FoxMike

Super job and I really like the seats.

Attended a drive by shooting in Denver at Coors Field parking lot. Got an invitation from UC health to set an appointment for getting shot this weekend. Around 8:45 I showed up and joined a line of cars that drove through the parking lot. I stopped twice, once to verify identify and again to get shot with Covid vaccine. From there you park in the lot for 10 minutes ( check for adverse reactions) then head home. The whole process took 30 minutes. It was very well run. My hat is off to those that organized this operation. It was so much fun I am going to do it again late in February.

The wiring diagrams that I have seen from Mooney go as far as the circuit beakers. I guess Mooney figured that avionics would change over time so the information would be of limited value.

You need have the fuel pump referenced to the deck pressure. I would not install a new fuel pump unless it had provision for a pressure line. I bet your mechanic has already told you this. If he has not it would be best to find a new mechanic.

When I bought my Bravo (250hrs TT) the engine burned 1qt every 12 hours. by the time the cylinders hit 2000hrs the consumption hit 1qt every 4 hours. To get a good trend check the oil in the morning before a flight. Checking it after a flight will not allow enough time for most of the oil to flow back to the sump. I have been told by engine shops that a properly broken in TIO 540 should do about 1qt in 16 hours while new.

Installing an MT prop on a Bravo does not require any mods to the cowling. Putting the lower cowl on with the 4 blade prop takes a little extra care. The original prop I owned has been sold.

If you really want the airplane have the current owner straighten out the registration. When he gets done make sure it has been done correctly. Hire someone who knows about these things to help. Changing an N number is not done casually, you need to know the reason(s).

I had a problem once while flying my Bravo. I started hearing "low fuel" loudly over the headphones. The warning would not silence. I had just added fuel so I was not concerned about the fuel but trying to communicate with the tower while the warning was blasting was a hassle. Turns out Mooney had PS Engineering provide audio panels with voice alerts. No one could assure me that would happen again so I removed the input wiring from the audio panel. The original audio panel was a 7000. I have since replaced it so I only had the problem once. Mooney had the sound cards installed in the PS 7000 but never activated the system. Good thing, it is really a pain. If you think you might have an audio panel with the warning system in it, I would suggest you have the radio shop remove the wires (inputs) from the panel so you will not have a surprise.

Excuse the sarcasm but Sandia has been selling these units for years and has been aware since the first unit was sold that the attitude indicator was junk. I bought one when they first became available. It did not work at all. Sandia sent a replacement right away and it did better for a while. Over the years I have gotten upgraded units some worked some did not. Sandia has had plenty of time to debug the unit. It could be the only way they will get a fix is to hire Garmin as a consultant. Bet they could provide a fix pronto, but at an outrageous cost. I would bet that B/K put the pressure on to get the FAA to issue the AD.

My power charts are out in the hangar but I use27/2200 when I am out chasing a hamburger. 28/2250 or 2300 when I am going somewhere.

Here are a few thoughts about the Bravo. Bravo is slower than the Acclaim and more nose heavy. The Lycoming engine is heavy but it has a wet head. The wet head pours oil over the exhaust valve guide to cool the guide and valve. The wet head came about in the late 50s. The Aero Commanders and Beech Queenair were trying to do pressurization and the piston engines were not up to the task. Lycoming found the engines could be a bit more serviceable by using the wet head. Beech Dukes were another example. So the Bravo cylinders make TBO but the exhaust systems are troublesome. The harder you run the engine the more you need to repair cracks in the exhaust. The other large item with the Bravo is the crankshaft. An AD note condemns all the cranks built around the late nineties and early 2000s. Amazingly some engines turn up with the condemned cranks. Good pre buys eliminate the problem. A trick that will lower the repair bills of either airplane is to grab the throttle a pull it back. Operating at 65-70% power reduces the BTUs the engine has to deal with and service life is much better. Keep in mind only 30% of the BTUs the gasoline produces turns the prop. All the rest is waste and only causes engine wear and other problems. The other end of the problem is the higher you fly the bigger a standard cubic foot of air becomes. You need a huge volume of air at altitude to get the same amount of cooling that a smaller volume of air near sea level provides. Because of this the marginal cost of getting the last few knots the salesman promised rises exponentially. To sum up the Lycoming seems to be doing a better job of cooling the exhaust valves so the cylinders do better. Continental does not seem interested in getting their engines to TBO on one set of cylinders.

Surprised that did not happen a lot sooner. Really surprised no one got killed. Will be really, really surprised if Sandia will spend the money to find a fix.

Baker will teach you the test. Almost everyone passes the first time.

Not terribly hard but it is easiest done with the tools and an experienced hand supervising. The nose wheel collar if in correctly installed can cause big problems.

When the Bravos got a 3368 gross weight, they exceeded the stall speed limit. Quickest fix was to remove the flap gap seals. The factory fixed the problem with new wing tips that increased lift enough so they stalled below 60kts.the later TNs could have the flap gap seals again. I wonder if the factory drawings for that wing tip included the M and R models.

I just made up my own performance from observed data.

I have never checked the airspeed loss due to rain but I know that it happens. When I was in VietNam and doing artillery calibration if we were shooting into dense clouds we used a timed fuse because the dense cloud would set off an impact fuse.

Could be the piston rings ends all lined up. This does happen occasionally.

There are several shops at CFO that can handle oil changes, Best to just walk in and introduce yourself. Not many Mooney speciallists but Ok to do the ordinary stuff.

Inexpensive Jet? Their is no such thing. Low price= High deferred maintenance.

You may have already done this but talk to the folks who did your annual and describe the problem to them. The trailing edge of the elevator is supposed to be bent down 7d. If you did not take your plane to a MSC someone might have thought to straighten it would be good. Lots of mechanics have worked on Mooneys but may not have experience with long bodies.

You might consider some lube ( triflow) on the cable to cut the friction. I had the bottle outs the cable ws loose. Put a liberal amount of triflow down the cable twice. Worked much better when I got done.

When I have reassembled my Bravo exhaust I have lubed the it with LPS Nickel Anti-Seize. Mouse Milk works OK but this Nickel product seems to work better.

I wondered how many hours were on those cylinders. I am sitting here waiting for a FedEx delivery of new cylinders that I ordered the first of August. I have about 2150 on mine.

Last time I filled my bottle (installed system) at FTG it was $60.00. Call the FBO to confirm price.