ProtoFly

Recently acquired 1970 M20F. First annual in progress, owner (me) assisting, and trying to go through lots of things to ensure....well....safety. The plane has had a couple different autopilots, none of which are installed now, but yay, wiring is still there, so in an attempt to clean things up, I'm going through and trying to remove unused bits. The 'last' autopilot that was removed was a Brittain B6, from what I can tell. Whoever 'uninstalled' took the stuff out of the panel, along with any control units, but left all the wiring behind, zip tied to the rest. While tracing wires around, I discovered a bunch of wires that are just 'capped', along with some 'not capped', that go into a black box immediately behind and below the glove box, but below the Shower of Sparks unit. No label on the box on the visible sides, but about 6 wires that look to be attached, have small bits of blue masking tape with faded lettering. ptt+, ptt-, gear, over volt + (light), as examples. Going through the wiring diagram, and I don't see anything 'factory' that would fit the description, so wondering if the collective wisdom here can maybe explain what the box is. Pic of the plug and box:

I reached out to the STC Group (Trio), got a reply that they're actively working on the STC. They have an 'F' model currently that they are working with. They are needing a short-body and a long-body as well.

No, I've not seen one in person. Do you have pictures of your setup? Did it require a field approval? What parts? (inquiring minds want to know...)

Maybe the new owner had insurance requirements for a certain number of take offs and landings. I purchased my M20F around that timeframe, from the same place. My insurance required 20 landings to a full stop, 10 hours of instruction, and then 2 hours of solo before I met requirements. The first weekend with the plane was a LOT of full-stop-taxi-back landings. Coming from my 1969 Cherokee, it was obvious why I would need that. I could totally see that a new owner with a decent number of hours might be tempted to do a bunch of touch-n-go's, rather than full-stop landings with a taxi-back...

Done

Why not go with something like the Electroair Ignition Panel? Gets rid of the AD... https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pnpages/08-17142.php

I recently installed a landingheight.com LHS-200C LIDAR system in my M20F. It's more than just a height sensor - it will also warn you if you forget to put the gear down. It's not a portable unit, and is wired to the audio panel as well as the GPS. So far I've been very happy with it. It's just an additional bit of insurance.

I'd also be interested in the information. My F windshield is hazy, and has seen better days.

To clarify: Looking for right windshield moulding, 130099-003 (I think - see pic). And the levers are the ones on the rear side panels that pull cable to release the rear seat backs for adjustment.

Do you have: Passenger side windshield interior trim piece Back seat recline levers

OK, so it looks like your setup is similar to what I have now, which is to say that my turbo supply line comes from the oil filter. In the grand scheme of things, I suppose that's OK. I'm going to be installing the Airwolf remote filter to replace the Oberg unit, so will probably 'T' from the out-side of the oil filter adapter to the turbo. Thanks for the pictures. It helps me know that what I have isn't far out of 'normal'.

Correct. The oil supply to the turbo.

Thanks! It's the turbo oil supply line at the accessory case that I'm mostly concerned with. Don't know how you have room for the spin-off oil filter back there! It's _TIGHT_ on mine. Next week it goes in for another Garmin G5 (has the HSI, now adding the AI), vacuum delete, which should free up some space in the engine bay.

I'm definitely a stickler for things being done 'the right way', as much as possible. There's several little squawks that I'm taking care of along the way. The turbo will supply line is just one in a moderately sized list.... I have a few interior trim pieces that need attention or are just missing. <sigh>

The plumbing was done in 1994, when an Oberg oil filter was installed via an STC for that. I'm trying to correct what was done 30 years ago...

Picked the plane up end of August. Couple of squawks related to the turbo. Nothing too serious, but enough that I've not used the turbo much yet. The oil supply line for the turbo is not what I'd consider 'proper', and so I'm adding an Airwolf remote filter for proper filtration, and will also be routing the turbo oil supply line to the location specified in the install instructions when there is a full-flow oil filter. Documentation is vague at best, and I've been asking people for pictures of their installs.

Which Brother printer do you have?

Annual will happen in December, at which time there's a laundry list of things I'll be going over. One of which is the rigging, to see that everything is 'in spec'. Meanwhile, I'll fly what feels 'right' for the CG in the plane, and maybe add some ballast in the back to see how that affects things. Thanks everyone for the various replies.

I'm at full trim nose up, with two people front seats and between full and half-tanks. Some back pressure in ground effect until she touches down gently on the mains, then nose. Reading through all the responses, and the consensus seems to be that there's no consensus - fly the plane :-) When it goes in for its first annual, I'll get all the rigging checked. Meanwhile, it's getting new sneakers and some LED's.....

When I first 'felt' the wheelbarrowing, I started pulling back. Wheelbarrowing isn't good no matter when it happens, IMHO. So, from there, I started adjusting trim to lessen the tendency, and ended up with what seemed 'comfortable' - still requires pulling back, but not so much that it feels like 'too much'. Just that the trim indicator was a bit above 'Take off'.

New to me 1970 M20F. I've been flying with a CFI for meeting insurance minimums. (note: insurance first year is heavy, as I have no complex time, but about 400 hours and instrument rated). Anyway, what I'm noticing is that when the flaps and trim are set at the 'takeoff' suggestions, the back of the plan wants to lift off, and ride the nose. This doesn't seem 'right' to me. When I lift off, I have to use a LOT of pull on the yoke to keep the nose up, and find that immediately trimming nose up really helps. Is this typical? Seems odd to me, and I'm thinking the plane is out of rig. Once trimmed up, and flaps up, it flies fantastic. My CFI doesn't have a whole lot of hours in type, so he's not much help. Is it possible the trim is out of whack, and need to be 'centered' properly? When landing, I'm full up trim by touch-down. I figured I'd ask the hive to see what direction I should go. I either put the trim where I don't have to crank back on the yoke, or I figure out why it's doing this.... Overall, I'm quickly falling in love with the plane. I picked this particular model (M20F) for its efficiency and useful load, and value for $ - in other words, it fits my mission, and short of spending A LOT more money, I'm not going to get anywhere faster or higher. -Darryl

What I'm looking for is where the turbocharger oil feed line starts on the accessory case in a full-flow setup. My engine originally had the oil pressure screen, but in 1994, an STC'd Oberg 600 screen was fitted, and the turbocharger oil feed was plumbed to the outlet on that. Definitely not correct, and worse, the pressure sensing switch is on the wrong side of the turbo oil pressure relief/limiter valve. I'm looking to ditch the Oberg in favor of an Airwolf spin-on filter, and in the process, make things 'right'....

New to me 1970 M20F, has the original-ish Oil Pressure Filter, plus an added Oberg 600 aftermarket thing. I'm looking at removing the Oberg thing, and replacing with an AirWolf kit. Have questions that my A&P can't answer, that maybe a couple pictures of someone else's setup might answer....

Overall update on the acquisition. New turbo control cable arrived, but mechanic went to OshKosh. REALLY looking forward to closing on the plane, and getting trained on it!

All good. Sort of. Hoses done in 2021, which means I'll have to do them in 2026. I'll obviously use the RAJAY PMA hoses to get rid of the AD...