Ned Gravel

Mark: There is a very knowledgable Mooney instructor (CFII and MEI) who swears by the 696. He wrote the MAPA article on it. He has posted some pictures of how he mounts his in his own Mooney at http://www.donkaye.com/Dons_Homepage/Garmin_696_Photos.html. Enjoy

Quote: tony I'm in the middle of my own field overhaul, have you guys considered putting in an engine analyzer? My mechanic says it won’t buy me anything and my money would be better spent elsewhere; however, it might be nice to trend the engine with all new or reworked parts. Any thoughts? He also said not to use mineral oil when we’re done, just to use the regular oil in the engine in I plan to use all the time during the break in without any additives at first.

Quote: georgeb The 830 is certified as a primary. You get all of the paperwork necessary for it. My AP took care of it all. I left the old TACH on simply because of the time, ans as far as the MP/FP, I've already got too many empty holes, so for now I have 2 sets. The Mechanical ones are a bit off of the newer Electronic 830.

I went looking into the profile settings for my own to see if it can be done, and I am now not sure it can. I could be wrong, and this has happened once or twice before, but I do not think we can individually change our own name on this list. At any rate, I sent you a PM with the contact details (as I know them) of the moderator who provides this forum. Hope that helps.

Steve: Welcome. Nice looking E model. There are two other list members up in your area. Russ Anderson has his A model just east of Edmonton at Cooking Lake and Eldon Gjesdal has a J model in Edmonton. I also met an F model driver at the COPA AGM in PEI this summer from Red Deer (or thereabouts). Are you keeping your bird in Springbank or elsewhere? Nice hanger BTW.

Quote: JimR You lost me there, Ned. Come again? Jim

Quote: Bacachero If dreaming to get a Lo Presti cowl....would the m20 turbo fit inside?

Ray: As someone has already alluded, the F is 10 inches longer than the E. Five of those inches are between the front and rear seats and, to compensate for a stable C of G, five of them are forward of the firewall. The F is also about 160 lbs heavier than the E in its empty weight - but you can check the type certificate to determine the actual difference. The J model (the one you were originally lusting after) is really an F model with a bunch of early LoPresti mods done to it. Roy LoPresti was either Director of Engineering or Vice President at the time of the introduction of the J and it was his baby. So the J is faster than the F, although many of the dimensions and weights are the same between the two models. The E is faster than the F because it weighs less with the same engine. So both the E and the J are faster than the F. Your choice between the E and the F will depend entirely on your desire (or compromise between): speed, and back seat leg room That's it. Hope this helps. Now go enjoy the hunt for your own Mooney.

There is a fellow from the aviating.com Mooney list that sold his 231 or 252 and bought a Baron that that has two IO-720s in it. Just to clarify, each engine is twice the size of my own IO-360 with twice as many cylinders. Enough about Barons, Baron. We now return you to our regularly scheduled discussion on Mooney's...........

Here is one data point. But it is telling. Takeoff and climb at 2200 lbs (375 below max gross). CHTs are all between 320 and 350. WOT, 2700 RPM, 120 mph, cowl flaps closed (don't need them open at these temps). Drop back to 2500 RPM at the transition altitude (whatever ATC has assigned to me). Takeoff and climb at 2575 lbs (loaded for Oshkosh camping). CHTs were all between 320 and 350. WOT, 2700 RPM, 120 mph, cowl flaps closed (did not need them open at these temps). Dropped back to 2500 RPM at the transition altitude of 4000'. In conclusion, no change. CHTs do not appear to be affected by the airborne weight of my aircraft (anywhere between 1620 lbs empty and 2575 lbs at max gross). I can confirm that my CHTs are very much affected by the repair of my doghouse (or baffling in your case). Mine used to run as high as 415 in the bad old days before my overhaul was completed and the doghouse rebuilt. Now they are in the bottom half of the 300s - and some days even cooler. Your mechanic may be missing something. I would get a second opinion from a knowledgeable A&P (someone who knows Mooneys) Mine is just one data point. YMMV.

Don't know about an STC, but my girl bought me a "Port-a-Johnny" three years ago, in case. Never used it, but it does take up space in the baggage area. See http://jakespilotshop.com/porta-john-bottle.html. It also comes with a special "J" fitting to transform itself into a "Port-a-Jane." Don't ask.......

One other good idea I have seen is to cut an empty quart oil container in half lengthwise, keeping the spout, and using the spout to connect to some sort of hose so it drains into the same container as the one catching the oil from the oil drain valve. Slip the cut container under the spin-on filter and it catches everything. Same sort of idea as the "forming funnel."

Quote: FlyingAggie Ned, I came down Thursday afternoon to see your plane, which I thought was parked among the Swifts in the vintage area, but you must have moved.

Quote: scottfromiowa I just don't use the gauges in plane...DON'T TRUST 'EM.

Quote: KJATCt Congrats!! Make sure to let your insurance provider know it should drop your rate, A LOT!!

Well it was a great adventure. IFR going (first time use of the ticket) and VFR coming home with friends in their Mooney (a C model of the same year). Pictures are posted to the photo album. Loss of hard drive on 1 August resulted in loss all of the photos we took ourselves, but we will remember anyway. Our other friends, Devon and Val posted a bunch of shots of their Osh adventure too (look in dmatsalla's photo album). Highlights: Great flight to Osh, via KANJ and KMNM gave Trey an old MOA tee shirt in exchange for a MAPA one. spent money on a yellow tagged GMA 340 to replace my Narco/NAT combo. listened to birds at night with my girl watched airshows every afternoon two dinners with Mooney drivers (first was our own crowd at Kodiak Jack's and the second was the MAPA groupies at Friar Tuck's) Got to meet Dave Keller and listen to him talk about his "impossible turn" Met Mitch and Jolie and watched Jolie give the first of her interviews Met Colin Bitterfield Met Eldon Gjesdal and the gang at the communications centre. Spent more money on Mooney paraphenalia Met more nice people (many of whom were not even Mooney drivers) Spent more money on partial panel covers, multi use ratchet, ICOM batteries, etc Helped push three or four other Mooney's into position, including our friend Susan's (see http://www.airliners.net/photo/Mooney-M-20E-Super/0425523/&sid=858a884871bd13e8c57551c01ef43e68) Flew home safe.

Scott: That is something I have thought about as well. I met someone once who did just that, but I did not get any details from them and I have since lost contact. But it is still attractive to me. That is, right up until I can afford TSO engine management glass which will replace all of them as primary.

Scott: Deltahawk folks told me the same think in Osh. They want interested parties to step up so the airframe STCs are paid for by someone else. I think they are looking at groups like the American Bonanza Society and MAPA to get their manufacturers onside. Like we have any clout?? But, all things being equal, it does provide for an interesting alternative to $6.50 per gallon for a diminishing 100LL supply.

And here is another data point. When I was at Osh, in one of the big hangers with all the suppliers, I ran across Mitchell Aircraft Products and the fella behind the counter showed me a replacement for my 6-pack cluster gauges that looked really good. One thing they do is put some sort of transducer at the end of wire to replace the way your oil pressure gauge gets its information. No more oil in the cockpit. Anyway, the whole assembly costs about $550 USD and, until I am ready to find a cheaper (less than $1500) TSO'd primary replacement for these six and the MP, Fuel Press, Tach, it is an option too. I told the guy that my fuel gauges are so bad that one reads 1/4 at empty and the other reads 3/4 at full. Never trust them and always measure with the stick and do fuel burn calcs in flight. I also told him that some folks believe this is probably because of the senders. He said that might not be so - the old gauges themselves might actually be out of tolerance. So....differing opinions and one more option to choose from. YMMV. They are at http://www.mitchellproducts.com.