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Alright, the first part is done (starboard, before finishing, see pictures). Quality-wise, I am now about 90% there (some minor cosmetic flaws in the weave on the visible side and some "dry" spots on the edges, ~1mm misalignment of the inner and outer part). Tomorrow, I'll make a fit-check on the airplane, but am not very confident. Here's what I've learned: 1.) 4 layers of 250g/m^2 for each side (inner and outer) = 8 layers total is too thick (~2-3 mm) to mimic the aluminium sheet metal part, so I have to reduce to 4 layers total 2.) Even small misalignment when bonding the inner and outer shell leads to undesirable distortions of the final part. I will make a better run with these lessons learned. It takes a bit longer, but I am confident, it is worth it.

Yep center section was easy to take out. Thx @N201MKTurbo

When mine was making metal I talked to both the local Lycoming rep and the rep from AES, the shop that had done an IRAN on my motor about 100 hours or so previous with the previous owner. Both were very consistent in stating, "Keep running it, keep an eye on it." That's basically the conclusion from the Lycoming SB for cases that don't quite rise to the level of specific advice. People are sometimes shocked that you can have up to 1/4 teaspoon of metal and not really need to do anything. Apparently the number of cases that self-clearance or just don't present much risk until the failing part is obvious is pretty high, so unless it's making the significant amounts of metal quantified in the SB, you're better off to just keep running it and keep an eye on it. Spalling lifters and cams generally present a very slow, soft failure of just slowly diminishing performance. There are some minimally invasive techniques to check for worn cams by checking valve lift, so if you start to get diminished performance that's a good thing to check. As others have mentioned, checking the oil suction screen (which is separate from the pressure filter) is not a bad idea since it'll catch the really big chunks and will let you know if there's a bearing disintegrating or something. Often that's accompanied by flakes in the filter, which you're not seeing, but it may still be worth checking. If the amount of metal in the filter increases in subsequent oil changes, then further action may be warranted.

Wouldn’t matter, I don’t go to the plane without both. I’ve gone through iOS and Android, worked thru six or seven EFBs and have been using digital flight planning/mission tools as far back as PFPS 4.0…about 20 years now, I guess. I’ve found the “best” platform/form factor/tool is the one you’re willing to learn, whether you’re paying for the app or paid to use a specific app. I’d hazard most pilots that self brief via their service of choice don’t realize unless they connect that service with 1800wxbrief.com there’s no FAA record of that self-briefing having been accomplished. I’d also hazard to guess most folks would rate Garmin Pilot and ForeFlight as having near parity. Except GP is available on android. And that version hasn’t let the user add a “PROC” to the flight plan in the EFB even though it’s been requested for at least six years now. Even the nifty “pack” feature some EFBs use is…an interesting concept. I have a dedicated tablet for my EFB, so all the FAA data charts, supplements, references, etc., all of it for the 50 US states gets downloaded for each flight. Some, but not all, NOTAMS, too. But most of that stuff that can’t be downloaded is available over ADS-B. Speaking of NOTAMS, that’s one thing I think FF and GP do better than iFly from a UI/UX perspective. But I get 15 months of iFly for 30% or more less than 12 months of FF or GP. When I do my CFI/II as a third career, I’ll spring for copies of both and likely drop iFly simply because those two are the lion’s share of the EFB space and I think it’s incumbent on an instructor to be proficient in the tools the student is going to use. Apologies for the long-windedness.

I just went through this: what I found in the filter: what it came from: did an IRAN with new cam, DLC lifters, cylinders, bearings etc… -Don

I have both XM and ADSB available but I display XM weather 100% of the time. It’s just a better product. The fact that I can get a good idea of what’s going on down range is incredibly valuable. As @LANCECASPER points out, in aviation terms the cost of XM weather is insignificant. I don’t have the subscription for music, weather only. I think it’s well worth the subscription price.

Wifi only Android tablet. I can use my phone as a hotspot if necessary then swap over to my Stratux for a dedicated GPS feed. Since my EFB (iFlyEFB) is resident on both the phone and the tablet, I plan & file off the web interface, then sync/download the plan to both phone and tablet. When I pick up my clearance, I usually just update the tablet if necessary; the phone copy exists solely as a back up. I also keep an up to date copy of Avare on the tablet so I have a backup EFB if it really came down to it. Probably overkill, but Avare is free and simple enough to use in a pinch. The likelihood of both devices on different OS and multiple EFB apps failing simultaneously is pretty low.

Are you sure you had a thorough pre buy done? Between that janky panel wiring, the corrosion under the fuel cap, simple things like unplugged connectors being missed, I’d be having some serious words with who ever you paid to do that inspection. Stuff like that should have been caught and noted by even the most unscrupulous mechanic. I have to agree with the sentiments on the paint job. While it may look nice from 15 feet, the close up photos that you’ve posted show a paint job that was hastily applied, and where the preparation is in question. I understand you may have an emotional attachment to this aircraft, but don’t take it personally. People are trying to help you out, and it seems as though you may be blinded by rose colored glasses. It’s important with something as complex as an aircraft, to which you are entrusting you life and the lives of your family and others, that you be vigilant with stuff that you find, no matter how insignificant it may seem. It’s not so much the corrosion on the fuel neck that’s the issue itself, that piece can be replaced. It’s that the things which were missed were so obvious, what else is wrong with the aircraft that you haven’t found yet? I have a hard time believing that airplane was stored in a hangar, unless it didn’t have a roof on it. I suspect there is much more corrosion to be found behind access panels, etc. I hope you got one hell of a deal on it, there are unfortunately lots of garbage airplanes out there where buyers are conned into ownership by a fancy looking paint job. Someone went to the trouble to spend all that money on paint and a J model windshield, but couldn’t be bothered to install the radios properly? What else was done half-assed?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Lundström

I would drill out the rivets holding that center bracket in place, remove the bracket, replace the nut plates and replace them then rivet it back in. I would probably make a new bracket without the antenna hole in it.

More financial risk compared to what can be recovered from salvage. The pilots and pilot behavior are probably about the same in each.

This is what the prototype process is all about! Learning what works and what doesn't. Great work so far!

Occupational Health and Safety Professional for over 40 years here. That is not "his" idea. It comes from research done in the 1930s. by a guy named Heinrich. He studied a bunch of similar mishaps (we don't call accidents) and came up with the Heinrich triangle, where there is a ratio of 300 to 29 to 1. That is 300 near misses or minor injuries to 29 serious injuries to 1 major injury or death of similar mishaps. And that, as you mentioned, fixing the near misses or minor injuries tends to prevent the serious and major injuries. The problem is, getting people to report those minor mishaps. This is why most professionals are against safety incentive programs. That is, if we don't have any mishaps, people get a bonus or such. This just makes people hide the minor mishaps to not screw up the bonus, and the first time you find out there my be an issue is with a serious or major mishap. Sort of the idea behind the ASRS system. In general, most mishaps are caused by the unsafe acts of the people involved. From willfully violating safety protocols to "hey, watch this" situations. About 85% are from this. about 10 - 15% are unsafe conditions. That could be something broke or something was setup wrong. Only about 1 - 1.5% of mishaps are truly accidents (why we call them mishaps). And those are the ones you can't do anything about. In the class of acts of God.

I think he was referencing that mishap where the guy dropped his power bank. Then tossed it on the back seat. While taxiing out, it burst into flames.

Yes. FYI for others, he is talking about Formula One AIR racers. Not F1 cars. How to go over 200 MPH on an O-200 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One_Air_Racing

Best for comparison is to give: Liability and the limits (1M/100K or 1M/.200K or 1M smooth, etc) Insured Hull Value Hull Premium The last two can be used to compute the Hull Percentage they are charging. The quote I got on my plane is (from @Parker_Woodruff ) Liability - 1M smooth - $1862. 1M/100K would be $1424 Hull Value is $300,000 (M20K 252 with new avionics) Hull Premium is $3868 Hull rate is 1.32% Total $5829 2000 hours, 700 retract, 200 in type. And they quoted Non-Owned coverage for $1M liability and $100K hull at ZERO cost. YMMV

Thanks for what you are doing for fellow Mooniacs ! I don't have family contacts, but the pilot name was released to press today, https://www.observatoiredeleurope.com/le-contributeur-suedois-de-la-baie-de-pirate-de-pirate-carl-lundstrom-decede-en-slovenie_a65169.html

I’m running both Foreflight and Garmin Pilot. The comparisons are interesting. Yes, pretty much parity, but there are discreet functions that one tends to do better than the other. i used to have iFly. Great app. In my case I dropped it because most every airplane I fly or teach in has Garmin Connect capability or a Garmin/FF compatible portable so I don’t have to pull out my portable GPS/ADS-B unit. Those are incompatible with iFly.

There’s a difference from what some are discussing. Unless it’s unusual, your WiFi only Android tablet has internal GPS capability. If your Stratux craps out you still have GPS. A WiFi only iPad does not have internal GPS. Other than that, like you, I have been using my phone’s hotspot capability for my tablet since the days you needed a third-party app to access it.

I don’t recall that. When I bought my first iPad (Gen 1, 14 years ago), I recall the cost of the cellular upgrade and an external GPS puck to be roughly equivalent. (I decided on the puck rather than the cellular.)

When I had to choose my backup attitude indicator I had the choice of G5 versus GI275, and chose the G5. I had the opportunity to fly briefly with aGI275 equipped C172 and found that, although very capable, the 275 seems to be very small for the amount of information it can display. It felt crowded and polluted (for an ADI). I think the VOR/CDI/MFD GI275 is good and never seen the engine version in person. My thoughts were: I will have to rely on that thing if my G3X fail, so let's make sure I have a clear easy picture of attitude with less clutter in front of me. But that thought is for a BACKUP instrument. If you're choosing it for primary, then other considerations apply: which AP, navigator and other equipment you'll have installed. The GI275 is way more compatible with other things: for example it has a version that can drive analog attitude driven autopilots like the KAP 150.

If you haven't removed a suction filter before here is the secret- It is in 2 pieces, the cap and the screen tube You can't get the entire thing to come out or go in together in 1 piece Remove the cap from the tube and then the tube will have room to come out of its hole. Make sure you check this screen Now the hard part is to resafety wire the cap When you go to remove it- CUT THE WIRE OFF ------DON'T TRY TO TWIST IT TO BREAK IT All you will do is pull the hole out on the crankcase instead of breaking the safety wire.

The music, news, and even the old radio shows are with the minimal cost. Around busy areas I don't use it much, but when on cross country trips when you have to ping ATC to make sure you haven't lost them, I use it all the time.

Its also statistics. I had someone once give a lecture on construction workplace safety. One of his ideas is this: Major accidents are largely random and unpredictable, so they are hard to avoid. BUT we know they happen at a relatively constant rate compared to minor accidents. SO, if we can cut down on small accidents we automatically cut down on major accidents. In construction thats like avoiding "harmless" things like splinters, hitting thumbs, dirt in you eyes, tripping over things etc. In aviation its all the little things that don't really matter but make us look less professional.

I never tried to set up the voice part. But I found the checklist builder to be OK, but not the most efficient.

100k for mine.

No I referenced "a little further north" as being north from KFFC (Peachtree City, GA) which KGVL is (actually NE) 039/66nm

@Aaviationist It's hard to take your "advice" seriously when you seem to base it on a lot of doomsday assumptions made with very little information, and you're not reading the little information I am providing. I'm trying not to give a novel of a backstory on every question I ask but I do try to add relevant information. For example, I said the housing on the wingtip light was broken and replaced with the non-matching part, I didn't say I had the mechanic do because he had one on hand for cheap. I assume the old one got bumped at some point and it was cracked, again, no big deal. You assume this is evidence of something far more nefarious for some reason. All I asked was for advice on refinishing the housings, that's it. The trim boot isn't in great shape but it's there, and again, you're making weird assumptions about multiple paint jobs and coming up with interesting backstory on nav troubleshooting. The connector was clearly on when it was painted, and disconnected recently, as everything was clean. My mechanic opened up that area and showed me during the prebuy/annual, they must have disconnected the antenna for whatever reason and missed it when putting the cover back on. What's wrong with just saying "hey that jack screw boot looks like it's in bad shape, might want to check it out" without implying that complete structural failure is imminent based on half a photo? Maybe just chill out. The guy I bought the plane from is pushing 90 years old and he's had it since the late 90's, there's going to be a lot of little things that got deferred over the years. I have multiple mechanics that I talk to on a regular basis. I like sharing my "journey" but I don't really need or appreciate your theorycrafting nor does it add anything valuable to the conversation.

It will do VNAV/ILS approaches. It will NOT do a managed descent from altitude where the AP/IFD decides when to start down and automatically starts down. It will indicate where to start the descent and the rate is a changeable setting in the IFD. It will do altitude capture once you start down and set the altitude. It will not do crossing restrictions in the descent. I’m KFC150/IFD440-540/G600 glass.

160K for mine

No, that connector and cable was painted (instead of taking the 30 seconds to cover it) and then, at some point disconnected, likely during painting as well based on what it looks like, then left in there for however long. we know it’s been that way for a while because someone tried to troubleshoot it by swapping the cables from the splitter, leaving them connected backwards. There is no reason to do that otherwise, or, it never worked. (Because the cable in the tail was not connected) the paint on the connector k bus is still there suggesting it’s not been worn off (or even marked) by assembly or disassembly Next, the ad for that airplane says there is no corrosion, but your fuel cap is very heavily corroded. there are a lot of things you have posted in your journey so far that don’t really make sense. This is just one of them. Why was one wingtip light painted and the other not? Why didn’t they bother to cover that cable and connector when they painted it? Is that corrosion behind the jack screw? It’s hard to tell as the picture is blurry. that cover over the jack screw is shredded. And we know it’s been there for a while and likely in that same condition for a while because that too appears to have inexplicably painted as well. You need to have someone who knows what they’re doing look very closely at this airplane. If it’s had 21 annuals since painted I’d be having a hard look at everything in that 21 years because it clearly has not been inspected back there.

A bit dramatic there, fella It's had ~21 annuals since being painted. This connector was probably missed on the last annual, nbd

What I like about this as well...is that you caught your three mistakes. The issue occurs when you don't.

Theme

On another forum, a pilot friend of the mishap pilot reported that (paraphrasing): the mishap pilot thought he lost a cylinder at 3500’, was astonished at the vibration, and immediately shut it down. He dead sticked it to that landing. Well done. Along that route, it looks like the prop picked the best available time and place to depart. I’m not a socal flyer, but from ForeFlight, the coast looks pretty inhospitable for a forced landing. -dan

Just a word of caution until you get the gas cap rim changed If water can get in then gas can get out on the low pressure area of the wing You might find on an upcoming flight that you port overboard a lot of your fuel from that tank all of a sudden. Being that it is the right side you won't see it until its too late. Out of sight out of mind during the flights. Don't get caught running out of gas.

I’m pretty sure that centrifugal force would preclude it from coming even close to the airplane. I would think vibration damage could be bad enough to rip the engine from the plane.

A slightly different sort of minimum I learned years ago: If more than 3 mistakes happen before take-off, then don't fly that day. (Or if its important, work out what you'll do to mitigate that you're not in the right headspace) I mean mistakes like forgetting a fuel drain, trying to start the engine without priming it, making a radio call before turning on the radio. The point being that we all occasionally make mistakes, but when there is a pattern, then we are likely to do something serious unless we change it. And it might just mean "you're stressed and dehydrated, drink some Gatorade and take 10 minutes to focus on the flight and stop thinking of work"

Price an OH for this engine. Just make sure you are sitting down in something comfortable, and have someone around who can help you a when needed before looking at the total cost!

I can see a benefit from this for beginners but I don't like this whole written set in stone type minimums. It's all relative. For example crosswind... I wouldn't put a specific number on it. It depends on the size of the runway, if it's a steady or gusty crosswind, takeoff or landing? On a short narrow runway, my tolerance for an extreme crosswind is much lower than on a long wide runway. I find ceilings and visibility to be a funny one as well. Depends on the terrain, approaches available. Heck it even depends on each other. Lower ceilings with great visibility is a bit different than somewhat higher ceilings with terrible visibility. Tolerance for turbulence also depends on things like passengers, expected duration, fatigue. There are days when you just aren't up for taking a beating as much as other days. I can definitely say that there have been some brutally difficult "nicer" days and some fairly easy "very low" days. Lately my minimums have been mostly guided by personal condition more than the flying. Too much work/child/family exhaustion makes me less energetic/focused to be taking it to the lower limit. My absolute biggest risk-mitigation tool though is to care less and make loose enough plans that the flying is never mandatory. Things like leave a day early, be ok coming back a day late, or even scrap the trip because there would be too much pressure. The personal minimums go right out the window when get-there-itis takes over. Managing and preventing get-there-itis goes a far longer way than writing down some numbers. If you're not in a hurry to be there, you'll "know" if things are within personal mins or not on a case by case basis.

I'm in the middle of a plastic repair & restore process right now. I recommend S.E.M. products, specifically their soap, adhesion promoter & paint. My results have been great. Just follow their directions. By all means get a respirator AND goggles because the adhesion promoter & paint fumes are horrible. You'll need nitrile (or neoprene) gloves and unless you want your finger to cramp up get a "Can Gun" aerosol spray trigger from Aircraft Spruce. Paint on a calm day ideally between 70* to 85*F. It's best to apply several very light coats (up to 7 or 8 in my case). It dries very fast but wait the directed amount of time between coats. If you've never spray painted before watch a YouTube video for proper technique. It's not difficult but I practiced on an old cardboard box just 3 times until I had it perfected. Leave your finished work to cure for a day or two before handling. Most if not all odors will have dissipated by then unless the ambient temperatures have been cool. Fun Facts - S.E.M. paint is expensive but totally worth it. IIRC McFarlane sells a limited number of colors and had it for a good price. Unfortunately, not the specific color I wanted. O'Relly Auto Parts was pricey and had supply chain issues. Amazon saved the day and was by far the least expensive but be aware they don't have returns on paint due to it being HazMat. Calculate your square footage necessary and order conservatively knowing you can always order more if needed. For cracks in the plastic, I initially tried "Satellite City" instant glue, specifically their "Hot Stuff" and "Super 'T'" product. It has the viscosity of water which I found difficult to control and the results were not what I'd hoped for. I ended up using 7 Quarical Easy ABS Repair Tips for Easy Plastic Solutions which is an all-in-one pre-mixed ABS solution which proved to be outstanding. My headliner had some very bad cracks, splits & holes The ABS resin resembles tar and is applied from the back so no will ever see it. Time will tell if it holds up but I'm very optimistic. If you need more specifics just send me a DM. It'd be easier to explain it on the phone. BTW great looking Mooney. Wow!!!

There are several reasons I have kept my XM, but the most important to me is the ability to look out a few hundred miles. I have used that many times for in-air flight planning in light of rapidly changing or unforecast conditions at a destination a long way away.

I have both but I keep my G3X default (and on my iPad in ForeFlight) to showing SXM always. I almost never look at the ADS-B WX in my own airplane. (But I use it often in aircraft that I instruct in) SXM weather is just better. More detail, further out, faster refresh, etc. Now, maybe that isn't worth it for the type of flying you do, but it depends. But, as a Central Florida pilot who is always contending with thunderstorms, one feature of SXM that I find absolutely crucial is the ability to look at both Composite and Base Reflectivity. ADS-B does not offer Base Reflectivity, but that is the picture that shows you better where the really nasty stuff is. I don't particularly care about precip falling up in the flight levels. Particularly after the thunderstorms have begun to dissipate, the Base vs. Composite picture can tell two very different stories. I also appreciate that SXM has the storm cell attributes, etc. It has a few nice little features like that.

I keep the basic XM subscription (list price $29) and an xm audio infotainment subscription. For a long trip XM shows a nice nexrad radar picture across the country - much better than the blocks of farther out ADSB. In the grand scheme $29/mo. isn't even a rounding error on my aviation expenses. Sirius XM plans: https://www.siriusxm.com/aviation/packages?intcmp=Global Nav_NA_www:aviation:plans_Plans Legacy XM plans: https://www.siriusxm.com/content/dam/sxm-com/pdf/aviation/XMWX_Aviation.pdf Differences between SXM and ADS-B: https://www.siriusxm.com/aviation/siriusxm-ads-b?intcmp=Global Nav_NA_www:aviation:plans_SXMvsADSB

I'll be the contrarian...when I upgraded my panel I put in a SXM 69A so that I could have XM weather on my panel as well as XM music. For context, I have an all glass panel and so can use XM on G500TXi and GTN 750Xi. I've found that XM always bumps up the cost at renewal, so it always requires calling to find out what the best package they are offering (NEVER let XM autorenew!). Usually try to get a 6- or 12-month package to see what the best price break will be. Also if you're planning on being down for a bit (maintenance or just not flying) you can put your subscription on pause so you're not paying for it during that time a simple call lets you choose pause and choose reactivation vs leave it indefinite and have to call back to restart. I usually go with the XM pilot express There are some product difference and in general the radar data is usually more current. The coverage map is different which is important for trips down to Caribbean/Mexico/Canada. The satellite vs ground line of sight reception is different. But there's also overlap with ADS-B/FIS-B. If you're a VFR only pilot and usually have short flights around your local area, FIS-b is great. I don't think that XM is orders of magnitudes better, but there are a couple of times that XM feed worked/works better for me. Given weather is a GA pilot equalizer, it's nice to have a little more enhanced and timely product. But as anyone will tell you, neither products are useful for navigating storm cells and aren't near the same as in flight radar. Sometimes 2 is1, 1 is none...meaning it's nice when I need it to have a back up. Of course I'm usually doing most of my weather prep on the ground using ForeFlight Imagery and https://aviationweather.gov/ So in flight this is more confirming that things have changed as I expected or moving the same direction and speed as anticipated. Occasionally it encourages me to take a fuel stop...but usually it just confirms that my plan is still GTG. I'm not flying on the ragged edge of weather anyways. https://www.sportys.com/blog/datalink-weather-for-pilots-ads-b-vs-siriusxm/ https://www.siriusxm.com/aviation/packages https://www.siriusxm.com/aviation/siriusxm-ads-b?intcmp=Global Nav_NA_www:aviation:overview_SXMvsADSB For the ADS-b vs XM discussion it's more dependent on HOW you use it and WHERE.

Does anyone have insight on what Garmin is up to this year? I ask because there hasn't been a new software release for the G3X Touch in 5-6 months for either the STC or experimental s/w. I've had mine since September 2023 and had done 3-4 updates, one about every other month or so, through September 2024. And now nothing. This was during the period of addressing the GFC500 servo issues but they were also migrating other capabilities from the experimental s/w. I'm hoping to see more of that, most notably the EIS normalize mode and programmable dynamic engine instrument indications (that one's a stretch, I know). I'm wondering if there is any activity on the G3X software development team. Or is there something else in the mill that is getting the development effort focus? I'm not looking for speculation. I'd like to hear from someone who can share any available non-IP first hand info on what Garmin has in store for us.

Ironically, I have those unsealed gaps around my starter and left alternator and yet my CHTs are even and well controlled. The right alternator has seals around it. In my case I'm not going to fix what isn't broken, but I can see how adding some seals in those areas could make a difference for an engine with cooling problems.

Fresh from the shop -

Don Maxwell may disagree: https://www.donmaxwell.com/fluctuating-ammeters