Caz

I guess I should clarify my earlier post. It was intended to be a baseline for an all in inexpensive (I know... what is inexpensive) engine monitor. What I didn't say and should have said is this ... Temporary labor is the same as permanent labor, it takes the same amount of time to install wiring to different sensors temporarily as it does permanently, unless of course you don't want to fly the airplane in the mean time. Then you can just run all the wires thru the window and sit in the cockpit running the engine acting like a pilot to your hearts content. The 730 is a reasonably inexpensive engine monitor with good options. I haven't done any shopping for a used 730 but I'm sure they exist. The OP did not state what he wanted to monitor, only that he wanted, a temporary, practical and efficient engine monitor. He just spent a tidy sum on a reman engine, a turbo-charged engine no less. He understandably wants to protect the investment. For a year or possibly longer. What is practical and efficient. I will leave that question to the OP. He is the only one that knows his remaining budget and his definitions of practical and efficient. Is 10% of the engine cost efficient or is 30% of the engine cost efficient. I don't know.

IIRC the 830 displays the percent of horsepower without you doing the math. That is pretty much it. I would have to go back and research to verify that but I'm pretty sure that's all she wrote. Both are considered secondary instruments so you still have to keep the primary in place.

JPI EDM 730 with everything installed..... Right at 9K. Give or take. And probably 2-3 weeks downtime, depending on any - Oh BTW issues, Everything meaning EGT/CHT, OAT, IAT, OP, OT, FF, RPM, MP, GPS in. Just did one in September.

My .02 worth is what we do and what we have seen other shops do. Quick down and dirty summary. A&P preps the airplane for annual inspection. (ie removes panels interior etc. etc.) IA does AD research on airframe while it is being prepped. A&P does 100 hr inspection and AD compliance checks on engine and prop. A&P signs logbooks for engine and propeller as completing a 100hr inspection on each. IA performs and signs off the airframe logbook as an annual. That way the A&P and IA can work simultaneously on the same airplane and everything gets done much more efficiently.

I didn't know the Air Force had submarines. I know their pilots aren't as good as Navy pilots but turning a Air Force Jet into a submarine seems extreme. "For those who are offended. I apologize. Former Squid. Just a little inter-service rivalry humor"

Not sure I understand the level of thinking of your mechanics. It's not that much work. Certainly not as much as changing out a cylinder. For people who say they are over-worked and under-paid, I sure do hear a lot of mechanics wanting to put off the simple stuff until the simple becomes much harder. I would do the in place lap in a heartbeat over pulling a jug. Unless of course there are other indications that would indicate that it would not be of any benefit. Just my 2 cents.

I'm not an IA nor do I pretend to know more than I actually do but, someone needs to explain to me how you can sign off an annual without doing a runup. You have no idea if the engine will produce the expected (required) power without doing one. Therefore, you cannot say it is airworthy because you in fact have no idea if it is airworthy. Nor can you figure out if you have any new undetected leaks. Take those statements for what they are indeed worth. Barely the air needed to utter them.

3 years active airframe and powerplant certs to apply with last 2 years active engagement if memory serves me correctly. And you said all of that much, much better than I did

I guess I would say the way to go for the OJT route would be to talk to the FSDO to get the requirements based on your experience. If you have already been turning wrenches for a fairly significant amount of time and you are good at setting aside time to study the theory behind stuff on your own. It is definitely a viable option. There are also multiple facilities that offer an A&P prep course (not a full 147 course) that will guarantee pass on the testing assuming you are at a level to allow testing. If you are a more seasoned individual and only wanting to work on your own plane with the ability to sign off RTS, your local FSDO may or may not be more flexible on it's requirements for testing purposes. However the testing requirements do not separate the requirements between turbine and reciprocating Power Plant. Meaning if you are taking your Power Plant O&P and the testing generates a test for ... let's say "Demonstrate the proper procedure for trimming a turbine engine" and you have never done it. Good chance you will fail. That is an expensive uh oh. I'm not trying to dissuade you from doing the experience route only pointing out what I said earlier about the FAA having requirements for the experience route and some of them are subject to interpretation by the local FSDO personnel. If they give you a sign off to take the tests and then you get some off the wall O&P testing criteria then things can get hairy. Going the 147 route is also a tough road to hoe. I decided to go that route. When I started my journey, I was in a class with 20 total students ranging in age from 17 to 56. Me being 56. One other student was 52. Everyone else was late teens to mid 20's. It was definitely an adjustment. I made a kid cry during the first 2 weeks of class. You also have a very structured environment. You have certain tasks that must be completed. Even if you have done it before, you still have to do it. You spend a lot of time in the books. You also will probably work in groups on most projects. If your experience level is well above everyone else in your group, it can be frustrating. I can definitely tell you stories that basically end up with me saying "the older you get the less a life sentence is a deterrent." I'm not against teaching and/or working with people with less experience than I have but when you are working with an individual that doesn't know the difference between vise grips and channel locks you definitely have to take a step back. Especially when you are several months into the course. It also put a definite crimp on the working situation. I drive 85 miles one way every day to attend class. It's a fulltime job for me. My point behind telling you all of this is to point out this.... If you want to get your A&P, you must go into it with eyes wide open. If you just want to work on your own plane then you must weigh the cost benefit. It is a commitment. A large commitment. Both in time and money. Not all mechanics are created equal. It's your A&& on the line every time you get in the plane. If you don't trust your mechanic then you need to find one you do trust. Sometimes that is easier said than done. Also remember your mechanic is human. He is going to make a mistake. I guarantee you he will. There is nothing wrong with wanting to do a very thorough pre-flight after maintenance including looking over what your mechanic has done. If he has a problem with that. You probably need a new mechanic. I personally want to do a maintenance flight with the owner after every repair. That may or may not be possible but it is certainly a preference. A&P mechanics are in short supply right now. The wait times are long to get things done. Sometimes they get rushed, either by owners of shops or owners of planes. That is when mistakes happen. Things get overlooked. Sometimes things go wrong when you did everything right. Educate yourself. You don't have to be an A&P to have enough knowledge to do a QA check on your plane. I know some of this is somewhat rambling so I'll stop. Hopefully this will help someone.

I can't add a whole lot more to this conversation except to say that I am one of those people that is currently working on completing a 147 school. I currently have my A license and will complete the power plant portion of school in approximately 3 weeks. Written test 2 days later (final exam for class on Monday, written exam on Wednesday, O&P interview the following Monday and O&P on that Thursday.) I did this as a second career. One thing that I did not see being brought up in this thread is the changes that will take place as of 31 July of this year. No one really knows how it will affect things. Some say it won't change a whole lot and others say it will change the testing significantly. Here is what I do know. Under the current 147 rules. You must complete 1900 hrs of classroom/lab work. The new system does away with the hr requirement as long as you complete the knowledge and skill requirements of the course. That does not mean you don't have to take the course, it just means that under the current system you must have a certain number of hours to be given credit for taking the course. ( IE you cannot miss more than 10% of the classroom hours and still complete.) The testing procedures are becoming more centralized. Meaning the DME will have less discretion on what he asks during the O&P. He will be given the questions to ask and the projects to be completed by the same organization that is administering the written exam. Even though they are given both now, the way the tests are administered will be more rigid. Meaning the DME cannot cherry pick the questions to ask you out of the pool he is given. He must ask them in the order they are given. That could mean that they will hit you with Oral questions and practical projects that you showed weaknesses on during the written. It could mean didley squat. They are adding Human Factors to almost all sections of the exams. Think OSHA type things. Apparently, all of this has been driven by commercial aviation wanting mechanics that are better prepared to enter the workforce in the commercial side of the industry. The FAA has done what almost all government agencies do. They have made it all clear as mud. (Not a knock per se on the FAA, it's just what bureaucracy does.) As for the experience route. I have less than little knowledge of that route except to say that the FSDO has a lot of discretion on who can and cannot test. A favorite saying of some friends of mine. If you go to the FSDO and ask 5 people you will get 7 different answers. If you go to a second FSDO you might increase that to 10. The experience requirements of 30 months may or may not be accurate. For instance if the guy in your FSDO wants you to have experience performing field overhauls on reciprocating engines and you have never cracked the case on one but have replaced the cylinders, he could conceivably say you don't meet the requirements. Or maybe you have never worked on a Turbine engine. Again, he can say you don't meet the requirements. My opinion is that 147 is the way to go if you can do that. It takes approximately 18-21 months depending on the school. Mine has taken approximately 21 months because it is a college and therefore follows the college schedule. Meaning we took a fall break, Thanksgiving, a month at Christmas, spring break, so on and so forth. We go to school 6 hours a day 5 days a week. Cost is no bad but could be outrageous depending again on the program. Hope some this helped.

I would be shocked if the engraving company would do it without an authorization letter. As a former owner of a print-shop I will tell you that we were extremely picky about copyrighted material. Better to err on the side of caution than find yourself defending what you did. Most likely Mooney has a standard form that they can send you with a few clicks and will happily do so.

Hello everyone, I'm a 56 yo new student going for my A&P at a local (semi) part 147. I just started in August. I decided after 25 years of owning my own business in the IT field to go do something else while I am still young enough to do it. I have been coming to this site for over a year as a guest lurker. Learned alot. A whole lot. I wanted to just look thru different forums to see what the general feel from the pilot side of things were like before I jumped in with both feet to get my degree. Thank you by the way. This place is full of knowledge and you can tell you guys love your planes. I am only interested in GA. Have no interest in working for an Airline. I do have some time in the Rotor world as a student pilot. Hopefully I will be able to finish that out and get my fixed wing add on. (or vice versa) I have also been looking around for a project plane to work on while I complete my training. Not sure what that will look like just yet. If I find the right Mooney it will be that for sure. I live in the Panhandle of Texas.

Hey Guys, Just signed up. Have been visiting this site for over a year now. Been a lurker. Had to sign up after I saw this topic. I'm currently enrolled in a 147 program to get my A&P. This is the most basic of repairs. We spent the last several days learning how to do this and other tubing, hose repairs. I haven't even finished General yet. I'm flabbergasted that someone wants to send this off. An IA no less. WOW. It does require an Aviation flare tool... 35-37 degree flare vs Automotive @ 45 degrees. However a top of the line set of cutters and flaring tool would at most be a couple of hundred dollars. As an A&P I would think it you would use it so many times it would almost be a required tool set in your most basic of tool sets. As in I ordered a set of these tools just a couple of days ago. Just my 2 cents.