redbaron1982

500 hours for massive is not realistic? Mines are about 300 hours now and the electrodes looks good and resistance is between 600ohms and 2k, which is within specs AFAIK.

Not the same questions as the OP asked, but related, from the benefits of a fine wire (less fouling and better ignition), how much you can get by going with a much cheaper long reach spark plug? I'm talking about the BY series. I'm planning on replacing my regular massive electrodes with something better, BY's are cheap (similar to regular ones) but I'm not sure how much better they are. Fine wires at this point seems way to expensive for my current situation.

roughly 20 weeks.

Quoted I don't remember exactly, billed 196hrs + painting (which was a flat rate, not detailed how many hours/materials).

I don't have much to add about this, just a few data points: Original estimate given by Don was 13k, he ended up sending me an invoice for 28k. Original time estimate given by Don was 2 to 3 weeks, but it took over 40 weeks to have the airplane ready.

Today we set it back to idle when cold at around 450rpm. Next flight after I come back I'll do an idle mixture test at 600RPM to see if mixture is ok. I understand that this has to be done with the engine hot, that's why I want to make it after a flight.

So today I put everything back together with my AP and did a run-up and everything seemed fine. One thing is that we had to adjust the throttle idle position. It was going all the way to 500RPM and running rough. We adjusted with throttle all the way back was idling at 750RPM. Anyway I usually idle at 1000RPM. A test that I did, when doing the run-up at 2000RPM, I start pulling the mixture back, after RPMs peaking, I continue to lean and the RPM started dropping, I continue leaning until RPM dropped all the way 1500RPM but running smooth. I assume this is a good thing, I understand this gives an indication of even fuel distribution across al cylinders. We will see in the next flight how it behaves. I plan on running the Savvy profile, that should give me some valuable information.

Thanks, guys. As these are new injectors (stock ones, not GAMIs) what I'm planning to do is run them as they are now, get the GAMI spread, and then see if I need to change any of the restrictors to have it under 0.5GPH. Whenever I do that activity I will take out also the nozzle's body, clean the cylinder head thread, and use motor oil to lub the injector nozzle. BTW: I did thread the nozzle bodies slowly, I'm always super gentle when threading in aluminum, don't want to cross-thread or strip the threads. Too many bad experiences in the past.

For the time being, I will follow the same path as you and monitor. I really don't like at this point to tap the thread, as with the luck I'm having I will end up with burr in the cylinders and having bigger problems.

Hi guys, I'm replacing the fuel nozzles in my M20J. I'm trying to follow Lycoming SI 1275C, which indicates to tighten to 60 in-lb and then until the A faces down. On the other hand, if I read SSP 1776 (SERVICE TABLE OF LIMITS AND TORQUE VALUE RECOMMENDATIONS) it indicates max torque for the fuel nozzle (ref 914) 60 in-lb. In my case, this is the follow that I've done: Tighten to 40 in-lb. Check the positions of the A, it was in the 9 o'clock position. Continue tightening to 60 in-lb and check the position of the A, it was exactly in the 12 o'clock position. I continue to 80 in-lb, check again the A and was in the 2 o'clock position. I really don't want to continue torquing until it's facing down, as most likely it will be well over 100 in-lb. I will check today with the mechanic that is helping me with this, but what's your experience with this? I don't feel ok either under torquing, like to 30 in-lb or over torque to 120 in-lb or so. At this point I prioritize being at 60 in-lb over the A position, as I understand the A position only affects the possibility of having some drops of fuel near the nozzle after shutdown. Thanks!

That's one of the main reason why I like flying, the rest of the world just turns off as soon as I start preflying.

I've removed them because I was being accused of blackmailing or being a troublemaker. My first intention was to get some good advice regarding very "uncommon" issues I'm having with my airplane, and I did get that from most of you, and I really appreciate that. My second intention was to share what I think is not a good job done by a certain shop, but in the future, I will keep those to myself, I will choose myself which shops I don´t want to take my airplane back to again, and I will let others discover by themselves. I will try to keep my questions in the technical realm. (BTW: I was going to make a sarcastic comment, but that wouldn´t be "technical realm" :P) PS: Sorry for the good knowledge shared by all of you that was lost in those post.

I really like the idea of having a loan-a-tool program, maybe extend it to loan-a-hand too? I'd love to share the tools I have as well as helping fellow mooniacs if they need a hand, it's a great way of learning. I'm located in KSGR, just in case someone needs a tool/a hand. Being proactive on a loan a tool program, what do you think is the best way? To ask through a new thread or should we set a Google sheet or something like that where everyone can indicate: mooneyspace name, location, tools. Like a directory of tools.

I hope it's a leaking capacitor, it should be fairly easy to fix if that's the case. I will take a look at the date the unit was manufactured to see if it falls inside these dates.

Hey guys, I've read (again) the KFC 150 operative manual, and I cannot find what I'm doing wrong on my side. Although I might be missing something, the operation seems to be straightforward. For instance, on yesterday's flight, this was the sequence I did (regarding the AP): After turning on the avionics, I performed an AP self-test (by pressing the test button). Which passed. After takeoff, above 1000ft AGL I engaged the NAV mode (by pressing the FD button, then the NAV button, and finally the AP ENGAGE button) mode to follow the course defined by the 430W, and the AP started to follow it. After that, I tried to engage ALT hold mode by pressing the ALT button, and it did not engage. If anyone knows a special sequence key I need to press to get this engage or tell me what I'm doing wrong, I'd appreciate your input.

Thanks guys. I'll re read the operating guide. But I do remember flying a KAP150 sometimes in flight school and don't remember having this issue. Also the two instructors that help me with the transition training couldn't figure this out either. Hopefully it's just me having to learn the right sequence of buttons to press so I'll read it again.

Yes, so after I turned on the avionics I do the AP test, then I play with the alt preselect and everything looks ok, without turning anything off I take off and then no more alt hold mode or alt arm/Capt.

I have an strange behavior with my KFC150 altitude hold mode / altitude preselect function. While testing in the ground everything "seems" (the quotes just because I cannot test everything) to be OK. If I press ALT in KFC150 it will iluminate, if I then set a VS in the preselect window it will go out. If I "ARM" the alt preselect it will stay ARM and (by adjusting the alt setting) I can simulate a change of altitude and the mode will go from ARM to CAPT and then to altitude hold whenever the selected altitude is reached. So again, in ground everything makes sense. After takeoff, the ALT hold mode in the KFC150 will not activate, the altitude preselect will not ARM (and of course no CAPT either). Only VS mode works OK in flight. Otherwise, the HDG, NAV, APR (except for GS) modes work OK. Does anyone have any idea why on the ground it might seem to at least make sense and while flying it won´t even engage? I'm trying to pin down what might be going on before taking in to a shop, as some of you might know I have had a first annual inspection that set me back 1yr and 40AMU, so I'm being as cheap as possible now!

Yeah, I was going through the data sheet and it seems to be like you say. I will give this a try.

Hey, I have several placed with chipped paint and also a few places with minor surface corrosion that I want to start treating with Alodine pen. My main question is, does the pen last after the first use? I don´t want to wait until I have identified all the places, but I´d rather use the pen as I see chipped paint / corrosion. My doubt is if it is OK to use the pen across several weeks or once it open it's better to use it all at once. I know the tips can be replaced if clogged, but they aren´t exactly cheap. Finally, side question, I know that if you paint a control surface you need to balance it. But what about small correction like removing chipped paint around a rivet, treating with alodine pen and paint over the rivet? I assume that small corrections like that should be ok without balancing. Am I correct?

Hey, that´s awesome. Some how my airplane has two tones of blue, I will check atlantic blue is one of the two.

Guys, a related question, I have my Mooney out of a annual inspection (10 hours TT after the annual). I bought a bottle of CamGuard. Can I pour it in into the existing oil? I mean, I know that I would be using camguard in an oil that is already 40% of it's lifetime, but apart from that, any issue? Or do you recommend me to wait until the oil change (I'm planning to do it at 25 hours mine, at least at the beginning as the engine has been sitting for 12 months and want to take the best care possible while I bring it back to regular flying).

I think the current scheme doesn't make sense at all. Something that mimics how pilots certification work make more sense. Private vs Commercial would be a first classification. Piston vs Turbine could be a type rating. Each type of aircraft could have a type rating above certain empty weight, same as pilots. Really, asking the same qualifications to someone who signs a return to service of a Cessna 152 or a 747-8 makes no sense at all.

Yes, I agree that 6 hours per day for 18 months is quite impossible if already working an 8 hours job and having a family. I think for now I will continue reading the FAA books and try to get a mechanic that's ok with me helping in the repairs. Hopefully in the near future we have hybrid courses, where the classroom can be done online at your own pace and exams and practice can be done in person.

Regarding if the sensor is working, I understand that the failure mode of temperature sensors affects the whole range, so I think if you have an EIS where you can see precisely the oil temperature and when the airplane is completely cool it reads something close to room temperature, then I think you can rule out the sensor.