Mark89114

well take it off and see!!!

I sold my Cessna 152 which I had for 20+ years for $27,500....I paid $21,000 for it. So I am "making" money in aviation...… Now I own an Ovation with fancy avionics, dual just about everything (except for doors.....) and my costs have increased, don't know how much more as I just spend what it takes to keep it safe and move on with life.

What do you guys think the breakeven point is on this operation? 7 mooneys at 800,000 is $5.6 million, no idea what the gross margin is per airplane? 20% leaves $1.1 million for overhead, etc. which I don't think is enough...…. Just random speculating as I don't want to do any more real work today.

My understanding is TKS isnt corrosive, but the problem is that it traps moisture which accelerates any corrosion process. Cant verify that but they have been using TKS for 50 years and doesnt seem to be a problem. Just another data point. I dont worry about it.

I also am having problems with my brand new key, it is non functioning. worked it all around, etc but still no action Now we will see how Mooney handles warranty/defective product claims.....

Supposedly maxwell is repairIn this one for $400. Will advise.

Went to pick up airplane from annual.....and hit the low pressure switch to prime motor comes on, and then “click” noise on right side of panel and pump quits running. Pump runs on high pressure red switch, makes normal pressure/fuel flow but when you turn on the low pressure switch all you hear is a clicking noise under right instrument panel. POH says something about voltage regulator controlling voltage for low pressure. Haven’t broken out the maintenance manuals yet. We have identified the box making clicking noise but that is about it. Done for the day....but if I can give my mechanic some help that would be appreciated. Also we noticed there is no circuit breaker for the fuel pump.....are these switches the breaker type?

I was getting about same mileage as well, although one time driving northbound there was some crazy ass wind from the south that pushed me up to 35. I called stratus, there is not way to track it. Guess i will start looking for a new one......just i had it for 15 years and was attached to it....my capital cost per year was maybe $1800...i keep cars forever. Onward and upward and all of that other self help BS.

Can someone post some pics of what we should be looking for?

This is probably a long shot, but since the police won't do anything I have nothing to lose. My apartment was broken into in Fort Smith AR, in addition to the stratus they stole cash, my corvette and other miscellaneous stuff. The car was stolen because the found the spare keys, but anyway. Serial # 2S001404 if you see it on ebay or wherever a shout out would be appreciated, my guess is the stupid crack monkeys won't know what it is. Thanks and have a good weekend.

I am in FSM.

This is the type of issue that makes aviation so expensive and stupid. A switch can’t be designed and tested to last 5000 cycles, speedbrakes that need overhaul after several hours of use, no back spring in gear motor, KI-256 that only last several hundred hours, etc. and so on.....??? Feel free to add your own.

Boy there are a lot of things being said in here that aren't making sense...... Fuel expanding in the heat, yes that happens but there is a vent to allow expansion so the air can get out, and I assume in worst case scenario fuel. If your vent is clogged, yes that could be a problem. Malfunctioning Fuel nozzle causing too much pressure? I would think the pump is regulated to a certain PSI, not sure how the line person is responsible for that. Maybe if they completely overfilled it for minutes, fuel would drain down outside and into the speedbrake and fill that void up and then leak around the plastic tube, which is just a drain from the speedbrake, which was installed incorrectly on my plane.....they crimped up the tube, therefore any water that did get it wouldn't drain, but I digress. To be honest, I have a hard time following the OP posters description.

Ok, those look bad. I have had mechanics tell me I need to replace them when one race has a pencil sized mark on it.

I fly into North Texas a reasonably amount and my friend is convenient to Addison but I talk him into coming to Denton TX to pick me up. Fees were reasonable and gas was reasonable. However, when it changed from USA aviation or something like that and became a USA Jet center, they now have a $28 overnite fee and a $60 handling fee. The other FBO on the field is now gone. I would have been better going to Addison quite honestly if I would have figured in the convenience factor. I argued about the handling fee and they didn't charge that, but needless to say I wasn't happy about the overnite fees which I think are ridiculous for an out of the way airport. Rant over.