1980Mooney

That file labeled "252" is just a 1997 M20K Service Manual that should cover all years and versions of M20K.

Parts Manual is in the Downloads Section. There is a 252 Service Manual also

I installed the Lasar jack-point/tie-downs on my plane over 20 years ago without any Loctite. They have never come loose. No issue.

"REGISTRATION PENDING". Another new owner......

If you listen to LiveATC archive for KALB Albany Approach on 11-24 at 23:00 UTC (it starts at 22:50 actually), you can hear N58156 say at about 22:52 that he has information "Victor". The pilot responds and sounds fine. But the quality of the recording is terrible. Later ATC asks "Are you still getting (unintelligible)". I can't make out anything more. Later ATC is asking other planes to try to contact N58156.

On Beechtalk someone commented that the Freezing Level was around 4,000 ft about the time. You can't even clear the mountains at that altitude. He should have spent the night at Churchville.

He started his final descent towards Albany while at 5,400 ft and well before crossing the 4,040 ft. Hunter Mountain range. He was still about 40 nm. from Albany.

Perhaps we might ponder: Why would a Commercial rated pilot fly night VFR over mountainous terrain into overcast conditions rather than File?. Why descend below MEL of 4,400 ft when still over mountainous area? Did he lose situational awareness and believe that he had passed the high terrain? Equipment issues? CO poisoning?

Occurred Sunday at about 6:07 PM EST. New owner, although a Commercial Pilot, identified as deceased. Was flying dog rescue from Culpepper, VA (KCJR) to Albany, NY. He had stopped at Harford County Airport (Churchville, MD) 0W3. He departed Harford (Churchville) at 4:43 PM EST. It appears he was flying night VFR. Sunset at Churchville was 4:45 PM EST and last light was at 5:13 PM EST. The weather at Albany (KALB), about 30 miles to the northeast showed broken clouds as low as 2,100 ft AGL and overcast as low as 3,800 ft AGL at times. KALB elevation is only 285 ft. Nov 24, 6:15 pm 39 34 81 33 W 10 10.00 FEW027 FEW047 BKN060 29.58 29.89 Nov 24, 6:10 pm 39 34 81 32 W 12 10.00 FEW022 SCT049 OVC060 29.58 29.89 Nov 24, 6:06 pm 40 33 76 32 W 14 10.00 FEW022 SCT027 OVC060 29.58 29.89 T Nov 24, 6:05 pm 39 34 81 31 W 15 10.00 FEW022 SCT027 OVC065 29.58 29.89 Nov 24, 5:55 pm 39 34 81 32 WNW 13 10.00 Lt rain FEW019 BKN027 OVC065 29.58 29.89 Nov 24, 5:51 pm 39 33 79 31 WNW 13 10.00 Lt rain BKN021 BKN030 OVC060 1012.20 29.57 29.88 T Nov 24, 5:50 pm 39 34 81 32 WNW 13 10.00 Lt rain SCT021 BKN026 29.57 29.88 Nov 24, 5:45 pm 39 34 81 32 WNW 13 9.00 Lt rain SCT021 BKN026 OVC038 29.57 29.88 Nov 24, 5:43 pm 40 33 76 32 WNW 14G23 9.00 Lt rain SCT021 BKN026 OVC038 29.57 29.88 T Nov 24, 5:40 pm 39 34 81 32 WNW 13G18 8.00 Lt rain FEW019 BKN026 OVC038 29.57 29.88 Nov 24, 5:30 pm 41 32 70 33 WNW 15 10.00 Lt rain FEW026 BKN038 OVC055 29.57 29.88 Nov 24, 5:20 pm 41 32 70 34 W 12 10.00 Lt rain FEW026 SCT042 BKN055 29.56 29.87 His speed is highly erratic. He may have been scud running. It appears that he crashed near Windham High Peak (3,528 ft. elevation). One news report says that rescuers found wreckage on both sides of Escaprment Trail which goes to Windham High Peak. Most of the trail is above 3,000 ft. https://cnyhiking.com/EscarpmentTrail.htm N58156 Flight Tracking and History 24-Nov-2024 (0W3 - FlightAware https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a77cc5&lat=42.230&lon=-74.255&zoom=12.0&showTrace=2024-11-24&trackLabels&timestamp=1732489651 Pilot identified in fatal Windham plane crash; recovery efforts ongoing Seuk Kim's Obituary - Springfield, VA | Ever Loved

As suspected, this is because of the crap, literally "dinosaur", oil that we use in our airplanes. Having to change oil at 25 hours because of breakdown is just ridiculous. A current BMW R1200 classic engine style motorcycle oil change interval is 6,000 miles or one year - that's about 135-200 hours. Even new Harley is 5,000 miles or about 100-150 hours. Most current turbocharged automobiles oil change intervals are 10,000 miles or one year - about 200-300 hours. The big rig semis change oil at 250-500 hours. I can't wait to see us come out of the Stone Age with fleetwide unleaded fuel and modern lubricants.

Here are some slightly different ones but also with smooth shafts. I guess Mooney didn’t want you to fly with them in.

Going forward they provide STC support for installation in a Mooney with only the 55x https://genesys-aerosystems.com/stc-directory/ The last known published price list for a conversion kit from a 30 to a 55x was $13,000. But that was in 2021 just as Moog bought the company and before they discontinued most of the product line in 2022. There aren’t many posting about 55x upgrades now. Like everything else in aviation it is probably a lot higher now. http://www.337skymaster.com/messages/attachment.php?attachmentid=2729&d=1659355672 That said, the 55x was developed last century and introduced in 2000 back when the company was called Meggitt S-TEC. I would suspect that it is on borrowed time given Moog’s apparent lack of interest in GA autopilots.

Previous post with same inboard issue.

Moog, Inc., a publicly traded company, bought Genesys Aerosystems (which owned S-TEC) at the beginning of 2021. Most of Moog’s business is in Commercial and Defense aircraft, Space & Defense and some Industrial & Medical. They sell to DOD, Government and commercial manufacturers. This S-TEC bit which came with the Genesys purchase. I think it is the only business they have that sells to GA owners (the Chelton general aviation avionics business in Genesys collapsed in2007). It’s pretty clear that they are housecleaning and have no longterm commitment to the business. And clearly the Moog Corp attorneys don’t want the new and continued liability of issuing new STC’s on used equipment of questionable quality (and mostly equipment that the no longer sell and will only support until parts run out)

The first item is located in France.

I think you are out of luck. Genesis Aerosystems notified its dealers in mid-2022 that it would discontinue all analog S-TEC autopilots on January 1, 2023. Apparently there wasn’t any press release to the pilot/owner community. They told dealers that they would support the legacy analog systems until parts ran out Sarasota shows the S-TEC 30 Altitude Hold as “discontinued”. https://sarasotaavionics.com/avionics/system-30-alt?srsltid=AfmBOor-L7o3ImTILWU1XwYS2C9AFGFbOSQeOulkSxIz3CMHkWcWm3g9 https://www.facebook.com/GenesysAerosystems/posts/the-s-tec-system-203030alt-analog-autopilots-will-be-out-of-production-starting-/3456005478019183/ http://shop.avionics.co.nz/system20-50#container https://www.beechtalk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=210104

I see you have an Ovation 3

Perhaps you didn’t see his posts here on MS in the Videos Forum - topic “Will it ever fly again?” In mid-June he posted that he was parting it out. He added pictures of it disassembled in full sale mode. It will never fly again.

The picture you attached is not visible - I tried to view with an iPhone and a PC - but it is just a long alphanumeric string.

Good point. Rocket attaches a second Data Plate on the plane reflecting the STC modification. See the pic. But BAS left the Rocket Data Plate on the fuselage which is for sale separately from the "STC Kit". I have no idea how you resolve that. Good second point too. Among the other bits, just having a spare airworthy condition engine mount & frame (which is unique to the Rocket conversion) is worth quite a bit. I know from personal experience that if you have to send it off to Rocket Engineering for minor corrosion repair, you can easily wind up spending $4k or more with shipping both ways.

Another landing incident sending a Mooney to the salvage scrap pile. N57247, a 1984 M20K with Rocket 305 Conversion on June 29 at Durango (KDRO). This, like many Mooney landing "incidents" doesn't seem to show up anywhere except the salvage auction. It appears that he drifted off the centerline - there was a slight rear quartering wind at the time. ADS-B shows that he decelerated from 84 kts to 58 kts in about the width of the runway (150 ft). If I did the math right that is about 1.1 G's deceleration (similar to stopping force of a new Corvette). Sporty. Not sure what was going on but FlightAware showed him descending at about -1,000 to -900 fps on Final. ADSBExchange shows he was descending about -1,344 fpm when he turned on Final and still descending at -768 fpm after crossing the airport perimeter fence. His plane did have speed brakes. (N57247 | 1984 MOONEY M20K 305 ROCKET on Aircraft.com) Flight Track Log ✈ N57247 29-Jun-2024 (KFMN-KDRO) - FlightAware https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a758db&lat=37.159&lon=-107.746&zoom=14.9&showTrace=2024-06-29&leg=2&trackLabels&timestamp=1719686335 BAS has salvaged it and removed the Rocket 305 STC parts supposedly complete. (it appears that they got dual battery box but they should have also included the power cables extension, Charlie weights, tachometer), $25,000. All you need is your M20K, then to tear down the engine (probably overhaul - 1,431 hours and 26 years on it....), new prop, new hoses, then I bet spend about 300++ shop hours trying to determine what is missing and figure out how to reassemble. And then paint the cowl to match. Maybe invest $140,000 plus donate your plane? Mooney M20K Rocket 305 Conversion Kit, Continental TSIO-520-NB (Prop struck) The odd thing is that although the wings do not look damaged, they cut them off cleanly right through the MLG wheel wells. The description of the fuselage says belly damage, so it sounds like a gear up. BAS usually salvages Mooney wings whole even if bent up. Mooney M20K Fuselage with Bill of Sale, Data Tag, Airworthiness, and Log Books

The late Bob Belville posted that he did a gear up with that belly mod in 1997.

Do you recall where your CHT's generally were using this single point gauge during the summer when cruising WOT down lower? In the 300's? Your case above was incredibly cold - about 17 deg C below Standard at 16,000 ft. OAT was about -29 deg F. Corrected Density Altitude was about 14,000 ft. You were operating at the extreme ends of both the Mooney POH cruise charts and also the Lycoming Fuel Consumption vs. HP charts. At 7.1 gph LOP you might be making 90 HP. - so the engine is not producing a lot of heat.

Really? Ok maybe not in a F1 race car but in a Porsche 911 or 718. Now days any idiot can drive a 911 - all you need is to be 16 years old and have Daddy's credit card. Porsche promotes it - and the kids are driving 911's and 718's. https://www.porschedriving.com/los-angeles/porsche-young-driver/ Gone are the days when skills were needed to manage understeer, throttle-off oversteer, 4 speed clutch, brake fade or lock-up and to get the most out of the engine. Today full stability and traction management systems control brakes and power on each wheel individually, electric power steering, Tiptroninc auto or PDK effortlessly shifts automatically. General aviation is going the same direction. Everyone wants big flat screens with integrated avionics - and more features like electronic stability and protection, smart glide, emergency descent, auto-land. What new features will Garmin add to its Autonomous suite over the next 10 years? Auto "take-off" maybe? https://discover.garmin.com/en-US/autonomi/ https://www.aviationtoday.com/2024/11/14/garmin-g3000-with-autoland-technology-gets-an-upgrade/ And commercial aviation?...in 10 years why will they need 2 pilots up front? A flight attendant can be trained to "land" the planef if a pilot croaks. (i.e. press the "auto-land" button. Hell they won't even need to know how to talk to ATC because the plane will automatically send messages on the proper frequencies that it already knows in its database for the location). Or maybe it will be remotely flown with the "Pilot" just sitting up front monitoring the systems that are monitoring the plane. I suspect the reality of events in Ukrane are going to lead to the rapid development of more UAV technology and wars in the future will be fought remotely. This, like all DOD driven aviation development, will trickle to commercial aviation.