David Lloyd

Once he looked at the road as a probability, he was fixated on the road and saw nothing else. Once near landing it looked like he tried to avoid a car and that didn't work out well for them. Road, lake, field, chain link fences are better than big oak trees, trains, big trucks and brick walls. Avoid hitting those head on at all costs.

Some are a flexible plastic, others are stamped aluminum. Both need to be properly shimmed. I've seen cracks in the metal ones but never seen a plastic one come apart. Both should be inspected for cracks, wear and fit every year. Bet this one had cracks for a long time before it came apart.

Might be further down the list for the C, D and G. Right after I bought my C, I was trying to fill in some blanks. Soon after my airplane was built it went to Canada for 20 years. The original logbooks stayed there, so I am missing the first 200 hours or so. I called Mooney and asked if they had the weight and balance info on my s/n. Shortly after, I got an email with all the original equipment list and W&B. On the equipment list was item 12E, External Power Supply, #950183-501, 1.8 pounds, 1.5" arm. Yep, a couple inches in front of the firewall.

Wasn't a chaffed wire. Loose screw holding the jumper from the 70A main breaker to the 50A aux buss breaker. Right beside a new breaker for the GI-275 installed last year. Do you believe in coincidence? Removed glareshield, loosened breaker from panel, tightened screw, breaker back in panel, install glareshield. Started, ran, installed latest databases for 275s and 375. All good. Will test drive it tomorrow to pick up a plane at MRN. Got a little touch up paint to do but it should be done within two weeks. Hangars appear mostly repaired, might be done next week. Two days in a row it did not get in the 90s! All is good.

Don’t think you can tighten the belt enough to keep from hitting the roof. I remember being surprised one day not to have a head shaped bulge on the top of the fuselage.

My 1975 C has the factory installed aux plug. No STC required for the factory parts. If you check the wiring diagrams in the service manual, page 9-85 is for a 1974 but probably same as 1975.

Using three cardinal headings, three 90* apart, four headings, three or four tracks as opposed to headings; on a day with light winds, all methods will be within a knot or two.

It's cut off partly but revision date of the manual shown is 8/1/81. It's what you want for your 1965. Funny, the illustration still shows the 5 piece Firestone stack.

Vacuum cleaner? I won't laugh. Did the same thing over 40 years ago. My home vacuum would only pull 3" also.

If a remote gyro for the PC, it must be a 1965 model, all other years use a T&B made for use with the PC. Helpful to know the year and s/n. Make sure the gyro is getting vacuum. If it is, is the gyro spinning? Seems like the Service Manual has a step-by-step trouble shooting guide.

.63A is way too much for any keep alive circuit or clock. It’s probably enough to pull in a relay.

Thanks Hank. Just remembered, did take a pic.

11 Weeks, my airplane is repaired. Two salvage elevators from Lowen, strip, inspect, repaint, new hardware etc. Internal parts looked good. Bungees were disassembled, cleaned, greased. Rigged. Should have invoice to send copy for insurance reimbursement tomorrow. If you are wondering about the delay, there are several factors. Like most other shops, the one here is busy. Annuals booked months out. Anything else they try to fit people in. Several other planes were damaged in the same incident. They were in line before me as I was a day late. One of those repairs involves a new or very well kept Piper Saratoga that suffered damage to the stabilator, right wingtip, left wing and a big dent in the fuselage roof. Rumor is, $75-100k. Who gets more attention, a $10k job or $100k job? The hangars themselves, the airport announced today the repair contract has been awarded, they will keep us advised when we can return. Did the test flight yesterday after it cooled off to about 90*. I think it did as it should although in cruise flight the elevator counterweight, both sides, is slightly up rather than being in-trail. Up 1/2-3/4". Never paid attention previously but I think it was very close to being in trail. Maybe it is correct now, wrong before. Maybe it is my old, faulty memory. For you guys with C models, what does it look like, just you up front and no baggage? I don't think I have ever left an airplane sit more than 3 weeks when something did not break or malfunction the next flight. Record is intact, ten minutes into the flight the 70A circuit breaker popped. Turned around and headed back. Near the airport, I pushed the breaker in, everything came back up. Voltage normal, gear down, flaps down, over the numbers it popped again. Accompanied by an electrical burning odor. 45 Seconds later it was pretty distinct when I shut the engine down. Never had a main CB pop before. Diodes, field windings, brushes, broken wires and voltage regulators, but never before the big CB. Didn't think that alternator had enough beans to trip 70A. It's going to be obvious when found. I'm betting a chaffed wire.

We now need a new panel placard: No fat guys with golf bags

Good suggestions above, but if you are really curious about your airplane's performance, test it yourself. Make a couple charts similar to those in your POH, load the airplane to the appropriate weight and fill in the blanks. Gear up, flaps up, full throttle, 2700 RPM, cowl flaps open, power boost on, mixture rich (by 6 or 7k, start leaning) and at Vy based on pressure altitude. Don't try this on a hot, bumpy day, go instead on a cool day, no winds or turbulence. Write down the time for each cardinal altitude. Repeat at least once. Average those times. How do they compare to the POH? Then, if you want to try with the power boost off, a lesser RPM or faster airspeed, make another chart. My old C is slow but does seem to climb near what it should. Seldom I climb at Vy, always faster, less climb rate.