MikeOH

Oh, I wouldn't bet against Chuck on either of those comments

Damn! You gutted that puppy! Should be reliable, now...nothing left to fail

Damn! That's a pretty good, "Hold my beer and watch this" story Glad it ended well.

Yes, likely the same member sent me the schematic and requested I not post. Note that at least one of the transistors is germanium, NOT silicon! I'd be careful trying to replace the circuit with just a rheostat as the rheostat would now have to dissipate all the power that the heat sunk transistor was previously dissipating.

What's failing that you keep having to replace?

Here's my story: 1) GE bulb burned out. 2) I ordered an AeroLites Sunsetter; $150 3) I removed the GE bulb and put in the Sunsetter...15 minutes, tops. 4) If my A&P has a cow at annual and won't sign off, I'll tell him to put the GE bulb back in 5) I'll let you guess what the hangar fairies will do when I get the plane back.... The regs allow me to change the damn landing light bulb...that's what I did. There is only so much government BS I'll put up with.

Yeah! That's the upright thing to do! Pretty uncommon these days. Thanks, EI

I hear you; I'd be bummed after buying and then having issues right off the bat. You're smart to be addressing this right away; sometimes these things sit in the box for a couple months before being installed. Then, when problems develop the 30 day guarantee has expired!

Hmm, if it was me, I'd call EI on Monday. Maybe it is the missing pressure sensor (which makes no sense. But, who knows...the factory!) I've called Insight for questions on my Strikefinder and, STEC on my autopilot and was quickly put through to technically savvy personnel that have quickly answered my questions. Hopefully, EI can do the same. Good luck!

After entering 'Power up programming mode' by holding both buttons down and then turning on power, there should be 11 'screens' to cycle through. If there are only 9, then it would seem you have just the FP-5.

Yeah, weird, I'd be really suspicious. Like the wrong part number switch is installed.

Likely a silly question... After polish, would shooting a clear coat over it preserve the look for a long time without upkeep?

I couldn't get past the "any engine is a crap shoot" regardless of hours; "you need to be able to afford an OH at any time," mantra. So, I purchased a plane with a high-time engine which had been frequently flown every year for a decade, and priced as a run-out. Two years in and no engine problems. If I have to OH the engine tomorrow, I've enjoyed two years for 'free'

I didn't know any better when I first started flying a Mooney. The FBO I was renting Cherokees from had a M20B and I thought it'd be cool to fly (It was!!). Went up with one of their CFIs (half my age and had tats, but none that said MOONEY!) and somehow survived 10 hours before I could rent solo. Flew a lot of hours in that plane before I got my M20F. Got a good rate on insurance because of the M20B time. Insurance was fine with the 'B' time to insure my 'F' (which says something about how they viewed the risk). Read the POH, picked up the plane from the pre-buy shop and flew it home.

Appreciate the advice. It seems to me the ignition hazard is pretty much the same (ignition of fumes)...just when only fumes explode there isn't a further fire!