Brian_tii

Could also try Dawley Avaition. They rebuilt our exhaust last year including some material upgrades (inconnel flame cones) to hopefully make it last longer. Price was reasonable.

Carusom +100. Spot on. I will say $1950 doesn’t sound too bad for a shop familiar with the type. We pay more than that for a simpler airplane that by all accounts is easier to do an annual on than a Mooney. (Cirrus SR20)

Our Cirrus has the MT 3 blade with the "new" paint process. 300 hours including some rain and it's holding up nicely- our mechanic says better than aluminum. Ours is black though, not white. Only real complaint is the fake chrome on the composite (plastic?) spinner is insanely easy to scratch.

Could also consider leaving the oil door open to let more hot air out of the top of the cowling. I do that on our Cirrus and it does help to keep the fuel injection from getting so heat soaked. Not perfect, but helps for the quick turnarounds.

Sounds like some good ideas already mentioned. Here are a few long shots / thoughts that I had: 1) Was it parked on a hill sideways that could maybe cause oil to want to pool on that side? I know it's unlikely... but being a horizontally opposed engine it seems you could have oil stuck on the back side of the piston, if sitting on a slant it may over time migrate past the rings and oil foul the cylinders. 2) Was the engine fully warmed up before shutdown last time it ran before this start? On cars I've seen some are very prone to sticking valves if they are shutdown before warm up. (Like moving quickly in / out of the garage). I think condensation forms and a light coat of rust develops on the exhaust valve causing it to be a little sticky on the next startup. (My theory) If it's either of the above, it's nothing to worry about in my opinion.

Looks really promising. We considered the gdl82 but ultimately our existing transponder (gtx320) was older (but working) & the adsb in aspect of the gtx345 won out for us. I love having traffic on the Aspen. Its also amazing how much more traffic you see once you're participating with adsb out. Its already saved my shorts (at a minimum) once in the 1-2 months since we added it.

For a Cirrus? Yes, 75kts over the fence is quite common, can get away with 72 if not heavy... but should NOT be much slower. Many shoot for 75-80kts. The guys who bounce are 80-85kts. I'm sure the numbers are lower for a Mooney, but technique sounds similar. ILS approach is 100kts to minimums on the SR2x. It can be flown at 90, but the Cirrus recommended 100kts I think works better.

Yes, bounces and prop strikes are / were common on the G1 & G2 planes before they made the gear taller on the G3. The nose uses the puck system but the mains use just a composite gear leg. The newer models have a strut instead of the pucks. The Mooney sounds really similar to the Cirrus for landing. From what I've found, airspeed control is critical, then pull to idle a few feet off the ground and hold the nose off until it's ready to land. A little fast and it eats up runway and won't land, and a little slow and you end up with a nasty sink rate. Over the fence at about 75 kts seems to be about the sweet spot for ours, 72ish if light or want a steeper angle. Don't dare get below 70kts.

Yep, us SR20 drivers are the slow pokes of the Cirrus crew. The 20 should be pretty close to a C and maybe a touch faster than an Arrow. We plan solid for 135kt tas. No matter what, you always get at least that. If you want to run rop at higher power settings instead of lop, we pickup 5, maybe 10 at most from there. More typically 5. Some guys "apparently" get book (150+)... but we sure don't seem to.

Bulb life varies on model of bulb, but some of the more popular ones can be as low as 25 hours. Our Cirrus uses a single par36 4596 250w 28v bulb that kept burning out - rated at only 25 hours. The also common 4509 is only good for 25 hours too. A few models are in the 200-300 hour range, if you look for them. We switched to the aeroleds sunspot 36-4596 which is a 100w led... its bright and so far so good - only had it a couple months though. It's rated for something like 5000 hours with a 5 year warranty. I think Mooneys use the par46 bulbs... you can check out all the various GE models on their site which includes expected bulb life: http://commercial.gelighting.com/catalog/c/Lamps_Specialty_Transportation_Aircraft?q=%3Arelevance%3Afeature-BulbShape%3APAR36%3Afeature-BulbShape%3APAR46&text=# ps - 4522 is rated at 25 hours too - http://commercial.gelighting.com/catalog/p/24700

The Cirrus fixed gear is designed to absorb shock, however the analysis COPA has done on chute water landings indicates that even without the gear being a factor the injuries are minor. With that being said, smacking the water vs dirt gear up is probably a little different story. If Mooney when with hydraulic gear (pressure to hold it up) then they could just dump pressure to drop it upon deployment. Given how well the chutes have been working, I'd love to see the FAA come up with some creative ways to allow them to be added / streamline certification process for them... I know unlikely... but sure would be nice. I sure do hope Mooney sells some airplanes though - I love the brand and the look. Some of my fondest memories of flying were in an old M20A with my grandfather. I also think Beech would sell some Bonanza's too ( if they put a chute it in... but again... probably wishful thinking. I think the real issue is that neither Beechcraft nor Mooney have the sales right now to justify the investment in adding it, but they won't get the sales unless they do. I really can't help but think that's what's really holding them both back.

Yeah, I agree with the stall spin issues. I've found the airplane to be pretty obvious when it's getting slow... but it does take a little longer to develop the feel. I'm really not sure if that's it though - slowly / gently entered stalls in the Cirrus should be very docile because of the wing design - an in my experience they've always been docile to the point where you ask "was that it". It seems to me these must be accelerated stalls, which is the same low altitude problem that's been killing pilots since the beginning. Seems no matter how hard you try, us pilots always outsmart the safety features. Also - I agree - trimming a Cirrus sucks, and the feel is "limited" (but still there) it's something that I got used to after a little while.

Thanks I hadn't seen that article before. I didn't mean to imply that it would pass the US spin testing matrix. The testing in Europe was something like 60 spins demonstrated and all 60 were recovered. Point being that the airplane can be recovered in what I'd call "most" situations, but the chute will always do it faster and more reliably. Some think the chute was added later because the airplane couldn't pass spin tests. That's simply false. I think new Mooney sales would be a lot better with a chute. Lots of people can afford a new Cirrus, Eclipse, M500, TBM, etc... I just wish I could too. :-)

Just a quick correction. The chute wasn't added to pass certification. It was in the design from the very beginning. Cirrus argued successfully to skip spin certification because it had the chute. The airframe later was forced to be spin tested in Europe which it successfully passed. The chute will recover a spin (to prevent death) with less altitude loss than normal spin recovery techniques. If spun from higher altitudes normal spin recovery techniques can certainly be tried and should work too. Yes, wives like the chute... but so do I especially in the situations you mentioned. I will fly the Cirrus at night... something I stopped doing in the 172.

They were 4-6k MORE than Continental direct for our Cirrus. Continental guaranteed new crankcase (ours cracked) Penn Yan did not. Factory also didn't penalize for the crack on the core. Needless to say we went factory. I won't say factory is better than Pen Yan's best, its probably not, but I will say our Factory Rebuilt is almost entirely factory new parts, and even came with Tempest Fine wire plugs.... and maybe cheaper and faster turn around. Shipping time was about 2 weeks, and every promise that Continental made was kept 100%. James Towle @ CMI sets the gold standard for sales and customer service. Anyway, engine runs great, and we are happy. Powermasters and Zephyr also come highly reviewed for Continental rebuilds. I'd be happy with any of the big name shops. Also make sure you're up to speed on the io550 cam gear mandatory service bulletin... word is it may become an AD. Not all shops have been updating the gear including some of the better ones, probably best to make sure its replaced by whomever you go with. Mike - Engine looks awesome. Its really exciting to start with a nice clean engine that just "works" and doesn't leak, foul plugs, etc. We just did it last summer. Very excited for you... but I know it wasn't cheap. :-) Enjoy!!

Ouch, sounds like the mechanic doesn't have it right. Usually those can be cleaned out / fixed with new relays / solenoids as I recall. They may want to join COPA. Also used parts are available too. I wonder if they really want it flying... :-)

Probably worth noting that even more modern aircraft can and do end up with parts on back order or discontinued. Our Cirrus has had to wait for a fairly common part even... thankfully nothing that grounded it, but still, parts do go on back order and take some time. For us it was a few weeks.

We got the aeroleds Sun Spot 36-4596 going in. Just came out 6 months ago or so, and 100w led that should be brighter than the 4596s that keep burning out that we use now. Supposedly about the brightest par36 you can find (for now). Airplane is in annual now but will try it once it gets out. Its pricey but the Cirrus only has one light, might as well get as bright as possible... http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/aeroledssunspot11-14580.php?clickkey=1329947

Looks like the registration hasn't changed: http://flightaware.com/resources/registration/N9723M You might want to shoot them a private message as it maybe more likely to get their attention.

No PM in my inbox. Your response did make me re-review and you maybe correct that it can be an official overhaul without replacing all of the mandatory replacement parts. I thought I had read that an overhaul had to be done in accordance with the maintenance manual. Seems like I maybe wrong there. I guess a better question is would you want to fly with a service limits engine with the bare minimum parts replaced? I can see wanting to keep a starter (Continental) with 100 hours on it on an engine being built to new limits... but skipping most manufacturer recommended (required?) parts and rebuilding to service limits only. I'll pass, legal or not.

I'd get the airplane now and tie down. Not sure about everyone else, but seems like every time I go to the airport for a few hours I meet more great people and network. Who knows, one of them might have some available hanger space or know someone who does.

Nah, Id argue you guys did what was right in your situation. In our case we knew our crankcase was junk with a new design available to prevent reoccurrence. Best is what's best for you and sounds like you're back to flying! Congratulations and enjoy the fresh engine.

A legal overhaul would replace or rebuild all components required in the overhaul instructions published by Continental or Lycoming. If you're paying less than it costs to replace those components it <should> be a red flag that something isn't right, no matter how great the customer service. My experience is limited, but based an a ton of research and needing to replace an engine. I can however read a maintenance manual and its pretty clear.

I think best depends on the condition of your existing engine and your expectations of the new engine. Factory reman is great if you don't have a ton of confidence in your existing engine or are overhauling due to crankcase cracks. They guarantee that every part will meet new specs including replacement of any components that have since been redesigned. They claim greater than 80% new parts content and they have a "no surprises" pricing policy. We went this route this summer and can confirm about the only parts that were reman (instead of new) were the mags, fuel pump, and fuel injection. The crankshaft, crankcase, etc were all factory brand new castings. Aircraft resale tends to favor Factory remans too. (Right or wrong). Turn around time is typically pretty quick compared to an overhaul since you're only down while the engine is getting swapped assuming your existing engine is still airworthy, even then it's still likely faster. They also bench test the engine for 2.5 hours so when you takeoff it's not the first time the engines been run up to takeoff power. We also spoke to Zypher and decided against them simply because they would have our existing crankcase shipped out for repair and pricing couldn't be 100% firm. We would still have the older design that is prone to cracking on Cirrus and if it couldn't be repaired the cost would easily exceed that of the factory. We bought direct from the factory and customer service was nothing short of amazing. Every single promise they gave us was met or exceeded. The engine even shipped with Tempest fine wire plugs which was a nice surprise and not advertised at all. We have about 100 hours on it now and haven't had even the slightest hiccup or concern with it. The popular shops for Continental's seem to be Zypher and Powermasters. There are certainly others like Poplar Grove, but both of those get high marks. The big benefit to using them is that you aren't stuck using factory parts (some hate continental cylinders) as well as you can have some customization during the engine build. Also if your old engine was a great machine, they just rebuild it so you know you're getting an engine with a known history. With factory you're getting and engine that is built from new and used parts with an unknown history - though they MUST meet factory new specs so I don't see this a a huge concern, but obviously it is for some. Personally I'd avoid the budget shops. If you research some of them simply can't be doing a legal overhaul since the price of the required parts sometimes exceeds that of what they are charging. Additionally in the resale market many people don't want an engine from "Joe's House of Budget Aircraft Engines" and will avoid it. In my mind the major shops or factory are both excellent options and best is simply what's best for you based on your situation.

Only been in 9 months, but have learned a lot and invested in a factory reman And new prop. We're doing the following with 4 people total. The key is the right people. Fixed expenses paid monthly - including parachute fund (cirrus), hanger, insurance, taxes, data subscription, and a "nothing wrong" annual We then bill ourselves quarterly for the dry rental rate which includes only engine replacement fund and oil changes All other expenses are split 1/4. Other items: - No business use, personal pleasure use only - After use, returned to hanger with full fuel, bugs removed, and cleaned out of any trash - Buyout clause to give partners a discount if forced to buy out another owner - Scheduling is done via shared Google calendar on a first come, first served basis - This actually works REALLY well, and I like it better than the alternating weeks schedule. The key is that everyone respects each other and encourages each other to use the aircraft.