A64Pilot

Insurance is a business, they exist to make money, and they should that’s how the system works. If they can make more money by jacking rates on older pilots, then they will. Only thing that will change that is convincing them that they will make more money by not The neighbor with the Bo, they didn’t refuse to insure, just the rate went way up and I believe he was told that they would increase I think it was 20% per year, not sure it may have been less. The guy who co-owned the Bo is also over 70, he flies Biz-jets for the Villages, I think single pilot, but not sure. I don’t see the logic? AOPA or anyone else isn’t going to get them to change their policies if it’s making them money. It’s like complaining that aircraft cost so much, it’s not fair.

Insurance company that wanted a bunch to insure him in his Bonanza didn’t blink at a 182. Both four passenger airplanes, only real difference that I can see is the retract gear, sure the Bo is a little faster but not enough to make any real difference decision making wise. Driving an automobile in busy traffic is a lot more overwhelming than operating something like a Cub out of a grass strip. I live within a couple of miles from the Villages in Fl. there are a whole lot of cognitively imparted drivers around here, but they manage. I assume they stop driving at night and self limit themselves from other situations that give them trouble. This guy, the one in the front seat was well into his 90’s in this picture, he flew Reece in a P-38 in the South Pacific, he flew fine we had him in a Cub, Stearman and glider. He’s gone now, he went downhill pretty quick after he injured his back doing snap rolls in the Stearman. Now he flew with other pilots, but he drove himself here to do so. Others don’t even make it to their 70’s without dementia etc. I think genetics have a lot to do with it. Jack must have had good genetics, but does just picking some number really make sense?

That’s some kind of home built?

IF Wx was severe clear I think I could get one down to where it was survivable anyway and inside of the airport fence. I’m comfortable IFR, but would think I’d be like a pig looking at a wrist watch with what I assume are MPD’s in a modern airliner and that just might eat my lunch. I’m assuming hand flying. If we are talking programming an autopilot to auto land, well that’s not really flying is it? That’s systems management?

If the POH says don’t slip with flaps Don't slip with flaps. Think about trying to explain that to the accident investigator, yeah I know what the POH says, but these guys on the internet say different and or I tried it once and nothing bad happened. Why it’s there is sort of irrelevant, either Mooney and or the FAA came to the conclusion that there is a safety issue with slipping with flaps. Maybe it takes a crosswind to have something bad happen or maybe aft CG, who knows? It is real, or it wouldn’t be there. I will bet you lunch that your airplane will go around fine with speed brakes deployed and is still controllable etc with only one deployed, because I’m certain Mooney had to prove that during Certification. Now whether or not they make any significant difference I can’t say never having used them for landing, I’ve not flown an aircraft that had them since 92

Add a washer or two and run it up and see. This isn’t rocket science, if pressure doesn’t change, then it’s not valve shimming. A possibility is the valve seat needs staking. Don’t be afraid of slight in the red pressure at run up RPM on coldish oil. May be my Ipad but it looks like there is two crush washers, there isn’t is there? An extra washer there removes spring pressure. Nice safety wiring

Need more information, are you saying there is a special tool, or are you saying don’t overtighten?

That’s interesting because I was never a Private pilot, first airplane checkride was Commercial, so maybe that slipped through I guess, because no one has ever asked me to do an engine out 180 in an airplane, ever or not that I remember anyway. Army training in the Hughes 269 we did engine outs several times a day, the IO-360 in the Hughes when snapped from nearly full throttle to idle had a bad habit of quitting, an airplane motor is driven by the prop if you snatch it to idle, a helicopter engine isn’t coupled to anything, so practice engine outs sometimes became real. Of course we did 180 auto’s in everything. Talk about a hoot a 180 auto in a Huey was interesting to say the least, you had to point the nose seemingly right at the ground and I’m sure the descent rate was in the thousands of feet per min, then once the turn was made, big decal, catch the rotor as it’s RPM was climbing and land.

I’m betting there were legal reasons driving that change, all the work is in writing the algorithm, no additional sensors etc for GMOLS, so once BMW had it, why change? I wouldn't be surprised if GM patented it and wanted royalties for others to use it or something similar. Just a guess, but Toyota for example I think is making more money from selling Prius technology licenses than they make from selling Prius cars. Thats a guess too, just a rumor I’ve heard.

Started the Mooney yesterday after changing oil and washing it. It seemed to take longer for oil pressure to come up than after a normal oil change. I did not time it as I didn’t think about it actually. I’m assuming that when you blow pressurized air into the system, you completely or nearly so empty the whole system, oil pump included and of course the pump has to re-prime and fill the system before it can start building pressure. So now I’m wondering if this is a good method or not

I’m afraid that they are just trying to stay alive, by any means necessary. Example, opening a repair center, yes it’s viable, but your dealers aren’t pleased because of course you in competition with them. It’s a balancing act, like selling parts direct, your dealers don’t want you doing that because of course your cutting them out, but also dealers don’t want to stock parts, they want them direct shipped from the factory, but they want 20% for placing the order. I’ve wondered why none of the PMA parts houses aren’t making and selling Mooney parts like they do for Ercoupe, Piper, Cessna, Taylorcraft etc. I can get just about any part I need for my 46 Cessna, but not my Mooney? I paid $1,000 a year ago for a NBS to a reputable MSC, but still don’t have a NBS? I can only assume that it’s because Mooney owes the actual manufacturer and has been placed on credit hold? Pure speculation, not based on any facts, but it’s not uncommon for a cash strapped manufacturer.

I believe that’s what I do, and it works, full rich, throttle open just a bit and hit the starter, she cranks right up. Don’t touch boost. Now if It was shut down hot and only off for 15 min or so, then start at ICO I just can’t bring myself to call it a hot start

I asked as I’m pretty sure that wasn’t a Commercial maneuver when I did my ride.

Nope, it was Mar 16 1992 in N 91363. Anyone own that Mooney?

I did my Commercial in 88 I think in an M20 AT. I don’t remember a power off 180? But if we are talking about doing it for real, the faster the better and don’t get flaps or gear until after the turn and landing is assured. In my opinion real power off 180’s shouldn’t even be attempted unless your certain you have the altitude, like at cruise for instance. I think your better off finding a survivable landing area ahead of you, and if this is your home field you should already have those picked out, almost any landing under control is better than one with loss of control in my opinion

I live in Fl, in a fly-in community, another way of saying there are a bunch of older pilots here. I believe the age we are stumbling over is 70, neighbor got rid of his Bonanza and got a 182 because insurance just became extraordinarily expensive for a retract when he turned 70. He also has a Legend Cub, I’d expect one day before long that the 182 may go, but I think he will still fly the Cub. Used to be older pilots got rid of their complex aircraft and bought an LSA when medical’s were a concern. Now it’s insurance that drives them into smaller, lighter aircraft. If you honestly think your a hazard, you probably are, but it’s my opinion that those risks can be managed by getting a smaller, lighter aircraft and simply avoiding heavy trafficked and built up areas. One of those LSA Amphibs looks like they could be fun for example, and if you crash into a lake nobody much cares, or in an open field etc. If your concerned about taxiing into a Biz Jet, don’t go where they are. On the don’t carry insurance at all, I don’t on my C-140, I do on the Mooney, simply because I don’t trust the gear. But using Auto insurance as an example, the requirement to have it only makes the insurance companies money, the required limits are so small, at least in Fl that it’s essentially worthless. ($10,000) so I’m against required insurance. All this is just to say when the day comes when the insurance company says no more, or jacks the rates stupid high, I’m not going to stop flying, it’s been just too big a part of my life to just quit. It may change what and where I fly, but I’m not going to stop flying. I will I think have enough sense to not fly instruments and into and out of busy airspace, in truth at 64 I haven’t flown hard IFR in so long that I avoid it now but stay proficient enough to hand fly an ILS just in case. Nothing wrong with only flying on days of perfect weather tooling around in a slow tail dragger with your arm out of the window in uncontrolled airspace over sparsely populated areas. It’s actually quite relaxing and enjoyable. Just the thing for an old person that’s not looking for excitement as much anymore, and admits to themselves that they don’t have the skills, quick thinking and reaction times etc that they used to. See what happens as pilots get older is that their experience and skills cover for their slower reaction times etc., but eventually that’s a downhill slide of course. If your honest with yourself you should know when to downgrade and eventually hang it up. The guy who gave up the Jet, sure he’s likely not sharp enough for it, but I bet he could handle a Cub on a grass strip in uncontrolled airspace.

You know you don’t have to quit flying just because you can’t get insurence. FAA doesn’t require it

You could, but by keeping the big screw device snug you keep the theoretical lifting to almost nothing, say 1/8”. Even if lifted by 1/4” the stands legs will come into contact with the floor with just a tiny bit of movement side to side. To get the bottle jack into the stand it has to be first pushed up into the bottom of the stand and then the bottom moved to the side, meaning that there is about .5” less clearance than the height of the jack, so if there was a bracket, you wouldn’t be able to separate the jack and stand, and you would lose the folding capability, although it’s not really very useful in my situation. Interesting point, that would turn it into a “real” jack, bears considering. Perhaps even a section cut out of large pipe that welded into the tube so that you could place the bottle jack in? Still puts the weight onto the stand and not the floor, but could still fold.

I just couldn’t watch the video, I watched I think about the first 8 minutes and just couldn’t take it anymore, I guess tape would work, but wonder if putting a small cup under the hole and draining it wouldn’t be better, maybe get that bit that comes out when the filter is removed? Point is, it does work, it greatly decreases the mess, anything else is just fine tuning, but it’s my nature to try different things. Next time I think I’ll try draining it through the hole

OK, Just got through changing oil, I just used an automatic centering punch to mark the spot and a #1 phillips to make a hole, then used a chip blower just like this cheap one to pressurize the oil filter, the rubber tip seals against the hole in the filter and is leak free. https://www.amazon.com/Milton-S-148-NPT-Lever-Blow/dp/B001XBI1E2/ref=sr_1_9?crid=32ULH04FBDSNO&keywords=air+blower+gun&qid=1684422900&sprefix=air+blower%2Caps%2C395&sr=8-9 First did it at 20 PSI and didn’t notice oil flowing out of the pan, then jacked pressure to 60 PSI and did notice oil coming out, but that’s likely because the oil was cold, I was trying the leave it overnight to let the filter drain trick. I didn’t expect that to work as the anti drain back valve should keep the filter full. I feel sure even 20 PSI would do the job. Never noticed before but when I cut open the filter there is NO anti-drain back valve, so the filter will drain overnight I guess, and as there is no valve when you blow air into the filter oil will flow both ways, so if there is a bunch of metal some could go into the pan, but if there is much metal that’s likely your smallest problem. On removal of the filter some oil did come out of the hole I punched in the filter and some did drain out of the block with the filter removed, so it’s still not a pure leak less trick, but the amount of oil drainage is easily captured with a couple of rags or several paper towels. Next time I may put a sheet metal screw in the hole before removing the filter. You can remove the dip stick and if air blows out when your putting air in then of course your emptying the filter, didn’t notice that until the end, but I think you empty all your going to get pretty quick, if you look at how the filter is constructed there will still be quite a bit of oil left in the filter, perhaps rotate until the hole is down and drain that little bit in a cup? It DOES work, but you don’t need a $50 tool, unless you just want one.

Flow in just about any filter is from outside to inside because you get more filter surface area that way, so assuming we have an anti drain back valve which we should the oil will flow the same way as being pumped. I couldn’t watch the whole video, too painful, but if you got stupid and hit the thing with 150 PSI air or similar you could blow out the media and push stuff you don’t want into the engine, but if you ease into it pressure wise you should be fine I’m changing my oil tomorrow, I’ll give the knock a hole in the filter and use the cheap rubber nose chip blower a try. It should work, but then I’ve tried knocking a hole, rotating 180 degrees with a plastic bag under it and knocking another hole for a vent that didn’t work well. One thing you have to appreciate, is just how tough that filter can is, it’s much thicker and stronger than an Auto filter can.

I wondered if it was from the guys who have attempted to fix the killer RV nose wheel. Lord talk about a long drawn out video that could have been done in 60 sec. So why not knock a hole in the can with an awl, and then use you cheapo rubber nose cover chip blower?

I wish them luck honestly, Fred Ayers especially went down the contract work hole, even built MD 600 helicopter fuselages and lots of Boeing work, hush kits and cargo doors for 727’s back in the day etc. It’s really easy to lose money in contract work so you have to be careful, Boeing in particular is very sneaky, not the word I was looking for, but Boeing will come in with a very lucrative contract, so you hire people and maybe buy new machines etc to fulfill the contract, everything is going great, then Boeing comes in contract renewal time and tells you they will only pay a lot less, you having hired people you don’t want to lay off and have payments to make on those machines, agree because you have no choice, but you scratch to break even. You can make money doing contract work, but it’s tough, really tough and you have to be careful, lots of competition it seems. The money we made was actually not in one big killer contract, but in many nickel and dime ones, making parts for Twin Otters, a guy that had an STC to replace magnesium skins on some kind of Beech, not the V tail, we pressed the skins etc. Made parts for lots of people. All of the throttle lever quadrants for the Reaper drone we built. Think about that for a minute, why does a drone need a throttle quadrant? I don’t have an answer for that, the control stations of course, but the drone?

ALL aircraft gain weight over time, sounds strange but they do. As Army helicopters are of a class that’s “easily loaded out of CG” we had to re-weigh them every three years or so, and they were meticulously washed, usually weighed full of fuel and the specific gravity of that fuel tested, and the scales were the type that fit on top of aircraft jacks etc. Usually not a lot of weight but they gain weight. Ref this example, leather is heavier than you might suppose and if memory foam was used that stuff can really be heavy, very comfortable but heavy, so there can be more weight there than you might suppose. Surely every aircraft manufactured by Mooney was actually weighed not estimated, I know every aircraft manufactured at the Aero Commander plant in Albany Ga from 1965 and onward was, FAA required it, I can’t imagine they let Mooney slide. Repainting can add a surprising amount of weight, especially if it was a quality job with nice thick paint and more than two colors. If you really want to know how much weight you gain or loose on a job, weigh the thing before the work, often EAA chapters will have scales you can borrow that don’t cost anything. Weighing it chock full of fuel is easier than draining the thing and since your weighing isn’t official why not full of fuel? Army we could weigh them completely full or completely empty, I always weighed them full, I don’t know why you can’t do that with civilian airplanes, never has made sense to me.

Oh, and our average speed in a car isn’t nearly as high as most think. Some cars, the Prius for example keep track of average speed. My wife drove the thing right at 100 miles a day for work, 90% of it highway, and it’s average speed was maybe 30 MPH, because those minutes you sit at a red light, waiting in line at the drive through, crawling through the parking lot etc really kill average speed. That’s why I bought the thing, at 100 miles a day driving her CTS-V was killing me So if we assume an average of 30 mph and an OCI of 10,000 miles, then you put 333 hours on the oil between changes. We just really can’t make many comparisons with our aircraft to our cars. For example that Prius with 250,000 miles on it averaging 30 MPH meant that the engine had 8,300 hours on it, and it still didn’t burn oil, can you image an aircraft piston engine doing that?