glenn reynolds

I ended up buying a new old stock. long story but it will come to me with zero hours and a yellow tag as a rebuilt and NO core. My ovation already had the midwest stc for 310 hp and the stc is attached to the airframe NOT the engine so my mechanic is ok with installing the new model G as per the stc for 310 hp. My Tach is already redlined at 2,700 rpm, the prop governor same (and yes the governor is being overhauled) and so we need to adjust the fuel flow and change the data plate. It turns out it's the data plate modification that is hanging up the engine shop! They want to see the stc instructions on how to mark up the data plate. My STC paperwork says that I'm authorized for the avpower stc SE 02930AT by conversion from a IO-550-G engine to a model IO-550-G-AP in accordance with av power report ap1003-7 assembly instruction rev B dated 9/30/04. I've not found in my records a copy of the assembly instruction from AVpower. I just got off the phone with Bob Minnis at AVpower and he explained that it's just a conversion to an N model so supplemental data plate, redline and governor mod so it looks like we are good to go.

I am the embarrassed owner of an io550G core. The engine has 1,200 hours and one tiny little its bitsy prop strike on sunday. I couldn't wait for a rebuild so I bought a new engine and am now left with my old core. I'm told that the crankcase and the crankshaft are worth real money if undamaged, which is likely given the prop strike was at idle. Apparently this is due to the same reason it would have taken so long to get my engine done, there is a six month lead time to get 550 tcm parts. The bendix magnetos had a 500 hour inspection at the last annual. The oil cooler, starter, fuel pump etc are all 1,200 hour old. The cylinders, well who wants cylinders with 1,200 hours on them? The 65 amp alternator is brand new and never run as I swapped it for my 100 amp alternator. Do I keep the mags so i can swap them out at the next 500 hour inspection? As the new engine has a 2,000 hour tbo it seems silly to have this engine rebuilt, pickled and stored for ten years when I'll need another engine? One suggestions is have an engine shop inspect crank and case and if yellow tagged then sell as single components. which I would assume means all the other parts just get lost as salvage? It seems like so many things like injector fuel lines, or the like would make much simpler and lower cost parts for an io550 owner who needed a part? Any suggestions?

Spent some time today working on the crankcase breather exit pipe. It appears that it had slipped down in it's edel clamp and might have been four inches too low. It may be that it was originally keyed into the mounting clamp with a dimple that wore out making a hole. I'll keep researching to see if the factory made two, anti-ice holes as mine has two holes or did they make one anti-ice hole and then secure to the clamp which on mine has now worn as a hole.

We can close this out. I simply needed to turn the spark plugs 90 degrees and then wiggle. It's not an easy removal but it is possible. Thanks for the help guys.

My Governor is at Sullivan Propeller in Hayward CA. While I have not yet seen the bill, before I even sent them the governor, they saved me about six months of down time and then found me a mobile mechanic to help swap my engine and prop in the field. I'll keep you posted on the cost next week.

As I bravely work to clean up the firewall forward in anticipation of the new engines arrival, I will of course be replacing the hose which runs from the crankcase breather at the oil fill down to the aluminum pipe which attaches to the firewall and is the lower end of the crankcase breather. It struck me that how this pipe is oriented and enters the slipstream under the plane would have a lot to do with: 1) it could pressurize the crankcase with ram air? 2) it could pull a vacuum by being too venturi like under the belly (yes I've checked both the anti-ice vents in the pipe and they are open) 3) be just right, and do neither one or two. There is some latitude in how the pipe clamps to the firewall and i'm not see exact specs in the service manual. I know that fuel tank vent positions on Cessna airplanes are specified in three dimensions +- 1/8 inch. I don't have much in the way of photos as the engine is removed so just the firewall and pipe remain. https://drive.google.com/file/d/195xSaEO_yL5P4O5txZF5X9En7AaAmnYW/view?usp=sharing

link to photo https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wkXsWT6gSetWVLklTH5YagHO8B8T9Olx/view

sorry, I seem to be having trouble on getting the images to upload.

The grommet is removed in this picture and it's all about the spark plug nut unless the other end can be taken out of the magneto cap?

I am replacing my io550 on my ovation and need to remove the old spark plug leads, three of which are through a too small hole in the baffle. The spark plug nut seems to preclude removal of the plug end. Do the wire come out of the mag?

this was a really helpful post. I fly in the cold (my personal record is -40) and I've just ordered the iso prop alcohol you suggested. thanks.

Two options I know of: LASAR mooney service center rebuilt my gear door for less than a used one would have cost. California wings in Ukiah does good metal work.

Years ago I got ramp frozen in Canada the FBO gave me a gallon of lavatory antifreeze. It seems the FBO inventory protocol was very lax about the LAV cart! Anyway I used that to wipe off all the ice. Worked like a charm and the jokes lasted even longer. Now I carry a garden sprayer and a gallon of tks fluid.

I have a couple of comments to add to the excellent advice given already given always pre prime before you need it. So prior to entering visible moisture but while flying I start a ten minute timer and turn the TKS system on low. If I’m not wet out in ten minutes then we are a no go for icing conditions. I alternate which tks pump I’m using every single time I switch on the Tks system so I know the pumps are both working I almost always tanker or carry replacement fluid in the baggage compartment. One gallon for three hour or less flights and five gallons for longer flights. I don’t want to be skimping with tks usage because I’m worried about not having enough. I’ve seen the price as high as $80 a gallon when flying cross country i carry a two gallon plastic garden pressure sprayer which I use to device on the ramp with using my own tks fluid I’ve been quoted thousands of dollars to get a Comercial deice especially in Canada where deice is done for airliners Just be descrete and get it done quickly and with out talking about it some airports only want deice done at special deice fluid recovery pads which is how we get to a thousand dollar deice service I have had a tks system failure while airborne a fitting let go. The airplane had ice very fast it is really important to fly a flight plane with an icing out in this case I was at 12,000 feet I declared an emergency request lower and deviations left and right to avoid visible moisture while I was inside class b airspace the controller gave me exactly what I asked for and I was able to descend through the ice to a warmer altitude the plane will always go down! For this reason I always file for as high an altitude as possible as early as I can for just this reason . Dress warm as my ovation cabin heat stops working at minus thirty but I also don’t get ice either I hold altitude longer above ice so that ATC doesn’t bring me down into an ice layer and then motor me sixty miles to the airport this is common and I’ve had some tough radio exchanges with approach on this issue if you have not already changed your wing landing lights to led then do so before you fly in known ice my led landing lights are the only place I can easily so how much ice the tks system is dealing with I have been flying along fine for an hour with no ice build up and intermittent tks to keep it that way as I approached a blacker uglier bit of weather I turn on tks and within two minutes the light covers had more than an inch of ice. The tks system was working and the plane was fine but these conditions are very dangerous I would not have known if I had incandescent lights which generate enough heat to keep ice off I descended to warmer air and life was good the Faa has an excellent library on icing read it learn how freezing rain is charted and do not fly when it’s forcast it can overwhelm a tks system sld or super cooled liquid drops

I had a gear door hinge break and here is what I learned: you should not fly with a bent door. If the wind catches it and breaks a hinge the flailing door could do thousands of dollars of damage. you need to remove the damaged door. you should remove the door on the other side. The potential to have an asymmetric drag load which exceeds control authority is much too big a risk take. I know a pilot who made this mistake with a landing gear fairing and only barely lived! He could not control the plane at cruise air speed due to yaw. ( this also goes for wing tips etc) i flew my mooney for two weeks while LASAR rebuilt my door. Outer doors off on both sides. you must not only swing the gear when the door goes back on but check that the new install is not overtight. It looks snug and clean but is stressing the hinges by being too snug. That is how I broke my hinge. the door is not cheap nor is it a simple fabrication so it’s nice to have the time to rebuild it or source a replacement which is why removing both doors so the plane can be flown is worth the effort hope this helps and good luck

make sure that you drill an oversize hole to allow for expansion and contraction of the plastic around the metal screw. If you were to install a snug fastener in a small hole, thermal expansion will cause it to crack. Same logic applies to how tight you torque the fastener, the plastic needs to be able to move. Be sure to round all edges as plastic is very susceptible to stress fracture. There is lots of info on this subject on line. do all your work with film or paper covering the plastic and only remove it when your done to reduce scratches. I made my replacement ovation lenses by buying sheet stock and bending and trimming it using the old lens as a pattern.

I fly with o2 about 75 percent of my flight time. I am less tired, fewer headaches and fly better. I have learned a couple of things. I started by purchasing a pulse Oximeter from rite aid for $50. I commute to a job site and have to go over mountains with a minimum ifr altitude of 16k so I could compare my blood oxygen level each week. If I was short on sleep or tired levels would be low. I think that caffeine also had an impact but several doctors I queried said they knew of no research on caffeine and blood oxygen levels. Due to COVID there is now a lot more information on blood oxygen levels but I have used <90 as the low limit redline. Most doctors will tell you that your blood oxygen level should be the same at altitude as at sea level (or your home elevation). Bottom line every human has a different capacity to maintain their blood oxygen level. I learned that my body does not cope as well with altitude as some of my friends. How to carry a o2 bottle in a plane. A compressed gas bottle is heavy and solid. In turbulence that bottle can cause real damage and or injury. Most every pilot with hours in the book can tell you about the clear air turbulence that smacked them. I know as I put a dent in my prior planes plastic headline on approach to van nuys airport. I now fly with my seat belt a lot tighter! The o2 bottle must be secure! This is not an option but a basic safety item. Seat belt strap harness, floor clip ( I made a pair of clips that attached to the pilots seat rails behind the seat). About the most dangerous thing you can do is have the bottle loose on a seat. Ask yourself: are you willing to have that bottle hit you in the head or hit one of your thin plastic windows? I am not. Lastly if you you are not yet convinced, look at the physics. My o2 bottle is filled to just under 2,000 psi when full. Now if the valve is damaged that bottle becomes a compressed gas rocket. Google welding gas tank accidents and learn how many miles the bottle can travel. Seems like a really bad idea to carry an unsecured bottle in a vehicle which can have unexpected turbulence. Nuff said. Do not do it since I need less stuff to fool around with while flying I use a headset mounted boom nose cannula. I swear by this thing mountain high sells it for a hundred bucks and it is part of my engine run, pre takeoff: boom cannula in and o2 on and focus on flying not groping around the back seat to turn on o2. While I want to simply have the o2 system active and available I learned a lot about passengers from my o2 use. Let’s say I was flying over the Sierra at 12500. In the old days I would look at altimeter, loosen my seatbelt ( bad idea in the proximity of mountains) turn on o2 and then take off my head set and wrestle the o2 hose into place while missing radio calls from Oakland center. My passenger would assume the flight just became a lot less safe. Questions would start to fly and passenger comfort goes way down. so it’s clear I am on o2 a lot. I’m here to tell you a portable o2 bottle hold very little o2 when supplied with a fixed (but set by altitude) regulator. So the next thing I learned is how expensive it is to buy o2 on the road. Most FBO charge at least $50 to $75 to refill a bottle. A lot will only do it when a mechanic is available which is a huge hassle. So I bought a mountain high pulse delivery box. This gizmo delivers o2 only when you inhale. The standard regulator is busy emptying your o2 tank the second you turn it on. Not the pulse demand. I can now fly at 15k from San Francisco to Boston and return on the same bottle that used to only get me to the Mississippi River. The bad news is the pulse demand box costs $800. My hanger neighbor found a non aviation home medical version for about $300 I think it is a more primitive device and it is single port. No passenger hookup but he likes and uses his. This device means I am no longer limited on my o2 use so I turn on the o2 prior to take off and turn it off after landing hope this helps.

given how tight the turn radius of the mooney nose gear is I would suggest that you rig the tow bar to the front of the golf cart so you must operate the golf cart backwards and are able to watch the towing angle. if that doesn't work for you, go with the turntable. It's a VERY expensive repair if you turn too tight and have to repair your nose gear.

I just had both batteries conditioned by a batteryshop and the owner explained that I needed to look at the voltage at the battery terminals not the bus. My ovation trickle charges the standby battery so it uses a diode which causes a voltage drop. I ran wires into the baggage compartment so I can test and then I’ll know the difference between the bus and the batteries.

I have been to executive three times. Each time it was after another shop could not solve the problem. I think they are the best auto pilot shop on the west coast.

Is there an rsvp list so the cafe knows we are coming? How much are hotel rooms and where are folks staying?

I have used all three corrosion inhibitors but only with the siphon Gun or wand. I found the ac50 seeped or wicked out the seems so the plane was always dirty same issue with corrosion x. But smells nice. The boishield is very different as it goes on as a thick wax which does seem to creep. I would say that the other two look like they penetrate better but the boeshield seems to be less messy or drier. The siphon gun is really cheap mine is from harbor freight. I do set the air compressor at at least 75 psi. I have never used more than a couple of liters to treat the whole plane every two years and spot treat as needed. I find that when treating an area that is hard to reach I use the ac50 as it fogs easier. My airport is at the beach so corrosion is pretty fierce.

I had a check ride on Friday and when I got to the airport I realized that my mask was fogging up my glasses, I ended up using medical tape to seal the top of my mask to my nose bridge. It worked and the flight review was passed., but I do agree I need a better selection of masks.

ive got a large portable cylinder I'm not using any more and some very small cylinders. I still have a couple of regulators and some nose cannulas. I would assume my tanks all need a hydrostatic test, but I can fill them at my hanger. I suggest you purchase a pulse oxymeter FIRST before you buy any oxygen gear. If your oxygen level is below 90 then you MUST start using oxygen. If you need oxygen, then you can figure out your typical flight time plus number of persons and then you can size your bottle. If you will be going on longer trips you should be an oxygen pulse delivery system such as what mountain high sells so you get MUCH long service life from a bottle. Im located in Half Moon Bay khaf and your welcome to contact me. because my tanks are out of hydro, I would assume they are worth only $25 or so? It's too much hassle to ship as they have to be empty with the valve removed, then you will need to get them tested, then filled.

If it is in the hanger why not just use light weight sheets? We have one hanger tenant who rigged up bows or light weight spars that hold his dust covers and has the rig on pulleys so he justs hoists it up, pulls the plane and and reverses when he comes home.