Boilermonkey

We're about to get (knock on wood) our reman from the factory. I was thinking about the same thing...run the massive plugs for a few hundred hours and then put fine wires in. Ironically we had the existing massive plug on #3 lower go bad last week. I replaced with a new plug just so we can fly her to the shop for the new engine.

Funny! We used a hex wrench as a replacement for years. ...and still carry the vice-grips just in case.

I've also had the door handle pin come out and get lost, leaving me trapped in my former M20C. Glad I had a pair of vice-grips in the seat pocket.

Wow, that could have been a real problem...and one that I would have never thought about with a dog in the cabin....thanks for sharing that one!

I forgot the time I let both my boys sit in the back seat of the M20C. They got to horsing around and shortly after the Johnson bar got kicked out of the block and kit my elbow pretty hard. Noting the down-lock block for a M20C should be a part of a passenger briefing.

I'm guessing that if the tower is sending you light gun signals in this day and age...they are going to give you a bit of extra margin. Of course you might have some explaining to do if you screw up, but they might be expecting that.

Getting lock is pretty quick now a days. Older GPS nav systems could take minutes to initialize and you couldn't taxi while initializing either. Now it's usually a mater of seconds to a minute at most.

Anyone have a brake leak just above the bleed valve? It looks like it might be coming from just above the reducer that connects the bleed valve to the brake assembly. We can bleed it to get the air out and it's ok for awhile, but it keeps recurring. Wondering what part to swap out next.

Down (or up) and locked, ready for the approach.

Many years ago I had the baggage door pop open on T/O in a M20C. Startle factor was real. Blew a lot of papers around in the cabin too. I kept the airplane slow and came back around, landed safely, had my passenger go out to inspect and close/latch the door. Then off we went to get our $100 hamburger. Not a big deal if you focus on flying.

If possible cross check with other GPS systems. I had a G430W and a L3/Lynx NGT9000 transponder. I would occasionally loose GPS on the transponder, and it had a nice status page similar to the Garmin navigators. I could see that when it failed it lost all the satellites. Turned out to be a loose cable. Look for the number of satellites and signal strength. They should be similar, however, the "green" ones might be different based on what each devices chooses for it's position fix. You could also cross check with a Sentry/Stratus in Foreflight. Or, even you phone's GPS. Keep in mind their signal strength will be less since they are not externally mounted.

That will be interesting to recreate. If there is interference from the surroundings, then it would reoccur and be something that could be looked into.

That looks perfectly normal. It takes a minute or so for the system to acquire the signals, compute a fix, and check integrity. The constellation and signal strength show all of the visible satellites and strength. The green ones are the ones that it is actively using. As we fly through the sky and the satellites orbit the system will change which ones it uses. If you have a failure in the future it would be great to get a pic of this status screen (workload permitting). I'd also be interested if there is a difference between GPS1 and GPS in your system. That might help determine if there are equipment issues (in particular the cables and antennas).

Please report the incident at: https://www.gps.gov/support/user/ follow the links for Aviation Civilian. It's something that we track to see how GPS & WAAS perform in the real world. Although, the most likely failures are usually equipment/cabling etc. Occasionally it's jamming depending on your height AGL.

See if this works, I've shared my profiles from N9149P, our M20M Bravo. https://plan.foreflight.com/share/accept/01456cmSs4XkTSANsP If it doesn't PM me and I can send the invite from ForeFlight.

I know you said that in gest, but I would be careful when disconnecting the O2 after filling. Some O2 escapes as the line purges. That being said you'd need a spark...which is unlikely.

Do you know where the slo-blow fuse is? It might be worth checking at oil change.... I've also thought about installing a more friendly way of trickle charging both batteries when it's in the hangar. I've seen two methods. Putting connectors near the TKS fill port. I've also seen small wiring fed through the hat rack. Anyone have opinions on that? I'm familiar with the advice to not switch the batteries once started. However, I would think it is ok if the alternators and avionics are off-line. I realize there is still some load, but it would be much less.

Had a similar problem (ish) before in our Bravo. The interior lights, which are not turned off by turning off the master, had been left on over night and somewhat drained the #1 battery. I started the plane with battery #2 and then before turning the alternators and avionics on I switched back to battery #1. A false thinking on my part that doing so would charge bat #1 faster, but I don't think that is the case. Instead what I had done was put the less full battery back on the demand bus.....not a good plan. I should have left it on bat #2 and left bat #1 off the bus trickle charging for the flight. Taxi and runup were fine, but after take off the ammeter was nearly pegged. I didn't think that was good for the alternator or battery, so I turned off the avionics and alternators, switched back to bat #2, turned everything back on, and continued the flight. Upon getting back that evening I put a charger on bat #1 and it's been fine ever since. Lesson learned: +Interior lights are independent form the master switch. +Fly on the most well charged battery +Both batteries get charged the same way in flight (from what I understand)

I've wondered why there aren't any nationwide aircraft maintenance companies that service GA. Sure their are authorized service centers, but why aren't their national or regional maintenance companies? I've seen more and more shops closing over the past few years. Many in part because the owner, while a good mechanic, isn't a good business person. Or, they get older and haven't trained up a new owner, so they shutter the doors. At the same time I've seen the remaining shows get insanely busy and in some cases their quality decline. A national or regional provider could standardize quality and training. Moreover they could offer more stable employment and career paths. Of course it doesn't provide some of the benefits of owning your own business for the A&P, but then again not everyone wants to be a business owner. Seems like an opportunity to start something, or start rolling up some of the good shops that are out there.

I use a spot gen3. They have a plan with a small annual fee and then you only get charged on months you use it. ...which I hope never to do.

And if you do take a PLB, make sure it is not just in hands reach, but actually attached to you. There are some cases where you might need to egress fast...or can't fully move.

Having lost coms in IMC before...a handheld is not a great alternative for every circumstance. If you are actually in IMC and you loose electric you'll want to focus nearly all your attention on your scan, your iPad, any nav aid you have, and getting down whiteout loosing your orientation. Trying to get a handheld out from a bag or whatever is a recipe for disaster. In this case where you knew the electric failure is coming, the idea of using a smartphone (hopefully coupled with Bluetooth to a headset) is a great alternative. Whatever the plan is, get it hooked up before you loose electric, because after that you want to focus on flying. In my case, I was already on an approach, landed, and then get a refresher course on light gun signals ;-)

They sprayed and could not find it at 1000 psi. They did at 1700.

I've found Mooney's more fun to fly than other types I have flown. The M20C was slightly more fun than the Bravo in terms of responsiveness. The controls were very light and a small deflection in the controls gave a quick response. The Bravo is fun to fly, but heavier on the controls and requires better airmanship to approach/land properly. I'd still take it over any Piper, Cessna, or Beech that I've flown. I'd also take the Bravo over any other aircraft I've flown to confidently fly cross country. O2, TKS, Turbo, leg room, etc. make it a reliable aircraft for getting up/around weather, going fast, etc. (for GA).

I moved from a C182 ->M20C -> M20M Bravo and another dozen other types rented over the years. I love our Bravo, it is very capable and fun to fly. The only two drawbacks are: 1) The W&B can be tricky when wanting to carry 3-4 people more than 2 hours. 2) When you get to the engine OH time it is much more expensive than a M20J...the TIO-540-AF1B is a complex turbo charged engine. Once you add up the OH/reman, install, prop OH, etc. you are looking at $100K when that time comes. I'm able to make that work with my co-owner, but it something to consider.