DC_Brasil

Hello, 1990 Mooney M20J. Just flew home from my annual and after I parked the plane and shutdown, a linesman at the ramp told me there was a screw on the ground, right under the exhaust. I cannot be sure it wasn't already there at the ramp but also, I want to know where it came from. The screw looks broken and was kind of coated in some lubricant. It wasn't hot like it had fallen from the engine but it was warm to the touch (it's a sunny day and the ramp had no shadows). I'm trying to get an A&P to come see the plane but wanted to check with the experts here if anyone would have a guess. I have an important work commitment so I couldn't stay at the airport and uncowl the engine to take a look around. Any thoughts? My guess is that, if this screw came from my plane, it could only have fallen from the nose gear area or somewhere over the RH cowl flap. Thanks

The longest I've flown in the mooney was a 4h trip. I like to run LOP at lower RPM settings, so I consistently get lower CHTs and fuel burn (1990 M20J). Cruising at 11,000, WOT/2300 and LOP I see between 7,5 and 8,2 gph at 143kts TAS.

Sign me up!

Hello all, I live in Brazil and since the number of mooneys flying here is very small, A&Ps that have experience in the type are also rare. I'd jump on the opportunity for a workshop like these without a doubt.

Thanks for answering! I'll PM you se we can talk a little further. It will be great to have some assistance in this matter.

I bought the eagle AOA set from Alpha Systems but am waiting on the avionics shop slot to install it on my J.

Hello Everyone, I would like to ask my fellow Mooney lovers for some help with this one. My plane and I are in Brazil and regulations here, albeit based on the FAA, have a few differences. One key difference is that our A&Ps are more limited in what can be done by themselves if outside a part 145 repair station. Also, I don't know if that's the case in the US but, individual repair stations have to be certified for each individual make and model they need to work on, case in which they have to acquire maintenance manuals and all the tooling that may be required for a make/model. Consequently, there is an investment from repair stations to be able to work an a certain plane type and they need to figure the financial returns. That being said: we have very few Mooneys registered in Brazil (less that 25) and perhaps a dozen or so with valid airworthiness certificates. Consequently, today there are a handful of repair stations certified for Mooneys in the country, and most of them have mechanics that will very seldom actually get to work on the planes. So, last annual I ask the shop to do the flight control rigging as the plane had a very pronounced right bank tendency. They "corrected" the problem and now the plane flies straight... or did they? Ahahahahah now it flies straight but with the right aileron up (yokes to the right in level flight) and the ball is also slightly right of center on the G3X. I have seen that there is a difference in alignment in the ailerons and also in the elevators -on the ground, I can see that the right elevator counterweight arm is about 0.2 inch above the horizontal stabilizer plane in comparison to the left side. So I guess I am flying with a "speedbrake" on the right wing, and likely losing performance (see pictures below). I even printed and translated all the articles on rigging that @jamesyql shared above. So, what I want to ask is: could someone provide me with images for the steps taken during the flight control rigging? I would like to be able to take them to my mechanic shop and walk them trough the process and try to get the rigging done right. Thanks everyone!

My M20J with a G3X and G5 has a similar albeit not identical behavior: with engine running but at idle it will show zero IAS. However, at runnup power it will register a prop wash at around 20-ish kts. After accelerating past 35kts I am confident de IAS is very well calibrated (I have crosschecked it ina zero wind day with GPS ground speed).

1990 M20J Standard Lycoming IO-360-A3B6D I usually like to fly as close to 10K as possible depending on winds, operating LOP and WOT. At 2200 RPM, I usually get around 140 Kts and between 7.7 and 8.3 Gal/h depending on weight and temperature.

I second that. One other thing to consider: avionics installations have two things to take into account, which are parts and labor. If you installations, let's say, a dual G5 today, and a new GPS in 18 months, you'll pay for all the time to disassemble and reassemble your panel now and, again, when you do another upgrade. So, if you're going to upgrade your panel, even if it is in phases, plan ahead what you think is going to be feasible in the near future. This way, the shop can already have some of the wiring and spacing behind the panel in a way that will minimize costs in the near future. Also, ask your shop for quotes for additional equipment (even if you aren't thinking of it now). Ut may be financially sound to invest in some equipment if the labor part will be roughly the same (once your panel is all exposed and wires being redone).

One other thing to keep in mind, in regard to sticking valves and lead deposits, is to pay extra attention to moments when power output is low, like ground operation before takeoff and after landing: lean the mixture aggressively, to the point that the engine will definitely not make meaningful takeoff power. I usually lean until the engine runs rough and enrich slightly. If you do it like that, you'll notice the power output even to taxi out is very small and you need a lot of throttle. This will greatly reduce the probability of lead deposits and spark plug fouling and, since the engine will not make takeoff power, the chances that you'll takeoff with partial mixture are minimal if you forget to enrichen it before it is time to fly.

If I am not mistaken, from all that I've read, you're both correct. Hotter is better to avoid solid deposits on the valves and cooler is better for cylinder longevity. However, CHT alone will not determine one or the other. You should also consider how the engine is run in terms of power output and fuel mixture. The lead deposits that could bring the valves to stick tend to adhere better at lower CHT temps, but that usually happens if the burn is not as "clean" as possible. To account for that, you'll want to operate on the LOP side of mixture, where the leftover fuel and lead deposits tend to be minimal, even with lower CHTs. If you're going to operate ROP, where you have more power output but also probably more leftover lead in the cylinder (as not 100% of the fuel will be burned at each power stroke), you'll want to run the engine hotter (closer to 380, 390 CHT) to account for that excess lead. You can do that by running higher RPMs for example at ROP. I usually run my engine (M20J with an IO-360-A3B6D) as LOP as I can and with lower RPMs for long flights, and I get CHTs in the 350s. What I usually see at 10,000 feet is: 2200 RPM, LOP, WOT, and I get 143 Kts TAS burning 8.3Gal/h. If I want a ROP best power cruise, I will see CHTs in the 385 range, with 2500 RPM, closer to 10 gal/h and 155 Kts TAS.

That's my setup. I am loving it.

I must have missed that detail about the file format. Thanks! Will try that and come back with a feedback.

Hello everyone. Here in Brazil, in some more congested airspaces, we have some VFR corridors with many visual reference points, many of which are compulsory reporting points in an advisory frequency or with ATC. I have made those fixes as user waypoints with Garmin Pilot and wanted to import them to the G3X. I followed the guidance of Garmin Pilot: at the user waypoint page, I clicked on export and saved the CSV file it created into the G3X database SD card. However, when I put it in the G3X, and go to the user waypoint page, click MENU, it shows all options EXCEPT "Import". Import appears as a "faded" inactive option. Any tips?