AaronDC8402

What a great fly-in. Perfect weather, great BBQ, and good conversation with other Mooney pilots.

Problem solved. A new line fixed the issue. Thanks all.

For anyone interested, we found that flare on a line had broken off of the line. The line was still in the nut enough to give a little dynamic seal action. It'll hopefully be back together this afternoon, and we'll confirm it's fixed sometime this weekend. Thanks again for all the help. You guys are great.

Thanks for the replies. A crack or leak makes way more sense than a blockage. I'll be looking it over some this morning, and report back what I find.

Had an odd issue come up today with our 1989 201. Fired the plane up and noticed that the manifold pressure seemed to be "stuck" higher than it should have been while idling (about 25"). Being a naturally aspirated engine, I knew the manifold pressure reading was not the actual manifold pressure. Also, the engine didn't sound loaded up like it would have if there was actually that much manifold pressure. We have a JPI 830 and the original manifold pressure gage. Both were showing the same values. On full throttle, manifold pressure raised to an expected value. After pulling the throttle back, it never dropped below 20". My guess is that there is some kind of blockage in the line that connects the intake manifold to both the JPI sensor and original gage. Any common issue that would cause this? Thanks!

Any idea what printer created the parts or material used? I have a higher end FDM machine (MarkForged) that prints Onyx (carbon infused nylon). The onyx is quite a bit stronger and doesn't seem to deform in the heat like typical FDM materials. The MarkForged printer also has a lot better resolution. My in-ear head set is primarily 3D printed parts, and I've had no issue leaving it in the plane on a hot summer day.

I'm sure this will be an unpopular opinion, but I've always considered the slower, older Mooneys (J's and back) most similar to a Miata with a rear seat. Since they have a rear seat, maybe compared better to a BRZ/FRS (they actually have boxer 4 cylinders up front too). The newer higher hp Mooney's I compare to a C63 AMG.

They have done some work for our local flying club in Knoxville when I was a member. They were never the cheapest option, but seemed to get it right the first time and on schedule. The club continues to use them for work.

You should have no problem getting Uber service at any Nashville area airport (BNA, JWN, MQY, MBT). I don't have specific experience beyond the airports I listed. For anything but BNA, I have the Uber app loaded and queued for requesting a ride before I touch down. As soon as I clear the active, stop for a moment, click the button, and go to parking. The car is usually there about the same time I clear the FBO. If you're going to Nashville for the downtown experience, walking is a great option. Parking is expensive. Additionally, it's common practice for guys to put on a yellow vest and stand at a parking lot opening collecting parking fees. Later, that guy walks off to spend his new cash while all the cars are towed away. I only park certain places downtown now.

The changes are even more dramatic as you go towards Smyrna and Murfreesboro. I can't believe how many people have moved into the area since then.

I have family around Nashville, so that's a common area for me to fly in. Smyrna is easy. The only complication I have had there is trying to leave pretty late at night. The FBO isn't open 24 hours, and the airport is big enough that security fencing/gates/etc don't allow for after hours access to the ramp. It took a few phone calls and about a 30 minute delay to get to the plane. I've actually started avoiding Smyrna for this reason. Now I either go to MBT or BNA. Out of 10 flights to Smyrna, I've paid a landing fee once or twice. I don't recall it being unreasonable. BNA isn't too bad to get into or out of. Lots of commercial traffic, but never felt in the way flying in as a GA plane. Taxiing in will be your biggest challenge. Probably best to start with the plan of asking for progressive taxi. Signature is at the end of 31, and generally that's the runway you'll be sent out of, so no concern there. Landing fees are typical of any signature FBO ($40). Signature is open 24/7. MBT is a typical GA airport. Easy access to the ramp 24/7, even after the FBO closes. Lots of training ops. Any of those airports will have good Uber response since it's such a densely populated area. MQY and BNA both have rental cars available.

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/breakingnews/story/2018/aug/14/deadly-airport-incident/476921/ Terrible story. It's bad enough to hear about small plane crashes that kill people. It seems to hit me worse when the plane never even makes it into the air. There's been a lot of discussion among East Tennessee pilots about that accident.

Thanks everyone for all the info and feedback. I thought flying across the boarder would save waiting in line driving across the border. Sounds like they make you wait at the airport too, so no time/frustration savings there. My current plan is to fly into Nogales, AZ. International flying sounds like more than I want to get into for this trip. Maybe I'll give that a shot next time.

Nogales, US is an international point of entry (and exit, I assume). Is Nogales, MX an international airport? Or would I have to fly to another Mexican airport first as a point of entry? Looking at Nogales, MX on Google, I can't imagine waiting in line much for anything. The place looks pretty small.

Yes. I need to get started on the details of flying internationally. I've never looked into it at all. I have a couple local friends that have, so I'll probably start with them and the link Stephen shared.

Nogales Mexico or US? How recently?

Taking 2 days each direction is absolutely an option. We'll probably play that part by ear. If winds are typical, I'm thinking 2 stops going west and 1 stop going east. If I fly all the way to Arizona, I'm going to have a little trouble not heading further west just to say I've been coast to coast in a small plane. It depends a lot on other parts (potential weather delays, etc) of the trip though.

There was a semi recent thread on the board with a pilot looking for Tucson area airport recommendations. There are a couple reasons my thread is a little different. That guy had plans in north-west Tucson, and that thread had lots of discussion of summer flying in that area. Sometime between mid-October to mid-November, I have a trip planned to be in Nogales, Mexico. The last time I visited, I flew commercial to TUS, rented a car, and had someone with Mexican car insurance drive me into Mexico to my destination. KOLS (Nogales, US) is quite a bit closer to the border. Anyone have any experience with the airport or area in general? Any reason TUS would be preferred? MMNG (Nogales, Mexico) is REALLY close to the facility I'll be visiting. Should I consider flying direct there? This would be my first time flying myself internationally, and I do not speak Spanish. Distance wise, and avoiding waiting in line at the border is really appealing. I have some more general concerns as well for which I will happily accept advice. I have flown all over the southeastern US. I deal with flying over and around the Smoky Mountains nearly every flying trip. While I'm used to flying over tall-ish terrain, the aiports around Nogales are all higher altitudes than I've ever taken off from or landed at. This will be a roughly 10 hour (in the air) flight from East Tennessee. The most I've spent in the cockpit in one day so far is 8 hours, and I've done 5 or 6 hours in one day several times. The 8 hour day didn't leave me feeling like I couldn't have done a minute more. Not that I'm committed to flying the 10 hours in one day. I have some flexibility to my trip out and back. Fall seems like a good time weather-wise to make the trip in the Mooney. To summarize: Am I going to melt in the airplane flying mid Oct to mid Nov in southern Arizona? Should I land as close to Mexico as I can, land at the big, safe airport in Tucson, or try out international flight? What are the odds that I'll be in over my head flying around the terrain of southern Arizona?

Are you talking about GKT (Sevierville)? That sounds more like TYS (McGhee-Tyson). Fuel costs at GKT are what I would consider average for the southeast. It's currently $5/gal. Not the cheapest, but also far from what I would consider gouging. I know there are much smaller airports, but GKT isn't what I would consider a big time operation.

What are you suggesting is expensive? Airport fees? I've flown there several times for various reasons and never been charged a fee of any kind. I've never stayed overnight though. If you're going for tourist reasons, it's still pretty far from the actually touristy stuff (ie. Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge).

What do used 480's cost these days? That's what we have. It took some time to learn how to use it, but now I like it so much that I wouldn't even do an even trade for anything else. Since they're so much less common, I wonder if they're a little cheaper than a 430W or 530W.

It sounds like the transponder is not getting position from the GPS. We see that message on our 330ES any time the GPS temporarily loses position or you turn the GPS off.

Our J is S/N 3105. Looks like they were just a few planes away from each other in the factory. I'm guessing our planes have pretty similar wiring situations unless you've done a full electrical overhaul. We have not. I have found a few wires that have chafed against metal enough to show some burn marks. I've never seen a puff of smoke or smelled anything, thankfully. Look at the large guage cables coming in and out of the firewall. They bulkhead they pass through is metal lined with rubber grommet. In the same vicinity, there is a large guage cable that drapes over the "shelf" that the avionics relay rests on. We had some burn marks there. I think that wire is live any time the master is on. The picture below is from the right seat footwell looking up. Either way, please report back what you find.

It could be piston ring. They're also ferrous. As others have said though, especially at only 100 SMOH, it doesn't sound like a big concern. Our engine is about 150 SMOH now. It's only been the last couple of oil changes that we've started seeing a perfectly clean oil filter. -Some guy on the internet (read: not an A&P)

When we switched from the Firewall Forward cam and pistons STC back to the Lycoming standard pistons and cam, there were no changes to our analog or digital tach. Operation in the yellow band seemed the same between the two engines.