JamesMooney

Yep - Celsius for Canada on this trip. Back to Fahrenheit next week, we hope! The hairdryer idea is a brilliant suggestion - since this is a trip to visit family (vs being at our home airport), I’m sure our in-laws would let us borrow their hair dryer (maybe not their Dyson hair dryer though -haha) Hair dryer, extension cord, and a spray bottle of windshield fluid or RV antifreeze. I think we have a plan! thanks!

Thanks! Looks like it'll be more like 2 nights in an unheated hangar - but still, that and all the advice above should work. Interesting research finding about the automotive windshield antifreeze - there's an FAA AC that prohibits using it, but an AOPA Air Safety Institute article that encourages using it. Go figure! https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_135-17.pdf (page 19) https://www.aopa.org/-/media/Files/AOPA/Home/Pilot-Resources/ASI/Safety-Briefs/SB02.pdf (page 2)

Totally agree - which is why I had a Reif XP engine & oil heater installed. With 12 hours of heat from it, even at 20 F ambient, I get the cylinders and oil up to around 110-125F. It was one of the best 1AMU investments.

There’s ice because the temps keep fluctuating between a little above and a little below freezing. Yesterday the airplane was dry and clean. There was drizzle mixed with light snow (DZ -SN) with temps right at freezing. The moisture on the plane then froze over night when the temps dropped further. That’s my problem… the forecast for next few days hovers at/above freezing with precipitation forecast, and then cold overnights.

Here’s one for the cold weather experts to weigh in on. I’ve had our Mooney in Toronto for two weeks visiting family. Returning to US next Tuesday. It’s been on the ramp (only option available). On the warmer days, I’ve gone and brushed the snow and moisture off. But today it has a good layer of ice on the wings and tail. The local airport does not have heated hangar space. They do have cold / unheated hangars. The forecast for the next 5 days is below freezing most days and nights. Forecast (in Celsius) pasted below. Obviously I want an ice free Mooney on Tuesday morning. Would putting it in an unheated hangar for two nights, even when outside temps are below zero, be enough to cause any existing ice to melt off? (Probably not?) What would you all do? (PS I’m not as concerned about the engine being cold - I’ve got an engine heater/Reiff XP and will be giving it 12+ hours heat to the cylinders and oil before we go. They’ll be nice and toasty. The concern is the ice on airframe.)

Update - possible diagnosis. Based on advice from my avionics shop, I did a ground test. Engaged the AP HDG mode, and manually rocked the ailerons (control yoke) quickly and aggressively. Did this for a few seconds. Reset autopilot. After that, HDG mode is back to tracking the heading bug on HSI. Will do a flight test tmw to confirm. The assessment from my avionics shop is that the initial failure was the brushes on the motor, which failed to ‘seat’ properly after use. By engaging the autopilot and performing the quick rock back & forth motion of the airlerons reseated the brushes. Its a temporary fix. Looks like the motor and brushes will need servicing and possibly overhaul. Hoping the AP behaves nicely until my March annual, and will do the servicing then. FYI, for others who may have a similar problem, here's a few tips that different avionics shops gave me to try to self-fix the issue: 1.) Possible pin contact issue with Roll Computer. If easily accessed, remove and reseat Roll Computer. This is probably the least likely problem, but worth trying. 2.) Engage autopilot and very strongly and rapidly rock ailerons left & right a few inches which will rock the roll capstan. This will sometimes reseat the servo motor brushes which will allow the motor to run. This is usually only a short term ‘fix’ if it works. 3.) Try cycling the GPSS select switch multiple times in case the switch might be intermittent, blocking the HDG bug signal. 4) check the 2 plugs on the back of the King KI525 HSI. Sometimes the plugs half fall off and some things work and some don’t.

Thanks! @Peter Rejto mentioned in the thread above, that with his problem that he heard a sound when he turned his heading bug. With my issue, I'm not hearing any sounds when I turn the bug. That leads me to wonder if its electrical, not mechanical. Maybe a loose wire finally came disconnected, or a wire failed. (It was quite cold and also a fairly bumpy flight, on the day that this autopilot issue first was noticed. Maybe the temperature and turbulence contributed to the final failure of a wire?)

I am having an issue with my autopilot (STEC 60-2 connected to a King HSI) - anyone have ideas on how to troubleshoot this? Flew yesterday, and noticed that my STEC 60-2 AP was not responding to the heading bug (HSI) inputs. When I turned on the AP's HDG mode, it either just stayed wings level, or drifted slowly left/right. On the ground, I tested it by activating HDG mode and moving the heading bug on the HSI left and right. The controls do not move left/right as they should. However the controls are 'heavy' - the autopilot is engaged. Any thoughts on how I could troubleshoot this? I'd love to get the HDG (and GPSS) to work again for the 3+ hour flight home next week.

PM sent!

Funny timing. I just had my VSI replaced and upon replacement and testing of the static system, my alternate static failed. I had an -1,100 FPM static indication. They replaced the o-rings in the static valve and all was well again. The o-rings were $0.84 each, for two. The labor…. About 500x of that. LOL.

Ya, I think the 'sheer luck' was that I probably had an ILS freq in the NAV#1 freq window. At the moment I'm not really treating it as a safety issue. The GNS430W reads the approach correctly, and my HSI receives all the right signals. The only thing that isn't working (without this work-around or the wiring being fixed) is arming the autopilot APR mode. If that happens on an approach, I'll know why now. I'm going to add it to my approach checklist (I'm a checklist-oriented pilot). For now, its 1amu+ to fix. I think I'm going to wait until either annual or my next avionics upgrade to do this.

Not sure if this will help. But when I used to live in Canada, I owned a Cherokee with an O-320. Low wing, electric fuel boost pump. While it had a primer, that wasn't typically used. The one main difference between the advice so far (above) and my experience is that we always started that Cherokee with the boost pump ON. Mixture full rich, boost pump on. Sometimes 4-5 pumps of the throttle first too. Like others have said, if it doesn't start after ~10 seconds (which will feel like an eternity), stop. After 10 sec, it's not going to magically change its mind and start The boost pump on + mixture full rich + a few pumps worked for the three years I owned it in Burlington (CZBA), with winter temps regularly below 0 deg C / 32 F. That said, most of the time it lived in a hangar with a Tanis engine heater and a horse saddle blanket on the cowl. Are you sure you can't get access to an electrical plug to heat it up? I've seen Mooneys sitting on the ramp with the better part of 100' of electrical cord leading to a plug somewhere. Cold starts are really hard on the engine. When I was visiting family in Toronto last week and parked at Buttonville (CYKZ), I would pay the $100 for a night in a heated hangar before flying the next day. It hurt the wallet, but I figured I was probably doing somewhere between $25-$100 of wear on the engine with every very cold (below zero C) start anyway.

I'm not sure - depends on the wiring. For the GNS430W, there are two output options to wire it to the STEC 60-2 to achieve Approach functionality - pin 29 or pin 14. I quoted that in the thread earlier: "The wiring error possibility is that the wrong signal was interconnected to the autopilot. The autopilot has an input named "ILS Energize" and the 530W has an output of the same name on P5006 - pin 29. If these two pins are interconnected, you will be able to track an ILS GS but not a LPV GP. The correct 530W signal to wire to the autopilot is "ILS/GPS Approach" P5001 - pin 14. If the GTN series have the same wiring (an ILS Energize pin and an ILS/GPS Approach pin), then the issue could be the same - and presumably the work-around will also work (of putting any ILS frequency in the NAV radio of the GTN). I'd say it depends firstly on whether the wiring out of the GTN is the same as out of the GNS series. My hunch is yes.

Thanks, PM sent

Great! Safe to assume its in working condition? The plane is in the shop this week, so if I were able to get it this week, I could have them install it.

I think regular would be fine. Mine needs a refurb (needle is sticking a little) - any chance you'd want it?

Update: Diagnosed! Turns out the wiring is incorrect - as suspected in the thread above. But along the way, I learned about a work-around for this problem. If the NAV radio in the GNS430 is programmed with any ILS frequency (whether it is active or not - could be an ILS frequency on the other side of the country!), then it will fool the GNS430W into sending a 'ground' signal via the wiring. This will allow the STEC 60-2 to activate the APR mode. My options now are ~8 hours of labour to fix the wiring, or remember to always have a 'dummy' ILS frequency set in the NAV radio whenever flying GPS approaches. I tried this out and it worked successfully on ~6 approaches, including at airports without any ILS facility and with an ILS frequency corresponding to an airport that was hundreds of miles away. (In my particular case, I had programmed the ILS Rwy 8 at CYTZ, freq 110.15, into my 430W. For three weeks after, it remained the nav freq in my GNS430 - and that's what enabled the STEC 60-2 to interpret RNAV approaches as an approach, and to activate APR mode)

The VSI in my M20F is starting to stick and needs to be refurb'd or exchanged. Anyone have a VSI they are parting with?

Ya, mine is a bit less - maybe half that. I wipe it down every flight and watch it. Looks like about 3-4 drips that subsequently streak back on the gear door. And then 2-3 drips on the nose tire. Keeping an eye on it… Fortunately so far seems to be no change in last 60-75 hours/5 months.

I just did the opposite. I moved from KHEF and KGAI (40-60 min drive - but each with FBOs, instrument approaches, tower at KHEF or ground RCO to Potomac Approach at KGAI, maintenance on field, etcc.), to W32 - one of the "Maryland 3" inside the FRZ. Why? For a hangar. The idea of leaving my plane outside in DC/MD weather all winter (and all summer) was too much. The drive time is about 10 minutes shorter too. However, W32 is in rough shape. The runway and taxiways are fine, but: - no lit approach lights (it uses old-school wooden panels to mimic VASI lights) - RNAV (LNAV) only to one runway - almost every business has left the field. The airport is on life support, it seems. (Rumors it will close in the next 18 months.) Here in the DC area, hangars are a 2+ year wait (KFDK has a 5 year waitlist). So sometimes you have to give up the fancy touches if you want your plane out of the inclement weather. The lack of hangars and state of some of the airports in the DC metro area is really depressing, esp for the nation's capital.

Mine has a bit of oil that comes out of the breather tube every flight. It lands on the left side of the nose wheel. A tiny streak appears on the left side gear door too. I am keeping an eye on it, but research here on MS suggests thats normal. Its a few drops (and its amazing how one or two drops of oil can look like a lot!).

Update: went flying yesterday, did 6 approaches. The APR mode problem with RNAV approaches persists. The ILS approach worked perfectly. HDG+NAV while on vectors to intercept the localizer. Near the LOC, the HDG light went out, and the autopilot began to intercept the LOC. Once established inbound, the APR light came on, and shortly after, the GS light. The autopilot flew the approach down to minimums in a 15 knot crosswind flawlessly. However, the GPS approaches still will not work. The autopilot will not activate APR mode (remember: the STEC 60 does not have an APR button like the KFCs or STEC 55. Instead, you arm NAV mode, and it automatically activates APR mode when the AP receives a localizer signal, or a dummy localizer signal from the GPS in the case of RNAV approaches). I tried 4 RNAVs. Entered the approach at different points. Switched from GPSS/HDG to NAV mode at different points. There were no flags or issues with altitude relative to GS or deflection of localizer. Everything was centered. The STEC 60-2 just did not want to pick up the APR signal. I'm wondering if the wiring between the AP and the GPS is wrong. There's another forum (https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/s-tec-60-2-w-gpss-and-lpv-approaches.39267/) on this, where they pointed out: "The wiring error possibility is that the wrong signal was interconnected to the autopilot. The autopilot has an input named "ILS Energize" and the 530W has an output of the same name on P5006 - pin 29. If these two pins are interconnected, you will be able to track an ILS GS but not a LPV GP. The correct 530W signal to wire to the autopilot is "ILS/GPS Approach" P5001 - pin 14. "

@David Lloyd someone posted on the Beech forum with a similar process (HDG+NAV when on vectors; HDG then NAV when flying the whole approach with own navigation). Seems like thats the way the STEC 60-2 likes it, whether on an RNAV/GPS or ILS approach. Question for you - do you know how far into the approach environment you normally are when you switch from HDG to NAV? Are you inside the IAF/IF? Or still outside (albeit directionally on the final approach course)? I'm wondering if that distance from FAF has something to do with when the 60-2 will pick up the APR signal (rather than just a NAV signal) from GPS. Maybe there's a too far / too close issue...

One thing that's interesting. You stayed on HDG mode until much closer to the FAF than I normally do. I would have switched to NAV mode earlier, just before the IF/IAF and once I was set up inbound from the procedure turn. My HSI (course and heading bug) were pointed on the inbound course when I was having issues, so that wasn't it...

Thanks @Marauder. Remember that with the STEC 60-2, there's no dedicated APR mode button. When in NAV mode, the APR mode automatically activates (at some mystery point, it seems)... This is part of the confusion... Appreciate your thoughts!