Ragsf15e

Probably good hp if climb is normal. I agree.

Good in March, I guess my thought is, how are they now?

You making me feel better after putting the $12,200 annual on my cc last week. I had a $13k annual 3 years ago. That one was deferred mx. This year it was prop overhaul, alternator, and bunch of clean/repaint tiny surface corrosion. Thanks for making me feel better. Enjoy her running good again!

Scary. I’m buying sensorcon right now. Thanks for sharing.

While I generally agree that drag is more important than power, I’ve done a lot of speed testing in my F and I know th ~.75” of manifold pressure I get from opening the ram air is worth a good 3 or 4 knots. Are you sure your engine is running strong and all the compressions are good? I had a barely noticeable exhaust valve wobble and I first noticed the speed loss. I have done speed tests at different weights and it definitely makes a noticeable difference, but really takes several hundred pounds of weight to make more than a knot or two. Honestly though, probably a rigging issue since all the surfacs were just off, stripped, painted, balanced, put back on. That’s the most likely.

I have same prop vernier migration... gonna try the pony tail holder, thanks! is that a mooney thing or is there an adjustment? I asked a mechanic once and was told to replace the cable. I decided to just hold it in cruise.

Looks like a beautiful E. Nice engine times. Probably very fast. Needs autopilot to get real value out of all the other fancy avionics. That’s a big ticket item.

Those were fair rebuttals of my “buy a J” theory. To each their own I think in that respect. I guess my thought is that the C-J all have about the same operating costs (insurance could be more on a pricey J) and use roughly the same engine. I’d like to get the most performance and newest systems possible. The buy in is more and that’s important, but you may get that back and more selling a J vs something else. No matter what, operating costs will quickly overcome initial purchase price. I feel lucky that I bought a nice F and it took about 4 years at 100 hours per year to spend more than my initial purchase.

Another go/no go for me (especially if you want to fly ifr) is to find one with a decent 2 axis autopilot. They can be as expensive as a top overhaul or more!

I’d echo a few earlier comments... Of all the short/mid bodies, get a J if possible. C-J will all cost about the same to operate, but a decent J is 20+ years newer, faster, and hopefully, less to maintain. You’ll never be flying your J and wishing you were going 15 kts slower (on same fuel burn) in a C, E, F. Reverse is not true. Get one that’s priced right, sure, but that doesn’t mean pay less. In fact, look for the pricier ones. Just make sure it’s stuff you need and it’s priced fairly. Trust us, you would pay much more than the asking price premium for upgrading a lesser airplane to the same avionics, interior, autopilot, paint, engine, etc. This is true, but hard to fathom... purchase price isn’t all that important because it’s overcome by operating and maintenance expenses very quickly. I love my F, but I wish I’d spent an extra $30 AMU and got a similar J.

That’ll be a nice setup! Very redundant.

In fact, Garmin did real good making it simple for many of us... yes, you can take out the AI and get rid of the vac system with a G5 in its place. The limfac is if you have another vac operated system or an attitude based autopilot. As far as redundancy, if the G5 were to fail (much less likely than vac instruments), you’d be left with the same partial panel scan you have now. Im not saying its right for everyone since it’s several AMUs more than just replacing the vac pump, but yeah, you can definitely replace the AI with the G5.

I guess it does depend on what else you have powered by the vac system, but I have a mechanical HSI, fixed step and no speed brakes, so yes, a G5 by itself will let me remove the vac AI. The real problem is if you have an attitude based autopilot (my STEC is rate based), then you have to keep your AI to run the autopilot. The OP has the same year as me, so fixed step. Maybe he has a vac dg or attitude based AP, but otherwise, he could easily use a G5 to replace the vac system.

Garmin, G5 will replace the vacuum pump on my F when it dies. Maybe $4000 more than you’ll spend, but worth it I think.

Yeah but we save enough gas running LOP to make up for buying all the new starter motors!

This discussion and the PTSD from getting a new trim tube from the factory inspired me to look at mine today (it’s in annual anyway). Is the only wear place where it goes through a bulkhead just aft of the battery/avionics bay door? Mine seems to have black blocks installed on the bulkhead that support the trim tube just above the bulkhead instead of it setting on the bulkhead. My IA said “sacrificial material”. It still has black lines on it from rubbing against this material but is not “cut” into like the op pictures. Is that just how they wear? Wear on sacrafial blocks until those wear down and then wear on the bulkhead if you don’t catch it?

Cold vs Hot depends on lots of factors like wind/parking direction, temperature and time. You may not know for sure. I use 100 degrees oil temp as a rough guide... however, if in doubt, I’ll always try a hot start procedure first because no fuel is added-just crank it like you left it shutdown. If it doesn’t work, you can always add fuel for a normal cold start. However, If you prime for the first start you are stuck with that fuel and can easily be stuck flooding it and moving to a flooded start if it was hot. Theres lots of techniques for each. Don’t burn up your starter.

My plane is in annual right now and my IA is 6’5”, 230lbs. He was already mad that I was having him put new seals in the parking brake hydro solenoid. He gonna love me telling him to check for/take out extensions! But heck, the seats are out and he’s working right above the pedals already...

Maybe that’s why I can’t fit in my plane?! I’m 6’3” and barely fit with the seat in the back hole... how hard Is It to tell if there are extensions on there vs what it looked like stock? Easy to remove?? thanks for posting this!!

It’s fun if you need a new one. Ask me how I know... had to have it replaced at annual at Top Gun. Expensive, took very long time to get a new one from the factory, expensive. That about covers it. well, that and previous annual was at a different msc and they didn’t mention it... did it get that bad in 1 year?

$30 electric space heater, dryer ducting, heat tape. Shove ducting in cowl flap. Cowl plugs, blankets on the cowl. I like to put it on low the night prior to heat the whole engine to ~75. 2 hours prior works ok to get 50. All that in very cold Spokane Wa. Has anyone figured out a reliable and CB cell switch because that’s my biggest complaint?

Honestly, the OP technique sounds fine, although I wasn’t there to see the float and touchdown spot. In my opinion, shortest possible landing is more about aimpoint control and holding it off to an exact desired touchdown point while actually touching down at slowest possible speed. I teach my students to land on the first runway stripe, slowest speed. Approach is basically normal with an aim point short of the runway. At least that’s what I teach as a CFI/CFII... now if you want to play the game of 50’ obstacle at the threshold and a short field, backside of the power curve, limited float, etc is probably good, but you probably shouldn’t be landing at this field in the first place!

Funny you should say that... I once picked up my F at the FBO after they finished my ADSB upgrade and drug it over to the fuel pump to top off. While getting gas noticed a family looking through the fence with young kids. Asked if they’d like to check out the airplane. Showed them in /out. Said goodbye, hopped in and cranked for taxi to hangar. Saw the bright red Bruces plugs with flags and strap go flying across the ramp. Shut down, picked up plugs and pride off ramp, waved to kids still watching, got back in, crawled into my hole to hide.

Got one of those for an F laying around? IO-360A1A?

Just curious, who’s “they”? Ray Jay or another builder? Would definitely be nice for my F out west...