A64Pilot

OK, here is rhe link to the AD, apparently there is a preceding SB, Somehow I missed that https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/06/02/2021-11443/airworthiness-directives-mooney-international-corporation-airplanes Often AD’s are initiated by the manufacture who issues an SB first but believes an AD is warrantied. I have avoided an AD on limited run aircraft by Issuing a SB that had as part of the SB a card that was filled out and returned to ensure compliance, as there were only a limited number of aircraft we could contact the owners. ‘In our case it was an elevator control tube end that he threads were cut with a Die as opposed to being rolled threads, one broke and the pilot made a semi-successful landing using pitch trim only. You have over a month to accomplish this AD before your grounded so if they hear about it in time, surely no one will be grounded, seems like a simple AD

Most often AD’s come from SB’s and incorporate the SB in the AD, but as no SB was referenced it seems they skipped that part, which is unusual. Odd because an AD actually takes quite a long time to be issued, and it’s common that the FAA works with the manufacturer and gets an SB out first. I believe the time frame for an Emergency AD is 90 days and they get to skip quite a few steps for an Emergency one. ‘For a regular AD first there is an NPRM where the public gets to comment and the FAA answers the comments, then of course data on what the effect of the AD will be, how many aircraft affected, cost per aircraft cost to the fleet etc. ‘So months are required for a regular AD and it can take much longer if say an organized group fights, like the Beech T-34 community for instance, I don’t know if AMOC;s are looked at before the AD, but think they are.

That plug is oily, but does not have any evidence of burning oil, it actually looks pretty darn good to me. ‘So spark plug washer isn’t it, actually that theory is sort of nuts. So clean the engine off really well and run it uo, I like a spray can of Gunk and a cheap pressure washer myself, alcohol works great for a clean engine to start with. ‘To really find almost impossible to find leaks, spraying developer from a dye penetrant kit is excellent as it will show even a tiny amount of oil, run it’s short interval if you do that because more than a tiny bit of oil will over whelm the powder. I’d bet spray foot powder would work too. ‘ I’ve very often seen valve covers leak too, Lycoming oil tubes are an easy fix, small Continentals require you to pull the cylinder, so be thankful.

I’m nearly certain that the TH-55 I learned to fly had that motor, I know it had an IO 360 Lycoming, I believe 210 HP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_TH-55_Osage I think we ran them at 2900 RPM? But ran that RPM constantly and we ran them hard as they weren’t overpowered, they were governed by”George” George was an oil driven plunger that when you hit the RPM limit, he would hit the throttle knocking it way down in power, then releasing it of course, this caused all sorts of problems for a fledgling pilot. The Army sold them all off in lots and many of us really wanted one but of course couldn’t afford one. ‘I woudnt be surprised to find out that the HIO case wasn’t stronger then a regular IO I’d guess that with the aircraft and spares maybe up to 500 engines were sold? Most in aircraft though

Depending on the turbine aircraft your flying, the work load can be actually less. I’d expect the old straight wing Cessna to fall in that category, but I have never flown one, never logged any jet item in fact but their reputation is that they are slow, but easy and forgiving to fly, pretty much like most Cessna’s There is no mixture to worry about, no prop control. no cowl flaps. Pressurization is I believe automatic, biggest concern would likely be electrical failure, loss of an engine is probably no big deal in the way it flies. ‘I think they are single pilot aircraft? ‘I would also be surprised if insurence would allow any low time, inexperienced pilot as PIC, but in my opinion over dependence of automated systems is common, many consider loss of the autopilot in IMC an emergency. Its seems also probably due to insurence costs that non professional pilots are uncommon, I’ve never checked but assume the difference in insurence cost may pretty much pay for the pilot.

Wing gauges would be nice, but I have bladders and I don’t think they are an option with bladders

Even if you stop the prop, depending on the health of the engine a quick decent will get it spinning again. ‘This is my C-140, it has strong compression and it took 120 MPH to get it spinning again. The flying club in Americus Ga has or had a C-172, motor ran fine but it was so low in compression that you couldn’t get it to stop, even in a stall it was windmilling. If you choose to stop a prop inflight, just make sure the engine is nice a cool, low power descent for a while, you don’t want to shock cool a hot motor, be sure to have a forced landing area made too, just in case I guess. Glide ratio does improve and it’s nice and quiet. 2DD01869-5ADA-4CD9-841D-A59070FB1766.MOV

Curious, we’re you born when your airplane was built? At you guys age I think I was trying to afford a VW

Actually people do it all of the time, but usually there is an engine and prop to overhaul. My neighborhood isn’t all that big about 80 houses. two people rebuild / overhaul and or actually build at least one aircraft each over winter. One guy is from Maine and builds a Super Cub every year, the other guy is from Alaska and shows up with a Beaver that he refurbs. Both do it to sell, as those two aircraft are quite sought after they can be quite a bit of profit. The Beaver guy has moved on, the Super Cub guy just sold this years project for $100,000 Average Crop duster is an A&P and during the off season it’s pretty common they refurb an aircraft to sell

Unfortunately I don’t believe the J model is on the PP’s approved model list, not saying it wouldn’t work though. I did look as it’s less expensive and while a cannon plug is easier to install, I feel crimped terminals are more secure and easier to replace There are four wires, and I believe it’s as simple as power, ground, field and over voltage annunciation

To be honest I was not a pilot before I was an A&P, so I really don’t know the pilots limitations, but surely they are allowed to spray cleaner into a switch, so long as they aren’t removing the switch? My journey was different than most, I took a written, due to military experience and “poof” I was a Commercial pilot with an instrument ticket

It would help tremendously. Spruce doesn’t have any in stock, I assume Zeftronics does, but they are almost $100 more than Spruce. Would you be interested in selling it? If not having a known good to test would be nice, may save me a lot of money, because honestly I’m down to either it being the VR or the cannon plug. I’ve cleaned the cannon plug best I can with no change. Mine is the 1981 original so it doesn’t owe me anything. There are apparently two different cannon plugs though, one is a large metal Mil Spec and the other is a smaller black plastic cannon plug, mine is the smaller black plastic one.

I knew that restarts at altitude are a big deal on a Diesel as they are a compression ignition engine, but never knew it about a spark ignition turbo.

If your pushing fuel, run one dry. I was told that by a very experienced ferry pilot. his reasoning was then you know there is nothing left in that wing, many have convinced themselves there is enough when there isn’t. But when you know all there is is what’s in the one wing, your more likely to find a place to land. Runing one dry at altitude isn’t big deal really, first it’s unlikely it will suddenly quit. most likely it will droop in power and maybe surge a bit, usually you have the selector on the other tank by that time and it picks up and is fine. Personally I won’t go below 5 gls in a tank if I’m below cruise altitude, afraid I’ll get busy and forget and run out at low altitude. The calibrated stick is a pretty good way to know about how much fuel there is on a partial tank. you can also buy ones that look like a tube and you stick your finger over the end to hold the fuel into read the level. Best plan is to start with an empty tank and add some amount, say 5 gls at a time and mark the stick, once done transfer the marks to another stick so when you lose it, you have a master to mark another.

If you use a stick and they are good, be darn sure to use a stick long enough so that it can’t be dropped into the tank. ‘I had a heck of a time fishing one out of a C-210’s wing. ‘Oh, and back the totalizer up with a clock, only time you can have too much gas is if your on fire.

That would make sense as their maintenance procedures guide or whatever it’s called is extensive, and I bet expands greatly on it. I’d guess galley parts for say the coffee maker would be treated differently than some flight control hydraulic valve. I’ve never worked 121 or even 135 for that matter but it’s my understanding that the 121’s guys books cover in great detail. far more than the FAR’s Anyone way more curious than I am, here is a link https://www.faa.gov/documenTLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC 120-16F.pdf

OK you convinced me

You know I believe even 121 guys can do the owner produced parts, need to look that up, because that’s tough to believe. ‘The Brits used to love to come as exchange Officers to the Army test activity, because we could do pretty much anything, but the brits had to get permission from the manufacturer to change brand of tires on their military aircraft. on edit, sure looks like it, but i bet their approved maintenance program won’t let them n. Owner/Operator Produced Part. Parts that were produced by an owner/operator for installation on their own aircraft (i.e., by a certificated air carrier). An owner/operator is considered a producer of a part, if the owner participated in controlling the design, manufacture, or quality of the part. Participating in the design of the part can include supervising the manufacture of the part or providing the manufacturer with the following: the design data, the materials with which to make the part, the fabrication processes, assembly methods, or the quality control (QC) procedures. https://www.faa.gov/documentlibrary/media/advisory_circular/ac 20-62e.pdf

I’ll ask my Son to send a pic of a Thrush shock, it’s a stack of rubber biscuits, andI’ve heard some replace them with a Combine spring. Crop dusters will do anything. ‘I had one bring an aircraft into the repair station, I looked in the cockpit and saw he had replaced the torque meter, now it’s just an oil pressure gauge, but a very accurate one as the torque limit is 58.7 lbs at 2200 RPM or 64.5 lbs at 2000 RPM. This guys torque meter said John Deere on it. I tired my best to get him to understand that you can’t just do that.

Without getting Mooney’s drawing, I don’t think you possibly could. And you have definitely modified the type design, because your biscuits are too soft or too hard etc, and it’s possible that the aircraft wouldn’t pass the drop test, and that of course changes max gross. It’s actually a can of worms,one would think the best design would be one soft puck and others getting harder, so you initially have a soft compliment suspension, that stiffens up when needed, and as I interpret the reg, you could do that, but how well would it really work? The whole owner produced parts is actually nuts, nothing stops you from building a crankshaft, or how about a high lift cam? The HUGE overriding major big deal in manufacturing aircraft is conformity, everything to the last detail must meet the type design, the drawings. ‘Owner produced parts throws that out the window, I think it well intentioned, but expect it to change. I think it was meant as a way to keep old orphaned aircraft flying. Neighbor has a Stinson Reliant, now where do you think he can get parts? I have a 46 C-140, it’s easy, but if you have an old Taylorcraft maybe not, with OPP you can keep the historic aircraft flying.

It’s always been that way. Maule uses an OMC relay for their starter relay, but they don’t jack the price up as much. ‘Beechcraft door locks I’ve been told cost hundreds and come from Home Depot, they are cheap desk locks. ‘In the example of these off the shelf purchased parts what makes them aircraft parts is that they have been indoctrinated into the manufacturers quality control system. You hear all the time what makes an aircraft alternator an aircraft part is that in manufacturing every single piece part is inspected and the auto ones it’s every now and again, but airplane parts get special treatment. Well that’s not really true. Auto parts are purchased and QC logs the certs, the box or maybe the part gets a QC stamp and its an aircraft part. ‘Unfortunately it’s become pretty common to jack parts prices through the roof in order to make the plant profitable, but very often they are actually losing business I never could get the idiot that owned the plant I worked at to understand that if you jack the prices up high enough, you don’t make any money, because you don’t sell any parts. People learn the sources of supply and buy direct and or if the price is high enough just about anything becomes repairable, and people would specialize in “repairing” flight controls etc when there wasn’t an original part left. You see that in Ga with exhaust systems and engine baffling and a few others, engine mounts, welded landing gear assemblies and well bunches of things are “repaired” but try to find any of the original part. ‘Oh, we got skads of parts quotes, for insurence, but never sold any parts, or usually didn’t anyway.

You see, I have been an Aircraft manufacturer for 15 years so I understand what the FAA is saying, you provide QC by inspecting the part AFTER manufacture, you can’t inspect something that doesn’t exist yet. But you have to have something to inspect to. The drawing provides that as well as the tolerances the part is required to meet, as is, I doubt any of his parts can meet drawing specs because he states no tolerance, and when no tolerance is stated, none exists and holding .001 with an elastomer is tough and surely unnecessary Everything in an aircraft manufacturing facility is “bought in” nuts, bolts, cotter pins, everything. often it’s just checking “certs” which provide traceability of the parts, but anything made for us meant the drawings came out and each part was inspected IAW the drawings. Many, many parts were supplied. the throttle and prop cables were supplied by a boat parts supplier in Fl, the brake master cylinders came from NAPA, they were I believe Studerbaker truck master cylinders that we modified slightly and installed rubber bits thst were compatible with 5606. But all of it was QC’d or inspected when it arrived at the plant. Pic of my Son, by his hand you will see four Master cylinders, those are the Studabaker truck parts. I never knew Studabaker built a truck, and astonishingly they are widely available through NAPA.

If I understand the question and I may not, but in my opinion no Its not a matter of getting the language right, thats what a lawyer does, and we are talking about mechanics here. ‘It’s a matter of participating in the production of the part, so you need to be involved in its design, supervising its production or maybe quality control. ‘Well design is tough as it’s already designed, and I doubt your traveling to S Africa to watch it be molded and cooked, but quality control is easy, a quick visual to ensure it’s bonded, not cracked, get the calipers out and measure it and ideally he supplies a statement of its durometer. Then there is no question that you have been involved with the production of this part, and it took you maybe a minute of your time, and your probably going to give them a good look over anyway. ‘I’d make a quick list of my inspection points and keep that along with the part drawing in the aircraft maintenance records. ‘I stay away from the word manufacturing because for some reason the FAA does, they keep calling it producing, and the person making it the producer, there must be a reason why. If you build an experiment airplane, your the manufacturer, not the producer?

If your really asking for advice or what would I do if I wanted to use these parts, I’d take his drawing and add some tolerances to it maybe + or - .020 or something, because the way it is now the parts can’t vary even .001 because he specs to the third decimal, likely because a calculator derived that from a metric equal. But if a part is only .001 out they way the drawing is now, it doesn’t meet spec and isn’t usable, and I’m sure these things don’t have to be that precise. ‘But by adding in some tolerance I have changed the drawing specifications, and I would provide quality control for the parts and “buy” them in when I received them, by measuring them and ensuring they meet tolerances, I am providing quality control, which is one of the five things you can provide and make it an owner produced part. ‘Then I would make the logbook entry exactly like in that link I provided But in all honestly as having had a lot to do with an aircraft with elastomer landing gear biscuits, my concern is that there is no durometer spec for the parts on the drawing, so they could be marshmallow soft or rock hard. I’m certain Mooney’s parts spec a durometer, or I’d bet lunch they do anyway. With Thrush part of the landing gear drop test required the biscuits to be tested and within the drawings specs for hardness, just as the tires had to be inflated to spec pressure. How hard or how soft the biscuits were mattered greatly to when something broke. According to my logbook. my 41 yr old airplane had its biscuits replaced for the first time three or four years ago, and they appear to be in new condition now, so if they only last say ten years, and if they cost $150 ea and there are 11 of them, then that’s $1650 or $165 a year, I can handle that. what bothers me is $1,000 for an off the shelf relay, or $500 for an off the shelf switch

Two things, OK maybe three Your first sentence the drawing has to be owner produced and the drawing has to precede the part, in other words the part has to be made to the drawings specs, not the other way around, and by the producer sending you a drawing that’s complete clearly is not an owner designed or produced part, you signing it doesn’t make it your design Your second sentence, your absolutely correct, you just stated why this is not an owner produced part, no I’m not saying it would be legal, I’m saying if you choose to go ahead and purchase these parts and claim that you designed the part, at least have an original drawing. ‘None of you is pretending to actually participate in the manufacture of this part, yet you choose to act as though it’s an owner produced part. Your third statement having a lawyer draft a letter that you sign doesn’t make it an owner produced part either. ‘There are five ways it can be a owner produced part and none of them are sign a form letter or a supplied drawing. You guys are wanting your cake and eating it too, none of you have answered why your won’t make the logbook entry that you produced the part I’m not going to convince any of you. that’s obvious, but I do believe many who are not responding may be giving it consideration. ‘All of our insurence policies I’m sure require that the aircraft be maintained in an airworthy standard, it may behoove you to ensure that they are. For those that consider PMA and TSO etc to be nonsense, there is a category of aircraft just for you, and many of them are actually pretty good aircraft, you should should sell your Certified Aircraft and build one of them, then you don’t have to worry about picky IA’s and A&P’s anymore and you can choose the parts you like