chrixxer

I met with the ASIs from the FSDO and went over my logs (which were extensive and detailed; 4BE was an unknown quantity I was still learning). There were, e.g., several instances of flight profiles similar to those leading up to 4BE's last flight (multiple short trips on one fueling), where I refilled ~40 gallons (M20E; 52 usable) at 4.5 on the tach (4.23 on the tach when 4BE stopped moving, since the last fueling). (Some other irregularities, too, that I still don't have an explanation for.) At that meeting, the operations (as opposed to airworthiness) inspector concluded the meeting by saying this was the rare situation where he was leaving the meeting without an idea of what he'd recommend. This is paraphrased, but pretty close: "There are three paths: We can decide there's a question as to your competency, and have you do a 709 ride; we can recommend remedial training; or we can do nothing. I don't think you're not a competent pilot, and we're not in the habit of requiring useless training - what's an instructor going to tell you you don't already know? Your trip planning and log keeping are what we expect from a 3,000 hour pilot, not a 300 hour pilot." No action was taken. (Though I did some stuff on my own; I don't think I ever had an opportunity to even mention that to the FAA, though - it was about a week after the ASI meeting, which was the Tuesday following the Friday night accident.)

Happy to discuss with anyone offline. There are some inaccuracies in that report, and some points I disagree with. My personal approach changes, though, I'm happy to share. A purchasing criteria for my next (current) plane was a fuel totalizer; 3RM came with a FS-450 and it's now equipped with an EDM-830 with fuel flow. That, in turn, is connected (RS-232) to the GNS430W, configured to calculate (and constantly display) fuel required to the destination. I cross-check the totalizer against the factory fuel gauges (which, in 3RM, are rock steady - though I do have to thump them before the engine is running, to get a reading) at every tank switch I check the accuracy of the fuel remaining calculation at every fill-up. (I have Main = 50 (tabs), Aux = 14 (full fuel). I also visually check the tanks with a dipstick (it's pre-fab and calibrated for a C172, but adding 5 to what it shows is reliably conservative). The dipstick and "add 5" instructions came courtesy the previous owner, but I've verified its accuracy. My personal minimums have also increased. I had about 300 hours PIC on 9/22/2017 (and my PPL was less than 2 years old). 4BE was my first plane. I'm at >445 PIC now (including 93 in the Mooney that replaced 4BE). I wish I could say they were all uneventful, but I did have an energency landing at Pt. Mugu NAS (a piece of the ram air door gasket broke off and ended up lodged in thr fuel servo throttle body), but the plane survived unscathed and after a 4 month, five figure annual, we're back in the air. (After a cautious few trips around the pattern during her RTS flight, I flew her home to TOA on 11/3, then up to PRB for a "confidence rebuilding" lunch run, then out to Marana to finish avionics work - the autopilot pitch servo had been sent out to S-Tec for servive, and the EDM-700 and FS-450 were swapped for the EDM-830. Marana to Paso Robles to pick up a friend Friday night, back to Torrance. Today, flew to Boulder City, picked up a fellow MooneySpacer, stole his Aerox 2C, and shot a few practice approaches with him as my safety pilot. Then back to TOA.) 23 hours since the emergency landing at NTD (17.5 in 3RM herself), I'm back to what I comsider a healthy level of skeptical confidence in her. She's been on oil analysis for a decade (which I'm continuing). A big reason for getting the -830 was being introduced to SavvyAnalysis, which I'm now using to watch engine trends. Multiple A&Ps and IAs have had eyes on her, and she's running smooth and strong. I'm taking the Advanced Pilot Seminars engine course, etc. I had my first ever BFR on the anniversary of the crash - unintentionally, and I didn't even realize it until after the fact. (I wanted a particular CFI, who I knew held pilots to very high standards; as he's also an airline captain, his availability is tight. 9/2018 was also the anniversary of my IR checkride.) An instructor I "know" through the global aviation community (who sadly passed yesterday) once had this to say; it resonates with me: "Whenever we talk about a pilot who has been killed in a flying accident, we should all keep one thing in mind. He called upon the sum of all his knowledge and made a judgment. He believed it so strongly that he knowingly bet his life on it. That his judgment was faulty was a tragedy, not stupidity. Every inspector, supervisor, and contemporary who ever spoke to him had an opportunity to influence his judgment, so a little of all of us goes with every pilot we lose." I've taked to a lot of people since the 4BE crash, and I'm going to keep talking to people. People I can learn from, and people who might learn a thing or two from what I've been through. I feel damned lucky to be alive, let alone still flying. All I can do is what I've been doing: continue to improve and learn all I can; impart what I can; and fly the safest plane I can afford in the safest way I know how. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Did you end up doing this? Interested...

If the connections were setup incorrectly, how would they read correctly 99% of the time? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not seen in the videos are hours of flying with rock solid inputs, MAP that tracks the steam gauge perfectly, etc. A ground I could see being that intermittent, but noise from ignition wires (which are all brand new), seems less likely. The shop is normally anal retentive to a fault, doubt I have three loose connectors on the back - though I suppose possible. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A large amount of nose up trim is normal. Mine's almost all the way nose up to get it to hands-free 80 mph on final, as have been the other Fs I've flown. But the controls should not feel heavy. Check the elevator bungies, I'm told they're supposed to be removed, inspected, and repacked with fresh grease every annual, but the ones in my '69 F hadn't been touched in years despite at least one recent annual at an MSC. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

(1) I know, and I did ("[f]inally figured out how to set that up on the ground back at TOA"). Still annoying not having it set properly by the shop. Even if they'd just set Main to 64, it would have been at least correct. (2) That seems to be the consensus. Now the question is, how many AMUs to track down and fix? Sigh. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Tonight was fun. Picked 3RM up at the avionics shop. At runup the right mag ran rough and with my shiny new EDM-830 I watched the CHT drop off completely in Cylinder 3. Having been reading through Deakin's APS Seminar on engine management, I know my mag is failing and ... Oh, no, wait, they were IRAN'd ~10 hours ago. Ran through the fouled plug procedure and the next two mag checks were fine. So far so good. Then an hour into the flight, CHT 3 probe started failing intermittently - this had happened to the shop, too, but they'd cleaned the contacts and thought they'd gotten rid of the issue. Okay, NBD, a new probe isn't that expensive, in the scheme of things. But by the time I was another hour into the flight, it was almost comical how many probes I had going bad and coming back online, including both left overs from the EDM-700 and also brand new probes (MAP, OAT). The factory gauges were fine and the engine was running perfectly, so I pressed on. (Later, despite my instructions regarding how I wanted fuel set up (50 gal "main" (to tabs), 14 gal "aux" (full 64 gallons), the shop had set it up with only 50 gallon capacity. Which meant I start getting bogus "LOW FUEL" warnings. Over mountains in the dark. Yay. The totalizer thought I had 9 gallons on board when I landed, but I had 23. (Finally figured out how to set that up on the ground back at TOA.)) Here's the engine monitor going crazy: https://www.dropbox.com/s/q2j5lfauyny5mqk/IMG_6115.MOV?dl=0 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Come to L.A. Bring our mutual friend(s). Tell 'me to bring their toolkits... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I "liked" 'These things will work themselves out eventually,' not '..ongoing avionics issues and a J-bar problem...' (natch).

Two things. One, the rebuilt (or whatever it was; the second-most expensive option, $1800 instead of $3800 or thereabouts for "new") fuel servo was setup incorrectly by Precision. They bench-adjusted it and sent it back properly setup. (At least that's my understanding. I don't know the specifics.) Two, the fuel pump. The one they ended up using I linked to in the comment I linked to above, with the AircraftSpruce part no. The combination of the "right" fuel pump and a properly configured fuel servo got me right into the middle of the green arc. 7.4+ hours later, still sitting there. Just flew 3.0 hours (tach) at 11,000' out to Marana (AVQ). Sewing machine. TWITA! (Did a "rebuilding confidence" run up to PRB on Sunday, too.)

D'oh, yeah, the 12th. Perils of tapping a response at the end of a work day. Yeah, would be great to finally meet you IRL! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Plan is to depart TOA IFR at 0700 PST tomorrow, arrive AVQ whenever I get there (call it no later than 1100 MST; 2.75 hours en route, and losing a time zone hour). I have a commercial flight out of TUS that boards at 1210 (departure 1250). I fly back to TUS (also commercial) on Monday the 10th, arriving 1205 MST, and I depart whenever the plane is done (they asked for two days - should be less than a half-day, total, but they're booked with installs through the end of the year - so I'm giving them almost 3 ).

Actually, I didn't, but wanted to. Took too long with the A&P and IA, and didn't make it over before they closed. (I did have lunch there after my NORDO arrival on 7/31, but I was otherwise distracted at that point.)

Fuel servo, $1700; fuel pump, $400; new VOR antenna (one side had broken off, the other side was stress cracked in the same spot), $320; mag harness, $400; mag IRAN, $944; pitot-static system check, $450; brakes, logbook research (they were confused initially because my plane has an IO-360-C1C that was converted to an -A1A before installation, in the 80s), p-leads, etc., plus labor (A&P + IA) ($900 for the annual alone), plus a bunch of "materials" etc., and chasing down the fuel pressure issue involved a bunch of labor, as did R&R the mags, twice (because of the infant mortality failure). The S-Tec pitch servo troubleshooting and repair is about $1200 P&L including the ~$550 flat rate repair by S-Tec. I took the opportunity of the plane being down to have additional sensors installed, so I could run an EDM-830 (the -700 that was installed when I bought it started getting flaky within the first 100 hours; it was going to be up to about $700 to have it overhauled, or about $1,100 to upgrade to the -730, and then there was feature creep...). About $17,000 all told following the emergency landing + annual + what my mechanic kept calling "years of deferred maintenance." About $4,000 at the avionics shop to fix the autopilot and replace/upgrade the engine monitor.

After the emergency landing at Pt. Mugu NAS in early July (caused by a piece of ram air door gasket that found its way into the fuel servo throttle body) and a somewhat eventful reposition flight over to CMA ... The high fuel pressure issue was conquered, an "early" (which ultimately become a "timely") annual was performed, a bunch of crusty old stuff (magneto harness, p-leads, etc) was swapped out, and everything checks out (though a capacitor on one of the IRAN'd mags did fail just as I was about to pick it up, a couple of weeks ago; went back to Aero Accessories to be addressed). The left fuel tank, that was empty at Pt. Mugu, has not shown any signs of leaking, over several months. I'm watching it, but, so far, it's always been exactly where I left it (dipsticking it after and before every flight). Fuel pressure is right in the middle of the green arc. Mag drops are exactly 100 RPM on both sides. Runs smooth, no missing. Temps are cooler (the baffles were installed incorrectly). Controls are smooth (the elevator bungees hadn't been removed or greased/repacked in years). Brakes work good (they were well worn). Two mild flat spots on the tires from standing on the brakes (Runway 27 at KNTD has arrestor cables I wanted to avoid!), but there's still tread. Electrical system seems fine, on the same battery (on a tender while it was being worked on). No hiccups like before. Did a couple of low approach trips around the pattern at CMA before I was comfortable flying back to TOA. Then the next day flew up to Paso Robles on my "scaredy-cat" routing (8,500' and an airport, or the surf, always within gliding distance); 3.5 hour round trip (tach time), and she purred. No hiccups. Taking her out to Marana tomorrow to have the rest of the avionics work done (S-Tec serviced the pitch servo, which has to be reinstalled, and I'm swapping the EDM-700 for the -830.) Didn't expect to need to pump $21,000 into her so soon, but, it is what it is.

The upgrade was $1,100, and one hour of labor for the swap ($100). A base EDM-730 system is $1,429 plus significantly more installation labor (and I already had a bunch of sensors beyond the CHT/EGT). And my probes are working fine (knock wood). Besides, again, it only has to last another year or so...

FYI, my fuel pressure is right in the middle of the green arc. The combination to get there was: Sending the fuel servo back to Precision and having it adjusted; and Using the fuel pump part no. 07-00705 from AircraftSpruce (even though the description also includes the dreaded "62B26931"). Hope this helps someone. It is possible to get a proper fuel pressure setting!

Um, they're identical, per JPI's tech support (you can set the 730 to be an 830, and vice versa, depending on what sensors are connected)... I think you're thinking of the 700/800. Not the 730/830 (pictured herein above). I had a -700, which is definitely 80s/90s era. The 800 series adds manifold pressure, a graphical display of RPM/MAP, and will calculate % HP with RPM/MAP/Fuel Flow/OAT connected (which mine will have).

Update: This just in from Tim Sullivan at JPI: Software allows you to set it up either or. In Factory limits set it up as an 830 and answer yes to RPM and Map installed.

Thanks, that's what I was afraid of. Despite making it clear (weeks ago) I was adding MAP and wanted the -830 functionality specifically, I fear the shop isn't going to be ready for me. Sigh. Why is everything such a challenge? I've emailed support@jpi and CC'd the avionics guys, we'll see how this shakes out. I have to drop the plane off, fly back commercially, then fly back commercially to pick the plane up, so it's non-trivial to move this stuff around...

When I looked at the EDM-900 for 4BE in 2017, I was quoted $3,790 for the base unit plus $279 for fuel pressure. Installation was quoted at $4,000. About $8,000 ("almost $10,000 investment" is what I said). Versus about $1200 for the upgrade (less the core charge), plus about 2 hours of labor, to go from the -700 to the -830. It's just gotta limp along for another year or so, when the SkyView HDX will take over all of that (and thensome), and the JPI unit will move to the right panel as a secondary (backup) set of instruments.

Not helpful and not what I asked. The 900 is an almost $10,000 investment (requires all new probes and a full install); the 730/830 is a $1,200 slide-in replacement that uses all the existing hardware. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have an EDM-700 with 4-probe CHT/EGT, OilP, OilT, and voltage. I originally asked my avionics shop about the indicator upgrade to the EDM-730 once I learned they were pin-compatible slide-in replacements (as are the -800/830), but then I learned about SavvyAnalysis etc and told the shop I wanted the -830 instead. While my Mooney was pulled apart for her 4-month (!) annual / emergency landing repair / deferred maintenance rectification, I had the mechanic add MAP, RPM, and OAT sensors, and piggy back fuel flow off the FS-450 that's now not long for this panel. The avionics shop (it goes in tomorrow) is telling me the 730 will be an 830, that the only difference is the sensors. But reading the pilot's guide, it looks like I won't have % HP calculated on the 730 (pp. 5, 10), nor the graphical representation of RPM/MAP (p. 12-13 and photo, below). Both things I want. Anyone know how this all works? Thanks! Pilot's guide: https://www.jpinstruments.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/PG-EDM-730_830-Rev-A-02-JULY-2009.pdf Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So, what, you put the gear lever "up" (gear retract position) and then hold down the red button until the gear are up and locked?