markazzarito

Just wondering if any socal pilots have an airport recommendation with a wash rack? Im based at John Wayne the wash rack has been removed and the only wash vendors charge around $300. Id like to fly locally and wash the plane. Thanks!

Gonna try CAVU on RAL i have used foothill in the past i've done multiple annuals there and all in all they were ok did have one scary flight where i lost manifold pressure just after takeoff leaving annual the pressure hose wasn't tightened to make it even more interesting the plane was re-rigged (they did a great job here) the flight controls were set up differently and with an ipad mount on the yoke i couldn't get the deflection i needed to get the nose down for the final approach this coupled with no manifold pressure indication was interesting to say the least. This isn't the reason i wont go back.. They started the annual "tax" price went up 25% every year and the last annual i had there they made me overhaul the prop with less than 200 hours due to calendar time even though it was in great condition and had been taken completely apart inspected parts replaced and put back together by American Propeller just three years prior (not technically an overhaul) started to feel like if they couldn't run the bill up over 8k they didn't want the plane so they would find a way to run it up.

Thanks gonna give CAVU a shot see how it goes i'll report back!

Ya i really like this plan unfortunately barely have time to fly the plane much less participate in the annual.. i used to do this and they were by far the best annuals i've had not because of my added knowledge but maybe my presence insured the shop guys paid attention to their job.

Unfortunately unless you have a bunch of extra time you have no choice its scary supposed to be a process that keeps the plane safe but quite the opposite from my experience

Thanks! flying out for the inspection is not a problem its the getting home part that's no Bueno. So ideally i can find a good shop within reasonable uber/driving distance!

Hey all i live in southern CA and have a 1963 Mooney M20C. I'm looking for a good recommendation on a shop for annual inspection. I've had the plane here since 2012 and I've been to a number of shops. Without going into all the details overall I've been disappointed by the lack of care most shops use in these inspections. Frankly I'm way more nervous to fly the plane after annual than before based on my experiences. If anyone lives in Southern CA and has a shop they love please share! Thanks

Im wondering if anyone has experience flying an M20C or E IFR and has come up with an optimal power setting for the approach

I'm not sure how standard the seats in the C Model Mooney are compared to other models or other planes for that matter so this may not be a mooney specific issue.. That said i've had my seats jammed now more than once by a shop. I pick up the plane and notice the passenger seat is stuck and won't move. Before you say if it happened at the shop why dont you have the shop fix it know that i've thought of that and at the point i noticed this both times I had already left the shop or i most definitely would have gone that route. In the future i will add "check to make sure seats aren't jammed" to the laundry list of things to look at when picking the plane up from annual.. Having the shop that caused the problem fix it would require me flying back and i'm looking for a solution that is quicker and does not involve a second shop. It seems to me that this happens when the seat is removed and then forced back on the tracks out of alignment. I'm wondering if there are any techniques out there anyone has used to free a badly jammed seat..

Great point on the small potential rust bits! Im going to inspect the tanks with a camera. The photos greatly exaggerate the bubble appearance and cant depict what appeared to be some sort of gritty clear residue left on the cup after the sample was dumped. I have put small amounts of water in a clear sample to test and the look was not close the good news is after draining through the sump im now getting clear samples. Thanks for your help sorry to have scared you with my incompetence ill try not to fall out of the sky on you Chris!

And why is that?

Well at this point it appears to be a non issue! Whatever it was is gone after draining a couple gallons through the sump.

Here are a couple pictures of the sample. Looking down into the cup it appears there is a faint oil slick at the bottom a little hard to tell in the photo. From the side it looks like there are tiny bubbles sitting at the bottom of the cup below the fuel this is exaggerated in the photo. When the sample is emptied whatever is creating the bubble look remains at the bottom of the sample cup.

Thanks for the replies! Seems it may not be the corrosion treatment.. the most likely culprit is the Jet A though i have flown on the tank at altitude without issue thus far... i will follow up with a picture of the fuel sample its not extremely apparent and looks like little droplets in the fuel sample after the sample cup has been emptied it appears to have a textured clear grit in it.

Two years ago at annual my AP applied an anti corrosion treatment inside the wings of my plane. Ever since the seams and rivets have been weeping the stuff. I read this is due to over application however it doesn’t really bother me. My concern however is that I recently discovered an oily substance in my fuel sample. It’s obvious to me its leaching into the fuel tank much like it does out of the seams in the wings (the tanks are not otherwise leaking). My question is does anyone have experience with this and does anyone know if the corrosion treatment is dangerous in the fuel? I cant seem to find any information as to whether or not anti corrosion treatment leaching into the fuel tanks is common or safe or needs to be addressed??