Mooney_Allegro

It was VERY gusty that day and a quartering crosswind. You would think that this experienced tech would know not to attempt a balance in such conditions. I spoke to a MSC that does prop balancing a few days ago, and he told me they never do prop balances in high wind, that they strive for calm conditions. I bet this is why my prop couldn't be balanced.

I’ve decided to have my prop balanced by a leading prop shop in Gainesville, GA since I’ve never had it done. I’m not experiencing any unusual vibrations. The tech has been doing this for 15 years and has done 100’s of planes. He’s very experienced. He spent four hours and 10 run-ups and each time, his computer was telling him conflicting information that didn’t make any sense with moving weights all over the place and sometimes doubling weights from the previous run in completely different positions. He concluded that he couldn’t balance my prop and never charged me. He thinks it could be either his equipment or my engine. Has anyone experienced a Prop Balance where the readings were all over the place and it was impossible to balance the prop?

FYI, for any owners that have the vernier throttle in their Mooney might want to check the tightness of the push button vernier throttle (black button on the end of the throttle). Mine came completely out yesterday while turning final at 1000' coming into Scottsdale, AZ yesterday. The black button fell out in my hand, and the spring inside fell out onto the floor. It took me a few seconds to realize what was going on, and another few seconds to make sure I had control over the engine, but at that altitude, there wasn't much time. After shutdown, I was able to screw the button back in along with the spring that goes inside of it. From now on, I'll check this as part of my preflight.

After starting the TSIO-550G engine yesterday, the G1000 MFD displayed the RPM's as Zero, even though the engine was running just fine. I recycled the MFD twice with the CB, and completely powered the plane down with the Alternator and Master switch both off, then back on again, with no help. I called my MSC, who was no help either, and also spoke to Garmin Field Service, which was absolutely no help or assistance for that matter. Has anyone experienced this issue of ZERO RPM displayed? The only thing I know to do would be to remove the GEA71 (engine and airframe) box in the tail and reinstall it. The GEA71 gets it's RPM from a sensor someplace, but I have no idea where the RPM sensor is located. I'm assuming in the engine compartment, but I don't know. The RPM indication finally started working again after about 11 minutes and continued to work until shutdown. Thanks for any guidance. David

glbtrottr, I'm glad you were able to meet him! He took me over to the "Long Beach Exhange" for lunch, which is the old Boeing hangars with lots of history & artifacts on the walls from when they built the big airliners. If you haven't been there, it's worth a visit. They have a fake runway built on the other side of the building with a runway number of: 68??? They got a lot of stuff right, but somehow that doesn't look right. There's plenty of variety of resturants inside (food court), and it's a fun atmosphere. Here is the link: https://www.presstelegram.com/2019/02/05/food-will-take-flight-at-the-hangar-at-the-long-beach-exchange-this-month/ We went over to Hawthorne Airport yesterday in the little white helicopter. It was busy, but the controllers gave us left closed traffic to a full stop on the runway, despite being so busy. The controllers seemed nice there. Have a good weekend glbtrottr!

I'm having lunch with Mike tomorrow afternoon in Long Beach in between helicopter lessons, so I'll ask him. Will get back to you.

I left PDK in November 2018. Those new hangars are really nice with electric doors! There were occasions where my hangar door at PDK was so hard to move that I almost called airport security to help me move the door. Perhaps I'm getting weak in my old age. When I left PDK, I was paying $375/month. The hangar was big enough for a twin, larger than LZU's Aero Industry hangars. I think I was paying $315/mo at LZU.

Nope, different one.

I went to a local Mooney Service Center, spoke to the head supervisor, and he advised me that I can't order spare Medeco keys for my ignition from them. Are there only certain MSC's that you can order these security keys from? I thought I could order them from ANY MSC. Obviously not.

Mike Domino is a CFI-II and based at KLGB. He works out of KLGB (Long Beach) at Aces High Aviation. He's well experienced and has no interest in "time building". Flight instructing is his career. He has good credentials and very knowledgable. http://aceshighaviation.com/

Clarence, My application is using two Concorde RG-25-15 batteries. The aluminum hold down bars were not installed ontop of either battery, and no safety wire was installed. The good people at Mooney (Stacey Ellis) in Kerrville, TX got me all fixed up and corrected this maintenance error after 11 months. This has taught me a big lesson. Inspect the avionics bay after annuals, and periodically.

For what it's worth, I recommend getting a four-year college degree if he wants to work for the major airlines. If he wants to take classes that will transfer from an accredited college to the 4-year university, just make sure those credits will transfer. I recommend a 4-year degree from a well recognized aviation university. Yes it will be more expensive, but it's more respected and will open doors faster, plus when the major airlines interview him, they have a point scale system. If the degree is from an aviation university, that candidate will get more points in the hiring process vs non-aviation school. The other thing is that if he goes to an aviation university like Embry-Riddle, he'll be surrounded by aviation day & night. The campus is right by the airport, so it's a GOOD motivator. Also it's recommended that he get a degree in other than Aviation Science, in the event he loses his medical, he'll have the background for another career field. Perhaps business administration or any of the dozens of degree programs. Recommend applying for the many scholarships that are offered. Most of the major airlines have a new pathway to work for them if desired for someone with no aviation experience. You have to enroll at specific aviation universities, and follow their pathway, getting the four-year degree and working at the university flight instructing for a certain amount of time, then guaranteed a pilot position, as long as you maintain a certain GPA and other requirements. It's worth looking into. Here is more info about this program for Delta Air Lines: https://news.delta.com/delta-propels-next-generation-pilots-through-innovative-career-paths The major airlines will need to replace 1000's of pilots over the next 15 years, mechanics as well, so it's an excellent opportunity IF he loves flying. If he doesn't love flying, then go into something else. Network with as many aviation people as possible to compare notes etc.. A lot of times with aviation jobs, it's not what you know, but WHO you know, as long as you have the basic credentials of course. The other thing is have him not get in trouble with the law....ex)speeding tickets, public drunkeness, car crashes, bankruptcy, paying bills on time. The airlines will ask him about speeding tickets, they will look at his credit reports, and are very thorough with background checks including interviewing neighbors/relatives. Make sure he keeps his record clean! Good luck with your own training, that's very exciting you're taking lessons as well for your Private.

You could try Aero Industries at LZU (Lawrenceville, GA). I use to rent from them on and off, and they always had availability. I use to rent with Air Harbour at LZU, but moved to Aero Industries on the north side of the airport, because Aero Industries was quite a bit cheaper. Yes, the hangars are older at Aero Industries, but it was worth it to me to save money. I don't know who's there now, but I dealt with Michele Sayne at Aero Industries. Her number was 770-980-0808. I also rented at PDK, but you have to get on a waiting list. I was called after 6 months and moved in. You'd have to talk to Eugenia at PDK to start the process. Her number is: 770-936-5440. Good luck with your search.

Deb, I've not had an annual done at Oasis, but I agree with you that Paul is absolutely outstanding to deal with. His level of communication is steps well above what you would expect. He's uses all sorts of means of communication....phone call, texts, emails and always happy to help. He's a rare find in the General Aviation community. If I ever need a tank reseal done, I'm going to him.

This is the new style board Mooney is using. Are these "relays" easy to change out just like the older style pictured in a few threads above? I'm told by a MSC that this board cost almost $1800 to replace (entire assembly), not including labor.

I have some more info on my flaps stuck at full flaps. The mechanic working on my plane discovered that the flaps started working again after disconnecting, cleaning, & blowing out the terminals with high pressure air, then using contact cleaner on the electrical connections. The flaps were cycled a dozen times with no issues. I originally thought the problem was with the Wing Flap Relay Assembly, but I was wrong.

I've also had excellent results with Weber Aircraft, a MSC in Lancaster, PA. I've had 2 annuals there with my former 98 J model, and when the plane was returned to me, the work was all flawless. Not one issue. My step-father, who owned the plane before me, always used Weber, and NEVER had an issue with them. A few of their outstanding mechanics were: Jeff (older guy with unmistakable white hair), Troy (forgot his last name, but he's one of the younger guys, and the maintenance director (retired) Dorn Clare. I can't say enough positive about these people. It's been 4 years now since I've been up there, so I'm out of touch with who's there and who's gone. It's a little too far to fly for an annual now, but I think of them every year. Another great shop for your propeller is Sensenich Propellers right next door to Weber. The guy that overhauls your prop, Bill Robbins was trained at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and has many years under his belt as A&P working on all sorts of GA planes. He's probably an IA, but I'm not sure, but he's a true professional and cares about his work.

Hi Clarence, Thanks for your diagram. Stacey Ellis from Mooney advised me that the #1 battery was completely removed from the battery stud and tray. Also, he advised me that the battery was nearly cut open from all the scratching and gouging over the last year from hitting the sharp edges of the containment area while operating in turbulence. The #2 battery didn't have anything to secure it in place, but battery #2 just happened to stay in place. From now on, after any maintenance, I go through the plane with a fine tooth comb to try to discover faulty maintenance. So far, after this past annual, I found my Tanis heater was installed incorrectly (missing two important spacers required for the install) on Cylinder #2, an upper large clamp that was turned the wrong way and chaffing into the rubber cowling frame, numerous star washers missing from the MLG hub cap, and my engine logbook sticker stuck several pages after it should have been leaving several blank pages in between the last entry. Not only this, the young mechanic couldn't start my plane to do a runup to get his initial readings on Day 1. I had to show him how to start a TSIO-550G. He also didn't know the max RPM drops or differential. This mechanic also thought cylinder #2 was cylinder #1 until he figured it out the 2nd day (Continental and Lycoming number their cylinders differently). I also had to advise the MSC to cover up my turbo for protection, which was exposed for several days without a dust cover in a very dusty environment. My Cylinder #2 had to be replaced due to low compresson and they had the hoses off from turbo #1. I wasn't happy that my turbo was exposed to dust and fiberglass shavings from the Cirrus next to my plane. As an owner, I shouldn't have to discover these things and police the mechanics. During Day 2, I was told I couldn't be out on the floor to watch over my plane. That's when during the next week I found they forgot to do certain things such as complete a gear retraction test with the nose wheel hubcap on, so they had to redo the gear retraction test. Mooney had replaced my nose tire back in January, but installed the spacer on the wrong side of the tire, so when the tire retracted into the wheel well on the way back to NV, it scraped the hub badly and turned it from white to black, so that's why I noticed the plane was off of jacks with the hub missing I inquired as to why.

A few months ago I flew down to the good people at Mooney in Kerrville, TX to have them complete the tail Service Bulletin that came out in December. During their work, they discovered both of my batteries were never secured by the screw down clamps and safety wired. My #1 battery was all scratched up and gouged from bouncing around for 11 months and completely out of it's containment tray. The battery had severly damaged at least 12 wires back in the avionics compartment, and the wires had to be replaced. I was delayed 1 and 1/2 days at Mooney because of the wiring that needed to be replaced. I was very lucky I didn't have a fire or some type of failure during the last 11 months while flying as high as 25,000 feet. My annual last year was accomplished at a MSC that's been in business for 30+ years. I use to live by the motto of "Trust, but Verify", now I just don't trust anymore. It's sad that its come to that, but my experience is that some people just don't do their job, get distracted, and never finish the work properly. All at the aircraft owner's expense, after paying $5,000+ for an annual. There's been too many instances where I go in for maintenance, and they screw things up badly. It's happened at every annual for the last 3 years. When I speak to the owners or shop foreman, they advise me that their senior guys are retiring and it's hard to find anyone experienced. At my last annual, I barely recognized anyone from the year before. They tell me it's a big problem. It didn't start out well, when the young mechanic working on my plane at my last annual last month tells me, "I incorrectly installed a part in a Cessna Centurion a few years ago, and it almost killed a family of four". I'm not trying to discredit MSC mechanics, I'm just trying to make owners aware that when the plane comes out of maintenance, there's a GOOD chance that something got put back incorrectly or forgotten. WE are the last line of defense!

Hello Releew, Your post was perfect timing. My original Wing Flap Relay Assembly failed last October, at 500 hours TT, costing about $1800 just for that board in the photograph below, not including labor. Last Friday, 46 hours since the last failure, and 5 months later, the same thing happened. I landed, retracted the flaps, and the Flap CB popped, and couldn't retract the flaps. They stuck at full flaps. I believe the problem is the Relay Assembly, just like before. I spoke to Mooney about it, and they said they've been having issues where these boards have been failing on an increasing basis. One of Premier Aircraft's demo new Mooneys had the same failure last October. The local MSC will look at my plane tomorrow and I'll know more information on the cause, but I suspect it to be the Flap Relay Assembly again. I'll pass along your info to my technician tomorrow. The photos below are the failed assembly from last October. It almost looks like there's thermal damage to the 1st photo. The card that's in my plane now is another brand, from the Javelina Corporation. Mooney advised me that they're using a new provider. If my new card is in fact bad, that means that it only lasted 5 months and 46 hours. I'll advise tomorrow what they find. Thx

When my plane comes out of MSC, that's when I find things that haven't been put back together correctly. I found 3 screwups this time after I uncowled the engine to look things over, and had to take the plane back. I hope you had a "no surprises" annual!

flyingcheesehead, Have you uncowled the engine area and looked thoroughly in the engine compartment/firewall area and checked all the fuel connections in the engine bay, nose wheel well, and under the plane for blue stains? I'm sure you have. Just a thought. Six months after my complete reseal (M20J) from the firm in MN, my wingwalk and left fuel sender screws behind the plastic trim sidewall started leaking badly. The cabin smelled like a refinery until I pulled the interior out and fixed it myself. I had to go to a local MSC for the wingwalk fix. Another instance in the Acclaim recently, the main fuel line loosened up and was spraying fuel all over the engine right above both red hot turbos. It was a blessing I didn't have a fire or failure. God was with me that day. Let us know what you find. Thx

SOLD!

Price lowered to $125 including FedEx Air shipping.

Flyboy0681, Your new carpeting looks great! I also like your Carbon Monoxide detector. Safe flying.