carusoam

Congrats Nmm! You came to the right place asking the right questions!!! Sounds like you have two challenges… 1) Go knock the rust off with the Warrior… see how much muscle memory you have of it… If you are an ordinary human being… don’t be surprised about how some of the memory items have faded… Pay extra for a CFI that really knows Warriors…. and Rusty pilots…. It may take something like 65hrs to get the PPL… if all of those memories come back… you can demonstrate your skills pretty quickly… if the skills don’t come back very well… that’s a hurdle to jump over later…. 2) Get started with training on the M20J… call it transition training… no need to wait. check with your insurance company on how many hours are required dual and solo before you are allowed to take passengers…. It may take near ten hours to become comfortable flying the Mooney… (you will be stuck flying with an instructor until you have your PPL, and TT…) 3) there is plenty to be gained by flying two different planes…. You get a better background in flying this way… Flying a warrior well, can make you a better Mooney pilot… Soooo….go fly both… focus on getting the PPL… and hone your skills for flying the M20J, because you can! Keep us up to date with your experience and progress…. After some time off from flying… I did a BFR in a C172… before moving back up to the Mooney. It was better for both of us…. Best regards, -a-

A Stacey Ellis original signature!!! Stacey is a great employee! He soldiered on through tough times at the factory… kept communications alive with MSers… Moved across the field working at another company… (avionics?) The factory is alive and well… making parts and performing services as promised… An annual only takes a week of work… There has to be some level of consumer protection for the owner, when a company goes out of business… in other places… getting the doors opened to remove your property has been a challenge… If you have any concerns… Ask Jonny! He wants your business… Is more than capable to provide the service… And can probably send a copy of his D&B report… If you have the opportunity to walk the shop… talk to the employees… Best regards, -a-

These tubes are often damaged by rust… Water that doesn’t get out the drain on some legs… The tubes can get really thin under this condition… Not sure if tube drains came into style at some point… or what was keeping the water in… For pre-flown Mooney parts… find @Alan Fox Best regards, -a-

Hmmmmm… Anyone get a BatteryMinder for their car’s battery? The car that lives in the garage and only comes out on nice weather days…. My ancient expedition drains more electrons in a week… than an ordinary battery can keep up with… Somewhere there is a relay that isn’t resetting correctly… and retries endlessly every five minutes or so… So now that truck has a cheap float charger keeping it alive… PP thoughts only… lamenting…. -a-

There is a fancy pair of pliers available from SnapOn… Perfect for grabbing screws by their rounded heads… Fist lesson I got in Mooney ownership.… Annual#1. Bring bagels and coffee with you to keep the mechanics from laughing out loud at your expense… There is soooo much to learn. +1 for the twist lock spout… for the O… the distance from access door to the fill tube is a bit far… a drip takes about one year to fully escape the cowl…. Best regards, -a-

Props are specific to plane and engine combinations… Start with what plane you have, what engine you have, and visit the websites of the prop manufacturers… 1) MT for composites with a long track record… 2) Hartzell for both composite and aluminum… the TopProp has been used a lot around here… 3) McCauley came standard on many Mooneys…. When changing props… take your WnB calculations kinda seriously… Some hubs weigh more than the others… Getting an extra blade can be pretty heavy too… If sound is an issue… the MT composite really deadens the noise around the neighborhood… All of the data is on the their websites… including weight and STCs… PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… Best regards, -a-

M20s have evolved every year since 1958…. Some of the evolutions are pretty small… others are gigantic… a few serious ones are noted on the ASI… One remarkable change to the M20J line… was a tube dimension that allowed for greater MGTW… Some planes got it, while the older ones did not… MGTW, Vge, Vfe, Vna, and Vne all increased over time…. for the increase in Vfe… expect the stub spar grew in strength… or the hardware for mounting flaps was changed… Many of the updates are available… for a price… An M20F can be upgraded until it performs similar to the latest M20J that left the factory… This is great if you have an M20F forever-plane… where the finances no longer have to make sense… Realistically, it is more economical to change planes… There are a few Mooneys flying around on newer wings… If you find that you have spar cracks at the flap mount bolts… there is a proven maintenance procedure to fix them…. That includes a doubler. Keep asking questions!!! About me… My first Mooney was an M20C… after a decade of ownership, my plane needed some serious updates… Comparing the costs of upgrades, to the pre-flown market of other Mooneys…. We started looking at M20Js, and came away with a pre-flown M20R… the economy had them priced the same at the time… (2008) PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… Best regards, -a-

Sooooo…. To answer the question… How long does a Mooney annual take…? About four days… Any longer than that… 1) Something didn’t go to plan… 2) Most of the work is done by one person, with help from another, every now and then… 3) Most MSers go in with a squawk sheet, parts they want installed, and get ready for the event the best they can… 4) Even getting a battery lately has been known to throw the schedule off… by weeks… If you think GA is broken now… It has been this way for a century. Look up how long AOPA has been fighting the good fight every year since the beginning of GA… The automobile manufacturers are just getting over their supply chain issues… And… if you think a teenager is going to be able to help… that is going to be one incredible teenager…!!! Just remember… Airplanes are like any other machine when it comes to service… There is a schedule for it…. there is an expected time for completion… there is a process for getting updates… (ask this up front… during the scheduling process) There is no need to drop the machine off before it’s time… Being able to communicate everything going on in any one shop… with every customer you have on the schedule… takes an incredible amount of talent and detailed memory… Then there is that skill… regarding working with customers… If you are fortunate… as a customer, you also have that great skill… working with suppliers and vendors…. My plane just came out of annual… getting it in the shop came with a slight delay… I came ready with a new battery…. But, it needed two… Fortunately, the battery delays seem to be a thing of the past…. Expect this challenge to blow over…. Just like all of the others before it… There will be another one that will crop up soon afterwards… The federal reserve is still deciding how big the recession is going to be… how deep, how long, what interest rate will handle it best… For future shop communications… expect a teenager is going to be working with his AI skills, programming a computer to make the calls…. including all the uhs and ohs in the pronounciations…. It will sound very real…. ’uh, Mr. Carusoam, this is the Mooney shop in NJ…we just want to let you know…’ -a-

Hank covered it well… but there are pics around here… showing exactly where the cracks form in the stub spar…. We can’t typically use electric vs. hydraulic as a gauge… the actuator didn’t change the stub spar physics… We can check what the physical changes are in the newer birds… Just know the forces grow… squared with speed… If you have ever lowered or raised gear manually at higher speeds… you can imagine the bending forces of the flaps at higher speeds as well… Stay within the documented speeds for best results…. PP thoughts only, not a CFII… Best regards, -a-

Putting a cover on in a breeze… deserves a whole other thread… Whichever cover you go with… Consider a few things… 1) Sunbrella material… lasts a decade outdoors… 2) The best nylon thread probably won’t go the whole decade… getting it Re-sewn may be part of your ownership experience… Plane-covers used to include that… unfortunately, Plane-covers retired from the business… 3) Get a zipped door… as soon as you have the cover on… you remember exactly what you forgot inside… or you can’t remember if you unplugged something or turned it off… 4) Make sure the cover extends forwards enough to cover any access panels up front… 5) Tail cover… get something to keep the birds from building a nest in the tail… 6) Nostrils… fill the holes to keep birds off the engine… something to tie them together so the prop will pull them out when it turns… PP thoughts only, not cover manufacturer… Best regards, -a-

Once we have an SI… And the original condition has been cleared… for decades… Is there ever a way to go back to the regular Class III….? Just wondering… Best regards, -a-

Nothing brings back the old memory of how these letters are written… We have to get to the end to know the result… When we get disappointed by the first paragraph… we may never get to the good news! Thanks for sharing the docs! For added challenges… wait until your memory doesn’t hold out as long as this glacial process takes… Best regards, -a-

Hp, Great follow-up graph sharing! Two things of notice… 1) The run-up is occurring soooo quickly… there is opportunity to get more value from the engine monitor… 2) look at the two peaks… they are supposed to be identical. When they are different, it is time to check the ignition timing… To get more value out of your run-up… allow the EGTs to peak before switching back to both, same with allowing them to come all the way back down… It may take 20 seconds or so in each switch position to allow the process to stabilize…. This allows us to know where the baseline is for calculating a really accurate rpm drop… EGT peak vs baseline… Graphically…. 5&6 are running hotter than the others… during the run-up… #6 didn’t wait for the run-up to separate itself from the rest. if all the EGT sensors are factory located with a jig… 5&6 are showing a possibility of a blockage… Running a Gami spread test can confirm how lean 5&6 are actually running… cylinder peak and associated fuel flow for each cylinder is really helpful to have… But, looking at the OP… isn’t it 1&3 that we’re giving us the tough time? How many hours are on the fuel injection system? It looks like the fuel divider may be throwing some funk into the program… This is where reviewing prior flights can be really helpful… Do 1&3 behave this way consistently? Do 5&6 behave this way consistently? If you get a tight Gami spread…. This will give a better idea of what is working properly… A really detailed run-up… will help ferret out ignition challenges… Something funky is going on… but, it’s not real obvious to my untrained eye… See if Savvy services fit in your budget… PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… Best regards, -a-

Additional thoughts… 1) nice Jack points! 2) Jack points typically sit against the painted surface… something to consider while trying to be friendly to the paint. 3) Steel tubes have two surfaces… probably no coating on the inside… especially where the tow bar slides in… 4) there are a few threads around here where people have detailed R&R of their gear… in order to paint them… 5) Soooo long ago, the pictures probably have been lost… 6) If it is possible to document the process of bringing the gear back to new… more people would love to have this service done… 7) I don’t think the gear are known to crack…. So hiding a potential crack with powder coating would be less of an issue… 8) Gear rigging, when done… is super important… a couple of small tools are used for that… 9) Changing rubber donuts… The mains are done using the weight of the plane… the nose gear, some people have built a hydraulic press device for that…. 10) gear shimmy is a sign of wear, or the nose gear not being set up properly… find the plumb bob procedure… 11) Lasar has been the resource for having the nose gear OH’d… Get ready to post before and after pics! PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… Best regards, -a-

BatteryMinder and Concorde go the distance… But, the battery does start to lose full capacity somewhere before six years… important for IMC flights… Minder or not… the battery stops holding a charge after six years or so… On a two battery system… the #1 battery is connected to the keep alive/kill the battery when things are left plugged in, or lights left on… Four years would be the equivalent of sudden infant death… sort of… or having a heart attack in your mid forties…. Soooo… Back to finding the real culprit… 1) a handy digital volt meter will tell how well the alternator/ charging system is working… plugs in the Liter socket… 2) Cleaning up all that oxidation showing on the battery post is quite important… hot water, sanding, battery grease were invented for a reason… 3) take battery to the charger… charge it up…. 4) If it holds the charge for a day or two… that is a good sign… 5) If it doesn’t charge at 14V, and read over 12V when disconnected… the battery is showing signs of age… or wear…. 6) Concorde has a nice booklet or two that gives great details… available on their site as well…. 7) in the hangar, in the mid Atlantic… the #1 battery will drain pretty low at the end of the month… 8) +1 for reading the LED lights on the front of the BatteryMinder… they tell a lot! 9) The good news… the BM is thoughtful… if something isn’t working right… it probably isn’t the BM… 10) don’t look at new battery prices until you have to… they could give you a heart attack before your time…. 11) if all this brings you down… having a pair of Concordes croak on a schedule is a bit of a drag…. 12) The best I got out of the competitor was only two years… so 4+ years is way ahead of that other battery brand… 13) Concorde is actually the primary recommendation in the O’s Maintenance/parts manual…. Gill is listed as an alternative. 14) I bought the Gill specific battery charger from Gill… their batteries croak with or without the battery charger… 15) Flying weekly, parked outside… I never charged the battery… always had Gill, always replaced every two years… 16) Capacity of Gill batteries must drop off before the two year mark… 17) Weak batteries become obvious when they can’t power the relays… you may just hear a buzz coming from the relay instead of a thunk…. And they fail to their NC/NO status…. PP thoughts only, I not a big battery fan… Best regards, -a-

Could be just a motor replacement or OH…? Something to consider… check with your favorite avionics shop… newer avionics are coming with their own fans lately… -a-

Mooney fuel tanks are overall pretty simple… The M20K got the most complex fuel system we have… from flapper valves, and overflow tanks, to the location of the range extension tanks… then there are the hidden o-rings in each fuel cap… then there is the whole priming system evolution… Kinda the price of greatness…. best regards, -a-

For fun… https://www.radiomuseum.org/tubes/tube_6au6a.html -a-

Putting in proper insulation can’t possibly require degaussing an airframe… Unless the shop intends to bring the industrial vacuum cleaner into the cockpit to clean up after the work… Large electric motors have been known to magnetize things nearby…. If you have done compass turns… and there is a heading that the compass hangs on….rests a moment… then accelerates to catch up… this is a sign of a magnetized cage… PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… Best regards, -a-

Setting the stops correctly is important… If the Gov fails… the prop will probably land on the high rpm stop…. If that stop isn’t set correctly… the engine can easily overspeed… Then as PIC… you quickly realize that controlling rpm with MP doesn’t work very well…. Lots of power reduction required to bring the rpm down… If you need the power to stay aloft, and the power is causing an overspeed… The follow-up overspeed maintenance requirements can be expensive…. PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… my M20C lost its Gov control when the shaft plug went awry… Best regards, -a-

Pinecone… When you get a chance… post a pic of where you stick the tank… I appreciate the logic… It might be something that we can standardize on…. MS logic rules! Best regards, -a-

C&W gets great reviews… No surprise that they are pricey… They sit on an airport right outside NYC… where the cost of living is just expensive…. If the plane has gone for regular maintenance including annuals at AirMods… going back to them would not be very independent… where one of the ground rules for wallet protection is to take it to a shop that is independent of its recent regular maintenance… There is also an MSC on the east end of PA that gets mentioned a few times around here with good ratings… +1 for Byron at RPM aviation at KGAI aka @jetdriven Other non-MSC shops I have used for Mooney Maintenance… Alan at South Jersey Regional… and Kenny at Princeton…. Both shops see a fair amount of Mooney traffic… PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… Best regards, -a-

Great reminder Brad! We haven’t discussed star washers in a while. If anyone is unsure why… star washers don’T work a second time… always replace… Best regards, -a-

Thank you… Looks like I didn’t write something very clearly…. the issues encountered here are not normal behavior for a normal chilly engine… +1 for cold affecting the probable sticky valves… let’s also add… 9) a dental scope of the valves would be interesting… Nice pizzas will indicate their structure is in good condition… but, if they have heat marks… HAZs… that would be telling as well. The rotators aren’t rotating… 10) +1 for the rope trick mentioned above… the valve system seems pretty suspect from the data we have so far… 11) Valve failure is often found during high power operations… like T/O… Soooo… don’t be in a rush to test fly without a good reason to do so… PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… Best regards, -a-

I’m Late to the party…. 1) 40°F is hardly a cold start… 2) if cold enough… the engine just dies without running lo boost for a while… 3) two cylinders are not behaving like the other four… so definitely not a cold issue…. Cold would affect them all… 4) could be fuel injectors… a gami spread, even a quick one… would ferret out Something as bad as this…. 5) once warned and operating… lean the engine until it turns off…. Do 1&3 quit first? 6) What does the run-up graph look like? 7) if you haven’t already… download the data… send to savvy, click share, copy link here… 8) Something quirky is going on…affecting only those two cylinders… post the link… Best regards, -a-