Austin305Rocket

Thank you - Yes, we do have a 31 but wasn't able to find a shop manual online and couldn't find a picture like that. I do believe that spring mechanism in the likely culprit. As I mentioned, you can definitely 'feel' that the springs behind the rocker switch are compromised in some way. There's no 'bounce' when you push "up".

Hey Folks, We've got a Century 31 in our Rocket and the Up/Down rocker switch is now stuck in the UP position. You can feel it on the rocker switch that it doesn't have any 'bounce' and it's permanently stuck there. We're toying with the idea of biting the bullet on a GFC500 (we already put dual GI275's in a few years ago) but would like a way to at least get the existing AP into a neutral state with that rocker switch so we can at least use it in cruise until we decide what the next steps are going to be. Right now as soon as you engage the AP it wants to climb. Our local avionics shop won't work on anything that's not digital anymore and they recommended a shop (I believe it's somewhere in TX as are we...but IIRC, it's $1000 to get them to even look at it). Our A&P has given us the green light to see if we can either 1) replace that rocker switch or 2) get it into some kind of neutral configuration and then INOP that rocker switch until we can find a replacement part or do an avionics upgrade. So, anyone 1) know where to find a replacement part for this thing? It's not the actual black plastic on the outside that's broken - it's the spring or likely plastic mechanism inside that's no longer working or any help/insight on what/how else to go about getting this old ass thing back to where at least it'll do an ALT hold. I'm having absolutely zero luck finding a PDF or online version of a service manual for this unit to see what the actual part is - if anyone has an old one of these in a box somewhere or knows someone that does, please let me know! Thanks in advance!

Just curious if there's other Rocket owners out there that have had to replace the brake master cylinder? We've had an ongoing issue with ours - had a couple reseals and bleeds and we keep having the issue. It's a dangerous issue as you can see - once there's no pressure the rudder pedal actually flips over when applying brake pressure to the top of the pedal. Our mechanic came to check it out and seems there are numerous variations of the part under the same part number. He's going to try replacing the stat-o-seal again. It seems that mfg tolerances vary and so a different one 'may' fix the issue and keep us from having to spend $800-$1k on a new master cylinder. Ours is a 1982 model M20K with the Rocket conversion. Thanks in advance!

Here's an idea? Contact someone and possibly get permission to park on concrete at or near the FBO in the North 40 area then wagon over our tent and gear and camp with friends over in the north 40. Is that a possibility? Anyone know who to contact at OSH to work that out?

Good info. And yes, the transition from grass to pavement is what worries me the most. You get the uneven edge and the bounce and not really a good way to judge what's going to happen there. The tentative plan is to make it a day trip out there so we'll have a good idea by the time we leave what the weather is expected to do in 4-5 hours which is our flight time and obviously the existing ground conditions given any weather that's passed through.

About 8 inches of clearance from the tip to the ground...so not much...

Hate resurrecting a somewhat dead thread...but I'm probably one of the newer Rocket owners on the forum (I know one of my Partner's frequents here as well). I'm considering flying our 305 Rocket to OSH this year and this topic has been on my mind for sure. I like the "HEAVY" option and I'm also considering an "Mooney unable...low prop clearance need a taxiway..." if requested by ATC to divert off the runway and into the grass after landing. At that point - just shut it down if I see anything that gives me pause (hopefully being able to taxi behind someone). Perhaps even asking to slot into wherever I can close to an actual taxiway to minimize any issues getting out there if it happens to get a little soggy while we're there. I don't want to the FBO option - didn't even know that was available as it's our intent to camp with the airplane so parking there and having to lug all of our stuff somewhere else would be a real pain.

Thanks. A local pilot friend and Mooney driver pointed me to the caravan. Definitely considering it.

Great thread. Thinking about flying our Rocket to OSH this year. After watching arrival videos what worried me the most was tower getting planes to veer into the grass right off the runway. I guess you could do an 'unable...need a taxiway'... But depending on the taxi length to the tie down area and potential mud conditions...lots to think about...

Do you have his username? Not finding anything...

Curious if anyone has flown a Rocket into OSH and what their experience was with regards to taxiing and prop clearance? Looking to do it this year but that makes me nervous... particularly where I'm watching arrival videos on YouTube and tower has planes veering into the grass off the runway when able. With barely 8" to clear...makes me nervous.

yes, with gdt 59 oat probe. We installed 2 x 275s and we're able to replace the entire six pack. We left the altimeter and airspeed indicator in just because... Side benefit is that we now get winds aloft info displayed on the map screen of the 430w. We have a century 31 AP. The 275s send attitude info to the AP where the g5s do not.

If it's on their list, it'll work. Docs are here - including autopilot compat: https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?partNumber=010-GI275-00&tab=manuals

Yup - inner and outer dial. Pretty standard. Outer dial sets heading. There is no course course dial like the old HSI's. If you watch the video you can see the 430 screen in the background a little. When the next leg is activated you'll see the course automatically change on the 275. No limitations on the 275. We're using a probably 30 year old Century 31 AP. Thanks to Garmin for making a unit this awesome and sending the attitude info to the AP so we could still use it. Again, if you had a GFC500 hooked up the 275 you'd be in heaven. Altitude pre-select...the works.

Correct. The 275 ADI gives you the ability to set an aural alert for altitude and also for minimums but it doesn't communicate with the AP. So, have to press the ALT button on the AP to actually get it to stay there. Obviously, if you were using these with a GFC500 for example, you'd have all those extra bells and whistles. It's another ~$25k to go that route (so ~40k total for the GFC and dual 275's) and we weren't quite ready for that yet so that was one of the primary drivers for the 275 as it can sent the attitude info to legacy AP's where the G5 cannot.

Yeah, a little suprised they didn't do that knowing full well that many of their customers are buying these for precisely that reason (using the AI to send attitude info to a legacy AP). Our installer felt like it could be a relatively simple fix - just depends on if they decide to do it. I've got a friend that works for Garmin Aviation in Olathe...I've reached out to him and he confirmed that is the current capability - no word on if they'll do anything. It is possible of course to use NAV mode on the autopilot and it'll be fine for enroute...just wont do the turns and holds like GPSS would do. The only other kindof annoying them for me is that the dials are on the left side of the instruments. We all fly left handed so it's a bit awkward to have to reach across the insturment to make the changes. Would seem like it would make more sense to default the knobs on the right hand side with possibly an option to put them on either depending on how the customer wants them.

You're welcome. We bought these a bit in the blind as there's not many folks that have had them installed yet and we couldn't find or talk to anyone that had a similar setup to see how they liked it. Our shop was great and although it took a little longer than even they anticipated (it was their first install of these...), couldn't be happier with the results. Flying them is pretty straightforward - just nice to have the peace of mind now that there's no vacuum pump to fail and that we don't have to get these things refurb'd every few years. Our AI died a month and a half or so ago...right before I was going to head out to take the plane to finish my IFR. We just decided to not throw good money after bad and we'd been talking about an upgrade anyway so the purchase and install cost / 4 Partner's was in our budget. We priced out the GFC500 - but that added another ~$25k to the install so we decided against that. Our shop had a 210 in that was getting G5's and a GFC500 and it's some major surgery. It was there before we got there and when I picked our up it was still there with a birds nest still sticking out of the panel.

Install cost was $18k - included both units. Labor will run 40-50 hours, so your price may vary. Central Texas Avionics out of KGTU (Georgetown, TX) did ours and they did a fantastic job. They had some issues late in the install - mostly omissions in the Garmin provided install docs - so they were on the phone with Garmin quite a bit sorting some things out and delayed delivery. But, couldn't be happier with the end result. These are unbelievably capable for their size. The primary ADI will fail to the secondary and you can also just make both of them ADI's if you want. As I mention in the beginning of the video - there's a manual failover switch as well that you could use if for some reason the primary fails but doesn't failover. The weirdest part for me was adjusting to no VSI. I've flown about 500 hours in airplanes with no glass and a traditional VSI. So, moving to this setup the VSI is a tiny box next to the altitude tape. I'll get used to it. Another 'nice to have' would be the ability to quickly switch from GPSS to HDG mode without having to get into the menus. Our installers asked Garmin if there was a pin they could use to run a push button switch to the panel for a quick switch - but there wasn't. It's all software so perhaps they come up with that at some point if enough people ask for it, but I'm not holding my breath. Also would be nice since we have the OAT probe that provides TAS to show that on the display as well.

Brought my GoPro out to record the first flight in our 305 Rocket with a brand spankin' new pair of Garmin GI-275's. Videos of these things in the wild seem to be pretty tough to come by and I know a lot of folks are interested in these, so I thought I'd make one and share. Pretty impressed with these things...the screen is incredible! Perhaps the GFC500 AP is on the list at some point, but to be honest this thing works great with the stock Century 31. The 275's have a GPSS HDG emulation mode that works really well. I was able to fly coupled ILS and LPV approaches without a hitch. As a newly minted IFR pilot dumping the vacuum system and moving to glass sure gives me piece of mind. Well worth the upgrade. I recorded in 2.7k HD. I'm no editing pro - so apologies in advance.

Yes, I have. With the Rocket especially, you can get yourself into big trouble pretty quickly...pull the gear up with the trim up and it wants to go vertical.

Thanks! I did do transition training with 2 different CFI's - both are probably on here and one of them flew a M20K around the world. So, feel pretty good about that. I guess the big talking point is dealing with the landing configuration with a nose heavy airplane. I know I tend to use a significant amount of trim up when landing - makes for a much smoother flare/landing vs a neutral trim and man handling the controls. As mentioned, Rocket didn't do anything with the 'tail feathers' so perhaps there's something to that. Again, just knowing that I'll walk into a checkride with a W&B printout that shows the airplane far forward CG for the duration of the flight makes me a bit nervous and want to be sure I'm covering all the bases - especially from those who also fly Rockets. Thanks guys.

I notice this as well - our autopilot trims down a decent amount as well even with 2 adults up front and 60 gallons. I thought that was interesting given the almost severe forward CG but just figured that was a Mooney thing.

We do have the weights back there...but not the composite prop...on the list.

I've been flying a 305 Rocket for about 6 months now and looking forward to taking it to an accelerated IFR training and checkride next month. i'm just curious if you K drivers have the same wacky forward CG that the Rocket has? I know it won't be AS significant as the big 6 cylinder engine/turbo stuff is probably another 150ish lbs...but wonder if you guys are in a situation where pretty much no matter what your load out is - you're way forward CG? We're due to weigh the airplane, but we're looking at around 900lbs or so useful. With 60 gallons and me (200lbs) I'm so far forward CG that even burning the fuel down doesn't get me back into the box. As for the Rocket, and obviously knew this going into the airplane to begin with is that it's a wife and me and a few bags kinda plane. I could also do myself and my 3 boys and a few bags or my Dad and I and golf bags. Again, all scenario's - even with people in the back seats the W&B shows far forward CG outside the 'box'. How do you guys talk through these kinds of scenario's with a DPE on a checkride? Obviously way better to be forward CG than aft and as long as you know it you can 'compensate' for it.