Denis Mexted

I use to see these threads on Beechtalk. Interestingly not so much on SuperCub.org. I guess with Cubs more owners are actively involved in the maintenance. Many threads of owners indignant of missed maintenance. Then equally as many threads of owners outraged at the cost of maintenance bills. Poor old mechanic, damned if he did, damned if he didn’t. I decided many years ago I couldn’t afford to be involved in light aircraft unless I could control the maintenance. So I went and got an airframe license. My approach with my nearly 50 year old aircraft is to give it a lot of love. Replace, rebuild, paint lots of systems, then enjoy the benefits of some lighter annuals.

Hello all. I'm thinking about tidying up the panel and thinking EDM's etc. I'm gathering information and going around in circles. Does anybody have a square instrument cluster as shown in Bryan G's original panel for sale? Bryan G, or anybody else have a template for the M20F model dash they could email me? Many thanks, Denis.

In another life I would fly heavy Chieftains 3 hours out to sea and land on a small bit of bitumen. (Lord Howe and Norfolk Island) Past half way, there was no other place to land. We always ran tanks dry. If you were alert fuel lights would give you ten seconds notice to change. But mostly it was a bit of a surge. We never had a problem. If you’re doing any sort of range flying I think it’s a good idea to have real world figures of what’s in your tanks.

Great. Thanks for the PIREP. I’ve tried many times getting in and out without touching it, and thought ‘I should take it off’. The other day the ‘cone head’ (electron man in Australia) said can we take this door off. ‘Bloody oath’.

Cool footage. I thought for a minute the wingtips were curved like a 78, but then realised the paint job had tricked me. Enjoy the gathering.

PM sent davesly.

On the subject of doors. Has anyone removed one? How so.

How does this get so beat up and what's the hole for? It looks like it's been chipped out with an ice pick.

davesly the invoice shows: AF15473 And $574 AUD pre tax.

I’ll come back to you early next week. It hasn’t arrived yet and I don’t have the invoice.

Can I ask a question about bushes? I was going to ream the holes where primer and paint would have filled, and grease the bushes and reinsert. A friend who does a bit of engineering on antique tractors, thought the bushes should be tight and pressed in. Should the bushes be free to rotate or pressed in tight?

The hoses are off at the moment but I have some pics. I can probably pull the baffles off and send them to you if you want. (Promise to send them back) I have a friend who travels back and forth to LA frequently.

Ailerons - 16 thou sheet ordered. But there's no way it won't be primed inside. It needs it. A shame it's not an RV and I can't just order all new parts at a reasonable price. (I hate aeroplanes ) Is the cabin door easy to remove on a Mooney ? It would be handy to have it out of the way. Thanks PT20J - Good to know.

Timely thread. I was just looking at the Surefly mag, new in its box last week. And I thought the back of the mag where the harness plugs in looked a little different. But my harness is off at the shop, along with the other Bendix mag that's being serviced. Is there a different harness required for the Surefly?

Good point 1980Mooney. I never even considered that the insulation stuck to the sidewalls wasn't original. I've only pealed off a few bits. I'll run some water holding tests with the material that a local rebuild company uses and scratch my head some more. Ailerons - I wasn't looking to rebuild the entire aircraft, but the one aileron we de-skinned was rotten. The wings and fuse on this aircraft are very clean. So the state of the aileron surprised me. I dropped the other aileron off to the sheetie and said give it back in many pieces. So I'll treat and prime both ailerons internally before reskinning. Obviously we'll balance them.

Ha. I point out, nor have I. The floor edge (vertical inch lip on sides) had what I'd call '1,000 mile an hour tape'. As did LOTS of places. Tape everywhere. On the floor I'm thinking of using MOX 604 silicon rubber self fusing electrical insulating tape. I know plumbers brains silicon causes corrosion issues with steel. But are there different types of silicon. Anyone using silicon tape in their aircraft? Also I'm super impressed with the longevity of the closed cell wall insulating material. Silver on one side, adhesion on the other. Any idea of what product they used? Ta.

Making the wiring job easy for my friends. I couldn't resist pulling it out and dealing with the corrosion properly Doc. I wish the back seat area was as easy. Still a bit of yuk work to do in that part of the cabin.

No it's not green. I forgot to take one of the finished white. Slowly coming along. Some very minor pitting on one arm of both main gear legs when bead blasted. Apart from the link assemblies that the rubber donuts sit on, are there any other known points of issues on the Mooney gear legs?

Best of luck davesly. I'm about half way through my own F model reno. VH-KWA.

Hello all. Mechanical fuel pump sorted. I ended up phoning a guy I know who has an engine shop. Now to ailerons. The skins are off on one of them and I measure them at 16thou. Is this correct as it seems light. I was going down to purchase a 16 thou 2024-T3 next week. It would be good to use 20" not only because I already have one, but also my sheet metal man hates working 16" he tells me. Anyone done this?

My Dad had this in our old Bonanza. It had the ball rod end, but a used, in in this case 'used' metal lock nut instead of a castellated nut and split pin. Actually in typing this I think it was the throttle. And in that case the throttle arm has a spring on it to move it to full throttle. What does the mixture arm do? Stay in the same position I assume.

How does one determine what mechanical fuel pump to use? The fuel pump coming off had no part numbers to replace like for like. The Tempest product info gives 3 options for a M20F shown here. And I'm scratching my head. Any guidance appreciated.

Hello MS. I do like the look of chrome rocker covers, but I believe they caused issues. I guess separation of the chrome. What other ideas are out there? I may as well start; Lycoming grey paint. Cheers, Denis.

Ok. But are there any other places that use that microswitch? It's highly unlikely to be a gear switch. And if it is I second ArtVandelay's concern, 'make you wonder what else they did'.