Nippernaper

No signs of warped rotors; smooth action when braking, even when you don't want it!

No, I don't think they've been bled in quite some time. I purchased the plane in August, and it hasn't flown a lot lately.

I've got an odd behavior in my '78 J that's causing a lot of head scratching at the moment. My left brake will gradually start to drag, and eventually lock up when taxiing, especially during long taxis. Even when only using the right brake, the left one will start to drag, and progressively get worse. If you let the plane sit for 1/2 hour, it frees up. My A&P checked the calipers (they were free), and the master cylinder (no sign of problems). I'm very careful not to ride the brakes. With the plane in the hangar I've been able to move the plane freely. Hop in and just tap the brakes, and then the left starts to drag. I'm trying to avoid a shotgun approach to fixing this, but don't have any ideas on what to check next. Any thoughts from the MS crowd? Tom

I'll take you up on the offer, and PM you shortly!

Latest issue on my new-to-me '78 J is the left wing strobe. A&P confirmed the Hoskins power supply is still good, but the flash tube is bad. P/N 202814-5. I've been having a hard time trying to track down a replacement. Has anyone had to replace this flash tube, and if so, what did you use? I have a flat wing tip, like the earlier models. I saw the previous posts on the subject, but I think those related to the enclosed strobes used on the later wing tip style. I'd like to get a few years out of the current system, before swapping out for LEDs. Trying to keep the cash flow under control this first year; I'm expecting an expensive first annual There's a whelen product (a610?) and an aeroflash (073-0141, or maybe 073-0270?) that look like good candidates.

Mike Busch's book on engines covers this pretty well, at least it was understandable for me. He spends a lot of time discussing how you know when you need to overhaul, and what compressions really mean. https://m.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/bvpages/mikebusch-13-21514.php?gclid=CjwKCAjw54fdBRBbEiwAW28S9rkcWKucFvWWp-MsWGZBjD2PuV2OTgAEAA4k9x_nHTJycxs1IQOmwBoCtbAQAvD_BwE Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm about to take my J in for a panel redo, and am going with the G5 as the HSI (but not the AI). Would love to hear how you like it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm an inexperienced part purchaser; do you have a source for the part? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was wondering why there were a bunch of small lengths of duct tape over little holes in the floor pan under the carpet. Will pull them up and replace. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great suggestion; will do Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Yetti, that was exactly what I needed to know! I pulled the cover last night and gave everything a good cleaning. Will wait to see how it looks in the daylight before heading to the aviation isle at HD for some plexi. MS is awesome! Tom Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I will post some photos; I'm in the middle of redoing the interior. Might wait till things are looking better! Any issue with unscrewing from the top side, or do you need to get to it from underneath? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bit of parallax going on there as well. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The light works, but is quite dim. If theres a chance the screws wont ho back in, might wait till annual time to swap out the plastic. That seems to make cutting the carpet around the whole plastic boss the way to go. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Purchased a '78 J a couple of weeks ago (after a long search), and among the other upgrades, it badly needed a new interior. I went the airtex route, and am in the process of removing the old, nasty, carpet. The gear down indicator in the floor was very hard to read the first few times I flew, and now I know why (see photo). It's actually much worse than the picture shows; scratched and cloudy. Any ideas on how to clean the plastic window? Should I think about replacing it? Is that something an owner can do? Also, only a small window was cut in the old carpet, just for the plastic window, and it was glued around the rest of the black plastic fairing that also houses the fuel selector. Any opinions on whether I should place the new carpet similarly, or cut out for the whole fairing (after cleaning that as well). Tom

Big +1 for Lynn and AGL Aviation. They did a prepurchase for me on a J from SE TN, and really saved my bacon.

gsxrpilot - thanks for the offer. Unfortunately I'm traveling unexpectedly for the next week; if the plane's still available when I get back, I'll take you up on that offer!

It's good to hear of positive experiences of others trying to do a remote purchase. I'll try for Dugosh, but if that is a bridge too far, explore El Paso Aero.

84R looks to be about 500 nm away; that's getting to the limit of what I would consider reasonable to ask. Anything closer?

Newbie here. I'm looking at an early J in the El Paso area, and am in need of suggestions regarding a local A&P for the pre buy. I'm in the northeast, and probably won't be able to see the plane till late in the process, so it needs to be someone who knows their mooneys, and I can trust. Any suggestions?