Seymour

@PT20J ...so a separate SW update is required for a GI 275 based installation? ...and I can also find that on the Garmin warranty site? Because I also did not get an email (and it's in for annual now).

If trim servos are installed and the autopilot has the optional elevator trim, it is necessary to disable the AP. You note that you have to trim manually - Do you have a separate breaker for the electric trim? When you pull that breaker to trim manually, doesn't the resulting trim failure prevent the autopilot from engaging? My understanding is that the only way to use the autopilot without the installed trim servos is to have the AP reprogrammed as if the optional trim was not installed. Since I have not had the AP reprogrammed, my AP breaker is pulled and labeled "Inoperative". Is this unnecessary?

Welcome! PM sent with a recommendation (but he's probably too far from the north shore).

Nope! I just installed a new electric step. How big of a pumpkin can I fit on that bomb bay? (Let's see, what's the formula again @aviatoreb? Something about pie plane?)

Sage advice. If the toy's real value after inflation depreciates faster than you're paying it off, you're drifting negative. ....but everyone's situation is unique. Agreed! You should NEVER risk losing the home to buy a toy. That would be over leveraging. Paying off my mortgage was a priority, but as long as there are other assets (including and in addition to the toy) that can be sold at reduced prices to cover the monthly nut for the duration of the mortgage if things rapidly go south, the strategy seems solid. Correct! For me, it's a risk management decision, similar to flying. I check the financial Wx before making the journey, but that can't account for every chance of danger along the way. Be prepared and vigilant along the way. Learn from others' mistakes and make good decisions to avoid them (eg. various insurance policies) rather than avoiding the entire opportunity altogether. Higher inflation makes the leverage numbers work even better. Like @Eight8Victor notes, 4% inflation is a very conservative number right now. $10K of I-Bonds are going to yield 9.62% next half.... Even the Fed recently raised their 'target inflation rate' to 3%. Would it make more sense to wait until the market recovers and tops out again before selling assets to purchase the toy? Won't the price of the toy also inflate? Especially if everyone becomes flush with cash (again)? With advancing age, time is more precious than money. Review the age 75+ aircraft insurance thread for validation of that point. Call me a nut. (I'm only half nuts.)

Is taking a 2.25% fixed mortgage against a paid off home to purchase a toy that depreciates at 2% per year during 4% inflationary period nuts? (guilty.)

PM sent. My spare is airworthy, but I paid $250 for it on ebay earlier this year.

AOG (see other thread) and REALLY wishing that I put that old, small, cheap multimeter in the Mooney tool bin instead of tossing it. It would have saved me time, frustration and AMU in my current predicament. ...and I purchased TWO starter solenoids, one for now and one for the future failure (that will never occur if I carry a spare). Other than that, a leatherman multi-tool, a small spool of wire and a small swiss army knife seem adequate for my comfort level of repairs. ...and like @M20F I may start carrying around the new SkyTek starter I just purchased (that turned out NOT to be the issue). The survival pack is a whole different thread, but includes a 406Mhz PLB, first aid kit, power bars, etc, etc

At Anthony's request, Relay circled in orange below. I'll provide a better pic next time I get a lift to the airport... Best view of the Southern Head of the island is from a Mooney: Spectacular scenery while hiking (but my photography doesn't do it justice) ...and more pics here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/izx669adrvahvtk/AAAU5E4NrVlVw_QHwmS0ZnJDa?dl=0

Grand Manan - CCN2 If you have to be stuck on an island, this is the place!

Thanks for the quick response, Clarence! Now let's see if I can find lodging on the island for the mechanic again once the part arrives... on Canada Day.

Might already have an answer from the comments on Aircraft Spruce:

Reviving this thread as I'm AOG on an island in Canada off the coast of Maine that has a 3+ day "Express" delivery time, so I need to get it right (this time). I'll provide more details on my maiden cross-border flight and the ensuing adventures in aircraft repair, but for now I'd simply like to confirm that the correct part is ordered. Luckily, I'm solo so that no passengers need to be someplace soon so I'm putting Buffet's Margaritaville on infinite loop and enjoying the great (flying) weather. 1965 M20E Diagnosed Failure: Starter Solenoid - Part number DR1464 (mounted to the firewall) Specific questions: 1. Is anyone able to confirm that this is the correct replacement part? (Certainly, google thinks so.) https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/eppages/sts-12s24s.php I ordered the 12V option from Aircraft Spruce in Brantford Ontario yesterday; it is expected to begin it's long journey on Monday night. 2. The part is mounted directly to the firewall with two screws. Are there nuts on the inside of the firewall that I need to find as I back out the mounting screws or are they tinnerman (or some other type of captured) nuts? 3. For information only, I'm looking for the best old thread on hand-propping an IO-360-AIA. Savvy's AOG service says "Not Recommended". Local aviation folks say "Good luck finding someone to do it". ...and I've heard enough horror stories to avoid it but I'm looking for good reading material while I wait for another part. Reaching out to @M20Doc because he might know the answer without having to research and may have Canadian sources that I'm not familiar with.

In addition to a (very old, probably empty, unknown type, soon to be checked thanks to this thread) fire extinguisher on the floor between the back seats, I have one of these element extinguishers in the outside pocket of my flight bag (next to my handheld radio). Our local pilots club scheduled a "fire extinguisher analysis and demo" with a local firefighter and I donated one of these, but the seminar got quashed due to Covid. Hopefully, we can reschedule it soon and I'll learn more about it.

No, we went with Garmin in the new panel specifically for these features (and others like it). The GFC500 autopilot has a blue button that activates the AP in roll steering mode to immediately bring the plane to wings level and altitude hold (yellow circle in my panel picture). When the GFC500 is paired with a GTN navigator (GTN650xi), a feature named "Smart Glide" (orange circle in the picture) does the following: a. Tunes COM1 on the GTN to 121.5 b. Sets the transponder to 7700 c. Activates the GFC500 AP to setup a descent at the aircraft's best glide speed to the best, nearest airport (if there is one). https://www.garmin.com/en-US/newsroom/press-release/aviation/garmin-continues-to-enhance-aviation-safety-with-the-introduction-of-smart-glide/ https://www.garmin.com/en-US/blog/aviation/five-reasons-your-aircraft-needs-garmin-smart-glide/

I'm looking for an AP experienced (even once) with the vacuum, step removal, and the electric step installation somewhere in New England or the Northeast. Any references? This is a great (and timely) pirep! The avionics shop that installed our GFC500 and GI275s completed the step wiring from the beacon switch to the tail and removed the vacuum AI from the panel, but the vacuum removal and step installation still need to be completed. ...so there'll be one more step servo on a hangar museum shelf soon.

Sure, with some help. If ATC can coach to an adequate airport, using a combination of Smart Glide and throttle should put the a passenger in a reasonable position for landing. Here's the list I'll teach frequent passengers: 1. Blue Button (Aviate - AP Wings Level) 2. Nearest / Direct-To (Navigate) 3. PTT and Guard (Communicate - including frequency change if not already with ATC) 4. Red Button (Smart Glide) 5. Throttle 6. ELT There's plenty missing (on purpose, in an attempt to keep it simple including gear because it's a J-Bar), but priority suggestions welcomed.

I keep a Class 3. I hope to fly into Canada some day.

Is the autopilot a Garmin GFC500? If so, the GI 275 ADAHRS ADI does NOT need to be the "plus autopilot" version. The "plus autopilot" version is for control of third party (aka non-Garmin) autopilots.

Good call Anthony. @MMsuper21 My Super 21 is a 1965 model (built in 1964). There's a reason old Mooneys have the shotgun layout in the first place. If you have the same vintage, I suspect your layout won't work. The result for mine is that the center two gauges (the GI275 ADI over the GI275 HSI in my diagram) will be about 2 inches higher than the other 4 instruments. ...so it will be functional, but not fully aligned horizontally. From our installer: "physical positioning of the instrument holes cannot be straight across as your drawing shows. ... The reasons for this are 4-fold despite obtaining a (0) zero degree panel tilt: 1) The AI/HSI must be higher to avoid the yoke column (plus optimum viewing) 2) The MFD cannot go as high because of a defroster duct obstruction but might be able to go a bit higher than pictured but ref #4 3) The VSI cannot go as high due to the curvature of the panel. 4) For aestethic reasons, balancing the VSI/AS height and the MFD/TC columns is desireable. There really is no choice in this....just letting you know."

@PT20J Thanks for the clarification, Skip! You're very generous responding inquires and sharing your valuable Garmin post-install check lists. They can save us AMU (and possibly our lives).

I'm searching for the thread where Skip @PT20J recently detailed the reason the G5 must be used as backup, but I'm inept at MS search. (For some reason, Club name is sticky and it's only searching in that club). Edit: Found one mention here but still looking for the full explanation. I may have misunderstood something Skip wrote.

Reasonable. ...but would you retain any steam gauges? ( ...and it would have to be the G5 for backup with the G3X; that's a restriction with the AP.) G3X is a great choice, especially if you don't already have an EIS.

Nope, you didn't read it correctly. Andy suggested we keep the altimeter as a "VFR Only" backup. This panel allows us to eliminate clutter and unnecessary gauges so the question is "Would you replace your THIRD altimeter if it went south?". We decided the answer was "No", so we pulled it. Curious: What would you do? Would you keep all of the steam gauges (including vacuum driven AI)? Where would you draw the line?

Thanks for these two comments; they caused us to re-evaluate our "already final" panel. Here's the thoughts: From our installer, most GI275 installations that keep steam gauges will put ASI over TC, GI275 ADI over GI275 HSI (as req'd by STC) and Altimeter over VSI as Andy noted. Our decision is to add a third GI275 MFD (for reasons listed earlier). We feel that the big round VSI is valuable on every flight as an early indicator of issues so we've put it up top. ...so if we're not going to stay Standard-T.... Good question. We could simply add a 7th hole and keep the Altimeter. ...but why? The tape on the GI275 is easy to read, we already have TWO altimeters (one in each GI275) and they each have battery backup should the ship loose power. My installer also noted that we'd have to pay $100 every two years at IFR cert check for the steam gauge altimeter (or placard it "VFR Only"). So the final question we ask is the same for all of the steam gauges; "Do we love it enough that we'd replace it if it busted?". Unfortunately for the Altimeter, like the vacuum AI the answer is "No". We do feel strongly about the VSI and ASI. ....and the TC remains to make a six.