Schllc

I recently changed the windows in my plane prior to going to paint. when I called to order the windows I was a bit surprised to find out that UV protection in the plastic is not really a thing. It was not a great deal more to add this to my windows but did limit the tint/color options. None of the mooney’s left the factory with UV protection. I find this a bit shocking given how bad UV exposure gets the higher you go. I have already had skin cancer so this was a no brainer for me, i was curious as to why this has never been standard on our planes. I get the 60’s and 70’s maybe, but the tech has been around a long time, and it isn’t that much. Not sure why it wouldn’t be standard in all replacements in this day and age…

I had a very unpleasant experience at 25k with a mask. Would not do things the same way again if I ever even went that high in the Moon. On the off chance I did want to go that high, I would have an extra mask rigged and ready, and I would be with another person. These days I occasionally may venture out to 21 for a nice tailwind, but the climb and small differences for anything over 19k are usually not worth the time to climb or the fuel. Look at your planning in ForeFlight. Often the gain is minutes and the fuel consumption is higher. Point is that it is seldom worth the risk to go that high. Tailwinds seldom justify the altitude, and there is no terrain in the US that would push you that high. The acclaims sweet spot is really 16-19k.

I would think if the part numbers are the same. some items are identical but the part numbers reflect experimental or certified. If it’s experimental it’s a lot cheaper. make of that what you will.

Did they say somewhere it was fuel exhaustion? The car looks like the prop cut it up, and the blades are curled like a gear up. strange….

Absolutely… I did a 6+ hour flight in my ovation, from south Florida to Austin about 8 years ago. First and last time I ever will do more than 4.5. There was little enjoyable in that journey. I plan for under four hour legs, but occasionally push when it’s just over 4.

they say the aerostar has a 1000 mile range but that would only be on the 700 with the extended range tank, and that would only be under ideal circumstances. The 601p or 602p does not have 1000 mile range.

I assume there is a standard that must be met to crossover which is a justifiable expense. But other than regulatory impediments, there is no other influence within its given market. I’m sure some of the VC that has gone hard into aviation want payouts. but there is a cheaper way to do this for part 91. no rules doesn’t sound very wise, but there is no reason in this day and age and technology that things couldn’t be approved 1000x faster, easier and cheaper.

I drive my cars until they are done. Never did less than 250k in any, had three that went over 500k and one to 700k. All Toyotas, mostly work vehicles. But my two land cruisers are at 300k and 200k, my old one that I gave to my daughter and mine which is a 2009 and about to hit 200k. I have never changed the alternator in either. i agree that age makes a difference, but most planes are kept in hangars. and there is no real functional difference in an automobile alternator vs an airplane. in fact, didn’t someone bolt one on in a post here a while back. Apparently it had the exact same part number as the airplane version, but since he didn’t pay 10x the price it wasn’t legal. point was if it wasn’t so difficult to certify something for part 91, or it was possible to take a certified aircraft to experimental, we could see some actual innovation. imagine the efficiency and reliability of a Mooney with a 2025 computer controlled engine. It would be one tiny step from autonomous flight.

Alternator with adapter for an acclaim is north of 4k. to be fair, it didn’t fail, but was closing in on 20 years(900 hours) and it was replaced bc of extent of the work I’ve done, I didn’t want any down time when finished. but even so 4k?

You know, a car alternator runs 10x the average plane engine time and failures are pretty infrequent. They also cost about 300. I have never even heard of a voltage regulator in a car failing. Not saying it doesn’t but 45 years of cars and about 100 of them in that time… one would think that 4000 for an alternator would make it a bit more robust than a 150 one from autozone…. I mean what efficacy do all of these onerous and obtuse rules provide? on average my alternator on cars fail around 200k miles (mostly Toyota). That equates to almost 6000 hours. they really need to rewrite the rules, they are not serving us well for safety….

I was making a joke because when did the interior on my plane the two belts for the front, only the belt and bag were 5k. this doesn’t include the rest of the system…

That should be good for about a dozen seat belts!

So have I, which is baffling. common sense isn’t always common…

The bottom plug is easier to scope than the top plug, but removing intercooler on top is only a few screws and two hose clamps. Every single oil change I remove all plugs, clean, gap, apply anti seize, and reinstall. If it wasn’t so difficult to clean all the oil spilled from removal, I could do it faster. This takes me about three hours.

The factory website does still list an acclaim for sale! Alas, it’s merely another piece of the business neglected.

If you go all the way to big bend and don’t see Chisos basin at sunrise you should go back. we went mountain biking there 30 years ago, during a school break. We rode our tails off, changed a lot of flats. found an unofficial border crossing along the rio. It was kind of innocent back then, I mean migrants weren’t using it to migrate, just a convenience for tourists. apparently there were plans to build this major border city in the Mexico side but after a bunch of major infrastructure was put in they cancelled the plans. (at the time it may actually be built by now) so you had these giant power lines and highway but no electricity and hardly even any cars. it was very rural on their side of the border and national park on our side. anyway, you could eat tortillas and buy blankets , trinkets , awful liquor. we shot pool in a cantina with dirt floors. funniest part was you went across in a boat full of bullet holes, and the ride across was $1 and for another $20 on the other side you could ride a burrow into town. boat ride back was $20. This was 30 years ago and we were students!!! good times…

You will never regret it if you do it, a turbo provides options which is always better. but… for those altitudes it is not necessary.

Just like housing, regulations have driven these machines financially out of reach for most people. RIP

I have changed two of these in the past, both times they came with gaskets, and the ones i removed had them as well, no sealant or adhesive. I reinstalled the same way and never had any issues

Richards Feynman forecast this in the 50’s or 60’s. he said miniaturization was the future. He was so certain he offered cash reward for the first person to write the alphabet on the head of a pin. we are indeed standing on the shoulders of giants, and it is amazing that the mini is as compact. But the fact that you can satellite text with our existing iPhones says that we are not far away from this technology shrinking in the very near future. point being, it was less a complaint than a fact that the antenna is not small inside a Mooney cockpit. @exM20K I have had the same experience over the last 10 years. Rock solid. That’s why this is so jarring.

I fly almost twice a week, it isn’t a function of frequency. It has also happened multiple times while flying. I have Adsb weather as a backup, but that isn’t available everywhere. I’d really like a starlink, but don’t want that contraption on my dash. I’ll wait until they make a real mini. Steep discounts are thpically, not always but usually, a predictor of one or two things, slipping demand, or a new model is immanent.

In the last year I have had some chronic issues with XM. It has gone over an hour with no updates, no music and no weather. Sky was clear and sunny, and I flew over 250 miles before it came back. It also doesn’t receive its initial data until about 20 minutes into my flight about 75% of the time. It does this in both of my planes so I do not believe it’s the install or equipment. and it has happened to me all over the country. How does starlink work with clouds and weather obstruction? Is it like direct tv was, where you lose signal in storms?

Unfortunately , you are probably right. I think I just want to avoid the “judgement” of the Overhauler. In my example they decided all they needed to do was the brushes. Worst part was the bearings were bad, not just old and the commutator had a groove over 1/8” deep from using the wrong brushes and bad bearings. one would hope new had a more rigid inspection criteria. crossing my fingers…

It’s a little smoother, but prop went on at the same time. Temps are not notably different. regular mags are fixed as well so…. uses ships battery but requires a direct line to the battery. starting is more like a car now. Hot warm cold. All easy. I am not ready to go full electric just for modality variety, but if it’s as reliable as it should be I would consider two at some point. if they could control the timing like on a modern car there would be much less need for two electric, the ignition would be much more efficient. I don’t regret it yet. That being said I only have about 25 hours since the journey began, and she has been down for a few months. The mechanic is flying it a bit too. it’s a little more complicated than changing a mag, but I kept the half of the ignition harness and got a rebuilt mag to keep as a spare.

For what it’s worth, I’m extremely dubious of “overhaul” in the aircraft genre. I recently sent in an air conditioning condenser fan in for “overhaul”. six weeks and 2400 later I got my motor back with nothing but the brushes changed. so $8 worth of parts. When it failed 10 hours later I took it apart and that how I found out. I would have thought “overhaul” for a 40 year old motor for 2400 would include commutator, winding, brushes and bearings. This is what was done on my table saw motor which cost 1700. From now on, anything I buy overhauled or get overhauled will either be because new isn’t an option or be a fraction of what it is new.