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I'll say there are!! There are a couple of general truths when it comes to props, along with the usual black magic and exceptions: The fewer the blades, the more efficient. This is due to interference drag. Wood props run smoother than metal ones. This is due to the wood's ability to absorb and dampen power pulse vibration. Wood props are typically less efficient than metal. Due to metal's higher strength and ability to accept thinner airfoils. Composite props (carbon, kevlar, or glass over a wood or foam core) combine the design flexibility of metal with the smoothness of wood. Most often, a 3 blade is not worth considering unless horsepower is 300 or more. Prop clearance, and the ability to harness horsepower, is where 3 and up shine. Oh, and in ramp appeal. MT propellers absolutely rock! I have a 2 blade on my Husky and it saves 27 lbs on the nose over the 80" Harzell that it replaced. It is also slightly better in the climb, faster in cruise and much smoother overall than the aluminum Hartzell was. (I have my own prop balancer and it all cases props were balanced to less than .05 ips and usually down to .02 ips). MT props are particularly efficient at lower (1800 - 2000) rpm. MT 3-blade props run smoothly on Lyc O and IO-360's on Huskys - - slightly more so than Mt 2-blades, but with a loss of cruise speed on the order of 2 to 3 knots. Back many years ago, I heard Mooney *wanted* to offer 3-blade props, but there was some sort of induced airframe vibration that kept them using 2-blade props. LASAR tried them too - - didn't work well. EDIT, this vibration issue was on the 201 only, not the bigger engines. I would buy another MT in a heartbeat and when my Mooney's prop needs replacement, an MT is the way to go. I have a friend with an C-185. He did static thrust tests comparing the MT 3 blade against Harzell and Mac - - and ended up with the MT. bumper

Before considering the Honda Viking variant, one would be wise to do a search on Jan Eggenfellner. Looks to be more'n a few unhappy scammed customers out there. bumper

Looks like Gordo landed at Logan Cache, UT. bummer . . . but there'll be another day . . . bumper

Thanks for the heads-up, Matt. I am at Minden and wasn't even aware of the attempt today! It's a rompin' out there, rotor at times blowing dirt horizontal in my back yard (right at the eastern base of the Sierra, Carson Range). My hat's off to them, it's no small undertaking - anything over about 5 hours in a glider is too much like "work" for me (g). Hope they make it this time, they are almost at the NV/UT border now. bumper

The Whelen Parmetheus PAR 46 costs $300 and is a 36.4 watt LED lamp. The AeroLed SunSpot LX46 costs double that ($595) and is a 70 watt LED. What do you get for twice the price? AeroLed is upfront with their specs and ratings, the LX46 puts out more than 5000 lumens. Whelen is a little tougher to quantify as they don't seem to rate their lamps "up front". Energy (watts) consumed can be used as only an approximate guide line, as LEDs give something on the order of 60 to well over 100 lumens per watt (with at least one manufacturer claiming 200+ lumens per watt). Is it worth double the cost to get double (or more) light output? I have 4 AeroLeds on my Husky . . . in a direct eyeball comparison to a Whelen equipped Husky, SunSpot blows away Parmetheus. bumper

I also flew a few times in a friends R-22, then in his Eurocopter EC120B when he stepped up. He is a cautious and careful pilot, still, I never acquired the feeling of trust and comfort with the machine that is so easy to find in fixed wing like the Mooney. Once we were both flying to the $1000 burger and he left a few minutes before me. As I caught up, I climbed a bit so I could dive on him (in level flight of course!) to accentuate the speed difference as I blew past him. His top speed was 120 and I was probabably doing 180. Keyed the mike and said, "I see your problem, none of your propellers are working to pull you in the right direction". He wouldn't let me fly in a hover (I'd only flown early RC helis), but did in cruise. Cyclic hand resting on the leg, sensitive but not at all difficult, at least for straight and level and gentle turns. My favorite military definition of a helicopter: "A mass of fatigued metal, rotating around an oil leak". Lost two friends, one in a Rotorway - witnesses said he had slowed and then just nosed over from 50 feet, exploding in flame. The other in an R-44 was a bit of a hot dog (previously crashed his R-22), though I'm uncertain that had anything to do with the fatal crash. He was re-positioning from the airport to his house on the lee side of the Carson Range (Sierra), half way up the mountain and above where I live. Witnesses heard a bang and saw falling pieces. Boom strike. There was rotor turbulence which was generally subsiding from much stronger mountain wave the day before. Under those conditions I won't even try flying over my house in fixed wing as the gusts can easily exceed 50 knots vertical or horizontal. bumper

October 2, 1973, swing shift, the watch captain told us they needed a volunteer as the regular observer was sick. This was an almost unheard of opportunity to fly in Argus, the call sign for our police helicopter. There hands shot up, mine included. I was disappointed when Dave Guider was chosen as I'd never been in a helicopter and really wanted to go. Wendell Troyer was the pilot. Later that night, Argus went down in East Oakland while responding to a robbery downtown. The post crash fire was so intense it cooked off the rounds in their guns. We at first thought that they were shot down by a sniper, as Troyer had a bullet wound to the head, though later it was announced the helicopter's transmission failed. I dodged fate that night. bumper

I also have a cover like that that I used to use. But, I pasted a copy of an Cessna panel with Arc radios on the face of it! Stopped using it years ago after one Mooney owner using this cover had the bad guys working it over with a crow bar - - trashed the tubing behind the bottom lip of the panel IIRC. My Mooney lives in a locked hangar with a monitored alarm system - - I own an alarm company - - one of the few perks. bumper

To determine if it's internal to the intercom or caused by a defective alternator (brushes, diodes, or otherwise), pull the field circuit breaker and see if the noise stops. In the perhaps unlikely event that the noise continues unabated, then the most likely problem is woud be leaky or defective electrolytic filter capacitor in the intercom. bumper

If your battery lasts more than 4 hours you are supposed to seek immediate medical attention . . . bumper

If you opt for liposuction, have it done in small "doses" in a semi-random pattern over your whole body. Sure, it may have you resembling a golf ball, but stripped down you'll hell for aerodynamic!

My '87 201 runs out of rudder in the 35 knots + gusting region, so crabbing until just before mains touch down is the drill. I'll test the waters by slipping briefly a time or two on final. If it will slip straight and I have altitude, then I may leave it in a slip - depends. What the Mooney has over some other aircraft is very good stability in strong winds on the ground. Stuff that would keep my Husky in the hangar is no sweat in the Mooney. I have a self launch glider (ASH26E) as well. There the limitation is on take off, with about 15 knots X-wind the sensible limit. This is due to the high thrust line unloading the tailwheel before the rudder is effective. Too easy to head for the sagebrush to chase the bunnies. Landing, even with the 59 foot wingspan is no big deal even with strong crosswinds. This may seem counter intuitive at first, but modern gliders have little side area so the slender fuselage slips well at low bank angles. But, if you do touch a wing, really bad things can happen. bumper

Dow DC-4, or other silicone dielectric will work well. Another helpful method is to mix a strong solution of baking soda in water, then saturate a paper towel or two in the solution. Fold wet towel into a narrow strip and place in microwave. Nuke until dry. Put strip over battery filler caps and it will neutralize acid fumes and keep battery compartment corrosion free. bumper

You need to be a good boy and maybe the "Hole Fairy" will visit! bumper

You have to disassemble the airplane to replace that bulb. When the factory built the 201, they started with that particular bulb and built the airplane around it. Sorry. bumper :c)

Arnold, What a coincidence! I live in the Carson Valley too. And I have an official Mooney Service Manual that I purchased back in 1991. At the back of the manual there's a large envelope insert that contains several large fold-out wiring schematics, I think for different models. Begging won't help, nor will buying, but you can borrow for free (and maybe even copy). bumper

Umm, if you're the FAA you can! bumper

Hmmm, so let me get this straight . . . you are saying you prefer McCauley and you're aware McCauley, " . . . have less AD's less problems", and yet you are looking for a Hartzell?? Curious why? bumper

That is correct with regard to "plain" silicone O-rings, which are not recommended for use with hydrocarbon fuels - or silicone grease. However, this is not the case when using Fluorosilicone O-rings which are not adversely affected by hydrocarbon fuels, silicone grease, or petroleum grease. bumper

Loctite 290 on the *outside* after drawing a slight vacuum (1 inch Hg) on the inside of the tank. for more details see: http://www.seqair.com/skunkworks/Maintenance/TankLeak/TankLeak.html I have tested another product, "Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Seal" (I know . . . don't laugh) though not on a Mooney tank. My test was to drill two small 1/32" holes in the bottom of two OJ bottles and slice between the holes with a razor knife. Then I applied the crack seal, twice. Filled one bottle half way with 100LL and the other with MoGas. Let stand several days and observed no leaks. Captain Tolley's is not intended for this application, though my testing indicates it should work. Not approved of course. bumper

Buster1, I just checked that link for a size 338 fluorosilicone 70 duro and oringsusa is listing it at $10.50 ea plus shipping. I have Amazon "prime" and they list that ring at the same price but with free shipping. I still have lots of the fluorosilicone small O-rings, size 10 for the center shaft. A stamped self-addressed envelope (see my earlier post this thread) will get you two little blue rings for free. Note that the return envelope only needs one stamp. bumper

Whatever Byron is charging, I'll let you rent my truck inner tube for half the price. Comes with a hand pump, patch kit, and big golf umbrella! bumper

Do you have the same radio static with LED landing light on or off? You can tighten and improve the spade connections. Use a needle nose pliers to gently squeeze the rolled over part of the female connector - - don't get carried away and squeeze it too tight or it will be difficult to push onto the male spade. Also, before assembly, apply some Dow DC4 or other silicone grease. This will help prevent corrosion and resistance build up by keeping the connection gas tight. Typically the reason connections like this overheat is due to resistance build up - - even with normal current flows the voltage drop and power dissipated due to resistance increasing can cause overheating as you are seeing. bumper

Or, "We've upped our standards . . . now up yours!" bumper . . . "We're all here because we're not all there."

Besides light output, there's also a radio frequency interference (RFI) concern. This is not from the LED itself, but rather from the LED driver circuitry. LED's require current limiting and on small lower power LED lights this is typically accomplished with a resister. The downside is that resisters waste power and for higher power LEDs become somewhat impractical, so a LED driver circuit is employed. The LED driver typically consists of a DC to DC switching circuit and regulator (a "buck" circuit to both regulate voltage and limit current output, or a "buck boost" circuit which can also compensate for low voltage input). It's the DC to DC switching circuit that can generate RFI, so filters and proper grounding may be employed to prevent interference with avionics. bumper