DXB

perfect

I like and use the "confirm" phrase , but in this case merely confirming the instruction might not have helped point out that the instruction made zero sense. I think the instruction was clear in my mind and the controllers mind (fly 040, intercept the GPS Rwy 6 approach course). She just did the math wrong, perhaps thinking I was on the opposite side of the approach course. I also like the phrase "say intentions for XX"(learned from this thread) if I'm having trouble anticipating what's next, but it doesn't really seem to apply here either. The controller's intentions here were clear but also nonsenical. I ultimately spoke up and just said "uhhh... I don't think 040 intercepts the approach course". My mistakes here were that (1) I took too long being baffled before I spoke up and (2) I then I accepted a large intercept angle on a heading of 120, which I then forced to work out with too steep a turn in IMC - I should have said unable and asked to get vectored back around. Part of the reason for my excess passivity here may have been related to knowing that this particular controller gives pilots a lot of sass when she gets stressed and/or they dont do exactly what she wants. I was busy flying the airplane while entering IMC and not looking to consume bandwidth in conflict with her. I still should have spoken up earlier and asked to get vectored back around.

I'm not sure the M20C POHs have any info on demonstrated crosswind. I can't find any in my '68 POH, or even the '74 POH that I keep on hand due to its more detailed performance charts. That said, 17mph sounds about right - the Bob Kromer article linked below cites 15kt as as well within the envelope of the short body (page 7-8). I also find experientially that crosswinds in that range put the rudder pedal near the floor, so I feel that I have adequate guidance for crosswind landings in my short rudder C. https://themooneyflyer.com/issues/2013-AprTMF.pdf What I would love to know more about is max crosswind takeoff limits - I think the plane can handle similar crosswinds for takeoff, but I have zero data to rely upon.

In this case it was probably best that I refrained from calling them right after I landed and ranted on Mooneyspace instead

This is why I love posting my minor misadventures on here - learning from more experienced folks and picking up new tools like this to better handle the situations. The reason for posting was not to identify clever ways to get the controller in trouble (though I was pissed when I landed) but rather to develop new neural pathways to manage previously unfamiliar situations - here being given an intercept vector that doesn't actually cross the approach course, and then getting one that was way too steep when I finally managed to speak up a bit too late. As an amateur, hand flying an intercept in IMC (with my basic autopilot) is fairly bandwith consuming, so I'm not likely to come up with solutions to novel problems if they come up - I need a pre-rehearsed mental toolkit. Here I felt in over my head for a minute or two but hopefully will be more ready next time.

So I'm flying into KPNE this morning. Field is reporting 600 OVC with the RNAV Rwy 6 approach in use, and I'm gettng vectored by Philly TRACON, heading in the general direction of the field from the south, kinda expecting to get direct WAMCA as the IF based on my position. I'm descending through 3500 with an almost direct tailwind, and I'm then told descend 2500 and fly heading 040 to intercept the final approach course. I fly 040 for a few moments before realizing that takes me away from the approach course. In retrospect, I think the controller subtracted 20 degrees from 060 rather than adding it (080 would have been about right). After a few moments confusion, I speak up and get told to fly heading 110 and then 120 and am cleared for the approach, though now I'm uncomfortably close to the FAF. I'm also skimming the top of the clouds at this point, where I have to do much more than a standard rate turn to avoid flying through the approach course. I then descend and land uneventfully, thinking I probably should have said "unable" and asked to get vectored back around. I'm pretty confident it's against the rules to be given a 60 degree intercept angle, and I recognize the controller's voice from prior encounters in which she seemed erratic and also had too much attitude. I thought about calling TRACON once on the ground. Am I over-reacting? Or not irritated enough?

True - though he also didn’t report to the FAA in 24hrs, but I guess one can cut him some slack there since he was freezing his ass off in the middle of a lake for the first 12hrs.

But how TF did it “not cause significant damage to the aircraft”. Yeah I’m sure that plane will be flying great after a few minor repairs

https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2025/03/27/ntsb-ends-investigation-into-plane-that-landed-alaska-lake-after-no-major-damage-reported/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJTtOFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHTgT_jIkuOw2z2aUR_hexQrJAXPLWGxfI8PrtDqyViFSVu-piFpYFWUrxg_aem_KsYdNCKQ4td1bJvTBFVAEg It’s very lucky all three folks survived here. Two were completely blameless juvenile passengers. My main learning points, gleaned from the article: It turns out that submerging your PA-12 in a lake doesn’t count as an accident per the regs. Also flying with passengers when doing this as a student pilot is totally cool with the FAA. It appears my understanding of the FARs from PPL training days was completely wrong :/

The setup of the survey is too vague to discern any meaningful discussion topic or learning point here.

Use them - perfect service, fast turnaround, universally well regarded. If in a big rush just do an overhaul exhange. Crappy mag service = in flight failure. Been there, done that. https://www.aircraftmagnetoservice.net/

This anxiety-provoking thread makes me wonder if I should have formally overhauled my prop rather than IRAN’d/resealed it recently. It’s a 12 year old Top Prop with ~1500hrs that was slinging a modest amount of grease on one blade. It had a few nicks and chips over the years. The engine was getting overhauled so it was a good time to do it. They made it look brand new for less than half the cost of a prop overhaul, and it runs very smooth now even before dynamic balancing. But I wonder if I would hsve gotten much more peace of mind from the careful dye penetrant testing that’s included with overhaul… …and I would love to know what the metallurgy of this failure was….

There is no practical way to do this on a Lycoming engine with current borescopes - the contortions required are extreme. The only way to get a view is pull at least one jug. If you pull one you can use a borescope to see the adjacent cam lobes and lifters, preventing the need to pull two jugs.

Yes you need to run a strong rare earth magnet across the entire surface of the filter - you will likely find lots more. I bet what you have already is 40+ pieces though. This is what my magnet looked like when I had one cam-lifter pair spall...they are small flecks, likely very similar to yours on closeup, but very hard to count. Note this phenomenon may decrease considerably if you run it long enough to keep wearing down the cam lobe, and the only operational difference you may notice is subtly decreased power. BTW I do all my own oil changes, but when this happened I had gotten lazy and was only cutting open every other filter. I pulled the previous one off the shelf and found the same thing. I flew it one more time after that, to the engine shop.

In this case it will tell you that you have ferrous metal, which you already know. It may underestimate the amount since you already pulled much of it off the filter with a magnet. It’s more informative for non-ferrous debris

That’s a fair amount (hard to tell exactly how much based on scale of image), highly suggestive of cam/lifter spalling. Having your mechanic measure how far the valves move when turning the crank may give you confirmation. It’s worth looking at the previous filter if you can get it so you have a trend. Also review lycoming guidance for monitoring once you find metal: https://www.lycoming.com/content/suggestions-if-metal-found-screens-or-filter Sadly, if I were wagering here, I would bet on an overhaul in your near future. It’s not terribly dangerous to run it more, but at some point the metal flakes can trash other components, making your overhaul much more costly

I imagine this requires crank inspection like a prop strike? The asymmetric loads must be enormous

I just had my wimpy O-360-A1D overhauled by a major shop, still nursing my wounds from that. A big bore 6 with a turbo might be a lethal blow.

Limited info here, but engine likely on its last legs - flown 25/hrs year on average since STOH 17 years ago. Also its 27 years SMOH, certainly should be priced as runout. It's in annual but I wonder how long its been sitting recently

It drives itself as a turn coordinator and uses the static source directly for altitude hold I believe. It can take a GPSS input linking to the GPS via a separate box or an Aspen PFD. However, used STEC-30s have to be sent back to the manufacturer to be "recertified" for the STC to be valid. By the time that's done, the cost approaches a new system, so they are rarely re-used.

My C came with these. They do look nice and I don't think they add much weight at all given they're fiberglass. Doubt there's any performance gain speed wise. I've heard they make the roll response a bit more crisp by keeping air attached to the outer edge of the aileron. I'm not sure that's true, but my plane does seem a bit more responsive roll inputs than Mooneys I've flown without them.

Huh - interesting - I always thought Garmin not providing an Aspen interface for the GFC500 was just an annoying business decision. Martin Pauly documented development of an interface in his Bonanza for the Aspen with the GFC600, which is probably made easier by the GFC600 having its own internal AHRS. I still imagine an adapter for the Aspen AHRS with the GFC500 wouldn't be too tough if Garmin saw any business upside in making one/

(1) I'm curious as well - I'd like to replace my current fasteners with these latches (2) The G5 can definitely serve as a legal backup to the AI on the Aspen. You'd have to check the ASPEN STC to see which steam components can be removed based on its backup requirements. Note the Aspen Pro Max PFD with the newer longer life battery requires no legal backups at all. Lastly if the Aspen is your PFD, then a G5 or GI 275 can't drive a GFC-500, which must be controlled by your primary flight display (per my avionics guy - I haven't checked the STC personally).

Update: The "reputable" engine overhauler was not exactly prompt about fixing this issue, making me do all the leg work to find the right part number to correct their mistake and also wait for my first oil change so I could add a qt at a time to prove the marks were incorrect. It ultimately took a phone conversation with Lycoming tech support to figure out what dipstick Mooneys with O-360-A1Ds shipped with. Those minutiae are recorded below in case anyone ever needs them again. The shop owner made it sound like there's no way the dipstick was swapped in his shop - claiming it must have been the remover/installer who did it, a claim that stretches the limits of credulity. After tons of back and forth, he wanted a $300 deposit to send me the replacement before returning the old one, which finally annoyed me enough to say screw you and just buy the correct dipstick off ebay. It does make me wonder what other incorrect parts are on my 32k freshly overhauled engine!! . Anyway, dipstick minutiae are below....thank you Lycoming tech support: Mooneys with O-360-A1Ds originally came with dipstick tube part #75736, which is 11.5” in length - it's one of 3 possible ones on this engine. The original dipstick part number matching this tube is LW14758, 21.25” in length That dipstick has been superceded by part number LW16783-18, 19.44” in length The 1.81” shorter length of the newer part version results in the 4qt mark being just above the bottom of the stick. Based on pictures from internet searches, both dipstick versions have 4,6, and 8 qt markings that are spaced fairly evenly.

RESPONSES IN ALL CAPS BELOW Should I engage a broker to help me find and purchase my first plane? Any recommendations in North Georgia/Atlanta Area? How should I initiate this process now that I have decided to buy? [NO! USE THE STANDARD LISTING SERVICES PLUS WORD OF MOUTH/INTERNET, INCLUDING WTB IN FOR SALE SECTION HERE, OWNERS OF SHOPS THAT SEE A LOT OF MOONEYS] If given the choice, would you rather find the perfect airframe, power plant, or avionics? What is the order of priority and why? What upgrade is easier/quicker to complete; a panel upgrade or an engine/prop overhaul? [AIRFRAME FIRST - NO SUCH THING AS PERFECT BUT MAKE DEAD CERTAIN NO CORROSION OF SPAR OR STEEL CAGE, THEN ENGINE - PRIORITY IS WHATEVER ENGINE IT HAS IS APPROPRIATELY PRICED FOR AGE/CONDITION, THEN AVIONICS - GREAT AVIONICS SAVE YOU A TON OF MONEY IN LONG TERM BUT ARE HARD TO FIND] As I compare different planes, I'm trying to normalize the pricing by budgeting for panel upgrades, engine/prop overhaul, interior upgrades and paint. I've done some research and found some rough numbers, please let me know if I'm off base, and let me know how I should be comparing prices from plane to plane. Engine Overhaul: $40K for reman engine plus $20K for install/consumables/unforeseens - $60K total [40K IS LOW THESE DAYS. FORGET FACTORY REMAN - WILL WAIT FOR YEARS. WANT GOOD OVERHAUL] Prop Overhaul: $20K for new prop or $5K for overhaul including governor [A BIT LOW - MORE LIKE 7+AMU] Avionics: $75-100K, varies widely, based on my goal for a 10" G3X w/ EIS, GI-275 Backup, GTN-750xi, GTN-650xi, GMA-350, GTX-345, GFC-500 [LOW - REMEMBER INSTALL COSTS CAN EXCEED THE HARDWARE COST] Interior: $10-15K for seats, carpets and refresh on the plastics [BALLPARK YES] Paint: $20K for strip and repaint [BALLPARK YES] I've read many people recommend finding a mechanic before you buy a plane, any recommendations for Mooney A&Ps in the North Georgia/Atlanta Area? [COLE AVIATION DALTON GEORGIA IS THE BEST MOONEY SHOP IN THAT AREA BY FAR] Lastly - if you know of anyone with a J model in North Georgia looking to sell, take on a new partner, or form a partnership, please let me know! I'm not on Facebook or social media, but if there's value to networking please let me know what FB groups I should be looking into. [AM NO HELP HERE. REMEMBER A PARTNERSHIP IS LIKE A MARRIAGE SO IT HELPS TO KNOW THE PERSON WELL AND TRUST THEM]