carusoam

The goal was, two people, 600nm in 3.0 hours.... neither the J or the R really meets the time requirement, the R is slightly closer..... On a less limited budget, I would get the Acclaim to get there fast, an M20J to get there most efficiently, an M20R to bring "efficiency minded" friends along comfortably, and an M18 for days you just want to go it alone. This would be my version of the Al Mooney Collection. As far as partial fuel loads. Modern systems are difficult to mess up. Two tanks with fuel quantity sensors in them. Two visual gauges on the wing top. Fuel totalizer while flying, integration into GPS - fuel required to waypoint, with alarms and lights. You still have the option to look into the tank (which I do on every flight). Any faster, you would need to consider a turbine........TBM anyone? -a-

Roughly speaking..... Ovation 1: Assume... 16gph in level flight at 170 knots (11,500 feet) 89 gallons usable. 5 hours of flight if needed... 600 nm trip = 3.5hrs (60 gallons) 360 lbs of fuel 1050 useful (from Parker, noted above). Leaving 690# usable for people and stuff. Consider Ovations M20R and Eagles M20S may give similar results. For two people, there is alot of extra capacity for additional fuel, or bringing alot of stuff...... Of course, this is rough, quick, back of the hand calculation intended to help illustrate a possible solution. Please check the math yourself. Don't forget to add your reserves and actual fuel flow for climb, etc.... I think rockets and TLS/Bravos would do this run a bit quicker at higher altitudes, bring your oxygen... Best regards, -a-

I thought mine were clear too..... I think projecting light onto a white piece of paper may be helpful. If you can look at the edge of the window it becomes more obvious, the crack may give similar indication. Let's just say I got really good at replacing the same window.

Clear can be incredibly hot. It gives great visibility, but you will want to block the sun on the summer days... Gray is the more modern way, if you are replacing all of your side windows. Otherwise, if you are only replacing one, you may consider keeping the color to match what the other windows are already. -a-

They have three colors. gray, clear and coke bottle green... My 65 C had coke bottle green from the original windows. It took me a while to figure it out. (I actually sent a sample to LP) 40+ years of being outside, inside, covered and not covered, made it difficult to be sure of what color it was. Save yourself some hassle, just make sure you order the correct color.

I think it would be fair to us a drop of silicone to fill in the stop drilled hole. Without stop drilling, I think you are only a bump away from propagation. As in, if somebody bumps into the plexiglas, the crack will probably run. I don't think this is a pretty way to fix things. A side window doesn't cost that much. They take a few days to have made. You may consider purchasing one, just to be ready. Installing one is not extremely technical. Most of the work is probably removing old sealant. The challenging part of installing the new one is drilling all the screw holes in the right place. -a-

I would expect a stop drilling would be a good idea. Using a proper drill bit for plexi-glas of course. Your mechanic can probably do this quickly and at low cost. Caution: Cracks in plexiglas are very easy to propagate. Best regards, -anthony-

I'm with Parker on this one. I found B of A through AOPA. They have a few people that are very familiar with aircraft. The loans they offer are for 20 years, similar rate to what Jetmech quoted. If you are fortunate, you can pay it off early. I used them because of their experience, title search and overall responsibility. The process was all smooth soaring, no mistakes. Let me know if you can't find them and you need a contact. Best regards, - Anthony -

The only things I can think of that get in the way of retraction are: [1] Airspeed switch - should not trip circuit breaker, Push the overide button and gear would go up [2] Emergency extension out of position - as mentioned above (highly likely) [3] Something physically stuck in the system - check gear doors, control arms for anything that looks out of place or bent. [4] Gear motor. The emergency handle being out of place should give trouble in both directions. Both going up and going down. Good luck... -a-

You can probably find your voltage reading on your portable Garmin (or other). I have the 196 that has this feature, I bet the 696 still has it also along with XM, color, big screen and a few other nice things.... -a-

I know in my 1965 M20C, that navigation by compass required knowing more than ANDS and OSUN. I falsely replaced the first compass because it appeared to stick during turns, then it would swing wildly to catch up. The new compass did the same thing. I believe each time N tried to pass in front of the tube, it would hang until it overpowered the tube's attraction. This was during instrument training for "worst case" no gyro approaches. It seems kind of silly to hang a compass on a big steel tube. Maybe Al didn't think it was that critical....? Best regards, -a-

Philip, Your pic is clearly visible. With the photo of someone else's system completely removed, we can get a better idea of what you are dealing with.... According to the description, all of the devices are part of the BX system I believe Piloto is saying cooling air on the unit is beneficial, not so much directly on the display. -a-

Wingtip 1, fence 0 .....so there. -a-

There are at least two other threads on generator and zeftronics replacement. Either way, the battery should last long enough to keep the electronics alive. Seems like there is a significant other drain, or the battery is not holding much capacity. As for hand propping 180 hp motors. Has anyone done this succesfully? I tried twice, then chickened out....... That's alot of power, and a strong compression to overcome. Best regards, -a-

LL I don't think you will go wrong with either brand. May I suggest: Continue to refine your mission. Pick a few examples, run the comparisons. Enjoy the search. Oshkosh is coming up soon. Both brands will have "caravans" in the camping area. You can find many to look at with enthusiastic owners to speak with. When you are ready to buy, find the threads on pre-purchase inspections and purchase agreements for your financial protection.... My family of four has been in a Mooney for a little over 10 years. The M20C is a bit small for people with legs. The J is spacious. The R came from the factory with a 6 cylinder engine and extra space. We started with a C and found an R while looking for a J. We looked at everything including twins, modified mooneys and Cirrus, but did not seriously consider anything other than Mooney since we had a very good M20C experience. Best regards, -a-

Feel free to share your comparisons, I looked up controller for A36. They are similar to Mooney, everything from dirt cheap / run out to astronomical / brand new.... I think there are fewer A36 under 150K than there are over, similar with M,R and S..... Price seems to be a compromise of engine TT, airframe TT / age, Instrumentation. Enjoy the search. Best regards, - anthony -

I hear 10,000 trees sying in relief....the age of paper is coming to an end at a faster rate than ever before.... Great photos Mitch!

BENDIX BX-2000 System including; Dual Nav/Com with Dual indicators and G/S, R/NAV with programmer, Dual DMEs w/remote head and Nav Switching, ADF, Transponder Mode C, Encoding Altimeter, Audio Panel w/ Marker Beacon, and Built in Intercom. I was not familiar, so I did some searching. Maybe some additional insight can be found by sharing the attached info... Is this what you have? It looks like an early version of a Garmin 430 (sorry PK). Probably from the time when Gary and Min actually worked at Bendix.... Hope this helps, Best regards, - a -

If it fits in a J, than surely and M,R, or S is slightly larger in the back seat legroom and baggage area. Overall not much additional useful load though. In case you want to look up additional information: M20M - Bravo (turbo) M20R - Ovation M20S - Eagle M20TN - Acclaim (turbo) If you have the resources for an A36 and its operation, you are most likely open to any of these aircraft. For my M20R, People who fly are eager to jump in the back. People who don't fly are confused by only one door on the airplane.... If you want to be the fastest / highest in your neighborhood consider the turbo versions. For easy shopping comparisons, I often check the www.allamericanaircraft.com website.... http://www.controller.com/list/list.aspx?ETID=1&setype=1&pcid=17527&dlr=1 -a-

I believe the oem for the compass you are looking for is Airpath. In the original application, the housing was metal (aluminum?). Today they are made of plastic. I replaced my old compass with a new one. When installing it, I over tightened and broke the plastic housing. A quick phone call to Airpath and a few bucks later, the new housing showed up in the mail... http://www.airpathcompass.com/images/Airpath-Spareparts-2.jpg The catalog houses only list a few of the most common parts. I think a phone call is still required to get the housing. I also noticed that the angle of the bracket is not quite the same as the angle of the tube it is mounted in....? Best regards, -a- What I remember most about the compass. The screws were brass, and too long. They were never fully tightened again (tight screws=lots of vibration) and every now and then one of the brass nuts would fall down and be gently caught by the boot on the J-Bar. One day the boot was loose, the nut fell and immediately dissappeared below the floor to only be found at the next annual when the belly skins were removed. I am sure there is a better way....

Jack, Interesting find. Thanks for the follow-up. Putting these things on the yoke is convenient, but not always the best idea. Best regards, -a-

Philip, From your description, it sounds like the manifold pressure is calibrated in psi in place of "hg. A standard atmosphere of pressure is 29.92"hg or 14.7psi. The number 14.9 that you are using sounds like you are not happy with. Would 14.7 work better? (29.92 inHg, 14.696 PSI, 1013.25 millibars) "A column of air one square inch in cross-section, measured from sea level to the top of the atmosphere, would weigh approximately 14.7 lbf (65 N)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_pressure Best regards, -a-

Steve, Welcome to the board. Very nice upgrades and interesting thought process of what to keep and where to put things. You have a very efficient layout with vac and electronic back-up, with side by side comparison. Best regards, - anthony -

Went flying today.... 80deg F outside, oil temp indicator was at 190deg F. Temperature reading is from the original stock oil temp gauge. Flight was a local out and back at 3,000 feet or less. 94 M20R Ovation. Continental IO 550 G. Three blade prop, 2500rpm. Best regards, -a-

The LP folks are pretty good. They make the windows for custom order. It takes only a few days. I would guess a phone call to them with exactly what you want will get you what you expect. In the past, I have sent them an old window for verification. You might consider determining where you want the new vent window to go. Trace it out on the old window and send it in with your order....... Just remember measure twice cut once. Also consider purchasing the drill bit from them for the screw holes. Drilling into the plexiglas is more of having a very pointed drill bit and testing your technique on the old window. You won't need much help for side windows that you can't get from LP. lots of cleaning of old sealant. Best regards, - anthony -