GeeBee

While there are exceptions, submerged in tank fuel pumps became "de rigueur" as a result of the requirements of electronic fuel injection.

I can name about 50 items on the PA-18 line of aircraft which are PMA'd and much better than the original. McFarlane has made a business out of PMA'd parts that are better designed and more durable than original, everything from door hinges to landing gear saddles to gascolators. Same with Atlee Dodge. To quote one instance, ECi as an example, well I can quote 2 successes for every failure. Spring manufacturing is not rocket science. If someone shows me why their PMA'd spring is better, and has data to back it up (which is not hard to obtain), I'm in.

Given the history of defective factory springs, how much worse could it get?

Get it while its hot. Apple had to stop selling the O2 sensor versions of the watch today due to a patent dispute.

Interesting. Yet 90% of their STC's is for 4 bangers. The only 6 cylinders I see is the Cessna 180 series.

You can thank my brother for "report to the mother ship" feature on Fords.

No, they want to document you tried to take it in the country. Customs can move contraband all over the place and it is not a crime. You try to move it on US soil and it is a crime. You are instantly "trafficking". Here are a few other tips. When you present yourself before CBP, you may have a US Passport, but you are not a US citizen until he says you are, by accepting your passport. You are "persona non grata" for those few minutes. Equally so, you are the agents case and no one, not even his superior can take you away from him/her. This dates back to the days when Customs officers got a cut of the collected duty. He/she can relinquish you for instance to "secondary" but if he/she takes you into custody, you are his/her real until they relinquish you either by resolving your case and sending you off to holding. In addition as you remember prior to the construction of concourse F and the International terminal there was no baggage X-Ray on that end of the field, so if you were connecting they wanted you to place the bag on the conveyor as it went straight to your connecting concourse. That is why you could not open your bag and add contents. ATL has a total seal on the SIDA area now. This was due to employees trafficking contraband, mostly guns.

One time I as carrying a charter of Indiana National Guard just back from the Sandbox. We landed in Indianapolis and for some reason they had to go through TSA. They had their weapons with them and the TSA insisted this Sergeant put his SAW through the X-Ray. I burst out laughing and the TSA guy said, "Well there could be a round in the chamber". I said, "The cycle the bolt and if there is a round it will eject, you're not going to see a round on that X-ray inside the receiver of a SAW.". They don't listen.

That is because you are required to claim your bag from an international flight to create a chain of custody for Customs. If your bag contained contraband and you did not claim it, Customs has little to no case against you. They already know what is in the bag, they want to know if you will claim it as your own. Equally so, it allows Agriculture with their dog to sweep your bag as you take it across the hall. That Beagle as cute as he is, has busted a lot of people. LOL!

The issue we have is the pump vanes are carbon and they heat quickly without lubrication. While a dry vacuum pump operates in a similar way, it also has cooling. A fuel pump has no radiating fins and indeed when ran dry even momentarily fuel inside evaporates quickly under the heat. Continuous fuel lubrication and cooling are essential for pump longevity.

Expensive because in a car you have to drop the tank to empty it out and thanks to safety standards, tanks are well buried in the vehicle.

"FAILURE OF THE DRIVE SHAFT IS ALMOST UNHEARD OF UNLESS THE PUMP IS ALLOWED TO OPERATE DRY. VANES IN ANY TYPE OF PUMP NEED A FLUID FOR PROPER LUBRICATION AND TO SEAL THE PUMP CAVITY DURING OPERATION." https://www.avweb.com/ownership/continental-io-360-fuel-injection/

A Navajo has a Lycoming with a diaphragm pump. I've ran Navajos dry too and you're right. Watch for the flutter in FF and you can do it. A Continental has a vane type pump. The vane and the vane drive shaft are fuel lubricated. Lack of fuel will cause pump failure fairly quickly. By the time you see flutter in FF, the pump is starving for lubrication. So if you're of a mind to do this with a Continental, make sure your High Boost Electric pump is working, because you're going to need it eventually.

With Continental fuel injection you are being really hard on the mechanical fuel pump by running it dry. Not something you want to make a habit.

What shop?

I am slowly coming to the belief that Mooney would be better off in Chapter 11 where someone with the vision, passion, commitment and capital could buy the old Mooney out for the debt and truly start to support the existing owners as well as create a new future. This ownership group seems mired in indecision and inability to execute.for whatever reason. Chapter 11 could wipe out all the old contracts which are inhibiting the future.

They said it was a well maintained airplane that required nothing. All AD's and SB's up to date, gear was perfect, cylinders ranged for 70/80 to a low of 60/80....cold. Total cost $2550. As an aside Fred Hilton took me in the shop and showed their current work. They are an authorized Cirrus center authorized to perform structural repairs. They had one that had a PIO which resulted in a cracked firewall. The firewall is also composite and they had replaced it. Another had a hangar rash on the tail. He told me they get engineered repair kits from the factory and that the kits require curing at 180 degrees for 7-8 hours. They build an enclosure around the repair then heat it with thrermostat controlled heat guns that maintain the temperature within the enclosure to cure the resin. The firewall repair from PIO appears to be a common repair, much like C-182s. They can cut the firewall in half (lower and upper) and repair only the damaged section. They also had a C-210 that suffered a gear up. The work looked excellent. I also know they have a gear up Baron coming in.

I had my airplane scheduled into my IA for an annual on 11-27. He called me on the 26th and advised me he was unable because he fell off a ladder and broke his leg in two spots. My annual expired on 11-30 so I had to scramble. Called Cole Aviation but Joe said he was slammed. So I went through the directory of Mooney Service centers and found Precision Air in Manning, SC. Not only was it an MSC it was a Part 145 station. I called them and told them my predicament, holiday travel schedule and that I needed the airplane back by 12-15. Fred Hilton, the shop manager said he could squeeze me in. I told him I needed to drop the airplane before 12-1 and they said no problem. Next problem was getting there. I needed a chase plane. Chuck (aka RoundTwo) very nicely offered his help to chase with his J model. I dropped the airplane off and was impressed by Fred and his shop. He seemed well tempered and knowledgeable. Yesterday, 3 days early no less, they called and said my airplane was ready. I found it parked on the ramp fully ready, even washed and vacuumed. Precision Air did a great job and came through for me when I really needed help. Ditto Chuck (RoundTwo) who made it a whole lot easier.

Don't know about your POH, but mine requires that as well and for 5 seconds on each tank.

Actually the M20R POH requires you to verify feed from both tanks prior to take off. I checked and the engine will quit in 30 seconds with the fuel valve off. So I start and taxi out on one tank. Change tank to perform a run up then take off.

Trust me, I've had my civics lesson from the same US Attorney (Central CA) 40 years ago when he tried to charge me with conspiracy for flying the company airplane with the boss aboard to a meeting where an alleged environmental violation occurred at Lake Tahoe. That turned out to be a bust for them because the Grand Jury told him to pound sand in my case. I used to innocently think prosecutors did not waste their time charging innocent people, or charging people with more crimes than they actually did. Equally so I was picked to serve on a state Grand Jury about 20 years ago. The crap that was paraded before us shocked me to the core. There was attempts as in my case to ruin innocent people's lives by shoving them into the system on bogus charges just to get at somebody else. In the past years with the abuse of the FISA court along with an entire hoax ran through the same court, and with my personal experiences I've learned personally and up close to only believe what is proven in front of a jury or admitted by the defendant. I am not defending Trevor Jacob, he did a bad thing but I will not attribute to him, things he did not admit to, or the prosecutor did not prove. If a prosecutor wants to allege more, prove it otherwise they need to STFU. That is the way our founders envisioned it to work. Silly me, I actually believe in the Bill of Rights

I think we are saying the same thing but in a way past each other. He admitted and was found guilty of acts of destruction and secreting of the destruction, but he was not convicted of lying. Did he lie? Without a doubt, but without recorded evidence and just the word of FAA inspectors a trial of that charge would not really further the case. As I said, “you are convicted of what they can prove” and they could easily prove the destruction and disposal with the physical. The verbal was a higher mountain not worth the climb.

It was not the media. It was the DOJ’s own account that they released. You are convicted of what they can prove, beyond reasonable doubt.

I am going by the press release which said, " "Jacob pleaded guilty on June 30 to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation." It is my understanding lying is different than destruction and concealment. Maybe I am wrong, but lying is usually "obstruction" or perjury. What you quote above is true, but that is not what he pleaded.