Sabremech

From the FAA’s PAFI/ EAGLE unleaded fuel website, LyondellBasell/VP Racing are currently in the PAFI program. LyondellBasell/VP racing has passed the 150 hour initial tests and has moved on to the full scale engine and flight testing of their unleaded UL100E fuel. unless something has changed that’s not current on the FAA’s website, there is one company working through the PAFI / EAGLE process instead of the STC route. I also found Swift Fuels website to be an interesting read with their 100R unleaded fuel. They appear to be going the STC route with their version of unleaded 100 octane fuel. They recently posted information in regards to compatibility between their UL94 fuel and the GAMI G100UL. I understand they are competitors but the article in the FAQ section was interesting.

They, along with aircraft manufacturers, are who should be working with the seal manufacturers to change the compounds that are used. It’s not up to me or any other mechanic to search out an alternate p/n to switch to viton, etc. I may very well have been installing them but again don’t specifically look at the compound they are made of. Part number and cure date are the main things I look for. As I stated previously, this also has the real potential for intrusive maintenance which we all know can turn quite expensive quickly. I hope that other true direct replacement fuels come to market that don’t have the reported issues this fuel may have. Thanks

Hello Andrei, See if you can get a test patch done from the guy who travels. Have him explain his process then you can make a decision based off of seeing and hearing the processes of both. David

As an A&P / IA, it’s not up to me to make substitutions on the materials used to make an o-ring. It’s up to the manufacturers of those parts to change the material. I strictly work off of what’s in the IPC for the aircraft I’m working on. I can tell you other than looking at the P/N and the cure date, I don’t look for what it’s made out of. You’re putting mechanics in jeopardy by coming up with substitutions and acceptable data. Something goes wrong, and we’re left to hang. I understand what you’re trying to do and applaud you for it. What I don’t like is putting more onus on mechanics with gray areas for us to have to muddle through. Thanks, David

@George Braly, I should not have to change a thing to use any fuel. Requiring any owner to pay that bill means your fuel isn’t right. It’s ridiculous to push more costs on to owners for something that should be plug and play. I assume G100UL is more expensive than 100LL. How much more, I don’t know since it’s not available to me in the Midwest yet. As it stands right now, I wouldn’t use this fuel until the engine manufacturers approve it. I have no intention of training to become a glider pilot in my Mooney.

Kind of think this says it all. Not approved by the engine manufacturer is significant.

No different than mine which is a 56 M20 with the tail S/B complied with in 1986 via Mooney kit.

The bigger question is why should we replace parts and do maintenance, some very intrusive and time consuming, to use a different fuel? This should be a straight replacement with zero maintenance required other than ongoing. Why do we as aircraft owners and mechanics have to continue to bear the cost of this? It’s a sure way to kill off more of GA all in the name of safety again. I like Mike Rowe’d safety third more and more every day.

I am an A&P with an IA and I’m not going to go outside what is listed in the manufacturers IPC unless the part is obsolete and not obtainable. Then I’ll work another way to find a part that will work in form, fit and function. There’s millions of o-rings of all sizes including metric. Why do I want to take on the liability of researching to find an alternate O-ring and not be sure it’s correct? What owner wants to pay for my time to research this and hope it’s right? This is a no win for mechanics.

We use the part numbers listed in the relevant IPC. When I order o-rings, I don’t get to specify what it’s made from. Unless the manufacturer updated their IPC to include alternate P/N’s made from different materials, we risk not using the correct parts and potentially causing other issues, which could be catastrophic.

Those downlock are perfectly legal!

Just because it’s not in the TCDS doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Just a little more paperwork!

There’s not enough profit in it for all the work and liability to reverse engineer it. If I had this part issue, I’d look to find parts to convert it to manual gear. David

Good day, I have a left side spindle assembly and will check in for a right side when I get to my shop in a week or so. Would be willing to sell this and ship if you’re interested. David

All international shipments are extremely complicated with each country having different requirements. It’s a nightmare. David

I may have some. I purchased some used gear legs a number of years ago. It will take me two weeks before I can look in my parts bins. David

I’ll have to give that some thought. There are certainly more parts useable between an A and a C versus the M20 I have currently. David

Hi Matt, Good to hear from you. It’s going to be impossible for me to leave it 100% original. I do have an interested party that I talked to about my plans and they love it. They feel the same as I do in regards to the rear windows. We’ll see what does or doesn’t get done! I’ll have to post pictures of the fuselage covered under a sheet now! The corporate job is crazy busy as always. That’s why the Mooney progress is much slower than I thought I could get done by now. As for Warbird, we have the jets for sale. It was in our plan to sell them about now. The P-40 IRAN is coming along nicely but still expect it to be two more years before ready to fly again. How’s everything out West? David

I can’t tell at this time! Will have to be a surprise! David

Good morning Barney, This is the standard break apart position for all Mooney’s. The number of bolts to hold the tail cone on has increased over the years by model. Thanks, David

Great looking bird!

Any information for the guy at Hinkley you can share? Not that I need another Mooney, but you never know what parts might be needed in the future. Thanks, David

Hi Tom, I purchased the used parts I needed from Alan Fox. I believe he’s on MS but can message you his contact info if needed? Thanks, David

Catching up a bit to the current status of the M20. Here’s a few more pictures of this bird. I love the old avionics switch which is a choke cable attached to two switches tied together on the engine side of the firewall. Simple but works. Also a few other pictures of the wood wing along with the instrument panel and aux fuel tank. David

Yep. I was amazed at what was underneath the barn dirt! I still have to clean the tailbone before re-installing it. I’m planning to rework the back windows as I absolutely dislike the teardrop window. Going to make it look more like the later C window. Perfect time to do this work is before putting the tail cone back on. David