philiplane

Never heard of MobilAero and I've been here nine years. What are the mechanic's names? As for Premier Aircraft, you would be a complete fool to take your plane there with no records. You should call the established shops at Tamiami to see about any records. There are 3 or 4 listed on Airnav. And call Premier at KFXE to see if they have worked on it. And call Certified Engines Unlimited at KHWO, they are the go to engine shop in the area. However, many of the older Mooneys in this area do not use shops, they depend on traveling mechanics, so back up records may not be available.

There are two approvals involved in aircraft parts. The part itself must meet one of several standards to be considered an "aircraft part". Then, that part needs an installation basis for the aircraft it will be installed upon. That is where a lot of folks go wrong. They assume that any approved part can be used on any plane, and that is untrue. You can't install an "approved" PT-6 turboprop engine on your Mooney, without an installation basis. In this case, you would need an STC. You also can't put just any FAA approved propeller on your engine. It has to be approved for the engine and airframe combination, either through Mooney, or through an aftermarket STC. The same goes for virtually any part on the plane, even when it is not considered an alteration. Repairs are another matter, and they need either approved or acceptable data. Depending on whether the repair is minor, or major.

An IA does not have discretion to use un-approved parts. Nor can he make a "mod" without approved data. Unapproved parts are the FAA's biggest concern, and the most likely cause of an enforcement action against the IA when they are found. Does it happen often? Yes, usually as a result of something else. Pilot has a prop strike, FAA comes with operations and maintenance inspectors to evaluate the faulty pilot and his airplane. Maintenance inspector finds illegible placards, NAPA parts in various places, and the infamous LED retrofit lamps. Pilot says, "i dunno, he signed it off". IA holds the bag, usually with a 90 to 180 day suspension of his certificates. That's a 1/4 to 1/2 of his annual earnings gone, over an unapproved lamp. But he is supposed to know better, whether it's a lamp, a carburetor, or a wing spar. I hope you can see this from the perspective of the person who has the most to lose.

Here's the reality check from the IA side of the fence- It's getting much harder to get an IA simply because so many are retiring, and there are fewer young people getting into the business. And if you want a really good IA, and one who knows your brand airplane, and will come to you....you are looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. In Florida, with a population of 19 million, you are talking about an IA pool of only a few dozen people. Many of the IA's I see at the renewal meetings have gravitated towards corporate work, or other aircraft whose owner's are not CB's. Just the facts. It's only going to get worse over the next decade.

there is a 24 month calibration requirement for the magnetometer. Start there first.

I tried a Bose QC35 as an experiment for a passenger, but it doesn't do well in an aircraft.

Well, from a few decades working on both planes for clients, I'll say that a Bonanza has many more hard to access areas than a Mooney. On a Mooney, only the back of the engine can be difficult. On a Bonanza, virtually everything requiring routine maintenance is difficult to access. Getting behind the panel is especially hard. The fuel bladders were designed by a sadistic engineer. Plus you have a Leaking Continental engine to deal with. They eat cylinders, starter adapters, camshafts, and when they do run, they leak oil. But your mechanic will much prefer that you own the Bonanza...

A really good, efficient Mooney specific mechanic would charge the same or more per hour than the MSC. You still save money since you don't have to move the plane, and he typically won't be billing for every last nit picking thing. And paying more per hour for a real brain virtually always costs less overall. And be aware that some mechanics view owners of older Mooneys as difficult to work with, and penny wise but pound foolish, and that's why you may have a hard time finding someone to work on your Mooney. The average age of an A&P is now 56 years old. There are very few people going into this line of work, so you have to treat a good guy like gold.

there are no LED's that are remotely close to the light output of an HID, even the base 35 watt HID has 5 times the lumens of an LED. The HID has 2-3 times the depth penetration of the best LED. LED's are only better in taxi light applications for their wide beam spread. Which is also achievable in an HID by tuning the reflector/lamp combination. If you want to see the runway a mile away, or the deer at the end of a long runway, the HID is the only choice. A properly installed HID will not present any service issues and will likely outlast the rest of the plane. I've done dozens of them.

I've owned a Twin Comanche, an Apache, and an Aztec. The cost is about 30-50% more than a comparable big single. Mostly for the extra fuel burn, insurance, and maintenance on the second engine. There is little to no difference on the airframe itself. It is nowhere near double, let alone 3x or 4x. Just another OWT, just like "the second engine brings you to the crash site." If you buy a Baron or a 310, the costs really are double though, mostly due the the landing gear, the Continental engines, and the higher average cost of Beech and Cessna parts. I service a lot of different twins, so I have a good idea of their ownership costs over a few decades.

I have a like new GDL39-3D for sale, $750 shipped insured, all accessories and the back up battery included. Was $900 new a few months ago. SOLD today, pending payment.

Total doesn't let anything go. Even things that aren't broken get fixed. $$$$$ #1 for Reliant though.

I have seen several Hawk paint jobs after 5-6 years, and they do seem to have issues peeling around lap joints and panels. I would ask what type of warranty they give, since peeling is not a wear issue, it's an application defect that may show up in one year or in five.

any pressure pot, like those used for painting, will provide the pressure to purge the TKS system. However, if you don't use adequate filtration, you will ruin the TKS panels by clogging the pores with contaminants.

Composite bottles carry a 15 year life limit. They also require hydro testing on a 3 year cycle, instead of 5 year for standard steel bottles. Lightweight steel bottles also have the 3 year hydro test, but have a 24 year life limit. Standard steel bottles have no life limit.

No, in flight you have cooling air that keeps the magneto core below the problematic temperature. Shut the engine down, and then allow 15 minutes of heat soak, and the problem appears.

If you have Slick magnetos, and the engine starts fine cold but not hot, you may have a problem with the ignition coils. It is fairly common for Slick coils to lose continuity on the coil tab, which is where the distributor's carbon brush rides. This can be duplicated with the magneto off the plane. Heating the coil with a toaster oven or heat gun to 250 degrees duplicated the hot soaked engine condition. Testing for continuity through the coil will reveal a bad coil. You clip a multimeter lead to the tab, and the other to the inout, and apply pressure in various directions to the tab. I've probably found over 100 bad coils this way, after pilots report problems starting hot but never when cold.

Cheap compared to South Florida. A tie down in Fort Lauderdale is $185 a month, or $250 for a twin. I pointed out to Sheltair that a guy parking a $300,000 Cirrus is paying less for his space than the guy parking a $150,000 Baron that takes up the same amount of space. Or a $75,000 Aztec. What's their logic? None. They just think a twin should pay more. Probably based on how markets were 30 years ago when the twin drivers were the rich guys. As for hangars... try $700 a month for a 40 year old no frills tee hangar.

Finishing an avionics upgrade and need a relatively current North Americas or eastern US MX20 datacard. MX20 has Chartview. Have software version 5.8 with Chartview card to trade if needed.

Looking for DAC GDC-31 roll steering system, prefer already strapped for KCS-55 compass system.

I am troubleshooting wiring with an STEC ST901 GPS steering unit and I need either the installation manual or just the pinout pages. Does anyone have a copy handy? Thanks!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/132133374269?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

prop strike propellers generally cannot be repaired, because damage to any blade that requires blade replacement mandates that the hub be scrapped. So a prop strike repair is really a purchase of a new or overhauled propeller outright, and an engine IRAN. An IO-550 IRAN costs about $14K, plus R&R labor costs. Be aware that the majority of Continentals these days (even low time late model engines) will have cam problems, or starter adapter problems, that can add $4-5K to the bill, and it will not be covered by insurance. I just did a 2014 with 280 total time, and Continental would not warranty the cam because the plane had one period where the oil change interval exceeded 6 months, by two months. This is part of the 5 year warranty coverage, where the oil must be changed at least every six months no matter what. And Continental's service bulletin, while very good advice, is not mandatory. Because it is a service bulletin, and SB's are not mandatory unless incorporated in the body of an AD. And there is no AD that applies, like Lycoming's accessory case gear inspection. So you are not compelled to do anything other than ensure the crank run out does not exceed limits. But it would be unwise as far as resale value goes, not to mention that buyers prefer a well documented repair over a short cut to save money.

I've done lots of XeVision HID installs under Field Approvals. It isn't a minor alteration since the technology is different from incandescent lamps. The ballasts, high voltage cables, and igniters can emit RFI that can interfere with radios and navigation equipment if the shielding is not up to par. As such HID light systems have to comply with DO-160 and be tested for interference with VHF radio systems on specified frequencies, just like GPS navigation equipment is.

The main feature of the new units, the touchscreen, is also their main drawback. I expect the screens to begin failing much sooner than the 530/430 series due to their complex nature. All screens have a life limit due to wear, and touch screens will wear faster since they are interactive and more fragile. Heat is also a big enemy of display screens, and I would expect touch screens to fail faster in warm environments. In South Florida, we see heat related 430/530 screen failures in less than 10 years since new. It's an expensive out of warranty repair, and i expect the touch screens to cost significantly more to repair. Time will tell but I think the 530/430 will be more durable than its successor.