kevinw

I have the same HSI in my J and have had the same problem. I was told by the owner of an avionics shop this particular brand is a "problem child". The problem persisted and I ended up replacing it with one he had just pulled one out of a Baron for an Aspen install. He sold it to me for $500. It's been working fine the last year but I'm probably on borrowed time.

Wow! Great looking plane. Take Cliffy's advice on landings. I too transitioned from an Archer. They are very forgiving birds that hide a lot of mistakes; those same mistakes have consequences in a Mooney. 70 knots crossing the numbers and watch for the bounce. I've had it happen twice, both times i was low on fuel so the plane was light and I was coming in a little hot. Luckily they ended fine but sure scared me.

I've been considering the Aspen PFD for some time now and if my HSI quit on me I'd probably pull the trigger. I wouldn't consider it an investment; I talked to a broker about it once and he said I should expect to get about 50% of the cost back when selling the airplane. He also said the touch of glass might sell it faster. So I guess you chalk the rest of the cost up to the use, safety and enjoyment of your new box. Thanks for posting!

Took off in the plane and about two minutes into my flight I noticed the gauge was working again. Jose must have been right on this one; float arm stuck. In any case, It's always good to learn more how the system works and I now know what to look for if I have a sender problem down the road. Thanks everyone. -Kevin

Did not know this but it sure would make sense. I'll give that a try. Always good to learn something new!

Also keep in mind the gear down light is dimmer than the others in the annunciator panel if the nav lights are on; at least that's the case on my J. Turn them off and the light should be brighter. For that reason I only use my strobes during the day.

tanks have not been repealed but the problem (this time) occurred after filling the tank. Worked fine, low on fuel, filled the tanks and noticed the problem taxiing to my hanger.

I wonder if the banging was a coincidence. Where is the inboard sender located? I'd like to check if it's grounding. Thanks.

Yes, both times it sits at half full. You might be on to something. Thanks.

About four month ago I noticed my left (panel) fuel gauge was reading about half full. I knew this to be incorrect because I had just refueled. I lightly hit the top of the panel with my fist a few times and it corrected itself and showed full. Up until now it has worked normally. A few days ago I refueled the plane and as I was running back to my hanger I noticed the same problem; full fuel but a reading of just over half in the left tank. I tried the same corrective measure as before with no luck. Before I run it into the shop can someone tell me if this is a common problem and also if there's something i can do to fix it. It's in a 1982 M20J. Thanks guys!

As crazy as it sounds I've had more trouble with cold starts than hot. My hot start is like yours. My cold is to firewall everything, 3 seconds of boost, crack the throttle an inch and light it. It works bit unreliable and sometimes a lot of cranking. I'm anxious to try your cold start technique. Thanks again. -Kevin

I'm going to try this next time. It hasn't worked well in the past but I only hit the fuel pump for about 3 seconds out of fear of flooding it. Thanks for the info!

I was on Aspen's website and they have the ATX100 that's ADS-B in and out for $3500. If you don't have a waas GPS they have the ATX100G for $5K. Looks like if you have an Aspen PFD (or planning to buy one) the ATX100 satisfies the requirement.

I have a similar setup in my J; PMA7000 with Bose ANRs (6-pin) in front and 2-pin connections for the rear passengers. I use some old David Clarks in the rear and never had a problem. Try using a different mono headset in the back to rule out your Sigtronics.

Every pilots worst nightmare. Great job in handling the situation. That's a story you'll be telling forever!

Mine did the same thing just after some avionics work as well. One hit with my fist on top of the panel and it was fixed. This was about 8 months ago and no problems since. This was in an 82 J. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great looking plane! Makes me want to trade up. I'm over in Carroll, IA. About 70nm away. Nice to have another Mooney flying in our neck of the woods. Welcome.

I think the J is a great step up from a warrior or archer but get an instructor who knows the airplane. I bought mine right at a year ago and transitioned from mainly an Archer with about 350 hours and an IR. In my opinion the J is easy to fly but it's not a trainer. Two issues that stood out for me was airspeed on final is crucial to good landings and planning ahead on arrivals. You can make sloppy landings in the Cherokee because it hides your mistakes; a Mooney is not so forgiving. The slick airframe makes it tough to slow down and you'll notice this immediately but you'll learn to just slow down sooner. I really like the fact that the never exceed speed is nearly 200 kts. I can start my descents from about 35 miles out at about a 300 fpm and pick up an extra 20-25kts of airspeed, something I couldn't do in the Archer. Think of the J as hitting the sweet spot in speed and efficiency. Same fuel burn as an Archer but 30kts faster. As someone mentioned earlier, consider your mission carefully and know that useful load can vary quite a bit from one plane to the next. Mine is only 875 (I have TKS) so I have to watch the envelope carefully.

Mine does the same thing. The last time up it the needle was just past the 250 mark - right between the 250 and the beginning of the green arc and never got hotter. JPI showed 350. It's in the shop right now for the annual so I'm going to have it looked at.

I have a feeling Don is going to get "friended" a lot after this post.

Thanks, I will. I put a FRM A3B6 in it when I bought it and I'm probably a bit paranoid of doing anything wrong that will damage the engine. I'll give it a try. btw, much of a fuel penalty at 2500?

Hi Everyone, I'm fairly new to MS. I've owned an '82 J for about a year now. I've been flying for 15 years and have about 500 hours. Private with IR. I was always told run the IO-360 at WOT and 2400 rpm in cruise which I have. Take a look at this clip from Bob Kromer and please give me your opinions. For the full article http://www.mooneypilots.com/mapalog/cruisepower.html Bob Kromer MAPA Executive Director & Former Engineering Test Pilot Prop RPM at 2500 (2400 in the Eagle Only) Except for the new M205 Eagle, for the normally aspirated (non-turbo) Mooneys we fly, the best RPM to cruise is 2500. Period. For the engine/prop combination in the Eagle, the best cruise RPM is 2400. You can talk about all kinds of reasons why 2400, 2300, or 2200 might he better, but from a pure technical standpoint, cruising at lower RPM settings makes no sense at all. By selecting cruise RPM lower than 2500 (2400 in the Eagle) you are simply giving away power and better performance for nothing in return. Think the engine will last longer at lower RPM settings? Forget it. TBO is set assuming maximum continuous power (that's max rated RPM). Think the engine will run cooler at lower RPM? Nope. As you increase the spread between MP (high) and RPM (low), internal engine operating pressures go up slightly, making the engine run just about as warm as it would at a higher RPM setting. And I have yet to fly a Mooney that is as smooth at 2200 or 2300 RPM as it is at 2500. So why do it? So try cruising at 2500 RPM. If you have an Eagle,2400. Everything else is giving away performance (our most valuable Mooney asset) for nothing in return.