cliffy

Are you looking to buy a Mooney? If so it would help if you narrowed it down to what model(s) you are interested in so the correct advice could be passed along to you.

I just made a mount that goes in the corner of the left window just by the ice window (ice window still works) for my droid phone and I'll be using it on a trip tomorrow to see how it all works out that way instead of holding it. It looks like the guys doing this are just doing it for fun right now. All volunteer effort. I'm going to donate some money just to help them and see where this goes (I have NO connection with them at all). They evidently had someone donate an ADBS system to then so they could play with the coding for that also. This might turn out to be something good.

Anyone playing with Avare yet? My wife found it and put it on her Nexus and I put it on my droid phone. Looks as good as my I FLY 700 which I am comparing it with AND all the charts and plates are free! It's being done by some computer geeks on a volunteer basis and gets updates about very day or 2 but it works fine. Still testing but impressed.

Frequent flying does more to enable your engine to make TBO than anything else. If you're not doing 50 hrs a year (as a bare min) or more you're not flying enough even to stay current let alone keep you engine in good shape.

Chasing leaks can be a PIA. Wash the engine and go run it for 5 mins then look for the oil trail. If you can't see any oil. cowl it up and fly it around the pattern and then check. Eventually you will find the leak. You say 6 qts and it stops? MY first thought is the engine breather line. Where does it exit from the cowl? Right near where the breather tube exits? Also I'd check real close on the rocker drain line connections. Sometimes they are hard to see.

Those with batteries mounted in the tail cone may find they have a longer battery life due to less heat than the ones with the battery in the engine compartment. As far as capacity checks go, all batteries come with ICAs, Instructions for Continued Airworthiness. Just like say a Standby Vac System that has ICAs to inspect it for operation every year, every addition to your airplane has an ICA associated with it. It's a requirement for STC approval. ICAs need to be complied with but I'll bet that not 1 in 1000 ever comply with the battery ICA. It gets checked for water level and corrosion and that's all. The airplanes that go to annual at a full repair station may find that they won't do the annual unless they do the capacity check. A picky Maintenance Fed just might just have an issue with you if you don't have a capacity check done. Remember, you might want to re-read 91.403. Putting it off on the A&P if it isn't done won't cut it. Just sayin

True on the night flying EXCEPT for my caveat, I fly exclusively out west with tall granite clouds that can't be seen at night. Unless you have taken off from say KPGA at night with no moon and used Rwy 33 You have no idea how dark night flying is. Trust me, it's total IMC from the end of the runway. Nothing, and I mean nothing but a total black curtain. Don't think for a moment that star light will do it. Now if the 260 had only stayed above the big numbers on each section of a Sectional chart they wouldn't have made grave for themselves. I might think differently if I had miles of corn fields below me. I have one area that I fly around after I leave my home airport that if I had a problem, there is no safe place to go even in clear weather.

WOW! This is a bit of fresh air. As a now retired ATP, I used to do 600 RVR Autolands in 757s and Airbus's. I used to practice by hand flying an ILS to CAT III 50ft Mins in clear weather just to be able to in an emergency. I was doing 75 hrs / month average in good weather and bad and I was flying a big jet, not my Mooney. Since I retired I'm doing 100 hrs /year! Not any where near what I was doing. SO my own mins have undergone quite a change. Marauder is just about right on. I'll do a climb out (maybe even KLGB) or an approach but each on has a decision tree to what my mins might be that day. Rarely, if at all, do I see a full mins approach anymore, rarely will I even do one as I'll pass on the flight and wait a day. Full IMC cross-country is something I don't do anymore either. 24 hours will in 99% of the cases, cure any weather issue. When I bought my Mooney 14 years ago I did a study of all night time single engine accidents over a 10 year period. I wanted to know how safe S/E flying was at night. There were 263 of them. I read every one of them. 260 of the 263 accidents were nothing more than running into a mountain. So, the conclusion, at that time, was that the chances of a problem were very slim BUT, and a it is a very BIG BUT, if something does happen, at night, out west where I fly, I'm in deep doo-doo. So, I just don't do it. If one wants to look up a report/hand book for a Mooney BFR check ride, a book will pop up and inside one of the subjects will be "Recency of Experience" as it pertains to accidents. The graphs show that no matter what your total time is if you fly less than 10 hours every 90 days YOU are at a very high risk for an accident. No wonder every insurance company wants to know your flight time in the last 90 days! Keep that in mind. Lastly, I have something I try to pass along to any young or newer pilot if I feel they will take it to heart. It is my feeling that unless you are "tempered" as a pilot, you are not a safe pilot and if you live long enough, you might become a safe pilot. By tempered I mean, until you have done something while flying, that you know YOU did, and it scared the living beejesus out of you, you are not tempered. Until then you will always be tempted to test the edges. You don't need to find the edges, It's not worth it. Cliff Biggs ATP, 767,757,737,727, A320, LRJet, CE500, MU-2, Wright Bros Award A&P 46 Yrs, B707, B727, B720, B747, DC-10, DC9, DC-8, CE500

This is an interesting thread as it deals in part (a/c maintenance) with an article I just wrote for "The Mooney Flyer" e magazine ( www.themooneyflyer.com ). As to the question of airline pilots having to know about the AD status, they don't. As the rule we operate under is found in Part 91 not Part 121 (for airlines). Part 91 (for us) in 91.403 states the following- 91.403 General. (a) The owner or operator of an aircraft is primarily responsible for maintaining that aircraft in an airworthy condition, It does no good to try to blame a maintenance shop or A&P if you miss an AD on your airplane. The owner is responsible, period! ( I know, I know, the word period has a bad connotation today :-) I will paste the article I wrote below for those that might be interested, it's also Mooney focused. ARE YOU SHAKING YOUR TAIL? How One Question Can Lead to another and another and another- I received a call from a local shop asking me to look at a Mooney that was in the shop. They are not Mooney experts and much to their credit, they know their limitations. I got to the airport and walked around the Mooney to the tail where the other mechanics were standing. One of them asked, “Is this normal?” and proceeded to move the tip of the tail up and down which was accompanied by a loud “click” “clunk” with the tip moving almost a half inch in both up and down and fore and aft directions. Hmmmmmm! Of course, all of us know what causes this, right? They had the tail cover plates off and I went over and held my finger on the tail mount bolts and then had them move the tail again. Sure enough, I could feel movement in the bolt bushing area. On closer examination I could see a gray discoloration around the bolt head area and no evidence of any lubrication in the area. In fact everything I looked at in the tail area showed no evidence of lubrication! I suggested that they not fly it until the wear was repaired and I asked (here’s the first question) “who does your maintenance?” The airplane is not based here year round. I was told that a local shop in another state has done the annual for several years. After a little chit chat I mentioned that I felt that the airplane had not been properly lubricated for some time and I asked (here’s question number 2) “How much do you fly this every year?” The answer, “Somewhere around 200 hours a year.” Hmmmmmmmm! I then asked (here’s question number 3), do you do the lubrication AD every 100 hours” The answer, “We do an annual every year.” Hmmmmmmmm! Next question (here’s number 4), do you know about the lubrication AD? “No, our mechanic does an annual every year.” Hmmmmmmm! I’m going to digress a little here to say that this is not the first time I have run into aircraft owners who, for what ever reason, do not know what THEIR legal requirements are when it comes to maintenance on their airplane. To many owners, the mere fact that they have an annual done every year is all that they are responsible for on the maintenance of the plane. Unfortunately that’s not completely correct. Let me quote from FAR Part 91.405- §91.405 Maintenance required. Each owner or operator of an aircraft— (a) Shall have that aircraft inspected as prescribed in subpart E of this part and shall between required inspections, except as provided in paragraph © of this section, have discrepancies repaired as prescribed in part 43 of this chapter; ( Shall ensure that maintenance personnel make appropriate entries in the aircraft maintenance records indicating the aircraft has been approved for return to service; © Shall have any inoperative instrument or item of equipment, permitted to be inoperative by §91.213(d)(2) of this part, repaired, replaced, removed, or inspected at the next required inspection; and (d) When listed discrepancies include inoperative instruments or equipment, shall ensure that a placard has been installed as required by §43.11 of this chapter. If we go back one paragraph to 91.403 it states- 91.403 General. (a) The owner or operator of an aircraft is primarily responsible for maintaining that aircraft in an airworthy condition, including compliance with part 39 of this chapter. So as we can see, you as the owner, have more responsibility than just bringing your airplane in for an annual every year. YOU have to manage the maintenance all year long. If you have a recurring AD, like our lubrication AD 73-21-01, and you fly over 100 hours in the year, YOU have to make sure that the AD is done. Your maintenance shop will probably NOT know you are over 100 hours in the year until he sees your plane at the next annual. It’s your responsibility to tell him when the AD is due between annuals. This goes for all recurring ADs, so keep your eyes open. Back to our story: After discussing how important lubrication is on a Mooney and how he needed to address the tail bolt issues, he mentioned that they had to jump start the airplane with cables even though they had an external power plug. I asked (here’s question number 5) “Why?” Because the aux plug doesn’t work was the answer. Hmmmmmmm! It was then volunteered that the airplane had had a gear failure and had been repaired but they thought that the gear doors didn’t close all the way! Hmmmmmm! The owner was convinced enough to ground the airplane and start working on the tail hinge. After 8 shop hours of trying to get the bolts out, a screw press was made to carefully push out the bolts. They were completely dry, rusty and worn. New bolts were tried in the holes and the bushings turned out to be good. Only the bolts and the missing washers on those bolts were needed to bring it back to no slop! Hmmmmmm! The owner then took all the panels off the plane and started to lube everything movable, as it should have been done every 100 hours. Having my Maintenance Manual handy I showed them the electrical schematic for the external power plug. In trouble shooting it, I found that the external power relay was missing the ground/diode wire from the coil to ground. Easy fix, just no one knew how to fix it. Hmmmmmm! Now to the gear problems- With the plane on jacks and the belly open I went to the nose gear first. Fore and aft, left and right lots of play in the vertical bushings and bolt. Twist the tire and way too much play in the steering linkage. In checking the mains I find a little play in the retract linkage but not too bad. OK, lets suck’m up and see what that holds for us. Sure enough, the mains don’t go all the way up. Short by 2 inches, gear doors not flush at all. And this is just a few months out of an annual inspection! Well, let’s see what the manual extension holds for us- oopps! It doesn’t go down! Turns out that the release lever works but the crank handle won’t crank! So, let’s recap what I find on the gear: 1) Nose gear is way worn in the steering linkage and pivot bolt/bushings. 2) Main wheels don’t retract properly. 3) Emergency extension doesn’t work. 4) One frozen Heim joint on the retract bars for the nose gear. So, the owner now has a new list of items to fix before he can go fly again. As you can see by this long litany, one question can and will lead to many others when it is noted that there are problems with your airplane. It should be blatantly obvious by now that a maintenance shop has to have specific knowledge of Mooney maintenance practices to be able to do a competent job. The owner “thought” he was getting good maintenance all these years BUT? And, as an owner, you can’t just live with your head buried in the sand when it comes to aircraft maintenance. Remember, YOU are the one in the airplane and as the owner; you have the legal responsibility to maintain your airplane properly. The more you know, the safer you will be. Cliff Biggs ATP, 767,757,737,727, A320, LRJet, CE500, MU-2, Wright Bros Award A&P 46 Yrs, B707, B727, B720, B747, DC-10, DC9, DC-8, CE500

That's why I like my "charlie armstrong" gear. If the handle points up, the gear is down :-) Of course the manual gear has a micro switch in the down and locked socket that can also get out of rig. Either the finger on the switch bends up or the gear handle sleeve doesn't go far enough up into the socket but everyone should be checking the sleeve engagement prior to landing Right? :-)

All your previous posts referenced Part 23 certified aircraft. What might be the situation with CAR3 certified Mooneys as many of the older ones come under that cert?

I agree completely on the thread pitch issue. The "strip out" factor with the base metal being cast aluminum may be a factor in the thread pitch. Also I would have thought that someone would have thought to use drilled head bolts and safety wire them in place so that they had less chance of coming loose. Also from the start, as a practicle engineering matter, I would have used the largest bolts for for available space right from the begining. Oil samples and their analysis may not always be the final or correct answer. To rely on one "answer" completely is nothing more than burying your head in the sand. Had I "listened" to the oil sample alone, I would have lost the engine and probably the airplane. I have preached for years (been doing this since the late 60s) that engines and airplanes talk to you. You just have to learn the lingo and pay attention.

I was able to send the crankcase to Tulsa and have it welded and redrilled. There is a service letter that shows to use the next size bolt also, which I did. 1/4-20 up to 5/16-18 on both of the idler gear studs.

Just going through my old posts and surprised that no one wanted to chime in on a real problem. It did happen and was an eye opener. I grounded the airplane. Cogitated about the problem and torn the engine down (O-360). When I removed the rear case the left Idler gear and support post fell off in my hand. This "post is tied into the oil galley so the gear axel has lube. The 2 1/4X20 bolt that hold it to the crankcase had worked loose and wallowed out their respective holes to 2X their normal size. This is where the fine aluminum in the oil came from. Because this post opened up the oil galley the oil pressure went down as the oil sprayed into the rear case area of the engine. because the breather comes off the rear case all that oil spray started to come out the breather where I had no oil before. Because the LEFT idler gear was loose the left mag changed timing slightly all the time causing the slight roughness. Moral of the story? If the engne is talking to you-LISTEN and do your own analytics.

Why? Because it's not LEGAL unless you're an A&P. Simplicity or complication plays no part. There are only about a dozen fuctions that a non A&P can perform on an airplane (and he must be the operator and a licensed pilot) and they are spelled out quit distinctly in "Preventative Maintenance" in Part 43.13 And, the work does have to be signed off in the Mx log book.

This is what my engine was saying a few years ago. Anyone want to venture what the problem was? I started to notice breather oil on my belly when I had never had any before. Then, on one flight I noticed a loss of 7 pounds of oil pressure all of a sudden. Still above mins all the time. At the same time I noticed my left mag just slightly rougher inflight than the right. Enough so only I could tell. It was oil change time so upon draining the oil I noticed fine aluminum powder in the oil. Sent out an oil analysis but it came back as normal. Sent in the filter for microscopic check and it came back normal. What would you do? What was wrong?

When I was there I don't remember "months" backlog but they do work well and the price is hard to forget.

My 64C has an Accutrac II and I am very pleased with it. With 7 Type Ratings from 767 down I've flown a lot of autopilots, done CAT III Autoland etc and for what this huff and puff A/P does, it does it well. I use it ALL the time in GPS track. I don't have Alt Hold yet but I will as i just went by the Tulsa shop last week and had a nice talk with them Yes, they are backed up due to the Cessna article but in 8 to 10 weeks they should be doing OK. I, too, have replaced one servo bag in 8 years along with one time to the shop for the computer for a couple of transistors. Very Cheap to maintain and it does the job. Had one years ago in a Navajo and had no problem then either. Alt Hold can be added at any time.

I've used one for a couple of years now on my 64C and as an A&P I watch it closely. I do fly IFR and I have a big problem with these filters. Namely, the "fuzzy" stuff gets blown off of the filter screen by rain and now I'm down to just metal screen material and will probably be going back to paper of Brackett filters. I got about 1/2 inch increase in MP over the foam one but I don't think it's worth it considering the above problem.