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carusoam

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Everything posted by carusoam

  1. Key things here… 1) Buying first airplane… 2) Picking the way through the coarse details… 3) defining the mission is a good idea… 4) Do you like speed and efficiency? Go Mooney! 5) The M20C makes a great first plane ownership experience. 6) The other option given… is neither speed or efficiency for the size of the engine/fuel burn it has… 7) You may want to review the economics of GA… just a bit, before proceeding too far. 8) Select the engine that you want your Mooney to fly behind… based on gph/$/hr… O360 IO360 TN’d or TC’d IO360 then go bigger…. IO520 or IO550, with or without turbos… Then select the body length you prefer…. short body mid body long body 9) Don’t rush to get too much machine, until you pick up the experience to match… 10) When you have the matching experience… go all in…. Go Acclaim! PP thoughts only, my first airplane was an M20C. A short body, with the 180hp O360… Best regards, -a-
  2. It really helps to know where the location of the ship’s instruments are… 1) Some instruments can power two different displays… 2) Most instruments only go to one display… 3) OilT and P… are sensitive to location in the engine… 4) Some engines have a L/R mirror image location for engine instruments… 5) Often the spare location has a threaded plug in it, waiting for you to ask… Hey, what’s that there for? 6) The low cost way is to install a sensor in a nearby available hole…. But, may not meet primary instrument requirements… 7) The certified way for primary instruments… the exact hole is probably needed… where the mirrored location is probably similar, but not on the STC anywhere… 8) Sooooo…. If you are retaining the ship’s gauge because it is primary…. Find the OilT sensor on your engine… and see if it has a mirrored location on the opposite side of the engine… 9) If you have done all that… and are using a mirrored location, and the OilT indication is that far off…. You have proven to yourself why all Mooneys using that engine, use the specific location to mount the ship’s gauge sensor… 10) Essentially, we are measuring the operating temperature of the oil at that one location… for standard reporting purposes on the instrument’s face… yellow and green arcs, and redline, are calibrated for that one location… 11) engine operating procedures for OilT are specific to the OilT at that one location… in ordinary conversation, it is pretty easy to ignore the rest of the complexity that goes with it… 12) as far as needing the reading glasses… that is why some people elect the JPI 930! For a few dollars more… The iPhones with the Super Retina display… kind of raised the bar a bit! Standby for somebody with real knowledge of your engine and sensor locations… PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… Best regards, -a-
  3. Find our PSEngineering guy around here… @Mscheuer He loves to answer questions like this. Trying to add a ‘stereo’ intercom to a non-stereo audio panel… may add to the complexity Best regards, -a-
  4. Hey Lee! @laytonl You have impressive stats in your family! We just reached 2nd gen…. This week! Congrats to Levi! … and my son, -andrew-… Best regards, -a-
  5. That light is the typical twist/adjustable iris type… (like the gear lights) It typically comes on with the cabin lights. Most get twisted closed and forgotten about. You will remember it on a night flight while looking for the fuel valve… Especially if you need the pvc valve handle to reach it. Trying to find the light in the dark has a similar challenge…. So leave it shining, a little bit. Best regards, -a-
  6. 1) I really like you writing style! 2) Hank’s is my second favorite… bullet points! Life is Short, Fly Fast! When dough or fuel is short, Fly efficiently! Always fly on the downwind side of the big H! Pray that Dan get’s a tailwind for that last hop! Go Mooney! Best regards, -a-
  7. There is also the difference between spending personal dough and corporate funds… Corporate funds are easy to spend, while doing the right thing…and the corporation decides what is right. Personal funds, always limited… no matter what the owner wants to do… Using the cost of a paint job vs. being outdoors for a decade… To make this argument work… Can require a full refurb… it isn’t just the exposed paint taking a beating… outdoor exposure… also includes the yahoos parked in your neighborhood… Stormy seasons… how interested are you in tying down everyone’s planes nearby…? Damage by other people’s planes by loss of their control… comes in a myriad of whacky ways… New pilot/ owners have great imaginations…anyone see a pilot doing a run-up, using the tie down ropes as a brake? picture what happens when a weathered tie-down actually snaps…. Best regards, -a-
  8. @gwav8or, You just received the ‘need’ for a great upgrade…. we have the EI guy around here if you have questions… Best regards, -a-
  9. Nothing cooler than to walk down stairs to the hangar half of your hangar home…. To check the POH for something, or prep for tomorrow’s flight. nothing feels worse than getting home and then thinking you left the master switch on or something plugged into the cig liter socket… nothing more dangerous than driving all the way to the airport and then… waiting out weather… chances are you will be more ready to launch into something you would prefer not to. For some…. Aviation is a large part of their lifestyle… Go Hangar! For others… it’s just another vehicle to be cared for… like a ‘95 Firebird, rusty headlight covers and all… Go Tie-down! First half economics… Plenty of time to get things right… Second half economics… House is paid. Kids are out of the house. Excess cash actually exists. Clock is running down…. PP thoughts only, not a sports expert… Best regards, -a-
  10. All of the mechanical MP gauges have a weep hole… That lives in the 1/8” line about 1” from the gauge… it is a calibrated hole with a tiny diameter… All the vibration on an unsupported, soft, aluminum tube… causes cracks to form at the hole… This all takes about 40 years to happen… cut, the end off, drill new hole, reconnect… The dimensions of the weep hole is in one drawing, but not all… in the instruments section of the maintenance manual… I was looking in the M20C drawing, but was pointed to the M20F(?) drawing…. My second call to the Mooney factory in Y2K or so…. The engineer (Bill Wheat) was incredibly helpful. Trying to measure the broken hole is a real challenge… Accurate MP readings depends on the calibrated aspect of the weep hole… Getting the drill bit… takes time to get shipped… unless you have a really good tool store nearby…. See how much an EI MP gauge costs for comparison… no weep hole required. PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… Best regards, -a-
  11. My M20C lived out doors for decades… a decade while I owned it, in NJ. Andrei, You must be a young guy… If you were an old guy… you would have witnessed a brand new car lose it’s paint, and the ceiling fall down on your head… and have the dash board split across the top… and your thoughts of buying another new car, didn’t happen. Yet, the $200 lawn mower bought in the 90s… looks and works like it is brand new, after decades in the garage… Being out in the weather is terrible for machines in general. Around here… There are forever-planes that get treated as if they will last… forever. They tend to live in hangars. Then there are the aviation experiments… I’ll buy this plane, and see if aviation is good for me. They tend to save dough on everything until a forever-plane becomes part of the plan. Real confusion occurs when your experiment goes into the second decade…. Update, or buy a forever plane. Soooo… you have a decade of brand P experience already…. A decade outside. The Mooney is less elements sensitive than brand P… there are good covers available… start there. And heating systems… The M20E makes a great retirement plane… care for it like you will have it deep into retirement. Once you have to have a hangar…. It is worth the price. You do have an apartment for your girl friend, don’t you? Your wife will love the hangar… Best regards, -a-
  12. Two reasons to find the other end… 1) The light indicator won’t be sensing what it is supposed to… 2) If that is a vac sensor… the vac may be open to the atmosphere allowing air and dirt to get where it doesn’t belong. If the low vac light isn’t on… check the bulb… For the tapered pin… 1) New parts from Mooney, contact your favorite MSC… 2) Pre-flowned parts, find @Alan Fox PP thoughts only, not a mechanic…. Best regards, -a-
  13. FAA invitation to a presentation regarding parts support…. Vintage Airplanes… = before 1980 You have asked us to notify you when a webinar is scheduled that meets your criteria. The following webinar may be of interest to you: "Vintage Aircraft Replacement and Modification Program VARMA" Topic: Scott Fohrman from the Chicago Aircraft Certification Branch will be doing a presentation on the VARMA Program On Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at 11:00 Eastern Daylight Time (08:00 PDT; 09:00 MDT; 10:00 CDT; 05:00 HST; 07:00 AKDT; 08:00 Arizona; 15:00 GMT) Select Number: EA17124379 Description: Scott Fohrman from the Chicago Aircraft Certification Branch will be doing a presentation on the Vintage Aircraft Replacement and Modification Program VARMA. This program is indented to help owners and operators of vintage aircraft (certificated before Jan 1, 1980, fixed wing, unpressurized, under 12,5000 lbs with a reciprocating engine) find and use replacement parts or processes, when the parts are no longer available, obsolete and out of production. To view further details and registration information for this webinar, click here. The sponsor for this seminar is: FAASTeam The following credit(s) are available for the WINGS/AMT Programs: Basic Knowledge 3 - 1 Credit AMT: 1.00 Click here to view the WINGS help page
  14. +1 for for the T/O quick check of power production… 1) MP (O3 somewhere near 29”, near SL. 2) RPM (O3 2700) if using 280hp, 2500rpm 3) FF (O3 somewhere over 28 to 30 gph) if using 280hp, somewhere over 25gph (?) The first two are enough to know your T/O calculations are going to work…. The third one indicates the internal cylinder cooling is working as expected… Back in the day… trainers didn’t come with FF gauges… so this detail wasn’t considered… There is a lot to do when racing from zero to Vr… it really helps to know you are going to look for these details before pushing the throttle in… PP thoughts only, not a CFI… Best regards, -a-
  15. Great conversation! NA or TN’d there are some differences… and many similarities… in my O1…. 1) I prefer to fly LOP. 2) Long body speeds as they are… I start slowing down a couple miles from the traffic pattern… 3) This gives the opportunity to have gear down, and T/O flaps deployed once in the white arc… 4) This is also the time I go into ROP mode… not full rich. 5) the LBs got a blue arc on the EGT gauge for climb power… a 100°F range… starting about 200°F ROP 6) the Acclaims have the G1000 with the white box instead… same range, same engine safety, same operability for the go-around… 7) Essentially my first Gumps occurs a bit earlier than the rest of the world… 8) And the mixture is now steady in the blue box… 9) In the traffic pattern the usual flaps and gumps checks… and full rich at my near SL airport…. Note: leaving the engine leaned from altitude… won’t be noticed until the plane is on the ground… it will stumble and die on roll out. if you are fast on the mixture control it runs easily… if the prop stops turning… you start to wonder if the next start will be a hot, cold, or warm start… wondering if the plane’s momentum will carry you to the next turn off… Note for Dan… this is my NA IO550 experience for my O3 powered O1. Consider using the white box on your G1000’s EGT/TIT sensor..(?) going full rich at sea level the EGT will be lower than the white box… in a slight too rich zone…. But, realistically when we are turning 2700 rpm full rich is considered 30gph… (310 hp discussion) it’s hard to get there even at full rich… The big difference from standard Mooneys… the EGT gauge is calibrated with real temperature readings, and an arc is ‘printed’ on the face of the instrument… that makes it really easy to put the engine in a safe ROP zone… not too rich, not too lean, no matter what altitude we are landing at… the IO550s got a standard EGT sensor location for this important ship’s gauge. A location machined in the exhaust’s 3 into 1 collector allowing for the calibration between sensor location and the instrument readings… where an 1/8” really changes the temp being displayed… Oddly, for years… the G1000’s EGT display in the Ovations was marked TIT… it took a while before the software ever got updated… PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… or CFI. Best regards, -a- Soooo many Mooneys currently have nice engine instruments, and their sensors installed in standard locations… it wouldn’t take much to have the blue box actually indicated on a JPI or EI device… making absolute EGT readings totally useable…
  16. Hmmmmmmm…. Long bodies being used as forever planes…. it is quite possible… Once you get past the initial capital expense challenge… Storage, annual, and insurance aren’t a whole lot different than for an M20E… plane value is only a part of the insurance bill… If FF is a challenge…. The IO550 can be dialed back to 50°F LOP or more at lower altitudes… with really tight Gami spreads possible…. No excess fuel is escaping past the exhaust valve this way. The hard part… flying slowly is more efficient than flying in full flaming dragon mode…. You decide the day you are flying for this… all knobs forward vs. most knobs not all the way forwards… Tough choices… Go Mooney! Best regards, -a-
  17. Hey all! My favorite topic! How to get the best NA Mooney at a fantastic price? The Eagle as stated above… started out as a decontented Ovation… Nothing that couldn’t be reversed, or added, or adjusted… re-contented. 1) they cut the power output… to less than the Ovation 1. 2) put it back to the O3’s 310hp engine.. and call it a Screamin’ Eagle. Same engine, different governor, tach update fuel adjustment, and possibly a different prop to meet the STC requirements… 3) they cut the fuel capacity… to less than the Ovation 1. Keeping the weight down to match the reduced power output… 4) cut a vent hole in the fuel neck to keep the fuel neck from limiting the capacity… 5) the paint… lots of white, and little color… less than the Ovation 1. 6) Add a big red stripe with a swoopy style… to go with the Screamin’ Eagle decal on the tail… 7) Limited avionics… compared to the Ovation 1. 8) Either way… the Ovation 1 avionics were good… but who is still using DME and ADF approaches…? 9) Go all color screens with WAAS capability… 10) Rudder trim… Eagle didn’t get it. It is super nice to have. Especially with 310hp, and long descents from altitude… 11) cockpit sound insulation…. Ovations got some upscale treatment that the Eagle didn’t… 12) there are plenty of other Mooneys that decided to update this as well… 13) cruise speed for the Eagle… is slightly less than the Ovation… because the O1 got a 2500 rpm red line… the Eagle, slightly less… 14) Go with the 310hp STC… and you get to choose what rpm you want to cruise at, up to 2700 rpm. The STC writer recommended 2550 to match the prop’s design efficiency… These details were discussed early on when @Cris (RIP) bought an Eagle in about 2010 or 11…. Cris was a businessman, a pilot, and a CFII… listed in the MAPA who’s who of CFIs…. Cris was a skilled aviator and liked his Garmin and Bose devices… I gave Cris insight on knowing what was available for his Eagle…. He helped get me get flying again after some time off in 2012… that included getting a new prop and the 310hp STC for my O1… If you go this route… make sure the Hartzell spinner OD matches the diameter of the hole at the front of the cowl… it should be a smooth transition…. or consider the M-T composite four blade… Flying around at 175kts ROP… you want the transitions to all be smooth! If you are into efficiency… 165kts LOP… you really want the smooth transitions… Go Standing O! Or Screamin’ Eagle… you decide! If you go with the standard Eagle… be ready to calculate your T/O distances and climb rates… as they are most affected by the lower power output…. Some short fields may seam shorter… PP thoughts only, not a CFI… Best regards, -a-
  18. Thank you! (To All) One of these days… I’ll spend some better controlled time on MS! There is nothing more enjoyable than being part of the Mooney family. Best regards, -a-
  19. Hey all! Mark’s drawing is here… Let me invite Mark and Doc… @gummirat and @m20doc (this one requires a separate email) Lots of good effort being applied to this project. A few things we know…(?) 1) For user produced parts… we need to be as close to original dimensions and materials as possible… 2) hard part… , rubber on its own… changes dimensions continuously over time… it slowly flows from various forces… both internal and external… (similar to glass in old churches… yes glass actually flows, very sloooooowly) These changes are hard to predict, and hard to tell what changed over time. 3) Modern donuts are designed in the same way as the Mite’s donuts were… to behave the same way and do the same thing… just scaled appropriately… 4) Anyone that has seen a decade old donut compared to the brand new donut… they start out as a very flat washer shaped (or pipe shaped) items… and squeeze outwards and downwards over the years… with internal stresses also being relieved over time… unfortunately for me… under higher weights, the Ovation squeezes its donuts about 1.5X the rate the lighter Mooneys do… on the same donuts. 5) all of the curvy shapes most likely occurred over time, under various weights, through various temperature swings… 6) For this application… the bulk properties of the rubber are an important part… compression and rebound. Some dimensions are primary to make sure they fit on the tube, without sliding around… not too small, not too big… pure mechanical fit. Then there are these magical discs of metal… between the donuts. 7) the magical discs make the dimensional shifts of the rubber… much less important, and allow for slop in dimensions and donuts sliding or rotating around the tube… 8) If you can do computerized stress analysis on a washer shape and the fancy shape of the aged donut… you will find the edge shape effects don’t provide any support for the plane… kind of like wing tip affects and loss of lift…. 9) compression of a donut shaped object… (engineering 101) all dimensions increase outwards in the radial direction. So there isn’t a risk of the inner diameter some how constricting under load and crushing the steel tube… 10) Stress = Force / Area… for the donut… weight / area of the donut’s surface. 11) If you look closely… the M20B and M20V are using the same donut dimensions… (?) 12) Oddly, the nosewheel donut didn’t change characteristics when it carried an O360 or a TN’d IO550… 13) the donut limitations didn’t arrive until the long bodies came on the scene… where there is a different number for MGTW and MGLW… this is more the entire landing gear limit, not just the donut. 14) next possible steps… obtain the OD, ID, and thickness of the most original part…. Grab dozens of measurements all around… and average them… combine with a pic… Expect dimensions within a 1/10” for this part, is more than Mooney ever needed… All of the other curves, bends, and bumps… are most likely the effects of time and stress… 15) the part was originally designed as a basic rubber pad to support a Mack truck’s engine in the mid 1900s… (possible quote from some Al Mooney history book) Al Mooney was good at finding things that already worked, that were commercially available, instead of re-inventing the wheel… 16) Don’t forget… the part was probably also marked on the outer side with a date code for date of manufacture… month / year. It helps to put a line under it… so 6 and 9 don’t get confused… over the decades… 17) Rubber chemistry… including % X-linking… notes on cross linking… more X-linking makes the rubber harder… less X-linking makes the rubber softer, but flows more over time… Often, X-linking in rubber, slowly increases over time… making the rubber hard, and less rubbery. rubber that breaks down due to environmental stresses… often becomes sticky on the surface… the amount of carbon black in the formulation also has affects on the final properties… that also include UV resistance… 18) Fortunately for MSers… Gummirat is our resident rubber technology guy! 19) Looks like the pic below, indicates a donut with the following dimensions… OD 3.25” ID 1.0” Thickness 1.0” 20) include the OD of the steel tube that these donuts get mounted on… it is really important that the donut fits over the tube without being stretched to make it fit… ******* Note: these are old memories of a private pilot, that once had some additional knowledge of polymers, but not a lot… hoping that this is helpful… Best regards, -a-
  20. See how far Big G has gotten with their AP… They were steadily working their way through the alphabet… The oldest was probably the 65 M20C… The M20A is slightly different from the M20C… The M20C already had the servo mounts from the factory from the Brittain system that was there originally…. Make contact with the Garmin factory… get on a list. Or make a list for them…. An AP is a wonderful thing to have for a plane…. Best regards, -a-
  21. Welcome aboard Shawn! I’ll let @M Terryknow you are asking… Best regards, -a-
  22. Welcome aboard Scott! You are in the right place. Best regards, -a-
  23. Nice to see @TrekLawler checking in… Additional data has been supplied above… Best regards, -a-
  24. wait a sec… another Mooney at central Jersey airport, Manville NJ? I just posted a YT video interview with the pilot of the last one…. Best regards, -a- New ownership, reported in March of this year… engine out, on T/O… more of a gear ripped off than a gear up…. https://www.tapinto.net/towns/hillsborough/sections/police-and-fire/articles/plane-taking-off-from-hillsborough-airport-crashes-into-cemetery Inviting @Alan Fox to see if he is familiar with this one…
  25. Check to see what the JPI is set for seconds per data point… Newer ones can get one per second… Standard setting is a goofy six seconds… neither will be fast enough to catch this transient with any accuracy… PTTs are a simple switch to ground… See what else is accidentally connected to it…. Reviewing the health of the field wire is a great idea… alternators are known to stop working when the field wire stops being connected…. PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… Best regards, -a-
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