Mooney in Oz

Nothing to do with my autopilot, but I'd fly my J from Australia to Texas if I could! Years ago when I went to Homecoming, I visited Fredericksburg including the Airport Diner. Loved it. You live in a beautiful part of the world Lance. I see Century and S-TEC are both located in Mineral Wells. Must be the GA autopilot capital of the USA.

I suppose it would depend whether the wing was designed to flex. Not a good comparison, but a B787 wing was flexed upwards to 25 feet during testing.

I know that JPI has a bad rap sheet for service going back many years ago. I recently needed their assistance with my 830 and found the tech guy to be nothing short of excellent, even after having to call him back a couple of times and spending some time with me on the phone. He was patient and professional with the problem eventually solved.

At a guess, probably Hank. However, company SOP comes into play. I had a quick look at the NTSB link and the three causes it cites is - Contributing to the accident were the flight crew’s (1) impaired performance resulting from fatigue and the situational stress associated with the intent to land under the circumstances, (2) continuation of the approach to a landing when the company’s maximum crosswind component was exceeded, and (3) use of reverse thrust greater than 1.3 engine pressure ratio after landing. Note No. 2. Company SOP's with regard to crosswind (or other limitations) do not exceed the manufacturer's numbers, even if only demonstrated and I can't see any country's regulator permitting this. Gust factor has to be taken into consideration too. For example, the company I work for considers wind gusts to 45 kts (or any wind speed in excess of the SOP limit) as a solid figure, even though its a momentary occurrence. The wet runway in this accident made it worse.

Thanks for the link Brad. A worthwhile read. In the MD-82 accident, the pilots ignored two of these automatic go around cues: they lost sight of the runway and the crosswind (which was 50 degrees off the runway at 30 knots, gusting to 45) Well illustrated in the above details. After a long, busy and at the end tiring duty the crew were confronted with the above and probably just wanted to get down and finish for the day, a normal human trait. I believe the max demo crosswind of the MD80 is 30 kts dry runway and 25 kts wet runway.

That looks so neat. Is the MP and RPM the same size as OEM's?

Nice pics there Chuck and thanks for sharing. From the above photo it looks like you had a strong crosswind to contend with. What was it?

I have a copy of The Al Mooney Story by Gordon Baxter. On page 149 it reads that Al left Kerrville in 1955 to work for Lockheed. The M-20A was introduced in 1958. Later it reads, "In 1960, Ralph Harmon, formerly of Beechcreat, Cessna and McDonnell, joined Mooney Aircraft. Harmon metallized the wood-winged airplane, creating the M-20B in December 1960." I also have a hard copy of Larry Ball's Those Remarkable Mooneys. In part it reads Al stayed around until September 1955 when his M20 was certificated, although the M20 prototype first flew on September 3, 1953. I love reading about Al and Art. I just wish that they had have been successful at operating Mooney from a business perspective. It's not fair their most successful design, the M20 ended up out of their hands following certification. I also wish I had the privilege of meeting them both. Their legacy lives on.

The Arrow had over 7,600 airframe hours, which is not a lot for a GA trainer with evidence of fatigue within the structure of the wing root area. It will be interesting to read about the past history of this aircraft. I can see an AD release in the future for Piper wing inspections.

Paul, I'm also glad it did not happen when you were airborne. How ironic is it when we are well into a major discussion about engines failing on takeoff?

I also watched the AvWeb video. The Bose rep stated the A20 is their most popular aviation headset and expect it to remain that way, implying continuity with no change to sales. A20's are safe.

I'm 6'3" tall and had right knee replacement surgery 4 months ago and that is exactly how I started to egress. I did the reverse to enter by opening the door, sitting between the open door on the wing walk then sliding up onto the passenger seat then across into the pilot seat. This is also how mechanics do it. I liked it so much, I do this most of the time. I find it quicker and no chance of slipping.

I don't touch anything on the climb out, except the mixture when appropriate, until reaching top of climb (as espoused by Bob Kromer).

+1 and this: 3.8. Other Limitations This autopilot has not been evaluated to meet certification requirements for coupled instrument procedures, including coupled approaches. Therefore coupled instrument approaches and procedures are not authorized without further approval.

Had this happen to me too a couple of years ago. It turned out the roll servo over time had somehow loosened and come off it's mount in the left wing.

Thanks TJ. I did not know the switches were even available for our Mooneys.

Impressive panel. What type of switches are those in place of Klixons or Eatons along the bottom and where is the annunciator panel?

I agree with RLC. A few months ago during my annual I asked for a dynamic prop balance. When I received the bill that part of the job was $2800 (AUD), although they did not actually do the balance, it was a neighbouring shop that had the appropriate equipment. I contacted my shop and brought it to their notice. The owner apologised and said it should have read $280, an obvious mistake that was rectified. Don't jump to any conclusions, just give them a call and discuss. Mistakes happen.

Avidyne Forums are back on line.

I also thought watching a so called professional ground kissing was embarrassing and way over the top.

That was so funny

Hello Cliff, I hope you are well. Since my Aerostar experiences that is exactly what I do, no matter the type. Although I also like Paul's suggestion once airborne. Hope to see you back in Oz again. Your attendance and contribution to our maintenance program was and still is highly regarded by all attendees.

No, I think it is typical of a new battery's shelf life age. At worst you may need to charge it up yourself before install. As far as W & B, I doubt it as the difference in weight would be within acceptable limits. This is only my opinion and I could be wrong. Best you check with your LAME.

Unless I’m mistaken, ‘Otto’ the blow up autopilot used in a scene from the 80’s movie ‘Flying High’. If you go to Avidyne.com, select Support from one of the above menus then one of the dropdown selections is AvidyneLive User Forums.

Same here and not for a couple of days, although I saw the main website was working. It’s probably just a tech issue. I imagine it will be fixed and running again within the next couple of days following the Easter break. BTW Bartman, your avatars have always put a smile on my face. I particularly enjoyed ‘Otto’ the autopilot.