carusoam

See if @Alan Fox is cruising by…

@Cody Stallings is our resident prop guy…

-a-

Today’s plan… is more of a drive-in…

local ceiling is 600’ AGL…

41 minutes ago, Hank said:

See you in Tampa this fall? 

This IS plan A:

Best regards,

-a-

Thank you everybody!

just remember…. There are plenty of better days ahead.

Mikey likes to organize.

sooooo…. If we can’t make it today, we can all do this again soon!

Best regards,

-a-

Having the RPM and MP data close to knobs that controls them is a nice to have…

This is especially helpful when you have vernier controls on the engine control knobs….

Dial the knob, watch for the result, undial the knob to the exact spot if gone too far.

having two VORs close together is important for the day you need to identify an intersection without your GPS working…

HSIs have mostly eliminated the second (pair) of VORs…

Multiple GPSi in the cockpit have removed the danger of having a single gps failure…

PP thoughts only, not an instrument guru…

Best regards,

-a-

A good powered driver…

And a fist full of proper SS hardware…

A few screw driver bits, because they can wear and destroy screw heads…

The first time… replacing a lot of screws and other hardware can be expected…

Avoid opening the fuel tanks accidentally… this has lead to fires a few times…

the panels that are riveted on mine, conceal the mag compass for the HSI… the rivets are brass.

if you can plan with the layout drawing in advance… that helps a lot…

otherwise, taking all the panels out, gives a great view of everything….

The parts manual lists all of the screw types and sizes you need…

Find the sheet metal screws that aren’t the pointy ones.  

The machine screws come in different lengths and diameters…

Avoid using too long screws… they can cut into parts that move close by….

there are pics around here for all the things that can happen during and after an annual….   

Best regards,

-a-

As far a big G supplying expensive boxes to Mooney owners goes…

Mooney is NOT dead to them…

(Somewhat recently…)

Big G did a great job knowing every detail needed to install certified APs in a wide range of Mooney models from mid 60s M20Cs up through modern versions…

It took several owners to supply their planes for a set period of time…

APs are more challenging to install, and don’t cost nearly as much as a few color screens….

Just need to make it happen…

It may help to know who our new big G guy is… we used to have to hunt Trek down for that….

Best regards,

-a-

When IO550s were new…

A bunch of Cirri and a Mooney suffered from cracked oil coolers…

Drain all of the oil out of an oil cooler… and your day goes downhill at best glide speed…

The Mooney reportedly landed on a golf course…

There were a bunch of oil cooler replacements in early M20Rs for that reason….

Continental also manufactured the oil cooler….

Do you wake up screaming Fore!, and you’re not a golfer…?

as far as ethics go…  keep in mind, a Mooney landing gear up on pavement will be stopped in about 200’…

As far as danger goes… avoid roads if there are fields available…

a stout sign post or guy wire can cut a fuel tank open on your trusty Acclaim… getting out of the flaming wreckage may be extra challenging…

Best regards,

-a-

How would one know…

The oil ring is a bit gummy?

Then…

How would one know…

The oil ring has been cleaned?

Sounds like…

Oil may be showing up in the lower spark plug?

A sign that the oil ring isn’t doing its job…

could be a cylinder surface quality issue as well…

If sending a camera down the cylinder is possible…

be on the lookout for polished surfaces where they used to be cross hatchings.

+1 for selecting a solvent mix that is good at dissolving carbon…

PP questions only, not a mechanic…

Best regards,

-a-

It helps to know your customer… (banking rule)

It helps to know your seller…

There are known MSers….

there are 10X unknown MSers…

to see how well known somebody is…

Click on their avatar and look for two details…

1) Member since…  the longer, the better…

2) Post count…. the higher, the better…

3) A third detail… is the email address they have stored here…

if their stats are… last Tuesday, and a dozen…. This is a sign of an unknown entity… not horrible, just unknown.

if their email doesn’t match the one they have stored here… that kinda raises eyebrows…

A good buyer may arrive here by using a Google search…

a scammer may arrive here the same way…

If buying pre-flown Mooney parts…

We have a list of about four people that do this as a pseudo business… (not a full time job)

and hundreds of other MSers that offer services every day around here…

Best regards,

-a-

is that a new dent causing the challenge?

or….
 

Let’s see why one cylinder is reading differently than the five others…

often, the odd one out is using a different sensor in a different cylinder location…

Check where your ship’s CHT gauge is, and see where the JPI sensor is…

To check if it is a sensor challenge, a simple swap of sensors between adjacent cylinders can prove what you are seeing…

There is a good chance that somebody installed a ring sensor, to get it to read 50°F too high…

bad ring sensors double as spark plug gaskets….
Crummy ring sensors are mounted on the TC well for the regular CHT sensor…

PP thoughts only, not a mechanic…

Best regards,

-a-

Go O! 

+1 for hangar protection…

That, and a good PPI is the best protection your wallet can get.

Best regards,

-a-

Something isn’t making sense…

usually, insurance is responsible for the confusion…

a typical insurance requirement is 10hrs dual instruction + 10hrs solo prior to carrying passengers…

And the insurance will be more expensive for the plane for a year… about 1amu more expensive…

Find a Mooney specific CFI, and use them in your rented Mooney.

By the time you are done with the 10/10 requirement… expect an additional year of experience to level the field….

the additional year of experience includes all of the important things like wind, rain, high DA, ice, thunderstorms, and freezing cold temps…

Find Parker if it is an insurance issue…

Showing up with your 10/10 without a year of experience probably won’t alleviate the situation… until you renew on the following year.

All of the insurance companies will ask… how many hours in type and model… 

100hrs and an IR are good for lowering your insurance cost….

How other people have handled this situation… new guy gets to pay for the additional one year insurance bump.  Spread out over 100hrs it won’t be that bad…

call your insurance guy or Parker for details…

PP thoughts only, not a CFI or insurance guy…

Best regards,

-a-

note: like entropy, insurance is always increasing… until you are 80. Then, it is just unavailable… 

Reservation at the restaurant has been made… Noon, for anthony…

oddly, nobody home at the airport… doors were locked.

Best regards,

-a-

I’d like to thank my fly-in buddy, Mikey!

(add thick Bostonian accent here…)

Let’s get this party started!

Best regards,

-a-

Got pics of the air park?

I’m always trying to promote this idea…

one of these days, I’m going to be living within walking distance to my plane….

-a-

Heat

UV

oxygen

Three enemies of polymeric materials…

hard to avoid O2, but…

Saran wrap is a multi layered polymer film that has a layer that is mostly impenetrable to oxygen…

Saran is designed to keep O2 away from your lunch meats…

and works pretty well at preserving other things as well…

A layer of EVOH is the O2 barrier in the center of the structure…

pp thoughts only , not an organic chemist…

Best regards,

-a-

Newer POHs contain more data…

including stall speed charts that include various weights…

Best glide speed is also a function of weight…

If you study a newer POH with the added data charts…

you might see a 10 Kt difference between heavy and light weights….

For the best logic in selecting the landing speed….  
 

There is a Mooney CFII around here that publishes an excellent package of info simplified into a basic chart….

I keep that as a handy reference for what speed to fly on final…

It is a real course on energy management, and safety management, when you have a 2k’ runway, surrounded by trees, and strong winds at altitude… and one windsock a half mile away….

+1 for the AOAi

But where is the fun in that… it presents you with that how much excess energy am I carrying now, in a single needle, or colored light stack.  No complex summations, or digging through a flight back for a chart…

Be sure to know how your AOAi is calibrated… based on a single configuration, or two?

PP thoughts only, not a CFI…

Best regards,

-a-

2amu per month…

how much does a hangar home go for in FL?

House the plane, live rent free….   

Best regards,

-a-

The fun for these calculators…

Is most often when trying to determine which Mooney you can afford, based on the budget number you have to work with…

If I have 75amu to spend on a Mooney… do I look for one with two GTNs or an engine OH?   

then when your insurance is getting renewed…. Click through all of the boxes, add up the final score… update the value of the airplane to insure it properly…

trying to use big data crunches, based on advertised values, sounds pretty challenging…. Even the known hardware costs, don’t cover installation cost.

Jimmy used to print the basic calculator in the monthly MAPA magazine…

There is another Mooney mag around here that may have a price calculator in a similar way….?

Best regards,

-a-

Gabe,

The big difference on the last two, where they use the longer shaft… you can see the number of sheets of aluminum they go through…

The shorter camlocs go through two layers… the longer fasteners go through three…

replacing cores is easy… replacing the holes is a bit more challenging…

the cores have a tendency to escape every now and then…

the holes have a tendency to wear….

The parts catalog… will list the part numbers and number of parts that get used…. But doesn't mention stainless steel, or where the different camlocs go…  

PP thoughts only, not a mechanic…

Best regards,

-a-

The problem with buying a nice M20F…

It becomes near impossible to NEED a plane upgrade between now and forever…

even the Acclaim has four seats, and is only a small amount faster than the M20F… and won’t carry much more weight…  it does carry a lot of volume though….

Acclaim’s turbos are nice, but the M20F has been turbo normalized a few times around here…

I used planned obsolescence… we got the M20C when the kids were tiny.   The tiny kids were sure to grow, and a decade later we were hunting for the next Mooney….

for proof… see doc John’s (nicest M20F ever) post above….  
 

Best regards,

-a-

On 3/29/2024 at 7:27 PM, A64Pilot said:

That would be the old engine that was designed in the late 50’s by Detroit Diesel for an Army requirement for a light observation airplane or a helicopter. Military designation of T63-A700 318 SHP or 720 420 SHP, Civilian designation of C-18 and C-20 I think.

I was an OH-58 Crew Chief for a few year and the 58 used this motor as did the OH-6 and many Civilian helicopters, the BO-105 had two of them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allison_Model_250

Installed on many Bonanza’s and C-210’s etc and the Turbine Maule.

Its not a bad engine really but I’m sure a modern design would be much better, if anyone had Government money to design and build one.

There was a brief moment in 2008 where press releases were being generated before getting tossed out…

Mooney announced their partnership with RR…. RR500 TP (turbo prop) was the engine being considered…

https://www.avweb.com/air-shows-events/mooney-rolls-royce-look-at-turbine-single/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_RR500

mid year, they still didn’t have a feel for how tough 2008 was really going to be…

500shp short term

380shp continuous

how was the Maule T/O performance with the TP?

longer or shorter than piston variety?

If I got a turbine engine on my Mooney… I still want to be off the ground at the 1k’ mark…   

Best regards,

-a-

Champion spark plugs…again?

Add that to the list.

-a-

@exM20K Dan,