PT20J

If it is a really clean airframe, I'd negotiate the best discount I could get for the runout engine, but I would only buy it if I had the money in the bank to replace the engine because there is really no way to know when it will need to be replaced. But, I'd want a really thorough pre-purchase inspection because if there are other issues, this airplane could get expensive fast. The advantage of buying an airplane with a runout engine is that you get to determine the quality of the replacement. I did this when I bought a really well cared for 1994 M20J with under 1200 hours and questionable engine. The engine gave up less than 50 hours after purchase and I put a factory rebuilt on it. However, be aware that in the current market it's harder to get a big discount, and also the good engine shops and Lycoming factory have long lead times. Skip

If you remove all the incandescent nav bulbs you need to figure out a way to control the dimming feature for the gear light on the annunciator panel or it will always be dim. There are threads hereabouts on this. Some folks have installed a relay.

Key thing is the autopilot. If you are comfortable keeping the KAP 150 for a few years, you can put off the Garmin upgrade and enjoy the newest Aspen equipment. If not, or if you really want a more capable autopilot with Smart Glide, altitude preselect, no GPSS to fool with, VNAV and a flight director, then you need the Garmin PFD. I can't see it being very cost effective to do an Aspen upgrade for only a year especially when you factor in the depreciation on the used equipment when you go to sell it next year and the installation cost and down time. One advantage to holding off is that the G3X is getting a bit long in the tooth and Garmin will certainly come out with an updated version at some point. A brighter screen and faster processor (the G3X takes a long time to boot and install databases) would be nice improvements. Skip

If this is a new issue I might check for an induction leak. They often affect idle where fuel flows are low but are not evident at higher power where the turbo is pumping a lot of air and the fuel flows are higher.

@Jake@BevanAviation is the King autopilot expert here. Perhaps he can help.

Trim is usually part of the autopilot. Which autopilot do you have?

Before I would spend a lot of time chasing CHT variations, I would get an infrared thermometer and do some checking. I had a JPI EDM 700. When we replaced the engine, I installed new CHT probes. I also had fuel flow added to the EDM and the factory checked it out and calibrated it. The left side was always hotter than the right side with #2 the hottest of the bunch which seemed strange because it's out in front. Then I got a G3X with EIS installed using the same probes and wiring. Now all the temps run within 10-15 degrees of each other, the left side isn't hotter than the right, and #2 is no longer the hottest. Whenever something doesn't measure right it's always a good practice to verify the accuracy of the measurement. Skip

Yes

I had a KFC 200 that did wonky things in ALT hold. I pulled the transducer board and found that the transducer itself had water in it. I emptied it by shaking it and let it drain for a couple of days and it worked fine after that.

I saw it in the shop. Beautiful airplane. It sounds like it just sat too long before you bought it.

Well, I meant to trace back to find out where the problem is that is preventing the power from getting to the relay. Contact cleaner is just a temporary solution. Quality switches have precious metal plated contacts for low electrical resistance and don't readily oxidize. They are also designed with a wiping action that cleans the contacts. When the plating wears through, the base metal will continue to corrode repeatedly and the part is worn out and should be replaced.

If you can replicate it with the plane on jacks, I would get a multimeter and the schematic and trace the problem backwards until you find the problem.

Good question. I don't know. I called Lycoming tech support and they don't know. Mike at Maxwell's told me he had it happen on a brand new engine once.

Choosing to go up the west coast was the only viable option, but not without risks. The ceilings were mostly MVFR and the rain showers reduced visibility to about a mile in a couple of places. I could only go north or south; I didn't have enough fuel to reach Hawaii if I went west, and the mountains were obscured to the east. But there are a lot of airports along the way that report weather and I have ADS-B In so I thought I could look ahead. But I only got NEXRAD -- METARS were unavailable. So, I had to go old school and call FSS. When I got home I filed a report at https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/technology/adsb/adsb_reports/. Today I got this response: "Thank you for reporting this issue. We discovered that one of the data feeds from which the system receives FISB products for uplink was degraded. We requested the service provider to fail over to the other data feed and confirmed that all FISB products were restored (as of 4/6, at about 13:30 UTC)." So, if you see a problem, report it. These services don't seem to be well monitored and it won't get fixed if you don't tell them about it. This is the second time I've reported a problem and both times the FAA did not know about it beforehand, but fixed it promptly after I reported it. Skip

I think it's well worth considering SavvyBreakdown coverage. I like to think I'm a fairly savvy guy myself, and I always figured that I could call around and find a mechanic if I broke down away from home and that I know enough not to get ripped off or have my airplane held captive at some shop. But, I didn't take into account how stressful it is to be stranded, away from home, with an unhelpful and unsympathetic FBO. I also learned that just because an FBO advertises services such as rental cars and maintenance, it doesn't mean that it can actually provide those services. I usually land at larger airports because the services, while often more expensive, are frequently better. In this case, I landed at the smaller of two airports in Shreveport and that was probably an error. EDIT: Of course KSJC is a large airport with two large international FBOs and they broke my airplane, so maybe it's just not possible to win. Skip

I've got a G3X with EIS. Haven't really looked at the data, but it was running fine until the morning when I started it in Shreveport.

I decided to fly my 1994 M20J MSE to Sun 'n Fun this year despite the terrible winter. It's got to get better, right? Got from the Seattle area to Twin Falls for fuel on Monday the 27th and then stopped by snow showers. Made it to Shreveport LA the next day via Santa Fe for fuel (the Santa Fe terminal is still under construction and will be until Sept.). Wednesday morning the airplane started very rough with #1 cylinder not firing. Clogged injector or stuck valve? 350 hours on a factory rebuilt engine, so I guessed injector. Went to local auto parts store and got a wrench and some carb cleaner and cleaned injector. No change. No local mechanic available; apparently he only works when he needs beer money. Shreveport is only about 70 miles or so east of Longview TX so I called Don Maxwell who immediately swung into action and sent Mike to rescue me. He staked the exhaust valve in #1 which got it running and I flew it to Longview where Don and Paul and Mike performed the rope trick (they like to call it Rope-a-Dope) and reamed the valve guide. Don graciously loaned me his truck which I repaid by filling the tank. Great guys, the Maxwells. I didn't see Jan, but she is reportedly busy planning MooneyMAX. I gave up on Sun 'n Fun due to the weather forecasts and frankly I was a bit beat. Flew to Payson AZ and visited a friend that moved there form southern CA and built a great home. Then to get back home. With the weather so bad in the pacific NW and the freezing level down near the surface, the only reasonable route for a non-turbo, non-FIKI airplane was low up the coast so I stopped in San Jose CA to let the weather clear a day and then flew home. There were a few low clouds and heavy rain showers along the coast, but nothing like what I flew in in Ketchikan when I flew Beavers up there. The only glitch was that the FBO at San Jose broke a stop off the nose gear towing it. But, Mooney has the part in stock and I'm letting the insurance take care of it. About 30 hours flying to not get where I intended, but as I told my wife, if I really needed to get there I would have purchased an airline ticket. The journey is the adventure. Skip

I had the same thing, but not as bad, and it was the cork gasket on the rocker cover that my Lycoming rebuilt came from the factory with. I'm changing them out to silicone gaskets soon.

Just get one of these for the glare shield -- better that oil analysis, Camguard, and borescope combined.

It's all a plot by the cable manufacturers

It's not that USB-C is not an improvement over USB-A; it is. And, for new installations it makes sense to go with the latest technology. But, at least for me, it's really irrelevant. I put a USB-A charging port in my airplane on the passenger side just because I had space and for the unlikely event that a passenger might want to use it. I was going to put in a USB-C, but the Garmin product was backordered and I didn't care enough to look for another source. The PMA 450B audio panel includes a USB-C port, so now I have power no matter which cable my passenger has handy. Several years ago I had a MCI True Blue USB-A power cube installed behind the panel and ran a power cord under the yoke to my yoke-mounted iPad. It will charge the iPad and keep it at 100% for an entire flight at max brightness. If I ever need to replace it, I'd get a USB-C version, but the USB-A puts out enough power for what I need. Skip

Garmin should clarify a lot of things. To be fair it’s difficult because they write the documentation for individual products which can be installed in various combinations to create a myriad of systems with capabilities depending on the configuration. But, you’ll find no manuals for your system. All you have are the individual manuals and you have to know which things work which way in your particular configuration. The AFMSes often have check boxes to show which options are configured for your system if your installer bothered to check them all correctly. Skip

I think you missed my point. If I have a USB-C device and a charging port that is USB-A, I simply get a cable with a USB-A connector on one end and a USB-C on the other.