PT20J

It fits. It’s listed in the M20J IPC.

I just measured the hole diameter and got a plastic hole plug from the hardware store.

Nice!

No, but Parker told me he could probably get me $3MM smooth from USAIG.

The approved 24V Concorde batteries for the M20J are the RG24-11M (which has a manifold) and the RG24-15 (no manifold). The Concorde rep didn't know why Mooney specified it that way and said that the manifold had no real function on a sealed battery. I am using the RG24-15 (higher capacity for backup if the charging system fails) and I removed the drain tube and plugged the hole.

High oil consumption isn't an issue unless there is something broken - it's just a nuisance. Your compressions are good, the filter is clean, the oils analysis is good, and borescope only shows some cylinder pitting. So, it's an issue of how long you want to put up with it and watching engine condition and consumption trends for any changes. The compressions can be good even with pitted cylinders because the leak down compression test is done with the piston at TDC and the rings above the damaged areas. You can do an automotive style compression test to determine the overall cylinder health, but you already have pictures, so you know what the issue is. I'd just keep the oil level at 7 qts to have more margin. The oil isn't just for lubrication; it's important for engine cooling also. And since there is a lot of blowby, I'd change the oil more often. It is possible to have good compressions with a stuck oil ring (I had that on my airplane when I bought it). So, it wouldn't hurt to try ring flushing. Savvy has instructions on its website and some mechanics use Marvel Mystery Oil with good results instead of the brew mike suggests.

Insurance is a form of risk management called transfer. You pay a premium to transfer a financial risk to another party. It makes no sense to over or under insure. Professional risk managers are adept at matching the policy with the actual risk. This is the point about insurance often missed when the focus is on the cost of the policy and not the management of the risk. (BTW, there are four formal methods to manage risk: Accept (self-insure), Avoid it (sell the airplane), Mitigate (don't carry passengers), Transfer (buy insurance)).

Might be true if the people that buy Avemco policies tend to be low net worth. And, it might be a good fit for them. Just maybe not such a good option for high net worth owners.

Seem pretty clear, but you can always check with Frank Crawford to be sure. You cannot always trust the Mooney parts manuals to have the most current information. Mooney quit updating them and rolling the revision years ago. Now, Frank just adds comments to the master pdf file without rolling the rev. So there is no way to know if you have all the latest comments.

Probably doesn't make a big difference, but the latest recommendation from Cleveland for wheel bearing grease is SHC 100. If you don't know what grease was previously used at any location, it is best to remove all the old grease before lubricating as not all greases are compatible.

Adding carb heat makes the air less dense, but the carburetor meters fuel according to air volume, not density, so the mixture gets richer with carb heat. M20Cs have a tendency to run hot during climb. There is a carburetor mod to increase the main jet size to increase fuel flow at full rich mixture for additional cooling. I wonder if it is these modified airplanes that experience roughness at low powers when carb heat is used. Easy check would be to see if leaning some eliminates the roughness.

It's a standard part. Replacing it with an equivalent form, fit and function standard part shouldn't be an issue. If you are concerned about signing the logbook, just discuss it with your friendly A&P and get them to supervise you and sign it off.

Are you sure the audio quality issue is due to the audio panel? Is the problem on one radio or all audio inputs. Is the audio quality poor on both the headset and the cabin speaker? If you pull the circuit breakers for the KMA 24 (I believe there are two) it should connect the headset directly to com 1 eliminating the audio panel circuitry. Also some installations have emergency phone and mic jacks on the pedestal and the headset jack connects directly to com 1 bypassing the audio panel entirely.

I once installed a four place intercom in a M20J and it took a lot longer than I expected. The audio panel is an intercom + switched and unswitched connections to everything with audio. So, I wouldn’t think the estimate is unrealistic. Be aware that all the shops pay the same for the avionics, so the only variable is the labor, and you can bet that the low bidder is taking shortcuts that may bite you later.

My 1994 J has two screws in the tailcone to rest the level on, so be sure to check the manual for your airplane for the proper reference. I cannot get my airplane level even if I remove all the air from the nose tire, so I put jacks under the wings. The G3X allows two calibration curves: one in flight attitude (level) and one at the attitude it sits on the ground. I believe it switches calibration curves based on GPS speed. Other monitors might allow this too.

Frank Crawford probably knows.

EXACTLY. Good mechanics are really busy. When I need one to do some work that is beyond my skill level, or that I cannot legally perform, I do the research, gather the appropriate documentation and procure the materials. They always appreciate it.

The problem I have with the fueling hygiene deal is that this guarantees that your paint will eventually be damaged because all it takes is one slip up and no fueling process is going to be 100% perfect. Having just paid $40K for a paint job, that’s a deal killer for me even if all the other issues were moot.

LASAR orders the gauges a few at a time. So, if you place an order when they have some in stock, you get quick delivery. If they aren’t in stock, you get added to a wait list for the next time they order some which could be weeks or months.

Probably more of a marketing decision perhaps to drive GI 275 sales. Certainly there is no technical reason since, as you pointed out, the GHA 15 was originally an experimental product designed to work with the G3X. Certification is probably not an issue since Garmin has ODAs and self-certifies most products and could certainly make it happen if they wanted. However, since the GI 275 is now approved as a full capability standby instrument for the G3X, it will work in that configuration.

How to use the IPC and S&MM. How to find part numbers for electrical components. List of important SBs and SIs that seem to get ignored.

It's easy to sell a losing business if you can find someone that wants to buy it but has no cash. I once sold a product line that was losing money for $1 just to be rid of it.

Whenever the airplane is opened, take a picture of any accessory (fuel pump, gascolator, landing gear actuator, etc.) showing the label so that you can keep a record of the part number and serial number. Lycoming's technical publications web search is difficult to navigate, but if you know what you are looking for, you can find it. Note that Lycoming only puts the most often requested publications on the web, so sometimes you have to call them to request a publication if it's not there (this is uncommon). SSP-112-14 is an index of all active and inactive service instructions, letters and bulletins. LASAR years ago used to publish this document. It hasn't been updated for some time, however. SB_chart.xls

I always thought the mint odor of MMO was a gimmick. But, it turns out that methyl salicylate (aka oil of wintergreen) has a known beneficial effect on rubber seals.