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Showing content with the highest reputation on 10/29/2020 in all areas

  1. Hi Folks - To those asking if Mooney is still a "Thing" I can assure you that we are unequivocally a "Thing." In fact, I would venture to say we are more than a "Thing," we are like a "Super Thing!" You'll continue to get your parts, you'll get customer service and I'm hopeful you'll get new planes one day. We're working on it and we're getting there. I'm running the place so I can say all this with confidence and I'm hopeful that in the near future, we'll graduate from being a "Thing" to being "An aviation company you can be proud of again!" Safe flying! More good things to come! Jonny
    11 points
  2. So I work offshore in the oilfield and am currently assigned to a rig working in Trinidad. Trinidad's borders are closed to all international traffic unless you have an exemption from the government. Due to being critical for the infrastructure I am allowed in the country but the caveat is that I have to be under quarantine for 14 days before arriving in Trinidad. For this trip that location was Billund Denmark. I live in NE Oklahoma so that trip was XNA-ORD-Frankfurt_Billund. There I was chained to a hotel and able to only sparingly leave the room. Here is where it starts getting pretty interesting. The company that my company is working for then chartered an A320 that went from Billund-Keflavik Iceland-Hallifax-Trinidad for 35 people! Well on this Friday, the 30th, I am leaving the rig where the company has chartered a plane from Trinidad to Curacao. I'll stay overnight in Curacao and then fly back to XNA on Halloween. That flight will be Curacao-Aruba-ATL-XNA and all commercial. I was looking at my itinerary and it shows that the plane for my flight from Curacao to Aruba will be a DHC-3 Otter. I'll grab some pics and post them up here as I can.
    4 points
  3. I look at the super accuracy of the CiES system as a 'nice to have,' not need to have equipment. Here's my reasoning: I make sure I land with at LEAST 1 hour fuel; that's only 10 gallons, even though I burn 9 gph, or less, based on actual history. If you're not a fan of running a tank dry, that 10 gallons isn't even in one tank. My fuel totalizer (FS450) is within 2 gallons at fill-up (that's only 12 minutes of flying time!!). And, I stick the tanks before each flight and cross check with the totalizer; always agrees to within 2 gallons. Bottom line, if I'm down to NEEDING to know "to the gallon" then I've screwed up, BIG time!
    4 points
  4. How do you think I got my new panel? -Robert
    4 points
  5. Mooney developed an installed power chart as part of the graphs list in the original post. To develop this chart the test plane is instrumented with a torque meter that installs between the engine crankshaft flange and prop. From the in flight torque reading and RPM you get horsepower. Flying the plane with the induction system and exhaust installed at different altitudes yields much truer results than testing an engine static on the ground (at one altitude) without the actual prop and exhaust installed. Installed charts are much different from the ground based charts. Most of the methodology used to develop the charts was spear headed by a guy named Eddie Allen at Boeing during early WWII. He was the father of performance flight testing.
    3 points
  6. At 69 years old, I discovered I have another brother confirmed by Ancestry DNA. We spoke on the phone and agreed to meet in his city. Enter the Mooney. It was an IFR wind aided flight from San Antonio to Wichita Falls where he and his wife met my wife and I for lunch. We had a great first meeting and hope to have many more in the future. A very special day.
    3 points
  7. I have had the great fortune of having quite a few memorable trips, so much so that I am struggling to decide which story to tell! I think the one that stands out the most was a trip in late May to see my college best friend up in Boise, Idaho. The 201 was certainly up for the three-hour flight from Novato, CA (DVO) to Caldwell, ID (KEUL). It was great to catch up with Dylan and he fired up his Traeger almost immediately upon my arrival, always a welcome treat. I did quite a bit of research both on MS and the Idaho Backcountry website to see if/where we could fly for some light backcountry. Garden Valley, Idaho (U88) fit the bill almost perfectly. It sits at 3,177', is 3,800' long and is very well maintained. Dylan and I packed our lunches and headed out for a long day of exploring Idaho. I did quite a few T/O and landings to get a feel for her soft-field performance. After spending a few hours exploring along the river, we took off for Cascade, ID (U70), overflew Johnson Creek (3U2), and landed McCall, ID (MYL) for a little picnic on the wing break. After a few more days of flying around, I decided to head east to meet up with an old high school buddy in Darby, Montana (6S5). I fell so in love with Idaho on that trip, that it called my girlfriend and I back up for a trip a bit later in the year, which will be another post! Little did I know, I would fly my last trip on the beloved 757 a few days later, off to a new Boeing!
    3 points
  8. This thread is really something. It can't be that hard to find a good shop with consistent pricing and not worry about the finer points of the bill if a Mooney part is marked up 14%, 15%, 16%, 24%, 25%, or 26%. On a $200 part we are talking about a ~$30-$50 markup - the $20 difference which is inconsequential and the MSC handles the logistics for the owner. It sure is nice to have two Mooney shops here in Texas where I could drop a plane, say "do what needs to be done", and I'd only get a call if something really bad popped up. I can't recall being surprised by a bill. But then again, I guess I have the expectation that "it's going to cost a lot more than I feel like paying" and then I end up pleasantly surprised. Long live SWTA and Don Maxwell Aviation Services.
    3 points
  9. This is unbelievable that aircraft owners expect there parts at cost, it’s a notion many people who are not in business for themselves are clueless in regard to the amount of overhead that needs to be covered to keep the business operating. I recently had a conversation with a union electrician, a friend, who couldn’t believe he had to supplement his health insurance by chipping in $25 a month. Totally clueless that health care is a major huge expense to the owner, upwards of $1000-$1500 a month depending on coverage. I had to talk one of my clients to raise his hourly rate plus his markup on parts, he is a Aircraft maintenance facility with 5 employees. I would go out on a limb saying Clarence is making considerable less than a high majority of aircraft owners. This thread depicts the complete ignorance many people have regarding the costs to own and operate a business just to the break even point.
    3 points
  10. I practiced it with my CFI and with 700' it is doable but that was knowing it was coming. With the startle factor and reaction time I don't think that is totally realistic for me, although if I am constantly looking for it I think 800' is doable in my plane for me. Practice shows that you are looking at a lot of ground as you come around through the turn and make sure to keep a constant eye on both your bank and airspeed. There are a few things I try to recite out loud before every take-off. For the emergency landing option if it is a new airport to me then I try to find a place using Google maps satellite view but if not then I tell myself below "XXX" altitude I am looking for a place in front of me. Field elevation / altitude I think I can turn back / pattern altitude When I should be airborne / If not pulling power and stopping straight ahead Best landing option if problems happen when out of runway and too low to turn For KFUL where I'm based out of I'm typically taking off on 24, so it is: "Field is at 96', I can think of making a turn back at 896, pattern altitude is 1096" "Should be off the ground by Charlie, if not I am stopping straight ahead" "If there are problems just after take off my best choice is Commonwealth" (Not a lot of good options from KFUL but it is a street sort-of aligned with the runway) Once I begin the roll I call out in the air and passing my decision point, ie: "We are flying and there goes Charlie." After that I try to count off the altitude, "There's 400, there's 500', there's 900 we can turn back if needed," etc...
    2 points
  11. So, you have eliminated the charging system, the ignition system and the radios. That leaves the audio panel. Skip
    2 points
  12. It's fall now, so when you say the annual was done "this fall" I assume that you mean very recently. I would want to understand why the current owner put so much money into it and then decided to sell it right away and I would look very carefully at the work that was done. There are lots of flavors of engine overhauls and I would want to know if it was overhauled to new of service limits, if the cam and lifters were new or reground, and what was done with the cylinders. I'd also look over the avionics installation very carefully. A big part of avionics cost is the installation and wiring and the shops that give cheap prices cut corners here that can cause lots of problems later. Since they had the interior out and upgraded the insulation, I'd expect to see a SB 208 inspection signoff. Skip
    2 points
  13. It’s possible the noise is coming through your electrical power system. You say the noise is after start up. Does the noise happen with the engine off? Does the noise go away if you pull the field breaker?
    2 points
  14. How do you know what price gouging is? What is a reasonable markups? Are you the one that should decide what it is? I personally thought that $8 for popcorn at the movies is a bit much until I found out that movie theaters don't make much money from the movie tickets almost all of there money comes from food and drinks. The guy who lives in Dale County, Alabama will likely have a different opinion of price gouging than the guy who lives in Honolulu, Hawaii. Most GA pilots don't particularly care for Signature flight support. Boston is a great example. I landed there about 5 months ago for 2 days and 33 gallons of gas it was $483. Thats price gouging right? I didn't think so, I got exceptional service and it is in Boston where a small apartment starts at $2300 a month. My favorite is naturally in the automotive industry. Someone comes in to a specialty shop for a problem that regular shops can't figure out. Having a lot of specialty equipment and experience the specialty shop figured out in a short amount of time. The customer thinks that it costs to much because it didn't take long to fix it. The equipment isn't cheap, the support/license the goes with it isn't cheap and the experienced technician that figured it out fast definitely is nowhere near minimum wage. WHAT SERVICE COSTS LESS TO DO QUICKER!?!? Emergency service by a plumber? Nope. Red label UPS shipping? Nope. An ice cold 20 ounce bottle of water that is right in front of you for instant satisfaction yet costs more than a gallon of gas? Gouging? Maybe. Hot summer day you are very thirsty it might be the most satisfying thing you can do with your pants on. Rant done
    2 points
  15. The Aspen AD only applies to Aspen MAX 2000 and higher units which do not have independent ASI/altimeter and AI backup AND have not been upgraded to newer software which was released last March. As an owner on Aspen MAX 2000 system I feel that it pretty much just mandates the obvious—upgrade your software, which is available, or limit the units to day/VFR only. —Paul
    2 points
  16. Congratulations for figuring out the power charts! BTW, if you are interested in this stuff, I attached an old Pratt and Whitney doc. that delves into detail about how the charts are created. The Lycoming charts won't be quite the same as the Mooney charts because they are taken for the engine in a test cell with optimized cooling, intake and exhaust systems. They are representative of the best the engine can do. When mounted in an airframe, there are necessary factors in the installation -- bends in the induction and exhaust, air filters, mufflers and the like -- that affect power produced for a given MAP/RPM combination, and the tables or charts supplied by the airframe manufacturer should be used. On this website, you'll find all sorts of formulas for power LOP and ROP. But, keep in mind that these are all approximations. The only way to know for certain the power produced is to measure the torque (which is what the BMEP gauge did on the radial engines). Skip Pratt&WhitneyManual.pdf
    2 points
  17. Thank you @Sethand @mooneyman and others who have contributed to this initiative! It is a unique and powerful experience during the pandemic for GA to be able to recognize healthcare heroes and first responders. Unfortunately they did not find anyone for these legs and had to fly commercial up to PIT and were forced to skip the intermediate stops at RDU, ORF and RIC. —Alex
    2 points
  18. I know you have all had the same excitement as I do today, but it was finally my day. Multiple instructors after my first one decided flying a Falcon was more fun than flying with me, COVID, and managing to fly while taking care of my family, I soloed today. The setbacks of starting with new instructors was frustrating, but SO worth it. I hope to join the ranks of Mooney owners one day, but I’m happy to just be plane crazy about them until then.
    2 points
  19. I have practiced, I use 1000’. During practice at higher altitude I was successful at close to 700-800’, but with zero margin. I tried to recreate a Vy climb, 3”, reaction time, and 270/90 turn to align with runway. Gear and flaps were up. I don’t think i messed with the gear at the end. It’s definitely worth doing a few times at 4 or 5000’. You will need at least 45 degree bank turn. 60 degrees might actually work better but I think doing that very low to the ground is going to be pretty uncomfortable. Key is remembering that the stall is based on AOA, not airspeed. You can be stalled (or not) at any attitude or airspeed. It just depends on how much AOA you’re demanding. So bank it up hard, pull close to the stall, keep your nose down and your speed around Vg or maybe slightly higher. See what she feels like. Enjoy! Accelerated stalls (say level, 45 degrees bank) might be nice to practice first. Pull to feel the buffet so you know how far you can go. If you pull all the way through and stall you get a face full of ground.
    1 point
  20. Go “Super Thing”..... go Mooney Dreamteam!!!
    1 point
  21. I enjoy green too much. With everything brown, I can't tell S. Cali from S. Arabia or the Sahara . . . . .
    1 point
  22. I will second this. The problems I have had with my new IFD/Aspen set up have all been problems with configuration of the products and not the products themselves. After having two Aspen configuration modules replaced, it was determined there was an error in the installation manual and the CMs were doing what they should. I think the biggest issue would be to find a shop with experience installing the Avidyne products. Like everything else, there is a bit of a learning curve on the first one.
    1 point
  23. @Gagarin should be able to assist with this. Steve
    1 point
  24. So the radios are mid 70s era, I've owned the plane for almost two years and the same radios in this airplane for at least 30 years. I did do a little more research this morning and the static is still there with the engine off and nothing but the radios powered on. I'm in Colorado, so it's been pretty dry here with the exception of snow a few days ago. I've got a extra radio on the self and I've tried swapping them out, moving radios top to bottom in the stack, but always the same outcome... "Warm up"
    1 point
  25. The rig was built by keppel fels in Singapore for Maersk. It is the Maersk Discoverer and we are working for BP
    1 point
  26. As part of the class... there is a handbook that goes with it... It has a very well developed procedures section for each Mooney... great for IFR flight. It also has power settings for each engine. The key numbers are variations of MP and RPM... each number equates to a specific %BHP... some people like to use the bench marks for 65% and 75% bhp... The MAPA training is a big source of the organization’s small income... Mapa Itself has new people running it... It would be great if this document could be purchased separately... The actual training is far more valuable than the book... Many people take the training, and get credit from their insurance company... a small discount. PP thoughts only... Best regards, -a-
    1 point
  27. This thing should have sold long ago @Stephen. I doubt it will be still available once I'm done building my house but if it is then we will definitely be talking. Somebody buy this great aircraft!
    1 point
  28. mkr, You should be able to find a couple of books specific to your engine written by Lycoming... It will have all the procedures that Mooney used to develop the POH... It may give insight to why we start the engine the way we do... and shut it down the way we do... and operate it too... Some procedures have been highly edited (or over edited) before they got into the POH... You may also find a parts manual for your engine, if it is separate... there are some seals and small oil return hoses that are good to swap out every decade or two... if you have an oil leak... this is an excellent resource to understand where it may be coming from... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic... Best regards, -a-
    1 point
  29. I know about as much as you do about this (basically I posted a link to the same article here a month or so ago :))... But I believe that there are no currently-manufactured actuators for the J model. If you actually need a new one, they show up from time to time on ebay for 8 or 9 grand. But you can have them rebuilt by a reputable shop for more like 1. I think that Lasar does these. The spring itself can be hard to find, but several people have mentioned this already to @Jonnyand I believe it's on his radar screen for new parts availability. MS has great history on the no-back spring. @Hyett6420has an article somewhere here with a zillion photos. @donkaye has a similar article on his blog.
    1 point
  30. No, nothing new to report here. I keep pestering them to get it done but it is still in the preliminary design phase still.
    1 point
  31. I use an app called “Aircraft Power” where you can enter your engine and parameters to get various power combinations. Have not fully validated its accuracy, but it seems reasonably correct.
    1 point
  32. JL, This is an old, but important, issue... The BK business of buying products from other companies have lead them both down the same rabbit hole... So it is one device with two different names... It is unable to show proper attitude... all the time... A really dangerous device for IMC... PP thoughts only, not an instrument tech... Best regards, -a-
    1 point
  33. Hi Paul, I am doing the Encore Conversion also. I ordered my engine in July and it should arrive at my shop on or about Monday November 3. I had 2300 hours on the engine with all good compressions. My oil consumption went up and the engine has been making metal. Took it in for annual and they found oil coming from the turbo leaking into the intakes. Scavenge pump was failing. Since the first overhaul was a field overhaul by the prior owner, I too bit the bullet and upgraded to the SB engine and the Encore conversion kit. I think the shop is still waiting on the air speed indicator. I also have changed over to the MT propeller to save another 20 pounds. Problem I am facing is my shop Top Gun was exposed to Covid and they sent everyone home for a week. N252RD Robert
    1 point
  34. WTW, See if you can find when that cylinder was worked on in the past... Check the logs... It may be possible that somebody went experimental while working on the cylinder... As in they took parts that seem close... but aren’t the right ones... See what else occurred under that owner’s watch... or That mechanic... or try to make sure there aren’t any other surprises like that... We can invite Doc to have a look at the pics and see if he is familiar with the parts and their effects... Best regards, -a-
    1 point
  35. Alex- Great job on this! And for all of you that don't know, Alex flew a leg himself last weekend in his M20K! There's a great article about it over an NBAA. https://nbaa.org/aircraft-operations/safety/coronavirus/business-aviation-lends-a-hand/nbaa-recognizes-healthcare-workers-through-relay-in-the-sky/ -Seth
    1 point
  36. I enjoy Chris’ videos... My old M20C and his, appear to come from a different factory... Chris, you may be familiar... Don has some CFII awards, and wrote the guidelines for the best ways to land a Mooney... He has a Website with additional info... with lots of model specific details... (I Sort of understated his total actual skills...) If you get a chance... check out Don’s instrument panel... Lots of color screen... Keep up the good work... it keeps getting better... Best regards, -a-
    1 point
  37. While you are checking all the boxes... Check what voltage regulator you have.... Zeftronics, as mentioned above, Is a modern device, and has remote mounted status LEDs if desired... If you have the old sticks and stones and springs VR... it is fun to have a car with matching numbers... but not so much when it comes to planes.... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic... Best regards, -a-
    1 point
  38. I'm buying the plane the OP, @Schllc , originally questioned - we close this week. As suspected above, a records scrub revealed the 721 UL was an issue with the second STC not being applied in the W+B or logbook. Both STCs were present in the logbook, but the Max Gross was still showing 3017. She's not as "big boned" as originally thought, she just had on tight pants. With the adjustment to 3200, the UL is 904. Both the W+B and logbook have been corrected with entries by the A&P and IA and the plane is almost ready to come to her new home. She's going on a weight-loss program and we're expecting 1k UL in the near future.
    1 point
  39. Sent P-message with my data for a 54 gallon bladder stick. Here is what I have if others are interested complied and averaged from several aircraft: Bladders Reg Inches 54 62 0 6 6 2 13 15 4 19 23 6 24 28 8 27 32
    1 point
  40. Wouldn't have guessed. Looks great in the photo. Congrats on the purchase.
    1 point
  41. Mooney should bye it, update it, zero time it and sell it.
    1 point
  42. Thanks for all the help! Didn't need to rebuild the slave cylinder, but did follow the procedure for bleeding the system.
    1 point
  43. sorry... ill rephrase. my A&P IA hand propped it. i was inside the cockpit following his instructions. no A&Ps were harmed in the making of this maintenance event.
    1 point
  44. It should be nearly impossible if Garmin knows anything about digital security protocols....oh wait...they just got hacked a month ago....nevermind.
    1 point
  45. @Jonny, I applaud you and your team for breathing new life into Mooney! You have a lot of people at MS rooting for you. As such, I think there's a great PR opportunity to do a Mooney "roof stomp" aka Factory fly-in. Great photo op and story. It can be organized to be socially distant. I know a few of us would volunteer to organize.
    1 point
  46. I did two legs last week. KLOU-KFFT and KFFT- KLUK. It was a great experience! I really enjoyed talking with the first responders. All the participating FBOs including Atlantic and Signature were awesome! Highly recommend if your schedule allows!
    1 point
  47. No way would I ever trade the G500 TXi for the older G3X. I don't care about the 2 way flight plan feature. I haven't ever needed nor will need a feature like that. Had Garmin thought it valuable, they would have included it in the later designed G500 TXi. It integrates with many more boxes to provide for future unknown additions, has a brighter screen, and its software is constantly being updated to bring new surprise features to it. With a little experience, while analog looking instruments may seem nice, they are totally unnecessary, and the tapes become automatic to read. The G500 TXi does, however, provide one nice feature which adds better clarity to climbs and descents, and that is a needle showing V/S.
    1 point
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