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Showing content with the highest reputation on 06/15/2021 in all areas

  1. Here’s a picture of the cowling being modified in my shop.
    4 points
  2. Two suggestions... Drop a liberal amount of oil on the fuel selector switch/shaft. You might be getting air in through it. Second, take off the bottom panel where the electric fuel pump lives and inspect the lines and look for staining. I had a line loosen behind the firewall and had symptoms you describe. Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk
    3 points
  3. Let’s see! It’s killing me that it’s taking this long but I’m having vendor issues like everyone out here. First it was Covid now it’s not enough people and the shop is swamped. I have the prototype cowling in my shop working the fit issue that I had between the upper and lower cowling. I have the major issue resolved and am now doing the bodywork to ensure the parts fit nicely. My big concern will be how long to get the mold modified or a new one made when I’m done with the bodywork! I will get this done. I’m too far in it financially to back out or give up. Seems to be another typical aviation story with bringing a new product to market. Thank you, David
    3 points
  4. No, you don’t. I’m no metal expert, but I’ve read quite a lot about it. The case hardening goes deeper than I thought. The hardened metal is actually more susceptible to spalling than softer metal. I was talking to the cam overhaulers about 6 months ago. They said they will regrind a cam and then do a Rockwell hardness test to the lobes. If it fails they reject the cam. They said they can usually go 0.030 before they hit soft metal. The pits on the OPs cam are probably less than 0.010 deep. The softer metal will deform under stress, where hard metal will crack. The flip side is soft metal wears very quickly where hard metal wears very slow, so choose your poison.
    2 points
  5. I thought camshafts were SURFACE hardened. Once that surface has been compromised/penetrated the metal will continue to wear even if the cause of the spalling is removed. Do I have that wrong?
    2 points
  6. 5 blades - because 4 isn't enough! E
    2 points
  7. Picture for a minute…. a five bladed prop mounted on a Mooney Rocket!!! Thread title… Rocket zooms to the flight levels! Go Cody! Best regards, -a-
    2 points
  8. Spring pressure problem, valve guide problem, lash problem possible. Too late to check lash but I would be checking spring pressure on every spring and the guides. Do you have a bent push rod? Don't rule out a valve train issue. I'm not an aircraft mechanic but I've worked on engines all my life. Looks like a possible loose lash situation to me. Poor heat treat or metallurgical issues usually aren't just one lobe in my experience. Just my .02 from my experience with racecar stuff.
    2 points
  9. His first version was a retrofit to the existing cowling - fiberglass. his latest is a full cowling... -Don
    2 points
  10. I was just browsing the site for tips on a J model ram air removal, which reminded me of a potential carbon fiber design being discussed by the factory... Which led me onto the Mooney website for updates on it , seems it’s still been left pretty much untouched since the late 2020 push. We had a brief check in from @Jonnya few months ago... Is he waiting on Oshkosh to reveal the next Mooney coffee mug to be added to the website...? Just teasin Jonny, sorta.
    2 points
  11. Surefly stumble is a known issue with some 28V systems but yours should be 12V. If it happens again I suggest trying running on each mag alone for a while to see if you can isolate it. However, given your Shadin indications, I would suspect a fuel issue. I have a Shadin and an EDM 700 both connected to the same Floscan transducer. The Shadin is much better damped than the EDM. So, if the Shadin is dancing around, I would suspect something fairly drastic is going on. It sounds like perhaps you are getting air in the system and wherever this is coming from might also leak fuel causing the odor. Skip
    2 points
  12. Thanks, Chris, and to everyone who replied. I’ll give them both a try at OSH this year in order to finalize the decision, and I’ll do the work next spring. I’m expecting to buy the 450B, and if I can get my wife to try them each out with me, that’ll seal the deal. I’m surprised at how excited I’m getting about an audio panel!
    2 points
  13. Up and down blocks arrived today. Hope to have installed this week! Fit and finish exceeded expectations as does the thoroughness of the paperwork. Many thanks @Sabremech and @Skates97!
    2 points
  14. Just did this swap with my AP upgrade. Chase makes it super easy as per usual and the 450B is quite the upgrade from a GMA 340. Auto squelch is such a nice feature, no longer do I need to mess with millimeter changes for each new passenger. Dual BT is great, ForeFlight on one, Music on the other. The flexibility of being able to mute ATC for passengers or prevent music from muting for them is great. Intelliaudio is probably the most important thing here though, my ability to still hear approach but get the weather has increased ten fold. Just make sure you swap all your headseats to stereo I did the same thing until I re read the manual.
    2 points
  15. Heres one I made for my Eagle. The POH had too much stuff that really was checked too often.
    2 points
  16. My 1100 hour IO 360 was sorted and running great when last August at Annual it showed metal in the filter. When I saw that I was perfectly willing to pull a cylinder and look around. All that revealed was a very slight line of corrosion on a cam lobe, but we couldn’t see the front lobes as well as the rear where we pulled the cylinder. My IA mechanic recommended flying it 15 hours and sending off an oil sample since we had not taken a sample at the annual. I did that and the sample showed iron. We agreed to start tearing it apart. Cylinders came off and revealed two front lifters spalled. Thought it could get cam and lifters and go back together good to go. Kept peeling the onion and found worn bearings and the crankshaft and case didn’t look great, so time to overhaul. I took the crankshaft, rods and other parts to Aircraftspecialties and the case to CSI. Sent mags to Missoula, MT. The lead times on both exceeded 8 weeks. I took the wide deck cylinders to Sal in Prosper, Texas. (if you go to Sal’s you won’t be able to leave until he shows you his pristine 1957, 270 HP Vette that he’s owned since he was 17 in 1961). The crankshaft had to be plated and machined and ended up .003 under. The case came out wonderful. The mags were back in short order. I was on waiting lists all over trying to get the new DLC coated lifters. It was beginning to look like I would have to put it back together without them when David at Aircraftspecialties came through with a set and a Lycoming cam. Sal thought the cylinders would work out well and I was glad because they’re tough to get new right now. They were nickel so he had to send them out to certify the nickel. He was calling them low time cylinders and said they came out great. They got it all back together and started it Thursday with only one full revolution. It really sounds great, but there was silicone seal on a baffle that he wanted to cure before I flew it. My schedule won’t permit flying it until Tuesday. Cant wait. If you see a plane flying racetracks above KOSA Tuesday, that will be me. I expect to get it tested and run in before our family traditional get together in Galveston for July 4th. There were lots of things that I got sorted on this plane before all this. It think it will now be a great plane!
    1 point
  17. And just to make it tougher, I’ve had oil come out both the sniffle and fuel pump drain. One was a bad fuel pump leaking oil. The sniffle oil was from a cylinder with some issues… wobbling valve? Bad valves? Oily cylinder? Anyway, there was some oil in the intake manifold that use to drip after each sortie. OH cylinder fixed that one. I know this is a fresh engine, so I really think it’s fuel, maybe mixed with a little something?
    1 point
  18. I would try real hard to find someone who can gather the parts for you. perhaps superior air parts? Perhaps they can ship as well, I do not know your customs duties etc though. Sometimes that can be expensive. ‘Since your buying a cam and lifters, I’d start immediately trying it get a set of DLC lifters
    1 point
  19. I’ve never had any problems with Superior Parts.
    1 point
  20. Just to circle back and hopefully close the loop, but it seems that the voltage regulator was indeed the problem. A member sent me his old one for trouble shooting that was replaced when the VR wasn’t the problem, anyway I installed it and it so far seems to have fixed the issue. ‘So while nearly all the trouble shooting trees blame a high resistance connection on the power wire to the VF, apparently sometimes it is the VR. ‘At least I hope it’s fixed anyway. Oh, and on my J anyway VR replacement is very easy, 5 min job max, two bolts and one cannon plug.
    1 point
  21. If you're justifying $20,000 for an extra 10 lbs. useful load, try the low carb diet . . lol
    1 point
  22. Ti manufacturing techniques continue to improve as well… Still takes a long time… but machine time doesn’t have the same costs as human time… Best regards, -a-
    1 point
  23. Pair of Cheyanne LS400 MT 5 way props. Picked these propellers up to Disassemble for export. Feel free to zoom. 450Hr TT These props turn a Max of 1591 RPMs to.
    1 point
  24. DLC may help, but what you are seeing on the cam is spalling. Everybody thinks it is corrosion, but if you research it you will come to the conclusion that all research shows is sub surface stress cracking. It is caused by plastic deformation of the metal by poor lubrication, or impact stress. The stress cracks form along grain boundaries and individual grains are ejected. In this case, I think it was caused by the improper valve spring. It is quite possible that now that the correct spring is in place, the lobe will just wear smooth.
    1 point
  25. I have not called JPI. I guess I should. All indications are normal then it spikes and goes to red, then probe failure indication. Cylinder head temp rock solid. I can clear it out on the 830 and it’s fine for a while.
    1 point
  26. Version 2 is a complete new cowling g that’s all carbon with a layer of fiberglass to allow for sanding and painting. It’s incredibly light compared to the original cowling. David
    1 point
  27. He's on to version 2. I have his version 1 cowling. 2 is held up due to COVID... -Don
    1 point
  28. @Niko182I have heard the same thing about the weight savings. Heck, if I can put this thing on more of a diet then I already have and shift the CG more aft to take full advantage of the Max Gross Weight, then I’m all for it. @carusoamI agree with the looks. I saw a Bravo the other day on the ground and it immediately caught my attention. Damn good looking if you ask me. Also, if it ends up being a little quieter, that would be great! This thing is quite noisy. Lastly, I’m hoping that it smooths out the vibration the plane has a bit. Make those long cross countries a little more comfortable. Thanks for the comments so far guys. Keep ‘em coming!
    1 point
  29. I have had crank failures as well, all of them have been castings, never a machined set, or forged, which is a manufacturing defect, not a material deficiency. I would bet most of yours are castings as well I have never personally seen a chromoly failure in a bike tube, but I have seen them fail at welds, which again is a manufacturing issue. I have seen forks fail, but every one of those was really well beyond reasonable design loads! I have bent, and cracked frames during a race (all mountain bike races), and finished the race. I have seen more carbon fiber frames trashed and unridable after one crash than I can count. take a hammer to your aluminum, steel or titanium top tube and crush it in one spot. Then ride it home. Crush the top tube on your carbon fiber and see how far you get. But its probably not fair to criticize a material for failure beyond design loads. My concern would be something like a hard landing, bad turbulence or something that I was not present for and the previous owner being unaware of the affect on the airplane. You don’t have the ability to inspect like aluminum, and propagation of failures are not as evident as they are with metal, and when they are they are complete. I would not say anyone who buys one is foolish or making a bad choice. I just prefer to be a little more conservative, and stick with tried and true. I totally agree with your preference for titanium. It’s a little punishing for vibration on a bike, my preference is chromoly, and I still ride an old fat chance, specialized and paramount for that reason. If titanium wasn’t so difficult to work with it would be ideal for an airplane.
    1 point
  30. Just had both wing tanks complete scrape and reseal by Houston Tank Services at Eagle Lake, TX. Had a cancelation and got me in where others said a six month wait. Took three weeks and am very happy with work - no scratches to paint or covers. But better than that I have had a gear rigging and inner gear door problem with the rivets pulling out that was requested, charged, and not repaired by a big name MSC. Now the doors and the rigging are perfect! Going there for my next annual. Will never go back to that other MSC. Cost me thousands to fix multiple serious errors.
    1 point
  31. Thanks @Warren. My mech told me today he just did a 231 (LB) oil change today and had same issue with consistent reading. He wanted to see if it was just my airplane. From the way you describe I think for me to match your technique with numbers facing forward (towards the prop) that would be my top picture posted above with the loop pointing towards the oil fill tube....which seems to give me the more consistent higher reading if use the bottom of the "U" as @carusoam described.
    1 point
  32. If these seals aren't tight, the pressure escapes and doesn't force the air down over the cooling fins on your cylinders. Although it doesn't look like much, it can easily make 20 or more degrees in cooling.That won't take too much to fix.
    1 point
  33. Here are all of the manuals I have from Brittain. Hope they help--my TC was not working and was the problem at the time. Had it overhauled and everything worked great--just recently died again--so hope you have better luck. IM 2-1000-5 Rev. G.pdf IM 11980 Rev. -, Model LSA-4.pdf MM 3962, Accutrak B-11 Maintenance Manual.pdf MM 11990 Mooney PC Operation and Service Instructions.pdf
    1 point
  34. Best to let sleeping dogs lie…. The thread is memorable enough that even I can remember it… Then again… that was the old regime, not the new… Fast moving companies don’t usually slow down to hassle their favorite restauranteur. As far as aviation and secrecy goes… SpaceX has a continuous team of outside people videotaping every hour, of every day, from all angles… editing and posting YT videos daily… with enough definition to read part numbers of their part labels… Some of the greatest free advertising ever! Sure, Mooney isn’t SpaceX… and they are not fast moving… yet… Would be nice to hear from them every now and then… PP thoughts only… Best regards, -a-
    1 point
  35. Here's a couple more models. (The rubber band flyer bares no resemblance at all to an M-18)
    1 point
  36. The gear doors are trimmed back about an inch and a half up front , Those "Rivets" are screws , and are "supposed " to be countersunk , I have used doors , but they are 2 grand a set... I have new doors , at 2500 a set The new doors , are overlapping doors
    1 point
  37. Well you guys were spot on again! I looked around my intake tubes multiple times and didn't see anything wrong but then a small shadow caught my eye... One of the intake orings was out of its seat and causing an intake leak. My guess is that the intake tube was pushed too far into the casting and part of the oring got snagged on a sharp spot starting a tear. After I removed the intake tube the oring was completely torn through. If I continued to fly like this I think my problem would have gotten progressively worse as the oring would have split in place. I replaced the oring and the engine runs much better now. After a ground run and test flight, the oring is where its supposed to be and the idle is back to normal.
    1 point
  38. Regarding the GFC 500 and different Nav source boxes, I confirmed with Garmin that the Nav source needs to be manually switched on the missed approach. So, for example, with the GPS175 and GNC 255, after going missed from an ILS approach using the GNC 255: 1. Push the TOGA Button 2. Verify GA/GA 3. Add Power and properly configure for the go around 4. Verify missed approach altitude 5. Switch input source on the G5 to GPS 175 and verify GPS on the G5 6. Reengage NAV Mode on the GMC 507 to fly the missed approach 7. Reengage IAS or V/S 8. Verify AFCS Modes
    1 point
  39. Way cool for that M20 Barn find that didn’t get an ADSB solution in a timely fashion…. Way to go… Fox! Alan seen on the hunt recently… Actual wild life in NJ… -a-
    1 point
  40. 1 point
  41. My mom says I’m smart and handsome too.... Good for your mechanic. Being a highly experienced IA does not necessarily translate to being knowledgeable about petrochemistry (nor many other things involving airplanes) although it can lend an air of confidence to one’s own anecdotal opinions. Given that Aviation Consumer’s independent tests have shown that Camgaurd adds a significant level of corrosion resistance, I’d like to know the “why” behind his opinions. The inventor of cam guard Ed Kollin, worked for Exxon’s Aviation lubricant division and was one of the principle researchers involved in the formulation of Exxon Elite aviation oil. The man did a tremendous amount of Q&A on various aviation forums for many years. My take away from his comments are that camguard is his version of a “cost no objective” additive blend.
    1 point
  42. Pilots apparently need something engine-related to worry about. 30 years ago it was shock cooling. Today it’s red boxes. Shock cooling was supposed to be the cause of cracked cylinder heads (I believe the real cause was reconditioned cylinders that reused head castings for who knows how many TBO runs. The problem seems to have evaporated when the factories lowered their prices for new cylinders and most overhaulers started providing them as standard with an overhaul). As someone noted, it’s not entirely clear exactly what calamity operating in the red box is supposed to precipitate. Here’s something to ponder: Cessna 172s don’t come equipped with CHT gauges. They don’t have cowl flaps. There is a flight school in my area with a fleet of old but exceptionally well maintained C-172s, mostly C-172Ns. Recently two were upgraded to include a G3X with EIS. For the first time in 45 years, everyone could see that the CHT on some cylinders well exceeds 400F during a climb. Now CFIs are scrambling to avoid this. Red box! Red box! But for many years, this operator has been regularly exceeding TBO on it’s O-320 engines powering these same Skyhawks with everyone blissfully ignorant of the CHT in a climb. Skip
    1 point
  43. @LANCECASPER <--- Sharp as a marble
    1 point
  44. 1' Foot, 4 AWG Gauge Tinned Copper Wire, Stranded Marine Boat Battery Cable USA | eBay try this
    1 point
  45. this post ^^ but that’s just non-formation situational awareness. Presumably in formation, and arriving at Oshkosh, there would be significantly above normal priority placed on spacial awareness. The aircraft that was hit in the tail would not have been able to see it happen; but the aircraft which was struck in the wing, was struck by an aircraft that was in front of him and would have been visible (not to mention that type of wing damage had to have yawed/rattled the plane on impact). I am really surprised the NTSB did not either challenge this narrative or comment on why it would be credible to claim that the pilots did not realize this happened in flight. You can go to the NTSB docket to read both pilot statements (I don’t believe either pilot has chosen to comment here on MS but if they did please someone direct me, I am curious as to a first person POV, though I would assume they are both so lawyered up they probably are keeping quiet.) One thing I observed in the incident report from the Caravan was a doubling down on consistent procedures and training, which I think is good. As someone who’s done spacecraft accident and anomaly investigations one thing that I noticed was lacking in the Caravan report is there was no list or analysis of root causes or contributing causes. There’s often cultural issues that need to be addressed in leadership and instruction, and hopefully there’s awareness there too. I would be curious if the Caravan brought in any outside people to do an independent review and recommendations, and if those were incorporated, or if they kept it all “in house”? I am only left to speculate and infer as to what those contributing causes were by the types of procedure changes that were made presumably in response to them. I think it’s an open secret that the factory pilot had not attended a Caravan clinic (a fact that i did not notice in either report - does anyone know if this is just an untrue rumor?). But a lot of changes appear to be made to address “regional” differences in training, is it possible the other pilot’s regionally provided training was somehow lacking or divergent in some way? I don’t know. Likewise there seems to be emphasis on changes for right seat training for the passenger/copilot/spouse/child attending. Was there a distraction in the cockpit involved? Could something have been averted with a more prepared right seater? Again I don’t know, I am again only inferring from the procedure changes. Lastly I didn’t realize until all these reports issued that there was a chase/photo plane trailing them. I suppose it’s cameras weren’t on? Why didn’t it observe this event? (Also yikes if a trailing photo pilot didn’t observe a midair, why not?) Maybe in the future the photo aircraft should have go-pros running at all times just for the purposes of post flight lesson learned and critiques (you never know, they may observe a close call.). Are there any statements from that photo pilot? Curious to hear that. Are either of the two accident pilots going to be permitted to fly in the Caravan again, are they getting any sort of remedial training or qualifications above and beyond just attending the usual formation training? There’s lots of questions that all of these reports just do not answer for me. I look forward to attending the briefing at Oshkosh. I hope the Mooney caravan has reached out to all the other caravans with its lessons learned! I think the caravans are a cool thing, I want them to succeed.. safely! Edit: I now realize N9201A was the accident airplane so I assume the MS poster with that tail number is the pilot? Maybe he can answer some of these questions directly instead of leaving us to speculate.
    1 point
  46. The thing that bothered me the most- and I suspect others, as well- is that there is good information out there that the Caravan didn't divulge to those who aren’t members of their group. Like many members here, I’ve done some simple formation flying generally for the purpose of in-flight photography. I would love to know more about how to do so safely, but for a variety of reasons I have no desire to join the Caravan. I suppose I’ll just infer the lessons I need from the scant information that is available. It all struck me as a little petty, like when chriscalandro had a fuel tank problem and refused to share the resolution here because of some childish snit he had with some of our members. ———————————- EDIT: after reading @N9201A‘s post above, I looked at the safety section of the Mooney Caravan website. There is a lengthy write up of the incident and lessons learned. That wasn’t there the last time I had visited. Thank you to the Mooney Caravan for posting that information to the website. https://www.mooneycaravan.com/web/Mooney/Pages/Safety/2019.asp?Zr07Pyvpx=FDEM V0pvqr06 f6n6rzr06&Zr07TPyvpx=fnsr6B
    1 point
  47. Hopefully the carbon cowl for the J can fix the annoying modal (flexural) vibration issue which cracks the paint on the top cowl!
    1 point
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