Sandman993

Ok... got it

Didn’t think our Siamese twin mags had anything... no shower of sparks or nuttin. i did lose a left mag the other day in flight... reading on it from Kelly aerospace was enlightening (pun). Turns out, the condenser was either quits or, the mag cap wasn’t grounded properly to the mag. This causes the points to spark crazy, get hot, and can and did, in my case...cause the nylon cam follower to melt, which causes the timing to drift forward and eventually they won’t open at all...kaput. The P lead wasn’t a part of the discussion. The above is kinda scary to this puny earthling. the moral to the story is... Siamese twin mags suck... and again, I don’t understand why the powers that be don’t fast track an electronic ignition for these models. It’s not like there aren’t a bunch out there! The Cessna 200hp 177rg shares this inferior mag setup as well. Aviation drags along about 75 years behind on this and other matters imo.

IMO, advanced timing causes hard starts on the ground. Perhaps someday, Big brother will approve some sort of electronic ignition for our certified aircraft. The advanced timing comes into play at higher cruise rpms...no?

A pilot walks into the engine shop... Hey! Mr Engine guy, I want my Mooney to go faster! Engine guy replies...hmmm, Speed costs money Sonny, just how fast would you like to go? That was kinda how it went for me... your experience may vary.

Hi Pete while the power flow is a good alternative to the stock exhaust system... as I understand it, power flow doesn’t actually add hp, it just doesn’t waste as much as the stock untuned system by simply allowing the combustion chamber to empty post combustion gases more efficiently. Have around 80 hrs on my power flow.

Lol!!! Says the guy with the 550 cubic inch engine. I just figured that out... so much for picking a race with you! I’ll have to settle for bullying the pipers I can reel in. as I zip by: Hi! Mr Piper...How ya doin? Yeah, it’s me, gotta go, see ya!

Well heck Nav! Sorry about the piper remarks. It’s Carusoam’s fault... he gets me so excited about Mooney’s that I forget what a sugar coat guy I’m supposed to be when I post.

Those Piper wings are awesome! Lol

I’ve been on the flight deck with an avidyne... they seem to be a great gps with excellent features. If you have a 430w and want to move up, while not making big changes to the panel, the avidyne is a no brainer. Replacing a 430w is practically plug and play and I’ll wager the option gives garmin the red hiny. There is roughly 100,000 430s out there and garmin will soon stop supporting those. While there may be a small re-market for legacy autopilots as parts... I doubt there would be much enthusiasm to offer discounts for trade in. But one can dream.

The mooney is a touring airplane... first and foremost. I agree with the notion the 172 and the piper 140 isn’t going to set the market ablaze buying autopilots to fly circles around their home airport.

Wish I would have stayed indoors... instead I lost L mag while going for that elusive $100 hamburger... lucky me! The smell will leave the flight deck eventually I’m told. Just kidding... didn’t stink up the joint, but ready to start that thread on electronic ignition!!! No likey Siamese magneto... it’s plum exciting to wonder if whatever took one side out is tumbling around in there looking for the other side! Mag overhauled 261 flight hrs ago. Maybe that mag inventer guy will come here looking for his market so we can give him a hard time.

I offered to send him 10k to help out... he wouldn’t except... what he needs to know is, the mooney crowd will take a look with interest. Paul explained to me in his own way, he doesn’t at this time even get a paycheck from the endeavor and in fact, at times finds himself funding parts of this out of his own pocket. I for one believe he is bringing a much needed service and an alternative to our wing group. I very much appreciate it. Some of this reminds me of the engine overhaul posts I offered some months ago... when several here offered some hard, fast opinions about a company with which they had no known dealings. I found Paul at the stc group to be personable, knowledgeable and I continue to appreciate the notion that he wants to help the mooney community. Someone once said... “if you want to end up with a million dollars in the aviation business, start out with 2 million.”

I can't access the link without registering with piper forum...just not that interested in p planes for the most part and besides...it's like riding a moped, they might be fun, but you don't want anyone to see you doing it! I do however remember in the conversation, something about Piper being a real gem to install stuff in the tail...anyway, if you want to be dominated by one powerful avionics company (I don't) and left with, but one choice for your avionics needs, then keep needling the startups. That's the way Microsoft works and why we barely have a choice in the computer marketplace at this point. I am rooting for alternatives to everything...as a pilot, I'll take all the options I can get, in the air and on the ground. What Paul needs to know is, there are a bunch, perhaps thousands of Mooney aircraft out there, and I'll wager a good potential market share of private owners, who would be elated to find an affordable, digital autopilot with everything built into one unit, instead of the " oh wait, you have to buy this, this, this and that thing for it to function". So pay the big man his 25k if that's what you think...but I prefer virtually the same thing for half or less and this might be just be what the doctor ordered. Don't forget, these autopilots have been used successfully in the experimental category for almost two decades. So, I continue to look forward to the replacement of my dated autopilot and the sooner the better. Please don't think of me a tightwad, have already invested over 70k on top of initial acquisition price in 4 yrs... This is my ship...there are many like it, but this one is mine...or something like that

Spoke to Paul Odum this afternoon with the stc group... he was very helpful in explaining the process and installation of the pro pilot. Paul was here briefly with a couple posts to explore the possibility of producing an autopilot for our ships. He mentioned that much of the design was already done. I think he was somewhat disappointed after one or two of us weighed in. I told him don’t let a few outweigh the many. I for one, really like what they have in the way of a cost effective digital autopilot... and hope they know there are a lot of Mooney touring aircraft here and around the country, seen and unseen, that can benefit from all their hard work. Also I would like them to know that I for one, really appreciate the stc group helping General Aviation... it’s a huge contribution. let em know they are appreciated

Yeah, I thought it was a little high too, but just to be straight, the 9800 is g5's and installation labor, but does not include sales tax. The G5's in the box are roughly 5,000 give or take so the install would be 40+ or minus hrs. As I understand it, the pro pilot will fly a gps approach both vertical and lateral...and simply not certified below 500'? Can't remember the last time I flew an ILS unless it was practice...and not sure the pro doesn't have that slot too. I'm looking into whether the all in one autopilots have a slot for trim servo... Dunno if it's lip service or not, but the avionics shop said he expected the Garmin 500 series autopilot to be certified for our planes within 30 days.

I don’t think it’s a cheap out... those autopilots will do just fine.

I did the adsb thing a little over a year ago before the rush got into full retard mode... it’s going to be insanity for a while... I’m glad my ship is done... except I would like to have a digital autopilot... hopefully a pro pilot!

The g5’s are $9800 plus tax installed at the place in San Marcos Texas if you don’t install 2) G5’s, the garmin autopilot can’t do everything they advertise. Garmin autopilot takes two G5’s to work at full potential. And again, if you want trim... you’ll have to buy another $1700 servo and have it installed for xxx dollars on top of that. It could get into the mid to high 20’s. i always find the cheap installer places are booked up til forever, but they can and may change order you to death.

Was just at an Avionics shop in Texas last Friday...a friend of mine is having a new 20/20 transponder installed there. Shop owner estimate for 2 G'5s, the Garmin autopilot installed and not including sales tax is 23,000. He mentioned the Garmin autopilot will work with one G5, but it would be limited performance. In other words, not full capability. And add an additional $1700 for the trim servo...plus additional for install. I personally look forward to the Pro Pilot and wait eagerly for it's certification for my ship. Wish Texas weren't so far away from them, or I would jump at the chance to offer my plane to facilitate the process. I think the Pro Pilot is great!

As it turns out, both the trio and the trutrak will work without a Aspen or insert efis brand here____, but only needs gps for nav guidance. It’s tapped into pitot static system and allows baro to be selected right on the face of the autopilot. Garmin is not only the most expensive, but it comes off the line as the most incomplete. While having an efis onboard would be a nice luxury... it turns out that it’s not necessary to spend an extra 10 grand or more to get a capable digital autopilot at almost 1/3rd of the garmin cost. They almost had me suckered in until I did a little research. So for now, I’ll limp along with the century legacy autopilot and wait while the faa drags their feet for however long it takes.

I’ve been told the autopilot is a stand alone... and if that’s not the case, how about the trutrak when they get it on the market. I received an email from trutrak that stated they are working on mooney ... shooting for late spring 19. Altitude select altitude hold and all I need is a gps for nav guidance. to save almost 20k anything but garmin at this point.

I’ll buy you lunch if you’ll buy some raffle tix! I’m tired of opening this gate!

Lol... we’re having a 8 gun raffle at our little country airport for some improvements... auto opening gate etc. So I asked a good salesman I know to help me out... after a week I called him to see how he was doing with his ticket sales. He said these are very difficult to sell because usually, gun raffles are for for good causes... firemen, police, medical needs, but no one gives a s*** if you Poor pilots are having issues with your automatic gate!

Consider the boom beam at Lo Presti. It’s a game changer where light is concerned. I was considering all the options...but happy with the hid light. Also, it’s easy for the landing light to become mal adjusted for ground ops as the pucks on the mains squat as they get older. Owl hunting comes to mind. I’ll admit, having a second taxi light would be nice, but it sure seems to be a lot of hassle.

My notion is, 400 degrees is too hot! It is well known that a cylinder loses around half its strength at that temp. My personal goal is to hang out in the 350’s rop albeit that means my #3 reads around 370. Sometimes that means 12gph at lower altitudes on those short hops to lunch or certain segments of training missions. The fella that told me about the 1700 notion was probably trying to convey an important ideal. I played with it for a spell and found that achievement of 1700 usually meant I was taking pretty good care of the engine. Someday I might see that big Pratt poster again that gives expected cylinder life based on temperature where it’s operated and without fail, I’ll snap a picture and share. Another major enemy of engines are those cold starts... I’m lucky to have a good engine pre-heater that I use often. As I understand it, it’s almost criminal to light the engine with the thick oil we use at temps at or below 40f. I now have a switchbox that allows a simple text from the phone to turn on the heater (any number of hours based on ambient) hours before I arrive at the airport. Then start up and immediate taxi for departure instead of wasting 15 minutes waiting for the oil and cylinders to warm up. It drives me nuts to watch folks start up and leave with cold iron. Correct me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t the engine oil achieve min 140f before we enter the runway? Food for thought and maybe pause for any new guys here. hows that for a long winded sidebar?