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Greg Ellis

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Everything posted by Greg Ellis

  1. I think it would have been cool if they left the Capt. Mikey painted below the pilot's side window when they painted the airplane. Sort of a tribute to Mr. Miles.
  2. I found the copy of the e-mail I received form Garmin about the GFC 500 for early Mooneys. This is what they told me... Good Morning Greg, The main reason is the Mooney M20C models before 1964 are structurally different and requires a different installation kit/setup to complete. We are currently have this on schedule for early 2021 to start the certification process. Regards, Chad Aviation Support
  3. I did ask them why. And they gave me a vague answer about changes in the structure of the very early C models to the later C models and it caused them to have to rework the autopilot or some words to that effect. I posted the response on this forum but I cannot seem to find it or the email they sent me. What is disturbing is the email I received was basically we are working on it but give us some more time. The response that Lionudakis received from them was more along the lines with it ain't gonna happen. "Your airframe does not meet those requirements"
  4. And the asterisks mean that they are stopping at the 1965 year model. Sorry for you 1964 and older. Although they do say they will be working on the A and B models. So I am not sure what is up with the very early C models.
  5. Looks like in a short while you will be changing from Rookie to....well....whatever the next level up is.
  6. Well... not on the same level as the guys waiting for TruTak but I have been waiting patiently for the GFC 500 for my C model Mooney. They keep pushing it back as well. When they finally got it approved for the early short bodies....whoops.... I'm sorry, we are going to stop at the 1965 model. We need more time for you older guys. Mine is a 1963. I have received many different answers to when it may be available for the 63. Autopilot Life is passing me by but not by my choice. I have only one option and that is to wait. Well, I guess I could just go and buy another airplane that already has an autopilot....that is an option I suppose.
  7. Just want to wish those of us who celebrate Thanksgiving....a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope yours is filled with great cheer and family. I know there are many on this list that do not celebrate Thanksgiving and I would just like to say thank you for all of your contributions to helping me become a better airplane owner and pilot. Many thanks to everyone. I have been thinking about my family traditions during holidays like this, my Mom passed away in April and this is the first Thanksgiving without her, and it lead me to wonder what family traditions my fellow Mooney brethren celebrate. So if you have any uniquely special family traditions please share. And thanks to all for your advice and support.
  8. If you are not already aware of this, number those retainers. They have to go back in the position they came from. I bet you will find that when you remove the retainers, those windows will push in quite easily with that old sealant. Denatured alcohol worked pretty good at removing the old sealant from the metal. When I did mine, the new windows did not butt up tight to the aluminum skin of the airframe in all places. There were gaps. Nor did the old windows. Excess sealant filled in the gaps to give a very good seal. So you want excess sealant squeeze out, let it set then remove it with some type of tool that won't damage the window. A great piece of advice from Paul Beck at WeepNoMore was to cut an old piece of window into the shape of scraper and sharpen the end of. It will cut through the sealant and because it will be plexiglass on plexiglass it won't scratch the new window. Just my 2 cents on having spent a weekend doing this. Sorry that I don't have any photos to show you.
  9. @MinneMooney I suspect the J model of the original poster is more like your 65 C model. On my 63 C model, the windows are held in place by clips on the inside. No screws through the sheet metal or windows and no need for cleco's or acrylic drill bits. The interior trim is removed and you remove the individual clips (numbering them to keep them in proper order), push the window into the inside of the airplane to remove it, clean the aluminum of old sealant, then you put the sealant on the inside of the aluminum and push the window into the sealant then put the clips back on. Tightening the clips squeezes out the excess sealant outside the window and clean up is easy with a piece of old window cut and sharpened on the end. It won't scratch when you clean the sealant.
  10. Lets say you are an A&P but not independent and you work for a larger maintenance shop. Do you still have to carry your own insurance or are you usually covered by a larger policy owned by the shop? I know this is probably different for each shop. Same question about being a CFI. If you are not independent and work for a larger flight school, are you covered by their policy? I ask these questions because I have considered doing both of these things when I retire from my actual day job just to keep involved in aviation and to keep from getting bored (like my Dad is now). But if the liability is so high that I would have to carry a separate insurance policy on my own...well I may just enjoy my retirement.
  11. A while back I replaced all the side windows in my 63 C model. I used this product. It is the same product you have however it comes in a caulking type applicator that you just mix by pumping the plunger, albeit about 75 times. Flamemaster CS3330 B2 Sealant - 6 oz. - SkyGeek.com I was advised to use this by three different mechanics including the guys up at Wilmar, MN and Paul Beck at WeepNoMoreLLC (fuel tank reseal specialist). The hardest part was mixing it which took about 75 pumps of the plunger. It then fit in a traditional caulking gun. I was advised to use one full tube for each window. This produced quite a bit of excess which was easily removed after it cured but every single gap was completely filled and sealed. It was a cleaner application because all the mixing was self contained in the caulking tube.
  12. Good lord they were fortunate. Where is the rest of the airplane?
  13. Interesting. I have no issues with the battery life. I get quite a long time out of a set. According to Lightspeed website, the PFX's weigh 14oz and the Zulu 3's weigh 14.6 oz so not sure about the weight either. All I know is that they work great. If they ever give up I will probably go with the Zulu 3's...sticking with a great company. But something more amazing may be out by then.
  14. I have been flying with Lightspeed Headsets for 14 years or so. I currently have the Zulu PFX's which some may not even know about since they were discontinued soon after they were released by Lightspeed. They are an amazing headset and I spoke to 2 reps and neither one knew why they were discontinued (and both were upset that they were) and then the Zulu 3's came out. I think you will be happy with your Lightspeeds. I have both. I use my Lightspeeds all the time. The Bose A20's are for passengers. I think the Bose are awesome, I just like my Lightspeeds better. And for over 12 years now they have always been a great company for me and treated me well. I have twice sent my headset back to them for some work and they came back like new. In fact I thought they were new at one time they did such a good job. And I had to send them back for work because I was hard on them not because the headsets were faulty.
  15. I feel your pain. My plane is in for some maintenance and it is supposed to be beautiful here in Fort Worth, Texas all week.
  16. I posted earlier that the left engine appeared to be feathered. If you look very closely at the video it shows that the left prop is not turning and the right prop is. The right engine seems to be turning slowly as if windmilling but that is due to the shutter speed of the camera giving that illusion. If you stop and start the video you will notice on the left engine that the paint line on the propeller does not change position indicating it is not rotating and thus feathered. There is a second video on another website from a different camera that shows the left engine (critical engine) was feathered and not rotating. Look at this video about 43 seconds or so into it. It only lasts a second or two but the left prop is definitely not rotating. https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/friend-shares-about-pilot-killed-in-south-valley-plane-crash/ Then further into the video you can see that the airplane banked sharply to the left before it crashed. If this is the case then he lost the critical engine which would make a big difference on controlling the airplane especially if your speed has decayed down to VMC or below. It also explains that when control was lost the airplane turned to the left. If the left engine was running and right engine windmilling then the thrust would be from the left engine and drag from the right side causing the airplane to turn to the right. However, he turned to the left indicating that it was a possible VMC accident due to the thrust vector of the right engine being further away from the centerline and causing the airplane to turn to the left. Of course this is all just speculation and armchair NTSB'ing....
  17. I usually call 10-15 miles out at my home airport. They are Class D under Class B. My airport is usually quite busy on nice weekends so I think the little extra time lets them know that I am coming in and they can fit me into the flow of traffic instead of me waiting until I am almost in their Class D. They do a lot of practice approaches, etc... and like to know ahead of time that someone is coming in. They also have a lot of traffic departing their airspace and like to know what they are sending them out to.
  18. Try talking to @KLRDMD. He owned a V-Tail for a while and may have some advice for you.
  19. I agree with this as well. And in my 63 C model, the baggage compartment is rated and placarded to only 120lbs so the other 30 lbs or so would have to be placed somewhere else.
  20. I am one that has ran a tank dry on long cross countries many times. When I had the old fuel gauges in the cluster in my 63 C model, I would experience the same thing you did. It would keep running long past when the gauge read empty. So those old gauges weren't even close to being accurate. But don't rely on the fact that you may have reserve past when these old gauges read empty (if that is what you are referencing). The next time you fly they may read zero when you are actually empty (what they are supposed to do according to the FAA) or they may read that you have some fuel when you are actually empty. This happened to me on more than one occasion with these old gauges. From flight to flight they read differently. So the only thing I relied on was actual loss of fuel pressure and then a good watch to keep track of time and fuel burn. Now, with my EDM 900 and CEIS fuel senders, they are amazingly accurate.
  21. It actually does not even take turbulence to stir things up. I read somewhere and I cannot recall or find the source now (so this is going to sound like anecdote) that even taxiing on the ground will stir up anything that may be in your fuel tanks. The fuel sloshes around quite a bit even while taxiing.
  22. If you look closely at the video in the feed above it is the left engine that is stopped and feathered. Look really close multiple times and you will see the prop is not moving. If you pause it and play and pause and play you will see that the right propeller changes position but the propeller tip paint (white paint) on the left propeller never changes position. The right engine is the one still producing power but looks like it is wind-milling because of the camera shutter speeds, kind of like when you see video of airplanes starting up on the ground and it looks like the prop is not spinning. So, if this is the case then he lost the critical engine!!! Very important information. Loss of the critical engine can make it far more difficult to control due to the P factor, etc... from the right engine and the propeller producing a line of thrust further away from the centerline of the airplane.
  23. Placed mine on the co-pilots side close to the 530W as you can see in the photo. I have no issues with readability, etc....
  24. Canadians are just friendly trustworthy folks.... To qualify this statement, I was born in Hamilton, Ontario.
  25. After reading the original post, and taking a Motrin for my headache, I realize I do not know jack squat about the electrics in an airplane.
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