Mooney in Oz

Erik, Sorry for taking so long. The text on the front is 'MEDECO' and '72S' is the number under the text to the left of the keyhole. Right of the keyhole inside the ring are the letters 'UL'. The white text underneath is 'JANCO'. The ignition was fitted 12 years ago.

G’day Skip and Paul. The sim on my current iPad, a mini 5 will crash occasionally, but I’d say that 95% of the time it works fine. When it does crash, I just quit the app then reopen and most of the time it is all good. It’s interesting the previous sim version never crashed on my previous iPad I had setup issues when I originally tried to install the latest app onto my iPad Mini 5 that I purchased upon its release. Steve Lindsley (slindsley@avidyne.com) from Avidyne was a great help to resolve my install issue. If your crashes are more constant, send an email to Steve explaining your problem. He was a great help to me in resolving my issue and hopefully he may be able to help you. Steve is also the moderator on the AvidyneLive forum and gives good tech advice to forum members. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for the next version release. Good luck.

Hello everyone. I just sent Erik a PM about his start ignition that I notice is the original OEM type. I wasn't going to post publicly as this is not really the correct forum to discuss this issue but after further consideration, I thought I would anyway given its importance and is something I was not aware of before it happened to me. I am sharing the PM for the benefit of those who may not be aware of a problem associated with the original type. I have previously mentioned this in at least one thread some time ago, so for MSers who may not have been around or remember and still have the original, I hope this post benefits you. Years ago, Mooney moved away from the original and installed into their production models the new type that uses the Medeco key. Needless to say, I also had the new type fitted post accident, as did many other Mooney owners in Australia as a result of what happened to me. I don't remember the upgrade as being overly expensive at that time. Please don't ask me how this could suddenly stop an engine as I cannot remember in technical terms plus I am electrically illiterate. There was no ATSB investigation, however my mechanic and some highly regarded electrical engineers did their own investigation and arrived at the conclusion the old ignition was the most likely cause. The New Zealand authority must have been onto something. Mods - Please feel free to move this to another forum if desired. The PM - Hello Erik. I notice in your beautiful photo in the Today's flight in the year 2020 thread that your Mooney has the old style ignition and key. The reason I brought this up with you is 12 years ago my J suffered a sudden engine failure and although the investigation was inconclusive, the smoking gun culprit was thought to be this type of ignition, which was the original OEM fitted system such as yours. No other fault was found. I and a lot of other Mooney owners here in Australia had the latest ignition system fitted, which includes the Medeco key that you may have noticed some forum threads and discussed occasionally. Mooney changed to the new style some years before my issue and therefore all new Mooneys have that type. In my case there was evidence of much carbon built up through arcing behind the ignition switch. It is interesting that neither Mooney or the FAA have mandated any type of inspection or replacement of the ignition switch whereas the New Zealand and another country's authority (I can't remember the country) have a 500 hour inspection mandate. Australia's CASA could not care less. It might be worthwhile talking to your aircraft mechanic about this. Victor

Thanks, you're right. That slipped my mind when I considered the pilot's age.

Medical event?

That was an excellent presentation. Thanks for sharing.

Hello Brad. Hotel Mode is what ATR call their prop brake system that is applied to the No. 2 engine only. The crew flick a switch on the above panel in the flight deck which activates a hydraulic brake that stops the prop from spinning even though the main turbine continues to spin allowing the engine to do the job of an APU. It really is only used at engine start up and shut down as it does have it's limitations - it is as loud as hell and cannot be used when a strong tail wind is prevailing as it can cause an overheat condition in the nacelle that will trigger a master caution in the flight deck. A normal APU on a jet or Dash 8 is nowhere near as loud and are on most of the time. SAAB 340's also have a Prop Brake system (don't know what SAAB called it), but most if not all were disconnected permanently due to resultant engine issues. ATR have the Pratt & Whitney free spinning engines and SAAB have the General Electric free spinning engines.

About 2005 I saw a J that had ~13,000 airframe hours parked at Gold Coast (Coolangatta) airport. It was from Western Australia. I believe it is still flying.

Still would much rather fly my Mooney.

Manual: Its either closed, half open or full open. Electric: Any position you want. I had my manual system reengineered, which included a vernier control knob whereby I can have any position I want.

Great example of a good decision.

You're most welcome Alex. I'm sure your wife will do well after having the advantage of watching and learning from you during your many trips together.

Good GS for a J. Tomorrow it'll swing around and you'll have another tailwind!

Well prepared and handled following an unexpected critical failure. In reference to the video; a nicely flown approach. Having approach lights for slope guidance in that environment is priceless. In addition, you have a lovely looking Mooney and wife!

Thanks OHAEDO. That is fantastic news. If they eventually return to full production, I hope they give top priority to their marketing/sales department and allow staff who are smart and passionate free to do their job.

Porsche's parent company vehicle

I find windy.com to be very useful as it predicts thunderstorms, cloud cover and wind not only at surface level but also at altitude plus many other useful features in overlay pictorials. Have a play around with it.

Hello Don. Don't know if this means anything; I noticed -1000 is constantly displayed in the VS window whilst the VSI is fluctuating between 200 fpm and 1000 fpm.

A mate of mine here in Australia owns two of these beautiful machines. Haven't been for a ride in one of his yet due to the tyranny of distance. Rode in one about 30 years ago and I remember it as being smooth and reasonably quite.

Happy New Year to all from downunder

Only if you promise to open a shop on the east coast of Australia. Not too much to ask?

Thanks Tom. That Walter sure sounds very similar to a PT6 start. Sweeeeeet!

Love the sound of a PT6 starting. First the sound of the compressor then the ignitors ticking away followed by the light off.

It's a King Air 200 so probably not FADEC. Although these are not hard to start one would still need to know the method. A few Youtube videos explain this method.