Mooney217RN

The PowerFlow exhaust is worth every single cent, IF you need to replace your exhaust. My exhaust on my former E Model kept having cracks develop, and at a certain point, enough was enough. I spent the $$$, got the PowerFlow tuned exhaust, and couldn't have been happier with it. Performance increased, in particular at higher altitudes. I am based at a high altitude field, so that was a huge benefit. Probably picked up an extra inch of manifold pressure from it at higher altitudes. The downside is the ambient sound level was higher than the stock exhaust. That's the only downside.

Years ago, I upgraded the panel in my E Model (former E Model). The Garmin 530 had just come out a year or so earlier, if that. I went for it. GPS/NAV/COM all for around $10,000 at the time, couldn't be beat. I would use it in HSI mode, never bothered with the moving map. It also displayed traffic off my newly installed Garmin GTX 330 transponder. I never had a problem with that box. In fact, my G1000 is missing some features that were available in the 530. In particular, the 530 would give you both radial and distance from a VOR in the lower left corner of the display. The G1000 gives you distance from the station, but not a precise radial displayed with it. The 530 also has a very nice arc on it, the G1000 has it but is much smaller and at the bottom of the screen. A friend of mine is chief pilot for AmeriFlight. Last I checked, they were still using the 530 in their Beech 1900's. I love the 530, I think it's a fantastic unit.

Contact Will Wobbe. William.wobbe@gmail.com

There is little to no chance that in our lifetimes we will see an all electric Mooney, airline transport or fully functional Part 91 aircraft that can seat 4 and have any reasonable range. LSA, probably. Not only do we have the FAA to contend with, who approve virtually nothing without a lifetime of hassles, headaches and regulatory burdens, but pound for pound, dollar for dollar, nothing beats petroleum. It's also functional and practical for aircraft use, which batteries are not.

Excellent decision. And if you need a lift back to your home field, I bet a lot of us would be able/willing to assist wx permitting.

I'm a bit late to the party on the responses here, but I was given a hot start technique 20+ years ago from Tom Rouch (Top Gun) and he was spot on. I put about 2,000 hrs on the IO-360 and never had a hot start issue. In fact, I could more easily hot start it as opposed to a cold start. Simple procedure - Throttle about 1/3 open, mixture lean/cutoff. Crank it, add mixture smoothly but quickly as the engine fires. works every single time.

Top Gun. Nothing more I can say but go there. They’ve been servicing my aircraft for 20+ years.

I have an Ovation 2GX, converted to an O3. it has a non-waas G1000. Works just fine. To my knowledge you cannot convert it to WAAS enabled.

You'll likely need to send them out to Precise Flight. What you're describing is a safety feature where if one doesn't deploy, neither deploys. There are the speed brake assemblies and the logic box that controls simultaneous operations. Look at your logbook(s). If the speed brakes have never been sent out to Precise Flight, it's now time.

I don't think I have ever read such nonsense. First off, my background on this - I used to detail cars as a teen for spare $$$, so I know how to wash, wax and restore paint surfaces. I had to wash my parent's cars, which to this day they still occasionally ask me to do because I am so thorough. You will not damage your plane washing it with a hose and spray nozzle. You should use car wash on it, lots of different brands out there. I like Griot's the best, but you can use whatever you want. Just don't be using dish detergent! Meguiar's is also good. I soak the plane in water. They wash it with a sponge and car wash soap in a bucket. I then rinse the plane getting all the car wash off it. Then dry with a microfiber towel or two. I also use speed shine and clay to remove contaminants at least twice a year, after which time I coat the plane with a caranuba wax (Best of Show). It shines. It also saves your paint. And you WILL gain a few knots, yes, true. On my E Model which I owned for about 20 years, I NEVER had to repaint it because I cleaned it and waxed it thoroughly and regularly. In fact, when I sold it, it may have had original paint on it, which I had restored. A clean plane is a happy plane, plus it gives you the opportunity to eyeball the aircraft in detail to see any potential discrepancies or problems.

I cleaned both sides of the plug today with electrical contact cleaner. Reassembled. Worked fine in static and run-up, but haven't flown it yet. I am guessing that it is failing at high altitude and high ambient temps. Interestingly enough, the MP was 24.4 static subsequent to cleaning, 23.7 prior to cleaning, altimeter 30.11 on both occasions. Density altitude was 8,000' after cleaning. The other day when it was 23.7, the DA was 8,700' with the same altimeter setting.

Good news/bad news on this. The MP line is fine, the fittings haven't moved and are not loose. The canon jack plug appeared to be seated properly. it was clean. I am going to clean it anyway with contact cleaner and re-connect. Haven't checked the wire harness connections to the plug yet, but they appear to be solid. Looks like both transducers have never been touched since installation on the aircraft at time of manufacture. there is no corrosion anywhere on the plug or sensor. I have the part #, and that's where the bad news starts. The part is no longer manufactured, and there is no replacement part. it's a Kulite Air Pressure Transducer, p/n APT-20G-1000-25A I am crossing my fingers that the contact cleaner will solve the issue, reconnect and I am on my way. If not, we have a major problem.

@carusoam MP reads 23.7 engine off. Field elevation 5,900’ density altitude 8,700’

There’s something else going on that nobody is paying attention to. The demand for GA aircraft is up because of the pandemic. There is a segment of the population that is just saying no to the airlines. I am in that segment. Further, people are moving away from major metro areas, meaning they need transportation. Yes, economics are playing a role, but so are external factors. there are two things that concern me about GA in general. The demographic isn’t getting any younger. Also, when the federal reserve pulls the punch bowl away, and they will, the party will be over. Eventually interest rates will rise and the excess liquidity in the system will evaporate. That said, I know a ton of people who have decided that they are NOT going back to the airlines under any circumstances. That is the biggest factor.

That’s what I think, the sensor.