Immelman

3-5 days. For the repair, can’t speak to an overhaul time. Can’t complain about that! We’ll see how it goes, system is still en route to them.

An update: AWI in Minnesota quoted a reasonable repair estimate, and a reasonable cost for total overhaul, in case the muffler was not repairable. We are sending the system to them today. Part of my confusion here was that the person at my FBO doing the annual who made contact with AWI seemed like they got a confusing set of directions about whether AWI in Minnesota would repair it, or it had to be sent to Acorn in Canada....

Thank you! I’ve got a call into AWI hoping they can provide a reasonable repair quote. Or OH if needed.

Does anyone have a shop that will repair one of our mufflers? 66 M20E with the (original) exhaust system that joins the pieces together with bolts and springs. At annual we discovered one of the 3 bolt holes on one of the muffler flanges has broken. Previously we used Knisley Welding in CA who did great work for a reasonable cost. My IA told me that they were acquired by Hartzell..... as have been a number of shops, and that they apparently no longer do Mooney work, I have not yet confirmed this personally. Hartzell had previously acquired several other aviation welders... consolidation. The word I received was that under this Hartzell umbrella, the Mooney work was to be done by "Acorn" in Canada. Calls to Acorn to arrange for shipping the muffler go un-answered... I have thought about the power flow, and don't think a whole new system is worth the money. Any ideas of how to get this repaired? Or rebuilt?

That's an interesting thought on being kind to the wheel bearings on the mains. Hard to stop the nose gear though, but its being rotated back parallel to the axis of rotation so..... maybe a detour back to basic physics class is in order for that thought experiment! FWIW in transports the brakes are typically applied automatically to stop MLG rotation. No brakes on the NLG, they're stopped by snubber pads in the wheel well which makes an interesting noise for a few seconds.

Just my opinion: The arrow is a complete dog of a complex trainer. Don't go there. Your cardinal may do better. And I am not just saying that from a biased Mooney perspective.

I'm not on here much these days but if the OP still hasn't fixed it... The above link to the maxwell method of FINDING leaks is paramount. Get the plexiglass. Get the shop vac. And the soapy solution if you have to (Alternatively, water in the tank, looking for bubbles. If you use soap, you'll be using a lot of water anyway to cleaning out the soap properly. OP as I recall you posted a pic of fuel leaking from the inboard leading edge hole area, is that right? So get this, I had a leak that went down the forward spar, ended up in the cabin, and made a mess, an odor, etc. It traveled down the front spar..... it began.... midway aft, along a rib! The fuel's path of least resistance was to go forward, then sideways, and to the cabin. The leak was nowhere near where I thought. The culprit was compliance with an old AD/SB, where sealant on some aircraft was incorrectly applied over small holes along the wing rip, designed to let fuel not be trapped. The "repair" was someone gouging a bit of sealant out. That compromised the integrity of the seal there and eventually it leaked. My 50+ year sealant was good, the scraping on it, not so much. Once located the repair was pretty easy. A tiny bit of removal, an inch or two of new sealant, made sure the rib hole was not blocked.... boy, a lot easier than ferrying the airplane and having all tanks stripped. Yet it was still somewhat of a pain in the ass. Just less of a pain than the full reseal.

1966

15 yrs owning my E Have done 3 patches. Still original sealant. Every few years, something else starts a new, small leak. Usually ok to continue for a while. Yours does not look okay to continue. I figure I am still ahead vs the time, cost, and failure potential of having it fully stripped and resealed.

My Mooney survived 9 yrs tied out (wait list time). I flew and washed it regularly (California - no hail or freezing precip in the area). In the ensuing time I saved 25K of rent, 1/2 of the initial purchase price of the airplane. I fly airliners for a living, and being working machines, they are only hangared for maintenance work. And while I have a hangar now and enjoy it..... you can get by without it.

OP is describing an issue with the retraction lever/cable..... far different from the retraction speed adjustment on the pump. Where that cable attaches to the flap pump is not the most robust clamp. Basically #8 (+/-) philips head machine screw that clamps (pinches) the cable to a lever on the flap pump. The rigging for keeping the flaps down (or retracting them) is simply clamping the retract cable in the correct spot. I only point this out to suggest that if it gives you more trouble, to ensure that its clamped/fixed to the pump securely.

Vref it is! Its not broken (yet) so I won't be fixing it (overhaul/tanks) anytime soon! Do things when they're needed... And interestingly enough, Vref puts my plane pretty close to that original 50K valuation. Admittedly some things are subjective.

Hmm, tricky stuff. Thanks for the ideas! Frankly, its still clear as mud, trying to put a value on my plane. Agree, if and when I renew the engine and/or panel, a big increase is justified. But a 1966 airframe, engine at manufacturer (all indications are good, but its still TBO), and older panel just have me unsure. I bought the plane for 50K in 2007 and never bothered to adjust the hull value. Small incremental improvements along the way but nothing major.

Insurance renewal time, and the first in several years without an increase. I did not change my hull value at all over the past 3 years of market craziness. What's a good way to estimate what my plane is worth, as far as hull coverage, in the current market? I remember Jimmy Garrison had a calculator.... and AOPA vref. For what its worth, my panel is 80s vintage and ready for a makeover, engine approaching TBO, so I'm not expecting much, but am curious what its worth!

Call me old and chicken, but 10 no problem, 15 okay-but-not-super-comfortable, 20 absolute max, abusing the airplane a little. 66E short rudder. Frankly our airplanes do not handle stiff crosswinds with much grace.