milotron

Hey folks. Our Mooneys, especially the turbo models, seem to be considerably louder than other C brand aircraft. My K is over 95dBA in the front seat during take off climb, around 85dBA in cruise. Even with Bose A20, my ears are ringing for hours after a flight. The speech sounds great, but still loud to get over the noise. Do any of you use custom ear plugs under the headset? I was on a heli flight the other day and the co-pilot was using these with some old non-ANR DCs. I didn't have a chance to ask him about them, but am curious as to how well the speech audibility gets through with the extra plugs in. I see they come with filters designed to allow speech frequencies through. I evidently have goofy shaped ear holes as I can't use regular earbuds at all, so the other in-ear style never worked well. My hearing is already not great due to construction work and previous life a a musician and was an issue on getting medical for my CPL approved. I don't want it to get any worse. Thoughts?

I looked into this also. I really believe that you need the model with the extra low activation pressure as well. This requirement greatly reduces the available options while still getting the correct direction of operation. I drowned the original switch in solvent and got it to come back to life. Andrew, your switch IS easily replaceable and is part of the Mooney version of the lift detector, not the Safe Flight version. I think this is the reason Mooney came up with it. There is a kit available to install that one in place of the Safe flight version.

Knowing that area, and the weather yesterday, I suspect the may have been trying to escape towering cumulus or ice and something happened. Not sure if if was related to or caused the landing gear issue. The maintenance shop does my work also and will inquire about the issue next time I am there.

Happy to participate. My info is in my profile stuff.

The aircraft is a 1997 M20, non-turbo. C-GGIM on a flight from Tofino to Chilliwack and diverted to Victoria with mechanical issues. Not sure what was wrong with the gear though. Would be interested to hear. Looking at flightaware, this aircraft sure gets around! Victoria, Saskatoon, Florida, Bahamas in less than a month....wow. I wish I had the time for that kind of flying! http://flightaware.com/live/flight/CGGIM/history/20170512/1830Z/CYAZ/CYCW/tracklog Not sure what happened enroute but he has some -3000 foot descent rates there from 9000 down to 2700. I heard a rumour of a spiral dive or something causing 'hydraulic failure' ( not my words...). A bunch of convective cloud in the area at that time, maybe icing escape gone wrong? Glad to hear that there were no injuries.

There is a Honeywell Microswitch switch available to make this work but requires salvaging the actuator arm from the old switch as it has the sail/paddle that the wind hits. I looked at this and there is a reverse acting, low pressure microswitch that can be modified to work, but may require drilling a new pivot hole, adjusting the plunger length, etc as well as transplanting the arm. Ultimately I got my old switch operation so didn't need to complete this minor surgery. If I did go this route I would be 'calibrating' the activation pressure and angle of the switch arm as best as possible to match the existing, which is easier said than done. I am a little apprehensive about bodging a safety item like this.

Rmag, what gauge material did you use and where did you acquire it? Replacing the seats in my K and discovered that I have the paper/foam board everywhere that is in rough shape. Carpet will be done next year and will want to replace all the backing at that time too. Thanks iain

Congrats on the new purchase. An exciting time for sure! Canopy cover on mine. There are far more scratches on the inside of the glass than outside. The white canopy cover keeps the interior surprisingly cool. I got a set of the interior thermal panels with the plane and was advised ( and I agree ) to never use them as they absolutely cook the 'glass' worse than having no cover at all. iain

Contact cement is especially bad. I used to be a floor installer and using contact cement in large quantities; I recall the fumes igniting off of hot light bulbs at the top of stair wells, making little blue balls of fire. INA201, those are some great links for some products I was not aware of. This may be the ticket for my panels as the cracks are minor, but annoying. Might be within my capabilities until I can afford a full aerocomfort installation. I was planning on using velcro type fasteners to put my trim panels and arm rests back in place instead of the screws.

Yes, fuel, volts, amps, etc. I looked at a TB21 before the Mooney, but the cabin has a fairly low roofline and I don't fit well.

That looks really nice. I was just about to buy the ram mount but this looks much less clunky. Does the magnet affect the compass or any other instruments negatively?

I have the same model (MB4). I can typically just crank without any priming or special procedures and it starts right up. If REALLY hot, 4-5 seconds of prime like a cold start and still starts. (knock on wood) I have never had a hot start issue with my K. Not like the IO-360 in the Diamond, cripes that one was awful to start hot or warm or not cold.

I have been following this and picked up a mini 4 recently to use in addition to my Air 2, but specifically to yoke mount. For those with the Ram mini mount: is there enough play and extension in the mount arrangement to mount the mini offset to the right? I want to ensure there is lots of space around the left yoke horn for my ham-fisted stabbing during landings. The asymmetric layout bothers my eye, but would rather not congest the yoke grip too much.

In Canada we have all 4 letter indicators, presumably in compliance with ICAO. They all start with C, for Canada. The second character is Y when there is a local weather station/forecasting on site. Or so I have been told... Larger facilities are all alphabetical characters; the smaller ones tend to have numbers too.

I think that is the same that I have, but will send to you regardless. I might have something else in the logs and will email what I find shortly.

I can help with the POH supplement. Let me know how you want it conveyed. It is about 4MB.

Is that the bulb for your inflatable door seal on the right of the bottom pic? Do you have another shot of that? I need to redo my door and was considering a better spot for mine.

So....what are you upgrading to??

Very nice. Did Aerocomfort do the interior? I like the non-black glareshield; that really brightens the interior.

Most Ks of this vintage have the electric backup AI. Mine does, as does most I have seen around here. I believe vacuum pump failure has been an issue or concern with Mooney at this time.

+1

And possibly eliminate the vacuum pump and associated costs/risks. If/when mine goes, I will likely go that route. Too cheap to pull the trigger until then. iain

Regarding time: If you work like me, and it sounds like you do, you would be working on the airline while travelling enroute, similar to the drive. I tend to make quite a few phone calls in the vehicle while driving ( bluetooth headset ). I sometimes even toy with the idea of getting an assistant just to drive me around and increase the amount of time I can respond to calls/emails/texts/issues, etc. None of this is really practical when flying yourself. I tried the bluetooth in the Bose A20 for calls, but cell coverage is typically poor at altitude and non-existent in many of the areas I travel over. Ultimately, I do choose the Mooney for the time savings from the security at the airports and that I can depart on MY schedule, rather than lingering around the airport for hours waiting for the return flight. All of this ultimately leads me to be home at a reasonable hour or not staying over night so I can spend more time with my family ( and on Mooneyspace )

Tempest fine wire. $1200 CDN upgrade but helped my high altitude misfire on my TSIO360MB K. Theoretically should last to TBO without replacement.

Nice K Kevin! I got my my K home one year to the day! I went from Quebec to Victoria instead. I have the TKS also and it has come in handy a couple of times over the mountains, including the initial ferry flight. iain