DCarlton

I sent my 430 back yesterday to Garmin for flat repair repair after having no success with a replacement memory battery. I'm hoping it comes back with a new membrane key pad, display, and memory battery. I've heard they do all that but have been unable to verify exactly. The flip flop key was fussy, the display washed out from the pilots seat, and the battery was kaput. Will know in about two weeks.

A J caught my eye a few months back. The outer wing assembly had been reportedly replaced with factory parts due to a ground accident. I pulled drawings and tried to imagine how a repair facility could remove and replace the entire outer wing assembly. Had I lived closer, I would have asked to speak to the owner about the accident and the repair process. Repair photos would have helped me make a decision. Without more information, I couldn't pursue it. Agree damage history needs to be disclosed early to gain trust. I'm not a mechanic; just a pilot and Mooney owner looking towards an upgrade down the road.

With the uptick in hurricanes, gotta wonder what the insurance is like. Sooner or later, you'll have to run from one to keep it off the beach. Unless you;re on a oil rig or fishing, floating around the gulf doesn't sound like my idea of a good time. Now if you were in Florida, maybe.

I was very careful to trim my plane where I wanted it when I got it painted. And if I don't leave it in that position, it's noticeable to me. My lines are straight from tip to tail though.

Looks like a fresh design. Not something we see often. Nice. Not sure how the paint pros do it, but I'd consider trimming the plane for landing or takeoff before you paint. That way, the lines across the tail will alway look right sitting on the ground. I leave my plane parked in the takeoff position. Not sure how other folks do it. BTW, your E is a shorter body than the plane they are using in the rendering. It may change the look of the lines across the fuselage.

Yep. I used this plastic parts cleaner first but SEM makes a prep too. I've used Krylon Fusion for Plastics to; satin black. Works great and it's more readily available.

You're gonna talk me in to one. It would be really easy to install. How one gets approval for it if it didn't have it originally, I have no idea.

BTW, if you don't need the whole interior set, they will sell you partial selections or create custom decals as well.

I just bought a set of interior placards from Aerographics for my M20F. Pretty sure it included decals for the fuel selector but I haven't checked to see if they fit yet. You can see them on their web site. http://www.aerographics.com. I'm pleased with the interior decals I've used so far.

I could use one for a '67F too. I have the parts manual and the operating manual but I've never seen a "maintenance manual" yet folks seem to suggest one exists for the older than J Mooneys.

Which oil do most folks prefer now in SOCAL? Single weight or multi weight? I've shifted back and forth over the years. I was happy with W100 but now folks are recommending 20W-50. I believe my oil pressures are a tad higher with single weight but I'm not sure that really matters if the oil is flowing nicely. My engine has less than 100 hours SMOH so I'm really curious. Thanks.

Seems like every few weeks, there's some for sale somewhere. Ebay, Facebook, etc. I alway stop and look because I'm still using my Brittain A/P. Just took a quick look; there's some on Ebay now.

Seems like you need to put it on jacks, and cycle it while carefully observing behavior. And you can check the setting on your safety switch and charge the battery. But I'm not a mechanic; just a guy that just went through similar troubleshooting. I believe the limit switches are all easy to locate and accessible from the belly pan.

I'm not a mechanic, but I've recently had to remove and service my airspeed safety switch. After reinstallation, it had to be readjusted. On the VEP switches, there's a big slotted adjustment screw. If the plane is on jacks, you can apply pitot pressure, look at the airspeed indicator, observe what speed the gear will retract and adjust from there. There may be more sophisticated procedures but this worked for me. That may not be your problem though based on your description. I checked my notes, and my switch is supposed to be set to 69 +/- 5 mph or 2.8 +/- .4" water. It's designed to operate with increasing airspeed. It may not deactivate at the same speed when decreasing pressure. You've gotta test it with increasing pressure. If your M20E is like my M20F, it didn't come with an override button. I kinda like the idea but it defeats the purpose of the safety switch if you leave it in the wrong position. I flight tested my switch yesterday, and confirmed that I can get the gear up at 80 mph. I didn't test it any slower than that.

Not enough threads. Will try just tightening it down first and see what happens.

Over torquing is my concern. Leaving it loose and letting it rock back and forth is not good either, especially when you pulling on the yoke with one hand. Blue Loctite with it snug is probably a good idea. Crazy but every time I do stalls during a BFR, I feel like I"m waiting for it to snap off...

This is one those nit questions.. but the pilots side yoke on my '67F has been loose for as long as I can remember. As you know it has a vertical bolt holding it on. Then there is a set screw in the side. Should I just snug the set screw up until it takes the play out? I've never been a fan of the smaller yoke shafts or how the yoke attaches to the shaft.

I just purchased a starter relay from Aircraft Spruce for my F. There's another thread on it. There's a long list of approved Mooney airplanes for the LAMAR relays.

The "Skytec" relay I received from Spruce was badged as a LAMAR STS-S12. It's PMA'ed. Check out results of the failure analysis on the old relay. Looks like the black plastic spring guide washer broke and got wedged preventing the contact washer from closing. That thing could have lasted another 50 years if it weren't for the plastic piece. Little corrosion inside and the contacts were clean.

I ordered what I thought was a Skytec STS-S12 starter relay. I received a Lamar relay marked STS-S12 with a Lamar business card. I'm wondering if Skytec is now buying their Relays from Lamar. It came with the required PMA paperwork; it's made in Mexico; looks solid. I'm hoping for good service life.

My buddy had a tie down at MYF for years. First near Spiders at the West end then he was forced to move; I think it was a county tie down. He then had a tie down where the old flight school or FBO closed (the one to the right by the front gate; don't remember the name). I think Coast bought them out and built new hangars. He was forced to move again during the construction. I think a lot of people moved from MYF to SEE during the last shake up. It was the same at Palomar for years; GA getting pushed around while new jet hangars were being built. Now we have the North Ramp run by the county. It's at about 50% capacity now. I moved there the instant they opened; was tired of getting pushed around with the future being uncertain. It's probably worth checking at MFY now. I think Coast has hangars if you have deep pockets. With every new development, it seems the cost of admission gets higher.

I'm not a mechanic but I live along the coast in Southern CA. I've been looking at surface corrosion on my landing gear for years. I'd like to dress it up at some point, tear down the gear and have it re-coated, but I'm not worried about it from a safety perspective. Same goes for the aft sections of the push pull tubes. I can find some areas with surface corrosion but it hasn't made it to the top of the priority list and it's not a concern; although I'd like to eventually have an MSC remove and repaint them. I last had the plane painted about 10 years ago. IMO, keeping these old planes safely in the air is a balancing act. It's costly to make them new. To answer your question, I've only spent that much when I had the plane painted, when I overhauled the engine, and when I upgraded the avionics. My annuals have all been less than $4K. I've owned the plane for 17 years. It would be interesting to see some pics of your landing gear. Again I'm not a mechanic. Maybe you'll catch up if you stay with the same shop.

Interesting. I didn't seen an approved alternative. And yes, my SkyTec starter is probably 15 years old. So far so good.

I've got a buddy with a Piper at KSEE that has been going to Temecula. Seems crazy. Hate to repeat myself, but with all the great GA traffic and aircraft based at KSEE, please tell me there are shop(s). Otherwise GA is really getting pushed out of San Diego by big money fliers. You'd think the county could do something to incentivize more mechanics to set up shop and try to make a go of it even with the cost of hangars and insurance.