Ned Gravel

Turns out I am so popular, I don't even have to write my own posts. Others do it for me.......

Quote: sellis HopePilot, What is the s/n of your aircraft? I will find the part number of the switch for you.

I had Nulites put in my panel as well when I bought the aircraft in 2005. The Tach and MAP gauge on the right do not have them because of the restriction on space so one of my shoulder lightes is pointed at them. BTW, these are the new shoulder LEDs so no issue there. I have a separate rheostat on the panel for the Nulites. The one for my shoulder lights is in the cabin headliner. System gets better and better every year.

Clarence: The comment from 5854Q got me thinking of how the section handles induced forces and, as a result, stresses. A modification of the section along the edge of the glass, may, in fact, be a stress inducer and the little lip it produces (what you are actually looking for) will distribute stresses unevenly over that section of the glass. It may not cause any problems later on and I do not have the tools to do the numbers, but the distribution of stresses during and after installation, if there are any, will be uneven. If any forces are imparted to the glass, the focus points (the inside edges of the lip) might experience more stresses than local areas surrounding them - making them somewhat weaker than these other adjoining areas. In the end, the differential may not be enough to worry about, and the actuall stresses induced may be too small to cause any problem, but the engineering consideration is an interesting one.

I guess any suggestion to buy a Mac instead is not really going to be considered, is it? For home use, I owned an Apple IIe from 1984 to 1992 at home. PCs from 1992 to 2010. Today it is a Mac. At work, I used PCs from 1992 to 2001. Then, at a new job, it was Macs from 2001 to 2010. Today it is PC. Only ever had one problem with any of my Macs from 1984 to today and that was because the OS was not able to run some of the newer apps in 2007 (I had a 4 year old OS at that point in the office). Over the same period, I have rebuilt every PC I owned (4 from 1992 to 2010) at least twice because of some virus or or registry error. Today I work on a PC at work (because that is what IT built for the company) and my home computer is a Mac laptop. Cost, support, and whether or not we agree with the tactics of the company that builds them will always influence our decisions, I suppose. I have just had better luck with Macs than PCs (and I was an X-base programmer for a while in all that time). YMMV.

Quote: Parker_Woodruff Strobes won't cause the melt. It's the steady white forward facing recognition lights.

Good to know. I just had the wingtip and tail strobes put on a difference switch from the belly one so it can now act as a recognition light. We don't normally get 100+ degree days at the places I fly to so I am glad that I can now move along the ramp and taxiways using only the belly recognition light. I can now refrain from switching on the wingtip strobes (good practice anyway) and the nav lights (having learned something here today) until I reach the runway threshold Thanks for the idea...

End of an era: C-FSWR came out of annual last Friday and Clarence had taken care of a whole bunch of things. All of the breakers are new Klixons. All of the wiring in the avionics bay now conforms to requirements. Amazing what some people will do to take shortcuts. I have a 406 MHz ELT in and working. Plumbed to the panel as specified in requirements. Heater now connected to muffler shroud. Overhead potentiometer replaced and two LED shoulder lights installed. GMA 340 installed to replace NAT 80 and Narco CP 135 combo. I now have a cockpit speaker and and audio panel capable of driving it. Strobes now plumbed in to allow the belly one to act as a beacon without turning on all the other strobes. Davtron 701 installed the provide me with "in your face" tuning indication for my ancient Bendix T12C so that I can configure the aircraft for missed after passing the FAF without taking my eyes off the G/S and Loc. (In Canada we are still using NDBs as holds following some missed approaches). (I know, I know, I will get a 430 to solve all that when enough folks are headed to a new Garmin and the price of 430's comes down.). SB M20 150A was done to reroute the 6 guage wire from the main buss to the secondary buss in the cockpit. Neat service bulletin. It has the wire go forward to the firewall from the main buss, then cross the steel cage at the same place twice so that the electric field generated by one direction cancels out the electric field generated by the wire coming back. Then it follows the firewall and crosses the steel cage in exactly the same fashion to head to the secondary buss. This is where I got to teach the right hand rule to the young AME (Y'all call them A&P) contortionist who did this. Redone insulation in the side panels (much quieter aircraft), and finally. Redid the cushionning in the front seats. No more magnetism induced to the compass. Better audio panel (with stereo to the front seats). MUCH better ELT. Safer aircraft all round. Thanks Clarence.

Lood: See http://mooneyspace.net/index.cfm?mainaction=posts&forumid=2&threadid=1139 for previous discussion on this. I measured mine four years ago using a protactor and a plumb bob on the "level" line and the panel to determine its actual tilt. Mine was 8 degrees. YMMV.

I am one of those folks that flies their pre-69 E model in the yellow arc all the time. I will slow it down when encountering turbulence, but if the air is smooth and the power is there, the advice I have been offered by long time Mooney drivers of these short bodies is to be careful but not let the yellow arc prevent making good use of the airframe's slipperiness. Even during cruise descents, I have to watch so it does not exceed Vne. Descents are <500 fpm and the MP is drawn back to 21 inches or less. Above 10,000' I am already at 20 inches or so anyway. YMMV.

Quote: Amelia I have the drawings for both of them, if you decide you want to see- or Ned Gravel on this board has scanned them, and can probably email them so you can have them fabricated. I believe they're hard to get, otherwise.

I used to get grief from the peanut gallery too for pulling my gear up too soon. But after this discussion, I may go back to my old home drome (Rockcliffe - CYRO) and do one where I cycle it through one whole cycle on liftoff before leaving it up - just to see what they say.

I also agree with Jesse. Most cases is turning base at 90 mph in the white arc. Turning final near 80 mph and then it is into the speed previously derived from the formula (generally between 70 and 75 to cross the fence and over the numbers). Land with full flaps. IFR approach is a little different. Only change is prior to visual acquisition of the runway, and that can depend on the length of the runway. FAF at 90 with gear and TO flaps down (2 pumps). If the runway is not made, I am already in the missed approach configuration. Just need to add power at MAP or DH. Now comes the difference based on runway length. If visual acquisition is made with 1000' or more of altitude, in go the remaining flaps and land as if VFR. If visual acquisition is made only below 1000' AGL, and on 4000' or more of runway, I let the speed bleed off but change nothing else. Normally near 75 mph when crossing the fence. Three times more runway than I need to get down safely even without all four pumps of flaps. If visual acquisition is made only below 1000' AGL, with less than 4000' of runway, I will put in two more pumps of flaps and trim up. More than TO flaps in my 65E does not increase lift, but it does create serious drag. Normally nearer 70 mph when crossing the fence. YMMV

Quote: Hank Boat = a hole in the water you fill with money. Airplane = really fast transportation, or really expensive sight-seeing. Can be combined into a single flight. Neither are cheap . . .

My girl and I both knew that when I retired from the Army we would be looking at buying either the boat (41' Morgan centre-cockpit Out Island) or a plane (no type specified in those days). That was 1992. Here we are 19 years later. My first foray in to aircraft ownership was in 2002 and today I am a Mooney driver. Two years ago we rented a Hunter 41 for use in the North Channel on Lake Huron. Took another couple who used to sail the Skagerrak. That trip convinced me that we had made the right choice in buying the airplane instead of the sailboat. I spent some part of every day on that boat with a screwdriver in my hand trying to fix something or other. Did you know the taffrail seats are made of plastic? With a little cosmetic wood on the top? Screws through the stanchions into that stuff don't hold. While I have always considered sailing to be my favourite sport, I am happier owning an aircraft than a ketch. Besides, it's a Mooney. Now back to our regularly scheduled discussion of medium body Mooney's that do not have manual gear.

Pat: I had the same issue which, when we discovered the source, resulted in a major overhaul at 1941 hours. Here is what we did to determine the source: Let the engine cool. Use a spray bottle with avgas in it to disolve any oil on the exterior surfaces. Keep a pan under the nose gear to collect all the drippings. When the entire block is clean, take it outside and run it for two minutes or so - just enough to get the oil well circulated. Then bring it back into the hanger and start shining lights into all the cracks. And/or feel for oily residue. If you see any, use a cloth to wipe it so as not to burn your fingers. If that doesn't work, then it may be time to apply some penetrant and see what it says. Good luck.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I found the answers I needed. I received description and pictures from someone on one of the other Mooney lists. He is obviously skilled in the use of a PACE kit and I now know exactly how to connect each of the Davtron leads to make it work properly. Great and supportive community.... Thank you.

Now before anyone gives me a hard time for: a. using and ADF, and b. using one as old as a T12C let me say that this puppy is VERY reliable and works over quite a distance. Besides, with y'all about to lose your satellites to 4G telephony, I still want to wear both belt and braces. Now to the question stumping me. What are the connections between the Davtron 701B (basically a frequency counter that shows a digital display of the frequency being tuned by the T12C) and the ADF itself? The pinout for the T12C is: Pin 1 Sense antenna Pin 2 Loop shield Pin 3 Loop Input R1 (Tin) Pin 4 Loop Input R2 (Copper) Pin 5 Optional Audio Amp A+ Pin 6 Dial Lamps Pin 7 Tuning Meter (ext) Pin 8 47Hz switching Phase 2 Pin 9 Ground Pin 10 Servo DC Output Pin 11 Spare Pin 12 47Hz switching Phase 1 Pin 13 Servo DC Output Pin 14 Headset (500 ohm) Pin 15 DC In + Pin 16 ADF Servo Signal Output I get that one of them is probably connected to the T12C's pin 7 for the external tuning meter, but I really need to know if anyone has hooked up one of these, or even better, has a copy of the pinout for it - the Davtron 701B that is....

OK Guys, beat this: Ute and I would have made a date to go to the local mall on Sunday to go look at cards and see who could outdo the other on pulling heart strings, but she had already got me a card. Shucks........ And after she spent all day Saturday with me in the hanger polishing C-FSWR while I fought with wiring under the dash. So, I decided to get her back. I would go and get her a card, but I would break the "no present on Valentine's Day" rule and get her something. That would teach her, eh? While getting the card, I spotted a Swarovski store next door. That's the ticket! I'll get her a little something shiny! See the picture below. Shiny but not too expensive. Looks like her birthstone too. All good, right? Wait..... It gets better.... She called at work before lunch today and said: "Google – Titanic heart of the Ocean Necklace." So I did, and that allowed me to walk around the office all afternoon like the cat that ate the canary. Best Valentine's day present I have ever received. Did I mention she cleans and waxes Mooney's?

Quote: FlyFstr Re: "I will be doing the entire IR training in the plane, no simulator for me." My suggestion - You should spend some time in the sim. In my experience, I found this to be the best way to learn IFR different approaches, arrivals, holds etc. In fact my progress improved substantially You can also stop anytime and discuss things with your CFI. Lastly, no need to worry about other traffic, which can cause distractions in the real world.

Becca: There are a set of drawings available, but I am not sure if one can have the parts manufactured from them. I have a set that were contributed by Amelia, another forum member. If you want a set, let me know via e-mail and I will e-mail them to you.

Kevin: Good work on this. Demonstrates good customer service. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Congratulations to Craig as well. A website like this one has come of age when an OEM uses it to announce something this important to the wider community.

Over the last five years, I have been able to participate in two of my annuals. They are "owner assisted" in that I get to help. I was able to help by removing belly panels and the underwing inspection panels. I helped with the oil change and the inspection of the oil screen. All because Clarence likes having us interested in our own aircraft. It makes his job easier if we know more about the airframe, the engine and the aircraft systems. I was an "apprentice" and that was OK. Things are different five years later. The oil screen is gone and I have an overhauled engine with an oil filter. I now live 10 Mooney minutes away from his shop (instead of 90) and I can actually drive to help work on the aircraft when it is there. I now bring my own tools to Tri City Aero and the interior is currently half stripped out so that I can change some electrics under the headliner and install new insulation materials. The circuit breaker panel work is now done. Clarence is doing the annual this yearwhile I am overseas. I won't be back till Friday. I will plumb the wiring for my new 406 MHz ELT within the next few weeks and help with cleaning up the wiring behind the panel. New seat foam will make old seats more comfortable. Everything I do is inspected before anyone signs off and that makes me feel safer. A bit of a different approach for an owner assisted annual, but it works for me when I can participate.

When I bought mine, I wanted to change the registration from C-FSWR to C-GDBE and call her "Debbie." I had to buy the registration from a parted out Arrow that used to belong to our 11-people partnership. When I originally floated the idea, our Chief Flying Instructor opined that resurrecting an old registration was bad luck although I read Jolie's entry with interest and her resurrection of "Maggie's" registration. So today I have a mental block to giving her a name. My girl, Ute, calls her "Baby" and that is OK with me. But my baby is Ute, so that won't be my name for our Mooney. I did name the first 5 cars I owned (1971-2003) and we all called the Arrow "Debbie." C-FSWR's previous owner calls her "Swear" and I am not really keen on that name. But I would probably like to name her. Just haven't decided what name to give yet.

Oh yeah...... Know that feeling....