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SKI

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Everything posted by SKI

  1. If your I/A will sign off on it then I would do it myself. Plus you would have redundancy with the handle safety wired and a pipe plug installed when you didn't need the hose barb for draining your oil. Some of the regs are nonsense for 60+ year old tractor engine technology but it is what it is.
  2. Would it work, yes. Would it work better and cheaper, probably. Will your I/A sign off on it at annual, Doubtful. There's the answer unless your I/A will sign off on it you can't really do it.
  3. So I recently bought a J. My transition instructor tried something the first day at lunch and it didn't work. So in my hotel that night I was searching Mooneyspace and found the below procedure around here somewhere. It's dirt simple and has worked every time I have tried it. I'm usually running in 4-6 blades. #1 Mixture, Prop and Throttle all full forward for 10-12 seconds. No Boost pump. #2 Mixture Full lean and Throttle about 1000-1200 RPM (Basically cracked open 1/8-3/16 on mine) #3 Crank till it catches then advance Mixture. #4 Smile and breath A sigh of Relief you didn't just kill your starter and battery.
  4. I bought one off a member here about 6 weeks ago. My hangar is also slightly up hill and only 40' wide so I needed a controlled way to get my J in. I paid $1500 and I think new they are about $2200. Even if you need to pay the $2200 I highly recommend them. They are worth every penny in my opinion. Hanger rash on a wingtip or a screwed up back is way worse than paying the money in the grand scheme of aviation.
  5. I flew from Pennsylvania to the Bahamas twice last year. I had a blast both times. I'm not really a resort type of guy and went mostly to fly fish. I stayed on both Andros and Long Island in January. When I went back in June I stayed with a Bahamian family I met on Andros in January. The locals are really friendly on the out islands if you want a real Bahamian experience and not just sitting by the pool at a resort. You'll never find cool adventures unless you go looking for them. I HIGHLY recommend the Bahamas.
  6. I've recently transitioned to a new to me J as well. All my time was in 172's and Cherokee's. Exactly the same thoughts as you about being heavy in pitch on rotation. My instructor said it's normal as well as the others here. I got in the habit of raising the gear then raise the flaps right after the gear and trim once for the cruise speed you want and away you go.
  7. I think Eric meant make sure the #1 wire from the mag does in fact go to the #1 cylinder ect for all cylinders. That was my initial thought as well.
  8. Regarding the left wing heavy situation are you flying solo? How's your fuel load balanced? I've never flown a Mooney but on my Cherokee both of those seem to matter. Flying solo you have all your weight left of centerline and nothing to counter act it on the right. Add to that you may have more fuel in the left tank vs the right tank. Fuel makes a bigger difference since it's further outboard of the centerline. Like my A&P buddy always says "Never go straight for the jugular" Meaning try simple, easy, logical things first before you go with a more invasive and extreme approach. Just throwing out something to think about before going through the hassle of messing with the rigging.
  9. There's a place in Texas called Aero Comfort. He does interiors and leather wraps Mooney yokes. I've never seen his work in person but pretty much everyone who ever posts about his work says it's amazing. I think he's usually pretty busy but it would be worth reaching out for a quote. His website is pretty good and you can check out his work there. aerocomfort.com
  10. All of what A64 says is pretty much true. I've worked in machining/fabrication for 28 years. I'm not building a Vans but I am building a Bearhawk Patrol. I get my Lazer cut parts done 1/16" undersized then use a piloted double margin drill and open them up to size. A Lazer cut hole or edge if you could magnify it looks similar to an edge cut with a cutting torch. It's kind of jagged. The process is essentially the same. Melting metal from the top and blowing it out the bottom of the sheet. Lazer is MUCH more precise but you get the idea. I doubt they pierced the holes on the perimeter, Everyone knows not to do that and it would have left a really noticeable defect. They probably pierced on center but moved straight out in one axis to the perimeter then started the circle cut. All CNC machines pause when they change direction (I own 5 of them). It's only a millisecond but it's there. So that millisecond pause on the perimeter probably caused a overburn spot and they probably led off the perimeter at that same spot to go back to center to end the cut so even more overburn. It would only be a few thousandths but when you start dimpling which stretches the material it's tearing at that imperfection. My mills will do the same thing because the endmills deflect, VERY minimal but it's there. They should have led in and out using a spiraling tool path. That eliminates that hard change in direction and millisecond pause. That's my thoughts as a CNC guy but I'm not an airplane manufacturer.
  11. Fun fact, I actually base my Cherokee out of KIDI Indiana county/ Jimmy Stewart field. Jimmy was from Indiana. The local EAA chapter actually found one of his old Cessna 310's in Texas that was about to be scrapped. They bought it, restored it and mounted it on a pole to act as a windvane. It's actually pretty cool. It swings nose into the wind and the props even spin. I look right at it from my hangar.
  12. I just tighten mine up till I see the filter housing start to deform. I've never had one come loose yet.
  13. As another date point, I fly a Cherokee 180 with the same engine as a C Model. I don't keep exact numbers on what it costs me annually but I'm pretty sure it's in the neighborhood of $10K. I do owner assisted annuals with an I/A friend of mine, He charges me very little and I do 95% of the work. It adds up quickly though. My hangar and insurance are $3500 before I ever turn the key. Fuel @10 Gal/Hr. $6/Gal. is another $3600 for 60 hours as example. There's usually another few thousand dollars of repairs needed throughout the year. It is absolutely true planes just always need something fixed. I think Mike's # of $17K above is probably pretty close depending on where your based at. Could be a little more or less but If I'm at 10K in a Cherokee a retract will definitely be 30-50% more than me.
  14. When a bolt twists off it's really hard to get a drill started on center. The face is just too knarly even with a center punch. Find a drill bit that's just under the size of the hole through the casting. That'll keep the drill bit straight and on center. Drill lightly cause the bit is going to be large enough to wipe out the threads. All your trying to do is use the larger bit to get enough of a center in the twisted face to use the proper size drill bit for an easy out. Twisted off bolts can be a real bitch. They sometimes throw a burr on one spot where they twist off. LH drill bits are definitely good if you can find one. Have you tried using a dentist pick and see if you can just wind it out? I've had some that a nuclear bomb wouldn't break free and I've had some that you can wind the broken piece right out. Good luck, Sometimes their easy and sometimes anything but easy.
  15. As an add on to the apprenticeship programs. I'm a machinist by trade. I went to a vocational school 11th and 12th grade. Started working 2nd semester of my senior year at a local shop. Said shop hired me after graduation and I spent 7 years with them. In school we did a lot of book work along with running machines. It barely scratched the surface of what I learned once I actually got out into the field for a year or 2. Schools of any kind can only squeeze so much information out of the time available. On the job training is invaluable, The real world differs greatly from a classroom in all the trades. I would much rather a 20 something year old A&P with a few years of actual experience working on my plane rather than someone fresh out of some fancy school. Not that the schools don't make some great mechanics but just cause you went to a school doesn't mean you are any better than someone who didn't.
  16. You are absolutely correct on that. If I was going down that A&P road to do some small scale work for friends I'm not sure how to mitigate your risk exposure, If you even could. It's really a shame our society has gone down that rabbit hole where everyone is sue happy. It's just another nail in the coffin of certified semi affordable GA. It will continue to die a slow death and the experimental market will continue to grow and that will be the future of semi affordable GA. The other side will be guys well off enough to afford a new $1M+ plane and just dropping it off, handing the keys away saying call me when it's done. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. That's just above the means of alot of people who would like to own and fly their own plane.
  17. I think if the FAA wants to keep GA alive, Which I'm not sure it does honestly. It needs to address the GA mechanic shortage. You can't blame young A&P's for wanting to go to the airlines. That's where the most money is. As has been talked about here before I think they need to redo the way the A&P licenses are done. I think they should break it down more like our pilot licenses. The basic A&P license allows you to work on say piston singles and twins under such a GW for non commercial use. Then you can go to more classes to get different ratings for say Pressurized turbines, Radial engines, Tube and fabric ect. I don't think the curriculum should be any easier just less of it to get your basic A&P. I have a business that keeps me busy and I wouldn't want my A&P to make money per say. I'd get it and assemble a small group of pilots I could trust and help them with owner assisted maintenace. I would change some but not near what somebody would who's trying to put food on their table. It would be more of a hobby and a way to keep others hobby from running them broke of forcing them out of it all together. It will probably never happen but that's my 2 cents.
  18. I do most of the annual on my Cherokee. My I/A showed me what he wanted checked the first year and I made a checklist. I methodically go through that checklist and don't cross anything off until that item is totally completed. One line item at a time started and completed. Not half of this line item and half of that line item. My I/A comes when I've done all my stuff, Checks my work, Checks the plane over himself and we do the compression check together. I do a thorough pre maintenance run up and post maintenace run up along with a SOLO flight. At that point I'm satisfied everything is ok and I'll return the plane to service. If the day comes that I can't do owner assisted maintenace that's the day the plane gets a for sale sign on it. I feel it's important that us as owner/pilots have at least a basic understanding of how our machines work. They do hurl us through the air miles above the ground after all.
  19. I flew to the Bahamas in January. I was in my Cherokee so not much help on gear up or down, It wasn't much of a concern to me. I will add a few things though. Besides inflatable PFD and a locator beacon which are more obvious, Take some sort of automatic center punch/ window breaking tool. I'd hate to survive the landing only to be trapped in the plane and drown. Second to that same train of thought is something to cut your seat belts. Again ya never know!! There's a lot of different tools for that, I'm a sailor also so I had something I keep on my PFD for that use. Lastly enjoy it!!! I was on Andros for 8 days and Long Island for 5 days. Mostly fly fishing and just generally screwing off while it was cold in PA. Actually made a few Bahamian friends on Andros and I'm heading back down in end of May/Early June for another few weeks. The people on the out islands are crazy friendly. Like 95% of the people driving past you walking will beep and wave. Be cool to them and their super cool back. My friends on Andros even said there's areas on Nassau and Grand Bahama they avoid. Just something to be mindful of if heading to the more populated islands. There's area there that aren't quite as safe and low key.
  20. I'll take a few next time I'm at the hangar.
  21. I bought the little vacuum pump from Blackstone. It really does work great and you literally don't get one drop on the container. I have 2 zipties on my tubing at the proper depth with the tails 180 degrees apart and not snipped off. Drop the tube in until the zipties hit the top of the filler neck and that's that. Just offering another way of doing it. I do believe consistency is key whatever method you use.
  22. I think supply and demand have a lot to do with prices as well. They're not making any new airplanes that the average guy can afford and the supply of affordable older planes is shrinking daily. Think about how many get wrote off due to crashes and corrosion issues. Are planes currently overpriced, I believe so but it's whatever the market will bear and that's the truth in selling anything. I believe it'll take a huge crash for prices to drop 30-40%. I think 15-20% may be possible in the next few years. I'm thinking about upgrading from my Cherokee and when I get serious about it I'll pony up and pay wherever I'm comfortable with. Don't forget a dollar is worth more or less to different people and there's lots of people with lots of dollars.
  23. I'm semi actively looking to replace my Cherokee 180. I check TAP, Controller and Barnstormers daily. Between those 3 and here I think you'll get it sold in short order. While your plane looks pretty awesome it's above my pay grade slightly. I'd be surprised if it took more the 3-4 weeks to sell.
  24. I think doing your own research on possible know issues with a particular airframe is the best insurance going into a prebuy. We have to do a bunch of book work/studying to get our various licenses and rating for being a pilot. Buying and owning a vintage airplane is no different. Let's face it even a "Newer" plane was still made last century. Having the knowledge and willingness to get your hands dirty crawling all around the plane yourself along with the mechanic during the prebuy will help ensure they look at everything you NEED looked at. Spend a few hours searching "Mooney spar corrosion" and "SB-208" which is an inspection of the steel cage of the fuselage. Those are both expensive and invasive fixes. There's unfortunately a lot of sellers out there that are done with aviation and just want out. Don't have something they neglected become your problem. The best way to avoid that is with your own knowledge about what they might be trying to hide or maybe just haven't checked for or are aware of. It's still always a gamble but your just trying to stack the deck in your favor the best you can.
  25. Agreed with the above comments. I did this with my Cherokee. I took them an inspection panel and they mixed up a few rattle cans. I'd assume they could mix you up a pint but that's ALOT of touch-ups. For small brush type touch-ups I just spray a little puddle onto a clean smooth surface and use a tiny brush to touch up chips ect.
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