Slick Nick

Manual cowl flaps? My MSE (J) has manual cowl flaps, there is an intermediate “trail” position about halfway. The flap mechanism sort of cams over in the closed position to suck them up against the fuselage. There is lots of adjustment to be had, perhaps they are just out of rig after your maintenance?

Looks good! How hard was the install? Do they also do the side panel upholstery? Or is that something you had done extra?

Respectfully, you need to be doing a lot more reading about your avionics and how they function. IFR training is not the time to be learning how your avionics work. You should know their functions inside out beforehand. The manuals exist for a reason.

I’ve got the same battery. How did you plug the hole? I’ve long wondered what the most elegant solution would be.

What skip said. You aren’t sure if the audio quality is due to the audio panel itself. How’s the intercom? That KMA24 is basically bomb proof, failures are not common. Could also be as simple as a corroded ground somewhere.

It’s because you have a KMA-24. Not a KMA-24H. The H model has an intercom built in. Since yours is separate, there is a lot more wiring involved. Is there something wrong with it that it needs to be replaced? Your money will be much better spent elsewhere.

If a proper alternative fuel doesn’t exist, or isn’t widely available and compatible with all models, there’s no way they could implement the mandate. Might be for the best. Trying to get rid of leaded avgas is a colossal waste of time and money.

Canada has had privatized ATC for over a decade. I am not a fan. Do what you guys can to stop this from happening in the USA.

The brown T-9088 seal that I had earlier did a great job of sealing when it was new. We did a trip to Arizona last summer where I left the plane outside in 43*C weather for a couple days. The seals couldn’t take it, and had now permanently deformed and compressed, rendering them useless. I do not seem to have this issue with the GeeBee silicone seals. They return to their original shape every single time. The aircraft is super quiet. Removing headsets in cruise and using the speaker / boom mike in cruise is not an issue. The only thing I didn’t like about an inflatable seal was that it didn’t seal unless you were in the aircraft to inflate it. Full disclosure, I park in a heated hangar at home base, but sometimes when we travel, the plane spends the odd night or two outside. That was enough for me to not want to risk it with rainwater getting inside when the seal is deflated. Perhaps the worry is unfounded, I’m not sure how well it still seals even while deflated. A properly installed silicone seal will seal up just as well without the worry of it leaking when deflated. I am very happy with my GeeBee silicone seal.

Ive got his latest iteration of the silicone door seals for baggage and entry door. A bit tricky to install but once you get the hang of it, not bad. Very pleased with them. The old brown T-9088 OEM foam one I had barely lasted a year. I won’t say much about the guy, the only interaction I had with him was a little strange indeed, but the product was good which is all that really mattered.

Aeroshell 15-50 here. No camguard as where I live the climate is extremely dry, and I fly a lot. About 200h a year. Oil changes at every 40-50 hours, and oil analysis comes back exceptionally clean every time. My engine is high time too, I plan to run it well past TBO if all continues to be clean.

Yikes! Pitot heat not working?

No problem. I’m just trying to see if there is supposed to be one there, I can’t recall if my plane ever had one, I’ll need to look next time I have the cowl off. Edit: If it’s not supposed to have one, would installing one be such a bad idea? The two surfaces are pretty flat machined, so maybe it’s not required, but surely it couldn’t hurt?

Yes I know, the engine manual shows one between the servo and intake manifold, I’m looking for a reference for a gasket between the airbox and servo, which would be in the Mooney manual. Can’t seem to find one pictured or described.

@PT20J which page did you find it on? It’s not shown in the IPC for my MSE. I know there is a gasket between the servo and the manifold, but I can’t find one shown between the servo and airbox.

@AndreiC I routinely fly down to about -30*C here in Canada. Honestly, if I didn’t, I probably wouldn’t fly too much in the winter. The coldest I’ve had my J was about -42 up at 18,000’. Cabin heat is not an issue, my heat muff is tight. Winter flying weather here in the Rockies is some of my absolute favourite. A good high pressure system will park itself overhead for a week at a time and it will be cold, but crisp, calm, and clear. I block half of my oil cooler with speed tape below about -5*C, otherwise you won’t get the oil hot enough to burn off moisture. This is essential. I keep my plane in a heated hangar, so I don’t have quite the same issues as you might have. Operationally, once I get it out of the hangar and fired up, the plane seems to love the cold air. If the plane is cold soaked from being parked outside, you will have some interesting challenges. Starting with the engine, I’d do everything I could to give it a good preheat. That oil getting hot will be a big help on startup. Pull it through by hand a bunch before starting, get that oil moving. Your battery will take a hit in the cold. I’ve even noticed this on a hot start in the winter, where the battery in the tail has been cold soaked for a couple of hours. Give it all the help you can. You’ve got an E model, so perhaps the battery is up front under the cowl where it will be warmed by the engine heat. Your avionics and gyros will be subject to wear in the cold. Preheating the panel and cabin is just as important in my opinion. A small space heater on for an hour should be more than enough. Your tires and pucks will be rock hard, avoid runways and taxiways that are bumpy. Your tank sealant will thank you. Cycle the prop deeply once the engine is warm for takeoff, maybe 4-5 times. Get some hot oil up to that hub. Make sure your cabin heater is up to snuff. Plastics and interior trim will be very brittle. Touch things with care. Other than that, I wouldn’t worry too much about it once you get the airplane warmed up. Winter flying is very enjoyable. The plane performs better, the wing and prop have more air to bite into, and you’ll get more horsepower from the engine. Take advantage of it!

That’s rad

I'm not on Beach Talk or any other aircraft related forums, but for those of you who are, have there been incidents of paint staining reported on other aircraft types? Or is this another anomaly limited to the Mooney fleet?

I have, but I only weigh 160lbs. It’s not reinforced like the right side (look up into your wheel wells you’ll see what I mean.) Should be fine. I threw my old lady’s yoga mat down to keep me from sliding all over the place. Maybe some cardboard or something will help spread the weight a little?

Technically yes, but I’ve planned way around busy class B’s (SLC and LAS come to mind) and made it clear to controllers that I was not ADS-B equipped, and still had them shortcut me right through the airspace with no issue. It may be a “workload permitting” thing, or perhaps they just considered me to be a dumb Canadian who didn’t know any better

I am. My plane was one of the few MSE’s never equipped with an autopilot from the factory. I fly IFR/IMC all the time. It’s important to make sure you maintain proficiency if doing so, however.

For 99% of aviators, a baro-VNAV approach is going to suffice over LPV. If the weather is bad enough that you really need the lower LPV minima, you’d be doing an ILS anyway. LNAV/VNAV approaches are great for all of the smaller, underserved airports without ILS capability. Recall that some runways served by an LPV approach only still do not have approach lighting, just runway lighting.

You don’t need WAAS. Your existing 430 is more than enough. While an HSI is nice, you certainly don’t need one to fly IFR, especially if your existing CDI has glideslope capability. Get yourself a new audio panel for sure, and update the intercom wiring if needed. As jacks and stuff wear out over the years they can be a big contributor to static on the intercom.

What’s with all the “sky is falling” doom and gloom? It doesn’t mean ForeFlight is going to disappear, perhaps they’re just “trimming the fat” now that they’re part of a larger company, there may be a lot of overlap with other redundant positions.

@RobE did your plane used to be C-FKNH? Looks very familiar.