PT20J

Plugs are rotated between cylinders to even the wear on the electrodes. The voltage applied to fire the plugs is DC but it changes polarity between adjacent cylinders in the firing order. The spark always jumps from the negative electrode to the positive electrode and in so doing it takes a bit of metal off the negative electrode which is vaporized in the plasma of the spark. So some spark plugs will wear the center electrode and others will wear the ground electrodes. By rotating them properly we reverse the polarity and even out the wear. But, it's not a big deal -- the plugs are wearing a bit every time they fire. All you are doing is evening out the wear on between the center and ground electrodes. I believe that the dual mags always fire with the same polarity on all plugs and so there is no advantage to rotating them and I never hear people with dual mags complaining that their plugs wear out faster. There is no good reason to rotate top to bottom in the same cylinder. The bottom plugs may tend to oil foul more if the rings are worn, but if you take them out and clean them then they are all the same and rotating top to bottom doesn't really do anything. The optimum gap for the the SureFly is greater than for the magneto because the SureFly can put out more voltage necessary to jump the higher gap. The higher voltage spark will have more energy and may provide more reliable ignition with very lean mixtures. A smaller gap will cause the plug to fire before the voltage builds up to it's maximum and some of this advantage will be lost. But, if your engine has been running fine with the smaller gaps then it's probably not worth overthinking it.

Runway lights are usually spaced at 200' intervals. Centerline stripes are 120' long with 80' gaps so they are also 200' from the beginning of each stripe to the beginning of the next stripe.

All the California insurers added limits after the Oakland fire.

All I know is that the adjuster claimed to be quoting company policy. I mean really, if you think about it, why would it be in the company's long term interest to jack up the rates for a claim that was not the customer's fault. It's so easy to change insurance companies. Also, I asked Parker for advice before filing the claim and he said, "That's what you buy insurance for and they aren't likely to raise your rate for that." Everything I've read indicates that insurance companies don't make money on single engine airplane policies. Too many crashes. I'm just happy I can buy it. A friend is selling his YAK-9 because he cannot get insurance to race it.

@Parker_Woodruff can you weigh in on the repair cost as a percentage of hull value that will trigger scrapping the airplane?

I don't believe that everyone is a liar. I lived in California from 1975 until 2017 and all of my few claims were in California except for the nose gear claim for USAIG. My home and auto insurers (CSAA, State Farm) always treated me fairly. Insurers in California got royally ripped off with the Oakland fire when people bought replacement value insurance and then only declared their home value at a fraction of it's actual replacement value. So, the insurance companies should have checked. But the homeowners actually committed a fraud and were never prosecuted because the stupid insurance companies agreed to the value. I only point this out because it works both ways. I never blame pilots that screw up -- we all make mistakes. But, amphibian insurance is expensive because sooner or later these airplanes seem to end up upside down in the water and retractable gear airplane insurance is expensive because so many end up on their belly. If you want cheap insurance, buy a C-172.

I always deal with my insurance company when I have a claim because, the other party's company has an incentive to lowball me because I am not their customer. My insurance company has the incentive to deal with me fairly because they would like to keep me as a customer. I asked the adjuster if it would affect my rate and he said no because it was not my fault. (Ultimately USAIG did collect from the FBO's insurer, but it was due to a quid pro quo involving an unrelated claim). I understand that many do not like insurance companies, don't trust them, and believe that they are getting screwed on premiums. That just has not been my experience.

No. It went up. But I increased the hull value due to inflation. Every year, I ask Jimmy what he thinks he could sell it for and I increase the valuation to that amount. I think it's pretty scary that my 31-year-old J is worth north of a quarter million dollars. Before the new paint job, with the new glass panel and rebuilt engine, that's about what I had in it. Now, I'm underwater again, but a few years should recover that. Conversely, my 21-year-old Volvo XC90 airport car is worth so little that I removed the collision and comprehensive coverage from it. BTW, I asked Parker if he could do any better and the underwriter wrote back," That's all I've got. The gear ups are killing us." So, blame the insurance rates on the pilots, not the insurance companies. I haven't had a lot of claims on my auto, home and airplane insurance. But, I've always been treated fairly by my insurance companies. The only beefs I've had have been trying to collect from the insurance companies of other drivers that damaged my cars. Progressive and Geico were just jerks.

I filed a claim with USAIG for nose gear damage cause by an FBO that wouldn't fess up to it (nor would it release the surveillance video records to USAIG). USAIG paid the claim promptly and it didn't affect my rates.

I’m not aware that FAA approves appraisers. If you require professional credentials, perhaps you should seek out a PAAO-certified appraiser.

Thanks Craig. Very well thought out plan and $25 is more than fair.

Fixing paint is an art. It’s work best done by a paint shop. If it were me, I’d get a quote to fix it from a good paint shop and then work something out with the shop owner where it was damaged.

Also, the paint fades some over time so it's much better to get a color match.

Sidetone may or may not indicate a noise in the transmitted signal. Some installations generate sidetone in the audio panel rather than the radio. Some radios generate sidetone from the amplified mic input before the modulator. Some sidetones use a demodulated signal taken from the transmitter before the final stage.

Just get some #4 sheet metal screws from the hardware store and paint them.

I used a PX309 to replace a Kulite fuel pressure transducer. You could call them and find out what the difference is between a 309 and a 329.

Dwyer bought Omega Engineering. I bought a transducer from Omega before the acquisition and they were really easy to deal with. Hopefully, they still are. https://www.dwyeromega.com/en-us/search/?q=pressure+transducer%3A%3Asku_availability%3Atrue&text=pressure+transducer&view=grid&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22288668937&gbraid=0AAAAAD_f1FtKDNps4b3OIbwsQU1Ukuqdq&gclid=CjwKCAjwqKzEBhANEiwAeQaPVSJnKDm86nn-aZ1HuukT8VGYzmYrbXytZU_rHyhokaJKFBQlhWINcRoCrU4QAvD_BwE#&GUID=7018W000000WvOAQA0&utm_source=google&utm_medium=pmax&utm_campaign=pressure-transducers&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Omega_NA_US_Core_Performance_Max_Pressure_Transducers&utm_content=undefined&utm_term=go_cmp-17887736118_adg-_ad-__dev-c_ext-_prd-_mca-_sig-CjwKCAjwqKzEBhANEiwAeQaPVSJnKDm86nn-aZ1HuukT8VGYzmYrbXytZU_rHyhokaJKFBQlhWINcRoCrU4QAvD_BwE Mooney Transducer Retrofit Kit_20221010_0001.pdf

It's just a series resistor so it may not drop enough voltage to dim a lot with the lower current draw from the LED. You could always change the resistor if necessary. The resistor is on the back of the switch so it may be possible to remove the switch from the outside without removing the headliner plastic.

Found this. Mooney Transducer Retrofit Kit_20221010_0001.pdf

I don't have any specs on it and it's a custom Mooney part. I assume it's a low pass since the idea is to pass DC and filter out any AC noise. I believe Lonestar makes some.

The capacitor should go from the alternator output to ground. On my M20J, there is a large electrolytic cap and an inline pi-filter on the alternator output.

There are three great advantages to having my own airplane: 1. I never miss my flight. 2. My bags always arrive with me. 3. I can land and pee anytime I need to.

Well, sort of. My IO-260 rebuilt came with a new alternator but no starter. And, if you have a dual mag engine it will come with an overhauled mag because there are no new ones available.

I flight plan conservatively 150 kts and 10 gph. I want to land with an hour of gas in the tanks. That makes no wind range of 810 nm. If IFR I have to factor in alternates if weather requires.

Call Frank Crawford at Mooney.