ProprAire

I had a similar incident back in 2012 that I reported on MooneySpace. Here’s the excerpt... Subsequent inspection discovered all but one bolt remained intact. It was believed there was a false torque measured after maintenance had attempted to use an epoxy to prevent oil leakage. I carry that one remaining nut in my flight bag as a good luck charm! Dan N201NX

I had a similar incident back in 2012 that I reported on MooneySpace. Here’s the excerpt... Subsequent inspection discovered all but one bolt remained intact. It was believed there was a false torque measured after maintenance had attempted to use an epoxy to prevent oil leakage. I carry that one remaining nut in my flight bag as a good luck charm! Dan N201NX

Check out N201NX on Controller.com! Safari - Sep 30, 2017 at 16:02.pdf

Fellow MooneySpacers, I’ve recently completed my Commercial Pilot rating and will be flying as a corporate pilot leaving little time for my Mooney. I’m advertising N201NX for sale on Controller. Please let me know if you’re interested in procuring this fantastic airplane. Cheers, Dan Adams (585) 363-2494 Safari - Sep 30, 2017 at 16:02.pdf

I own #283 and was trained per the POH to slow to 155 mph or less before lowering the gear. It's worked for 12 years of fabulous flying. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the info. Looking forward to a good flight exam. Dan

I'm preparing for my commercial flight exam with my '77 M20J. Is it possible to have a split flap condition with this airplane? I have not experienced or heard of any in my 12 years of Mooney ownership. Thanks, Dan Adams Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Aaargh, we need to police ourselves, i.e., become a mentor to the offender before something terrible happens.

Is it just my imagination or are more of us getting new engines this year? This is all great info and gives me confidence my 15 hrs of breaking in time on a Zero Time A3B6 seems to be proceeding well. Cheers! Dan

Seth, Thanks for the good words on my return to flight. I wish you well as you resolve this issue. Cheers! Dan

Back in the air! Landmark Syracuse did a great job of returning my J to flight. My first flight was a 30 minute checkout of the plane in the local area to make sure everything was ok before repositioning to a new home base (D38). I noticed the tach tops out at 2600 RPM on this engine, about 50 RPM lower than the previous engine. Climb/cruise performance is no different which leads me to believe it's a gage discrepancy. I'll have my mechanic check it out when I get the oil changed. So far, I've logged 15 hrs on the new engine. The break in process is going well. CHTs have fallen slightly with every flight and mineral oil consumption has only been 2 qts. I'll consult with my mechanic about going to 15/50 Aeroshell when I return from a cross country next weekend that should carry me over 20 hours on the new engine. Landmark showed me the old engine before they shipped it to Lycoming for the core credit. The extent of the damage was much greater than what we first observed when the incident first happened. It turns out that 3 of 4 studs had sheared and the case crack extended 3/4 the way around the cylinder. It only had seconds to go before it would have potentially ejected through the side of the cowl! They gave me one of the sheared studs to throw into my flight bag as a good luck charm. Aspen PFD, fuel bladders, now a new engine...It's great to be back in the game with a top notch airplane! Dan

It's the A3B6.

Took the plunge today and ordered a rebuilt engine from Air Power inc. Delivery estimated for mid-August. I received a waiver for the inoperable engine core after paying a fee of $3725. Looking forward to return to flight around Labor Day. Dan

I usually set the mixture about halfway and run up to 1800 RPM.

Caru, Thanks for the quick look. I've shared the data with my mechanic and still waiting for his assessment. I'm also an engineer and had questions regarding the out of family readings on Cyl#1. One other piece of info, that cylinder had the lowest compression of the four during the annual check. Dan

Thanks, Byron. I called Joe Artiles at Airpower. He thinks I may have a leg up with 650 hrs SMOH. He's working up the quote and hopefully will hear something from Lycoming this week before they close for 2 weeks' vacation. Dan

Quick update on progress to return to flight. I've spent the week learning more about what it's going to take. Thanks to all who've shared on this string. I've received only one quote thus far from Signature Engines. Cost will be between $28K to 31K depending on how much credit they'll give me for the low-time core. Still waiting to hear back from Airpower Inc. I asked Landmark to go ahead and pull/crate the blown engine. They are also seeking a couple of quotes. Landmark just sent me the EDM-700 data. I'd appreciate if someone could help interpret it. I compared it to other flights dating back to April and nothing seems to have changed. I've also attached a photo with highlights of the damage. Cheers! Dan

Thanks to all who've responded on this string so far. I'm back at work today and haven't had a chance to digest all of what appears to be a great discussion. Dan

MooneySpace Friends, I'd like to share an unfortunate occurance and get your suggestions for the way ahead. Yesterday, I made a short VFR flight from Rochester to Syracuse (30 min at 3.5K ft). Run-up, take-off, and climb were all normal. After level off I reduced engine RPM to 2500 and closed the cowl flaps. I then proceeded to lean using the EDM-700 Lean Finder. Again, all seemed normal as the #2 cylinder was the first to lean (usually it's #2 or #3). I then adjusted the mixture to run at 100 deg ROP. All continued to go well through descent and landing (enriching the mixture along the way). After rollout I advanced the throttle to taxi to parking when I detected the first signs of something being amiss. I could smell burning oil and I noticed a 100 deg difference in CHTs on te EDM-700 (usually it's no greater than 70 deg). After parking, I dismounted and discovered both nose gear doors were coated with oil and more oil dripping on the tire. The Landmark ground crew towed the plane to their hangar where the mechanic (Jesse) and I pulled off the top cowl for a visual inspection of what could be the culprit. We discovered the trouble immediately. The #2 cylinder was attempting to separate from the case, having sheared off the top two bolts. Additionally, there was a 1 1/2 to 2 inch vertical crack in the case adjacent to the front edge of the cylinder...blown engine. Landmark is going to send me a quote tomorrow. I contacted Chris Schubert at Canandaigua Air Center who does my maintenance. CAC completed my annual in March, issuing a clean bill of health for the aircraft (2200TT, engine has 650 hrs SMOH). Chris thinks my best option to get back in the air this summer is to visit Airpower, Inc. They offer a $3K difference between a rebuilt and overhauled OI-360. http://www.airpowerinc.com/productcart/pc/TLEngineDetail.asp?catID=33&prodID=9598 That's assuming I can get the full core value. His other suggestion is to ship my engine to Penn Yann or anther nearby engine house to have them harvest what's salvageable (cylinders, accessories, etc.) and build a replacement engine. I suspect this option will take considerable time and have concerns about warranty. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who's had a similar decision to make regarding getting their Mooney back in the air! I'll ask Jesse to take a couple of photos of the engine to post to this string.

The only thing I would add to George's comments (that are right on the money, by the way) is that if your travels are going to involve forays into the American west, with its high DAs, you will need a turbo for efficiency and, to some extent, safety. I flew a J for close to 6 years in the southeast, but the limited climb performance above 10K' made it a poor option for flying out west. There are many who fly NA aircraft in the west, but a turbo makes a big difference when DA at field elevation is over 8K'. Just something to consider.

Thanks! That's a comparable description to what my mechanic discussed prior to dropping off the plane with him Saturday. He says he pays extra attention to clean out any graphite that may have come out of the pump when it died.

Any idea how much I'll be paying for the new vac pump and installation?

Quote: aviatoreb

I want to share an eventful flight back to Rochester earlier this week that made me thankful for all the emergency training I’ve had from CFIIs during my 900+ hrs of flying. I was cleared from Manchester, NH via the MHT-5/Cambridge transition-UTC-direct KROC at 8000 feet. Upon reaching CAM I noticed I was about 1/2 mile north of course, unusual for my Aspen PFD providing GPS steering to the Century IIb autopilot. Seconds later the aircraft made an abrupt turn north rather than a slight heading change to the south toward UTC. My non-pilot wife asked if that was me or the autopilot maneuvering as I cross checked the instruments to find the AH completely out of whack and the vacuum gauge pegged on zero. I immediately disengaged the autopilot and corrected the heading. Fortunately, I was between layers so there was little risk of an unusual attitude even if I didn’t have the Aspen. I assessed the situation as a non-emergency because I had the electric turn coordinator and if that failed, a GPS 396 on the yoke that I could have put into Panel Mode if I somehow lost the Aspen. I elected to continue the flight and safely landed in ROC 1.5 hours later. There are 3 key lessons learned from this flight: 1. Recurring training gave me confidence in my ability to rapidly assess the situation and take immediate corrective action. I take quarterly proficiency flights in spite of flying ~100 hrs a year since buying my Mooney in 2006. The CFII who administered my IPC in May just happened to be at the FBO when I returned. I told her about the incident and thanked her for making me work so hard during that ride! 2. Good systems knowledge was also helpful in determining the source of the problem and making the decision on whether or not to declare the emergency. I must admit, I thought the Aspen provided the attitude stabilization input to the A/P. Being able to correlate the spinning AH to the wild ride we experiencing with the A/P quickly dispelled that notion. 3. I’m really glad I chose to make the investment in the Aspen PFD and keep redundant systems like the GPS 396 at the ready. Given the nature of the failure, the outcome could have been far more severe had I been in IMC without an upgraded panel. I wish I'd invested in a pack of post-it notes in the flight bag to cover the spinning AH as it was a distraction. Fly safe!

I've found that landing my Mooney is all about airspeed control. I typically slow the airplane down to 83 mph on short final (full flaps, no speed brakes) and aim for the numbers. I round-out in ground effect and patiently weight for the mains to touch. More often than not, it's a greaser about 100-200 feet down the runway (well within the touchdown zone). My wife is my harshest critic ;-) I've also discovered the Mooney is quite controllable in crosswind situations applying the same technique although modified to dip the upwind wing and kick out with rudder. I usually stick with full flaps if the CW component is 12 knots or less. Anything more than that, I'll go with the take-off flap setting. Dan