Jer

Thank you Matt for your response. I was hoping someone with actual m20J experience would relate what they learned. What brought this up was that I have a 34 acre property in Texas with a house in the middle. It is located at the beginning of the 45 for the downwind for my local class G airport, so I naturally fly over on the way to land. I texted my wife from the air that I was about to fly over, but no response. I circled the house at 700AGL but didn't get her attention, and then I went and landed. I related this to her when I got home, and she just sarcastically said: "you should have thrown something out the window". It just got me thinking. I don't really need to pursue actually doing it. Jer

This is just somewhat hypothetical. In ground school, I recall there is no prohibition about throwing something out the aircraft beyond taking care that no one was hurt or property damaged on the ground. Due to the Mooney's low wing, any object thrown out the pilot side window will certainly pass over the top of the wing, but would it go below the horizontal stabilizer? I have seen college aviation teams competing to throw an object closest to a target, but they are generally flying high wing Cessnas. Does anyone have any experience with such? Just curious.

Folks: You are absolutely correct. That new housing does seem like a better and easier solution. Well I enjoyed the project along the way! Jer

Evidently the photos posted in reverse order than that as I described.

Folks: I don't know if anyone else has had this problem, but the mounting ears broke off of the compass housing. I believe it is made of Bakelite, and the material seems a bit crumbly after 40+ years. I have a good solution which involves a 3D printed adapter which I made. tapping a couple of pre-existing holes in the housing, screwing it on, and re-mounting the compass with original hardware. Here are a couple of photos: 1) the compass with broken ears. 2) top and bottom views of the adapter. 3) the adapter attached, and 4) the adapted compass re-installed. If there is anyone else in this situation, please advise and I will post the .stl file of the adapter and write detailed instructions to guide someone through the whole process. I am also just willing to send an adapter to anyone who needs it. Jer

I have a 2003 parts catalog as well. The gauge is listed in the wings section, page 57-30-01 (photo attached) as 880011-505 with no effectivity notes but with the notation see 28-10-00, which was posted by user "1980Mooney". That page shows the part number of 880024-5 with effectivity note /2. I was not able to see what the /2 referred to. Does anyone know the difference between the two part numbers? The question is fairly moot, since I have not been able to find either.

Don: I hate to be a pest, but his seems too good to be true. Just to confirm, you are saying the oval plate does not need to be removed? The entire thing can be accomplished from the top of the wing? The six screws around the perimeter of the gauge attach only the lower assembly and not the dial itself? Jer

Folks: I am sort of directing this to Don Muncy, who seems quite knowledgeable on this subject, but I would be happy to hear from anyone on the subject. Is the face replaceable by itself, or is it integral with the gauge, which would indicate the entire gauge to be replaced? What is involved as far as labor for the replacement? If that little oval panel it is mounted to needs to be removed, and since this is a wet wing, does the tank need to be drained and then re-sealed? Jer

Folks: My "89 M20J, which I bought about 5 or 6 years ago, has a fuel gauge on top of each wing. When I bought the plane, they were both clear and easy to read. Since that time, one of the faces has become quite obscured. I made the probably incorrect assumption that my tie-down position subjected one more than the other to harsh sun. I assumed the face was cloudy as some automotive headlights get, and so I bought some plastic polishing compound and tried to buff it out. In doing this , it became apparent that it was not merely a surface condition, but rather the face was discolored through and through. The material now seems to be somewhat soft. I am suspicious that the material is being degraded from the inside by contact with fuel. Has anyone had any similar experience? Any suggestions for a path forward would be welcome. Jerry

To answer a few folks: Mr Greg Ellis, thank you for the suggestion for training tools aside from the actual unit. When I said "antique", i meant it. It is a Garmin GPS155XL. It has a very different OS than one I am a bit more familiar with, a 530W. I had been recently flying a Bonanza with a 530W, and am now back to flying my Mooney, and I need to twist my mind back into the 155XL mindset. The Bonanza is the machine from which I removed the working 24V wet cell. I just didn't like the slimy condition inside the battery box. To answer member, 1980Mooney, I do not have a hangar. I am tied down outside, far from power. While operating the Bonanza, I had the need to start it once using an APU. The Bonanza POH specifically states to leave the "battery" switch off when starting using the APU. Note this is not noted as a "master" switch. I only did it once, and my recollection may not be correct, but I believe power was supplied to those normal things as turn coordinator, boost pump, etc. as well as the starter motor. After start, APU was removed, then battery switch turned on. This is where I got the idea that power might be available with the APU attached and the master off. I can only conclude that the Bonanza and the Mooney are wired differently and the "Master" switch is named differently than the "Battery" switch for a reason. Jerry

Eric: Thank you for your thoughtful and knowledgeable reply. I guess my suppositions were correct. The extra battery will help, but not eliminate the problem of battery drain during GPS exploration. Jer

Folks: I recently removed a good wet 24V battery from another aircraft (replacing it with a gel) and decided to use it as an APU to allow for powering the avionics without engine start to let me gain proficiency on my antique Garmin GPS unit at leisure. My POH seems to be silent on the use of the external power plug, I have a set of jumper cables with clamps on one end and the big connector plug on the other. I plugged it in and expected to be able to leave the master off (thus not connecting the on-board battery) while being able to turn the avionics on through the radio master. This was not the case. The avionics did not power up. I assume I have to plug in to the APU and turn on the Master then the radio master. I did not do this as I thought it would be prudent to understand the situation prior to doing so. I am guessing that doing it as such, the two batteries would be essentially connected in parallel, and then turning on the master and radio master would still drain the on-board battery (although likely at a slower rate than unsupported by the APU battery). This is just my supposition, but I would like to hear from someone with knowledge of the situation. Thank you all for the help. Jerry

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts. Ibra commented that it was strange I ask about "half" flaps when the application of the flaps is continuous. I was really referring to "takeoff" flaps as indicated on the indicator, and as per other comments, yes I was contemplating throwing these in along with the gear when decelerating through Vlo in an effort to slow the plane. Per the numerous comments stating that the Mooney flaps don't offer much drag, I really don't see the point in pressing the issue. I must confess that recently I neglected retracting the flaps from the takeoff setting and got into cruise which exceeded Vfe significantly. The poor performance finally tipped me off and I retracted the flaps. I looked for damage and noted none, but I don't intend to do that again. Jer

Folks: My POH says 115 KIAS for Vfe at full flaps but is silent on partial flaps. Anyone have any comment about a higher allowable speed at half flaps? Jerry

I have been having some overheating issues on several components. I can't hear a fan and the sound doesn't change when the blower breaker is pulled. Can anyone offer advice on where the blower is found? Jer

Does anyone know where I can get a used right inner gear door for a M20J? I believe it is P/N 50061-502.

Thanks for all the help and advice folks. I got a volunteer to take that manual off my hands. After M20Doc's post above, now I want to get a parts manual 226, Original paper notebook style.

To my friends Moosebreath and Carusoam, please let me apologize for not saying thanks for your advice earlier. Thank you. I got some other advice to try and find a manual on ebay. I did so, only to realize it did not cover my s/n. I was more careful second time around, and snagged a complete manual for my s/n. The suggestion to have one printed is well taken, but where do I find the files? There was nothing regarding service manuals in the downloads section of this website. The correct service manual that I did buy (seems unused) has all the electrical schematics, but the one for my s/n is really a poor print. I have the drawing number and rev, does anyone know where I can get a specific drawing number? If anyone needs my incorrect manual (only covers up to 1984 models), I would be happy to send it to them. Before asking, please don't make my mistake and fail to read the affected serial numbers carefully. Please zoom in on attached photo.

Can anyone advise where to obtain a hard copy service manual (if such a thing exists)?

Thanks guys. I think I will just ask my avionics shop to replace it with something new, since I can't find the right cover.

Do you have the Fuel Boost Pump rocker switch? I didn't see it in the photo. I am actively seeking one or just the undamaged cover.