Marc_B

I'd be curious for the A&P's out there. What can an owner do that helps you? 1) start your own troubleshooting and have a clear idea of the problem from the start 2) parts...would you rather me source my own parts, or would you much rather purchase them yourself and take advantage of the markup? 3) small jobs...do you like small jobs that you can round up shop time and have an easy problem to address, or do you just want jobs that take longer than the hours you bill? 4) gifts...does pizza, doughnuts, gifts make you more appreciative of my business or is there something else I could do to show my appreciation for a job well done? 5) advertising...how can I help you best to spread praise for your shop? word of mouth? online reviews? boards such as this? 6) how long SHOULD I wait before calling or emailing? Is a call more disruptive or does an email take longer to answer? Is a check in (in person vs call) in 1-2 weeks unreasonable? Should I be waiting for YOU to contact me? 7) what are your biggest pet peeves with me (or other owners) in general? 8) Would you rather address every squawk at your annual or would you rather me take a more proactive roll in addressing the list? 9) Would you rather me perform maintenance during the year to arrive at annual with as short a list as possible, or is it better for me to keep a list of squawks and address them all at once at annual?

I don't think that's the issue. I brought a freshly smoked brisket for my avionics install, have brought them pizza, usually pay the day I pick up or put a check in the mail the day I receive an invoice. But they are still swamped enough that it took a month to finally get me in to troubleshoot a transponder antenna. The delays seen AREN'T because your shop doesn't like you and you're a nuisance (okay, maybe some people are). It's because their plate is full and they can't eat everything at once. So it's a continual process of triage and sometimes that works in your favor (i.e. AOG) and sometimes it just leads to delays that they probably don't like either. But the unclear expectations cause the most frustrations. The aspect of maintenance that I think a lot of shops could improve on was setting a clear expectation. Use the Disney phenomenon of under-promising and over-delivering. If my shop gave me a squawk list and I could say "I'll come into the shop and take care of 3, 5, 7-10 and 12" and they were okay with it, I'd love it!! Instead it's often things they already addressed during the inspection and rolled into the bill. They don't want me in the shop, they'd prefer that I leave the plane and a blank check, and say take care of it all and call me when it's done. That's the way to maximize THEIR efficiency. Not pizza.

@Danb I'm dealing with this now. I'm into week 6 and still not a definite ETA. List is small and only has minor squawks (tighten this, adjust that), and this is probably my most simple annual yet. Only parts to wait for were GFC500 servos that I was getting warranty exchange for (my pitch servo crapped out) and asked if that would delay annual if we did it on drop off; told Garmin says it takes ~2 days to ship new ones and we can easily get it done before the annual is done. My last 3 annuals have taken 3-4 weeks; first one was the first time they inspected my mooney; one of these I replaced baffles; one of these I did a 500hr IRAN mag and installed a SureFly. I think the Mooney is seeing more back burner time because there are more airplanes than humans fixing them. I suspect that unfortunately there isn't a solution, I just wish my shop communicated delays better so I had a clear expectation of when to expect communication and what to plan for. This year I still haven't even received a cost estimate or ETA at all. Needless to say I'm as frustrated as you are. But I'm perpetually wondering if the grass is greener on the other side...I suspect it also has just as many weeds...or is that cobwebs? I'm guessing that as GA contracts, more people going through A&P school take jobs working on the commercial aviation side. I'm still trying to figure out how we set up a Concierge service like Mike Busch has talked about. I think the leverage would be a single A&P working on a small group of planes with a membership...unfortunately I suspect that would be better served with an A&P who's winding down, rather than just getting started and would potentially come with enough insecurity that it'd be hard to find and replicate. I'm thinking that the only way to control how long it takes is by moving to owner assisted maintenance with an available and accommodating A&P/IA.

Where's EGT2?

This is interesting as it looks like EGT2 starts out higher than the pack, but your EGT's all drop immediately on pulling fuel flow. I would think that if it was a rich mixture and you're leaning that the EGTs would rise, peak and then fall. And your CHT1is already dropping out of the pack well before the others while the EGT1 is staying relatively steady to begin with. EGT 3 initially bottom of the pack but starts to rise as you drop the fuel flow while the CHT3 plummets. After you start enriching mixture EGT2 rises back to the top quicker than the other. Basically doesn't seem to fit a single injector or plug. Seems it affects more cylinders than that. Am I looking at that right? Plug: less burned fuel in cylinder = lower CHT + more fuel to burn in exhaust = higher EGT Fuel Injector partially clogged: if ROP runs more lean than the others so EGT/CHT both higher; if LOP then running leaner = lower EGT & CHT Fully clogged injector: EGTs cold and CHTs dropping https://www.savvyaviation.com/understanding-cht-and-egt/

It will be interesting to see how 'supervision' is eventually interpreted. I thought after all Mike Bush's consternation and complaints about the letter of interpretation of what constitutes Supervised Maintenance that there may be developments of remote video supervision. I could easily see work being recorded and then key steps reviewed as needed. This could easily be expanded to owner-assisted maintenance where certain steps are supervised by a video camera and then checked off by an A&P remotely. If you "bought in" to a service, you might be supplied with a headlamp video camera and instructions on what was needed to be captured for a variety of maintenance tasks. A company like Savvy would be poised to do this easily through their network of A&Ps. i.e. if something needed onsite assistance or confirmation they could have an A&P stop by for an upcharge. Then the log entry is electronically signed and printed by the owner. Tele-medicine meet Tele-maintanence!

@Dmax Wasn't it your shop that used to have a maintenance clinic? Any possibility in revival?!?!

Looks like MooneyMax is in Branson this year. I went last year and enjoyed the lectures from Frank Crawford and Bob Kramer from Mooney. Enjoyed the factory tour. But wish there was a Mooney Owners Maintenance workshop attached. I know that years ago Maxwell did a maintenance workshop. Not sure if that could ever be revived?!? But how about a clinic put on with Maxwell and Mooney…down in Texas that has a “work day” volunteering at Mooney to get the factory cleaned up and workshop in the shop to go through a Mooney annual first hand of what they look for, owner maintenance items, and pictures showing “the Mooney Factory is still going”! Lunch at the factory lunch tables. Hands on gear swings and flight control rigging. How to properly lube and what products to use. How cool would that be?! Yes, I’m day dreaming. Can’t go to MooneyMax this year. But this would be great phot op for Mooney to have people at the factory…cleaned up, and working on Mooneys. Everyone flies in to Kerrville and the Mooneys are all staged in the hangar together! Awesomeness!!

@JLG best deal I've found https://www.scross.com/store/part-number?10-900-60-1

I have some friends who use RMAS out of BJC, and a few who use a shop at CFO. I've previously used Arapahoe Aero down at KAPA which is the local Mooney Service Center, but think I'll be changing next year. For a Garmin shop I'd recommend Advanced Aerotechnologies Group up at KGXY. They recently partnered with RMAS at BJC.

Isn't @kortopates based around there?

@Gatlin Gun I’m up at GXY and I know two guys out at CFO…Mike and Brett both fly J’s. Have Mooney friends over at BJC, LMO, and COS as well.

Mobility and portability. For patients stuck on oxygen it's been amazing to have a portable concentrator that fits on a shoulder strap instead of lugging around a tank. Same for pilot. No need to refill tank. No need to lug around a tank. Plus as @donkaye, MCFI mentioned, you can easily bring it commercially from one plane to the next. It's another tool in the toolbag, and has it's own pros and cons. It doesn't work for everyone, and I'm not giving up my built in oxygen with an O2D2 that I fill once to twice a year (at annual or at my FBO). But it IS legitimate and works well for those who use them.

How well does it work for you in 1 or 2 person set up? It's misleading because you're blindly taking a recommendation that may or may not be applicable to the person using it and painting broad brush strokes. 2 person mode might not work for someone at all. However the machine concentrates oxygen. It's working as intended. But the guideline isn't law and may or may not be applicable. ANY oxygen equipment you you should be end user tested to verify it's working properly and that you find the settings that work for you. Don't blindly follow any manufacturer recommendations "trusting" that they work for you. Maybe they oversold it, or maybe they're way conservative. But DO follow FAA regulations, because that's how we protect our privilege to fly.

I think that the thinking is I’ll try to avoid low IFR or potentially unsuccessful approaches with forecasts and planning, where I can. But once I’m on an approach I’m not going to unnecessarily limit my success if I feel it’s safe and I’m comfortable and legal. i.e. If my personal min is 600ft AGL and forecast were 1000ft it’s a go. Then I get there and ATIS ceilings are 400ft (LPV min 200) then that might not be accurate at the time I’m on approach. Perhaps it’s 100 perhaps it’s 600 where I am. But it the approach is going well, I’m ahead of the plane, my AP is rock solid, no turbulence, things look good…why not fly the approach to land if able?