0TreeLemur

And, as the professor in the video says, the electric field strength is limited by the breakdown of the air. What's that smell??? DARPA funds for silent drone research!

You've intrigued me. I dove in to see what we are really talking about here. Here is a video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boB6qu5dcCw&feature=youtu.be Their aircraft has the mass of a big chicken, with a 3 m wingspan. The data in the paper show input power of 600W to propel the 2.5 kg craft at about 4 m/s. That is a specific impulse based on craft mass of 0.0167 s. My C uses an output shaft power of 95500 W to propel my 1022 kg craft at 72 m/s, a specific impulse based on craft mass of 0.7628 s. So, my 1967 C is 4500% more efficient at converting energy into mass aloft with forward motion. So it makes a little noise and burns some smelly 'ol petrol. Still waiting on lead-free biofuel.

We put the JPI900 in our '67C earlier this year. The old float gauges were retained. The fuel level readings are stable and within 1 gallon compared to the in-tank dial gauges. It seems that the JPI does include some averaging circuitry. The indicated fuel levels vary a bit when you power up the JPI but after a while they are really constant. That is what makes me think that they probably do some averaging in the JPI. Fred

I have a Sensorcon clipped to the old microphone hangar by the door. -Fred

Dear Editor/Site Manager, I suggest that old threads and posts that are older than some age (e.g. 24 calendar months) since writing be somehow denoted. For instance, they could be given a slightly colored background. Something to denote that they contain information that might be old and dated. Perhaps a tag added to the title **> 2 years old**. The present scheme treats all articles as equal. Because of changes in regulations, technology, equipment/software upgrades, older articles should be taken with a grain of salt in some topical areas, not all. Having a slightly different background color for older articles will help readers recognize that caution in interpretation may be warranted because some of the info they are reading might be out of date, or just wrong (isn't that always the case??). It will help with reader awareness and increase the value of the information on these pages. Now, I'll gladly admit that with my 51 year old aircraft, state-of-the-art is ancient. But a lot has changed even in the past few years. IN the past year since joining this site I"ve started to keep my eye on the recent posts sidebar. Sometimes it takes me to a recent post on a thread started 10 years ago! Or- members add comments to a thread that turns out to have been started 10 years ago. I believe that contemporary threads are more valuable than old threads. Threads with a 4 or 6 year gap between posts are not unusual. Sometimes the original posting and those older follow ups contain useful info. I'm not saying we should delete those threads. I'm saying that we should warn users that they are reading an old thread, and they might want to create a new one rather than revive a zombie. Do with this what you will. I don't expect a reply or to have started a debate. Thanks. -Fred

But- priming/painting. Doesn't somebody who did the 201 windshield upgrade just have these laying around? That's my question.

He did the tanks on my C in Oct. 2018. Seems like the quality of his work has been high for years. I was impressed with the work.

I too agree that this sounds like a fuel leak near or into the cabin. When we fly our Mooney's, the cabin is actually at a pressure slightly less than ambient. After takeoff, the evaporation of fuel pooled near the wing root or thereabouts with vapors being pulled into the cabin is my guess. The fuel is leaking from sender gasket, leaky tank sealant or both. My aircraft just had its tanks resealed and fuel level sender gaskets replaced- and the avgas smell is gone. Now it just smells like "Old Airplane". Good luck.

Wicked Mooney M20C wing-tip vortex! Evening/night flight to try out the upgraded NAV lights. Seen flying from TCL-EET off the right wing. Taken by my copilot.

Here is a photo showing the problem with the instrument bay cover panel on my aircraft. It is not pretty, but still works. Some of the nut plates are very nearly stripped out and need replacement. We now use nylon washers. Does anyone have panels in better shape, ideally countersunk like @Yetti

found a couple. Thanks @Yetti

Personal preference, but I find blue light to be really annoying at night. I have no orange annunciator lights, that's why I picked that color.

Status update: I received the NOS Grimes bases that I bought on eBay, and I made up a new nav lights using colored LED bulbs with clear lenses. The old lenses were actually glass, and stuck on like crazy with silicone. I had to break them to get them off! The old bulbs where LED, but white with a high color temperature. For that reason the "green" bulb on the right wing actually gave off more of a blue light, and dim at that. The new lenses use gaskets not silicone and are held in place by the teardrop metal fairing that serves to streamline the fixture and make them forward-style nav lights. They look great. Took them on a night flight last night and they cast big green and red lobes on the ground around the wingtips while taxiing. They also illuminate reflective objects some distance in the way. Photo shows new red bulb in left wing, which is the dim one, in the hangar after I installed it with skylight illumination in daytime. Note all the light on the floor. I'm pleasantly pleased with how it turned out. I'm going to sell the original grimes bases back on eBay, hopefully for about what I paid for the NOS ones.

Hell of a trip in a Mooney. Fuel-do kudasai!

I've ordered one of these: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/inpages/al1orange.php?clickkey=9335

$54! My inner CB is still sore about paying for a tank reseal. I'll put that one on my "someday maybe" list.

I've ordered one of these: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/inpages/al1orange.php?clickkey=9335 They don't seem to sell what I really wanted: one that mounts similarly to a toggle switch. You know, a light that would insert through the panel from the rear with a screw on bezel. I looked at the offerings at Digi-Key and they don't have that either. I'll have it installed. I realize now that I can also help to minimize the occurrence of pump abuse by just not switching it on during tank changes- that was a hold over from my time flying the good 'ol P28-R180, which was fuel injected.

Thanks -a-. I've got both. Just thought maybe there was a separate doc with a concise description.

I'm assisting with the annual inspection the week after next. I watched last year as the annual was part of pre-buy inspection. This year I plan to be more engaged. Does anyone have instructions for checking the landing gear pre-load? I'd like to study that procedure before hand so I understand how it is done and what it accomplishes.

No photos? Sorry- didn't happen.

I hear say that you can download an app for your phone that has a remarkably accurate tachometer based on noise. That would allow you to do a run up to something reasonable and check to see if your tachometer is working correctly. My prop governor was the original. When I took it to the prop shop they said "That is an antique." Followed a few days later with "It has so many SB's that it would cost much more than the PCU 5000 to bring it up to snuff". So, we installed a PCU 5000.

Yes, the carb f.p. is always high 5's low 6 psi range. Red line at 6.0 triggers the master alarm on the JPI900, which is a bit annoying. Lot's of folks complain about this but it seems to be "the way it is".

Yep, mostly I forget during tank change overs because after I get it switched I immediately look at the engine monitor and watch fuel pressure or any other changes. I really like the indicator light idea. Easier to do too. It is odd that if the entire row of toggles below the panel on the pilot's side are all circuit breaker type switches, the POH mentions nothing about that fact that I recall. What happens when there is a short and one of those trips? How would you know??? What is the reset procedure?

Rob thanks for your post. That is weird, there are no markings or other indication that it is a circuit breaker. It feels like just another toggle switch. If it were a circuit breaker, wouldn't it have to be placarded as such? I'll have to verify that it is actually a circuit breaker then ask my A&P to recommend a fix if so.

I am guilty of abusing the electric fuel pump in my a/c. The switch for the electric fuel pump in my '67C is way over to the left in the row of toggle switches at the bottom of the panel. It is hidden from vision by the left portion of the yoke that usually has my left fist around. I really just can't see it from my normal position. I usually remember to switch it on at the times when we are supposed to, but it amazes me how often I forget to turn it off. Occasionally I'll turn it on to switch tanks, then notice many minutes later that I forgot to shut it off because I got distracted by something else. I'm tired of abusing that poor thing so I'm thinking about moving the position of that toggle switch to a more visible location. I'm also thinking about connecting it to a toggle switch with a light on the end. Any thoughts? I stopped by an auto parts store the other evening and they have a nice selection of what seem to be rugged, illuminated, toggle switches with high amp ratings (e.g. 30 A). Thanks.