skydvrboy

Well, I wish I had a better summary to post that would provide closure to this thread. In the end, my week off work was up and the annual wasn't quite finished. All-in-all a very good annual though, and will most certainly my least expensive yet. Only one thing was "found" during the inspection that wasn't already part of my squawk list, a cracked alternator bracket. IA ordered a replacement for $50 and I installed it. I won't go into the list of things we fixed as it would be about a page long! Punch list of incomplete items: window sealant (still trying to figure out how to fix permanently), 1/8" ball in power boost cable, lube gear & rod ends, close up all the panels. Big thanks to @M20Doc and everyone else who provided advice and assistance!

One more question that came up as I was leaving. We have resealed the windshield at each annual and the seal has cracked again. Any ideas on how to permanently fix this? It looks like the windshield was trimmed too much on install.

Today's question, seat rails. My passenger side seat rail has one more set of holes than my pilot side. These holes are nearly as far back as the seat will go. This allows the seat to catch before it goes too far back. On the pilot side without these holes the seat goes all the way back. More than once I've pulled the seat of the rails when alluding forward. Which set is correct? Is there something that is missing that should keep the seat from going all the way back? My IA didn't like the idea of drilling another set of holes in the pilot rail to make it match. With that answer I didn't bother asking about another set of holes half way back. Passenger side Pilot side

That's reassuring. I inventoried numbered and sorted all the parts that came in the kits. I then highlighted on the diagram where each one wen't, so I'm confident my kit didn't include both sizes. The ones we found "-012" seemed to fit perfectly, no bulging out the sides and the two metal halves fit nice and snug.

Perfect. We found that hole later with an plug in it. We’ll get the sniffle valve on order tomorrow. If I understand correctly, this could be a fire risk. The drain line from the fuel pump is clamped to the firewall above the cowl flap. It should work fine where it is but will be relocated to the correct spot. I should have remembered about second fuel sender. I assume the wire to the outer sender has to go on the metal washer and the other 4 are insulated with nylon. Yes, that’s where I’ve done all my annuals.

This is the sender unit. Is this the correct gasket?

Oil leak is from the prop governor adapter. We've already fixed that, cleaned the engine and compartment, replaced points in the right mag, and fixed leaks in the engine driven fuel pump. I was only posting questions, not trying to go over everything that needs done. On to the leaking fuel sender. Three of the screws have nylon inserts. One has a nylon washer and one has a metal washer. What should the have? My mechanic thinks they should be metal washers with built in rubber gaskets on the inside.

I can't seem to find any drain firing on the bottom of the engine. Is it supposed to be above the notch on the muffler shroud?

So I took the week off to do my first owner assisted annual and am loving it. Two questions so far, but I'm sure there will be more. First, what goes to these two drain tubes? Nothing has been attached since I bought it and it seems all drain houses are routed elsewhere. This ours looking in the pilot side. I removed and rebuilt the flap pump this afternoon, but two o rings Lasar sent don't seem correct. We replaced these o rings with the next size smaller and it looks correct now. Has anyone else experienced this? Pic is of o rings sent with kit.

I think the fold your wings comment is a great exaggeration, but he is right on why spins are prohibited. Bob Kramer gave a great presentation on Mooney aerodynamics at Mooney Summit last year in which he showed video of the spin testing. According to Bob, they decided never to approve spins because recovery required 195 mph and Vne is 200. That simply didn’t leave enough room for pilot error. I seriously doubt the wing would fold, but something is going to get permanently bent.

It looks like you got into some mountain wave action as you crossed into Virginia. Flight aware shows you hit 237 at one point. Nicely done!

Perhaps the fact that I just told him I flew an F model and that it was late in the evening at the social after several drinks played an important role in his statement? I don't care, I liked the answer so I'm going with it!

Not to start a fight, but Bob Kromer at Mooney Summit said that he thought the F was the best bang for the buck and his personal favorite.

I guess I've driven too many old trucks for this analogy to work. When I think of something handling like a truck, it means that you have to turn the wheel 90 degrees before you get any response at all. That would definitely NEVER be used to describe a Mooney. To me, the Mooney handles more like a go-kart. It takes a fair bit of force to turn the yoke very far, but any tiny movement makes the vehicle start to turn.

I thought about this option but was worried it would bounce around too much in turbulence. No issues with that? My $1.99 Goodwill mount was suctioned to the window right next to the center post, which I really liked. However, after 3 years of use it finally broke, so I am now looking for another option.

I had a nice set of Ray Bans until I left them in an FBO bathroom on my way back from Oshkosh. They were awesome, but pricey, but I bought them at a charity auction, so it went to a good cause. One word of caution with Ray Bans... once you've held a REAL pair of Ray Bans, you will be amazed how many retailers sell fake ones. The lenses in the real thing are quite heavy and they feel very sturdy. Most retailers sell knock-offs with lightweight lenses that just feel flimsy. With the QT Halos, everyone either loves them or hates them. I didn't find them as quiet as others, but my main issue was the mic. It wouldn't pick up my voice without screaming or cranking the squelch up to the point the audio panel was picking up static from all the other headsets. That said, if you buy them and don't like them, you can return them (I think it was 90 days) or resell them to someone else easily.

I watched a Cirrus do about 6 T&G's on a 3500' runway. I thought for sure that stupid looking nose wheel was going to snap off, but it held and they didn't hit the prop. Oh, maybe those are called B&G's! Note to self, go back through logs and add the word "solo" to the comments section of applicable flights.

I'm, using one that @BrettKS made for me as part of his trial group. It works flawlessly now that I relocated it to an area of the hangar that gets reception. As I understand it, it works on the AT&T LTE Category M1 which AT&T has committed to supporting through 2027.

Insurance required 10 hrs dual and 10 hrs solo before carrying passengers, so I knocked out most of my commercial requirements during those 20 hours.

I went the ultra-cheap route and installed a skybeacon (with $500 rebate) on my wingtip with my existing KT-76. IA let me do the work myself and then inspected and signed off my logs, so install cost was $0. For my "in" solution, I built a dual channel Stratux with WAAS GPS and an AHRS for $165. Since everyone is pulling these transponders out and no one is installing them they are available "working when removed" for $100.

This is a great thread and prompted me to actually write down my goals last year. Here's the goals for 2020. Fly another 100 hrs. Obtain instrument rating Family vacation to visit family in California (set new distance record) Formation Wing Card Install engine monitor Take picture of Junkman by St. Loius Arch 2019 Accomplishments Flew 100 hrs (currently at 98.3, but the year's not over!) Obtained mountain flying training Attended Mooney Summit (new distance record) Lead formation flight into Class C airport Installed ADSB Installed shoulder harnesses

I got mine about a year and a half ago. I remember it being closer to 20-30 minutes to skip through the free online quiz to get my license. My son is working on getting his right now (no pilots license), so he spent a around 4 hours studying and will have to pay the $150 testing fee.

Is this a cold weather induced failure? My AI is failing too, though it's not connected to any autopilot, so I should have a few more options. Whatever I do, I'd like to understand what implications that has for a future autopilot upgrade.

I think this is what's going on most of the time. My tower called me 411WS, so I corrected them and the called me by the right tail number from then on. When handed off to KC Center, again, the wrong tail #. I corrected them and they flat out told me, you'll be connected with Ft Riley GCA soon, ask them to fix it. Went to Ft Riley GCA, "Well that's not what we show." I informed them of my conversation with KC Center and they fixed it for me. When looking at Flight Aware, no track until the tail number was fixed. I didn't think to look up 411WS, but I bet they were flying in KS that day.