PT20J

The black ABS cement (from the hardware store for gluing ABS plumbing) is made from ABS resin, MEK and acetone. I’ve used it on the black glare shield. The advantage of melting Leggos or buying the kit from Plane Plastics is that you can make white glue. Either glue can be painted - when the solvents evaporate, it’s just ABS. Skip

The plastic is ABS. You can melt ABS plastic in MEK or Acetone to make a thin paste (some people melt Leggos and Plane Plastics sells a kit containing ABS chips, a small paint can and syringe). You can lay up few layers of fiberglass cloth with the paste on the back side and it will form a flexible repair that permanently solvent bonds with the original part. If you paint it with SEM Color Coat afterwards, it will look great. There are also flexible epoxies (Bondo makes one -- check an auto parts store) made for repairing bumpers and dashboards. Skip

Service Manual Lube chart calls for Aeroshell Grease 7 on the jackscrew and actuator. I believe there are also shims to set bearing preload in the actuator. Skip

One man’s touchy is another man’s precision. It might be helpful to fly another Mooney for comparison. I’d check that the elevator and trim system are properly lubricated and not worn such that there is freeplay (i.e., a dead zone) around the trim point. Skip

Byron -- those look really nice. I like them better than the eyeball vents in my '94 model. Realize this is an old post, but if you want to finish off the shoulder harness attachment try these. I got them through Fastenal. Same part as Mooney used. https://www.caplugs.com/finishing-caps-rh?itemNumber=RH-20 Skip

I bought an Aspen ACU from an avionics dealer that was removed from an aircraft they were upgrading and it was fine. I also bought a WX-900 Stormscope. It worked also. I think it's a viable option for older avionics now that a lot is being removed for upgrades. Agree with Paul, though -- it might be a crapshoot. You're buying used stuff -- it could fail 5 hours after you install it. I just don't look for unreasonably low prices and buy from sellers with good reputations. Skip

A stuck filter on most Lycoming IO-360 variants is just a nuisance. On the dual mag engines, removing a stuck filter can spin the converter plate and damage the gasket between the plate and the accessory case leading to a potentially catastrophic oil leak. When I had an IO-360-A3B6D, I kept a spare gasket on hand just in case. Skip

Over 30 years ago when I purchased my first airplane, a friend and airplane owner told me that the best part of owning an airplane is that the flying is free. When I questioned that, he pointed out that given all the costs involved with owning, maintaining and upgrading an airplane, the gas and oil for an hour of flying was minuscule -- essentially free. Richard Bach wrote years ago that he wanted to buy a single engine airplane but couldn't justify the cost until he remembered that he really wanted a twin that would burn much more fuel. So he reasoned that by not buying the twin, the fuel savings would pay for the single. Extending that logic, he reasoned that if he ran out of that money, he would not buy a Learjet and that would finance his flying forever. The point is that these things are not cost effective unless you really torture the analysis or can write off expenses to a business. They provide utility and we own them because we want them and can somehow manage to afford them. If the fuel cost makes or breaks the deal, we should perhaps rethink the entire proposition. Skip

Hey, I like to save money just like the next guy. But, since the airlines and military stopped using avgas, and more and more of GA burns kerosene, I’m just kind of glad that they still make the stuff. And, I’m grateful that major FBOs are still willing to deal with little airplanes. I always tip the line crew, fill the crew car with gas, top off the airplane and never complain about the pump price. Skip

How does the velcro attach with the foam backing? Skip

Retired Alaska Airlines training captain and warbird check pilot Carter Teeters swears that landings improve if you repeat three times, out loud, on short final: "I'm not a loser." I hear some of the warbird guys swear by, "I don't want to take it home on a trailer." Skip

Clarence, you are absolutely right. I seem to have become dyslexic or something It was indeed #4. Fortunately, there are only 4 cylinders -- I was bound to get the right one sooner or later. Skip

The airplane has an EDM 700. And I made a typo -- it was actually cylinder #2, left rear, that went bad. As I recall, the CHTs and EGTs on #2 were always pretty normal and within 20 degrees or so of the others. The EDM had a storage problem and wasn't recording data properly, so I don't have plots from that time period. Skip

Well, consumed oil has to leak out, get blown out or get burned up. Sounds like you don't have a leak and a lot isn't ending up on the belly. That leaves piston rings or valve guides. BTW, Lycoming will tell you that 3.5 hrs/qt is perfectly acceptable. It may be if it hasn't changed suddenly. But if it has changed a lot, I would investigate until I was confident I knew what was going on. I bought a M20J that was burning about 2 hrs/qt. During prebuy, all cylinders had compressions in high seventies. The exhaust stack wasn't sooty. The cylinders still had cross hatch and no oil and the plugs were dry. The last oil analysis done shortly before purchase was normal and the filter was clean. It ran great and the oil burn was a bit of a mystery. But, the airplane hadn't flown much the last few years and I thought to run it a bit and see if it improved. It actually got to about 2.2 hrs/qt and was running great when we did the annual about 30 hours after purchase. At that point we found that #3 cylinder compression was 58/80 with air heard blowing into the crankcase. The filter had metal and the suction screen had a piece of a ring in it. We pulled the cylinder and found that the oil control ring had broken and taken out a chunk of piston skirt. So, I learned from that experience that they can be running great with a serious mechanical problem. Not sure how long it would have continued to run. The piston skirt was burned and so it was getting pretty hot. Skip

Don't understand about keys. The second number in the engine suffix 1 or 3 specifies the clocking. There is a bushing that sets it so you cannot put the prop on wrong. The engine part number on the data plate should match the flange bushing arrangement. Skip SI1098P Propeller Flange Bushing Location.pdf

Had a friend that worked in United's maintenance facility at SFO. They found so many tools left inside wings and other cavities that they made a rule that you could not ever lay a tool down on or in an aircraft. Try that. It's really hard. I have another mechanic friend that lined all his tool chest drawers with foam cut out for each tool so that he can quickly spot any that are missing. At the museum, the mechanic makes us stop an hour before quitting time and clean everything up and inventory all the tools. Skip

You get this year's the prize for the best illustration accompanying a question

The purpose of the crankcase vent is to prevent pressure buildup in the crankcase. It's curious that there is a significant vacuum at the breather on the ground since that would indicate that pressure is lower that atmospheric in the crankcase. If you are using oil, the first thing is to figure out where it's going. If the belly isn't really oily, it's not coming out the breather, it's getting burned. I once had a broken oil control ring that caused the engine to burn 1/2 qt per hour and the belly was clean. I once had a Lycoming that got 4.5 hours per quart -- most of it was getting burned, but it had some minor leaks that made a BIG mess on the belly. It doesn't take much oil in the slipstream to make a mess. If you are using a single viscosity oil, you might try switching to 20W-50 and see what happens. Many report lower oil consumption if the oil is getting past the rings and being burned. Skip

BTW, I learned another thing from my PC simulator experience. There is only one PC-based Flight Simulator: Microsoft. Microsoft registered "Flight Simulator" as a trademark. Actually, Microsoft was pretty reasonable when they sent me the "cease and desist" letter and let me change our Elite Flight Simulator branding and use up the existing stock of printed marketing materials. Skip

Years ago I did a lot of development work on PC flight sims. Simulator controls have some of the same issues as actual airplane controls: Dead zones, friction (which causes breakout force and centering issues). In addition, the force feedback through springs on simulator controls is not the same as the feedback you get in the airplane and the trim has a different feel. It is challenging to build controls that minimize these issues at low cost. The best low-cost controls are joysticks, not yokes, because they are mechanically simpler and tend to be self-centering. I worked with Mike Altman on these issues when he first started Precision Flight Controls and his controls are still some of the best. (Interesting Mooney tie in - when he built his first controls, he was looking for a source of control wheels and I happened to know that Mooney had a large supply in stock and he bought a bunch from Mooney.) Skip

I used to have a barber that fondly remembers that product. She said she did a good business “fixing” Flowbee haircuts back in the day.

Carb heat heats the air reducing its density and making the mixture richer. The excessive drop might be explained if the mixture was already a bit on the rich side. You didn’t mention your elevation when you ran the test. If you were above sea level, this could explain it. Try leaning the mixture for max rpm (best power mixture) and rerunning the test. Also, try running the test at different rpm to see if the power enrichment function of the carburetor has an effect.

Foolproof in terms of lowering -- any fool can still crash an airplane.

I've had good luck with Novus plastic polish.

Streamlined fixed gear can be low drag and fool proof. Lower weight, too.