carusoam

1) All Mooneys report better operations with Tempest fine wires… 2) Many MSers are still annoyed with Champion for poor design quality that lead to varying spark plug resistance with time…. 3) Some MSers were disappointed by Tempest because a few center electrodes went missing…. 4) MSers are good with reporting what they see in the field…. 5) Tempest was good at fixing their welding issue, by bringing it in house…. And replacing plugs for anyone that sent one in. 6) Champion earned a black eye… by ignoring the issue for years…. PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… Best regards, -a-

How does it know? My M20C had the vacuum retract step… very independent of flap position… If you have the electric step… we could ask Rob. Best regards, -a-

Flaps always go down…. Before loading unfamiliar passengers…. There are some Mooneys that oddly got the non-slip stripe that extends over the flaps…. It looks good, but is inviting to be stepped on! So much new stuff going on for unfamiliar people…. It is easy to forget what they have been told. PP thoughts only, stuff I read around here somewhere…. Best regards, -a-

Soooo… History shows… it probably isn’t a big deal. It’s all about being nicer to the electronics on board…. I have one of the oldest Os on the planet…. From Transition Training on, it was taught…. 1) Master 2) Start 3) Alternator 4) Avionics 5) + tach/rpm adjustment, OilP, MP adjustment…. Fuel pump off. Engine start-up is a busy time…. Shutdown is the same, but in reverse order… where line 5) looks more like this…. Set rpm to 1k, dial out the mixture, while looking for the rpm to rise before the engine dies…. If you have an Alt switch… use it. Because you can. If you don’t have an Alt switch… don’t sweat it. You can add one, while installing an avionics switch… Back in the day… we were taught to turn off all of the electronics individually before start… 1) Nothing causes weirder spikes in voltage than starting the engine…. (Save the electronics from this) 2) without the alternator on… the voltage can’t spike above the battery voltage…. (Save the electronics from this) When the alternator comes on, the voltage regulator tries to catch up with all the data it reads… 3) post Y2K, electronics including primary engine monitors…. Have been designed to handle a fair amount of electrical oddities. 4) Is your primary engine monitor wired to the main bus, or is it accidentally wired to the avionics bus? As long as there are voltage spikes caused by the electric starter motor…. And there are oddities caused by starting up the voltage regulator… I keep to the five step process… above. But, I also take my time between starting the car’s engine, and turning the lights on…. It’s OK to be slow and deliberate… Use the check list. (Update your checklist properly) It’s not OK to forget to execute steps of the start-up check list… Under ordinary conditions… I bet it is hard to tell the difference… When you have a few AMUs in electronics… You feel better, when you have taken the extra care to not send the known spikes down the line…. This gives the equipment a few extra seconds to adjust, before the next spike or drop comes along… My cars don’t have LED lights yet… Great… we have discussed what causes the usual spikes and drops in voltage… But, we don’t have a voltage monitor that is sensitive enough to show us how big the spikes and drops really are during those split seconds that they occur… For that reason… I’m sticking with that five step process, and verifying with the checklist when done… Best regards, -a-

There are many Angel Flight people around here… Lots of topics covered as well… for insurance, scheduling, what the passengers need to know, what the pilot needs to know… A few MSers do this often… 1) For improved mobility… often people get on the wing from the leading edge, sitting down, and scoot towards the cabin… 2) with the co-pilot seat removed… entry/exit to the back seat is as good as it gets… Lots of heart warming stories come with Angel Flights… some are as simple as a cancer patient traveling for a usual medical appointment… their mobility can be perfect… but, their ability to stay on the road for hours can be really limited…. Let’s see if @Yooper Rocketman is around… he has some good experience to share… Let’s invite @201er… I believe he has done some Angel Flights as well… Best regards, -a-

There is a bit of a sweet range… too high… the horn comes on while slowing the plane before the gear comes out…. This keeps the pilot busy holding the switch in the gear down lock block hole… too low… the horn doesn’t come on until pulling the power out, when the runway is made…. This is a bit too late for a surprise… very easy to ignore with all the other things going on. Better to come on early, than to not come on until late… One is annoyance… the other gets ignored when the brain is already busy with the landing details… Any oddities on short final…. Feel free to go around!!! A typical surprise… you have put the gear down… and the throttle alarm goes off on short final… This happens to mechanical gear with a worn down lock block… make sure the gear is locked… (thumbnail test, pull the handle down, see the green light…) PP thoughts only, not a CFI… Best regards, -a-

But, what does he know…. He is only a PP, not a CFI, or a mechanic, or a musician…. MS has a few musicians, and plenty of mechanics and CFIs…. Best regards, -a-

My M20C lived outside… Its prop always got canted about 15° off vertical… 1) It sucks when you get to the plane with a solid chunk of ice in the spinner…. And fuel caps that can’t be opened… 2) The birds didn’t like the offset very much. when they left their mark, it didn’t run all the way down the blade… 3) I’m pretty sure that neither I, nor the plane, were ever hit by lightening… that can really ruin your day. Mikey’s plane is getting newer each year! Time to get ready for the Mooney Fly-in season! Best regards, -a-

Long time no see Hair H! Except a few times on YT… Great thread. The CAFE project has always had a lot of interest… Best regards, -a-

Let’s invite @DanM20C to witness this account of having a good CO monitor… Dan has been bringing awareness to this evil pestilence for years. Thanks for sharing the experience. Best regards, -a-

A thread that got @bonal out from hiding!!! The flying season must be starting up again! I saw JK earlier… In case anyone thinks this thread isn’t Mooney related… The best Mooney Artist ever… is participating in this thread. His art has supported Mooney Summit a few times… F1 uses interesting inverted aerodynamics to create downforce… Do the MotoGP guys have any aero? Best regards, -a-

Yikes… I wonder how many JPI RALs have gone on vacation… Something to look for if we have one… Best regards, -a-

For a more local source of pre-flown Mooney parts… @Alan Fox… -a-

Hey John, Let me know if you are still having challenges with getting pics posted… I can always help if needed. Let me know… Best regards, -a-

Hey JK! Nice to see you… Are you asking for a pre-owned TN for your IO360? There are no known new ones for Mooneys that I am aware of… That leaves you with finding an existing system…. Fortunately, the existing ones are well supported… The STC for adding a TN for the IO360 in a Mooney was owned by that well known STC writer in FLA that has flown west…. He had a handful of interesting STCs that have not been brought back to life… As for known TNs available around here… Doc John used to have one on the shelf…. Don’t know if it went anywhere… he also flys a M20F. @M20F-1968 PP memories only, mostly fuzzy memories… Best regards, -a-

The above pics were supplied by @Sabremech -a-

Way to go DK! The big guy upstairs only gives us challenges that he knows we can handle…. It’s clear that Don can handle the most challenging of FAA experiences… the paperwork circus! Thank you for sharing all of the details… It gives a great template for the next MSer that gets to hurdle this fence! Best regards, -a-

@Sabremech PM the pic… I should be able to post it… or email the pic using car…..@aol.com Best regards, -a-

@Villi and @Villim did you lose yourself? There is probably a way to recover your lost password around here somewhere… Best regards, -a-

Fastest way to look for the gear warning switch… peek under the panel to find the throttle location switch… Best way to know what that switch is… look up the part number in the parts catalog… that was removed for some reason… they don’t usually fall out… Best regards, -a-

+1 Flying, because you want to…. Vs flying because you have to…. No timelines… vs office opens at 8… Retirement is best to be slipped into… not run into head on… PP thoughts only, March, I might get three flying days in one month before it ends… Best regards, -a-

Huck, I sent an invite from Don’s thread… Don has a forever-plane that is getting some updates continuously…. just lots of examples of pics and videos he has put together over time for his M20C… Best regards, -a-

Inviting @Huckster79 to stop by this thread… Lots of updates going on currently… On a plane that is already nicely cared for…. Best regards, -a-