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gsxrpilot

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Everything posted by gsxrpilot

  1. I've mounted cameras under the plane before and I LOVE the view of takeoffs, landings, and especially the movement of the gear. But my 252 is just blowing too much oil and 10 minutes into the flight, the video is all blurry. I might mount it under the wing looking back at the belly. Hmmmm...
  2. I've owned two Mooneys, an M20C and now an M20K. While I've always had a hangar, they often spend nights away from home outside on the ramp. I've never sumped water out of either airplane. I used to generally keep the tanks in the C full. But the tanks in my K are rarely full. I change the O rings in the fuel caps every 100 hours, keep them adjusted correctly and always seat and close them myself. That way I know they're straight, level, and I can evaluate the tension on the latch. Apologies if I've missed something... or the point of this thread.
  3. The process we went through was to make a panel using clear plexiglass (Lexan). I think we made a couple of them. The plane was in the avionics shop and the original panel and all instruments were out of the plane. So we were able to use the factory panel as a template and then just move stuff around until it looked right. We used a dry erase marker on the clear plastic to mock it up before cutting. Once the template was what we wanted, then we measured and mocked it up in SolidWorks. This was all for my M20K. Some of the measurements might transfer, but I'm sure he doesn't have a file specifically for a M20C.
  4. I really should have taken a picture of the mount on the plane. I know better, but just forgot. I'll get one and post it. Basically I used the stock sticky mount (curved) and stuck it to the fuselage just above the door. I think I'd rather have it mounted on the centerline just aft of the top of the windshield. I'll have to test it because I want to see the wing/s in the shot. As I'm looking for a mounting location, these are my thoughts. I'm going to use the sticky mount. There are both flat and curved so use the right one for the location. But the sticky mounts are very secure, small, simple, and easy to remove if a FSDO tells me to. A piece of string, fishing line, dental floss, or even a knife can quickly remove the mount. Otherwise it's very secure. I want the mount to be in an area of very little vibration. This means on or very close to a rivet line. It also should not be sticking up above the surface anymore than required. The Rylo is meant to be mounted with one lens to the front and the other to the back. I think for external mounting on the plane, having the lenses oriented to port and starboard is better. I think I'd really like to try mounting it on the wingtip but for formation flying, I want to see both sides of the airplane. Wherever it's mounted, both lenses need to have a clear view. I guess I need to go run some more tests (fly).
  5. Only with a telephone. I have my iPhone connected via bluetooth to my PMA450a audio panel. After runup and when ready to go, I call Austin Approach on the phone and get my clearance. I can't reach them on the radio until about 1500 ft above the field.
  6. This... Unfortunately it's become a required part of flight planning. I never pick up the phone anymore to call Flight Service, get a briefing, or file IFR. But I always pick up the phone and call the destination FBO to check on fees. I do this every time even if I've been there before. At an airport like KADS in the Dallas area, the FBO's compete with each other and often change their fees. So I call every time.
  7. It might be a bit of a unique to Mooney situation here. As others have said, Mooney panels are not structural in anyway. There's a full tubular steel cage that is the structure for the cockpit. The panel is just a piece of aluminum that is attached to that steel structure. This is different than Beech, Cessna, Piper, etc... I visited an avionics shop in Houston yesterday to inquire about the Aspen Max upgrade and a few other things. The subject of panel came up and the shop owner said just to get whoever cut my current panel, to make me a new panel if we decided we needed one. I gotta make sure @"Chocks" still has that file.
  8. Interesting... I'd not noticed that before.
  9. Yeah... someday she'll get paint, but not until there's nothing left to do for her.
  10. My 252 has spent a lot of it's life at MGW. It's never been an issue.
  11. I have no info on this other than to say in my experience when a vendor at Oshkosh say "days" away from something... that usually means +/- 365 "days". Except in the case of BK where they use "days" in the biblical sense.
  12. I'm with @Fred_2O and got my LED landing/taxi lights from @LANCECASPER. They don't hardly draw any amps, never get hot, and are bright as hell.
  13. I've been flying around with them for almost a year now and really like them. Unfortunately I didn't do any real speed tests before so I can't tell if I'm any faster now. It took me awhile to really learn to fly the 252. And I was in the middle of that learning when we put the wingtips on. Actually all the credit goes to JD (Southwest Texas Aviation) who convinced Aveo they needed a test plane to get the STC done for the M20K and took it upon himself to volunteer my 252 for the job. The fitment is easily rectified and they actually fit better than factory wingtips which have to be trimmed to fit anyway. I think they look good. The lights are great. I think they're sturdier than the factory tips, especially the lenses. I like the lights as well.
  14. We're happy to have you here... but maybe tread softly until you've been here awhile and sorta learn the lay of the land. @fuellevel is a welcome supporter around here. He supports the site financially, has started several of his own threads with lots of very useful data previously unknown. Many of us started out a bit skeptical but with enough good data, now have CiES senders installed in our Mooneys. In fact, arguably the best maintained/upgraded vintage Mooneys on this site and in North America, are running CiES senders. E.g. @Marauder M20F and @Bob_Belville M20E just to name a couple. Just saying... and again welcome aboard. I think you'll find our little group very helpful in your search for the perfect Mooney and then ongoing as you fall in love with the breed like the rest of us have.
  15. This is just a first trial with the new Rylo 360 degree camera. I mounted it just above the door. I'm not real happy with the mounting position. The camera has two fisheye lenses out the front/back or either side depending on the orientation. I'll keep working on finding the right location. This was this morning's IFR departure from Smithville (84R) to Conroe (KCXO). The metars all over this area of Texas were LIFR when I took off and I was looking forward to an ILS to minimums approach. Even the current ATIS at KCXO on approach was reporting OVC500 1 mile. But unfortunately I broke out at about 1800 ft. The video only gets the takeoff. Watch it on an iPad or Phone so you can move the view around as it's playing.
  16. I've got a contact for you in Alberta. I'll send you a PM.
  17. I've booked it in and hoping it will stick in the calendar this time.
  18. I don't know about of the Mooney's more modern than mine. But I can say it is the one thing I really dislike about the 252. I miss the simplicity of asking the line guy to "top it off" and with a quick glance inside the cap, know without a doubt that I had 26 gallons in that wing. Fueling the 252 is an exercise in frustration every time.
  19. Hey, not trying to be hard on you or anyone. When I flew an M20C, I used a stick and a totalizer. I was generally within half a gallon at any time. So I'm with you. But with the 252, visually checking fuel is virtually impossible. There are huge flappers that have to be moved out of the way meaning anything with a stick is a two handed job and don't let a finger slip or you're likely to cut that paint stirrer in half with part of it now floating somewhere in the tank. Even getting a visual on the fuel in the tank is often not possible. So I often fly without opening the fuel caps and looking inside. Unless the tanks are full, it's just not all that useful. And even with the tanks visually "full", they could still each be +/- 5 gallons. I have wing mounted gauges that are fairly accurate and so I count on those along with the CiES senders and my JPI gauges to give me accurate fuel quantity at engine start and at any other time during the flight or after.
  20. Find a different AI. I would venture to guess that 50% of the Mooney's M20B through M20F have updated panel layouts... and none of them have FSDO sign off.
  21. Does the system in my 252 work this way? My O2 works great whenever I use it. But I never can remember which way to turn the valve for on or off, so usually just leave it. It doesn't seem to loose any oxygen after sitting for a couple of weeks without me breathing any of it. If it automatically shuts off below 8K ft. then I should just leave it on all the time. Thanks
  22. FWIW none of my cars have oil dipsticks. They all have oil level gauges that tell me very accurately, how much oil is in the engine. If my airplane had an oil level gauge, I wouldn't have to use that dipstick either.
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