cnoe

Don't worry, you'll hear no political rant from me. And Little Timmy is no friend of mine, but... ... as of this morning only ONE of our Senators has signed on as a co-sponsor of the PBOR2. That is an embarrassment! Senator Inhofe has vowed to bring this to the floor for a vote if he can secure 60 co-sponsors (currently at 56). See https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/571/cosponsors?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22%5C%22s571%5C%22%22%5D%7D&resultIndex=1 Ted Cruz needs to be convinced to join as a co-sponsor, and the only way that will happen is if his constituency speaks up, and LOUDLY. You may have sent an e-mail, or clicked a link from AOPA/EAA, but have you taken 60 seconds to CALL his Washington office? The phone number is: 202-224-5922. You don't have to talk to a real person; just leave the requested info and tell him to SUPPORT PBOR2 by signing on as a co-sponsor! Mr. Cruz has vowed to represent the voters, so tell him it's time to sign on as a co-sponsor! Call him now at: 202-224-5922. Okay, I'm now stepping down from my soapbox. Thanks. Cnoe

Maybe not. These units pump cold water through an evaporator (coil) which cools the air that passes through it. That's how my Arctic Air unit works anyway. Now many years ago, back in another life I spent a few years as a touring musician and we employed various special effects during our shows. One of these was our "fog machine" which was basically a 55 gallon drum half-full of water. At the appropriate time we'd drop blocks of dry ice into the drum which would immediately create a huge volume of thick "fog" which was distributed around the stage with fans and ducting. Without the water there's nothing to pump through the Arctic Air's evaporator, and if you put dry ice into water your plane will quickly fill up with thick fog. Just sayin'...

The separators seem to be very finicky about vent hose positioning (detailed in the installation instructions). If it gets too close to a slipstream it will indeed increase consumption. As I mentioned above I cut my consumption by more than 50% by moving the vent a little further away from the cowl flap. The plane stays noticeably cleaner now too. The downside is that I'm now recycling oil through the separator rather than replenishing it with new (additional quarts). But if you're diligent with oil changes I believe (hope) it's a minimal issue. +1 for WOT and 2400-2600 rpm depending on altitude. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I've just been wondering about this... When I shut down my IO360 the prop always comes to rest with the lower prop tip at about the 5 o'clock position (standing in front of the plane). This places that tip in harms way at the hands of anybody with a tow-bar (myself included) so... I almost always check the p-lead connection (test the mag switch) prior to shut-down then move the prop to a less vertical position by hand as soon as I exit the plane. But I got to wondering, does this wipe a significant amount of oil from the cam lobes? And would I better guard against camshaft corrosion by leaving the prop alone (when possible)? Does anybody have an opinion on this? Cnoe

After replacing and repositioning the vent tube on my Airwolf mini-sep at annual my consumption has instantaneously dropped from 1 qt every 6-8 hours to 1 qt in 16+ hours and still counting. It's been sitting on 6 qts for hours now using Phillips 20W50 in my ~400 hour IO360. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'd like to see Lord's sales numbers on these. IIRC there were about 10,000 M20s manufactured. Most use the same disk. If half those are still flying (anybody know?) then we're talking about a fleet of ~5,000. If the average replacement time is 10 years (another assumption) then we're talking about 500 planes buying 11 disks each every year. That's 5,500 disks a year X probably $75 each wholesale for a gross sales of $412,500 per year. That's if your market share is 100%. Considering all the costs involved it's not something I'd quit my day job to start up, but for an idle retiree it might be worth looking at. And after considering it more fully overnight, I realize that it's not "durometer" that's the controlling factor; it would be compressibility and rebound to consider (which I still believe could be easily tailored with urethane). I imagine when my time comes (in the next couple of years) I'll be buying the stock disks like everybody else. And I'll tell my wife to ask Clarence why we're not going out to dinner that week.

What if... An individual contracted the manufacturing of 110 urethane toy wagon wheels that just so happened to be the same dimensions and durometer as a Mooney shock disk? It seems like the metal (aluminum?) plates could be reused; why do they need to be bonded to the rubber/urethane? I've no interest in selling aircraft parts but selling wagon wheels might not be a bad small-time venture. Probably not enough CBs out there to make it worth the trouble. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Don, FYI, this deal won't last long http://www.walmart.com/ip/Bushnell-20161-Bushnell-TRKR-250L-Flashlight-and-Bushnell-65L-Hat-Light-Holiday-Combo/38763665. I just bought two of these sets and the quality is quite decent. For the price it's hard to beat and they are way nicer than the off-brand lights you'll see at Home Depot, Lowes, Academy, etc. It would be better if you could pre-select the "red" light on the regular flashlight (you have to briefly cycle through white first but that can be done with the bezel covered or pointed down). With the "hat" version you can choose either the "red" switch or "white" switch directly. I'm sure these were Wally-World's Christmas overstock; how can you go wrong for $10 a pair? Cnoe

And they typically retail for $30-$35 for 4 wheels. At that price you could re-puck a Mooney for $100 + labor.

There are a great number of skateboard companies marketing their own custom (urethane) skateboard wheels in durometers ranging from the mid 70s ("A" range) into the low 100s. They are precision molded and are virtually INDESTRUCTIBLE. Properly spec'd out I'd have absolutely no problem whatsoever using them on my plane. They would likely outlast and outperform all the rubber versions. If a bunch of 70s burn-outs can put something like this together, surely a bunch of PILOTS could figure it out. If I didn't abhor bureaucratic interaction I'd look at getting an STC for these myself.

Come on Paul; when you live down here you have to EMBRACE the climate! And the ice-cube air-conditioner works great for me too! A friend and his wife visited this weekend so I spent Saturday giving him a tour of the area by air. The FBO at Houston Southwest filled my 5-gallon Home Depot bucket with free ice which Tom @ SuccessAviation delivered to the plane via golf cart. Fire up the engine and immediately start the AC with all vents/door closed. Barely broke a sweat. Made a hasty climb to 7,500' to reach the mid-70s and turned off the AC to save ice. Intercepted the beach near Surfside and followed it eastward across Galveston then Bolivar peninsula making a 180 at High Island with a slow descent back into Galveston (KGLS) running the AC again below 2,500'. The line crew there gave us a courtesy golf-cart ride to Moody Gardens and back for lunch (modest tip appreciated). From there it was north (with AC) past the San Jacinto Monument at 3,500' (a bit warmer saving AC ice for the later descent back into KAXH). At the Monument we turned back through the VFR corridor between KHOU and KIAH over downtown Houston. Houston Approach was great clearing us through the corridor (actually into Bravo airspace) at 2,500' before turning us direct back to Houston Southwest RIGHT OVER THE TOP OF DOWNTOWN about 1,500' AGL over Chase Tower. They had NEVER given me that route before and the view was GREAT! Thanks Houston Approach! We turned on the AC again descending through 2,000' and rolled all the way to the FBO with the vents and door closed. As we unloaded I checked the ice box to find no ice remaining, but the water was still cold. Plus 1 for the ice units! P.S. Can't wait to hear all the tales from Mooney Caravan 2015!

While on the subject, there's a fair amount of "slack" in my overhead vent knob ('78 J). When I turn to open the vent it goes a ways (maybe 1/2 turn???) before the vent door starts opening, and then when closing it the knob will turn a similar amount before it's closed tightly. Is this common, or is the cable sheath not secured well where it attaches? I really don't want to remove the overhead plastic to check it out unless I have to. Anybody?

Yep, my '78 J's stall strips aren't symmetrical either. Bugged me at first but then I forgot about it.

Flying through the Bravo here ATC will keep VFR traffic below 2,000' because of KIAH and KHOU. That altitude doesn't offer much time to pick your landing spot so I often consider where I'd put it down if necessary. Freeways are choked with traffic and other roads are full of power lines. We've got a few big parks and several bayous (man-made rivers) along with a few golf courses and football fields here and there. It must be reassuring to know that all you have to do is pull the "red handle" and settle where you may. Still, I'd hate to end up in front of a truck or in a power line as some have mentioned. But once I'm out of the metro area the chute seems a bit unnecessary.

+1 on the form-a-funnel. Cnoe

Looks like there were some small open spaces and some busy roads in the area (see attached satellite photos) but in the middle of the metro the chute was likely the best option. From what I've seen lately both Cirrus and the insurance companies are saying "pull early/pull often".

Looks like a 2007 SR22 registered to a local LLC. N422PB Two minor injuries reported.

Eating lunch watching the local news and they show a Cirrus down with CAPS deployed in a local residential neighborhood. Interesting. Didn't look too bad; hopefully all are uninjured. Cnoe

Musician turned water-filled cave explorer. Operate a drilling supply business on the side to make ends meet.

You two guys are HOPELESS! Cnoe P.S. Looked like fun.

I'd advise you to not buy a tire/tube package unless the tube is brand-name (preferable Michelin LeakStop from what I've gleaned). Desser sold me a nice Michelin tire several months ago with their LeakGuard tube (package deal) and I spent an hour blocking the local taxiway last week on my rim with the gear-door resting on the asphalt waiting for a fix. The air pressure was verified on spec and the valve stem separated from the tube while taxiing. The tire was fine. All three of my tires have been replaced in the past 12 months but I'm pulling them off to install better tubes soon. Cnoe

Wow! I hadn't looked at this thread in a couple of days! Since making the original post I've learned... 1. Michelin Air Stop tubes have a good reputation and will likely be my choice moving forward. 2. Nitrogen may have some marginal benefits but using air in my tires likely won't send my plane plummeting to earth. 3. We are all unworthy because some people spend more on vacations than what our Mooney's are worth. Jerk. Thanks for the input guys! Well... most of it anyway. Cnoe

That's right! My first ride in a Mooney was preempted by a taxiway flat. I wasn't paying attention to the details at that time; thanks for the note. Looks like Chief has the best price on Michelin LeakStops. On the list now. Cnoe

So I called Desser and inquired about the failure history with their LeakGuard (oxymoron?) tubes and of course they said that the tubes were very good quality. I was told that the Michelin tubes were no better, but I'm not so sure. A friend who runs a flight school says they've had bad luck with anything but name-brand tubes even though I believe even the Michelins are manufactured overseas. Desser did offer to "look at the tube and maybe replace it" if I'd send it in at my expense; the problem is that I don't want the same brand tube now, so I likely will just blow that off. So what brand did you go to Byron; sounds like Hank is satisfied with the Michelins? I may try those. In the meantime I'm running higher pressure in the mains to possibly help avoid this issue. Cnoe

I experienced a rapid decompression while taxiing my 201 on Saturday. Within a couple of seconds I had the right main completely flat with the inner gear door resting not-so-comfortably on the asphalt. I managed to block the primary taxiway of this smaller airport on the outskirts of Houston for about an hour while a crew came out to fix it. Turned out that the tire was fine but the valve stem was ripped completely off the tube (while taxiing). I KNOW the tire wasn't low as I had adjusted the inflation less than 24 hours prior and had done a thorough pre-flight. Still, the mechanic said that this was caused by underinflation. He was surprised to find the placarded pressure to be 30 psi (in the mains) and even looked at my POH to confirm that. He said they always put 35-40 psi minimum in 6-600 6-ply mains to keep the tires firmly seated on the rims. This Desser tube was only 1 year old and was part of a tire/tube package (Michelin Aviator tire). Anybody else have this issue, or have any comments? I may opt for a name-brand tube in the future and will likely run with a bit higher pressure. Cnoe