testwest

So, the way you can tell the Klixon from the E-T-A switches is by carefully looking at the switch actuator. The Klixon switches have hot-stamped lettering and the letters are actually indented some into the actuator. And, there is no printing on the very top of the actuator, that is the portion visible when it is off. The E-T-A switches are pad-printed, they look a little crisper and there is lettering at the top of the switch that also indicates its function [sTROBE LITE, ELEV TRIM, etc] that is visible when it is off. Here are a couple of photos: From left to right: The Master switch is a regular (two pole) switch, not a switch-breaker like the Klixon or E-T-A switches. Next is a Klixon RADIO MASTER switch in black. Next is an E-T-A EFIS MASTER switch, in black. Last is a switch blanker, these are made out of Royalite (Kydex, actually). Here is another photo: These are white Klixon switches, with one black one thrown in for good measure. There are also white E-T-A switches, I don't have any pictures of those. Shameless plug, the switches in the second picture are for sale $75 each. You will pay a lot more for new ones, even the blank ones in the original post here will cost you more. See the Avionics/Parts for sale forum. Thanks!

+1 for Able Air, they were just as helpful and cooperative when 1JX was at Whiteman in the early to mid 90s. Kinda unsure on that filter Aerotech installation though. You do match the installation diagram on the Aerotech Components site, but exploding pump vanes would exit the open tube fitting on the back of the pump. However, the Aerotech filter does protect the pump against any foreign object entering the system upstream, which is a very good thing. I may have had the FOD thing happen on the twin Mooney and just had to replace a 400 series pump with only 62 hours on it, along with cleaning carbon "chum" out of the rest of the system downstream. And yes, that is an excellent post, quite befitting a JPL employee. We had one of our best Boeing flight test engineers transfer there a few years back, and her "farewell luncheon" included an admonition not to crash the Cassini probe into Jupiter. Geeks rule.

PM sent to Cliffy regarding my "For Sale, Parts" post.

We are finally getting around to selling the Klixon rocker switches (actually, switch circuit breakers) from our 1977 M20J. Putting in all new E-T-A black rockers instead. Here is a picture, click to enlarge: PM me with what you like, Paypal accepted and encouraged. EDIT: As of 9:30 AM Pacific Time Thursday August 20 I still have available: NAV LITE (in white) $75 including shipping PITOT HEAT (in white) $75 including shipping BOOST PUMP switch (very slight flaw) see below. FLASH SALE on this, $49 plus $5.25 shipping, PM me! There is a small crack in the actuator in the BOOST PUMP switch cover, the cover should probably be removed and a small drop of epoxy dropped in from the back. These are very easy to pop off without tools.

Byron, did you get an all-new cowl?

and we have this combo flying, see the picture! We did get the special PF mod for the Lopresti cowl. IIRC, the difference is in the #2 header. Check with Powerflow, they should be able to help. Have all of the STC paperwork in hand when you call.

Byron! ...a Cummins in an F-series.....wow. you are 100% correct!!

And this is why I put a KN63 DME as an initial install on my other airplane. Look at your approach plates and find out how many ILS approaches also require DME if there is no GPS. There are not many, so folks in the GPS affected areas may find themselves dealing with "radar required" ILSs without a DME on board.

jbs007, Scott (KSMooniac) knows exactly what he speaks. The KG102A remote gyro does require ongoing maintenance. You really should take it to an avionics shop for a checkout. You may find (as we did) that is so far out of currency as far as mod status goes that it could not be made reliable without a lot of money (i.e. not economically repairable.) And, it is somewhat heavy. The Aspen needs one "antenna", it is called a remote sensing unit, or RSM. It includes a GPS antenna, magnetometer and OAT sensor. Looks sorta like a fat GPS antenna. The Aspen also gives you immediate and potential capability that the Sandel does not, including ADS capability now and a pretty decent autopilot capability (Avidyne DFC90) in the future. I would not spend money on an initial installation of old technology, with the exception of DME (like the KN63).

Hi Simpson I truly appreciate your input to this forum. I think I might have a configuration that may be a good jumping off point. We have a 1977 M20J that originally came with the Brittain autpoilot. We upgraded to a single Aspen PFD and took out all of the Brittain equipment and the KIng KCS55 HSI, which means we have no autopilot at present. Driving a DFC90 with the Aspen and your own servos would be a dream come true. As KSMooniac says, the Mooney market has not been "particularly" well served by AP manufacturers. I think there may be a lot of M20s with the Brittain equipment that would take it all out if given a good package on a single Aspen +DFC90 + servos. Not only would the capability be far better, one would also gain about 15-20 lb of useful load. Those old avionics and components weigh far more than folks realize. For example, upgrading to LED nav lights and LED ACLs (anti collision lights, formerly strobes) netted us 6 lb. I weighed each component to verify this!

Simpson, really happy to have you here. Competiton and communication with real users is how to succeed.

Scott, you win this one! For everyone else, KSMooniac removed his throttle quadrant out of his 77J and put in the newer center console, which also means a new nose gear box. Neither project can be justified on logical grounds, but emotional ones, well..... Actually, affinity for engineering things is a big curse. People who are "normal" have much simpler lives.

Everyone I have ever flown with has suggested that spark plugs are very prone to "fouling" without perfect technique on taxi out with respect to mixture. I am becoming less and less convinced that lead or other combustion by-product fouling is the actual mechanism in so many bad run-up checks. My theory is this: the plugs are not fouling during preflight ground ops, they are just not sparking across the intended gap in the cylinder. There is empirical evidence to "suggest" (nothing more) that perhaps a high resistance plug may have some dependence on temperature, so that as the plug body and resistor warm up during ground ops, the resistance goes down and finally the spark plug will pass the energy down the center electrode assembly as designed. This may be why the "lean 'er out and burn off those fouled plugs" technique appears effective. I just encountered a bad plug during runup of our '77 J, I know that the data were recorded on the JPI930, but have not downloaded yet. The plugs are fairly old Champions. I'll get more information soon, hopefully. I assume you all have seen the article for the Aerostar group that really increased the awareness on this whole issue. My mechanic, Jim Musgrove, and another pilot with a Seneca here in Seattle were ground zero for the spark plug resistance issue. I discovered the same thing on my Aerostar with Jim's help and wrote this article on the experience, here: http://www.openclip.net/Benchmark/AOALog2011SpringTwoSparks.pdf Tempest has been distributing the article ever since, and their better product and the article combined to basically bring Champion's business in spark plugs to its knees. Champion finally changed their design to be similar to Tempest's, but I bet Champion's Kevin Gallagher has a Normy voodoo doll in his office stuck full of pins. Ever since I changed to Tempest plugs in the Aerostar, I have not had a single bad runup. And this is without changing technique on taxi-out mixture management. So I think "fouling on taxi out" is a big myth. If you have a bad runup and can tell which plug it is, go back to the hangar, pull the plug, clean it and test its center electrode resistance. More than 5000 ohms, note the value and test it again stone cold. It may be higher! If so, I wanna know about it, I feel the need for another article (publish or perish).

Scott is right, there are a lot of parts that are different! We started with the parts manual and basically copied the later style. Boy it was expensive, starting with the new dorsal fairing in front of the vertical stabilizer. It is a crapload of work. But it sure works good, basically a hurricane in cruise flight with the valve and a couple of the eyeballs open.

Scott did you sell this? There was a WTB for one over on Beechtalk, (Peddler Talk, FS-Other Aviation).

Yep, I had to replace one of those. Lake Aero Styling had them at the time. They just got a few truckloads of parts from Dennis Bernhard, who ran Lone Star Aero for many years in San Antonio. Dennis in turn had previously cleaned out the factory of nearly all of the mid-body parts when Mooney quit making the J and K. Give LASAR a call, they may be able to hook you up. I can't remember the price, but they were not cheap, sadly.

SOLD, thanks everyone Up for sale is an Aerosonic Encoding altimeter, P/N 101627-01344. It has a yellow tag and calibration from Airtech Instruments in Seattle, ready to install to replace your broken one! This is a bargain at $750 outright. PM me for details...thanks.

Bumper, PM sent on small o-rings!

You are welcome! Always happy to help.

They are, but there is no bus bar on that side.... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Here is a picture. The EFIS Master is 8 amp, E-T-A style. The RADIO Master switch next to it is a Sensata Klixon TC-20 style switch....I am trying to find a black RADIO Master E-T-A so they match. When I do, all my Klixons will be sold.

Yep, they are expensive. List is about $220. Tell them at LASAR that I sent you, maybe you can get a discount.

Sure do! LASAR has them. They say "EFIS Master" and are black with white lettering. 8 amps rating, these are the E-T-A style. If you need a white cover with black lettering that may be a bit harder, unfortunately. Lake Aero Styling and Repair www.lasar.com

I just recently visited Paul Loewen and the gang at LASAR in Lakeport, California. They bought all of Dennis Bernhard's (Lone Star Aero) parts stock, which he in turn got from Mooney when they stopped building the mid-bodies. Paul said they have a brand new (NOS) J cowl in the inventory. May want to check with them.