cliffy

Also when you put the panel back on align the fasteners into their respective holes and then tighten the rows from the middle to the ends alternately one side to another and the corner fasteners last, It helps settle in all the fasteners. pull the panel down evenly and makes the job easier

Shadrach - you are absolutely correct in that just because one is licensed does not mean one has the skills to do the job properly. I see it too many times. Likewise, an owner but not mechanically inclined, who works on his own airplane without the proper references and guidance is just as, if not more, dangerous than an A&P not willing to learn the correct way of doing things. A starting point and a legal requirement is to have the appropriate reference materials READILY AT HAND while doing work on airplanes. I just ran a short maintenance clinic at the last MooneyFlyer flyin at KPGA on owner performed maintenance and Preventive Maintenance. It was well attended and it was fun and enjoyable to show those owners what is entailed in doing things properly. I think I enjoyed helping them more than they enjoyed watching and doing. The first thing I told them was to get the proper MM and 43.13 I have personally seen in recent time, A Mooney owner working on his own landing gear because it wouldn't retract fully (3" short) and it was signed off for annual 3 weeks earlier. (many underlying issues with this particular Mooney) A starter electric cable replaced by the owner with a car battery cable. Nav Lites replaced with LED bulbs from Canada NOT legal (view angles, color and brightness, PMA, STC on and on) An owner that was changing his main tire until I yelled at him to stop. He was loosening one of the 3 wheel half bolts without deflating the tire. A 172 in the local shop that had a mag fall off (literally) 10 hrs after an annual. A Mooney that had 1/2 inch play in the tail bushings a month after an annual. This is all in the last couple of years at one airport and not my almost 50 years of A&P experience. Me and another IA shake our heads every month at something that comes through the shop either owner work or other A&P work.

Probably not. I've seen many airplanes that wear out their tires that way. Mine just wears even. My guess would be a gear alignment issue but I've never looked into it too deeply.

I've never had to rotate my tires as they wear evenly across the tread on my airplane. I was just passing the info along from the tire and tube manufacturers recommendations. If your IA feels comfortable in using used tubes it's his choice and license. Not second guessing him.

There are lots of very knowledgeable people on this forum as is evidenced by many of the threads herein.. There are A&Ps here that can bury me with some of the good work and knowledge they have shown here. But as is evident by some of the postings, basic airplane and maintenance knowledge is sometimes lacking. I am only postulating in an effort to show those who may not know how or where to find the information a route to more answers for their questions when and if they come up in the future. It is not meant to disparage anyone. If they are asking now they will have questions in the future and MAY want to have the references available to research if they are that interested. Some folks have no idea where this info is archived and how to get ahold of it. Lastly, in decades of working on airplanes I've had numerous instances of owners (not A&P rated) working on their own airplane and doing what they think is reasonable but in fact is so in violation of regs, MMs, good sense and safety that they put themselves at risk both legally and life threatening. I am trying to help those folks learn the correct and safe way of doing things on airplanes so they don't get into trouble. .

I'm sure my next door neighbor who has a PHd in mathematics could understand it all but I'm back at 1+1=2 I'm envious.

Found it in the ditch when everyone came to work in the AM. Nobody around. Happened at night. Taxied off the yellow line, across a double yellow line, across 2 helicopter pads and another yellow line and into a 12' wide, 5' deep cement drainage ditch Word has it he was going home after someones wedding the evening before. Really want to see the completed pics. It looks cool!

601RX +1

ELB speed= ears laid back in 727 parlance. The op question gave me a headache trying to figure it out maybe for me that's why its 3 knobs full fwd for T/O, 2 pulled back for cruise and the 3rd pulled back for landing or red line.

And have a conversation with your IA as if he signs off the annual and a FED has a bad day the IA may get dinged and the guy signing off the tire also. I have known it to happen but rarely.

AC 43.13-1B is available for download for free from the FAA Be aware its large. It can also be purchased in book form from A/C Spruce Any Moomey MM and IPC can be purchased from any Mooney dealer or MSC Mooney International lists the various ones on its website

Except we had 8 straight days of rain last week (first time ever for us) with flash floods drowning my garages. At least I don't live in a dank, dark, wet cave in the NE :-)

Can't find any tire manufacturer that recommends reusing a tube. They can stretch up to 25% with use. Stretch means more chance of folds and failures. Thinks of all the rubbing and small movement between the tire and tube as it flexes during taxi and landing. The tube wall is thinner after use. Just look at the rubber powder (not the talc) inside the tire when it comes off. It does happen, why take the chance? Tire AND tube=good to go.

Our airplanes were made by the Mooney Screw Company. The only reason for our planes is that they needed someone to sell the screws to!

Might be a fun formation clinic to T/O together, fly the trip and a formation landing :-) AFAIK, there are only 2 stiff legged Ds left in the inventory. Mine is NOT one of them. I have suckum-ups installed also. Speed is a relative thing. All props are slow to me after thousands of hours in 727s and Lears :-)

We have a 231 here at our airport that taxied into a cement drainage ditch with a new motor and prop BUT NO INSURANCE! Literally not a single piece of the airplane is salvageable-wing, tail, gear, prop, fuselage, engine, etc, all bent. Older radios too Definitely not a candidate for your kind of restoration that looks so good.

Have you thought of wheel balance at take off if you leave it on? How about centrifugal force slinging it around at the rpm of the wheel at 70 kts? Even if its light weight! Also makes a pretty long arm to be slinging around hanging on the end of the tube valve stem at high RPM. What if it (and it will) breaks the rubber valve stem from the tube right at the exit from the wheel with all that force at T/O? Will the wheel cover cut the side of the extension if it sticks through because of centrifugal force? The red dot on the side of the tire marks the light side of same and the tube valve stem aligns with that when the tire is installed for proper balance. Now add you little ditty there and where is your balance at 70 kts RPM? (several hundred RPM). Any bending of the tube valve stem will induce stress cracking and early failure of the stem. Using a long stem tube instead of a short stem tube will cause the same failure mode. Just askin'

If you own a Mooney, and you have questions about its maintenance, why don't you own the correct Maintenance Manual and a copy of AC 43.13? There is no mystery to aircraft maintenance. It's all written down somewhere. First stop consult the correct Maintenance Manual and if you don't find your answer there, go to 43.13. 95% of all your questions will be answered. This is not to mean that the good folks on this board won't chime in and help it is just that I have always wondered why, if someone is interested in the maintenance of their airplane, why they don't have these books? Just asking for general interest.

AC 43.13-1B has an entire chapter devoted to Corrosion- Chap 6. The Mooney Maintenance manual should be consulted first and then if found lacking in directions go to 43.13. I've included a clip from Chap 6 on filiform corrosion. Everyone should have a copy of the MM and 43.13 if only for reference and general information 6-16. FILIFORM CORROSION. Filiform corrosion is a special form of oxygen concentration cell which occurs on metal surfaces having an organic coating system. It is recognized by its characteristic worm-like trace of corrosion products beneath the paint film. (See figure 6-8.) Polyurethane finishes are especially susceptible to filiform corrosion. Filiform occurs when the relative humidity of the air is between 78 and 90 percent and the surface is slightly acidic. This corrosion usually attacks steel and aluminum surfaces. The traces never cross on steel, but they will cross under one another on aluminum which makes the damage deeper and more severe for aluminum. If the corrosion is not removed, the area treated, and a protective finish applied, the corrosion can lead to inter-granular corrosion, especially around fasteners and at seams. Filiform corrosion can be removed using glass bead blasting material with portable abrasive blasting equipment or sanding. Filiform corrosion can be prevented by storing aircraft in an environment with a relative humidity below 70 percent, using coating systems having a low rate of diffusion for oxygen and water vapors, and by washing the aircraft to remove acidic contaminants from the surface.

Hank 431 is stronger, better corrosion resistance and still magnetic :-) 17-4PH hardens well also. Machines good too!

A couple of things come to mind. How much equipment has been added/subtracted from the airplane since the last time it was weighed? You might want to reweigh it and figure a new CG Has the elevator/stabilizer trim/operation angles ever been checked and confirmed including the elevator trim assist cable tension as shown in the TCDS? I would start there.Your A&P needs a cable tensiometer to do the trim assist unit correctly. And he needs travel boards for all the other angles. Don't forget to check the aileron and flap angles with travel boards also at the same time. They can have an effect on it also. You have to make sure everything is correct as per the TCDS before you can start to work on something "wrong". "If" it's wrong it's either a CG issue or a control setting issue.

Found it! http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgPolicy.nsf/0/6A24902AE5F1AEAC86257EC1005B2FBC?OpenDocument&Highlight=ps-ace-23-08 Final 9/14/15

the referenced policy report shows as a draft and not final Anyone have one showing final adopted date?

7 hours Page AZ to Tucson by tires on the hiway 2+20 by M20D By airline from here 2 hrs just to get on the airplane (if it goes), @ 1 hr flight, 2 -3 hrs wait in PHX + 45mins flight to Tucson. Almost 7 hrs by airline.

What material are the "official" jack points made from? SS? 303? 304? Grade 8 is heat treated and pretty strong but then again I go old school and use the tail ring also (but not on big engine Mooneys:-) Your milage may vary.