PT20J

In the pattern in every light airplane I’ve flown I put the gear down mid-field downwind (before things get busy) and flaps down abeam the numbers when I begin a descent. On an approach, I slow to 90 KIAS before the FAF and put in 15 deg flap one dot above the GS to (get the retrimming out of the way while level) and then gear down at GS intercept which adds enough drag to start down without a power or trim change.

FWIW, Jason Hutchison at SureFly told me that they took that diagram down because it was inaccurate.

The manufacturer is required to supply a Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) specific to each airplane delivered, and the FAA must approve the AFM. The POH is a document that contains information specified in General Aviation Manufacturers Association Specification No. 1. The FAA does not approve a POH. If the POH and AFM are combined in a single document, the portions of the document that form the FAA Approved AFM must be identified. At the time that manufacturers begin using the POH format, I believe that the FAA began using the Part 23 requirements for the AFM content. According to 23.2620, for airplanes in Mooney's class, the only required content of the AFM is operating limitations. If you look closely at the M20R POH/AFM, you'll see in the page footers for Section II LIMITATIONS the words "AIRPLANE FLIGHT MANUAL FAA APPROVED." This footer does not appear in any other section and thus, Section II constitutes the entire AFM.

I would post the question on Beechtalk. Several Garmin dealers hang out there. For sure Terry Markovich would know. I’m pretty sure the answer to 1 is no and 3 is yes. Not sure about 2, but I don’t think so.

You could also contact the factory for repair instructions. I have done this for airframe repairs and Frank Crawford was very responsive.

Defined "messed up." SureFly emulates an impulse coupling mag for starting. Spark will be hotter. Should start easier.

It's only a small amount of plumbing to connect the manifold pressure line from the #4 cylinder to the SureFly SIM. Why not have it connected and try it out? You can always go to fixed timing by a simple DIP switch setting in the SIM if you don't like it.

The gear up and down switches are DPDT switches. One pole controls the relays that control the motor and one pole controls the indicators. The adjustment of the switches is critical especially on the Dukes actuator because, if not adjusted correctly, it is possible for the actuator to overrun and bend the tubes.

I'm not clear what Vno would have to do with flaps since Vno is just the maximum speed where a 30 fps vertical gust will not exceed the max load factor at gross weight.

Both apparently according to a company that makes the test panels https://www.metaspec.com/product-page/boeing-bss7434-7-1-sandwich-corrosion-test-panels

Which Part 1 definition are you referencing? The only model that Mooney ever published limits for 15-deg flaps is the 205 version of the M20J. That speed was 126 KIAS. Top of the green arc for this airplane is considerably higher at 174 KIAS.

So, there are lots of cleaning products on the market that can be used on airplanes. Looking at the SDS may give a clue to what is corrosive, but maybe not. I think it's best to use products that have passed Boeing D6-17487 which comprises four tests: Sandwich corrosion, acrylic crazing, paint softening and hydrogen embrittlement. For the sandwich corrosion test, a piece of filter paper is saturated with the cleaner and sandwiched between two sheet aluminum test pieces and placed in a humidity chamber.

The “block” is a Mooney part that comes with the bearing pressed in. In the field, you would need to press out the bearing and press in a new one. I believe it is a PN-4A https://lasar.com/hardware-bearings/bearing-torrington-pn-4a but you could contact Frank Crawford at Mooney to confirm. If the bolt isn’t tight, it could be that the bolt shank has worn. You’ll have to take things apart to figure out which parts are worn.

The elevator hinges have ball bearings that should be lubricated periodically. On mine, there is no noticeable play. If the play is at the hinge line a tenth of an inch is a lot. I would investigate this.

I set power at 20” downwind and put the gear down midfield. Abeam the numbers, I reduce throttle until the rpm is at the top of the yellow arc, set prop hi, and extend full flaps maintaining pattern altitude until 75 KIAS and then start a descent. The rpm ends up around the bottom of the yellow arc as the airplane slows. By the time I’m set up in a descent at 75 KIAS I’m near the 45 deg point for a base turn. I fly at 75 until final and then slow to final approach speed which is normally about 65 KIAS at around 2400 lbs.

Well, Rich, you should know by now that there is no "FAA man." There are lots of FAA "men" that have different opinions and unless it is explicitly written down somewhere, a lot of things are open to interpretation. My IA's interpretation is that checking for freedom of movement, lack of noise and proper preload is "inspecting."

I think the gaps are suppose to be for stowing the belts, but I agree they can be a nuisance. There was a discussion here a few years ago and I believe we determined that some Ks have the two position seat backs and some don't. I don't even know if all the Js have both positions. Probably everything later than the K does.

I think it is best to look at the Mooney checklist as a recommendation. Does it really make sense to do every item on the checklist every year for an airplane that is well maintained, hangared, and flies 100 hours or less per year? Example: Wheel bearings. My first Mooney was tied down outside and had the old felt grease seals. Almost every year there was mild corrosion on the bearing races that I had to clean up. Now my airplane is hangared and I installed the new rubber seals and only look at the bearings and repack them when I have a wheel off to reverse a tire to even wear or replace a tire, and they are always perfect and well lubricated. My IA is fine with this. He spins the wheels and if they rotate fine with no play or bearing noise he calls it good. An experienced mechanic knows what to look for and also how to minimize inspecting things that pose little or no risk. I learned a ton from a mechanic with 45 years of experience that maintained 20+ airplanes at a museum where I used to volunteer. We did annual inspections on every airplane. Some like the cub flew maybe 5 hour in a year; the B-25 and the DC-3 maybe 50 hours. The mechanic knew the weak points of each airplane and we inspected the heck out of those, but we didn't waste time on stuff that posed little or no risk and was more likely to just wear out the airplane taking stuff to pieces repeatedly every few hours.

I think it depends on the complexity of the maintenance. Replacing a battery relay is different from overhauling an engine. The former can easily be inspected after the work is done to ensure it was done properly. The latter could not. If the A&P is willing to sign the logbook, that's all that is required. It seems most likely that this interpretation was written because someone wanted to use remote supervision - probably one licensed mechanic supervising a bunch of unlicensed mechanics at one or more facilities, and the FAA wanted to prevent it. The request for the interpretation was initiated by the manager of the Little Rock FSDO. In our world, there is a shortage of A&Ps and most larger shops hire unlicensed mechanics to "work under supervision" while obtaining the experience necessary to get their certificate. You can bet that each unlicensed mechanic does not have a licensed one shadowing every move they make. This will get fixed. It's an unintended consequence of trying to stop a dumb idea.

There should be a lynchpin holding the seatback frame to the reclining mechanism. If you remove that you can remove the frame. The bottom of the frame has two locations where the reclining mechanism can slip into the tubes. Reinsert the the frame on the reclining mechanism using the rearmost position. The POH should explain this, but it is pretty cryptic until you do it a few times.

There are several components to what we generally refer to as an "annual inspection." 1. Opening up the airplane to permit inspection and closing afterwards. 2. Servicing (changing oil, lubricating, cleaning, etc.) 3. Inspection 4. Repairing any items found unairworthy during the inspection. 5. Completing any other maintenance items desired. Items 1 and 2 are preventive maintenance and do not require supervision. Item 3 must be done by the IA and cannot be delegated to another person. Items 4 and 5 are maintenance and require an A&P to sign off. These can be done by a non-A&P owner if appropriately supervised. Obviously, remote video supervision is pushing it even before the MOSS interpretation. How closely the A&P supervises is dependent on the comfort level of the A&P, the mechanical skill of the owner and their relationship. I have done supervised maintenance in the mechanic's hangar and I have done it in my hangar with the mechanic's hangar a short walk away. In all cases we discuss the project beforehand and work out at what points he wants to check on the progress. And, he is always readily available if something unforeseen comes up. This seems to work well for everyone.

I think that's it. If I'm light and fly the final at a speed where I won't float much (60-65 KIAS in my M20J) I will be about one turn of the trim wheel nose up compared to the takeoff setting. If I come over the fence faster, I can land at the takeoff setting.

If you look at the TCDS, only the M20J "205" has a max speed listed for takeoff flaps. All the others only list a maximum speed for full flaps. Since there is no speed listed, I guess you would not be violating any limitation if you put down 15 deg flaps at a higher speed than Vfe. But, if you put the flaps to the takeoff position the next time you preflight and grab and shake them, you'll note that this is not the strongest part of the airplane. So personally, I don't extend them at all above 100 KIAS, and I have never seen a need to. I use 15 deg flaps for takeoff and instrument approaches. My SOP when VFR is to put in full flaps on downwind abeam the numbers. It gets the trim changes over with, allows a nice tight pattern and makes it easy to stay out of the yellow rpm arc on my M20J.

When I was a kid, I had two identical Jacobsen 2-cycle lawnmower engines; one on a go-kart and a spare. I took them apart just for fun and mixed up the pistons (hey, I was callow youth of ten years). When I ran the go-kart, the engine seized after it heated up and when I took it apart, the piston was scored and over heated a lot like yours. The cylinder looked fine as I recall. I swapped the pistons and it ran fine. I took from this that the mating of cylinder to piston is critical. So, I wonder if putting new pistons in a used cylinder that has only been honed is an issue. The high oil temperature is a symptom of high internal temperatures. I also understand that excessive blowby can overheat the piston skirt and cause scuffing due to thermal expansion. Have you verified that the ring gaps are correct?

Looks like piston scuffing which accounts for the scoring on the skirt, the overheated appearance and the high oil temp. The question is what caused the scuffing? Assuming that the engine wasn't overheated or run at high rpm when very cold, it would likely be a parts tolerance issue. Out of round cylinder or wrong size piston? Sky Ranch Engine Manual: "Scuffing of the piston skirt is usually a sign of insufficient lubricating oil on the cylinder wall caused by cold engine starts. If the piston skirts are scuffed, then you should anticipate and look for spalling of camshaft lobes and followers. Scuffing can also be caused by improper cylinder barrel size."