mwilton1

Hi Folks, We got our airleak sorted out this annual. Seems we had a slight weeping from the seals on the gaskets on fuel lines coming into the cabin (didnt smell it so not sure if it was super small or maybe I have had Covid for 2 years). We fixed the small weep and found a lot of the old duct tape along the cabin walls / spar was deteriorated and missing. Cleaned it all up, resealed the gaps and she is working perfectly. Thank you to everyone for your help on the forum. Great group!

Thank you Skip, that is exactly what I was after. Really appreciate it. Mike

Looking for some guideance on the best way to access the top of the spar. Access panels from under the rear seat?

Good Morning Folks, Since we have been digging into the Mooney to fix the trim switch and AP, I thought I would ask another question. We have cold air coming into the cabin from under the floor. From a discussion with another Mooney owner, it is a tin foil tape issue on top of the Spar. Apparently it degrades and peels off, allowing cold air from outside to stream in under aircraft, come up near the spar and come through the rear seat belt attachment points. He said that they put new tin foil tape on the top of the spar and this stopped the issue. No problem in the Summer as it is great cooling, but in -30 degree C weather in the winter, there is a pronounced cold air on the back of your neck. Thanks, Mike

Thanks. I did some testing with a multimeter and the other two seem to be working fine. The one engages the clutch and the other provides nose down trim. I guess if the system senses the nose up trim switch as faulty, it would keep the system from engaging. Sounds correct. I ordered 3 new switches tonight. Hopefully that will solve the problem. All other parts of the King switch seem ok.

Found the switches online. Since the whole switch assembly is not available (or so it seems), this is likely my best option. Any input on if this would be causing our autopilot issue? Thanks, Mike

It is for a KFC 200 Autopilot. Tried searching around for the King switch, but seem they are pretty scarce. Mike

Folks, I think we might have found the culprit, but need some insight. I had been having some interemitent issues with my electric trip yoke switch. Sometimes, it would not command nose up. Nose down works fine. I had not dealt with it as I normally use the wheel to trim, which is a habit I had when I owned a Cessna 340. I didnt try it, but I suspect the switch failed fully around the time my Autopilot shut off and would not engage. Tonight I took and tried to clean the switch. I put some switch cleaner into it and though it clicks when depressed, the trim wheel would only move a little then stop. That was also intermitent. I took the switch out of the yoke and apart. I tried a bunch of combinations using only the little buttons being pushed and it appears the nose up switch is not functioning. I now have 2 questions. 1) Does anyone have a good source for the switch as it will need to be replace and 2) would this defective switch be the reason our autopilot will not engage? Thanks for everyone's input. I have included a couple pictures of the switch wiring, just incase it might be a missed wire and not the switches themselves. Mike

Thanks Bob. Looking forward to our chat this morning. Didnt realize you were a member here, but glad you are.

Hi Folks. I had an issue with our KFC 200 yesterday. It appears to be working perfectly except that it will not engage when you flip the switch up. I can hear it "touching" in the box, but will not stay engaged. If I hold it up, it does not stay engaged either. I read in another forum that it is likely a faulty switch as all other items appear to be working perfectly. My question is, if we need to remove the head unit from the center pedestal, how is that done. I want to prep the easy stuff, then have my A&P come in to do the actual removal, but want to give him the easiest way to do it so he can save time. I have reached out to AP Central to get their advice, just waiting to hear back from their tech folks. Thanks in advance everyone.

Sorry Everyone, I have been re-miss in my postings lately. We figured this one out. Turns out that two wires were incorrect in the set up, so the Aspen was thinking that altitude was attitude and vice versa. Mechanics talked to Aspen, traced it within the hour. AP and Aspen are working nicely now.

Thanks everyone. The air does not get warmer with the heat on, so that is not it. Sounds like when the guys had it in for annual a few weeks ago, they may have missed sealing something back up. I will pull the back seats and the pan and see what I can find under there. It is definitely air flowing out. Feels like it is coming in from under the plane then coming up beside the seats. I checked the boots on the gear in the gear doors, but didnt realize there were others under the seats. Will report back with my findings. Thanks everyone!

Hi Folks, Have an odd question. I was flying the plane this week (1981 M20K) and have a lot of cold air coming into the cabin. With the limited mobility I have in my Mooney, it appears to be coming in around the rear seat belts and on the outside edges of the rear seats. Before my mechanics start tearing my poor baby apart, anyone have any ideas what this could be? Thanks, Mike

If you decide to go VFR, you still must file a flight plan to cross the border. I think Foreflight just released the ability to do this, so much easier now. AlexLev is correct on all points. It is pretty easy to do and we love to see people visit our great country, especially with their Mooneys

Folks, resurrecting a thread here. I have a new Aspen Pro and my KFC 200 interfaced by the EA100. We test flew yesterday and found that the AP would engage, but any correction (even 1 degree) would cause a turn of 45 degrees plus immediately. Obviously we were disconnecting prior to this happening, but pretty scary. My avionics guys are working on it, but has anyone else experienced this with the EA100? Thanks, Mike