AndreiC

The Midwest is big, depends on where you are. But the Skycom Avionics shop at Waukesha Airport (KUES) has an excellent reputation in this area (Madison/Milwaukee/Chicago).

This looks similar to what I have, and it is very helpful. Could you please perhaps shoot me another picture of the higher part of the governor control cable? The portion that goes from the firewall to the support bracket? Thanks a lot.

There is a car rental company at John Tune. Not one of the national ones, but a local one. Kinda expensive ($100 for a Toyota Camry per day was the cheapest they had), but they’ll bring the car to the plane. Call the FBO and ask for their name and number, I forget their name now.

Strange. According to the IPC, on a 1970 M20E the prop cable should be coming through the firewall on the pilot's side, and pull on the governor control arm from right to left. (See attached picture.) On my plane the prop cable comes out through the upper part of the firewall on the passenger side, and comes to the governor from above, held by a bracket attached to the upper-passenger side engine mount. Is this a non-standard installation? Could someone maybe confirm?

Hello all, the governor cable on my 1970 M20E looks to be rigged a bit funny. It is not pulling on the arm of the governor in a straight way, and I am not sure it allows the arm to reach both stops. Can someone with a similar engine installation (IO-360) perhaps post some pictures of how the cable is rigged on their plane? The mechanic at my field, who is a very good mechanic but does not work on Mooneys regularly, told me he could fix it if he had some pictures showing how it is supposed to be when it is right. Thanks! Andrei.

So what is the conclusion of this? Is T-9088 suitable for my plane (1970 M20E), or did I use the wrong seal?

I repeat my question: I can easily imagine how a mechanical tach can be off. But it is hard for me to imagine how a digital tach (mounted in the panel) could be substantially off. Have people experienced such digital tachs being inaccurate? I thought they function by counting pulses from the magnetos. This is the unit I have in the panel: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/inpages/ei-digitalgraphic1.php

@PT20J Thanks for your reply! My tach (in the panel) is a digital one, made by EI. I assume that is expected to be accurate, isn't it? Regarding the door seal -- what do you mean by it extruding out the gap between the door and the airframe? It is not sticking out at all. It is the door itself that instead of being flush with the airframe, the way it was before, is now raised 1/16" all around. As if the seal is taking too much space between the airframe and the door. A.

Hello, I just finished the annual at Oasis Aero in Willmar on my 1970 M20E, and three squawks ended up not being resolved. May seem small, but I'd like to take care of them and I hope maybe the MS people have some suggestions on how to proceed. 1) My prop governor does not give me more than 2610/2620 at full prop. I asked Oasis to look into this, they said they "gave the rear bearing on the governor one turn" (whatever that means) and that should get me closer to 2700. When I first attempted to fly the plane, it would now only go to 2450. They checked and said the cable was now not allowing the governor control to reach its full stop, rerouted the cable. Back to 2610/2620, no change from before. They suggested that the only option at this point is sending the governor to be overhauled. Any opinions on this? Is there something I can still fiddle with? I read about a screw on the back of the governor that gives you 25 rpm with each turn, can someone explain this? 2)The door seals on both doors were shot (the main door was leaking water in heavy rain), so I asked Oasis to replace them. I ordered T-9088 from Brown Aircraft supply. The baggage door is fine now, slightly stiff but ok. However, the main door is almost impossible to close; from the outside I have to lean into it with all my weight, from the inside I have to pull both the back end of the door and the top with all my strength to barely get it to close. I fear I will damage something. Also, on one recent flight the top part of the door popped open, even though I was convinced I had closed both sides. Not a good experience. The folks at Oasis said that it takes a while for the seal to compress, and I should just wait. The seal has already been there almost two weeks. Is there something that can be done to speed up the process? Or do I need to trim a bit of the seal? As of now, with the door closed, it sticks above the fuselage about 1/16" all around. (I am worried because on my old plane, a Piper Cherokee, I installed a seal myself and had the same problem. Half a year in the door was no easier to close. Ended up getting a different seal and having my mechanic at the time put it in, and suddenly all was well.) 3) The ram air door opens in flight uncommanded, from the air pressure. The lever for power boost moves by itself about 1/2" from the closed position. It is annoying because on take-off and landing (when the gear is down) I get this warning light telling me power boost on, and I have to focus on it instead of focusing on one of the critical phases of the flight. Oasis fiddled with it but said there is no clear adjustment that can be made, and the only solution is to replace the cable (??) which is unavailable. Any suggestions? Thanks to all, this is a wonderful forum to be in.

Okay, since I'm the one who started this popular and controversial topic, let me tell you the final decision. I managed to negotiate with the owner of the hangar down to $200/month. (Hope I don't get killed in a crime of passion by some envious person paying $600/month...) The hangar as of yet is unheated, but the owner, who is a house builder, is working to put insulation and a heater in. (The other option was to get into a hangar that is already heated and insulated, for $250.) The drive was not so bad when I tried it, about 32 minutes one way. I hope the 17 minutes difference is made up to some extent by not needing to put on/take off a cover, tie plane down, added maintenance. Wish me luck! I am moving in next week.

I’d check first if the flex brake line does not leak near the point where it attaches to the caliper, by the wheel. On my last plane it was a very tiny leak, small enough that it took two years until I was finally able to see liquid coming out, and only by trying to get the brake to hold pressure while bleeding it.

I would never get the wing covers. For me it is a matter of being able to go into the airport and to be in 15 minutes in the air. Land, and 15 minutes later be in the car. Wing covers would obviously add so much time, it's not worth it. In the winter I rarely need to go so badly that frost or snow keeps me grounded. I learned to fly in Western MA, at a flying club (Turners Falls, 0B5). People there had a rule -- if you drive around after a snow storm and pass by the airport, stop for 10 minutes and clean the bulk of the snow from the plane. The sun will do the rest soon. Works 95% of the time. Same thing in Wisconsin. After a snowfall I drive to the airport and clean the plane, takes 10 minutes. It's not ready to go then, but next day it is usually good to go. It's amazing how much the sun will melt things even on a day with temps well below freezing. I agree that not having to tie down and put a cover on will maybe save 5-10 minutes at each end, so the difference is probably not as big as I thought. Thanks @1980Mooney for pointing that out.

I should have been clearer. Most people here addressed the issue of money, which of course matters, though compared to other expenses in aviation $200 extra/month is not going to break the bank. My concern is more about the go/no-go decision to fly when it is a beautiful Saturday afternoon and you feel the sudden urge to go fly for an hour. That unplanned flight, not the trip to a destination 6 hours away that you plan for months. For such flight, if it takes 3 hours versus if it takes 2 can make a difference. This is what concerns me the most. But based on what was said above, it seems like most people would still recommend getting the hangar 40 mins away, rather than the tie-down 15 min away. Thanks for the replies. I will be happy if more people chime in.

Hello fellow Mooney owners, I am a relatively new Mooniac, having bought my 1970 E-model a few months ago. Before this I owned a 1968 Piper Cherokee for over a decade. With the Cherokee, I kept it tied down outside, with a cockpit cover at a field that is quite close and convenient for me (15 min drive) but where hangars for rent are as rare as hen's teeth. (Morey Airfield in Madison, WI, C29.) The Cherokee did fine outside for 10 years; the only downside was that we were caught once in a hail storm which put some very light dents in the skins. Nothing that would affect airworthiness, and barely noticeable. We have hail storms here every 5-10 years or so, and almost all the planes that are tied out outside at the field have some hail damage from one of them or another, nobody pays much attention to this here. Several people were appalled at the thought that I would do the same with a Mooney. One of the reasons I thought it might not be wise to keep it outside is because the aluminum sheet metal is much thinner on a Mooney than on a Cherokee (being a steel tube airframe, rather than monocoque), so hail would damage it worse. Another thought was that the retractable gear is more sensitive to the elements than the bolted legs of the Cherokee. I started inquiring around, and the best I could find is an airport 40 minutes away. That would add a significant extra amount to each time I fly (about 50 minutes). It would of course be more expensive as well, $250/mo versus $50/mo. What are people's opinions? Is a hangar a must? Or it would be ok to wait and see, maybe a hangar would open up at my field? Now I am not worried (thunderstorm season is over), but in the summer I feel it would be like waiting for the shoe to drop for a hailstorm to ding my plane badly... Thanks, Andrei.

OK, I'll ask the shop that does my annual now (Mooney Service Center in Willmar, MN) if they can dynamically balance the prop as well while at it. If not, I'll talk to Ryan @Rmnpilot. BTW, @Rmnpilot, did you see a big change after the balancing?

Ok, are there any recommended prop shops around the upper Midwest (I am in Madison) to go to for prop balancing?

I took my plane (1970 M20E with 3 blade McCauley prop) to the annual, and the shop gave me a ride back in their 1965 M20C with a 2 blade prop. I was amazed at how much smoother their engine was. Mine has a continuous vibration that makes reading my iphone difficult at most times. It does not bother me as I sit in the plane, but I wonder if it is not even bad for the plane to be constantly shaking like this. What are the advantages of the 3 blade prop? I was told it is getting better ground clearance (the blades are shorter). Is this true? If it is true that a 2-blade will work better on my 4-banger IO-360, do you guys think I can find someone willing to trade a 2-blade prop for my 3-blade? I don't have the money in the near future for a straight up prop replacement.

Hello all, my new (to me) 1970 M20E has one of those portable ELTs that mount behind the pilot seat. Small, yellow, with antenna coming out of it. I hate it. The battery is due for replacement at the end of this month, so instead of getting a new battery I'd rather install a modern 406 MHz fixed unit in the back of the plane. Any suggestions? Where can I buy one for a good price? The most commonly recommended was the Artex 345, which I can get for about $840. I don't know how much it will cost to install. I would rather keep the installation price to a minimum. Any other models which people recommend? Thanks.

What wax (and what washing soap) do you use? Looks nice. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I flew without the copilot seat a couple of times while I was working on the interior of my plane, and once mentioned this to the main pilot at our field, an old weathered guy who always does everything by the book. He said that if I wanted to continue this way, I should calculate a new Weight and Balance for the situation without the seat, and keep that document in the plane. He said that would look very well to an inspector, show that I thought about the issue and was careful about it.

Well, but what was the tailwind? I never saw TAS anywhere near that. Best I could do was about 148-149 kts (171 mph). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ha! I have a 914 that I love to drive in the summertime. Mooneys + Porsches, go together well. Curious, what kind of TAS did you get and for what power settings? To compare to my mostly unmodified E. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

At my field the FBO charges $10 to tow my plane to a spot near the hangars and to plug it in. I call them a few hours before I plan to fly, or in the late afternoon the day before the flight if I plan to leave early the next day. Also, how cold do Atlanta mornings get? At my field (in WI where it gets quite cold) the wisdom is that above 32F you don’t need preheat, between 20 and 32 you get by with a blanket and electrical heating, below 20 you need a propane heater. BTW, a good propane heater will heat up an engine in 20 minutes if it is 25F, so I would get one of those with a LiPo battery and an inverter. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Two new questions on the same topic. 1) One of my mains has a flat spot, but no cords showing. Does it need replacing at annual (in a month) or can it still go another year? 2) Being a CB, does the tube have to be replaced every time the tire is changed? It appears to hold pressure very well. Thanks!

It is amazing how much having a reliable plane (or a bag of troubles) can make you love or hate one. I owned 3 Cherokees, and I liked them all, simple and easy to operate. I kinda assume that’s what the venerable C182 is — simple and trouble free. I had a love-hate relationship with the Comanche. It was a beautiful plane, I can still remember how it smelled now, 15 years after. Flew beautifully. But the costs drove me nuts, all the time something small broke. I am glad I found a buyer for it when I did. You know what they say (usually about boat owners, but it applies to plane owners too) — the happiest two days are the day you buy her, and the day you sell. (Well, not quite. I still miss ol’ Cherokee 180, which I sold 5 months ago to buy the M20E.)