TurboExec

How cruddy and rusty are they? Sandblast them, clean them and finish them up right and reuse them....That is what I would do cause I wouldn't spend no $124 on a hinge.

I've run into similar problems with getting the nose up when flying solo with lots of fuel. I usually throw a case of oil in the back when I'm going solo and that helps tremndously in the flair and really making the landings smooth. Go along with what George said.....and if you have the room there is no need for using flaps at all in a Mooney, there really isn't a whole lot of difference except in pitch attitude of the aircraft and that is where you are having trouble when you have a forward CG.

Jim is correct. It moves the calipers from the back to the front. They still end up out in the wind slightly, but nothing like before.

Wow, they really got it wrong on Cirrus!

Quote: KSMooniac Maybe it is just me with IE6 at work, but when I open the site it *never* fits into my browser window that isn't quite maximized wtih a 20" screen. I have to scroll to the right, and the member galleries always end up off the bottom of the page and require left-right scrolling. I don't read/post much from home with Firefox but will try to remember to check the behavior. Having to scroll so much to find buttons is a nuisance. Keep up the great work!

That was a really good post by George....I honestly don't think I could add anything to that without repeating something. But I will say for the traveling you are talking about doing a turbo would help greatly. I fly from FL to Wisconsin several times a year and having the turbo has allowed me to top weather systems that would have kept me on the ground in my old Cherokee.

I've got the brake caliper rotation on mine and after seeing it in both positions I can't imagine how it doesn't make a difference. Before they were really hanging out in the breeze, not at least it retracts into the wheel well nearly all the way. I didn't opt for the inner gear doors for the same reasons as Aaron, I occasionally operate out of grass strips...

Quote: KSMooniac Also, one can't really switch airframe materials (ie metal to composite) as it becomes an entirely new plane. That would be millions and millions in development/analysis/test/certification costs, even if the aerodynamic shape was unchanged. At that point you might as well just make an entirely new plane.

Scott you got a little over-excited there!

Dreaming is great! And I like Scotts idea of Mooney setting up a refurb for older 201s. They should get the STC for the new IO-390 and throw those in there too!

Another option requiring a significant captial investment is to go with Composites to build the Airframes. The aluminum and rivet construction is costly, I'm sure after the initial investment the composite construction would be faster and cheaper and we might even see a little more speed out of the birds too.

Jim, I like the idea and wish they could do it. But as Lance points out the labor is to high, these still built by hand airplanes are just to costly to build. Now if Mooney would consider having them built overseas and assembled here that could possibly lower costs, but look at the negative press Cessna is getting for building the skycatcher in china. Mooney just isn't in a position to try and startup production on another airframe. If Mooney could be convinced to sell the Jigs and TC I might have a few investors interested in starting up production on a "new" J model. But again parts would have to be made overseas and assembled here to attempt to keep the final price under $400k. And they would have to sell the jigs and TC pretty cheap, which if they need the cash bad enough they might be interested in...

if you had a cylinder going dead you would be able to feel the vibration. How did the plugs look before they were cleaned? How much time is on the engine, cylinders? Your probe might be failing, I've seen this kind of fluctuation before but not at the same time with both the EGT and CHT...

My '67 F model has Oil Temps around 160-175 dF and CHTs from 300-380 dF (depending on how I run it.) If I run LOP my CHTs stay down at 300 dF, but at Altitude when using my Turbo (no intercooler) temps under the hood rise and my CHTs run up to about 370-380 dF....this is the "go fast mode" too so I'm using higer power settings. All my cruise settings are cowling flaps closed. I'd +2 to what Scott said, it may be a baffling issue....(pun intended, haha) Have a mechanic look at it, some of it may need to be replaced. Are you turbocharged? At 8000' you can't be pulling much power and your temps should be considerably lower than if you were cruising around at 2000 or 3000'.

That is what I suspected to hear....glad it didn't turn out to be anything worse. Nice to hear your first annual wasn't painful either.