231MJ

I think this is great news. I'm hoping FAA now has greater confidence in Dynon's AP and the approvals come faster. Even the Mooney AP progress bar moved on the Dynon site.

I have same conversion and same engine. This sounds frustrating. I once chased a rough running engine after a top overhaul - after spending a lot of money we checked the simplest thing...one injector was blocked. Cleaned it and it ran great. A rebuilt fuel pump is expensive, and I wish I had not done it but sometimes we get so desperate to fix an issue we get carried away. Make sure they check the simple stuff first - all of it.

Can someone explain how to paste a picture into the message - thought I had it but I see it does not show up. I attached the pic I tired to paste into the message to this comm. vacuum speed brake canister assembly.pdf

My vacuum speed brakes have recently become intermittent; I can see one side wants to deploy but it gets suck trying to open. On the ground the wing units open freely by bulling on them and there is no binding or resistance to opening. Took the belly off and inspected the rubber boot - no tears and tape is firmly in place. However, when I push on the actuator can that connects to the cables (Can B, below) it binds going into the static can (Can A, below). It seems to get hung up on the lip of the inner can (Can A). Is there something inside the two cans that keeps them aligned? Did the rubber boot stretch or move to the point where the two cans are now too far apart leading to bad alignment when vacuum is applied? I sent a question to Precise Flight but they don't support the vacuum brakes in any way (other than sending me the old installation manual). Again, this is not an issue with the rubber boot or the cables or the solenoid valve. Thanks vacuum speed brake canister assembly.pdf

I have the parts catalog. If you email me I can send it to you.

I had this same problem in my TSIO360-MB. I would land, turn off the runway and the engine would stumble and if I didn't add throttle quickly it would kill and then I had to do a hot start. I never figured out what the problem was but after getting new (not rebuilt) mags the problem seems to have gone away. No adjustments to the fuel system were made. I know it makes no sense that this was a magneto problem and I'm not suggesting it is, but so far so good. I think any improvement to the ignition like new mags, fine wire plugs and even the SlickSTART booster for a hotter spark during starting has helped. Plus learning how to do a hot start has reduced my anxiety level after fueling. I don't know what causes the problem but I'm glad to know it's not just me or my engine.

I have one from my K. Not too old if I remember right. Please PM me and I'll send it to you.

I got the same email this morning. I'm a Dynon user so that may be why I got the email and others did not - not really sure. From the message it seems Dynon understands that the autopilot is a critical component to upgrade decisions and they are essentially telling us "we can't predict when the autopilot will be approved so keep that in mind when you make an up-grade decision". I feel for Dynon because they will lose some customers. Dynon is a great product at a reasonable price but FAA is just not cooperating. I have put money down on an AeroCruze 100 with Spruce in hopes that it gets approved sooner. Frustrating in any case. Happy holidays, all.

This might be worth reviewing:

My 231 was idle for 5 years while I was overseas. I always meant to start it during trips home but it just did not happen. When I finally got to it I made the mistake of turning the prop - there was a stuck valve and you can imagine the results. Bent valve, indent of the top of the piston. We could have just pulled that cylinder but decided to do a top overhaul - the engine had 800 hours so it was a reasonable time to do it. The shame was when I parked the plane (in a hangar) it was running great, all compressions good. I could have prevented this by properly preparing the engine. Stupid, I know... Be careful with the engine.

S, From my perspective, the GPS 175 seems to integrate fine with HDX. I load the flight plan on the 175 and it flows directly to HDX. The 175 shows on the HSI independent of other navigation inputs. Garmin's MO prevents HDX talking to the 175, much like Foreflight won't talk to the 175 but Foreflight it will talk to HDX. You can have two flight plans - one on HDX and one on the 175 but I can't think of a situation where this would be necessary. I can't speak to the legalities of the HDX/175 paring. I'll look at the documentation when I get home to see if I can comment factually. I had an avionics shop do the install and I seem to recall FSDO did inspect but I'm not 100% sure. I have not flown behind Garmin G3x but HDX is very cool. For $$ reasons I have not installed the IMS yet but it's on the list.

I've been flying with HDX for about a year and have found the system to be all as advertise. None of the components have failed so can't speak to their warranty support. They answer the phone when I call and respond to emails fairly promptly. The delay in the AP is a bummer for sure but I'm hanging in there. I think the reality is the AP will not be available until late 2022, despite what their website says.

They do look cool. Is there a performance benefit?

I would guess an hour. Should be plug-n-play. If you need one I have the one removed from a 1979 K. Working when removed.

+1 for Niagara Airparts. Super helpful and fast turn. A new/rebuilt starter is a good idea. I got the energizer and now have much better cranking and it seems like less drain on the battery (my hot starts require more cranking time). There is a lot to remove to get at the adapter and while it's out you should consider getting the alternator rebuilt. It's easier to get at when the adapter is out. I know...it's money but will probably save some bucks in the long run.

That is really bad news. I installed HDX last year (I think HDX is great) with the expectation that the AP would be available early 2021 (it was previously published as late 2020 but I knew that was unrealistic), now it looks like 2022, the way things are going. Should have kept the very basic Century II when I did the up-grade or gone Garmin...one more year of hand flying to look forward to. The model change is not a total surprise, I think they are using a J for the test bed, which is different than the early and late airframes. I'm glad my K fits into the current approval window. What a bummer...

I've had HDX for about 5 months and so far so good. There are several shops that install Dynon - Baker is often on this site - talk to him. I had the install done at Advanced Aero in Reno, NV and I'm happy with their work. There are probably lots of shops that now install Dynon in certified aircraft. I'm using the Garmin GPS 175 as the WAAS navigator and it interfaces nicely with HDX and not terribly expensive. I kept my old nav/com and com, which work fine and also integrate with HDX. The biggest drawback to HDX is no certified autopilot for Mooney at this time. I hope that changes in the next 4-5 months. I could not get the 10" and 7" screen to fit without a lot of panel modifications to the breaker panel. It might be something I do when I have more time (retire) but I don't mind the analog monitoring gages but definitely not as cool as some other panels and my engine monitoring capabilities suck - I still have the "classic" scanner ( I can hear the laughter). I'm happy with HDX but not happy about no AP. Go for it!

Sent you the email, Greg. I'm glad you're taking this on as Dynon is going to miss out on a lot of business as Mooney owners will be forced to go Garmin for their up-grades if the don't see significant progress coming from Dynon. HDX is fantastic (anyone can PM me for a discussion) but without an AP it's not a complete system. There's a lot more button pushing with modern avionics and that's ok if someone else is flying the plane but I find that hand-flying, and button pushing, in IFR conditions, with ATC giving redirect instructions to be something less than a thrill. We need the AP, Greg.

NEW PRICE! If someone needs this, let me know. $10.00 and still free shipping. All our panel upgrades make this obsolete but perhaps someone can use it.

Gasp, I just looked it up, I've owned my 262 for 20 years. Upgraded from an E. It's been a great plane in so many ways and I hope I can fly it 20 more. Congratulations, you're going to enjoy all the capabilities of the 262 mods and ease of operation of the MB engine (no offense to the 231 guys intended).

I need one ...Hope someone has at least 5.

$75.00, free shipping! Removed for panel up-grade. Money back guarantee it works. Happy new year.

You are correct, keeping them full adds far too much weight. I only fill them for long flights otherwise I keep about 5 gallons in each. In the 15 years I have owned the plane, the tanks have never leaked - keeping some fuel in them must help.

Model: 231 Engine: TSIO360MB This is really a tale about progressive starting problems. It started with hot starts and progressed to just plain starting. Here are the attempted solutions and the outcome: 1. Installed new/rebuilt starter - much faster crank but still very difficult starting 2. Installed fine wire plugs - made cold starts easier but did not help with hot starts 3. New mags (not rebuilt) - big improvement in both cold starts and hot starts. I will just buy new ones rather than OH from now on. I know it costs more but an engine that won't start is sooooo frustrating. 4. Installed SlickSTART - this seems to have made a huge difference in starting. Cold start is now 1-2 blades but the BIG improvement is hot starts. The procedure in the POH never worked for me but it does now. I now have confidence that a quick trip for cheap fuel will not leave me cranking and cranking and hoping the battery will last. I know the impulse coupling is supposed to give a boosted spark but it might not be enough in all conditions and this little box perhaps does the trick. Worked for me.

I'm the lucky owner of a 262. The POH is for a 252 (although I have the 231 POH also). I recently developed a new checklist because the panel is now glass so a lot of the checks change. I also emphasize/repeat some of the things I tend to forget, which are now in bold red font. I'll private message you what I developed but it may need a lot of editing to meet your configuration.