0TreeLemur

Note: with everyone+brother doing the glass thing, there are many serviceable gyro based instruments for sale for not a lot to keep you moving.

Yep. If it doesn't have a turbo it's a "M20P"

I live here because of superior flying weather on average here than up north.

Search by aircraft type, with argument "M20*"

I just about added the bit about sacrificial material in the unlikely event... But I was unwilling to tempt fate. That thing has to weigh 5 lbs, right?

In 2023, this need is met by loading up old-timey music on your phone and bluetoothing it to your audio panel. If one does remove that bread-loaf size ADF antenna from the belly, a gaping hole results. Where might one find a cover for this hole?

This is exactly what I think I'll try. There is a DME antenna on the bottom that I think is unused. I think I'll avoid the magnetic back GPS puck and use velcro instead to avoid any possible issues with possibly magnetizing my Mooney. The challenge will be finding a place for the Stratux amongst all those wires.

Our J has seven small SS camlocs on the upper cowl where it connects to the rib on the lower cowl. One didn't seem to have enough bite, but I got it to seemingly hang onto something. Went flying. Bombed rural Alabama with a camloc. All of those camlocs in this location of my cowl flop around. Several fall out. There might be varied lengths and I might not have put them back in the right position. Shouldn't there be a retainer on the back side of these to hold them in their holes? Looking at AS, I gather that a J model at that location will use the 2000 series camlocs? Can anyone confirm this? Anybody have a packing slip from when they ordered these? The length and max. grip are the variables. At $7-$8 ea. I don't want to guess too much? Thx. Fred

The left pickup on our J looks just like the above photo, including the blue staining on the lower screw head. Are these gaskets a factory part or available elsewhere? A couple of years ago I had a leaking fuel sender gasket. We replaced with a PMA rubber gasket first, but it wouldn't seal. Next we replaced it with a cork gasket with applied Permatex. That solved the problem. What's the deal with the viton gaskets? Why do they loose their ability to seal? Frustrating.

Nice list! you've tried quite a few! Thx.

Our J has 0.0 AMU's of "Big G" equipment installed and looks to stay that way.

As I understand it in addition to UAT traffic, the FIS-B info comes in on 978 MHz band, necessitating two SDR's in the Stratux. Wouldn't that require two external antennas? I'm pretty sure there is an unused DME antenna on the bottom of my J. I see that the L-band central frequency of DME is about 1090 MHz, so it should be most sensitive to that frequency, and less so at 978 MHz. Splitter? Not an EE, but an E.

I lived in Wyoming (KLAR) for 12 years then escaped to a warmer, lower, less windy place. Here near sea level a Mooney C model is a great traveling machine for two or occasionally three people. The C or E models (short bodies) don't really have useable back seats for two grownups. Flew our Mooney back with my wife several times to visit kids after moving away. For those of you unfamiliar with the Cowboy State, 2/3 of it lies at or above 7,000 ft. Yes, that's ground elevation in most of the state. The low point is just below 4000 ft. Standard atmospheric temperature at 7,000 ft is 32F. Density altitude numbers are ridiculous on an 85F day. In the winter the wind often RIPS. Winds of 30G50 occur frequently. KCPR is one of the gustiest airfields in the country. Some things to consider. In my opinion, a four cylinder Mooney is under-powered for Wyoming. In the summer when the density altitude is 9,000, or 10,000 ft it takes over 3000 ft of runway to get off the ground, and then it climbs like a dog. There is usually a mountain range to climb over. Four cylinder Mooney's are just not fantastic climbing machines at high altitudes. If I'm going to land in gusty wintertime conditions, I want plenty of power go around when the gusts point a wing towards the ground at 100 ft. Something with six cylinders and a three bladed prop, please. Icing was already mentioned, but with winter lasting 8 to 9 months in Wyoming, it is a frequent concern. One of the several reasons I moved away from Wyoming was because it is a really tough place to fly reliably. A Mooney with a six cylinder engine and a turbo would be better, but cabin access is still a bit tight. Maybe consider a 182? Good luck. Sorry to emphasize the negative, but there are quite a few negatives against piston aviation in the land of Brown and Gold. OTOH we used to fly the Governors Citation around the state quite easily and reliably...

Our C had an Appareo transponder and Stratus 2i. The Stratus received GPS position from the transponder, and was connected to an external antenna on the outside of the hull. Elegant solution for getting all that info to an iPad. It was reliable, powered by ships power, and just worked. I never used the AHRS. Our "new" J had no ADS-B in solution when we bought it, so I built a Stratux. It's held up in the right-rear window using a suction cup mount. It doesn't seem to get super great ADS-B reception. Question: It seems that it should be possible to install the stratux somewhere behind the panel with an external GPS dongle and connected to an external antenna or two. There is someone on line selling the 978 and 1090 antennas with cables for this purpose. I don't think our C had two external antenna's dedicated to this. Does the Appareo solution somehow use the transponder antenna as a 1090 ADS-B in source? It had a trafficalert system antenna installed that might have been connected to the Stratus. I don't want to spend the AMUs to install a complete Appareo xponder and Stratus. Anyone done anything like this with a Stratux? My stratux doesn't have AHRS, don't need it because I have a backup AI. Thanks! Fred

I'm new to this but learning, as I understand it the KFC-150 autopilot system uses the KC-192 Flight Computer, which is the controller for the autopilot system installed in your panel with buttons on it. The KC-192 gets attitude information from a fancy BK AI, or a digital AI (Garmin 275 or Aspen), and desired heading/CDI info from a fancy BK HSI, or digital HSI. If in the correct mode (HDG, NAV) the computer computes the control inputs needed to follow that course and sends that information back to the fancy AI, which then displays the computer output on the V-bars if in FD mode. If in AP mode as well, the flight computer also commands the servos to do what it computed. The V-bars show flight computer output either way.

Will it go faster? Given what J's are selling for, you can get a lot more plane for $70k. As you originally said, one that someone else has already put a bunch of AMUs in to add glass.

Wouldn't it be awesome if George Braly published his data? If not that, work with the engine monitor companies to develop algorithms to keep us out of Busch's "magenta box". I understand that those data required years and lots of $ to collect. They would be very useful for making the next generation of engine monitors.

Cool. It seems that using a PWM with a frequency well above top end hearing freq. (100 kHz) would be a good way to avoid noise potential for those folks without a high quality audio panel?

Those days are ending/over? I think much better opportunities exist. I know a young CFII who is drawing a salary and benefits from a regional while doing instruction to build time.

Technicolor crazy quilt camouflage.

Help me understand. I know how electric elevator trim works. It seems to me that the O/P is implying that the inop trim switch (A/P malfunction) is somehow related to causing difficulty in manually turning the elevator trim. Is that not A/P related? What am I not understanding about the original post?

Scary. I thought autopilot servos were supposed to have a clutch that can be overcome by control forces, slipping to alleviate those control forces? I can't answer your question but an obvious question is which autopilot do you have?

Final Score: Fred 1. ADF 0. Game highlights: Face plate screws, LHS inaccessible without removing IDF-540 GPS, which I didn't want to do. RHS inaccessible by proximity to CB panel. Left hand drill, didn't bite. Small straight screwdriver didn't bite either, but it did fracture the bezel. Used small straight screwdriver to pry bezel out in pieces. Grabbed rim of face plate with pliers and pulled. Unit came out! Turns out the locking mechanism was completely messed up. Pretty sure it was already that way. Anyhow, happy outcome. Thanks all for the input!

While at hangar today, I notice that the right tank in-wing sight gage said 25 gallons. Opened it up and took this photo. Seems right on.

There is a tab inside the fuel tank near the inlet on our J. It says 25 US GALS, but there is no level datum marked. Where is the 25 gallon level on this tab? The POH doesn't say. Is it at the flat portion at the bottom of the tab below the small hole or at the bottom of the big oval-shaped holes? Photo: