EricJ

There was somebody here making and selling them a while back, but it was apparently not DonMuncy, and I don't remember who it was. I bought a set from whoever it was, and they're very nice. Haven't installed them yet...

+1 that the electric pump is the backup during takeoff and landing in case the mechanical pump fails. When you're at cruise altitude you'll have time to troubleshoot, but near the ground you can't count on having, and likely won't have, time to deal with sorting out what happened and turning on the electric pump. At least, I'm not gonna count on that. Another utility of the electric pump is that if the mechanical pump gets overheated for whatever reason it can boil the fuel and cavitate during it's suction draw stroke. The electric pump will pressurise the input to the mechanical pump and make this much less likely, or mitigate it if it happens. I have to use the electric pump during hot starts at high DA for this reason. The mechanical pump and the electric pump are designed to be reasonably fail-safe with each other. In other words, the diaphragm-type mechanical fuel pump in many Mooneys will allow fuel to flow through it if it fails if there is pressure from the electric pump. Likewise if the electric pump fails (or isn't turned on), the mechanical pump can still draw fuel through it. These common failure modes are all tested and have to be demonstrated during certification, so they're all tested, safe states. Also, the fuel servo is essentially an output fuel pressure regulator, and it is largely insensitive to input fuel pressure as long it is high enough to allow regulation of the required output pressure. Increasing the input pressure doesn't really bother it, which is why you can turn the electric pump on or off and not see a change in engine output parameters. It's extremely difficult to overpressure the input of the fuel servo, so that's nothing to worry about.

Having the refiners and distributors on board means that they had the opportunity to verify materials compatibility with their equipment. Since engine and airframe manufacturers were also involved, you can bet materials compatibility was addressed for them as well. So for those still wondering what the difference between the STC and ASTM processes might entail, this is a big one that the STC process can obviously get very wrong that is much more likely to not be an issue with an ASTM-compliant fuel. I'm a little surprised that it seems like this is still not recognized by some.

I was gonna suggest a paintless dent repair kit as well. They're not very expensive and they're pretty effective for a lot of things. Hail dents is something they're pretty good at.

Ouch. This is not the first time I've heard of this happening. I'm glad you caught it on the ground.

The bike is so much faster than the car on the straights that the car has to be significantly faster than the bike in the twisties to do that. F1 cars are as much as 20-30 seconds faster than the MotoGP bikes on the same tracks, but they make tons of downforce. AMP was an awesome track. I have hundreds of laps there in both directions, and quite a few in the half-track configurations as well. We raced there from the time that it opened, so about twenty years. Losing the PIR road course was worse, though. :'(

Also check for an intake leak on that cylinder. It's just a last-ditch thing to check, but it might be revealing.

Most race cars, even in amateur series, can corner well over 1g with race tires. Add aero downforce and cornering g-forces can go significantly higher. So even without aero a properly set-up car on sticky tires will often outcorner even a race bike. Bikes don't make enough downforce due to either aero or weight or have a tire contact patch big enough to provide the lateral forces needed to match a car. Straight line acceleration is a no-brainer, though, that's where the bikes get all their speed and lap time.

He's right for racing. Bikes generally don't have enough tire contact patch or downforce to corner or brake as well as a decent race car.

Often through-bolts require the case to be split to replace them. I don't know whether that's the case with this one or not, but it would be nice if not. Even if not it might be worth consulting with Continental or a relevant shop on what inspections might be a good idea if the engine ran for a while with no tension on that bolt.

Right now that's correct. I suspect that the ASTM standard will open a lot of doors for further acceptance, but you're right that we have to wait for that. Engine and airframe manufacturers would have participated in the ASTM standard development, so they will already have a head start on whatever its limitations might be to know how broadly approvals should go. It would be highly unlikely for them to spend time on development of a standard that is limited to only a few makes/models, so I expect it'll broaden in time. I hope we don't have to wait too long to see the details.

It now has an ASTM standard associated with it that it can claim compliance to. This is relevant to acceptance in the entire production and distribution chain as well as insurability of the various pieces.

An electric motor is just coils. Coils don't have polarity, just like resistors. These motors are made to switch direction, so the case isn't grounded through one of the wires. On the schematic for my airplane the motor is shown with two wires, and they are lablled 'grey' and 'red'. They connect to the electrical system through relays which switch the polarity based on the gear selector position. So there wasn't a straightforward answer to the question you asked, and I was trying to give you the best, shortest answer that was relevant and would also highlight that (as both an A&P and an EE). Exchanging information productively and reliably requires effort and attention from both sides. Antagonizing those that can help you and that tried to help you is ultimately not in your interest.

The benefit of a consensus standard like ASTM is that it has had eyes on it and approval by a very broad set of stakeholders, including engine and airframe manufacturers, refiners, distributors, etc., etc. The result is that the likelihood of post-deployment issues goes way, way down. This contrasts significantly to the STC process where one guy can do all those functions including being the DER for the FAA.

That seems to be a positive development. I hope it winds up being broadly applicable.

Many civil forfeiture cases were seizing cash merely because somebody possessed it. The assumption seemed to be nobody would carry more than $10k in cash unless it a criminal activity. My understanding is that in this case there were multiple cases of beer but the pilot said he was only aware of the six pack. There's still a lot of momentum from those old "zero tolerance" policies.

Seems consistent with typical civil forfeiture over the last forty years or so. i.e., bad.

Also look for crosses to other part numbers, or a MS number or such that might expand the part search. Also, if you can find a manufacturer name and PN on it, sometimes that can help.

It depends on which way you want the motor to turn.

The positive wire is relative to which way you want it to turn. If you want it to go one way, green is +, if you want it to go the other way, black is +.

It switches depending on whether it is driving the gear up or down. Wire per the diagram for the airplane to the appropriate relays. If it goes the wrong way, switch them.

Got this in the email the other day from Lasar: Why is the No-Back Spring so important? Per the Mooney Service Bulletin, the failure of the No-Back Spring in the Landing Gear actuator renders both the normal (electrical) landing gear inoperative as well as the emergency (manual) mode. The potential for physical harm and expense of a belly landing far outweighs the cost of safety. Take advantage of our No-Back Spring Kit installation – in accordance with Mooney Service Bulletin - M20-282. Purchase your kit (SB 20-282-001 - $2575.00) Standard install price: $895.00 Labor Day Special Installation for $750 that's a savings of $145!

That's the European racing school method. You can beat them by trail braking into the corner, although I don't think I'd advise that in a fire truck except as a last-ditch measure.

Yes, and they're very easy to test. If one is sticky, contact cleaner will sometimes rehab it, but it is also telling you that it will need to be replaced eventually.

Use all of the track! You paid for it! This is so deep in my brain I apply it to flying such that keeping the airplane on the runway centerline is my lowest priority on takeoff or landing. There's pavement there, I can use it.