Yooper Rocketman

If the leaks are on screw holes, you can reseal them by removing the screw, dabbing tank sealant into the hole and on the screw and reinstalling. If they are on rivet holes, your screwed. They have to be sealed from the inside.

Just FYI, the cruise setting I've used on the plane since purchase is; 30" Manifold and 2300 RPM. My fuel flow is 19 GPH. I know others run them harder, but this setting, according to the Rocket Documents, puts me at about 67% to 68% power. Just never felt confident I could run the engine out to 500 over TBO using 75% power it's whole life (only 220 hours to go).

My Rocket has always left a white residue on the bottom. 13 years and 1400 hours and it's a PIA to clean. I run ROP, so it's not from running too lean. I have always believed it was lead residue, with some exhaust residue in it. I think it has to do with the way the exhaust pipe dumps into the slip stream. Every 3-4 years I have to sand and repaint one of the bottom panels (never the same one) due to minor corrosion around the screw holes from the lead residue. Clean it often and don't use anything like Simple Green, as if that hits bare metal it's as bad as the lead.

Last time I commented on his "harem" I asked if he had seen a doctor about that problem. His response was he had been to a dentist twice. I don't EVEN want to know why he needed to see a dentist about his fetish and relationship with those girls................

Yetti, Do you know that young man? He looks unbelievably like my youngest son. Here is his latest photo, from a couple weeks ago. Not sure how long he will be on the main page but he's there right now. He's 21 one now, but man that looks like him years ago.

My comments in bold Posted Today, 10:28 AM Recycling through the ideas... 1) good cap seals and a good flapper seal cause a vacuum challenge... If everything seals tight 2) a good flapper seal doesn't make strong sense, because fuel cap seals work as designed and are easily replaced when they age. Agree 3) the anti-siphon flap would work if the tank's cap fell off or the cap's seals degrade. Will not help if the main fuel cap seal is bad, as water would get to this paddle and would enter tank if touched (deflected down) for fueling. It would work if cap fell off keeping fuel from porting off. That was what the design was incorporated for. Must be less gained than lost with design, as I see no other GA planes using this system. 4) it is a challenge to fill the tank to the top if the fill neck is not vented. It's a challenge without it vented. Each tank will hold 4 more gallons after fuel reaches the bottom of the neck. The only way to get the last 4 gallons in is to add the fuel really slowly so the tank can vent the air out the tank vent as you fill it. This was a real issue before installing extended range tanks, as those last 4 gallons almost always figured into my reserves, which meant I either self fueled, or had to supervise the filling. No line guys would ever fill it completely unless supervised. 5) if filling the tank to the top ( not part of the filling procedure), and having bad seals, some fuel does get siphoned out leaving a blue stain on top of the wing. Total fuel capacity, as documented in the POH, considered the tanks fueled to the top, not to the bottom of the neck. 6) adding the extended outboard tanks adds to the importance of the filling process. Leaving the cap off the inboard tank may lead to fuel running out the top while filling the outboard tanks? Not a problem. I DO have to fuel inboards first, then extended tank, then back to inboard, filling very slowly so air can vent through fuel tank vent, then back to extended one last time. Never had fuel come out "inboard tank" when extended tank was filled to top. Suspect flapper paddles stopped that. 7) does the outboard cap have the same or similar anti-siphon flap? No, normal fill neck. 8) there are few flapper equipped Mooneys. There is even fewer reporting having a sealed flapper. 9) having a vent hole added above the sealed flapper would negate any value that the flapper or the seal may have added. Yes, but would relegate fuel filler to "normal" or "typical" fuel neck. 10) having a vent hole and leaving the seal on the flapper would potentially lead to fuel being locked on top of the sealed flapper. A consideration for useable fuel in the tank if this were to occur... Happens all the time now. I always open my fuel tank and have fuel on the one tank with the good flapper seal. I've even had line guys come back and tell me I don't need fuel saying "it's already full". I tell them to push the fuel nozzle in and open the flapper and the fuel drops into the almost empty tank. The fuel in this area amounts to a bit more than a cup (12 oz), so not a big deal. It's a welcome trade given I started with 4 more gallons by completely filling the tank. 11) I see some challenges being generated by the sealed flapper and not much benefit. It would make me be sure that the seal is there for a reason and that I got the correct parts. Yep, it's there because some engineer or lawyer determined they needed to incorporate Dumb Sh.t Valves, for the D.S. that is stupid enough to take off in a LOW WING (where you can see the caps even if you don't do a walk around) with the fuel caps off. The very fact no GA planes today incorporate this feature pretty much sums up the value of this feature. 12) Drilling a hole could possibly defeat the purpose of the sealed flapper, and would be expensive to replace. I have resigned that I will not do that. I MAY have the 0-rings "disappear" at the bottom of the necks, like Don's. At least, by doing that, I can re-install them and will have not permanently violated anything on the airplane. It's getting really old having to personally assist every fueling because the line guys can't get the cap off (or worry they will use a screwdriver to remove it). This is only a collection of the thoughts presented in this thread. I am only a private pilot. I don't have a flapper on my tanks. I am genuinely interested in the logic behind the sealed flapper... Best regards, -a-

I have a new system ordered right now for my project. Here is my sales contact in Kansas. Either he can help you or he can direct you to someone that can. Jeff Holden Sales Manager CAV Ice Protection | caviceprotection.com +1 913 738 5396 Office +1 785 787 3229 Mobile

Same stuff I use. When you get less than half a can and it starts getting thick, I add some motor oil.

35 Foot Lbs on the torque. They should be gaped properly from new. They should come with new gaskets, mine did from Spruce last week. I use a light coating of anti-seize on the threads, careful to keep it back from the tip a thread or so. Make sure you use two wrenches taking the wires off, a 7/16's on the base to keep the wire from twisting and stressing the wire while you are loosening the main nut, usually 3/4". I would buy the spark plug "caddy" while you are at it. If and when you take them out to service and clean, you can rotate the caddy 180 degrees for re-installation and that will rotate the plugs both upper and lower, as well as to different mags for better wear on the electrodes. Finally, don't use the inside of the engine compartment to hold any tools or other items. Get a table close by and make it a habit of never laying stuff on the engine. It is way TOO EASY to forget something in there and recowl, only to find that item the next time you remove the cowl. Don't ask how I know that.

Don, I would not say a thing. You'll be dealing with the same problem as me if you install o-rings.

Finally got it out of the hangar and smashed some bugs. Now ready for some real flying again.

I got a little time in the EAA Spirit of St Louis Replica. That was pretty cool. My most memorable ride at one of our airport events was for an act I sponsored. It was with Scott Shockey, in the Jet Truck, as we raced Mike Wiskus in his Biplane on our 6500' runway. Of course, Mike got a running start, but we still passed him before shutting the truck down. When he threw the shoot, every part of my body not strapped down in the 6 point was thrown straight forward. We were over 300 MPH in about a 1/2 mile.

I've never used the cargo straps either.

You would definitely learn how to use the rudder pedals in it. It will hardly turn without them.

As Kerry said, I too did it all the time when my kids were younger. I have a daughter that is 12 years older than my first son, and my second son is 10 months younger than the first son (yes, we had a private room in the hospital ). Many years ago we landed in Buffalo for a fuel stop on our way to Cape Cod and who's on the ramp but Governor Pataki and his entourage coming off a jet. At the time I wasn't sure it was legal so made my daughter and one son stay in the plane until the rest of us were in the FBO, hoping no one would notice 5 people getting out of a 4 seat airplane. Did some research afterwards and found we were perfectly legal. Still do it today with Young Eagles on our annual airport day. On long flights, when the air is smooth, we always let the back seat passengers unbuckle until landing. Forgot to mention, I don't even have a bench seat, have the two separate seats with a gap between them. We always laid a rolled up blanket in the gap, and another blanket across the whole area the 2 would be sitting. They needed a little boost anyway to see out the window.

I flew into this airport last summer with my Rocket. The "required before you land" video's didn't look too intimidating, and calling and describing your experience before getting authorization to land started getting me to wonder. But considering down wind on 27 has a mountain between you and the airport, and if your gear is not scraping the top of the trees coming (oh, you can't approach from straight on either, about a 20 degree angle to final), you will have a real challenge getting it down. That approach was my first VFR go around in a real long time. Runway 9 looked and felt like a cake walk after the first approach (no significant wind). http://transylvaniacommunityairport.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51&Itemid=54

I was flying back from Madison, WI to my home drone a couple months ago and once on with MSP Center, who covers all of the U.P. and northern WI heard the controller talking to a regional jet going into Wausau (well, actually KCWA). The controller advised the RJ that the day before another RJ was flying into that airport and spotted a drone (small one, not military) at 4,000'................yes, 4,000'. Needless to say neither the RJ pilot or ATC seemed real impressed about that situation. Never did hear if they figured out who the idiot was.

Years ago for our airport day our chapter hosts every year I had the EAA Tri-motor come up and we kept him pretty busy. At the end of the day, for the last flight, the pilot asked the ground crew to come get me. I went over and George dropped me in the right seat and gave me the plane at about 500' on climb out. As we were turning out to the left, I commented to him how "unresponsive" the plane was in the turn. George said " you need to use the rudder!". I asked if that meant he knew I was a Mooney pilot and he said no, the ATP's he did the same with (first time in Tri-motor) were worse than me.

I did see 44 inches once on takeoff about a year after I bought the plane. It had been creeping over 38" a few times, and usually when cold. Ended up sending the waste gate out for overhaul. It was easy to tell, as the engine didn't like the high MP at all (stumbled a bit). A few AMU's fixed that problem (did the turbo at the same time).

2700 RPM? Max certified RPM for the Rocket is 2650. I asked my IA if we could adjust to 2700 and he said that would violate the STC.