blaine beaven

@Steve Parker was it the speed brakes, or a battery issue?

Now we are all waiting waiting waiting to see if this fixed it

Good to know. I’ll take a read my J model POH again to see if there is any restriction on this. I learn something every day on this forum!

I have changed starters on a couple of models of piston planes. When the starter on my M20J needed work, I looked at it, saw I would be removing the airbox, and took it a mechanic to deal with. I park outside and would be working on it outside - I don’t like opening the induction system if I’m not in a hangar.

That makes sense! I guess I am lucky that mine will drain with probing

That seems like a lot of work when you can just sump fuel from the port on the belly, go into the cabin and switch tanks, then sump it again - all without ever pulling the ring on the floor.

I will be doing the senders with the 900. Basically I’m doing same as you but G5s

The GMA345 has a built in USB as well.

On this photo I found, there is an eyeball vent in the upper left of the panel. Does anyone know what kind they are, or where I could find them? I am getting a custom panel cut and want to install one on each side for the front seats. The photo is from a for sale listing. I emailed the seller but got no response… Thanks!

Also, I have the original centre cap pieces but they’re pretty rough - a prior owner screwed something into one of them. Has anyone 3D printed a centre cap? I’m thinking that could be more versatile if I want to attach a phone mount down the road.

My yokes have the original plastic on them and it is flaking badly. When I am getting the avionics upgrade I intend on reworking them. I don’t know of anyone local that does leather wrapping, and given the hot and cold temp extremes here I’m not sure how that would last. A friend had a local gunsmith cerakote his piper yokes. I have also heard of people powder coating. Any one have experience/suggestions? Thanks! Blaine

This is a favorite for me this time of year as well. I will check out the Disney+ offering too. Thanks!

I was surprised no one has offered to hire him, fee for service, to do this job, but then remembered we are on the Mooney (CB) site

That traffic circle is genius

I have used one of these for the past 4 years and it works great. I usually plug my plane in the night before a trip as soon as the temps get below freezing. It sits on the floor behind the pilot seat pointing to the midline which seems to be a nice central location to distribute the heat. I also have a vinyl curtain that hangs just in front of the rear seats. This has been great for pre heating and flying in the winter. It cuts the cabin space I am actively heating by at least half.

As far as I’m aware, our Mooney aircraft do not have a max zero fuel weight because there aren’t the same structural concerns that exist in larger aircraft. Max Zero Fuel weight is the limit of how much weight of equipment, people, baggage etc you can have in the plane that isn’t fuel. This has more to do with the strength of various parts of the structure, and the ability to overstress the structure if you say, put 95% of the weight in the fuselage instead of 80% and the other 20% in fuel in the wing tanks.

Poor wording - 25% over what I budgeted. I will see if the shop an wire and set things up for a future upgrade path, and what that might cost. Thank you for the idea. I have considered this a "forever" plane; I mean it has been 10 years and I am very happy with it. But with a family of four, it might become a bit small in the future. And yes, everyone loves to spend everyone else's money myself included. With two kids under two, a spouse that is likely not going to work much for the next 5 years, and a desire to retire in the next 20, there's a lot to weigh, and I have to draw a line somewhere... That said, the advice on this thread has been great! You have all pushed me into changing some of my original plans (I am presently at double cost what my original, no autopilot plan was), and I think that I will end up with a very capable IFR plane, with avionics that should last me for quite some time.

Thanks for the clear explanation of some of the benefits of the 650. The main issue I am running into is, with what I have decided to do at this point (G5s, GFC500, GNC 255, GNC 355, GMA 345, EDM 900, 2x USB ports, and new cut panel, with labour to install, and tax) I am presently 125% over the budget I originally set. So although I think a 650 would be awesome… I’m tapped out.

I appreciate my response to you did conflate the issue of ADSB and the 650. I guess that, at bottom, I don’t see what the added benefits of a 650 are to me, in my application.

I have some used avionics that were removed working from a BN2A Islander in 2017. I ended up with them after the charter company closed doors in 2019. There is no paperwork on these. Shipping will be from Canada. Prices in USD: Garmin GNC250XL - $1500+ shipping Garmin GMA 340 - connector on rear of tray bent - $1000 + shipping King KX-155 no glideslope - note, I used this in an aircraft I ferried in Sept 2023 and it worked flawlessly - the display is perfect. $1000 + shipping typical disclaimer - no warranties express or implied, no holds, first come first serve, etc. I’m happy to entertain offers! Blaine

@chriscalandro I have considered the thought of a G3X vice dual G5s and the JPI 900. Keep in mind that with a G3X, I would still require a GI275 or G5 as a backup. With a GI275 backup, the price difference is about $7k USD or $11k CAD (after taxes), which is close to a 20% increase over what I currently have planned. I know there are benefits to “buying once, crying once”, but I still have a budget, and just had our second child… @EricJ That’s the advice I was given about the Century III as well. I won’t hold my breath that brand new tech will last forever or be without issues (I follow the GFC500 threads closely…), but what man made thing is perfect? The Mooney is close, I’m just trying to get it closer.

Haha yes, I always appreciate that we spend another’s money faster than we spend our own… I live about 200nm north of North Dakota. From others that have done the ADSB install, I’ve been told they receive nothing here, and it’s only significantly further south that they do. Although Canada has a pending ADSB mandate (that continues to shift further away all the time), our main provider is going with a space based system, as opposed to ground based. Most of my flying is north of where I live, where there are less weather reporting stations, so even XM Weather is of limited utility. This means that even if I were to install a system that will eventually be mandated here in Canada, it will not work in the US, unless I want to spend significant money to get a system that will do both. I do have plans to fly to the US again in the future. If necessary, I may install a GDL82 or something similar which will provide “out” to my GTX 327. I could always add a Sentry or something similar to my iPad/ForeFlight for “in”. I just can’t justify the big ticket price for what is a minimal benefit. But if anyone wants to let me know their thoughts on doing a GNX 255 v a GPS 175 for my second required IFR source, I’m all ears! Thanks,

Given the considerable price difference, lack of ADSB benefits in the part of Canada I live and fly in, I’m not sure that a 650 makes sense for me

On this topic… fuel pumps can lie. Unless you’re using the same fuel pump each time, your lack of consistency could be caused by a variation in calibrated fuel pump displays.

Hi everyone, So an update on my project. The advice you have all given me so far has been really helpful - I’ve decided to get rid of the old Narco 121; it’s taking up left side panel space I don’t really have. - I’m likely going to do the EDM 900 and get rid of all the original engine instruments, just sorting out the price difference from the 830 I bought and has arrived. It looks like my shop will sell the 830 for me. -I am installing a GFC 500 with pitch trim So the question now is what do I do for my second IFR nav source? I see my options as: -GNX 255, which will give me VOR/ILS on the G5; if I do this I won’t do the PS Eng audio panel with radio, because I don’t need 3 radios. I’ll do a GMA 345 with Bluetooth instead. or -GPS 175, which will give me GPS navigation to the G5; in this case I keep the PAR200B to give me two comms (the audio panel and the GNC355) Any other ideas I might be missing here? I’m not sure the odds of a gps unit failure that would require me to rely on a secondary, so is it worth it spending the money on a second GPS? Thanks everyone!