shawnd

Instead of starting another - re-using this thread, might be good info for others before purchase. Can anyone tell me if these are spot welded or riveted? Its on my 252 and these are the only pictures I have at the moment (a/c is in avionics shop).. From the second photo, potentially riveted given the edge? Anyone have photos of theirs that are riveted? I do not see the triangle pattern depicted in the AD. Click to enlarge.

Thank you sir...will be calling in tomorrow :-)

Great article, though I don't think I agree with this line being an owner of a single alternator 252: If you are considering buying a rare 252 that has only one alternator (most had two), be careful. This aircraft will go through a lot of batteries. I haven't noticed any issues with Concorde sealed AGM batteries which I switched to immediately after purchase. Proper maintenance which includes using BatteryMinder hasn't revealed any surprises nor have I had any issues with starts. Anyone have other experiences?

Question about engine heating to the wiser folks here: why shouldn't we pre-heat our engines up to 70 degrees or maybe even higher overnight as long as we are 100% sure we will be flying the next day? I was told one aspect about overall humidity rising within the engine with pre-heating and that it should be ran at normal operating temps for a certain duration to burn it off. Repeated heating and no-flying is likely detrimental to the engine. But at the least, oil will be more viscous if pre-heated and therefore reducing wear and the closer it is to post startup temps (100 DF?) the better? Do note, there is no hot air involved in this system which TCM recommends against to avoid damage to hoses, cables etc. And they are suggesting: "Begin preheating of the engine at least 5 hours prior to expected departure. However, do not leave the engine preheating system in operation for more than 24 hours." Source: http://www.reiffpreheat.com/Continental SIL 03-1 Cold Wx Ops.pdf (section c)

I am on the west coast but up in PNW. The temps here last couple of weeks has made me start to wonder about heating efficiency inside the hangar. I have a Reiff engine + sump pre-heater but when the temps are dipping down to < 10 DF and with the tendency of the hangars to remain cooler than OAT - it begs to be cautious and do what's needed to keep the heat contained with the engine bay.

When I had Voltage Regulator issues, I had mine rebuilt by Consolidated Aircraft Supply in New York - https://www.consolac.com/ Might be worth giving them a quick call to see if they can service it for you and what options they might have. Mine came back like new.

Okay answered my own question: https://www.airplane-covers.com/mac/cowling-covers/#MOONEY Mac's costs roughly $280 Bruce's custom covers also has one for insulated engine cover but they also have prop and spinner cover which is handy: https://aircraftcovers.com/M201 ~$500. Guessing justified by "Insulated Covers Material - A special composite material of solution-dyed polyester, 3M Thinsulate insulation, and soft nylon interior fabric." Scroll down to your specific model.

Got a link to the Mac insulated cover?

Here's the Mooney instructions (scanned using iphone, sorry for the quality): INSTRUCTIONS.pdf EFFECTIVITY.pdf RADIO MASTER.pdf

Here are the pictures as promised, got the old relay installed which will be swapped out for the solenoid. (Instruction PDFs in next post)

Yep, many folks at various service shops on the west coast knew/know him. His signatures are all over the aircraft logbooks. He will be happy to know the bird is well taken care of

Nope, but maybe will look into it. My family is growing so this is definitely something to consider (after of course, more space in general - haha)

> Technically no, I have not. But the previous owner did. Yep - I remember our discussion on the Encore conversion. Mine will be going through that this year or next! > Strange that the N-numbers did not sequence. Or did the go from XM to XN to XO then at sometime back to xM Wondering if anyone who worked at Mooney can chime in on the pattern they used. Could be topic for Mooney Max!

We are pretty darn close though @Aerodon curious if you ever had your bird serviced at Advanced Aircraft in Oregon? I know @Pinecone has, mine goes there now. Maybe another similarity?

I am hoping third time is the charm - been wanting to attend since 2022...2024 it is!

Couldn't have captured it better! Maybe they test the aviation ones for repeated heat cycles and tolerance up to certain temperature ranges. I tried looking at tech specs on the Summit Racing site but couldnt find it on their site. On a race car - if you don't already have a fire restraint system, you can still pull over, unlatch your harness and jump out. Up in the air, we are SOL'ed and can't just crash the plane to "get to a quick exit".

Haha - that's what I get for doing things late night. You are absolutely correct - the terminal numbers match now. Updated the PDF in the post above.

Link for curious folks: https://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/exhaust-clamps/product-line/summit-racing-interlocking-v-band-exhaust-clamps Wondering if the lock nut being used is of the nylon insert kind from the looks of it? See below... as compared to:

Thanks @Aerodon will have them check it. I am quite certain I have the original relay from a quick peek last week. The other symptom that I commonly observed was that during shutdown, the avionics wouldn't shut off after the first try at flipping the switch, typically took 4-5, maybe more to eventually turn off. I decided to dig in to understand it a bit more, attached you will find the parts list for my 252's Avionics relays schematics with the interesting areas highlighted and connections traced. Schematics M20K-AVRelaySchematics.pdf Update 1/15 - Fixed avionics switch trace to GND bus. Thanks @Aerodon

Interesting. I definitely had times when the avionics stayed on and wouldn't shut off through engine start **cringe**. Agree, the part I received looks like your solenoid. I will send pictures this Friday when I head up to the shop again.

Agree, but its too late. I believe they did do some troubleshooting - my guess is listening to the relay to hear the clicks. At the end of the day, I am thinking of buying the relay as keeping Mooney afloat :-)

I am sure many folks will buy two if not three for backup

Yeah once they are done with the current work and harnesses are back in and connected, will have them troubleshoot before replacement.

@Aerodon Thank you! The detailed pictures and the guide is amazing. Hopefully others will find your post helpful in the future as well! I will send photos of the new relay next week when I drive up there again to check in on status. If it comes to it, they sure will appreciate your pictures. Thank you again.

Sorry if I wasn’t clear - Mooney sent me the (expensive) replacement relay so already have it here. Pictures would be great! Thanks Don