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All assembled now and I submitted the paperwork with the FAA to enable the aircraft to be registered again. Next step is to complete the annual and get it back into the air!

Had to do a 360 and asked to slow down multiple times to avoid overtaking a vision jet on final Tower said I had 30 knots on him even after I started slowing down.

If you feel you’re having better outcomes without flaps coming in at 90 kts you really haven’t yet learned how to do normal landings. A normal landing is a full flaps landings. You really owe to yourself to get some mooney specific training to get proficient and comfortable in doing normal landings but don’t stop there, short and soft takeoff and landings will build up your skills and tool box for what you may encounter in the future. Keep in mind you would have never gotten your private cert without demonstrating proficiency in normal landings so you owe it to yourself to be able to do them in any plane you fly; especially a much faster unforgiving Mooney! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You should find an experienced Mooney instructor ASAP, and attend a PPP. Highly recommended for anyone new to the airplane.

So I got the Honeywell BZ-2RM-A2 (they are $10-15 new on Ebay) today and took it apart. It's ALMOST perfect. It appears to be the exact same switch except with a different vane and a spring attached to that vane that holds it open. I knocked out the hinge pin on it, removed the vane and the spring, and it was basically indistinguishable from the original stall switch. I went to install the special Safe Flight metal vane and put it back together when I noticed the one problem... the hinge pin is a slightly bigger diameter on the newer switch. Unfortunately, the newer hinge pin won't fit through the metal stall vane and the old hinge pin is too loose in the new switch. It might be possible to enlarge the hinge hole through the metal vane, but not by me. Dang. So I destructively opened up the new switch - because I can't help knocking those 3 damn tiny pins into the case! Then I put the old top half onto the brand new bottom half and it works! So I'm not saying this is perfect, and I'm definitely not saying its a PMA/STC/Approved part (but it might be OPP), but it might be helpful to someone in the future.

Yes, this is my method into San Jose among a line of jets: 160 kts clean on slope till 5 miles from the threshold, then speed brakes, a couple of seconds later at 140 kts, gear, a couple of seconds later at 110 kts, full flaps, maintain slope till 75 kts, retract speed brakes and flare to touchdown on the 1,000 ft marker. I lead by telling Approach that I can give them 160-170 kts on slope to allow them to fit me into the line. If not, count on them vectoring you around till the jets are all in. I will fly the approach a little high to account for the potential for wake turbulence.

In the 'probably more than you want to know department'...all the mechanical gauges are actually very low current ammeters in that they function based on the current flowing through them, NOT directly on voltage (d'Arsonval/Weston meter movement). This is an important distinction because a true voltmeter will present a very high resistance to the circuit that is being measured while an ammeter will be close to a short circuit (very low resistance). The confusing part is that current shunts, like the one in your plane that you cleaned the terminals on, are typically calibrated in mV/A (milli-volts per amp). So, if you use an actual voltmeter across the shunt that number will be scale factor. But with these meters in our planes what is really happening is that most of the current flow in the circuit being measured is 'shunted' through the shunt! A very small fraction of that current actually is what is diverted and flows through the meter in direct proportion to the total current. As @PT20J correctly states, there are two fuses, one in each wire to the shunt from the meter, that serve to protect the wiring in case of a short circuit. They are likely too slow acting to protect the meter itself. It is a common misconception that fuses are to protect devices; fuses are there to protect the wiring from going up in smoke should a device fail and draw excess current, or there is otherwise a short somewhere. Now, back to my nerd cave....

So, I lead large Corp. debt underwriting at a Tier 2 Investment Bank for, among other verticals, metals. Couple things working here are driving the higher price (btw, 2021 saw even higher pricing than today) in order of impact in my opinion: - As noted, tariffs on aluminum imports are set at 50% for ALL countries (it's actually way more nuanced, but solid aluminum has this level of tariff an this could chnage tomorrow depending which side of the bed the President wakes up on just as it did last year) for now; see Supreme Court decision and the US Administration's response. Last week, the US Administration doubled down on their tariff commitment despite upcoming litigation from various parties including a couple states with some changes to the nuances to how the tariff is levied. - Supply constraints which are related to tariffs to some degree. The US produces precious little aluminum. Most US domestic aluminum consumption is Canadian sourced. However, the first smelter being built in the US since 1980 is coming along nicely (Century). When pricing dropped in late '22/early '23, many smelters were taken offline in foreign countries never to restart. Many of those smelters were horribly inefficient due to lack of reasonable energy costs and historical investment anyway. China, the world's largest aluminum producer in the world is near 100% capacity of their self-imposed limit. Also, 10% of the world's aluminum production comes from arab gulf states (Qatar mainly) who now are not producing any aluminum for a couple reasons (destroyed or just can't export the material so why produce; plus the concern over energy). - Higher demand. While data centers increase aluminum demand, domestic clean energy is creating much greater demand. Domestic solar panel manufacturing, a huge user of aluminum, it at an all time high and continues to grow in 2026 (remarkable when an Administration says "renewable energy is a scam"). Auto manufacturing is also driving higher demand as manufacturers want their cars as light as possible to meet ever tightening efficiency standards. - Energy prices. Aluminum production takes a lot of energy. I haven't seen anyone change their investment thesis based on this spike in pricing, however. I've had a couple CFOs say they are just taking advantage of the higher pricing now, but have no plans to change their operations. FYI, Alcoa, the behemoth in this space, has their earnings call at 5pm Eastern Thursday. Might be worth a listen for some.

Ok, I’ll tell you all the secrets. Remove all the screws and throw them away, buy new screws. Get a skin wedge to remove the panel. They are cheap and work the best. Tape over the panel with masking tape to protect the paint. Then run little poker around the panel between the panel and the wing skin. The 1/16 inch gap, and scratch out the sealant. Take the tip of the skin wedge and force it into the gap pointing outward from the center of the panel. Push down and wiggle it back and forth until it goes in about 1.5 inches. Do this in the middle of one of the long sides. Then move about 2 inches along the gap and do it again. Then do it between the two and pry the panel down, if it won’t go, just put pressure on it and wait, it will eventually give way. When it does give way, slide the skin wedge sideways as far as you can and pry again. After a few of these the panel will start to bend into the tank. Push on the panel and work around it with the skin wedge until the panel comes loose. Now the fun part. You must clean the mating surfaces squeaky clean. On the panel and the underside of the wing skin. The panel isn’t that hard the wing skin is a PITA. You will need plastic scrapers and MEK. Get a mirror that will fit into hole and lay it in the bottom of the tank if doing a top panel or tape it to the top of the tank if doing a bottom panel. Some soft brass wire brushes will be handy too. Get some throw away 1 inch chip brushes (Harbor Freight) to brush on the MEK and brush on the sealant when you are done. If you brush on some MEK before you try to scrape off the sealant, it will make it softer. Pour a little bit of MEK into a shot glass or Dixie cup to dip your brush into. When you get it scraped off, dip a rag into the MEK and rub the residual bits off. You should be wearing nitrile gloves. Put a box fan near wher3 you are working to blow the MEK fumes away. If the fumes are gagging you out, wear a resporator. After you get them squeaky clean, you have to clean out the nut plates. If you don’t, you will probably push the caps off the nut plates. Use a drill bit that will just fit into the threaded holes. Spin it with your fingers and pull out the sealant after cutting it loose. You are done with a hole when you hit metal. You will see a shiny spot in the bottom of the hole. If any of the nut plate caps are broken off, push them back on and put some sealant on them and let them cure overnight before proceeding. Before you put the plates back on, go to the hardware store and buy 2, 4” long 8/32 (I think) bolts. This is not as important for bottom plates, but is very important for top plates. These will be used to guide the plates into place and for the top plates, they are used to pull the plates up so you can get screws started. I have installed the plates by myself, but it is easier with two. Mix some sealant in a Dixie cup, about half a small cup. Thin it with MEK until it is brushable. Paint the underside of the wing skin with sealant then paint the mating surface of the panel with sealant. Try not to get any sealant in the screw holes. After getting a complete coat of sealant, take your brush and dab as much sealant between the screw holes as you can. Hold the panel between you thumb and for fingers and carefully maneuver it into the hole trying not to disturb the sealant. Put one of the 4 inch bolts through a hole in the middle of the curved end and screw it into the panel. Hold the panel with the bolt and carefully remove your hand. Pull the panel into place and screw the other bolt into another screw hole at the other end of the panel. Pull the panel up and start some screws. It is a good idea to practice this maneuver before you put any sealant on. Tighten the screws slowly working your way around. If you tighten the screws to fast you will bend the wing skin up between the screws. If you have put enough sealant on, it will extrude the entire way around the panel when you tighten the screws. Be careful to not touch the extruded sealant and don’t wipe it off. After tightening the screws, go home without touching the sealant. When you come back the next day, it will peel right off. Use your fingernail to clean around the screws. after scraping as much sealant off as you can you can clean up the residual sealant with some MEK if you have good paint, try some obscure place to make sure it won’t hurt your paint. You can also use some avgas to clean it up, I’ve never tried soap and water, but it would probably work with a soft scrub brush. You are done!

I see that you are Steven Kader promoting your "Free NTSB pattern-matching tool" on Beechtalk. You are on Pilots of America, Beechtalk, here, probably other brand sites, using us as Guinea pigs to test out your software. (your refer to it as "fine tuning") Why didn't you just say that up front?

I got cleared VFR through the ATL Bravo today both southbound and northbound but had to descend to 4,500’. Still a pretty impressive sight at that altitude.

I made this for my 63 to replace the old yoke clock. Laminated acrylic. New PTT button, PC control toggle, phone holder. Looks good, works good. I’ll get a photo with the PC trim knob installed and the phone mounted next time I’m out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

All this tech talk is not the point. Us pilots need to act like grown ups…

Something like this? We do them a lot.......

Blatant thread drift!!! I invented tennis shoe toe brakes ( I think) on my go cart way back in the summer of 1960! My cart was a high powered (lol) Briggs and Stratton, with a 2x12 douglas fir frame, a paint tray mounted vertically for the seat back, a 2x8 rear engine mount/axle support, and a pivoting 2x 4 in the front for steering with my feet. Braking was pressing my shoes up against the front wheels! I wore out several pairs of shoes with that marvelous machine! More great memories!!

As someone who owns a machine shop raw material pricing is always an issue. More so lately. My material quotes are only valid for 24 hours now. Used to be 30 days. I'll send a quote to a customer stating that and then I'll get a PO a week later and that material has changed in price. So back to them to requote. It's a hassle. Electrical capacity is also I concern of mine with them trying to put data centers everywhere. Every machine in here is 3 phase so we're not doing much without power. Oh the joys of owning a manufacturing business in 2026.

Something felt a bit odd about the initial query and discussion prompt. Given: a complex domain with significant complexity and human factors. Hey guys what about using AI!?! I think I'll go think about LOP for a while.

It’s probably not that anyone is being snarky, so unfortunate that you perceive it as a tough crowd. It’s just that we’ve seen way too many mooney people landing fast and either running off the runway or bouncing and ending up with a prop strike. To be fair, you asked, and we answered. You get to decide what you do with the (admittedly) strong opinions…

You’re carrying a lot more energy into the runway. This ensures much more landing distance and wear on components. It’s not normal. Go around isn’t any harder with flaps down as long as you’re trimmed and practice it. It doesn’t take jamming in full throttle. I’d recommend practicing with flaps. At least takeoff flaps. 90kts is much too fast for short final.

Overhead midfield KSFO at 1200. Gets me every time!

Do a 3-Way GPS test and verify your TAS first.

If you are running out of trim, most likely at some point someone disconnected the trim torque tube and got the jack screw in the tail out of sync with the trim wheel gearbox. When this happens the trim will be limited on one end by the trim wheel gearbox and on the other end by the jack screw in the tail.

How do we really know it is Clarence? Quick somebody post a picture of their engine bay and if this poster PA24Lvr can't find 21 things wrong it isn't him.

I’m a very slow worker when I’m working on my airplane. I like to take my time and do a good job. I clean things as I work and like to look at lots of things to make sure I don’t miss things that need attention. I don’t think I could make it as an A&P. I’d either have to way undercharge for my time or no one would hire me because they would say my hours to accomplish things were ridiculous.

Headed home from Corvallis, Oregon today. Mt. Rainier was looking good as usual.

If they spent .01 it would be too much. They have much more important issues they are already neglecting. sometimes I hear it and I laugh, others it’s annoying. i can guarantee one thing, this kind of attention will only cause more of it to be done…

Sorry, I have NEVER thought the meowing was appropriate, nor funny... and I can have a comical moment if it's a good one. And I guess if you fly in a bigger metro area and hear it ALL THE TIME, you understand how dumb it is and you feel for the Controllers that have to monitor Guard where you hear it a lot.

It is a really aggravating when you are getting a call on a discrete frequency, like an approach clearance and these morons are being childish at FL350 which broadcasts for a hundred miles. It was once funny but after the third time ever it was done, the humor is gone. It is now just boorish. As to how they find it, every airplane has a unique carrier wave, especially airliners because of the AC power generated within. It is no problem to track down the airplane with a little audio analysis.

I have the MVP 50 Engine Monitor. One of the large highlighted data fields is the cooling rate of the fastest cooling cylinder. I've never seen it go anywhere near 50°/min, the maximum cooling rate for an engine cylinder. I should note that in any descent I never set the MP below 15" MP, as anything below that would have the prop running the engine and that is a "no no". However, should I see ever see that in a descent, then I would reduce the prop RPM significantly and that would keep the engine cool. I often come into the normal pattern at San Jose at 180 kts in a descent. In this case it IS possible to have the fastest cooling cylinder go past 50°/min. To prevent that the procedure is: Speedbrakes, gradual MP reduction first to 20" then to 15" with an RPM reduction to 2000 RPM at 20" MP, then gear down at 140 kts. On base at below 110 knots full flaps, final at 75 kts. Cooling rate never exceeds the 50°/min rate. While not giving this process any thought knowing that it works, I have had the Tower comment on landing that they saw me at 186 kts on downwind and ending with the comment "Good job", which surprised me.

Can anyone confirm which is better, a Mooney or a Comanche? Clarence

In my first trip in a Mooney, coming back into home base, we were asked if we had a Citation in sight. To my surprised Tower instruction to was to turn in front of the Citation. The pilot were not happy and complained since they were on an instrument approach and ... I didn't know how it was going to work out, but the owner and tower did. Tower told him we'd be no factor, he continued to complain. Finally Tower, on the west coast of Florida, told him that if she heard one more word, he would get a 270 heading till he was out of radio range. Sure enough, we were no factor even though I did use up most of the runway. I learned a lot about flying back then since I had only flown training airplanes.

@Flyler was comparing the Mooney to the Warrior and noted that the Mooney had a lower sink rate than the Warrior. The Warrior uses a NACA 65-415 laminar flow airfoil. So, since both airplanes have laminar flow airfoils, the answer to the difference in sink rates must lie somewhere else. The PA-28 simply has higher drag than the Mooney. The Mooney has a smaller wetted area, which reduces parasite drag, and the Warrior's shorter span, constant chord "Hershey Bar" wing has greater induced drag. The Warrior II, with it's longer semi-tapered wing (same airfoil) has a lower sink rate compared to the Warrior because it's wing produces less induced drag.

Nice story but getting to close behind a large transport category aircraft is no joke. I call it the “In and Out burger rule” when the burger franchise jet got to close to a 757 on approach and crashed. When I flew professionally I used to ferry 737’s and 757’s with no passengers. The approach speeds can be very low, in the 115 knot range as opposed to 140 knots with a load of pax or cargo. Just want everyone to be careful and situationally aware and those controllers are watching out for you.

My first thought was who needs to buy gold?! I'm buying Aluminum...and storing it in my hangar! Who knew I was such a savvy investor! ha ha ha

It sounds like there has been a problem for some time because you say that the ammeter usually reads around 10 amps. It should read close to zero if the battery is fully charged because the ammeter is measuring the current flow into or out of the battery, not the load on the alternator. Also, the meter doesn't really measure amps -- it measures millivolts dropped across the shunt when current is flowing through the shunt. Exactly how were you trying to measure current with your meter set to 20 amps? It sounds like the Mooney meter is bad. As for why the starter doesn't work, did you check all the breakers to see if you popped one while troubleshooting? If the high positive current is/was a real indication, the most likely cause would be a bad cell in the battery because this indication would mean that a lot of current is flowing into the battery. This is easily checked by measuring the voltage at the battery with the master switch off. A 12V battery has 6 cells each contributing about 2.1V when fully charged. So, if you only measure about 10V then one cell is shorted.

Two options: - keep a crescent vise grip pliers in the cabin as many vintage Mooney pilots do, or - install the new style handle (Mooney had a kit for that - not sure if the kit is still available, but your mechanic could probably fabricate the parts. My previous E model had emergency exit baggage door modification so we could exit that way when the handle failed on us years ago in a similar way you describe. Not the most graceful way of exiting the aircraft, but very useful as our event happened on a hot day in Jean , NV with nobody to call for help. Had a pair of vise grips with me ever since.

I think it would be best to drain the fuel first. Clarence

I received this email today… My name is Kalynn, Ron Blum's wife. Ron passed on 11/22/2022 and I am finally downsizing of Ron's things as well as other items. Please follow Auction Pros of Kansas on Facebook to see pictures of items that will be auctioned off on April 25, 2026. MANY aviation related items; bicycles and gear; lots of tools - hand and big items; lots of beautiful stained glass as well as molds, tools, etc.; misc. household items such as kitchen items/gadgets, handmade oak desk, etc.; way too many other items to list. Best to follow Auction Pros of Kansas as they will post frequently of items for auction. Please share as you see fit. Thank you, Kalynn

I have many specific sizes of P seal All 1-1/2 long 3/8 bulb used on the PC7 stab , we just finished this is charcoal grey silicone pre sold 1k feet -1/2 used on the T34 canopy works well on the RV10 canopy 5/8 lightweight 5/8 std -7/8 bulb all similar to the cabin door seal Shown in the center picture There is nothing better than our two part clear silicone cement.

It is IFR at KAVQ at least 10 minutes every year.

I believe that it’s a short length of 3/8” diameter steel with a 10-32 threaded hole and a cross drilled hole with a a pull ring. Shouldn’t be too difficult to make one. Never seen an actual part number for it. Clarence

Is there a reason you need to replace those parts? M20-190B does NOT require that during the 100 and 200 hour inspections; it doesn't even require inspection of the end play (the shim). I would be very nervous about disassembling a gear set that has worn together; unlikely it will go back together with same wear surfaces in contact. Unless there was evidence of leakage I wouldn't worry about the seal, either. I appreciate your desire to be thorough, but just concerned you might introduce a bigger issue.

Clecos work even better while you line everything up

One trick I learned the hard way…. When replacing these soft pieces. Lay the old baffle on top of the new corresponding piece, and make sure no trimming needs to be done first and use a sharpie to mark the first hole in line with the old baffle. You can also use the old baffles to make new ones if you don’t order a kit. (Ordering a kit is much easier) Punch only the first starter hole and slip in a rivet without setting. Line up each subsequent hole, mark, remove and punch and place the rivet. Do not install any rivets until all the pieces have been aligned and punched. Following this will ensure a perfect fit for all the pieces, and while it is a bit tedious, it prevents wrinkles, gaps and most errors.

I've done day trips to several museums, which is always fun. Also to events like eclipses, to get someplace where the eclipse is total. Those are fun because you just have to get to a suitable airport, hang out for the event, and then jump in the airplane and fly home. There's always a bunch of other people there doing the same thing, so it's usually a really good time.

When I was based in the SF Bay area, I would often fly up to Truckee for a day of no-lift-line, mid-week skiing, usually with another pilot friend. Several times I flew to Mammoth Lakes. 1:15 to KTRK from KSJC. For a few years I kept a car at KTRK during the winter. There was also a rental car place on the field, and Northstar had a free shuttle from the airport. A bit longer to get to KMMH, but great skiing. Over the years I did the trips in my 1978 M20J, and rented C-182 and SR-22.

If you have a digital angle finder, you can do a check of your horizontal stab rigging. Set your stab in the take off setting to start. Take your digital angle finder and set it to zero off of the two screws on the side of the fuselage used for leveling the aircraft. After it’s zeroed, put it on the leading edge of the vertical stab and it should read 87.5 degrees. This tells you that you’re at 2.5 degrees nose down on the horizontal stab, which is the correct position for takeoff. You can check the TCDS for your model to verify that it truly is 2.5 degrees and modify the readings of the digital angle finder if necessary. All of them I have done are 2.5 degrees nose down on the horizontal stab. David

Clarence, Mooneyspace felt it when you departed. I can't tell you how many times I have searched for something and found a very helpful reply from "Guest". Welcome back Jamie