0TreeLemur

I would like to believe that nobody has the abject stupidity to do this. He's a threat to us all. Is there any recourse? Do you think the FAA is on to him?

The EDM900 is primary for essentially everything, letting you remove your tach & MP gauges, and existing instrument cluster. It gives you one focal point for all things engine related. I considered the 930, but I like the smaller form factor of the 900. If you do go this route you'll receive all new probes and sensors. The old temperature probes and fuel flow senders will work, but I replaced the old with new ones just because they are new.

The shop that I used for ECI's was located in Marianna, Florida, because they would do it with the prop mounted on the plane. I guess some wont. They told me that Hartzell instructions were to not to sign off on further ECI inspections for props that were not opened up and inspected in the last 10 years or so- I don't remember the exact number. They went ahead and gave me the inspection, but said they wouldn't do it again. Some time in the following year, I took the prop off and took it to a prop shop in Bessemer, Alabama, for IRAN. That's where they told me that the blades were undercut. One by 0.003" and the other by 0.001". Wow.

Thought about this a bit more last night. For a cantilevered panel mount instrument of known weight, the distance from the panel to the c.g. of the instrument creates a moment, which affects the effective moment arm of the instrument. Because the weight is fixed, and a cantilever mount instrument creates a negative moment, it should effectively reduce the moment arm, never increase it. This figure shows an example of how adding a cantilevered instrument increases the weight of an aircraft, but decreases the moment arm of the C.G. In summary, in an aircraft with the panel installed at a positive station, a cantilevered mount panel instrument should always have a moment arm relative to the datum that is less than the distance from the datum to the panel mounting station.

You nailed it- we are care takers of our airplanes. If we do our job, they don't kill us, take us and our family places, and they retain their value. After we are done with them someone else can use and care for them. My wife and I have an understanding when it comes to our airplane "there's always something".

As important as the propeller is, you want to know that it is in good shape. From the nature of your question, it seems that you might have some doubt. The manufacturers have recommended schedules, but as @EricJ wrote, in Pt 91 it's left up to the owner. I suppose it depends to some extent on whether your aircraft is hangared as that affects how often the propeller is exposed to moisture. Seals sometimes leak and let water into the hub. Corrosion happens inside propeller hubs. I'm sure others can tell stories about it. Removing a propeller and shipping it to a shop for IRAN is a pain in the arse, but might be worth it for piece of mind, especially if it hasn't been opened up and inspected in over 10 years, maybe 5 if unhangared. Our C model had the 100 hour eddy-current inspection AD. About 5 years ago the shop doing the ECI told me that Hartzell wanted it opened up and inspected. That turned into a painful experience because the blade roots were determined to be "undercut" and the blades were condemned. We wound up buying a new prop (ouch). In the end, it's all about risk management. If you are not certain that your prop is in top condition and you have some reason to suspect that it might not be, you can use dollars to ameliorate that risk.

PM sent about KX-155.

Thanks Skip. I estimated that the panel was 18" aft. which is pretty close. For some reason the W&B update done by my A&P used a number quite different from this. I'll have him fix it. I'm wondering what explains the variance? Everything is mounted on the panel. Why is the KLN90B almost 5" aft of the others? Why would the TC be only 16.5, when it is supported by the panel. The RHS panel in a J is slightly slanted aft outboard, but not that much?

Howdy. The previous owner of our J weighed it in 2021. The log book contains the measured E.W., calculated C.G. & M.A. I have nothing else. No prior equipment W&B sheet. My A&P did provide an W&B sheet after upgrading the panel earlier this year. I'm checking his work and it seems that he used an implausible moment arm for a few instruments. Can someone tell me the moment arm he should have used for (1) panel-mounted instruments, and (2) rack mounted instruments like radios? Thx. Fred

@RescueMunchkin you ask a great question. As someone who has followed these threads for several years, I have learned: 1. Buy as much Mooney as you can afford that suits your mission. 2. It makes more sense to let the previous owner eat the labor and depreciation associated with a panel upgrade than to have it done yourself - Unless you are very set on what avionics you want and how they are laid out in the panel. 1+2 = 3. Buy a Mooney with a panel that has been updated and that meets your needs. I fully agree with previous statements that if a Mooney doesn't have a WAAS GPS, that's a bad sign, unless logbooks indicate frequent use and good, steady maintenance, and selling at a significant discount. The Mooney we upgraded to last year has an Avidyne IFD540 gnss navigator and a single Aspen, both connect to a KFC-150 A/P. This combination does everything our mission requires. Bonus: The prior owner paid to reseal the tanks and strip/paint the aircraft in the last 5 years. That's at least $20k ($30k?) of upgrades that we won't have to pay for!

Welcome back Anthony! I missed your lists!

The Atlantic published an article explaining how co-branded airline loyalty credit cards have turned airlines into something more like financial institutions that happen to fly planes on the side. According to this article, 1% of US GDP is charged to Delta Sky Miles credit cards alone! As someone with over 1 million butt-miles sitting on Borg airlines, I have often wondered why that doesn't seem to matter. Now I know why, and I'm glad I own a Mooney. Link to article: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/airlines-banks-mileage-programs/675374/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

Yep. I used Jimmy's guide from 2021 when I was looking for a J about one year ago. I don't know if he's updated it since then. The market did go up a little from 2021 to 2022, but I think it has mostly gone sideways this year. I liked Jimmy's guide because it helps to keep things in perspective and helps minimize guesswork. It allows you to tell if someone's asking price is unreasonable as a starting point for negotiations if you see something that catches your eye. He discusses the value add/deduct due to hard to quantify things such as recent repairs, upgrades, old avionics, etc. I also used it when pricing the C model when we sold it. Of course, the offer is just step one, but I found that Jimmy's guide got me off on the right foot for both buying and selling a Mooney!

Manufacturer's instructions are to test using a hot oil bath.

I've not heard of these "ceramic waxes". Last weekend we gave our J a belly rub. Ready to wax. Can you suggest a good high quality ceramic wax for a first coat on a clean belly? Is there any downside to use of a ceramic wax- like a long-term residual that is impossible to remove? Thx.

This I understand. Cell reception at my field is not stellar. One day I fired up the engine in front of my hanger, powered up foreflight, and noticed my maps had expired. Connected iPad to AT&T iPhone hotspot, and started updates. SLOW. Then I got the brilliant idea that maybe if I put the phone outside the cabin it would get stronger reception and speed the process. So, I cracked open the door and laid my phone atop the cabin. Probably didn't help, but at least I felt like I was doing all I could. A couple of minutes later, updates completed, and I increased rpms to taxi. THUMP! Something hit my plane!?! Oh crap, I forgot the phone. Shut off engine- exit aircraft- don't see phone anywhere! Look for dents on tail, don't see any (whew). I walked away from the plane, and found my phone about 50 ft aft. Luckily the case on my trusty iPhone 8 took the brunt of the impact with the ground and nothing was broken.

I'm curious, why not just use the wifi hotspot on your phone? Starlink is pricey, isn't it?

I think CHT is typically a good proxy for power output for a cylinder, but it is a better proxy for cylinder pressure. A cylinder that is experiencing pre-ignition has a really high CHT, but is not putting out much power. It does have a very high cylinder pressure. For an appropriately timed engine that is operating normally, I agree with you. But, it isn't an absolute indicator that you can use to compare cylinders because of differences in cooling air flow/etc. The CHT in #2 in my IO-360s is always about 25F cooler than the rest in cruise. But when I lean it out LOP it is neither the first nor the last to reach peak EGT. So, it's in the middle of the pack in terms of fuel flow. If one flight it is significantly different from about 25F different from the other cylinders, I'll suspect something might be wrong.

Gimp.

Yes- helps promote uniform flow

Aha! Finally something on MS that I know about! Your intercooler creates a boatload of turbulence. That turbulence injects a bunch of small scale kinetic (rotational) energy in the flow, which helps promote uniform flow throughout the induction system.

What about instruments with internal lighting? I'm pretty sure the light trays use incandescent bulbs. Would a PWM dimmer work there?

Anyone ever replace those dimmer circuits in a J with a PWM unit?

Update. Just issued at 3:00 CDT... Tuscaloosa National Airport (KTCL) is currently experiencing all inbound flights being held at their origin until Saturday at 03:30PM CDT.

The Tuscaloosa class D airport is just being slammed with exec. jets today with the football game between Texas and Alabama. I flew to Mississippi this morning to get my AI replaced and on my return I was vectored by Birmingham approach before being handed off to Tuscaloosa tower, which doesn't usually happen. Many more arrivals to TCL today than BHM. Looking at flightaware, they are using multiple holds west of TCL to sequence arrivals. They've closed rwy 12-30 and are using it to park jets. They are asking Jets if they can park on the grass. Crazy. Here's the view from taxiway D when I returned.