Jakes Simmons

Yup, have to concur with the previous post. Lots of stuff was missed after a six week annual. Terrible communication, wasn’t given any idea of cost until very end. Sky Vista in Marysville Ohio is another fantastic shop. Not officially an MSC but they take care of a bunch of Mooney’s and now take care of mine. Shop has a number of young(!), enthusiastic mechanics. Breath of fresh air. My hope is that Lynn and Tamara fully take over Maxwell’s in the future and bring back the service that originally created the reputation.

Local shops were not interested in avionics work. Too busy with wrench turning to experiment. They are awesome at that, caught items previous MSC’s overlooked so I’m good with not pushing them. Have another message into Duncan. I get the possibility of a shop preferring not to install equipment from another seller but I’ve never heard that push back yet. Every shop save one has been gung ho…until not. The one exception was a sharply run place in KY that flat out appreciated the interest and said on the front end they were over two years out and weren’t committing any work to customers so far out. Nice and upfront.

Almost a repeat of a previous post. ‘76 Ranger, AeroCruze 100 complete kit sitting on floor of hangar for past year. Unable to find anyone to install it. It’s getting weird. I’ve worked my way through the list of shops provided by Duncan that have experience with the install and are within four or so hours of Ohio. Almost all calls/emails start off well. “No problem, We’ve done several of these, 30-40 hours labor, etc”. Then I confirm I’d like to get on a schedule with a short list of questions about panel placement, options, normal stuff. Then I get ghosted. Subsequent emails or phone calls go unanswered or with a promise of a dated reply that never comes. If it one was one shop, OK. But EVERY shop so far. I understand no one is hungry but I’d rather be told on the front end the shop is too busy and good luck then having my hopes raised, time wasted, then starting from scratch AGAIN. Kind of like the old dating adage, wondering if it’s me or what might be going on. If anyone has any suggestions or referrals for a solid avionics shop that stays involved, I’d appreciate it. Spring is getting here quick and I’d like to figure out if there is an a/p install in my plane’s future so I can keep it. Or go ahead and get it on the market before it gets to winter again. Thanks again for the help.

I concur…sweet!

You are not too too far from Wilmar, MN and Oasis Air. Weep No More is the sister tank shop there. I’ve had a solid annual done plus tanks a couple years ago. If you can make it to Columbus Ohio and Union County airport in Marysville Ohio, Sky Vista did my ‘24 annual and regularly maintains my C now. They are young and really sharp. Caught multiple issues that even Maxwell’s overlooked. Several Mooney’s are regular customers like myself. They definitely stay booked out though and you’d need to call now for April.

That’s a good idea, swapping plugs outright. The airplane came out of annual in October, plugs were rotated, cleaned and gapped then. Mech said everything looked good, it I wasn’t having issues then. Currently the covers are getting pulled to check for broken valve springs. I’m way outta town. Once mech’s are back from Thanksgiving, I’ll see if they can swap plugs while cowls are off. Will also let them know to examine harness more closely.

Also, approximately 500 hours on engine since O/H, 25 years ago. Mags have 60 hours since overhaul and were also adjusted two months ago during annual. Prop is five years old and 200 hours since new. It’s been dynamically balanced twice, including once last year.

Two steps back for every one step forward. Was making progress on the AeroCruze issue and now I have an engine stumper. 76 Ranger with the O360 and PowerFlow exhaust has started an intermittent stumble during climb out at MP’s above 25”. It’s not audible, no backfiring, but I can feel a vibration come and go, almost like when there is a little water in the fuel. Mag checks at run up and cruise power are perfect, no change from last 100 hours. Single point CHT and EGT needles are right where they always are. Adjusting mixture mildly doesn’t affect it. Once I’ve either climbed past 25” of MP or reduced throttle below that number, it either becomes imperceptible or goes away. Slightly reducing throttle to back off the enrichment circuit doesn’t seem to affect it either. A mechanic who used to maintain the aircraft years ago felt it was an exhaust spring issue, broken or weak. There is also some play in the throttle bushing where it goes to the enrichment circuit. Bunch of avenues to pursue but I don’t have an open checkbook to follow them all. Looking to see if anyone here has had similar issues or more trouble shooting ideas. I’ve checked carb heat, mags, prop balance, temps, no water in fuel, spark plugs, everything nominal. Except for this one issue, Ranger runs like a champ as always. Appreciate the help…

Unfortunately, no. We tried going down that road. Apparently 30 Rangers ‘76 and onward were manufactured slightly different in the belly area. The STC allows for the modification of the parts but I haven’t found anyone willing to do it.

Trying for a Hail Mary pass before selling my Mooney. Talked to Chris from Duncan Aviation, sounds like BK may eventually make a bracket for the pitch servo on my serial number Mooney, but no solid timeframe. He had mentioned hearing of several Ranger owners who had the -100 installed, their installers modified the pitch pushrod and servo bracket, covered under the STC, with good results. My original installer is not able to accomplish the mods. Currently I have a complete AeroCruze kit sitting in a box on my hangar floor. If any Ranger owners out there who have an installed AeroCruze 100 or know an owner that did, I’d appreciate a shout to gather info from your experience and a direction toward a shop who has done the work. The issue I’ve run into is my s/n 1213 has a different doubler under the cargo area vs earlier -C’s. The stock install kit does not work. If the hoops to install this a/p become too high, I’ll send the a/p back and sell the plane. For my type of flying, it’s a safety issue when carrying non pilot passengers. Appreciate the help…

I’ll send them to you once I gain a solution. Gears are not scalloped but teeth are worn down, worm gear ridge is worn razor thin in the middle.

Airplane is in annual now, original 20:1 gears are worn well past limits, including worm gear. I searched the site for discussions on previous folks’ needs but did not see any resolutions. We know Mooney won’t make new ones, LASAR is looking for any serviceable ones for me. Any vintage owners out there could point me in a direction for either the 40:1 kit or serviceable 20:1 ? Appreciate the help.

I second the positive opinion of the Mooney Mover. Received mine a couple weeks ago, SUPER smooth operation and I get to use already owned DeWalt batteries.

My ‘76 C had a three blade when I bought it. The vibration was noticeable at all rpm’s and like you mentioned, similar to older airplanes that lived on a school flight line I had flown in the past. One thought was a three blade prop is out of “sync” with a four cylinder engine. One thing to try is remounting the prop 180 degrees from its current position. That has helped some folks. What I did, and really only because my income was much higher then currently, was buy a new two blade scimitar prop from Hartzell, replace the engine mounts, and then had the prop guru at Maxwell’s dynamically balance the set up. REMARKABLE difference. Plus I never liked the three blade. Besides vibration I thought it was slower at cruise although quicker off the ground through the first 500 feet. Vibration is fatiguing for the pilot and hard on the instruments. Try a dynamic balance first, check condition of your engine mounts, then maybe rotate prop mounting. If all else fails, work a WHOLE bunch of OT and get the more efficient two blade. What’s funny is the smoothest flying Mooney I experienced had the original inspection ridden prop. Like a turbine…

No further contact from Duncan or BK since the initial email asking for an IPC for the airplane. They offered no alternate plans. Previous dealings with them indicate a history of pushing off any “issues” and liabilities to the shop being used. Disappointing to say the least. I get it, partially. Not a lot of profit made on this unit but I would pay a grand more if the unit was better supported. On a side note, the Uavionix products are very reasonably priced, preform better over time, probably not a lot of profit there either but every single dealing I’ve had with them has been exemplary. Installing the STC’d AVLink and AVMag now. I wish they did an autopilot…

Looks like the AeroCruze saga will be a bust for me. Anyone considering this product, get all your ducks in a row before plunking down money. I had been waiting for this autopilot like most everyone else interested for several years. Paid full price and got in the queue once I heard Duncan had finally accomplished the STC. Waited over six months before the kit was delivered to my avionics shop. Flew 3.5 hrs down to drop my ‘76 Ranger off, came back a week later to fly 3.5 hrs back after finding out Duncan had not shipped a complete kit and didn’t bother telling anyone they were missing parts. Parts issue finally resolved, flew another 3.5 hrs down to try again. Once belly pan was off, the fuselage did not reflect any of the CAD, (not actual pictures) drawings for an install. Only one email was returned by Duncan writing they needed an IPC for the Ranger to see what’s up. PDF of Catalog was sent, that was the last we heard from Duncan and BK after numerous calls and emails. Indirectly I’ve come to understand the STC was pulled for further research. No pieces for the pitch servo bracket will fit a stock ‘76 M20C Ranger serial 1213. It’s also no guarantee the AeroCruze100 will fit ANY Mooney. My shop is going to try a J next and said they are already noticing differences not accounted for in the instructions. Now I have to fly the 3.5 back home, “empty handed” but wallet lightened after 14 hours of flying to and from a place I had no other interest visiting. The “Hail Mary” pass will be a nearby sheet metal guy who is supposed to stop by as well as a local DER to see if the bracket could be modded or recreated to work in the future . That is however ANOTHER 7 hour round trip plus the unknown added costs of the sheet metal work and DER inspection/drawings without guarantees it will even work. This latest boondoggle has run me right up against a previously scheduled date to begin the annual. I’m pulling the plug, sending the AeroCruze back for a deserved refund, and hopefully passing on fair warning to the rest of the dreamers. Make sure the STC is actually done, AND it covers your exact serial number, AND you have pictures of the mount points to share with your installer and the CAD instructions before you invest a lot in wasted hours, gas, and frustration…

Wasn’t sure where to post this one. In the middle of more AeroCruze foibles. My ‘76 Ranger is in the shop right now and was just beginning to get the a/p installed when ANOTHER bump was hit. The pitch servo install instructions did not match up to how my particular M20C belly innards are arranged. After time consuming emails and calls were exchanged between BK and Duncan and my shop, that included photos, it seems my tail has similar internal structure to a J, although it is a short body fuselage. Threw everybody off. My question is, does anybody know when and if C models were built with J model fuselage or control surface internals? Apparently the STC manuals identified four different C configurations, this could be a fifth. I just hope all these trip ups paves the way for future vintage Mooney owners who try the AeroCruze to have a smoother road. If it all works out, I’ll post the shop here. Their original goal was to knock out AeroCruze installs on vintage Mooneys, they’ve done a bunch of Piper and Cessna’s . They like the hardware better than Garmin. But companies involved sure make it hard to be successful.

Will do…

Update. Apparently the avionics folks who were working on my Ranger discovered the aileron pushrods for the Piper AeroCruze install would work for the Ranger. Not desiring to take on liability for an informal fix, they are currently petitioning the local FSDO for a one time approval for my aircraft. Reasoning that since the part is already approved in another install, should work for me. We will see. Holidays have slowed all processes down and I flew the Ranger back home until I hear about some resolve.

Curious to know if anyone with an AeroCruze 100 and M20C is having the same new problem. ‘76 M20C Ranger. Paid for AP kit some time ago. Kit arrived last month at my avionics shop. Scheduled the install and flew the Mooney down. A day later get a call from shop, aileron pushrods for Aero Cruze aren’t in kit. A call to Duncan was made and apparently not all Mooney’s have the same aileron linkage length, and of course the airplane used for the STC is different from mine. The whole kit is held up by the need for slightly shorter pushrods which we were told needs to be re-STC’d. No predictions or guesses when that will take place. Back to square one.

Hey, I appreciate the reply. I still have the original engine gauges, who knows what actual numbers they represent, but I haven't noticed any discernible changes even after long climbs. Were you deciding between Electroair and SureFly when going with an electronic ignition? If so, and if you get a minute, I am interested in why you chose SureFly and if you thought it worth it, plus does the change in timing work well with the MP drop? I already run fine wire plugs and was thinking about a mag replacement next yea

During my last annual in August at Maxwell’s, had a PowerFlow exhaust installed on my ‘76 Ranger. Thought I would do a PIREP after 25 hours since install. Short version, no regrets and plan to keep it but if I was starting from scratch would have waited until original exhaust had issues and needed replacement. I think the PowerFlow works best for owners who consistently fly long cross countries at 10k and higher. Lower flying and hamburger runs, probably unnecessary. Had money saved for a couple years waiting on TT/AeroCruze to be available for M20’s. Finally last year, and a month before Duncan announcement, decided to throw in the towel and put the money toward something else on the airplane. I had been aware of PowerFlow systems for a number of years and seen good performance gains on friends’ Cessna’s. I called the company after seeing one of their specials expire and asked if they could extend it if I had an eight month lead time. They said no problem and even added the ceramic coating since delivery would be so far out. Just as scheduled, they sent the exhaust directly to Maxwell’s before my plane arrived. Normal install, I also added the Challenger air filter. Prop was dynamically balanced by the local wizard. THAT made a crazy difference. I had prop balanced 18 months before but the local Maxwell guy must have performed black magic. 2700 to 2300 no appreciable difference in vibe level, very smooth, or at least as smooth as a Lycoming four banger will go. Important note, my mixture control was repaired and adjusted during this annual. I had not realized there had been a significant problem. This plays out later. New exhaust added a couple pounds to front of airplane but was a wash because of previous removal of vacuum system. Looks cosmetically good and the coating stays clean. I seem to have lost a bit of speed down low. Previous multiple cardinal runs at 2000 AGL consistently showed 151 kt averages WOT. Did a few with new install, now consistently 148 kts. I haven’t noticed any measurable differences in TO distance or initial climb out. Butt says it’s a little reduced but that’s not quantitative. The positive performance differences I have noticed are up high. Depending on OAT, I’m getting 20-21.5” MAP at 11k, before it was 19 or a hair higher. Coming back from Tupelo MAPA yesterday, the Ranger was still climbing 5-600 fpm at 100 kts indicated at 11000 ft. My airplane has most of the major speed mods and that with the PowerFlow, the Mooney is getting original POH numbers. It was showing 145-147 TAS at 2450 rpm. I do not have an engine monitor so no real time fuel flow. My after flight fill up numbers haven’t changed. Maybe getting to altitude faster offsets any higher burn. The biggest operational difference is mixture control setting. Previous to this annual, I had two mixture settings, full rich and a spot well back, maybe 3/4 inch from cutoff. Engine ran smooth with rich all the way to cruise and smooth down to final with it pulled back. Now it’s a different story. Passing 5k in the climb, I need to start leaning or engine will stumble. It needs to be gently leaned throughout the entire climb. At cruise 10-12k, I pull it back to a spot physically forward of the original one, showing 100 ROP on the single point EGT gauge. On the way down same thing, mixture needs to be constantly attended to for the engine to stay in a sweet spot, smoothness wise. First time in a landing descent after install, engine was stumbling so bad, I thought it was going to quit. Called Lynn at Maxwell’s to see if something had been missed. He explained how much adjustment my control had needed. Now I have learned not to go full rich until short final. Cabin heat is also better. No noticeable difference in noise level. I used to cruise at 2350 but now I do 2450. I had read they tuned this exhaust for 11k and 2450 and that is where it seems happiest. So, if you’ve got the O360 and consistently fly 3-4 hour legs above 10, AND could use a new exhaust, it’s worth it. Hamburger runs at 5k, 1 to 2 hour flights, probably repairing your current exhaust makes more sense, as always depending how much you’ve got squirreled away in the kitty. Since this all was done, the AeroCruze kit came in. Now I am “squirreling” away for the install price. Hope this helps…

Just wanted to do a quick, public shout out to AGL and thank Lynn and the crew there for taking such good care of my Ranger and me during its recent annual. Those folks did an extensive maintenance check and found a surprisingly large number of items that had been missed in a distressingly large number of past annuals. This was the Ranger’s first annual at AGL although they had seen the airplane once a couple years before on a rigging issue. My airplane actually flew noticeably better on the return flight from this last visit. I’m already on the schedule there for next year. And Tamara went way out of her way to make sure I was both dropped off and later picked back up from CLT exactly when I needed even though it meant making that drive well after normal business hours. And in regards to that and trying to save them some hassle, any folks from the OH or right close by area that would be interested in trading ferry rides when taking their airplane to them, feel free to give me a shout. It’s an easy non stop flight and the area around Foothills, NC is beautiful.

Received a reply email from Chris at Duncan covering a couple more of my questions about support, parts, and BK. He responded that Duncan and Peregrine did all the STC paperwork and pushed it through. Duncan plans to stock all the autopilot parts and handle any warranty issues. I am going to go ahead and roll the dice on this one and get in the queue. Certainly not risk free but considering what I use my Ranger for and how often I fly it, this is the best bet for me currently. If I had a 201 or better, I’d probably be going STec but my $$$ is just not there. If folks are interested, I’ll post now and again how things progress. p.s. what I’m really buying the autopilot for? Something that will just hold the plane steady for 10 minutes while I contort to use the blue gel…

For those of you who get the online Mooney magazine, The Mooney Flyer, there was an announcement posted of STC approval for the AeroCruze 100 for M20’s. Shocked and reeling in disbelief, I had to read it twice, nay, three times to verify what I was seeing. I called Chris at Duncan Aviation and sure enough those folks got it through. The autopilots will be ordered through Duncan. They are building a list now of M20 owners and which specific control head they want. That list goes to BK and then we wait for the parts to be produced and kits built for Duncan. Chris told me 90 days but I’m betting min of six months. Prices vary among the six available kits by less than $200. They all come in a hair under 6 grand unless BK decides to change it. Considering all the crazy stuff going on with this economy, a 1 AMU over the original TT price seems pretty reasonable. Chris at Duncan is a super nice guy and already deluged with emails and calls from us CB vintage Mooney drivers…