PT20J

I looked in the M20J POH and it has the same wording which is missing the drain the sumps step. I checked the Service and Maintenance Manual and the W&B procedure refers to another section for that particular step. The M20K manuals are probably the same. I suspect that whoever wrote the POH took the procedure from the Maintenance Manual and just left out that step since it is in a separate section of the manual. The fuel outlet is maybe an inch above the bottom of the tank so that it doesn't pick up crud and water. That's why there is so much unusable fuel. The sump is the lowest point and will completely drain the tank if the plane is on level ground. The easiest way to do this is to remove the sump drain with a bucket underneath so you don't have fight the spring while draining out a gallon and a half of fuel. Skip

I believe all the control force requirements are based on the strength of the average pilot. The Blue Angels install a spring with 40 lbs of down force on the stick. But they work out every day. Try holding 40 lbs pull for a few minutes.

Somewhere you missed a step. After you drain out the useable fuel with the pump, you need to completely drain the tanks at the sumps and then add back in the specified unuseable fuel. Skip

Good question. I don't know. I think that stick forces were limited by CAR 3 to 40 lbs from a cruise trimmed condition down to 1.3 Vso and up to Vne. But I don't know that stuck trim was ever a consideration.

An autopilot will try to kill you. There are always multiple ways to kill it first. 1) hold down the disconnect button on the yoke (also kills the trim). 2) turn it off. 3) pull the autopilot CB. I put red bands on the trim and autopilot circuit breakers for quick identification. (I also put one on the speed brakes because the actuator button is on the left horn of the yoke and I once hit it while reaching for a control on the panel and activated the brakes in icing and one failed to retract, so now I pull it if icing is a possibility). Special note for GFC 500 fliers: The trim CB will NOT keep the autopilot from activating the trim, unlike the King autopilots. That CB only protects the wiring to the yoke mounted manual trim switches. If you get a trim runaway with a GFC 500, you must pull the autopilot CB. Skip

And your point is...?

Those were the "205/205SE". Interesting that the change wasn't continued on later models.

With the exception of a few M20Js, I believe all Mooneys have a single max speed for all flap extensions. However, rather than take the word of the Internet, here's how you determine the correct answer: 1) Look in the Limitations section of the AFM/POH. 2) Look up the TCDS https://drs.faa.gov/browse/doctypeDetails. Skip

I would have bought tickets for that!

I discussed this with the installer and I suggested he first run the trim all the way to the stop in one direction. Then, no matter how much screwing around he has to do to get the old BK trim stuff out and the new Garmin stuff installed, he'd know where the trim needs to be when he put it back together. He said it worked great.

I was outside Whidbey's airspace so I wasn't on frequency and the jets are always on UHF so I only hear the ground side of their communications. It's more fun to pretend to be Maverick when they aren't shooting back at you!

The distance from the jack points to the tail tie down is approximately twice the distance from the jack points to the nose wheel. So, if the weight on the nose wheel is 639 lbs, the weight at the tail to create a balancing moment would be about 320 lbs. You’d want more to offer stability. I guessed that the tail weight I use is about 400 lbs. of concrete plus the frame and wheels, so maybe 430 lb. total. Someone in the other thread mentioned using a tub filled with water. It would take 48 gallons of water to get 400 lbs.

I was out fooling around when I got a TRAFFIC! call from the G3X and looked out to see a Navy EA-18 Growler about 5 miles out at my 1 o'clock and crossing my flight path. It was going pretty slow and appeared heading back to base at Whidbey NAS. So, I turned with it to keep my nose on it and as it passed it banked hard right, so I banked right to keep it on my nose and then it banked hard left and so I banked left and then it banked right again and I lost sight of it as it flew out of range. Was the pilot just fooling around or did he know I was there and was messing with me? I don't know. But I had him in my "sights" and if I'd had missiles...

According to the Lycoming Operator’s Manual, the IO-360-A1B6D weighs 330 lbs. When we reweighed my M20J, the weight on the nose wheel was 639 lbs.

It's also not clear what Mooney means by the note in SIM20-114: NOTE: It is not recommended to use tail--tie down fitting during jacking process to lift nose wheel off ground. The SI refers to the "tail tie down fitting." I have no idea what that is. The M20J IPC calls out a "tail skid" which is attached using 2 AN4-7A bolts to a "tail skid attach extrusion" and two " tail skid attach strap assys." For all I know Mooney meant not to remove the skid and attach a weight to the attach points. Skip

All the folks referencing Mooney SIM20-114 seem to be focusing on one part: NOTE: It is not recommended to use tail--tie down fitting during jacking process to lift nose wheel off ground. This is a NOTE containing a recommendation. But what about the fact that the Service Instruction contains WARNINGS and CAUTIONS one of which is: WARNING: DO NOT use tie down rings as jack points, DO NOT leave tie down rings on Aircraft during flight. Now I believe that the phrase WARNING, DO NOT...is much more restrictive than the phrase NOTE, It is not recommended. So, I assume that all those who cite the SI as the reason for not using a tail weight also remove the tie down rings before every flight, right?

Part number for the left is 169-BH-910-3LBW; the right is 169-BH-910-4LBW.

Good question. It turns out that the CG doesn't change that much by my climbing on the wing. I know this because the tail weight doesn't clamp the tiedown but just has a slot in the vertical pipe so that the tiedown goes through the slot and a bolt goes through holes in the pipe to capture the tiedown. So, the plane could tip backward if enough weight were placed aft of the CG but this doesn't happen when I climb up on the wing to enter the cockpit to access the controls for the gear swing. Skip

The distance from the jack points to the tail tie down is approximately twice the distance from the jack points to the nose wheel. So, if the weight on the nose wheel is 639 lbs, the weight at the tail to create a balancing moment would be about 320 lbs. You’d want more to offer stability. Skip

On mine it was 639 lbs on the nose, 788 on the left main, 800 on the right main, with full fuel.

According to the Lycoming Operator’s Manual, the IO-360-A1B6D weighs 330 lbs. When we reweighed my M20J, the weight on the nose wheel was 639 lbs.

The fuel lines do not feed from the bottom of the tanks. That’s why there is so much unusable fuel. It takes a lot of water in the tank to get to the engine and then it will likely just quit.

I don’t know what the minimum is. The weight I borrow looks to be about a third of a 55 gallon drum of concrete - call it 20 gal. Concrete weighs about 20 lb/ gal, so about 400 lb. It’s very stable.

Every shop I know uses a tail weight except Don Maxwell who uses a couple of old alternator belts around the prop blade shanks and an engine hoist. Mooney's suggestion to use the lifting eye on the engine is absolutely against Lycoming recommendations and if you look at the amount of metal in the crankcase at that point it doesn't seem a good idea. But then, that same service bulletin tells you that you can't fly with with the tiedown eyes installed. Anyone follow that recommendation? Skip

Part of the confusion is probably that later Mooneys use a B&D electric tach that did not include an integral hours counter but instead drove an external counter that looked exactly like a standard Hobbs meter but had three wires instead of two, the third wire connecting to the tach.