Greg Ellis

Just to keep this thread going. They removed the engine and here is an updated photo of the engine mount. It is going to be replaced and it is not as expensive of a part as I thought it would be. For the price I hope the one they get will be at least made of metal.

From what you have described here, I think you were wise to find another mechanic for next time. I do what others have said and only approve the annual inspection part of it and any squawks that need to be repaired are discussed with me prior to the repair for me to authorize it to be done. I have a great relationship with the folks that work on my airplane and this is how they work, not just me expecting it. It is their standard of business and I appreciate it. Yes it can make it tedious especially if they are ready to do something and they cannot get a hold of you to authorize the work. But in the end it makes for a happy customer and hopefully a happy mechanic that welcomes your repeat business. For instance, my plane is currently in the shop for removal of cylinder #3 and either overhaul or replacement of this cylinder. I also have a broken engine mount. Other than cowl removal, not a wrench was turned until I approved this work. Even though they new damn well that the cylinder work was needed and of course the engine mount would have to come off to be either repaired or replaced and the airplane was not going to fly again without this being done. But they still took the time to contact me prior to the work. And they have kept me in the loop ever since. The same shop did my avionics for the ADS-B and my new panel. They kept me in the loop with every step and the final cost was very close to what I was expecting and no surprises at all.

When I have had to use shops not completely familiar with Mooney, they seem to do this. In fact they will go out of their way to re-route that tubing into the carb heat outlet. Tough to force the air forward when cold ram air is trying to come in. They see a hole and figure something must attach to it. Something does but not that hose.

Yep. My 63 C model yellow arc begins at 150mph. I am in the yellow arc on my C-model most of the time in cruise.

I took this screenshot of my I-pad (Wing X pro and Clarity ADS-B receiver) about 6-8 months ago coming back to FWS ( Fort Worth Spinks) from Missouri. Made me re-think my direct-to magenta route.

Thank you for that advice. I did not think about that. I will talk to the shop about it.

Did not notice that. Actually did not notice any vibration at all. The only evidence that something was amiss was the multiple exhaust leaks and broken exhaust in a very short period of time. It is a very good lesson to me. #1, I need to be more vigilant at looking at things when I have the cowl off doing oil changes, and #2 things can go bad rather quickly. I looked back at my logbooks. I have a list of all AD's and whether they were complied with throughout my ownership of this airplane for the last 12 years and AD 75-09-08 had been complied with. But you take it at their word that they did the inspection I suppose. But I do trust the mechanics that have worked on my airplane. I have never really had any issues with their work.

I think you may mean oil filter, not air filter?

I believe they are speaking of Alan Fox. He salvages parts from Mooneys for re-sale. Don't let him near your wood winged A-model. He has been know to use a chainsaw!!

All very good questions. Thanks for posting them

I need as much soothing as I can possibly get. I am not sure if posting my airplane woes is therapeutic but I guess it can't hurt. So I flew up to Oshkosh for Airventure. On the way up my #3 cylinder was running hotter than the others and I was unable to get it below 400 degrees when the other 3 (63 C model with an O-360-A1D) were running in the mid 300's. No other signs of any issues other than it being hotter than the others. So I flew it home after Airventure and after my fuel stop, on departure the #3 cylinder went above 500 degrees. I pulled the power back enough to continue a climb and the cylinder immediately cooled off and ran back in the lower 400's as before and stayed there never going any higher than about 410 or 420. No other issues of note. So I flew it home since I was about 1:30 away from home base. I sent my EDM 900 report to Saavy for analysis and we talked about a possible intake leak, low fuel flow, etc... Well, the mechanic at my home base finally was able to get to my airplane. I don't normally use this shop however, they did my panel make over and ADS-B out work and since I did not feel comfortable flying the plane I took it to them. They looked at the number 3 cylinder and they mentioned a really bad exhaust gas leak that even melted the paint on the engine on that side. They borescoped the cylinder and found that both the intake and exhaust valves looked bad with oil all over the intake valve guide. So we decided to remove the cylinder for overhaul. While we were chatting I mentioned that this was the third exhaust leak I have had in about a year and half or so. I have posted photos of a broken exhaust pipe recently on this forum. So he started looking around for a cause of vibration issues that could cause multiple exhaust failures. He found what you see in the photo. This is the lower right motor mount which is obviously broken. So off comes the engine and motor mount. Wow, I feel better already. Ahhhh….therapy!!!

And kudos for him for flying his plane and not becoming the passenger along for the ride. A Chute pull totals the Cirrus I believe. His plane, after repair of the engine, meant the plane lived to fly another day. And he was uninjured. I have heard that the landing under the chute is not an easy one and could be quite violent with possible injury. He was able to walk away without a scratch.

Just checking if you saw this earlier in this discussion. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/225165 The OP says this was him.

I will be there with one other. Greg and Sam. Thanks.

Also, just be mindful of the fact that if you are purchasing an aircraft at this time be wary of the ADS B mandate coming up in a few short months (unless the FAA extends it which they swear they are not going to). This aircraft is not ADS B out compliant. You would need to budget that into your purchase as well as the time that it would take to do it since a lot of shops are getting backed up from what I hear. Just a couple of things to consider if you plan on purchasing before the end of the year.

Thanks. I am enjoying the panel. LPV approaches are great. Now just need an autopilot.

All of the work was done at Fort Worth Spinks by Cam Aircraft. Cliff Millican is the owner. I can look up the other info for you. They are not cheap. In fact probably very expensive when compared to others. But the work was done well, I think. I was kept in the loop the whole time. They cleaned up a bunch of very old wiring. Some were live wires leading no where. So I have all new wiring along with the new panel. They assigned one guy to my plane except for the install of the EDM sensors etc where the Head A&P/IA did that work. I will PM you with the specifics in the next couple of days. Currently I am away from that information.

Don Kaye wrote about a spin that he got into. http://www.mooneyevents.com/spins.html

There are photos of the one with the gear collapse here when it was being salvaged. http://www.kwsalvage.com/detail.asp?offset=72

A quick search of the planes that are still registered with the FAA shows that according to Flightaware.com, 2 of them have flown within the last 7 months, One was last flown in 2018 and one last flown in 2017.

That is a really good question. The FAA website shows 15 in their US Database all with current registrations and all but one have been renewed into 2021 or 2022. However, a deeper dive on some of these shows them not to have flown in a long time. One of them had a last reported flight on Flightaware 24 years ago!!! Did not know they kept a history of flights since before the website existed. But I am sure with a little research you could probably track down at least the number in the United States that are flying. Sorry this does not help much but may be a place to start your research.

1963 C model. This is a photo of my elevator with the trim in T/O position. Compared to Chris Calandro, mine is pretty even with the horizontal stabilizer.

I also burp my tanks when I am filling and set the EDM 900 to 48 gals (1963 M20C). When a lineman fills from a fuel truck I just add the amount they fill on the EDM 900 because they never burp the tanks nor do they even make it to the top sometimes. This seems to be quite accurate for my airplane.

Hard 8 in Stephenville got rid of their golf cart. They will however send someone to the airport to pick you up if you call the restaurant when you arrive. They are very happy to do that.