apenney

Well it turns out that the alternator was the culprit. Installed an overhauled one. But....on my first flight noticed a few things: 1. After about 15 minutes of cruise flight I noticed a slight almost imperceptible drop below zero on the ammeter and the battery volts showing 13.8 (previously 14.3). I turned around to my homefield and landed. Near idle the ammeter was back in the middle again 2. My landing light wasn't working 3. The ram air control was opening on its own at anywhere above 100mph or so. Landed. With the engine running mechanic pulled the alternator field circuit, ammeter showed discharge, then pushed it back in and there is 14.3 and positive ammeter again. Couldn't reproduce anything on the ground. Then the shop opened the cowl up. They think they unintentionally loosened the ram air control previously when clearing some corrosion during the alternator installation. No slippage of the control cable was seen so they tightened the nuts up a bit. Regarding the landing light bulb, it is secured based on the tension of a steel wire clip component (I don't know the proper term for the piece but it springs open into a secure fitting) that may have been bumped when putting cowl back on. Haven't flow yet since the adjustment so have yet to reassess the ram air control but the landing light is working again. Is it unusual to see a temporary drop in the amount of charge (or even a slight discharge state) that is allowed to feed the battery? A view of my ram air control hardware:

I have a breaker labeled alternator field that I can pull and reset. Is there a switch somewhere else that is the actual "alternator field switch"? Also, I don't know if this might be relevant but last week I had a local avionics guy look at my transponder wiring because it has been getting an intermittent signal from it's "position source" which in my plane is the Garmin 430W. I wonder if there a switch that could have been inadvertently turned off?

@carusoam I'm not sure which regulator or alternator I have. The belt feels the same as it has in the past. Will take a closer look at things tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestions. @RobertGary1 I hadn't thought of going to lower RPM. Will look into that too.

I had this problem this morning while on the ground. I tried a run up and at 1900 rpm still discharging and the JPI indicated 11.8 then a few minutes later (went thru some preflight checks) 11.6. However, when I pulled and reset the alternator field switch it did not fix the problem. I'm stumped and waiting to hear back from my local IA.

Please include me too. Thanks.

Came across this on YouTube. Wow....

Thought I'd respond to this thread because I'm in the process of determining my approach configurations and wondered about the red zone "continuous" operation question as well. My Mooney M20F operators manual for serial numbers 22-1179 and beyond states: "In selecting a cruise RPM, the engine must not be continuously operated within the range of 2100-2350 RPM."

According to a Redit post:https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/comments/9cyp9q/mooney_down_near_palo_alto_airport/ [–]deftoneuk 20 points 6 hours ago There is a guy on Facebook that was in the pattern when it happened. Apparently porpoised it, prop strike and when he tried to go around couldn’t climb. permalink embed save report reply load more comments (3 replies)"

Thanks @Yetti

I didn't know that my gopro has a mic jack on it...just thought it was a small usb type. Will have to take a closer look. Thanks for the link.

@eman1200 did you record your intercom audio directly into the camera or into another device such as a phone?

@mooneyflier do you have any close up views of your tow bar at the nose gear attachment point and the electric scooter? What size rod did you use at the nosegear? I like this solution....local listings have dozens of these scooters for sale.

Wondering if Cirrus chose the music or a preference of the new owner....and 240p resolution still being used in 2018?!

Just an opinion but it seems that social media and youtube in particular might be helping to increase the appeal of general aviation. Just as in the sailing world, a new generation of younger pilots are forging ahead with vlogs and more focused channels that ultimately put aviation in a positive light and demonstrate how fun it can be.

I did this short clip with 2 gopros and a cell phone then edited in Adobe Premiere Pro - I use their subscription based service because we use the other adobe products quite regularly so it works well for us. I import all the footage into PremierePro. You can just insert all your clips into a sequence so its one long sequence and edit from there. There is another video I posted on MS using an cable for intercom audio that also serves as a charging source cable to the USB port in the panel to keep the gopro going indefinitely. Don't laugh too hard at my overly dramatic presentation!

I have the 2018 iPad 9.7" with 32GB on a Ram mount positioned in landscape orientation on the yoke. This Ram holds it in a spring loaded mechanism so I can keep the iPad in it's case. Doesn't block any instruments. I have a Stratus USB charging port on the right side of the panel and the charging cable doesn't get in the way because with the iPad in landscape orientation, the cable inserts on the right side. At my 5'8" height I'm fairly close to the panel and yoke but it has been working well for me. This ipad is the second cheapest out there too (no GPS or data- just WiFi) and I'm completely satisfied with it using Foreflight with a Stratus. I put a glare screen on it which has made reflections a non-issue.

I'm glad that I was recording the intercom audio when the tower was saying their farewell to Ron. The following day that camera stopped working so I wasn't able to document the audio for my return trip to WI because that was the only camera that could be connected to the intercom.

@rdshave

Was Southland Aviation still on the field when you were there? That is who I trained with.

@PeytonM thanks for such detailed suggestions! Schaumburg is about 63 miles from me so I may look into Northwest Flyers when the time comes. Whats your opinion regarding the MSC designation vs non-MSC? Thanks.

Would like to return sometime for sure. In about '93 during the Friday before the annual Van Nuys static air exhibition, I was on final for 16L in a 172 when an F4 Phantom whizzed by me on final for 16R. Before my 25 year absence from flying, I did my private training out of Whiteman and checkride at Santa Monica. Miss those days but the airspace seems much different to me, now that I've been gone for so long...probably just me aging a bit!

Thanks. I hope all goes well with your transition. I really liked Don's teaching style. Being in California for a few days reminded me of what a great place to fly it can be. On the other hand, having several occasions where other planes were in very close proximity did get a little nerve-racking!

I'm coming from a place of ignorance....Why do some not like GPSS?

Thanks. I really like the panel. Still have lots to learn with the 430W but even on this VFR-only trip I appreciated the advantages of GPS.