Rick Junkin

Following the lead of @Jonás I figured out how to get my customized Foreflight checklist files posted here for download and customization. They're fairly detailed and may not be what you want to use every flight, but they can serve as an excellent tool for periodic review of the things you've decided are good ideas or best practices for your airplane and your normal flight operations. The N1088F checklist is customized to reflect the settings and techniques I use in my airplane. Spoiler alert - I run LOP and at a much lower power setting than most. That being said I have spent a fair amount of time refining it to my cockpit flow and fully capturing abnormal and emergency procedures. The Flight%20Briefing checklist is the one I use every flight to make sure I've considered everything I've learned I should consider before going flying. Really basic stuff but it reminds me not to get complacent. To get these into Foreflight, open this post on your iPhone or iPad and open the files - they should automatically open Foreflight and load onto your device. If you download them please give me feedback on any ideas you have for improvement or correction and we'll all get better! Cheers, Rick Flight%20Briefing.fmd N1088F.fmd

Very nice!!! Thanks so much for sharing your work. Cheers, Rick

Hi Jonás, I built my checklist in Foreflight and unfortunately it can only be used in Foreflight. I can't print it or produce a text file. If you're using Foreflight I can share the checklist with you by sending it to your email, and it will automatically load into your Foreflight app when you open the file in the email. All I need is your email address. For anyone who's interested in using and helping improve the Foreflight checklist just PM me your email address and I'll send you the file. Cheers, Rick

@Jonás Thanks for sharing your work! I did a quick review of the text file and saw a couple of things on the start/taxi/before takeoff checks that look different from the checks I do. I have an 89 TLS, #19 off the line. Do you turn the boost pump on for start and leave it on? My POH has guidance to use it to prime for a specific amount of time based on temperature and then turn it off for start. My standard is 6 seconds of boost pump after fuel pressure indicates, then off and wait 15 seconds before engaging the starter. The 15 seconds delay is just my technique. Do you check the function of both alternators at 1000 RPM before your run-up checks? Your checklist says to confirm the field switch is on and a positive rate of charge is indicated, but I didn’t see anywhere that checks each alternator individually. Is that in your POH? Thanks again for sharing your work! I’ve created a customized Foreflight Checklist for my TLS/Bravo that fits my cockpit flow checks and I’m happy to share it with you or anyone else with the same caveats - I’ve done my best but no guarantees that it is complete or accurate. Cheers, Rick

THIS. I know it exists in other communities, but I've always felt it was a primary tenant of Mooney ownership. Thanks for sharing your story and holding up the people who all helped you be successful in joining us in Mooney stewardship. And congratulations! Cheers, Rick

@Nukemzzz I didn't see a direct answer to your question so I'll offer my unqualified thoughts on the matter. Full nose up trim for takeoff would seem to indicate you are approaching your elevator control power limits for rotation which shouldn't happen when you're operating inside the CG envelope. I think something isn't quite right. I recommend calling an MSC and ask them the question, most are more than happy to provide this kind of info. You are close to the forward CG limit for the gross weight at which you are operating so while I wouldn't expect full nose up for takeoff I would expect more nose up trim than the T/O trim point on the indicator as Hank mentioned in his C. Have you been able to compare notes with other E model drivers as to what they set for takeoff trim with similar loading? You mentioned rolling the trim a turn or so in cruise which sounds reasonable, but is the indicator still more nose up than the marked takeoff trim setting? Typically cruise trim indication will be below the takeoff trim mark even at full gross. Barring confirming input from other M20E aircraft takeoff settings and if you're confident in your weight and balance data from your recent aircraft weigh, you may want to have the horizontal stab trim rigging checked to see if it is out of whack or indicating improperly. An MSC will be able to tell you if this is a good idea or not. I'm really interested to hear what you find out. Cheers, Rick

I use C for OAT and F for everything else. 0 is a good reference for icing and performance, and all of my engine limits are in F. If you're an "everything's in the green" kind of pilot the OAT is probably the only temp that you need to know the actual value. Cheers, Rick

@BravoWhiskeyAir Power has them in stock for $3K each if you need to go with new, http://www.airpowerinc.com/productcart/pc/cylinders.asp?catid=70&subcat=80&mfgid=&prodid=11702&x=TIO540 Cheers, Rick

It's important to have a protractor to determine which elevator is "right", if either are, and then align them properly. Hopefully your A&P is Mooney-savvy and is familiar with the process. Good luck! Cheers, Rick

I got a commercial loan from Mountain Commerce Bank www.mcb.com in Knoxville TN for my hangar at Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport KGKT. They required 30% down, and my land lease is 30 years. I can give you contacts there if you're interested. Cheers, Rick

It doesn't matter who you are, politicians aside (JK) - arrogant unprofessional behavior, especially from someone who is presumably in a position of respect or legendary status and setting an example for others, isn't acceptable. If one is to make the decision to behave that way knowing the ramifications then one must humbly accept the punishment and move on.

@A64Pilot Curiosity is killing me - why is there a " ' " at the beginning of almost every line of your posts?

@Airways Unfortunately turbulence over the "mountains" between KMRN and KGKT didn't allow a good assessment of hands-free performance. I'll follow up with that on the next smooth air day here. It's easy to eyeball if your elevators are out - stand at the rudder and pull up on both elevators until one of the bob weights is streamlined with the horizontal stab. Hold it there and look to see if the other bob weight is in the same relative position. If the left bob weight is inline and the right one looks higher protruding above the horizontal stab it will induce a left roll. EDIT: I think you were asking about hand flying before the adjustment - yes, I had to hold slight left aileron to keep the wings level. The airplane would roll to the right hands off. In my case the the right elevator bob weight was below the horizontal stab surface with the left bob weight inline, which induced a right roll. Cheers, Rick

Have you checked your elevators for symmetry? @Airways My elevators were out of symmetry by about a degree and a half (about 3/8" at the bob weights) and was enough in cruise to cause the autopilot to hold left aileron, which required left rudder trim for coordinated flight. Lynn at AGL Aviation @AGL Aviation adjusted it for me yesterday and I'm back to zero trim and centered yokes in cruise. Cheers, Rick

A follow-up and clarification on how I fixed my fuel pressure indication anomoly. Hopefully it will save someone else some work and expense. Bottom line up front - I cleaned the original OEM connectors with contact cleaner, checked the security of wires to pins, reconnected everything and the cockpit fuel pressure indication ops checked GOOD. To recap the symptoms I've had that were remedied by cleaning the connector: 1. Fuel pressure pegged high (two years ago) 2. Decaying fuel pressure 3. Zero fuel pressure I opened the connectors expecting to find some obvious corrosion or a loose wire but instead found very clean-looking connector pins and sockets and solidly connected wires. I didn't inspect with a magnifying glass but I have to assume there was some light surface corrosion that I couldn't see, based on my results. I sprayed both connectors with contact cleaner and reassembled the connector just to see if that would fix the issue without cutting any wires to install new connections. Electric boost pump pressure indicated a solid 50psi on the ops check, and the engine driven fuel pump indicated a solid 30psi on the test run and two subsequent flights. So don't pitch your fuel pressure transducer without doing some work on the connectors first unless you've verified the transducer itself is indeed bad. This may include executing the Benz Airborne SI I linked in a previous post that recommends replacing the OEM connector. If I have another recurrence I'll install the new connections called out in the SI. It looks to be about a 30 minute job. Cheers, Rick

SUCCESS - fuel pressure transducer connector was cleverly hidden below the oil pressure transducer connector and bundled wire, all zip tied to the engine mount. I love airplanes. Cheers, Rick

Thanks. I've traced the wire from the fuel pressure transducer back into a wire bundle and will have to break the bundle open to find out where it goes. I can't see anywhere along that bundle where a wire breaks out to a connector before the firewall. This should be fun. Cheers, Rick

Hey Lance, where was the connector for your fuel pressure transducer located in the engine compartment? I tried to trace the wire from mine to the connector tonight but it looks like it goes into a bundle and straight to a firewall through connector. That seems weird to me so I think I’m missing something and would like to localize my search. My next step is to tear into the wire bundle to separate out and trace the transducer wire. @LANCECASPER Thanks for any help! Cheers, Rick

There is a SI fix for the Kulite pressure transducers - change the wiring connectors. Some possibly new info on both the fuel and oil pressure transducer front. My fuel pressure indication slowly decayed to ZERO yesterday. I talked to Lynn at AGL Aviation today and he sent me the attached SI from Benz Airborne Systems, the company that bought(?) the Kulite business. They've traced most failures to the original Mooney OEM connectors and provide guidance on using an alternate wire connection method that should resolve 90% of the issues people are seeing. A lot of folks were already on the right track with taking the OEM connector out of the circuit and splicing or using other better sealed connectors. It's in the SI, but the Reader's Digest version is that this applies to both the fuel and oil pressure transducers, and failure modes include fluctuating indications, decaying indications, and pegged indications both high and low depending on which wire connections are involved. Simple fix for what had become a big problem. Thanks @AGL Aviation! Cheers, Rick BENZ AIRBORNE-KULITE TRANSDUCER.pdf

Mine will go into the yellow arc above 95 PSI if I haven't preheated on a cooler day (~40 degrees F) and I do the run up as soon as the cylinders are above 250 degrees and the oil is above 100 degrees. If I've preheated or the engine has been running long enough to get the oil warmer it sits at about 80-90 PSI during the run up and then is again 80 PSI in cruise with the oil at 185-190 degrees. Cheers, Rick

You're due some good luck Mimi, so I'm betting on the lifters. Good luck! Cheers, Rick

I wanted to be a fighter pilot but discovered during my ROTC scholarship physical my eyes weren't good enough to fly with the USAF in any capacity. I wanted to serve so I took the scholarship anyway. I was assigned as an acquisition officer when I was commissioned and after a year or so started training for my private ticket on my own dime. Soon after that I was getting prescription sunglasses for flying and the ophthalmologist told me my eyes hadn't changed but the vision qualifying criteria for USAF aviation had expanded due to my being 2 years older and I followed a path that took me to the back seat of an F-4E as a Weapon Systems Officer. My work toward my private ticket helped get me through that door. I finished up my ticket 2 years later. Now I'm retired after having had a military and civilian aviation career that let me fly/test some really cool airplanes. I've been an instructor and examiner in my WSO capacity in all but one of the airplanes I was qualified in, and earned my CFII along the way. I'm preparing to possibly embark on a third career as a primary instructor out of my hangar for select students (Learners?! Sorry, I'm old school and won't drink that Koolaide. "Clients" I can do.) So, I answered =Private= for the survey, but in reality that's only part of my story. I know there are other similar/different/better stories out there and I would really like to hear them! Cheers, Rick

Hi @Gubni, I'd be happy to help you out if a right seat hop in an M20M would be of use to you. I'm a CFI but unfortunately not set up to instruct in my Bravo and probably wouldn't do it anyway. She's not difficult to fly but she isn't a good trainer and doesn't like a training flight profile. It sounds like you're looking to get your hands on something close to what you would be wanting to buy, have you got to the point of narrowing that down yet? Some models are better than others as first airplanes but they're all AWESOME and with adequate and proper transition training will serve you well. I'm based at Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge. I'm happy to host here or come your way. I'm retired so can work to your schedule for the most part. Send me a PM if you'd like to do this and we'll make it happen! Thanks for the point-out Paul @gsxrpilot. Cheers, Rick

Not on LiveATC. I searched both KSHV and the 119.9 approach freq with no joy. Hopefully saves someone else some time.

Thanks Anthony, I promised Glennie “one thing at a time” and the cowling is probably the low hanging fruit at the moment if it truely comes to fruition (pun intended). Cheers, Rick