Mark89114

I dont know if that is cheap or not anymore....

Generally I agree with everything you say!!! However I take exception to "not so expensive".....I think it is running about $1000 for "overhaul", which I think I think is sinfully outrageous for a mechanism that gets used a total of maybe 10 hours in use before recommended OH or outright failure. Rant over. Maybe.

I bought one based on the recommendations I have seen here. I like the unit.....I wish I could remember to turn it off but that is my issue. I leave it on the cupholders, it sorta of stays there. I get readings of zero in cruise flight, and a couple of units in climbout. On the ground with door open it is all over the place and takes some time to settle down. what are people seeing on their numbers?

I had the same issue, but all of the rambling from here forward is based on an ovation, so take it for what it is worth. Summary is low boost didnt work, heard a clicking noise under passenger footwell, some type of control board in a small box, extremely easy to get to. Don maxwell is able to repair the board level components relatively cheaply. The other internet rumor i will add is that this board goes bad when too much draw from the boost pump, so Don recommended i also replace pump, which i didn't and going on 2 years now. There is also a procedure to adjust this box tonget proper fuel pressure, again all ovation related info.

They missed all of the takeoff video....as far as i can tell.....that is the excitement part.

The problem is they are voting with their feet and moving....spreading their idiocy eveywhere.

But it didn’t fail at the dents.....

Well, I just flew 5:45 today from VA to AR and I was done. Something about being in the constant noise and vibration takes its toll. I think my longest day was 6.5, had to stop for fuel which helps a bit. I also had someone else along to pay attention and talk to.

Just a word of wisdom on this whole topic as this just happened to me yesterday. Make sure you leak check them, while it might seem like a trivial gasket replacement for whatever reason they are fussy. Over the years, we had finally gotten the gaskets to stop leaking, apparently it is a known issue with the IO-550? This annual we had to replace a cylinder, reused the thicker silicone/neoprene gasket as it was firmly bonded to the valve cover with sealant, see previous note about long term issue of getting them to stop leaking. The cylinder head replacement and reinstall of the covers and subsequent leak test was no issue. Flew a couple of test flight no issue, an unrelated EGT probe and uncowling and the mechanic went back and tightened up the valve cover screws, that was just enough to squeeze the gasket out of position. I took a quick test flight to get cheap gas and saw this oil pouring out of engine cowling. There was a mess of oil coming out, would have been a big issue if I would have been on a longer flight. Removed the old gaskets and installed the "rubber paper" looking ones that came with the rebuild kit. Still took some finagling as they continued to leak. Eventually ended up removing the spark plug wire hold down and voila not more leak. The plug wire hold down seemed to be interfering with the hold down. My informational session for the day.

No.

Everything is current, airplane is hangered, doesn't fly in much moisture. I check the pitot static drains and alternate static. Question is how do you test the drains for leakage? That pitot one is riveted in there, I think and I don't recall any access. Will look next time. Pushing into yellow, it doesn't vary, 90-130 it jumps quickly up and down in landing/final approach it is pretty steady. Right now just throwing it out there to see if there is any collective wisdom. I will try to get some video. Thanks. Mark

The airspeed indicator in my 2000 Ovation is reading “funny”, 90 to 130 kias, it seems to jump around a bit, up and down 3-4 knots, doesn’t appear to be an issue faster or slower. Again this is just approximate. Just curious if airspeed indicators wear out? I am assuming some type of gears connected to a bellows internally? Or is it the lines feeding the system? I do check the pitot and static drains, and pulling the alternate static air doesn’t seem to make any difference. Just looking for thoughts on where to start troubleshooting.

I agree, seemed strange how the right wing broke off when it didn’t even hit, that I saw. And the specs weren’t particularly high for a modified ground loop.

I love my Mooney for traveling and that is how I use it....average leg length is probably 3+ hours, I want to get back to aviating. The ultralight “type” airplanes, low and slow is something I have an interest in doing. My interest was piqued by the endless YouTube videos and a recent Craigslist ad in the aviation section (yes CL now has an aviation segment). That airplane was a 2 seater, semi cockpit contraption, upon further investigation it doesn’t have N number and apparently a lot of them aren’t legal as they exceed the weight limit, the legalities escape me as I haven’t done the appropriate research, just starting. Hopefully, someone on here with the common sense to own a Mooney has looked into this before and can give me some high level advice.

At least he is honest.