell, the original cowl is only 3 or 4 layers total so I figured a 50% increase in thickness is significant. I'll let you know how it holds up After that I sprayed the whole thing with primer to fill in the weave on the new glass. Sanded and got that all smooth, then paint: Now it's the nicest looking part of the plane I used Lumabase primer (sandable) and Limco single stage urethane paint. "single stage" meaning you don't need to put a clear coat on it - just mix with a hardener, thin and spray. I have used this on other aircraft projects (including the wheel wells on this mooney) and been impressed with how well it's held up over time. It's also easy to spray and get nice results (no orange peel). I get it from a local automotive paint store.

If it is below 100º, fly. 100º-110º, only if I have to. Above 110º I really don't want to go.

Soul searching. Had plans to fly more this summer and I find myself once again pursuing other hobbies when it's hot. Had a chance to fly to Phoenix this week and aborted due to the forecast 100 deg temps on my departure day. Ended up driving and enjoying the A/C. Chose bladders over a tank reseal to avoid monsoon season and the triple digit journey to MN through NM and TX. Starting to wonder if it's time to hang it up. Planning to see what happens between now and my annual but it's making less and less sense to hang on to the plane just to maintain it and maintain flight currency. What are folks doing around the rest of the country in this heat?

I got a thermometer for my hangar. That was a mistake….

Good Day Mooney Owners, This is Ruth Griggs. Griggs Aircraft owner of the Mooney Bladders STC for C, D, E, F, G and J models. We currently have a set of 8 bladders in stock 64 usable gallon. P/N B800 Models C, D, E, or G If interested please contact me asap, they will not be here long. Thank you Ruthie Griggs 570-836-5757

I've had the opposite problem this year. Rain and TS basically every day. If I'm not available for the maybe two nice hours in a three week span, then I don't fly for weeks on end. Last year was so nice! I've flown less than half of the hours I'd flown by this time last year. It's so frustrating that I'm also wondering if maybe I should just do something else. It's almost impossible to stay current with these weather conditions. But I really do love to fly and can't imagine life on the ground. Maybe next year will be nice again.

I fly earlier but in Texas as is AZ, you roll with it if you want to fly. -Don

While I also have the TXi and GI 275, I think the cost versus interoperability can be an issue for some when doing an all Garmin panel where the interoperability isn't an issue. I find the TXi display looks better and I would do the same thing today (the G3X wasn't available for certified aircraft when I did my install) I can understand the cost argument. I also think having everything connected by HSDB with 100Mbps ethernet is definitely valuable as well and you don't run out of RS-232 ports.

So fill with air, and if the smaller leaks out, then eventually you will have 100% N2.

If you are going all Garmin, a lot of the goodness of the G500TXi is not used. The G3X is cheaper. I used the savings to put a 7" G3X on the right side.

OK, so it's not completely Mooney related, although it would move a Mooney around just fine. I wanted to share my early progress on a portable tug that would be universal and work on planes with wheel pants and probably tail wheel aircraft as well. I think I'm going to call it The Keep Your Pants On Tug. I'm most of the way there, I just need to get the handle and wiring done. It's going to break down into 3 pieces, the longest being 36" which could be split into 2 separate pieces, and should weigh in at about 30 pounds with batteries. What do you guys think? There was lots of good input on the Mooney tow bar, I'm hoping that will be the case here as well.

Try William Wobbe, a highly regarded Mooney CFI and MAPA instructor contact at William.wobbe@gmail.com

The last picture seems to show the left side of the fuselage cut out. Probably the rescue crew.

We'll find out soon enough... I can always make it longer or put it closer to the ground if I have to. I want avoid longer if possible.

@EricJ My flight school has two archers, both with ac. Here in Georgia, it gets mighty toasty, but those units at least take the edge off in cruise. They pretty much have to stay off during pattern work as they make the plane even more gutless. When I flew my first solo xc, I perspired mightily during that remote landing and taxi back because I didn't want to risk forgetting to turn it back off.

Look for avionics shops with small hangars and can’t have planes sitting around. ;-)

Yes on Santa Paula. In my opinion, a much more interesting airport. If you hit the right Sunday display day, take a walk up and down the hangar rows on the west side.....some fun stuff to see. Non towered airport and lots of activity on the weekends.......pay attention. Don't let the mountains on the south side of the airport intimidate you.............it's fun!!

Attached are 3 photos of what our airplane looks like with the two "cheek" side panels and the top cowling removed. The cheek panels are removed first and re-installed last. They're held on with 14, quarter-turn fasteners, that take about 60 seconds per side to fasten/un-fasten. The panels themselves are about 2' x 3' and weigh just a few pounds, it's a trivial, 1-man job to R&R them. The top cowl is removed after the cheek panels are off, and reinstalled before the cheek panels are put back in place. It's held in place by 5, quarter-turn fasteners; and 8, 10-32 machine screws. It takes about 60 seconds to remove assuming you have an electric screwdriver. It takes slightly longer to re-install, but only because it takes a few seconds to get it aligned on all four corners before fastening the screws. As I said, we essentially never remove the lower cowl. It's certainly not necessary to do so for an oil change. All in all, it's a really nice design for maintenance, second only to hinged cowls like on certain Cherokee and Bonanza models. The tradeoff vs. the M20J cowl is that it costs you about 7 knots, and a certain amount of ramp appeal.

That looks good. Much better than my little built-in flat light.

I've wondered if most of the noise comes from the pressure pulses off the prop coming back and hitting the windshield which re-radiates the noise. Pressing on the windshield from the inside seems to reduce the noise, but it's hard to tell while flying since you're changing your head position relative to the cockpit. Maybe get a passenger to press on the windshield while you fly? If you could find a sweet spot, maybe you could place a support/damping rod between the center post and the windshield. Anybody try this?

In Clarence's 2022 post, he noted that the old-style tube and rod end come un-drilled from Mooney. That is why he suggested drilling and installing larger diameter pins if the Factory would approve. As noted, the new style threaded ends make a lot more sense.

Read these two (2) posts. Specifically look at the comments by "Clarence". He owns and operates the Mooney Service Center, Tri-City Aero, in Ontario, Canada. He is also the Authorized Service Center for Cirrus and Diamond. He was a wealth of useful pragmatic advice before the bastards here ran him off with criticism. His MS name was "M20Doc" but his remaining comments just appear as "Guest" now.

Go to Santa Paula instead. Food is just as good, there is very little wait, and it's a great little airport with some of the cheapest fuel around.

Here are some helpful links toward maintaining your Shaw 431 fuel caps. First, I supply the full fluorosilicone fuel cap kit. It includes the big o-ring, little o-ring, and cotter pin to outfit one Shaw 431 (or 531) fuel cap. Second, the Marsh washer kits are worth it. They stop the metal on metal wear of the plunger handle on the metal washer that is in the fuel cap. These caps are over $2500 new from Textron last time I checked and you can't get new parts for them. They also make it much easier to open and close the fuel cap because they have a self lubricating property as the material wears into the plunger handle. Third, attached is a nice article from the American Bonanza Society magazine about taking care of the fuel caps. James ABS May 2017 Article.pdf

Amen - if you are really interested in details, you may end up doing all the research for your installer I got lucky with a guy who is willing to partner up and work with me while maintaining a high bar and pushing back when needed. Good combo.

I've learned that the rabbit hole is really deep.

LOL! Well, I'm afraid to tell you the line is there pretty much every day at Waypoint Cafe! Thing is, the line moves pretty fast; my wife and I only waited about 10 minutes on Sunday.

In AZ we just deal with it. I generally fly in the mornings and take the B-Kool along. I did a four-hour trip a week and a half ago which included stopping in Seligman for lunch, and then returning to DVT (Phoenix) afterward, and the B-Kool was still frozen enough to keep the cabin cool for landing and taxi to the pump and then the hangar. It's a lot less fun without that. Many of the flight schools around here have AC in their airplanes, even the Archers, but some don't. They still fly, they just suck it up. Kinda brutal, but they do it.

I'm familiar with that airplane and have talked to the owner before, once at the fuel pump when we happened to be there at the same time and then once or twice on other occasions. I've heard both that there was a bird strike in a flock of birds, and that there was fuel starvation. We'll probably have to wait for more reliable data or an official report.

I leave early and plan to be down before noon. Family can tolerate it fine where it’s cool at higher altitudes and we’re only on the ground a short time around noon to unpack. Lots of good trips!

Early morning breakfast runs Pick a destination near the coast; did Camarillo on Sunday morning.

Maybe next year Plan ahead for all attending 252/Encore owners with Bob.

One mistake I won’t make again, is to accept a quote and verbal timeline. My “3-4” month job took 15 months with no real explanation. Once it’s in pieces on the shop floor there isn’t much you can do.

But, but....nitrogen particles are larger and therefore less prone to leak out!

I like nitrogen, but being and old tech diver I put tri mix in my tires I like 78/0/21 Honestly the whole nitrogen thing in automobile and little airplane tires is silly. Nitrogen is preferred in Oleo struts because it has no moisture (corrosion) but in little airplanes it’s almost never used with seemingly no ill effects. Big airplanes often use it because of the pressures they are looking at. N2 bottles start at 3,000 PSI so if yiu need say 1650 to pre-charge an accumulator it’s easy with an N2 bottle, tougher with a compressor. Other than wasting your money putting N2 in your tires doesn’t hurt anything though.

I had my panel work done at Advanced AeroTech at GXY in Colorado. They have several locations (CO, FL, SD, AK) but would involve travel for you it sounds like. Competitive pricing and they did a great job. You can also reach out to Sarasota Avionics for a quote. If you have a great shop locally (which I did) I gave preference to that. It’s nice to develop a relationship with a shop that can help you with related and unrelated issues in the future. A paid hefty avionics bill goes a long way to you popping in seen favorably rather than just another hassle to work in!

This is why I buy Air Stop tubes. I probably add air once or twice a year.

You might consider the smaller EDM-900 on the pilot side of the panel... easier to integrate, especially for a "temp" install and it is still very readable in front of you versus putting it over on the right side where the-930 is likely the better choice. I put mine in 9 years ago and would choose it again. I also plan to keep it during my TBD panel upgrade whenever I choose an autopilot and PFD path as I feel it is better than any other option out there.

I think the horse died on page one of this topic. If not for sure by page two and I definitely didn’t see any movement by page three, for sure no breathing by page four, no pulse by page five, flies and rotting smell by page six. Only bones now on page seven.

I work at BETA Technologies, the electric aircraft manufacturing building you all parked in front of. Saw all planes outside and did some googling to figure out what was going on. Just wanted to say hi and share my enjoyment of seeing all of your planes lined up!

The teflon seals are coming soon. I have been faced with a number of obstacles which I have been working my way through. If there are others wanting some of these seals PM me here on Mooneyspace so that I have everyone's information, name, address, e-mail, phone number in one place. John Breda

Short answer - continuing the approach. He failed to pick a prudent go/no go point to assess the quality of the approach and act on it. If one is going to engage in operations that necessitate reduced margins, the go/no go decision point should be made well ahead of entering the reduced margin environment. I am speculating that like so many other Mooney pilots, he carried a surplus of energy to the runway. We’ve all pooched an approach. I am also speculating that the excess energy was recognizable but the approach to landing continued . The go around was likely initiated in a panic with the airplane having too much energy to stop but insufficient energy to clear the trees even at full throttle. I hope I’m wrong about this accident but it’s not like this is an unusual scenario. I have made hundreds of Mooney landings into a number of <2000’ strips, sometimes with > <1500’ available for landing. I’ve had a few pucker inducing situations. My SOP has evolved in such a way that I expect to go around, not land. As I cross the threshold, I only abort the go around in favor of a landing if speed and descent rate are in a very narrow range of acceptability.

The tires are 125$ but the tubes are 200$. So changing them twice as often is false economy.

Could 3D print everything, too. This cries out to be OPP.

Embarrassingly I just flat spotted my tire the first time. It has a flat spot no cord showing trying to determine to have it changed or wait till I get home. Gotta always stay on your game or stupid stuff happens D

Just for reference when looking at the baby step approach. My costs for the upgrade below $28000 and would have been cheaper if I had it all done in one shot.

Good afternoon, My name is John Herman and I am VP Sales & Marketing with Tempest Aero Group. I apologize that you had an issue related to our fine wire plugs. I believe this to be an isolated case, however, we take all cases such as this very seriously. We strive to manufacture the highest quality products possible and therefore if there is an issue such as this we want to know about it and investigate to assure it never happens again. In cases like this, it can be one or several factors that caused the problem and to the best of our ability, we will examine the plug and operating environment to determine the root cause. Please contact me at john@tempestaero.com and we will discuss an arrangement to get the plug sent back to us, as well as send you a set of replacement plugs at no charge as a customer courtesy. Again, we are dedicated to manufacturing quality products and providing a great customer experience. I apologize that we have not met these standards in your eyes, but you have my word we will do everything possible to rectify the situation. Best regards, John

I literally have never been more jealous of an airplane. That thing is exactly as I would do it, paint scheme and all. Wow that blue is incredible! Great job!!