FlyboyKC

I know this is an annual requirement for CFIs but lets face it, its the same stuff for the last 10 years. They should make this a every 2 year event an just include it within our CFI renewal. That would ease the burden a bit...

I have a 3M WX11 Stormscope that came with the plane. I can't tell if its working or not. The other day there were storms on the Nexrad but the scope didn't have anything shown. When I hit the test button nothing happens. If I pull the breaker and the thing powers up I see the cross hairs and that's it. Anyone got any ideas on what I can try to determine if this thing is working and which component might be having an issue? Thanks Neal

Looks like this is going to be cnx due to low clouds, so much for the good wx forecast. Time to switch away from wxbug ...

I am up for it, I will probably be out there around noon. Its supposed to be a nice day on Saturday.

Supposed to be a nice day. What time?

I have a 1968 Statesman (M20G) and noticed that my heating vents (the one by the pilot/copilot legs that you can turn on or off, and the one that blows the air from center) the plastic is pretty shot and will need replacement. I was able to duct tape some of it to hold it together but I should probably find a replacement unit. Anyone got any good sources and ball park price? Thanks Neal

A CO detector could help identify the presents of CO. If found turn off the heat and crack open the overhead vent.

While on my flight I had to use carb heat. The ice crystals in the air were causing an issue over time. Let me tell you applying carb heat really robs the cabin of heat. I might have to look into an oil cooler winterization plate. Some other Lessons Learned even though the plane was in a hanger when it's so cold out like say 0 and it's a light snow the snow melts on the warm wing causing the snow tofreeze and then you have ice on the wing. So I had to contend with deicing the wings fresh from the hanger,. Also in 0 degree temperature I have found that it doesn't take long for the engine to cool to where it gets to be a little harder to start. Oh the joys of winter flying.

I thought I had seen this question posted before, but my search came up nil. So winter flying, is there too cold? I did the Christmas trip of flying in some really cold WX, like -27c at altitude. My coldest cylinder was down to 179 degrees CHT with the others around 236 degrees. EGTs were split around 1260 to 1360. Oil temp range was from 149 to 163. Cabin temp was about 50 degrees with the heat on full blast. (although the defrosters leave a lot to be desired, even with everything shut off, still got weak airflow to the windscreen.) The engine seemed to run fine but I was just curious at what temperatures could be more on the harmful side of things. Discounting pilot comfort...

The gas cap has a closable vent. So if there was no gas in it, you could leave the vent open to equalize the pressure inside the tank. I am not sure I would travel with a full tank of fuel, I think I would get sick from the gas smell long before any fire broke out.

I think I found the answer to one of my winter situations. I have a oil pan, and cylinder heater on my 68 Statesman which work great. The problem I have in the winter months is I land at airports without access to an outlet or a heated hanger. The Statemen is a bear to start when the temp is below 40. I thought about a power inverter and a battery, but couldn't find a battery that would last long enough (at least 1 hour) that didn't weigh a lot. I stumbled upon this little gem of a portable generator that should do the trick. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M8L2RTS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It weighs only 20lbs and puts out 800 continuous watts. That's double of what my heater requires. It has a 1/2 gallon fuel take and can run for up to 6.5 hours under 50% load. Out of the box new it started on the 3rd pull. I also let it get cold soaked, at 27 degrees and it started on the 2nd pull. This is quiet unit, you know its running but not enough to be bothersome. (the video makes it sound louder than it really is.) After about an hour the white smoke initially encountered went away so I think it was just the oil that was shipped with the unit burning off. For ~$200 I can use this for winter OPS and also camping. This also has a 12 DC adapter and according to manual you can charge a battery with it. I don't know if you could use both at the same time, but if the wattage was low enough you could probably plug a portable battery charger and the heater in at the same time. Oh another nice feature is the gas cap seals so if it tips over it won't spill. Cheers, Neal 1209171023.mp4

I will send you a picture tomorrow when I get to my hanger.

I have one as well. Was working perfect when removed for my G5. Neal

Anyone need a second data card for the 430 non WASS I have one that I will trade for a new Mooney ball cap. Just let me know. Neal

That would be cool.

Awesome! Thanks Neal

So I took the plunge and got the GTX 345 transponder coupled with my 430w. The traffic alert works almost great accept when I get a traffic alert I can barely hear the alert through the intercomm. Is there some sort of setting I can change to increase the volume of the traffic alerts? Thanks Neal

I have attached a couple of pictures. It looks like the grease fittings on the gear will work in the other location as well. These appear to be a screw in type. Thanks for the continued assistance. Neal

I lost a grease fitting on my 68 M20g. I am trying to figure out what size/part number to order. Its from the landing gear and its a small grease fitting, smaller than 1/4" it seems. I tried a 6mm which seem to fit, but the treads seemed different because it didn't want to tighten. The IPC calls for a part number of MS15002-1 Spruce shows this as a 1/4-28 tapered. The IPC also shows a 3c18 51004-007 (which I can't seem to find.) and the diagram in the IPC is awful. Anyone got any ideas? Thanks Neal

Currently I have the Tanis on my Mooney, however I don't think its working that great. The cylinder heaters seem to work just okay not like I expected them to be. However the oil pan heater doesn't work all that well. After 4 hours of being on in 10 degree weather, the engine was still very hard to start oil temp was at 40 degrees and the cylinder temps were just luke warm to the touch. (better than nothing I guess) My thoughts are its not installed correctly. I don't think the heater pad is getting good conduction with the engine itself. When on, the heater pad gets hot, but the surrounding engine case not so much compared to the pad. Unfortunately the only way to fix is to remove the pad heater and reinstall. If the install is anything like the E-ZHeat then its only one time installation.

Just wanted to share some positive dealings. KUDOS to E-Zheat www.e-zheat.com for taking care of me. I ordered one of their engine pan heaters from Aircraft Spruce. I have used the E-Zheat brand on my last two aircraft and have always had good luck with them. So there I was on a almost 60 degree day in January (in the midwest) ready to install my heater pad. I warmed up the engine for about 5 minutes and the oil temperature was reading just over 100 degrees. (E-Zheat recommends above 70) cleaned the engine off removed the adhesive protector and tried to mount on the engine. No matter what I tried I could not get the pad to stick. I even tried the cold weather installation tips to no avail. After about 5 tries the adhesive was no longer sticky. So the next morning I called E-ZHeat and talked to Michelle and told her my story and to figure out what my next move was. She said no problem just send yours back and we will exchange it. In the course of the conversation we kind of determined that the pad I was using, while it was the correct one for the engine was probably not ideally the best fit. I sent mine back last Friday priority mail, and in today's mail I received my exchange, (with no extra shipping charges)!! Oh, the price on E-ZHeat's website is a little cheaper than Spruces. If you are thinking about an engine heater I highly recommend the E-ZHeat engine pads. Michelle, if you are reading this thanks again for your support. Neal 333WJ

Yes = cost of the unit plus the labor to put it into a certified airplane and sign off the logbook. Paid $2500 of my hard earned cash.

If it was $4.5 - 5K I wouldn't of installed it as that is not a good value. At $2500 still a little pricey but lots cheaper then an ASPEN. (which I would love to have). Any shop installing this for $4k even with the external antenna is gouging you.

My G5 installed was $2500. $2100 for the unit and $400 for the install and certification. They just basically remove the old attitude indicator and plug this one into power & the pitio static system.

I believe the G5 comes with an internal GPS (which is disabled when its coupled with the 430). With the way GPS technology is these days it probably doesn't need an external antenna. The cost installed was $2,500 to couple with the 430. Since I had a new Garmin GTX 345 transponder installed at the same the IFR certification was included in the total cost.