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Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/12/2018 in all areas

  1. Today, Sunday, I was fortunate to be able to call on Don to rectify a number of airworthiness issues a new owner has with his Ovation enroute to Tucson. The owner had a PPI by a non Mooney shop of high regard, and they missed so many things it is frightening. One would think a functional fine swiss watch DG, a current transponder check, a non leaking fuel pump, in spec donuts, fuel gauges that sort of worked somewhat, CB's that didnt continually pop, all 6 cylinders firing and fuel injectors free of debris causing serious blue staining of the cylinders might be caught by a PPI of any substance, but they were not. Paul and Don and Adam jumped on this today after I spoke to Don. The new first time owner was ignorant of what it takes to have a proper PPI and he got hosed...not so much by the former owner but by the lack of a good PPI. The new owner has just heaped on a huge unanticipated expense because of a non professional PPI. Today, I am sitting AOG in Denton Tx waiting for the shop to open to rebuild the leaking fuel pump tomorrow AM. I can only hope the icing that is now forecast for tomorrow doesnt develop or it will be another 2 or thee days to get out here. Thanks for the a$$busting today, Sunday, Don, Paul Adam and the rest of the topnotch Maxwell aviation team. You, JD, Clarence, Lynn, and a few other shops are a treasure to the owners of Mooneys.
    4 points
  2. Thanks to everyone for pointers. I spoke with Paul for a bit on the phone. Turns out we live in the same vicinity. Thanks Paul for your time and wisdom. My thinking has changed on a few things from talking with you. I am now a little more open to an E or an F and less focused on the C. Also, you helped put things into perspective regarding panels, autopilots, engines, paint and interiors. So my options have expanded in some significant ways for finding the plane I want. Thanks so much! I'll let you guys know how the search goes.
    3 points
  3. The hanger elves come around when there is beer in the fridge.
    3 points
  4. I just bought my Sensorcon too! 20% off just like mentioned!
    3 points
  5. In addition to Dave's pieces, I'll try to add a bit: Let's have a quick look at torque and power before we get too far: Torque you are probably familiar with via the use of a torque wrench. Is is a measure of how hard you can turn something, and the typical example is one of a bucket in a well, where the drum on which the rope is would has a diameter, and the handle with which to wind also has a length. It doesn't matter about the diameter or the length of the handle for the amount of torque required to hold the bucket in one position, and to hold it stationary required no power, you have to apply so much force over a lever of a length which is why the unit is lb/ft or kg/m - like a see-saw used in the CofG calculations, you can apply half the force at double the distance for the same effect. If you want to move the bucket up, you need to exert not only torque, but maintain this over a period of time. So you could have a "low geared" well lift, where you wind the handle lots of times to move the bucket up one foot, or a "high geared" one when maybe only a fraction of a turn is required, but in the latter case you would need to apply a lot more torque. Power comes from multiplying the torque (which is already a product of the force and the lever length) and the rate of rotation, so consequently something at 0 RPM is making zero power, but back to the well, a tiny motor with very little torque but running through a reduction gearbox maybe able to lift the bucket - however a big motor at low RPM may have the torque to lift it without the gearbox. At the end of the day, if they lift the same weight bucket over the3 same distance in the same time, then they are making the same power. You can put a torque wrench in the vice and hang a few bags of sugar on it, and you can get a torque reading, but there's no power being produced! One way you can get power by burning fuel. You can burn fuel in a variety of ways, many of which are terribly inefficient, but if you want to extract more power (at a given efficiency) in a normal IC engine, there are two ways to do it: a) turn the engine faster (so it draws in more fuel and air) - as long as the torque doesn't diminish to much, as power=torque x more RPM ie more power (lift the bucket up faster) b) Ram more air and fuel in - this will (should!) give us more torque, so again power=more torque x RPM ie more power again (lift a heavier bucket up in the same time) Problem with a) is we need to keep the prop tips sub-supersonic (or the prop goes very inefficient) There's loads of reading out there on this too, but in summary, we need to keep the tips below about 0.85 mach or so. As the speed of sound is dependant on temperature (not air pressure!), then at high altitudes (in the cold), the speed of sound is lower, and a 75" dia prop (as we have on the Bravo), with a high TAS (which adds to the tip speed) we can get quite close even at 2400RPM. If you get up in the (very!) cold you can try this by setting max power at 2400, and then trying 2575 - if the tips get over the critical mach then you will actually slow down. (Obviously I hope, race/consumer engines for cars/bikes etc have different constraints) Problem with b) is you can only ram in so much with the compression before detonation comes a problem. The effective overall compression ratio is not that terrible, just some of the compression has taken place outside of the cylinder. A NA engine at FL180 only gets half the ambient sea level pressure, but a turbo'd one can get sea level or more, so that 10:1 ratio N/A is effectively 5:1 at FL180. In a turbo'd engine you can get the whole sea level pressure, but you're constrained by all sorts of other stuff such as the incoming charge temperature that it is principally the engine designers job to manage. With all that out of the way, we could over simplify things to say that if you burn fuel in the most efficient way possible (ie about 25-50 LOP) in an IC engine, for rotating shaft output, then the amount of power is dependant on how much fuel you lob in, hence the figures in Don's spreadsheet. Problem we have is primarily cooling and the speed of combustion, and to manage these the designer has specified an overly rich mixture at high power settings. This means we don't burn the fuel efficiently - we are putting extra in to cool the combustion and get a burn speed that allows us to get more power, albeit at an efficiency cost. Conversely, at low power, we are still making all the ancillaries and internals do their work, and these have an overhead (eg, take all the spark plugs out of your engine and spin it over by hand - hard work isn't it! Now spin it at 2400RPM and see how much power that needs!) That power is gone no matter how much fuel you put in. This is one of the factors the engine designer copes with for the idle speed - the engine might be making 10 or 20% of maximum rate power from the fuel ingested, but so much is used to internally before there is any to spare - if he makes the idle any slower, then there is not enough power to run the internal before we get anything useful for the prop, and hence the engine stops. The graph can be converted into BSFC (Brake Specific Fuel consumption), which is a measure of efficiency - how much power do you get from each pound of fuel. (Lots of reading out there on this too is you are interested) Really efficient engines (diesels) get down to maybe 0.35, gasoline engines rarely do better than 0.38, and even then only at a very controlled output. By converting the units in the graph we get a peak efficiency in the AF1A/B of about 0.45 or so which is pretty rubbish, but it is an abysmal 0.6 at max power, and over 0.5 below 50% power. The "sweet spot" for efficiency in that graph is thus in the 175-215BHP area, and outside of that it is starting to drop off Some of the good gas aero engines are getting to about 0.41 - 0.42 or so, only 0.04-0.03 difference, but this does represent 10% Hope that helps! Ben
    3 points
  6. I don’t know much about airplanes, but when I want to get “laminar flow” in the bathroom I use this: https://www.squattypotty.com/shop/poop-better/classic-ecco/ It lowers my “coefficient of drag” at least 50% if you know what I mean. The side effect might be that you get less time for your calculations.
    2 points
  7. The truth is a reputable, local machine shop is likely as able to handle a muffler weld as anyone. Many would likely choose to pass on fear of liability. Things get more complicated with more complex turbo exhaust systems.
    2 points
  8. This very sad crash is relevant to this discussion. In this case, the shark was another plane landing opposite direction. I’m sure any number of things could have broken this accident chain, but being we’ll practiced at reconfiguring from landing configuration to climb configuration might have prevented this accident.
    2 points
  9. You bet it does, Clarence. Again, the owner wasnt taking the cheap way out, he just didn't know any better and the shop that did the PPI was less than diligent . I plan to have a few words with a few people when I can speak about it without resorting to my "hood" vocabulary. Meanwhile, it looks like wx will keep me eating Texas BBQ for the next few days. Thanks for all you do, Clarence. Your a pro.
    2 points
  10. Met Hoover twice. He is genuinely one of the nicest person I have ever met. He didn’t have to take the time to speak with me, but he did and was engaging and interesting. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    2 points
  11. Approaching right downwind to 32R at Boeing Field KBFI
    2 points
  12. John, Jimmy Garrison at All American in Spring Branch TX probably has more Mooneys than you'll find in Kerrville! At any given time they'll have a wide range of models at a range of price points. Well worth a call. https://www.allamericanaircraft.com/default.htm
    2 points
  13. I have heard the Above Statement for Years. “Dont grease your Prop, an it won’t Leak” If care is taken when lubricating a Hartzell Propeller, you will have no Problems. The Hartzell uses a Quad-Seal that Ride on a Teflon strip on the blade for a sealing surface. One or Both have been Compromised with this Propeller. It happens over time. With the Above Propeller there is an Option to use a different type of seal vs the Quad Seal as it is very hard on the Teflon. That seal is the C3317-340-8. Be sure an ask for that seal when your Propeller is being repaired, Iys the Same Oring used in the TurboProps, an it works very well. I would opt for the reseal on this Propeller vs the O/H. There is about a $1500-$1800 dollar difference between the two.
    2 points
  14. The ear yokes broke on my headset. Bose does not sell the parts, you have to send the whole set in for a $225 repair. Found a guy selling 3d printed replacements for under $50 delivered for a pair. They're great! I don't think you could break them without really trying. If I had other sets of X headsets, I'd replace all the yokes right now. If you're interested, email zack3dprints@gmail.com
    1 point
  15. I was looking over my logbooks and noticed that my nose wheel tire is 14 years old, my left main is 15 years old and my right main is 10 years old. Two of the three (nose wheel and right main) looked pretty good but I am still putting 3 new Michelin Condors and Michelin Airstop tubes on since I have to add air every few weeks, so I don't trust the tubes. Also I would rather change them at home rather than being forced to change them on a trip. Of course one thing leads to another. Since the wheels are off I am changing brake linings and replacing o-rings in the brake calipers.
    1 point
  16. I was talking about fuel consumption for a fixed ground distance, rather than fuel consumption per hour. My thinking was Fuel consumption = fuel flow x time Fuel flow = Power = Drag x airspeed (or airspeed ^2) Time = distance / (airspeed - headwind) Like I said, you will certainly save time (much time) by going faster into a headwind, but you will (almost) always use less fuel by going slower (unless you're fighting headwinds that are 100 knot headwinds in a Mooney). What I haven't done yet is graph fuel consumption as a function of airspeed to see how much of a difference it makes, e.g. do you just save a tiny bit of fuel or a significant amount? The only data point I do know is that if your airspeed is equal to the headwind, your fuel consumption would be infinite since you'd never get there!
    1 point
  17. Changing them out is a no brainer based on those ages. I put it in the cheap insurance against having a bad day category.
    1 point
  18. Its classed as a MINOR repair. An IA is not required. Only an A&P and a log book sign off. You don't want me to weld it either even though, at one time , I was pretty good at it. Its a lose-able skill. Just like flying, use it or lose it.
    1 point
  19. Count your blessings, @Shadrach! Removing the left magneto from my C is a 2-man job, as the battery box must come off of the firewall, as the magneto won't come out between the engine mount and firewall otherwise, and the box mount has four screws into the pilot's footwell, held on with nuts . . . . With the battery out of the way, access to the left magneto is easy-peasy, as is access to the right one all of the time. Didn't need any special tools, even had room to work with the battery still in place, but couldn't get the magneto out of the engine compartment. That said, I really really like my Milwaukee cordless drill set at home! Great tools.
    1 point
  20. Ross, I think Clarence was more referring to safety, than legality. Scud-running is legal, but not necessarily safe. Or, more to the point, I'm an IA who hasn't welded anything in about 15 years. Trust me, you don't want me to weld your muffler, legal or not.
    1 point
  21. You have a great resource there in Paul. I wish I'd talked with him before buying my plane instead of after. I'm sure he talked to you a bit about the value of an engine monitor as well, since I didn't see that in your initial search criteria or in any of the planes you were looking at.
    1 point
  22. This has been discussed at many a MAPA Proficiency class. 110 is for full flaps but there is no discussion about partial flaps anywhere in the POH. I deploy first flaps at 110 regardless and use speed brakes to get there if not already. 140 is the gear down speed. Russ
    1 point
  23. For another data point, when I bought my '67 F, it had the '68 F owners manual in it. The '68 owners manual lists Vfe as 120 mph, whereas the '67 is 105 mph. Previous owner had placarded the ASI as such and flown it that way every time. I have no idea if this started with him or some previous owner before that, but suffice it to say, it had a lot of operations above published Vfe. The pre-buy and subsequent 2 annuals have not turned up any damage FWIW.
    1 point
  24. According to Goodyear: “Age is not an indicator of tire serviceability. Goodyear aircraft tires or tubes have no “expiration date” as long as all service criteria (Section 4 of this manual), visual criteria (Section 5), or individual customer-imposed restrictions are met.” https://www.goodyearaviation.com/resources/pdf/aviation_tire_care_3_2017.pdf
    1 point
  25. Good deals on Milwaukees tools here: https://www.cpomilwaukee.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Milwaukee-Site/default/Search-Show?q=ratchet&simplesearch=Go
    1 point
  26. Again, if someone offered you a heater hangar all winter would you say “no, that might promote corrosion”?
    1 point
  27. My bet is...almost all of them. I would not find it hard to believe that every Mooney from the F model back (Vfe 91kias or 105mph) have exceeded Vfe with the flaps deployed to some degree. I see now where an instructor might get confused if he cut his teeth in a J model. This is the only model with a partial flap Vfe listed. My guess is that Mooney did not publish a partial flap speed with subsequent models due to the discovery of stub spar cracks. The problem was likely not deamed pervasive enough to revise the TCDS for the J after the fact. Edit: @Bartman there's a chance you never even exceeded the TCDS's Vfe...
    1 point
  28. No worries mate, there was a family of four sitting just behind us so we could also enjoy the challenges Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
    1 point
  29. From Tanis FAQ: Resistance heat cannot create moisture. Moisture is always present inside your engine and specifically within your oil. Use of our system will NOT result in corrosion because a Tanis preheat system keeps all of the metal parts that are above the oil level above “dew point” and as a result condensation cannot occur on these parts. Tanis preheat systems are not to be cycled on and off as this could cause the engine to go through “dew point” (timers and thermostats are not to be used).
    1 point
  30. Yes. Last year I was driving my boat to the mountains. 10 year old tires on the trailer. Probably less than 5000 miles. Tire blew and debris all over the place. Lesson learned.
    1 point
  31. No, but you can send me both and get an EDM700 / 800 with FF and more options....Aerodon supercub180@gmail.com
    1 point
  32. Finally dug out the bits and got round to taking some photos: From left: Bulb with sticker & leads removed, bulb with leads but sticker removed, bulb with sticker and lead removed, new uncut bulb with box behind ($3 from ebay) Two old bulbs and the new from the front - note that theold are trimmed off asymmetrically
    1 point
  33. Thought I'd add to this, as thanks to the original idea, I went ahead on one of these. The only power I have at my home 'drome is via a generator, and I wanted something I could take with me too, as hangars for visitors can be quite difficult when touring. I also wanted something that could be used to eg heat a tent, or even potentially for working in the hangar. Things I wanted over Bob's original design were less protrusions on the exterior, able to be left as well as used outside (less susceptible to rain), and possibly a greater autonomy. If it could be more rodent-proof that would be an advantage, as would making it resistant to spills (I think the smell of diesel/jet fuel/heating oil in a confined space particularly nauseating) After getting the bits and starting to assemble, I wish I'd done more research before! In Europe, heaters like these are frequently found in boats and motorhomes, and sometimes the long distance trucks. They're often known by the trade name "Eberspacher" https://www.eberspacher.com/ where a D5 model equivalent from ebay could be had for less than USD250. The D5 uses up to 0.6 liters (a litre is near a dammit a quart) per hour foor a 5500W output After the heater itself, a tool box from a local DIY store (expensive - this is Switzerland!, but at least I could see what was inside etc before buying), fuel tanks, batteries, charger and some odds and ends from a model shop (batteries for an RC model were more like the load profile than a motorcycle battery I thought), and a couple of evenings with a drill and knife. Result: Fairly standard looking toolbox from a distance (Oil cans for scale!) On left, exhaust, charging socket and master switch, heater supplied control panel in the middle, thermometer stuck on the right Air inlet is via hundreds of small holes drilled below the drip line of the lid that continue round the tool box Hot air outlet All the gubbins: By routing the exhaust inside of the box I expect some slight additional heat recovery! Fuel tank vents to felt air filter incorporates a non-return valve, but hoping that the loops in the vent lines will prevent the stuff getting that far - has bee tested in the roll 90 degrees either way about the long dimension. No so visible is the aluminium plate between the heater and the batteries - the idea here is to get some heat to the batteries (after all, it is being used in the cold!) to improve the capacity With exhaust extension (just visible extending out of the hangar door - I expect to put a hole in the wall at a suitable position in due course) and duct extension (short black length is what will be used to go up the cowl flap for engine heating) for use in the hangar: Autonomy at minimum heat is in excess of 18 hours which is more than I needed. At maximum I'm expecting more than two hours, which should be more than enough for an engine pre-heat - maybe another report after the cold sets in (it has remained remarkably warm so far this autumn - maybe making a heater is going to give us a mild winter!!)
    1 point
  34. A few of us got together at KCGE for lunch. Never been to the airport but I know Hunter Fooks recommended the restaurant. We had people come in from as far as Linden (but not the guy from Linden we all know and love). My wife is a tough critic of crab cakes and I am pleased to report she uttered “these are the best crap cakes I have ever eaten”. And this comes from a lady who always orders crab cakes when we fly to an airport in the Chesapeake area. Thank you Hunter for the recommendation. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
    1 point
  35. I’d loved to have been there but just got to Longview from De, long day with 20-40knot headwinds, glad you guys liked it.
    1 point
  36. Let us know how it works out. If any issues remain, feel free to PM me.
    1 point
  37. Do a voltage drop test on your old cables. I thought of doing the same until I saw how complicated it was. I simply degreased them and protected the terminals. Installed the 149NL and works 100% fine.
    1 point
  38. I think Cody has proven his worth many times over to this forum. Now if only we could get a professional on each subject matter, this forum would become a book! Thanks for your service, Cody. Many of us who lurk a lot still learn from your past words.
    1 point
  39. I’ve been leaving mine plugged in. Tanis says it’s OK as well. With insulating cover over the cowl the entire engine compartment and engine stay comfortably warm. From FAQ on Tanis website Yes, Tanis preheat systems can be plugged in continuously.
    1 point
  40. I need all the help I can get. So I happily pay for XM, ADSB install, and of course WeatherSpork, year round. Compared to the total cost of aviation these are the cheapest components.
    1 point
  41. Your POH should have the basic wiring diagram that should include all the bits and pieces... Older pohs probably lack the detail for size and length. Best regards, -a-
    1 point
  42. About 8 years ago - I had a similar experience. When my exhaust needed overhaul, not only did they overhaul it but between the time it had been originally installed and the current version they had improved the design with thicker more robust tubes and weld and that is what they sent back to me. That plus lots of good advice over the years and I am convinced they are an absolutely top notch company. During the down era of Mooney factory, I was confident that nonetheless that my rocket was well supported by rocket engineering. I would buy a rocket product any time - including up their product line (turbo props) if I had the money.
    1 point
  43. Letter from Hartzell To me about the Service life of the Aeroshell #6 Grease used to Grease these Propellers. Will attach some pictures shortly of the inside of fairly new Propellers that have been serviced with the new style Aeroshell 6
    1 point
  44. Scary. I’m buying sensorcon right now. Thanks for sharing.
    1 point
  45. The heat shroud around the muffler should be removed every annual and the muffler should be inspected. Preferably under low pressure and soap and water looking for bubbles. No need for cutting. A Sensorcon or other similar low level detector is a good tool to catch an impending muffler failure. I test the heater for CO on every flight by holding the Sensorcon in front of the heat vent and look for changes with it on and off. @Frozen Flying I'm glad my little field trip encourage you to get a detector and saved you from a similar (or worse) fate. Thanks for sharing! Cheers, Dan
    1 point
  46. Seriously. I would likely be dead now if not for that CO monitor. My wife would have been pissed.
    1 point
  47. @Raptor05121 nailed the "no drop" issue, which would be indicative of the selected mag not grounding from either a broken p-lead or ignition switch fault. And @M20Doc explained the sources for why or how the Mags can create an unbalanced mag drop. You can add weak plugs to that as well. But after doing my mag timing, typically after annual, my mags will both result in a 60 rpm drop on my engine with 0 rpm differential between mags. (simply because of anal about getting each mag timed identically to spec with a digital leveler and all the plugs evenly gaped). Remember each mag (conventionally) fires 1/2 of the bottoms and 1/2 on the tops on the opposite side from the bottoms, so seeing balanced mag drop shows you each mag with its plugs is putting out an equivalent strength in ignition spark. Typically the OEM limits the unbalance to 50 rpm maximum since its indicates one of the mags is weak* compared to the other. (*but weak could really be just split timing too). But at the same time the max mag drop can be as much as 150-175 rpm depending on the OEM which is too large in my opinion to tell if there is really an issue or not and the drop is really going to vary based on mixture too. But for the last few decades we've had a much better way to determine ignition health during the run-up using an engine monitor to see the EGT rise of every individual plug when isolated to a mag; which is highlighted by putting the engine monitor in normalize mode after EGTs stabilize at run up RPM before you start selecting individual mags. It provides far more valuable information that the rpm drop does; especially when done lean.
    1 point
  48. They told me between 25-50 hours. According to Flightaware, it looks like they just started flying my plane for the certification of long body Mooneys. I am scheduled to get my plane back in December.
    1 point
  49. In hindsight, it could have been someone with carbon monoxide poisoning or some type of health issue. The more I think about it, the more I'm glad the controller did something about it.
    1 point
  50. Wow, now I've seen (heard) everything. Nice work by ATC to get him stopped.
    1 point
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