Austintatious

Still available  Price reduced

Autopilot  P/N 065-0042-03  = $1300.00 + 100 for packaging and insured shipping ( I will get it to you as fast as I can for the $100.00)  or free local pickup, no 100$.

alt pre-select= Free, if you buy autopilot... if you buy AP and don't want this please say so.   If you want

Servos = 250.00 each or 700.00 for all 3  + actual shipping cost.

Servo part numbers

1 x   P/N 065-0051-02

2  x   P/N 065-0052-14

On 3/12/2024 at 11:26 AM, LANCECASPER said:

Check with Darwin Conrad up at Rocket Engineering in Spokane, WA.

If he doesn’t have them, then it’s time to talk to @DonMuncy about some much better visors than the original Mooney visors.

I took my visors off and I dont regret it at all.  First off the ones I had were prone to hitting the windshield and scratching it...When I put a new windshield on I didnt want it getting scratched. Now I have a small mesh Sunblocker with plyable edges and suction cups that I can put wherever I need it. It lives up high center windshield stuck via the suction cups, with the "frame" bent around the center post and takes up very little windown.  I have the rocket speed chart on my Ipad if I need to reference it.

Well, I have to update this nightmare one more time as I think I have ironed out the last of the problems. 

I cannot remember if I had mentioned it or not, but after the annual that began all this craziness, the number 5 cylinder was running even hotter than it usually did... It has always been my hot cylinder but it was significantly hotter than it had been.  I had been working with gami to narrow the gami spread.  I knew that they had removed and cleaned the injectors so I figured this was the reason for the change.  It was strange because the hotter temp would sort of come and go and vary with each flight.  Of course we are trouble shooting and analyzing as we went... Once I had what seemed to be a decent set of data, I sent it off to gami for a tune of the injectors... and I asked them to try to make the number 5 the most rich of them all (still trying to keep the gami spread tight)  to attempt to keep its temp down.  I got the new injectors and worked with an A&P to install them...

Upon removing the number 5 injector, we found a loose chunk of rubber floating around inside the injector... Either an old rubber seal was used or it was not put together properly...nonetheless, the piece of rubber was blocking airflow from the pressurized induction system and causing all sorts of fuel flow variability and restriction.

After putting in the new injector a few months ago, the engine is running very well with a tighter gami spread and a cooler number 5 and I think I am happy and confident things are how they are supposed to be.

I swear on the next annual, no one is touching anything that does not 100 percent HAVE to be touched on my airplane.  So sick of mechanics breaking my plane by doing inspections.

4 hours ago, Schllc said:

Let me try to clarify what I meant…

$2500 for a highly skilled mechanic for two days is not a lot of money, and I don’t mean it isn’t a lot of money to me.  
I think you may be the one distanced from physical labor, or at least distanced from what it costs today.  The skilled labor I have in my company makes around $65 per hour, put fica, ssi, workers comp, unemployment insurance, sick time/vacation, uniforms, tools, supplies etc on top of that and my overhead burden is close to $100 an hour.  I’d bet a good A&P is costing a competent shop in the same neighborhood.  This is not including profit, or contingency for mistakes either!

I also didn’t say a prebuy was not worth doing, I said understand what you are paying for, and  $2,500 just isn’t much for what most seem to be expecting. 
 

Really?  $2500.00 for 2 days isn't a lot of money?   If we are talking 8 hr days that is 16 hours @ $156.25 an hour.  That is a $300,000 dollar a year salary.  That is top 5% wage earnings in the USA....

I dont think it is unreasonable to expect to pay 2500.00 for a PPI, but I also think it is a chunk of money... I could fly my airplane for about 15 hours for that amount of money.  And if in said PPI they cant be bothered to look for serious show stoppers like spar corrosion, engine issues, structural damage.... then the 2500 is little more than a ripoff.

Seems simple to me... start with the big expensive to fix stuff... check that out thoroughly before you move on to writing up that the carpet is wrinkled in the back.

On a rocket with an insured value of 200k, we just paid 4100.00  

1 hour ago, 1980Mooney said:

Except there aren’t any firewall forward packages for any certified aircraft retrofits. Deltahawk made it clear in the December Cessna Pilot Association interview/article that they are focused on working with OEM aircraft manufacturers for new aircraft construction. They said that they would get to Cessna 172 retrofits “at some point” ….only a 40,000++ market. 
 

That makes perfect business sense for Deltahawk. Given the age, model variations, prior modifications over many decades even within one model of aircraft, retrofitting involves a lot of variation and customization. Deltahawk benefits from a standardized approach leveraging an aircraft manufacturer’s engineering and manufacturing resources. For instance Cirrus or Diamond will likely design and manufacture the unique engine mount and cowl needed for their applications. 
 

That is not the case with any retrofit. I think they gave you a WAG the seriously underestimated the task. 

That was for a Velocity V twin... which have already been put onto a flying (experimental) aircraft.

On 2/5/2024 at 8:33 AM, A64Pilot said:

In the past Diesel’s have always been heavier, due in part to the compression and in part to the rather erratic timing, erratic because a cold Diesel actually Diesels, but once warm and at operating speed there is enough heat in the cylinder so that the fuel begins it’s burn the moment it is injected.

But with the magic that common rail is erratic timing can be handled and is why the NVH of modern Diesels is close to spark ignition engines.

I don’t really understand the push for Diesels myself, I guess it’s because the fuel is already at airports? I would think that design and manufacturing of a modern spark ignition motor that could run on Auto fuel would be easier and lighter, for example look at what’s being done with Outboard engines.

Bigger than we need, but 600 HP on 87 Octane, I only link this to show that you can make big power on Autofuel, just need modern combustion chamber which mean four valve heads and that means liquid cooling, or that’s what it took to put four valves in motorcycles, they couldn’t do it without liquid cooling.

Boat motors differ greatly from automobiles, because often a boat is run nearly at or at full throttle for extended times like an airplane, but that’s almost never the case for Auto’s.

https://www.mercurymarine.com/us/en/engines/outboard/verado/verado-600hp

Woa there buddy... that last part isnt true at all..  Maybe for race boats... but the majority of Outboard engines spend VERY little time at WOT....   I have 3- 300 HP Mercs on my boat and I typically cruise it around 4500 RPM...  this translates to like 50% power or something like that... Fuel burn wise they will go as high as 90 GPH between all 3 of them... but when I cruise I am burning 35 GPH.

BTW, you looked at how much those OB's weigh in comparison to an aircraft engine?   WAAAAAAAAY too heavy.

On 2/3/2024 at 10:36 AM, 1980Mooney said:

What is the current estimate for the engine now?…over $100,000?  (The last time they said anything was 4 years ago when they said the target was $90,000).  As tightly cowled as a Mooney is, I bet you will need a new cowl. It’s not like a Cessna. Add another $15,000. 

 I heard from Deltahawk directly 100-110K..  but that was for a firewall forward package (not for a mooney)

10 hours ago, Shadrach said:

The TIT limits and the inherent  imbalances in the fuel/intake system are what cost you speed. Not your mixture setting. Most applications were not designed with an eye towards the precision needed for LOP operations. Mini turbo charged application is run fine on the lean side of peak. However, turbo normalized applications are better suited because their higher compression engines generate lower TITs. See two TN’d IO540s below making same horsepower at the same RPM. Manifold pressure and TIT is lower on ROP engine (L side) while CHTs and fuel burn are higher. Manifold pressure and TIT is higher on LOP engine (R engine) while fuel burn and CHTs are reduced.

Yea, sure, if you up the MP then run LOP to get the same power you are correct... but it simply cannot be done with my power plant.  The TIT will not allow it, perhaps because I am a TSIO and not TNed.  So the only way I can run LOP is at lower altitudes and the same MP/RPM I would run ROP, which means less power and thus slower flying... Believe me, If I could do this I would, I certainly love saving gas.

On 12/29/2023 at 2:44 PM, wombat said:

So if my full power fuel flow is 33 GPH, then anything less than 24.75 GPH is less than 75% power.    So is it impossible to hurt my engine (regarding LOP operations, assuming the MAP and RPM are acceptable values) if my fuel flow is less than 24.75 GPH?

Wombat,

I thought I might give you some info to think about from a fellow rocket operator... In fact, I have 2.

First off, You could absolutely hurt your engine, specifically the turbo at fuel flows less than 24 GPH... or even 18 GPH... You are not automatically safe based on a fuel flow.

I have given up on LOP operations for the TSIO520NB.  I know Mike Bush runs LOP but his engines are different even though they are TSIO520s.  For starter they dont have the same big ol turbo charger that the rocket does but instead 2 smaller.

I have had so many adjustments from gami, to get anymore I would have to start paying Extra... and it seems every time an adjustment is made, it never has the intended effect.   I have replaced rubber seals each time and have pulled my hair out to get to a gami spread of about .6  and still the engine gets to rough running before getting truly established in LOP operation.  And I expect that to change just because of how "finicky" these fuel systems are. The slightest changes can have big effects on the cylinder balance... for instance the last time I had an annual done and they removed the injectors for cleaning, everything went WAY out of wack.

And the real kicker is that anything higher than about 9000 feet, you cant keep the TIT within limits if you go lean, and still I am into rough running.

So, what do I do?  I run 29/22 at about 16.5GPH... this puts the TIT at about 1550 and the hottest CHT (#5) at 360-370 and I will do about 147 IAS.  This will put me around 200 KTAS at FL180 depending on temp.  I can also run 31/22 @ 18.5GPH and keep everything in the green while doing about 5-7 knots faster, but I do not feel it is worth it.

In short, I feel that just pulling the power back in ROP operation saves as much fuel as messing with LOP.  I would be much further ahead if I had never even started down this road of attempting to get to a point of running LOP.  Especially considering that LOP cost a LOT of speed which you may not be wise to do if you are fighting a headwind.

Cheers.

I like the panel.

These came out of a M20k Mooney and I purchased all of it.  I had intended to put it into my aircraft, but I messed up and didn't catch that it is a 24v unit.  While I feel like an idiot, to my defense, the avionic shop missed this too... and well, long story short, I'm losing a lot of money here as I paid a lot of labor fees for them troubleshooting... about $1000.00 to have this unit bench tested, which it passed.  So I am confident it is a working unit, it just wont work in my aircraft.

Autopilot, 3 servos and Alt pre select = $2000.00 + 100.00 packing+Shipping+insurance

Autopilot  P/N 065-0042-03  = 1500.00 + 100 for packaging and insured shipping( I will get it to you as fast as I can for the $100.00)  or free local pickup.

alt pre-select= Free, if you buy autopilot... if you buy AP and don't want this please say so.   If you want

Servos = 300.00 each or 750.00 for all 3  + actual shipping cost.

Servo part numbers

1 is a  P/N 065-0051-02

2 are P/N 065-0052-14

Sorry, tried everything and cant get the pics to be upright.

On 9/30/2023 at 9:33 AM, Echo said:

I feel badly for you.  I am having difficulty getting a quote for two very straight forward items right now.  Shops are busy.  Life is good.  Price how you want and get it done when you want rules the day.  For now.  Car dealerships in same position.  For now.  Like fishing with a grenade.  Good if you are a fisherman.  Bad if you are a fish.  Good luck with repairs done RIGHT.  Hope it finally works out.  Scott

Yea, The above story got even worse... I discovered that the instrument lights they were supposed to fix (and claimed they did and charged me for it) still do not work..  So I still have 3 instruments that have no lighting and cannot fly in the dark.  I don't even know what to do now as it requires removing my instrument panel to fix the lights.  I didn't bother posting about it because I am completely dejected about the whole thing.   In 4 years my situation is going to change and I will be abandoning certified aircraft for experimental, this is no longer tenable being at the mercy of bad maintenance.

Hope you have a better experience.

What you wrote in section 3 is so underrated....

""I would only say that it's less drastic than it sounds because you can travel the same distance in a year using less time. Less time means less wear and tear on components. This and the fuel savings slightly offset the higher costs making them more but not as much more.""

This is so true, and when you look at what a Lancair 4 does it becomes very obvious.  Sleeker and faster is better

OK, I'm going to give a final update on how this all played out.

I got a call day before yesterday from the avionics shop...   with a "quote"....   I put quote in parenthesis because As the lady went down the list of line items, I knew 2 things... one being that most of the things she was listing had already been completed on the airplane and 2 that the prices she was spitting out where not even close to what had been discussed.  She finished with a "quote" of   20,000.00  ....  Needless to say, I was floored.

I wont get into all the details, but I will say that there was clearly a communication problem.  I had requested several times to know how much these things were costing and could not get an answer.  And in some cases, such as the Dsub connector being upside down, I had flat out been told 1200.00 but was now looking at a 2800.00 charge.  I also learned that the shops minimum labor charge for ANY line item was 4 hours... This was obvious when They tried to charge me 8 hours at 1400.00 to take the top left panel loose and re connect the OAT spade connector, which the shop that broke the ASI left loose and to put in a new digital clock in the same panel.  The actual clock cost 350.00.   

Anyhow, over about 35 min in person we went down through all the line items.  It was an  experience and Apparently I was ignorant that aviation maintenance operates in a "blank check" manner...  I was told in so many polite words that I was quibbling over small amounts of money while flying a $750k airplane.  

As it turned out  $9500.00 of the 20k was for a replacement Autopilot computer, which I never was even told about until this day, they pulled that unit back out of the airplane and Between that and the other items we discussed, the total was brought down to 6700 + tax which covered the following work

1- Reconnect OAT

2-  install new clock

3- Check Airspeed switch for any signs of overheating (as reported by previous shop)

4- Correct the ASI issue, which consisted of replacing it with a customer supplied ASI which needed to be tested/certified

5- Re connect "light bar" for the KI256 ADI,  How it got disconnected I have no idea.

6- Troubleshoot Autopilot including bench testing Computer ( about 2500.00 worth which I did not contest)

I will say that the shop was mostly open to my  protest and admitted some of the issues were on their end and vowed to do better and did work with me towards compromise on the bill.  I acknowledge that I could have done differently and I vow to in the future by doing the following

1.  Set a CLEAR and WRITTEN expectation of being given a quote on any work BEFORE it is performed so that I may consider the situation and make a decision and authorize the work in writing.  This protects both parties.

2.  Set clear and WRITTEN dollar limits for which I am to be contacted before proceeding beyond on items that are difficult to quote precisely.

3.  When I drop the AC off at the shop, do a run through WITH A TECH to determine what equipment is operational or INOP so that if the shop breaks something there is no wiggling out of it.... This all started with the ASI at the other shop and at this shop the GEM stopped working on their watch.

That being said, this experience has me even more certain that going experimental is in my future.

12 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

I can hardly believe what I'm looking at with that D-sub connector.  That pic is priceless.  Someone should get the Darwin award for that.

Well,  the sad truth is that this has probably cost me around $3000.00-$4000.00 between the 3 shops I have had looking into this issue and who have been unable to figure out why My ILS wont work. 

48 minutes ago, GeeBee said:

The G2 in my SuperCub did that on occasion and what I did was remove the card, pull and reset the CB with power on the aircraft and it reset. Might try that.

Well, that would have been nice to know...  I called Insight and had them on the phone and was told by them I have to send it in...  I had already tried powering it down and back up a few times.

Well, my fun continues... but before I lament about my apparent bad luck... As promised here is the photo of the upside down garmin D sub connector....  So glad the FAA required certified people to do avionics work... otherwise you might have airplanes flying around out there for 20 years because amateurs might mess something up /s

Anyhow, I got a call today from this shop... the ASI issue is fixed along with a few instrument lights replaced and my broken analog clock has been replaced by a davtron digital, so that is nice...  They called however to tell me they still cant figure out why my Autopilot will not engage.  They suspected the trim servo and knowing I had a spare on hand they contacted me to see if I could bring it to them, which I did.

When I got there, we took a look at the plane and as I was powering it up they mentioned that my G2 insight engine monitor was doing something weird...  Which it is.  

Looks like an old TV screen but solid.   It is getting really frustrating sending my aircraft in to shops only to have more stuff break on the shops watch... Is is coincidence?  did they hook me up to 24v?  Is the insight garbage?   I don't know....  I will say that this is in fact the second time I have had this exact failure of the insight G2 GEM.  This requires removal and sending the unit to Insight for a min  $350.00 repair.

I got lucky last time and this time since I was not at the plane for a flight only to scrub it.  But 2 of these failures in 3 years does not have me very confident in this instrument... and it does ground me... So I have opted to buy another head unit to keep on hand in the aircraft so that I do not end up stranded.  

As for the Autopilot... I know these guys know what they are doing... at this point they have bench tested (at great cost to me) the AP computer, the trim and pitch servos and the wiring... only the roll servo remains which they will be tackling today... The only silver lining here is that if they can get the AP working again, the AC will be in tip top shape.

I did the same, but they were not willing to increase to what I figured the aircraft is actually worth.   They only went up to 170k for a well equipped  Rocket.  I would never let the airplane go for so little.

11 hours ago, 1980Mooney said:

Are we talking about the same airspeed switch that has been discussed here before?  Either a gold colored VEP switch or the fatter bare aluminum colored Whitman-General switch?

In either case you only have micro switches for a potential heat source which is not much.  With the VEP switch, that is a big disk of aluminum to dissipate any heat. See the first 2 threads. With the Whitman-General switch the tubing is not even connected to the switch.    It is tee-ed off the back of the ASI. See last thread and pics.  If the microswitch shorted out (almost impossible due to the switch design - it usually either sticks open or closed)  it would trip a breaker.

I can't see how that could melt any tubing  Something doesn't make sense in their description or your understanding.  

 

Thank you, the shop currently working on the airplane does not understand either... We are scratching our heads... This may have been a line of BS to try to obfuscate the ASI issue that arose after the instrument cert and to shuck responcibility... We just don't know, but the current shop is looking around to see any source of overheating.

On 9/15/2023 at 9:18 AM, JimB said:

I'd love to see some pictures of the upside down connector. If you look at a back plate on 530W rack, there are cutouts for the connectors. It would be virtually impossible to install them upside down.

 

The shop did take photos... I will get them and post them.

Update to this, and more BS

The shop that did the annual and the static check wont accept responsibility for the now misreading ASI.  I also discovered that somehow, the OAT  no longer works either, probably a connection knocked loose when they were messing with the ASI.

Furthermore, after I had already received the aircraft back and flown it,  while discussing the situation with the shop, They informed me that the Airspeed switch for the gear lockout appeared to be getting hot and melting the tubing going to it....  They never said anything to me about it or gave me an option to choose to replace it, they just left in and kept quiet about it until the aircraft was gone from the field.  IMHO they handed me an aircraft with a known fire hazard.

I decided to take the aircraft to yet another avionics shop and have them do the ASI repair as well as address some other issues and make sure the airspeed switch wasn't a fire hazard.

I got a nice little 1500.00 surprise...   One of the issues I have not been able to get resolved (multiple visits to a few avionics shops and money spent to troubleshoot) was that I have not been able to use Nav 1 to fly an ILS.  In fact I can get no data from Nav 1 to the HSI (a G5).    This fact has not really been all that bothersome because of the cherished LPV which works just beautifully between the 530w, G5 hsi and the auto-pilot.  Nonetheless, I want things in my aircraft to work, so I asked this shop to look into why it doesn't. 

What they found is just a nice little point on the entire reason I started this thread.... To rant about the completely unacceptable level of maintenance/work that I have been experiencing with GA and how I am ready to go experimental so that I can do all the work to my own aircraft.

The 530w was installed 2002  Well, as this shop looked into my no ILS problem, What they discovered was that whoever installed the rack for the 530w installed the ARinc 429 bus D-sub connector upside down.  The 530w was then shoved in and then subsequently driven in with an allen wrench destroying half the pins and pushing the other half out of the D-sub connector on the rack.  So, going all the way back over 20 years, the ILS has NEVER been functional, it could not have been and about 3 certified avionics shops couldn't figure out why. 

So, We have the first installer who gets the connector upside down and forces the 530w in...

Then at least 3 certified avionics shops having looked into the no ILS issue (3 during MY  ownership for sure) and failing to figure out that a connector was upside down and pins were destroyed.

Fun stuff!

1 hour ago, JoshK said:

Definitely ROP, which works but you could save fuel.

This was 13,5 yesterday cruising along NC and VA




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I like it... Gonna have to try that... What IAS are you seeing with that?

2 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

Yep, I already miss it.  In my case, it was removed to get that extra 0.02 knots by a previous owner.  It is not a guarantee against falling, but it sure helps.  The step will return, but first I need to get past the annual from hell.

We have the step on one of our planes....  TBH I prefer no step... but I do use the step on the one that has it...  I feel like that dinky little thing is going to cause a nasty spill one day or break off and make me break an ankle.

5 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

Each main has three doors.  I guess they would be "upper", "lower", and "inner".  What I'm calling the "inner" door stays closed except during extension or retraction.  Sounds complex, but fortunately they seem to be rigged well -- I got to see them in action recently during my first annual (from hell).  No NAV antennae(?) on the vertical stab at all -- those are inside the wingtip.  Step is gone, so I carry a folding step I can throw into baggage before departure, and deploy before stepping off the wing on arrival.  I'm pretty tall, so I could get by without the step, but not everyone can.  I think the best "go fast" mod is the TSIO-520 -- not sure those other things matter that much.

I suspect you are right about the turbulence.  Almost anything that disturbs the airflow enough so you can hear it creates drag.

Wow, sounds slick!!!   can you post more speeds and power settings?    I need a goal I can never achieve to keep me insane and broke!