jamesyql

Thanks Nick. I went with Saskatoon Avionics.

Hi everyone, I wanted to tie a bow on this topic and let you know what I decided on. My plane now has dual G5, GFC500 autopilot with pitch trim, I kept the GNS 530, put a new GNC 215 so that it will talk to the G5’s and so that I did not need to keep any old CDI instrumentation. Added the GDL52R for xm weather and traffic. The vacuum pump is gone, saved over 30 pounds of useful load from all the stuff they took out. I simply kept my JPI730 for engine monitoring. I think this will be a good long term solution for me and if I was to feel like I needed more capability I may even look towards changing planes at that point. I did consider dynon but I would have had to keep my old pitch trim which was unreliable and not something I wanted to do. I am now over half way through my instrument rating and have passed the INRAT (canadian written portion). I think my approach is the one of the most economical ways to get a GFC500 in your plane. It is simply amazing. James

I would say it’s more of an hourly until they get it right. Mine took 8 hours but would be variable depending on what needs to be done.

I had some issues with my J (wing drop) when I first bought it, but I fixed them with flight control rigging as per the maintenance manual. The Mooney Flyer and Knr-Inc websites have great resources that make the process easier and clearer. My mechanic is very conscientious and follows the maintenance manual. He got my plane flying straight. While it’s nice to bring your Mooney to an expert, if you trust your local mechanic, they should be able to fix it without the hassle of travel. Your plane should also now fly faster and stall safer. https://themooneyflyer.com/issues/2017-OctTMF.pdf https://knr-inc.com/shoptalk-articles.html?view=article&id=75&catid=25 https://knr-inc.com/shoptalk-articles.html?view=article&id=106&catid=25

Just popped up on my feed (not my channel). Check out this Mooney Mustang project. He has also made a website mooneymustang.com. Great to see an iconic plane getting some love.

Thanks for your perspective. I truly haven’t flown in busy airspace enough to have experienced some of those issues, sounds like it definitely needs some improvement. Working as a controller in Canada is actually a pretty sweet career with good pay. You would think they could attract more talent! I was impressed with flight following in the US. Very helpful.

I was poking fun at our brutal exchange rate. I know it’s not that bad. Totally agree about all the “auto” billing user fees using ADSB data etc, especially when the FAA postured during the ADBS mandate years that it would not be used for commercial reasons. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Curious what makes you say that? As a newer pilot I have found the weather briefing services invaluable for helping me learn and stay safe. Especially mountain flying with such a multitude of variables that need to be considered. I don’t think I get billed more than $100 CAD ($20 USD ) for a year of service which obviously also includes FSS, FISE, towers, etc.

We use exclusive maple syrup primer for corrosion resistance up here b’ys!

Good morning, I probably over simplified that response. Actually requires Illustrator, which takes a bit of 'getting used to' if you haven't used before. Sort of like landing a Mooney I suppose. In return, here are a couple files I made this morning. I also made an SVG but that cannot be uploaded to Mooney Space. Feel free to privately message me if you would like to share your email and I can send that along as well. Mooney_name_logo.pdf

If you cannot find one- consider getting a photoshop subscription temporarily, I think there is a way to “vectorize” images to make them infinitely scalable.

For an “in current production” example- my friend’s SR22T was AOG for 1 YEAR when he needed a new nose gear strut. Nobody is completely safe from parts availability issues. We should support Lasar’s goal to keep our planes in the sky!

As a urologist, I think my patients would be pretty interested in the caulk saver.

I was considering a garmin upgrade but instead (along with budget constraints) adding some sensors to my 730 for now. Interested to hear progress along the way here and thanks for sharing. Sorry you are going through this.

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful comments. This is exactly the type of opinions and discussion I was hoping to generate and it will help guide my decision making.

Great advice and I suspect my panel upgrade will happen after my instrument rating depending on how long it takes me. Timing of the panel upgrade will be based on cash available and convenient time for plane downtime.

Thanks Marc. I will see what the shop quotes the full vs partial job out at. This is definitely good food for thought.

Appreciate the reply I do plan on EIS with the initial upgrade For the VNAV this is just for approaches correct? As long as I get altitude hold I will be happy for now. Good thought on the #2 navcomm. It is elderly. I understand the majority of the cost will be in my first upgrade, I am trying to keep some coin in the bank for unexpected hiccups as I am in my early ownership years. Other option is to put off the upgrade as long as possible but my current autopilot setup is a bit janky. The century follows the CDI needle in a “reactive” manner and ends up “s-turning” along the GPS track. The pitch is misbehaving and I think needs attention as well.

Good news update. Plane is flying appreciably straighter now that the flaps and rudder have been adjusted with the travel boards. Slow flight and stalls have both been easier and more predictable. Cruise flight requires much less input. Thanks for everyone’s input. Bottom line, if your Mooney is not flying straight or behaving well in a stall, it’s worth the hassle to source travel boards and get it done right. And for what it’s worth, my mechanic is not an MSC and was able to get this done in approximately a 9 hours of labour (first time doing Mooney rigging).

Figured I would poll the audience as to whether this is an appropriate strategy for a panel upgrade. I am a new VFR pilot, doing night and IFR ratings in the next year. My immediate goal is to have a better autopilot for long cross country and improved engine monitoring. I have considered Dynon however I do not like the idea of keeping my legacy STEC Pitch trim as would be required. Current: Steam gauges, GNC530W, Century IIB, STEC 60 PSS, GTX335, GMA340, KX170B, JPI700 Future Goal: G3X G5 GFC500 GTN650 (or GNC355) GNC215 GMA345 (for bluetooth) Interim Solution: Keep current gps/nav/comm units. Just do the G3X, G5, GFC500 (3 axis, hold off on yaw damper until stage 2 upgrade). Then plan for remainder of panel down the road.

Thanks, yes this is great point. My mechanic levelled the plane on jacks and ensured the ball was centred as part of the rigging process.

Winter got the better of my initial plans at a test flight and I had to scrub the flight. Finally got up today and pleased to report that after the static rigging issues were addressed with the travel boards my left bank/yaw is much less pronounced. Winds were strong and gusty today and I was working with my instructor on exercises so will need another flight or two before I decide to start tweaking trailing edge tabs. What a great community we have here.

Thank you! I will report back how things go

Mechanic got my J in for rigging today. I was experiencing left roll AND yaw. He went through everything step by step as outlined in the maintenance manual with reference to the very helpful article here https://knr-inc.com/shoptalk-articles.html?view=article&id=106&catid=25 Main highlights were 1. rudder left of reference and 2. asymmetrical flaps, left too high, right too low. Both these make sense, and perhaps explain the issue. Test flight tomorrow will confirm if we are making headway

Fair enough. I am hoping that by addressing the static rigging many of the issues will resolve.