jaylw314

I'm a low time pilot and had no retractable time before I chose to by an M20J, transitioning from a Cherokee 140. I had my instructor do my complex training in the new plane for my first flights. Transitioning to a Mooney is not a huge issue, even for a low-time pilot. Just make a point of doing all the checklists, there aren't more than in a Cessna 172. There's a lot to learn about the details, but the basics are easy: Get your speed on final right Don't forget the landing gear Don't hurt yourself climbing out of the door

I'm at KSLE Salem OR, but do most of my fueling at Independence 7S5 which is only a few miles away. The FBO there gives a 7% discount for prepaying on a gas card. Only works at his pump, but he has the one of the cheapest prices in the region, $3.99 last week.

It's hard to tell from your photo, but it looks like one of the camloc 2600 fasteners. They are retained with a split washer 2600SW2 you need to bend and straighten to get on http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/hapages/camlocwashers.php

Of note, your financing bank may require title insurance. If they don't (mine didn't), then the title search alone is probably fine if the plane is worth less than your home. If it's worth more, I would still consider title insurance. Of course, if the plane is worth more than my home, I may have other problems upstairs...

The 100 hr IS the same as an annual inspection. It's supposed to cover exactly the same things, but can be signed off by an A&P instead of an IA., So essentially, you're just paying for multiple annual inspections in a 12 month period. Unless you are required to do 100 hr inspections, I can't even see how doing them would make me feel any better unless I was flying 200 hrs in a year (because psychologically, an annual every 6 months sounds better than 2 annuals a month apart every year). I got a little panicked recently because I thought I might have to do 100 hr inspections if I use my Mooney for flight instruction. Luckily, the 100 hr inspection does NOT apply if you provide the plane, only if the flight instructor for hire provides the plane.

If you take it to an avionics shop, they have a radio test device that can send a test VOR signal of calibrated strength to check your reception. On the other hand, when they did this because I was having similar problems to you, they ended up finding a piece of wax string in the antenna connector in my 530 tray. The tech looked in after removing it and said "hmm", reached in with tweezers and pulled out a 1" piece of wax wire lace. That fixed my problems

You can get the Keyspan USB adapter on Amazon for $30 https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Keyspan-High-Speed-USA-19HS/dp/B0000VYJRY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490328015&sr=8-1&keywords=keyspan+usb+to+serial+adapter I used that for my EDM-700 and it works fine. The IO-360 is has a low oil limit of 2 qts (!) on its TCDS. I try to keep it below 6 qts The speed at which your EGT changes seems too fast even for a clogged fuel injector. I'm guessing it's a bad connection. You should not have Silicon increase in your oil analysis unless you have a bad air filter system (or unless a piece of silicone rubber ended up in you oil system). Check your air filter and the alternate air intake behind the air filter. Cr, and Fe could all be related to your new cylinders. Al could be anything, but frequently happens with an overhauled oil cooler.

Salem, although might be moving to Corvallis this year

I'll keep my eye out for you at the the fly in in June! I haven't made it out over the Cascades that much, I've been busy flying locally working on my instrument rating.

Oh Christ, you just set off all those "Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal" commercials in my head. Arrrrrgh!! Make it stop! Grew up in San Diego...

Bendix was bought out by TCM, which is Lycoming's biggest competitor. So yes, TCM has discontinued support of the dual mag. I remember Mike Busch mentioning some other company working on a PMA to make a replacement dual mag, but until that happens, there are no new parts for the D3000 magneto. That doesn't mean you can't get the D3000 overhauled or repaired, since neither generally requires new parts--it does mean if a part does need replacing, the shop may need to cannibalize a part from another mag.

Yeah, the NiMH batteries are actually designed to vent while charging and discharging (you can see the little hole by the + terminal), but they also only put out 1.2V, which means high current devices will run out of juice sooner, even though the batteries are only partly discharged. Alternative to taking alkaline batteries out during disuse, you can stick a piece of paper or plastic between one of the batteries and one of its contacts (or adjacent battery if present). this prevents any always-on current that a lot of devices with digital on/off switches have.

If the KAP 150 is like the KFC 150, there is an air pressure transducer in the autopilot computer. IIRC, it is NOT attached to the static system, it is simply open to the cabin air pressure. You can test this by opening and closing the alternate static source--this should not affect altitude hold mode at all. On the other hand, if you have the altitude preselector unit, that part IS attached the static system, so selecting alternate static while in climb or descent mode will lead to a VERY exciting ride. Ask me how I know...

Congrats! I bought mine from All-American and Dave Behrens at Dugosh did the pre-buy for me as well last year. You're in Oregon? I fly out of KSLE, where are you based?

On the M20J, the bellcranks for the cowl flaps are RIGHT up against the SCAT tube from the exhaust shroud to the cabin. This is the correct routing depicted in the maintenance manual, but there is almost no clearance. My last annual, they replaced the SCAT tube because of some small holes, and when I did my oil change, the bellcranks had shredded the SCAT tube. Once the SCAT tube gets a hole, it becomes less rigid and sags a little, which makes it rub against the bellcranks more. My A&P redid it and zip-tied the SCAT tube to squash it and keep it away from the crank, but it is still really close. Long story short--check the SCAT hose from the exhaust shroud and make sure there are no holes. I bought the Sensorcon detector, and it reads 10-15 during startup, but moving it decreases to 0-5 ppm. In flight (including climb) it's 0 ppm.

If I remember from Mike Busch's webinars, a failing exhaust valve may or may not be preceded by EGT fluctuations, and if it does it is usually +30-40 degF once a minute. I did have an interesting failure mode in one of my EGT sensors. It was reading about 200 degF too low on and off. When I checked the probe, the probe body itself was loose in the clamp and could slide in and out of the exhaust pipe. Only the wire harness placement kept it from falling out. My A&P tightened the ferrule that holds the probe, no extra charge, and the EGT readings were back to normal.

Any flap should cause a pitch down moment when lowered due to increase lift. The ones that don't (like most high-wing Cessna's) are only because the flaps direct airflow towards the horizontal stabilizer and have the opposite to expected effect. A high-wing T-tail aircraft should behave conventionally.

Remember on a C172, the nose wheel steering is bungie-corded to the pedals, which means there is a bit of time delay between moving your feet and the nose yawing which will lead to big, slow wandering over the taxiway. Of course, once you sort that out, then you will find out most other planes have pedals that are rigidly connected to the nose wheel steering.

I've worked with both Dash and Advanced Aircraft, they both seem to be solid outfits--however, I've not used either for a prepurchase.

I wouldn't suggest using your mechanic, you need to know they have experience with Mooney's. If he can refer you to local one who has, I would suggest trying them out on a couple of smaller repairs or jobs before you put your trust in them for the annual. I did have a local mechanic who has Mooney experience, but I opted to use a local MSC for the first annual. It worked out fine, but I don't know that it was worth the increased expense and hassle of doing so, and this year I plan on using my local guy.

I shoot for 90 knots at the FAF. One benefit is that it's easier to do mental math for a timed MAP--If the time for 60 kts is 6:00 min and 120 kts is 3:00 min, the time for 90 knots is 4:00 min.

I used to drive Pine Canyon Rd like a madman in a WRX in my younger and dummer days. I shudder to think what would have happened if I had gone off the road then because it is so remote--I never saw another car in all the times I drove it.

FWIW From the time I started searching for an M20J to the time I bought one last year was a total of 18 months and totalled about 7 amu's. I travelled to look at 3 planes, but then finally bought one from All-American. Coordinated with Dugosh do the PPI. I paid a friend who's an IA to fly out there and look, then again a month later to fly the plane back. Used Aerospace Reports for title and escrow. I never actually saw the plane until it reached Oregon, saw I was anxious but it worked out okay. The plane has been fantastic. My friend seems to addictively buy and sell planes, and said he envied me the "fun of looking for a plane." I need to discuss with him his definition of "fun," because all I got was a lot of frustration, tedium, anxiety and big credit card bills. The only reason I would think to do it again was that the end result has been worth it.