firelog1101

I have had this happen to my k200 aswell, I just push it back in. It has usually happened on landing, which has been a bit unnerving seeing the trim rocker not work. If you find out what's wrong please post about it

Sorry I should've clarified why buy a more expensive Skytec starter vs the cheaper exchange and get an electronic ignition?

How would this compare to an electronic ignition like Surefly? I have heard the startups with those are 1-2 blade turns even when hot. If you're looking for a better startup that may be a better direction to look?

Love my J, cant get something with similar performance for the price. Getting an Eagle or Ovation shot the acquisition costs up too much for me. My only other thought was a Bonanza or Debonair, but it would've been atleast 15 years older for similar price. Beech had nice interiors that appear to have held up well but the panelwork and instrumentation was really lacking in the 1960s. Having the landing gear so out of sight was worrisome for me, along with the keyboard keys. Plus you need 2 extra cylinders to equate to relatively similar performance. A lot still don't have Autopilots

Indeed it was the switch, thanks to Bevan aviation and everyone's input it is back up and running without issue!

Same fuel gauge on my J has been wonky aswell with the engine running normally, will be getting checked on annual. I suspect the gauges just aren't very reliable. I would agree however that your Temps are higher than what I run. I am usually full cowl flaps to cruise altitude then full close. Temps are good unless low altitude high engine settings. Over 400 to me would be concerning. Climb out whe away from obstacles around 120 to 130mph, more effecient for time to destination and better airflow.

Different heat in the southwest but opening the overhead cabin vent, window vent, eyeball vents near the legs, and the underleg vent usually works well enough. Point the eyeball vent through your shorts keeps things cooler... Get the engine going asap. Make sure people are wearing appropriate clothing for the heat. That's loose fitting t shirt and shorts with airflow. Only other thing that could really help is some kind of AC unit hooked through the side window to provide Prestartup cooling. Too much hassle for me...

By the time you start using it the kids will have grown enough to be uncomfortable in the back. Look into an a36 bonanza. If you want cheaper perhaps a cherokee 6, but expect slower speeds.

Finally pulled out the control box and opened it up, looks like the black plastic on the switch has cracked, all the plastic is very very brittle.. Oddly I cannot find the plastic remnants unless they were dropped on removal. Just looking at the device I can't really see how the magnet holds the switch in the "on" position. I am getting in contact with the autopilot guys from Tulsa to see if they are able to fix it. I am hopeful that is it

Sadly my KFC 200 is now acting up with a similar issue. Was flying home yesterday and disengaged the AP using the trim tab. Now the switch will not stay in the ON position. If I hold it up it functions fine, will hold a heading and altitude. Made a quick video to show the symptoms...

I grew UP in El Centro, summer is not my favorite time to visit that is for sure!!

No there isn't any oil from the base of the blades. The shop guys said the crankshaft seal is completely dry but could replace if I really wanted to. They're not really sure what it could be and have suggested having the guys at Lycon in Visalia CA look at it since they did the overhaul in 2017. They said the last shop it was at put some red silicon(?) on areas that were leaking, probaby voided the warranty even though it has 100hrs on it.They also said the leak seems minor and might be a waste to go after at this time...just surprising for a 100hr engine to have a leak like this, at least in my eye. At this point I'm just going to wait for annual and have an MSC look into it.

Here are some more pictures comparing the cowling inlets on the left and right

It is the round tip c214. Also there is no window spray or puff whatsoever in flight. It's literally just that streak and a small splattering on that inlet

Thank you for your input everyone, it is a McCauley prop. Do these have the red dye inside? It sounds like it doesn't show up on a ground run but will with a 30min flight.

I bought a 1978 M20J back in December, haven't had any issues with it until recently I've noticed a small amount of what appears to be oil on the cowling near the spinner on the cowling. The engine and prop has 100hrs on it and was new since the previous owner had a gear up 5 year ago. I had a mechanic do an oil change and see if there's any oil leak he can find, he wasn't able to find anything on the runup in the shop and said to fly it around. Still have the small leak that I notice after shutting down, the actual oil amount doesn't seem to go down by an appreciable amount.

Maybe a Cherokee 6 or a Cessna 210? I would think maintaining proficiency in a larger single engine would be a lot easier than switching between a twin. Also, the fuel consumption and maintenance costs on twins can be pretty high, something that would discourage me from even using the thing.

Are you able to turn SV off in foreflight now? I had it in the past but there wasn't a way to turn it off, it used a lot of battery life.

Probably they don't want to do a W+B because it's typically lower than anticipated...

Are you out at KIPL? I used to see an Eagle parked out there a couple years back during my private. I've considered moving to kearny mesa area and fly commuting to the hospitals out there if the scheduling/finances works out.

Have a hangared Cessna in the California low desert near Arizona. It's extremely hot, straight temperature wise probably the hottest area in the country other than death valley. Honestly the heat doesn't do much to the equipment or plastics, it's the UV rays that will really start to ruin things as mentioned.

Sorry I meant to say <2kts loss on cruise speed rather than stall speed.

Just from a novice perspective, it sounds like people joining general aviation today looking for something equivalent to a Mooney are most interested in throwing in a couple G5s, a GFC 500-type autopilot, some type of basic JPI engine monitor, and one of these GNX 375 type of deals. Rip out all the vacuum pumps and unnecessary weight. Foreflight/Garmin Pilot is such a powerful tool today that it's not very convincing to even want to buy a fully integrated G1000....when you're expecting it to become fairly obsolete within 10 years. Honestly I couldn't care less if it has FIKI, turbo, A/C, built in O2, leather seats etc. Half this stuff is actually an unattractive factor due to maintenance/weight/leather makes me sweat. How many aircraft have you seen online with inoperative built-in O2? Some stuff is nice to have but at the end of the day probably wasn't worth the expense. By the time you're done with a late model J, you've sunk about 200k already just for all the aircraft, labor done, buying Garmin$ stuff. I could easily see it being tempting to spend another 100k on something brand new, with improved paints and corrosion protection, no "remote history of damage" worries, and presumably a better designed and managed wet-wing. So we've got a 300-350k range that I could see useful. To give perspective, I think more buyers today are looking at stuff from the late 90s/early 2000s for similar aircraft. You just don't want to get stuck with an old G1000 that breaks, or needs expensive updating to be useful for WAAS/LPV. You're probably right about the delta being not as big as what I am imagining. Just looking through the chronology and doing some inflation comparisons, a late 1970s J would be equivalent to about 190k today. This can probably be compared to a new 172 that retails for what, 400k? But the fact remains that you can't find something new, that is functionally equivalent to a J model, for 190k today.

I used some cheap portable CO sensor in a Cessna I flew. I tested it using a gas stove and it seemed to work. Questionable if it would be sensitive enough at higher altitudes...I figured it would've warned me prior to takeoff well enough. Cost was 20 bucks. Take the battery out when not in use. Be aware CO is often from opening up cabin heat, I lived in a hot area so I wasn't as concerned. The P2 system is good from what I have heard. There's this other system that uses a radar to sense the ground at 100 feet, http://www.flyingsafer.com/p-n-2037.html. Cheaper but would require the doppler system to be installed on the belly. Not sure how well it works out. Others have suggested just using GPS altitude warnings on Foreflight, annunciations and what not. Obviously these wouldn't detect the gear position but could be a reminder source.

Where did everything go wrong. It's so hard to see how cheap planes were back in the 70s compared to today. Why we can't get a brand new Eagle-type aircraft today for 200k or less is such a shame. Why were prices so cheap back then? I'm fortunate to be young and going into a higher paying field, but even then I'm going to be stuck buying something from the 90s or older. I can't see a lot of this stuff being viable by the year 2050, even though they've lasted this long. How does the # of crashes of small GA compare to the actual being pumped out each year? Less and less people getting PPC....and most of those who are are just moving into commercial aviation. It's a dying hobby and it's upsetting to be on the younger side of things, but realize that none of my friends could realistically afford to pick it up. Is it all the lawsuits manufacturers have dealt with? Wages? I'd honestly be willing to look into buying something made in Mexico or China if quality controls were maintained like they've done with automobiles. How could they manage to sell aircraft for those prices back then, and we're stuck now with something that is inflation-controlled around 10x the purchase price?