carusoam

Awesome post again JL! Great M20K details and a pic! Best regards, -a-

As far as UL goes… The most around here is around 1200 LBs… M20S Eagles have the best opportunity for this…. Close to 1k is most common… 7-800 is usually an M20K that got all of the options and gets used as a traveling machine for one or two…. Spare vacuum systems, radar in the wing, O2 bottle mounted on the tail… turbo system, MP controller and intercooler…. There have been lots of improvements with color screens…. The older avionics weigh close to 100LBs more… With four adults in the plane… we don’t typically fly more than two hours at a time… Some people sleep for a few hours… and wake up on the bumpy descent…. My longest flight was about 900nm non-stop…. I have 100gallon tanks. Flying with other people in the plane can get a bit technical… if everyone decides to use O2, eat, drink, or get air sick…. You get to be PIC and flight attendant at the same time. Best regards, -a-

The cool thing is…. There are no bad Mooney models… except one. The M20L PFM has become too hard to own with the Porsche engine in it still…. But, if you are mechanically inclined and have enough dough… it is the first Long Body! Decide if you like small, medium, or large… short, mid, long body…. Pick the engine attributes you like…. Carb, fuel injection, turbo… If you go turbo… normal waste gate, automated waste gate, and intercooler… or 2X… for the twin TNs…. For IFR flight in the modern ecosystem…. WAAS GPS is a must. Finding the right bird can often take up to a year… get the search started as soon as practical… This way you get practice at what you like to have… so you can move quickly when you eventually find it… PP thoughts only… I like buying and selling machinery…. Best regards, -a-

Note the drain hole at the bottom of the tank… not an inch high. the extra height would accidentally keep a lot of water from draining properly…. Best regards, -a-

Jimmie is a great resource…. Ask as many questions as you can, take lots of notes… lots of details…. About the plane, some upgrades while you are there, setting up insurance, setting up finance, setting up Transition Training and flying home… Fantastic memories of working with Jimmie… Best regards, -a-

KL, I forgot you had the stinger tail and the Butler button hook! Unique Mooneys for $100, Alex! Kind of like finding an M20D still on it’s fixed feet… but only better! Best regards, -a-

@ohdub… It’s not what you ate that was important… It’s who you ate with that matters most!!! I sat with Steve and a bunch of MSers eating some weird healthy taco thing…. And toured the ramp with a bunch of other Mooniacs…. And discussed mods and upgrades while sitting in somebody’s plane…. My ancient memory continues to improve… Best regards, -a-

O1s get the blue box on the analog EGT instrument… G1000 Os get a digital white box… Leaning procedure is the same…. But the box is a different color… The cool thing about Ovation EGTs…. The ship’s gauge is the seventh EGT sensor the plane has… it is calibrated unlike the traditional older EGT gauges… those numbers have meaning. Climbing in the blue box supplies cool EGTs in a range from 2-300°ROP… lean as the needle slides towards the edge of the box… PP thoughts only, not a CFI… Best regards, -a-

The bummer with the TCs… is the wear issue combined with bumps… A pilot can verify it is working when the plane is new to him…. But, won’t see the issue until it is in the bumps… Back-up AIs are so common now… and readily available pre-flown…. If you fly her in IMC.. Add a better back up plan than just the TC…. My M20C had a small TnB that wagged like a happy dog… Best regards, -a-

Looks like somebody put an M20J up front… Panel, yokes, and interior seem to be updated to about 1990 or so… Did the windshield get sloped with that too? Does the fuel pressure gauge stop at 6 or 60psi? (Rough numbers, the low one is carbureted, the high one is fuel injected) Best regards, -a-

Rocker cover gaskets are easy to swap out… Tubes that connect the rocker drains… often have ancient hose clamps… get new ones. Replacing hoses and gaskets and clamps solved a bunch of leaks on my O360… I think Lycoming has a kit for a lot of these parts, available through aircraft spruce… Tightening things up properly may help as well… proper torque values and order of tightening may apply. PP thoughts only, concurring with everyone else… Best regards, -a-

1Hr, 42 minutes using an M20R… ROP. My usual flight was 200nms… Flight planning is super easy with shorter distances… Longer distances… weather can add to the challenges…. Some parts of the country, the weather can become unfamiliar when traveling long distances…. Mountains, and big lakes, and SW deserts and things… Get to know the weather forecasts…. Go Mooney! -a-

Kind of like learning how to use Owner produced parts… OPPs… May take a while to get everyone up to speed with specific examples… Make a list, put it in the FAQs…. I hope they put a variable in the rule so it includes my plane as she ages… Best regards, -a-

Way to go Skip! You really know how this game is played! Was the JPI any help in terms of showing a saw tooth pattern of sticky valves? That’s usually, sticky in terms of not rotating… as opposed to sticky jamming up and down motion with carbon deposits…. Thanks for posting the details! +1 for the nice pirep of the DMax family… Best regards, -a-

Two important things come from this discussion… 1) The limitations are defined by one engineering source with great accuracy… and then applied to the tachs we had on day one… 2) Those day one tachs are all calibrated before they get installed… Then real life takes over… 3) After day one… accuracy of the tach has probably drifted… a couple of percentage points… 4) When you see your tach is off by 100rpm, that is about 4% 5) If you see your tach needle bouncing… this is a sure sign of inaccuracy caused by wear… This is important… 6) You want your tach to be as accurate as feasible… get it calibrated. Or get it updated enough to be calibrated… including the spinning cable that delivers the ‘data’. How you know how right the data is… 7) Set your power with MP and RPM… use your WAAS source combined with CloudAhoy… check the OAT… 8) Calculate your T/O distance and initial climb rate… 9) Use CloudAhoy to measure your T/O and climb rate… 10) If your numbers don’t agree… there is probably some benefits to having your instruments working like they did on day one… Contact your instrument shop for that…. Next steps… 11) Use various sources of MP and RPM… compare to the calculated…. 12) know the issues of the MP gauge are kinda similar… mechanical that ages… and that weep hole that may have a crack radiate out from it… For comparison… 13) 200 rpm on my IO550 is 30 excess hp… or about 10% of the total hp… The IO360 works the same way… remember that 4% we were discussing above? 14) When I use the extra 10%, My T/O run goes from 1200’ to 800’… Eye opener… 15) If I am expecting to be off the ground in 800’ using full power… and something causes me to lose 100rpm… like a bad rpm setting… 16) I might only be off the ground in 1k’ instead… (linear math used for simplicity, Mooney flying is never linear) Summary…. 17) Sure our instruments can be calibrated… to real numbers. 18) It is best to use real numbers from your installed primary equipment… 19) You can probably supplement primary instruments with a lowish cost JPI…. Not covered… 20) What is the acceptable accuracy of our old mechanical instruments… 21) There is probably a range that is acceptable, and calibration is the way to get them back working properly again…. 22) When the stuff is worn beyond calibration… they are easy to OH, or replace with fancy digital stuff…. 23) Expect proper instrumentation to work wonders… actual T/O distances meeting book numbers are not magic. They are real world engineering, repeatable, useable things… 24) Then collect real data with what you have… prove that when you set power properly… you get the same T/O result… What happened to my M20C… 25) something broke the welds of its engine mount…. Probably those vibrations we discussed… 26) Last I flew it was to an MSC… where they pointed out the engine being supported by 3 tiny bolts… not four. 27) Along the way… the tach cable wore. The needle started to oscillate and wind up exceeding redline… there is a post at the end of the range… the needle hits the post and pops off… Calibration was checked when the needle was put back on… for low dollars… 28) Along the way… the line to the MP gauge broke at the weep hole… getting the weep hole replaced took calling the factory to find what drill to use… vibration made the weep hole crack…. So… if you can… go with as much accuracy as you can afford…. 1) Your T/O distance is important when trees are growing larger in the windshield…. 2) Avoiding the actual ranges that need to be avoided… will keep things from braking sooner than expected… I could have done much better… but there was no MS around at the time… Getting an engine mount OH’d is a regular process that I was not familiar with, and I didn’t recognize two broken welds… The big hint… the engine sag was getting worse… and was different from day to day! Posting a pic early would have made this a non-event… Know that engines and their mounts… don’t fix themselves…. If something looks like it improved on its own…. Look closer. PP thoughts only, not a mechanic or instrument guru… How was that? Best regards, -a-

This amount of info is what makes MS so powerful!!! Best regards, -a-

Welcome aboard Jethroa! Standby…. You are in the right place. For Florida… I always ask @mike_elliott his recommendation… Before sending them searching the other two lists of Mooney CFIs…. Best regards, -a-

Is this thread related to that same article…? Oddly, I can’t find the actual article…. Best regards, -a-

The only sensitivity to corrosion is…. A new owner that finds corrosion after the purchase… gets a bit sensitive. All planes are susceptible to corrosion…. But, not all buyers are familiar with PPIs or purchasing ancient machinery… getting up to speed with machinery that is older than the buyer takes on a new level of learning…. If the buyer is older than the machine… many issues are pre-learned as life lessons… PP thoughts only, not a sales guy anymore…. Best regards, -a-

1) More weight 2) More vibration 3) More thunderous sound 4) Larger diameter 5) Fancy silver paint 6) fewer blades…. 2 Vs. 3, and 3 vs. 4…. 7) More comfort with buying traditional stuff that grand pappy flew before the war…. Go Old Tech! PP humor only, sort of… Best regards, -a-

Made me think harder… reminded me of another external light… Similarly, we have an ice light for the Fiki systems…. Probably, LEDs are too cold for that application… Best regards, -a-

Speaking of iPad cords… Two just came out of my plane with their white outer layer crumbling off… Both had lightning ends on them, so they aren’t left over from the ipad1 days…. Do you all have a preferred source, or length of this next link in the USB chain? Best regards, -a-

Alex, Looks like the structure is in there… or the thermoformed cover for it is there… The Whelen strobe may have some residual value… the lenses went unobtanium a while back… Best regards, -a-

Note for @dzeleski above! Dylan, you can edit the title with the first post if you are no longer searching for parts… -a-

Let’s see if @M20Doc is cruising by…. (Rubber hose connected to STec 55 replacement, challenge installing the hose in an O2) Best regards, -a-