Mark89114

Will try and keep this clear but I tend to ramble..... Replaced some nose steering parts due to wear, that required the nose gear to be removed, put it all back together and we had the plane on jacks so we were doing the testing for an annual. Nothing looks mechanically wrong, in terms of binding, etc. Gear ran up and down, did it several times and then the 4th time, gear only partially retracted. Put gear switch to down and gear went down, all normal indications. Tried it again, and it worked. Tested the manual extension and it worked fine, reset everything, tested again, worked normally, thought we would try the electric again and it only came up halfway. Would not cycle down with electric. So used the manual system to extend. Reset everything and now won't even partially retract. All of these operations on ground require us to use gear bypass button and the CB IS NOT popping on the gear actuation circuit, no CB's are popping. The motor isn't getting warm, when it was working. We have couple of theories, but it was like 100 degrees today so we quit..... Do CB's fail partially? Damn near impossible to get behind the CB panel and test. The gear relays are clicking like they are receiving a signal and we do have 24 volts on one of the pins when the gear is in up and the override button is pressed. Thinking maybe the contactor is shot internally? We have banged on them, but no luck with that technique. We briefly ran the motor directly, very carefully with an old battery, but it ran out of voltage before we could run it though a full cycle. Maybe a bad spot on the armature? We have the wiring diagrams online, but they are about impossible to read. Does anybody have a better easier to read version? Our current best guess is the relays are bad, but we are unsure why there are two? Guessing one is for retract and the other for extension? Again no wiring diagrams to trace it out. Thank you, Mark

Did some quick and dirty research and got typical internet sales and marketing nonsense, found numbers from 2200 to 3600 feet for required landing distance, no idea on weights, temps, etc. Back when I was flying a Hawker 800 professionally we weren't allowed to do anything less that 4500 without getting permission. If you read the performance charts that number could be ridiculously low, seems to me like 2500 feet, obviously that was max effort, standing on the brakes. I never had to do anything that dramatic but I am sure it would shake and rattle everything loose. As someone else mentioned carrying extra speed over the fence is the biggest user of runway. I flew with one guy, supposedly more experienced that floated a thousand feet every time. He was a moron, one time we used 4500 feet in a Citation 500 series which is easy to fly. You would be surprised at the number of borderline competent people flying jets, this incident just proved that.

Not to speculate....but is/was dale the pilot? The nascar guys have a poor record of safety when the driver is also a pilot.

Too soon????? Over statement of the century.....it has only been 4+ years? I think the price point is too high for what we are getting.

I apologized in advance for my poor verbal description!!! In figure 1, it is Part 33. The bushing isn’t even labeled under this diagram, it is about 1.5” long, which doesn’t look like the diagram. LASAR said this was the correct part, except for the OD getting bigger, which is where the mystery comes from, the screw as shown in diagram is now a std bolt, which means it doesn’t fit into the nicely machined countersink on the airframe. The original bushing in there had cracked in half and the bronze part was out of round leading to sloppy fit. Somewhere along the line something has changed and we are not aware of how to proceed. I will update everybody Monday if I get to this.....

Bear with me on my descriptions and dimensions, on the road and don’t have access to details. Summary is, airplane in for annual and a lot of slop was found in linkage that resides in nose gear well that drives nose wheel steering. Decided to replace worn parts as needed, despite no issues. This linkage pictured is attached to right side of nose gear well underneath a tiny little access panel. The bushing internal to this part had cracked and was broken. Ordered new part from LASAR and the OD is 3/8” and the original was 1/4” (dimensions are TBD) but summary is the new bushing is bigger. Original plan was to get new bushing, under assumption it was same OD and just manufacture the new brass bushing as Mooney doesn’t sell the brass part pictured. We(mechanic and myself) assumed they superseded part with larger bushing. However, before we start reaming holes larger need to verify proper course of action. My machinist removed the brass bushings and the ID is 1/4”, so the new oversized bushing fits perfectly. The question is, what is the proper repair procedure for the pivot that is welded into cage of airframe? Trying to get this repaired over weekend, but will wait till Monday to contact experts. Thank you, Mark

A HOLD????? I would declare an emergency and ask for penalty vectors...…..

And that is sad news....

So does this mean we can buy the KI-300 an adapter and actually replace our KI-256? They have the STC but can they deliver the actual product? It has only been 3 years......

I just recently started getting in flight with stratus and foreflight. Not 100% sure how it works or what the reliability of it either.

I just flew into Midway last month. No issues. I arrived at 9 am approximately. Also no weather to be concerned about so that probably optimizes things a bit. Landed on 31L and a quick taxi to Atlantic. Didn't think the fees were outrageous, gas price was gouging, no delays leaving either, it was IFR but not bad, was going southbound which probably helped a lot. I wouldn't worry about it.

Kind of like the “free beer tomorrow sign”.....tomorrow comes and the sign says the same thing..... Personally I don’t know why someone, anyone else hasn’t designed a replacement that will provide the proper inputs to the AP. There are a large (in aviation numbers) of these installed units and with the terrible MTBF a lot of people looking for a better solution. While my software experience is databases, I can’t see this being a hugely complex issue, up, down, left right and some rate of change numbers and you have the basics. I realize a gross simplification just random thoughts. Signed, hopeful KI-256 replacement searcher.

If it is red or dusty don't mess with it.

It is my understanding that the fluid itself isn't corrosive, the problem is that it traps moisture. Therefore corrosion starts there. Haven't read that anywhere except on the message boards, so take it for what it is worth.

Update: (bear with me on some of the terminology here) the spring mechanism had failed to retract at some point in time and wore on the shaft, the heat buildup caused it to lose it's temper so rather than a $1200 exchange, I am now looking at $2200 repair/overhaul/exchange. Talked at length with the Niagara tech and there doesn't seem to be any real consensus on what causes this, oil additives were mentioned, lightweight starters, lightweight props, stuck starter relay, etc. Of which I have none, except for starter relay. I did have a weak battery several months ago and that was causing what potentially could be a "slow start", if I understand some of the mechanics of what is happening inside this adapter. Pure speculation. He did mention drag on the starter, or the starter staying engaged. I have a light on my panel that tells me when the starter is receiving power and that has never stayed lit. He suggested I call the guys in Brooks KY, talked with their tech, super knowledgeable and he mentioned drag on the starter being a possible cause. I personally spun the starter and I think it spins pretty easy, but he convinced me that less drag is better and that the starter leads to some of these starter adapter issues, even with a "good" Continental starter. He is going to look at it and evaluate and repair if necessary. For $300 seems like good policy, based on the $2200 already spent and the possibility of further damage to the engine. Will advise if he finds anything, good or bad.