Joshua Blackh4t

So I was thinking about the danger of gear up landings and how the better alarms all need permanent wiring when I had an idea for a simple one. The more technical minded can chime in. Arduino or Rasberry pi board, gps sensor, and an open source database of ground levels. Light sensor attached to the gear light. Battery powered, or 12v plug. Audible alarm when the acft is below 500ft AGL with gear light on. Would be 100% portable, so no certification needed, can have status lights to check gps is working and gear is detected. Alarm can be out through a headphone plug, possibly even set at mic levels so it can be plugged into the intercom. I see it as a small box attached to the dash, sensor on a lead stuck to the light, and thats about as intrusive as it needs to be. Thoughts?

I 'know someone' who has flown with worse. Not telling you to do so, but if it was parked outside you wouldn't notice it. But get on to a new or overhauled fuel pump. Apparently Aeromotors in USA does them best and cheapest, but I couldn't take the downtime and had to fit a Wheldon which sounds lots nicer than the Dukes.

Having once left the gear down in my E and not realised until 7000 (i was very heavy, and a hot day. I was stressing about weight and blaming the performance on that) I can attest that the speed penalty is insane So I would be starting with the gear. 100% check everything out that it folds back pefectly. Good luck

My understanding of balancing is they set up the machine, run the engine, get a reading, add weight as necessary and then repeat until correct. If yours is all ok and you decided to do it, it might be cheaper because the first reading will be within tolerance. So that would be my first question: is it a flat rate or hourly. If he's coming out anyway to do a bunch of others, it might be a simple fee and it might make it better. I was told by a mechanic to get it done every 500 hrs, but that was in an area with mainly dirt runways

Or in Australia. I have been told that when my prop is next due (in about 8 years or 700 hours), it won't be able to be ground down any further. However if I keep looking after it, it would be fine for many many years especially with someone who doesn't use it too often and only on good runways. So when it's near end of life, I'd love to be able to sell it for any value to someone in USA. I'd bring it over to USA as checked luggage to save freight and pay for a US holiday

Don't you lock your rims away at night? Thats the main reason they fold up, right?

Great work, looks nice. And yeah, in a physics textbook that bolt isn't optimum, but real life it will never let you down. The bolted base is interesting, did you drill that out or were there holes there? I think most I have seen used supports around the edge rather than bolts. Anyway, here's to many uneventful times using them.

I did some emergency repairs with tape and clear plastic. This was enough to get me to town where I bought some araldite glue and a 1.5mm drill and now have proper repairs. Still needs replacing, but this takes the urgency off it. The flight to Darwin with the tape trying to peel off was a bit of a nervous trip. Pretty sure its clear and also pretty sure its original. Thats doing pretty good for almost 60 year old plastic. The front has been upgraded and I think its green tint.

Yeah, it has 1% deductible. $1200 Aud. Also, it has about $500 no claim bonus. For the stolen contents it has $350 deductible. So by the time I get the new window here it will be about $700, and a bit of time to fit it, its still only just worth a claim. Same with contents, it may be worth it, but maybe not. The airport is at an Aboriginal community, so its kind of restricted area, and kind of unsafe for vehicles. However this is the first plane broken in to at this place. Also, they have kindly forgotten to charge landing fees and parking fees so I won't disturb them. It would start adding up. I've told my insurance company, but at the moment I think I'll wear the cost so that they have no grounds to refuse a potential larger claim if I continue to park here. Its all a work related expense. I'll think about this. It would be nice because I fly a lot in hot climates. I tend to put a cover over her as soon as I stop for longer than 10 minutes. Thanks for all advice

Hi, So unfortunately I was the victim of a bit of vandalism. Luckily not much was taken (spare radio, licence, logbook, cheap phone with backup flight software), but the little pests tried to break the windows and managed to crack the pilots side window. Luckily its a part than can still be bought, and also it can be temporarily taped up and still flown. Looks a bit like a bandaid though. Anyway, my questions are: looking at the photos, would you say this is clear or tinted? And on the knots2u website they list a uv block version. Does anyone have any experience with it and is it worth it? Also, its covered by insurance, but chances are its not enough to warrant a claim.

Thanks. Do you know if the knobs just pull off? And will the mechanism stay together when the face comes off or will it all be a big mess? Also, I was planning to use silicone spray unless anyone has a better suggestion

So, I know the answer is to replace it, and I agree, and I have a new 355 waiting at home to be fitted but right now I'm on the other side of Australia and need a working radio. So my lovely old KY92 is working fine electrically, but the knobs are getting harder to turn, especially the first one which has a mechanism to increment the 2nd digit. The other day, while taxiing at an international airport (Darwin), it got so hard to turn it 'slipped a gear' and made a few anxious moments until it slipped back. Its still working, just very stiff when changing the 2nd digit (119 to 120 etc). So my question is: can I simply pull off the face of the radio with the 4 little screws I can see on the side, then clean and spray it all, and put it back together and hope? Or will everything get misaligned and I won't know what is what? I have a handheld with me that I can use to retune it if necessary, but I wouldn't want to do that. Added the obligatory photos of the plane in all her glory to be looked at.

Nice, I had to go the Wheldon route since Aeromotors couldn't do an exchange and I didn't want the downtime. Was significantly more expensive (approx $2500 in AUD). It does sound a lot smoother than the Dukes that came out.

Looking at the photo, possibly only the bracket/mount part is broken and the actual element might be ok. If its not obviously broken electrically, it may be repairable. Would be prepared to offer something for all the pitot parts and have a go at fixing it.

Do you still have the wings? And did it happen to have a heated pitot? They are worth a bit. I'd be interested in one.

Ditto all the above advice. Don't be scared to open the throttle way more on a hot start. 3/4 inch is a good place to start. If it has only been minutes (quick refuel) and doesn't fire, try full throttle. If its been over an hour, or if the above doesn't work, a split second of priming and 3/4 inch throttle. The one that gets me is if it catches an I open the mixture and it dies. Did I flood it or is it starving? I'm trying to train myself to open it slower when hot. That way if it dies then its starved, I can prime it and we're good. Yes, its frustrating, and still gives me anxiety. But you do get better at it. Also remember it changes with temperature as well. Strangely enough, hot temps seem to flood quicker

My experience is in a slightly different industry, in a slightly different country, but from what I have heard it holds true. Sure these factors have always been there but what I'm saying is that tradespeople/professionals tended to wear the downtime, now they pass it on. And it really does make a huge difference. Also adding on a fee for 'consumeables' at every step of the way. And yet, no one is keen to fill the labour shortage. It only means minimum 4 years apprenticeship, getting covered in dirt and chemicals, hearing damage, possible injury and worn out physically before retirement age. And then you look forward to being highly in demand and customers begging you not to take a holiday because they need things. No wonder we have stopped caring about how many hours we can fit onto a bill. Sorry, got carried away there

Something to factor in: It used to be that mechanics/contractors charged for the time working on your job, now its more like an employee. So there could be travel time, time spent booking the job in, office time ordering parts, checking the parts arrived, finding out they didn't and finding out why, then the time to do the job which includes the new guy who takes long lunches and uses the bathroom for half an hour twice a day. Meanwhile the apprentice has injured himself through plain stupidity and no one can find the band aids, the blood needs to be cleaned up and all the time the phone is ringing with people wondering when their job will be finished. AND then the paperwork. And and..... then you need to cover your costs that one in every 20 clients might refuse to pay and there is not much you can do about it. Trust me, you are paying for other people's work because its easier just to cover the loss than to try to sue someone for $10k when they have all the time to make a case and the law is on the side of the poor consumer.

Had to replace mine recently, Aeromotors didn't have an exchange one and being in Australia the downtime to send it over would have been too high. So I was forced to buy a wheldon for a significant amount more, and deal with their core swap which feels like they just don't want excess cores around so that Aeromotors or similar could have exchange stock. The wheldon went in almost drop-in (needed shorter screws) and sounds lots nicer, so there is that for it.

Yeah, but it doesnt mean the 'person' posting here is actually affiliated with Marsh. The question is only why. Is it market research? Is someone trying to test our gullibility? I mean, read what they posted, does anyone really think that is an actual person who knows about aircraft? Once again, if I'm wrong, I apologise

I agree with you that people on here have been mean to many vendors. However, I honestly don't believe this is a real person. If we can find any evidence that this is not an AI (again), then I will apologise entirely and unreservedly

A.I. alert. Read the reply but didn't really understand it. Still responded confidently. So George/Juan, can your bushings replace my old muffler bearings? Mine are almost worn out because of the wear they get every time I change the oil in the battery. Its a common problem with early Mooneys.

I bought my E in similar condition. So the deal we made: I'd pay asking price but including an annual and 15hr warranty to check the cam didn't immediately spall. I paid the deposit to the mechanic so the owner wasn't out of pocket. If he found anything major we would renegotiate. I paid the rest on the understanding that in 15hrs I'd do an oil change and check for metal, if there was any, we would renegotiate what was fair. Maybe you can sell it with similar warranty? Good luck, i think its a practical plane, not a project, just needs some work.

I work in a different field (construction) but I also get people asking if they can help. Obviously its a blanket no upfront. Anyone who asks if they can help is not likely to be helpful. Specify what you can help with and it gets better "may I be present so I can clean any panels that get pulled off, and maybe assist pulling off inspection panels. I'll bring my own tools". That will be a lot easier for a mechanic to allow. (In my case if someone asks if they can be there to sweep up and take away the rubbish, thats most likely to be accepted) Also, accept that the answer sometimes is no. They want to work in their timeframe, and it won't work to have you there. It comes down to personal trust. So you'd have to go there yourself and ask. Its a catch 22, if you don't trust them to work on it without you being there, they shouldn't trust you to be there either.

The End Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) initiative has been given until 2030 to come up with a drop-in replacement fuel that completely satisfies the fuel requirements for piston aircraft. So .... if they can't find one, then what? How much funding do they have? Does the group work with Lycoming, continental, gami? It sounds like an initiative to simply try to regulate the potentially impossible.