unicom

Switch, roller and contacts with wires thoroughly cleaned... Yes, it is working again. I love this aircraft !!! I take this opportunity to testify that flaps up landings/ take off is absolutely a NO issue for the M20J. Thanks again everyone for your valuable input.

Thank you very much all for this detailed feedback. Tomorrow I will remove the faulty switch and clean it thoroughly. If it is doesn’t work I will buy the V3-1 switch and JV-5 which are available at Mouser. Just out of curiosity, is there any difficulty to assemble the V3-1 with JV-5 ?

Yes, this is exactly the switches I am talking about. The one that works erratically is the rear one, visible on you picture, next to the screw.

Hi all, I need your help. The contactor of the electric motor operating the flaps (located under the rear last belly panel) is giving sign of tiredness. I guess it needs to be replaced. What is the part number ? Where could I get it from ? The serial number of my M20J is 24-0975. Thanks in advance.

Hi all, Yesterday I finally got a little bit of time to work on the project of replacing the screws of my belly aircraft. Looking at my skybolt belly kit which includes 1/4 turn camloc fasteners I have to admit that I am totally lost. The belly of my aircraft is made of several plates all attached by screws. There is absolutely no camloc fasteners at the moment. I discussed with a Skybolt representative who confirmed it was possible to install Camelot fasteners for quick release of the plates. As anybody ever done this conversion ? (I am not taking about the one piece belly) It looks like installing camloc fasteners would be technically possible but would require to enlarge the screw holes. Also it seems that the most forward belly plate would be the most likely to benefit from this type of retrofit ? Any feedback would be very much appreciated. Happy New Year to all of you.

No sorry it is my fault as english is not my first language. I meant by fastener - dzus 1/4 turn. I didn’t realize that a screw could be a fastener as well :-) !!! Now the Skybolt kit makes much more sense to me as I realize it is not going to be dzus only...

I haven’t seen the Skybolt replacement kit yet but as I remember there is presently no fasteners on the panels of the belly of my aircraft, only screws. Does the kit allows to replace all screws with fasteners or only some of them ? Can you confirm no receptacle is needed as they are not included in the kit ? Thanks for your help.

Hi all, Just bought from Skybolt a kit of fasteners to replace the +1000 screws which maintain in place my M20J multi panel belly !!! I was curious to know if somebody on this forum had already done this job and could come back with a return of experience. Thanks all, Philippe M20J 24-0975

Thank you so much Clarence. Just to make sure I understand, the electric fuel pump needs to be removed and sent to Aeromotors LLC to be overhauled ?

Hi all, I just noticed a fuel leak on my M20J (please see image attached). At the moment it is just drops but not so good when I set the electric fuel pump on. As usual, your feedback will be more than welcome. At the moment I am in Guadeloupe. I will be heading towards Florida in a month. I am thinking of having the aircraft serviced there. Cheers, Philippe

Hi Hank, Thank you so much for the info. I will contact Skip Weld tomorrow. Happy new year. Philippe

Hi everyone, I am taking my aircraft to the US in spring and need a place in a hangar from May 12th till beginning of July. That is nearly 2 months during which time I will be back in France. Is there any chance someone would be aware of some hangar space I could use for a reasonable cost ? I am thinking of flying back to France from Sanford, Orlando or Miami. Any help more than welcome. Thanks in advance, Philippe

Hi everyone, I am taking my aircraft to the US in spring and need a place in a hangar from May 12th till beginning of July. That is nearly 2 months during which time I will be back in France. Is there any chance someone would be aware of some hangar space I could use for a reasonable cost ? I am thinking of flying back to France from Sanford, Orlando or Miami. Any help more than welcome. Thanks in advance, Philippe

Well done guys..Problem was a dusty limit switch. After a bit of cleaning, everything back to fully functional flaps. Love MOONEYSPACE :-) !!!

Hi everyone, Bad surprise today as the flaps of my 1980 M20J have remained jammed in the up position. Always good to practice flaps up landing !!! The event happened in flight. No pop up of the breaker. I reset it a couple of times without success. There is no noise when I manipulate the toggle switch. So I came to the conclusion that there is either: - a toggle switch issue - a flap electric motor malfunction - a wire disconnected somewhere - a stuck relay Any other idea what could be the cause of the problem ? how would you address the trouble shooting ? Thanks for your help.

I got some feedback confirming that the price of the motor is ridiculous !!! Now the Vernier option would do the job very well. All I want to do is being able to open the cowl flaps just enough to cool the engine on very hot days, without creating too much drag or shock cooling my precious cylinders ;-) !!!

That is excellent !!! Would you have a picture by chance ? Any schematic most appreciated !!! Thanks for your feedback. Philippe

Hi everyone, I was wondering if the mechanic cowl flaps on my 1980 M20J (24-0975) can be upgraded with an electric option ? Here is what I found on the M20J illustrated parts catalog: 880050-509 COWL FLAP MOTOR AVAILABLE FOR 14V AIRCRAFT WITH FIELD MODIFICATION TO ELECTRIC COWL FLAPS; EFFECTIVE: 24-0001 THRU 24-TBA. Curiously when I am looking at the Mooney Retrofit Kits page, the part number 880050-509 does not appear in the list !!! Has somebody an experience with this modification ? Thanks for your help. Philippe

Thank you all for your answers. I am astonished that a qualified mechanic does not have enough common sense to mount my belly panels the right way and even more worried that the mechanic does not have the curiosity to check the maintenance manual !!! As mentioned above there is a real safety issue with possible water getting into the belly...and how about possible exhaust gas getting into the cabin ?

Hi everyone, My aircraft has just completed its annual. It is serviced by a mechanic who is not a Mooney dealer and has limited experience with Mooney aircrafts. I have some doubt regarding the way one of the belly skin plate has been positioned (the thin central one). Could anyone confirm if all belly plates overlap (the one forward overlapping the one behind) or is the thin plate between the wings actually overlap the 2 adjacent ones ? A picture of a M20J belly Is welcome ? (excluding 1 piece belly of course !!!)

Hello, I am very much thinking of buying 2 Brompton Foding Bike as well as they are supposed to be the most compact bikes for transportation. I was just curious to get some return of experience on how you manage to make them travel all the way to the cargo compartment of the Mooney ?!? Comparing the size of the bike when folded and the dimension of the cargo door (Mooney M20J), it seems to me that this is not going to work :-( Therefore it looks like the only option is to slide the bike behind the copilot seat and carefully move it to the cargo compartment... How difficult is it, without ruining my nice leather seats ? Brompton is selling a carry case for the bike (soft or semi-rigid). Would you see that as an added difficulty to store the bikes in the aircraft ? Thank you so much for your feedback. Philippe

Thank you for your detailed feedback :-) ... It is on its way from aircraftspruce. Any difficulties to mount it ?

Hi all, Any return of experience from the latest Whelen Parmetheous PLUS Super LED PAR46 ? http://www.whelen.com/aviation/product.php?head_id=13&prod_id=198 Whelen claims that the PLUS is 80% brighter than the initial Parmetheous... ...or 40% on this brochure. http://www.whelen.com/pb/Aviation/Catalog%20Price%20Lists%20and%20Manuals/Parmetheus%20Plus%20Brochure_Email.pdf Cheers, Philippe

As surprising as it is, the maintenance manual leaves very little doubt (see below). I did the test in a hangar...so it was rather dark. Now, the POH clearly states in the Before Take Off Check List: CHECK WITH PRESS TO TEST & THROTTLE RETARDED (no time reference) However, I would be quite interested to get the feedback from J owners who actually got the Low Fuel warning in flight, and how many of them were aware of the procedure below.