Geoff

Thanks everybody for your thoughts, I really appreciate it... The uncommanded roll occurs on both GPS and VOR/ILS sources. The GPS/VOR source for both is a 430W. The strange thing is that this only happens intermittently. It will track VOR/GPS/ILS great for hours and then suddenly make a turn left or right. If I'm awake, I catch it, press the CWS button on the yoke and point the plane back in the right direction and then release the CWS button and the AP gets it right again. Its like the AP is having a "senior moment" and needs a reminder of what it was doing. This makes flying approaches in low IFR um... interesting and I'd like to get it fixed. The side benefit is my instrument cross scan hasn't been this good since my last IPC. Interesting that the AP has to be recalibrated. I was having the same problem prior to the rebuild of the AI. I'll ask the avionics guys about that.

You are right about the HSI providing directional information to the AP, However, the HSI is functioning just fine and does not precess, otherwise I would suspect the flux gate.

My KFC 200 is making uncommanded turns intermitently while coupled in any mode (NAV, HDG, LOC). I had the AI overhauled (it needed to be done for other reasons as well) and this did not solve the issue. My next thought was to go through all the connections and clean them. Has anyone else had this experience?

This might seem crazy but instead of $1200 for a towbar, I bought a clapped out golf cart for $500 off craigslist and a towbar that mounts to the front for $100. The upside is that the golf cart gets used for trips around the ramp. The downside is its tough to fit in the plane.

Hey Parker, really great looking interior. Did you have them put the Comfor foam in the pilot seat? How is the lumbar support?

Dave - if only it would take that long, see quote taken from AOPA website... "The FAA proposed a $5 re-registration and renewal fee, but the FAA reauthorization bill if enacted as passed by the House authorizes the FAA to increase the initial registration fee to $130 and re-registration and renewals to $45." Lets see $5 to $45 in less than 2 months, well its only a 800% increase, whats the big deal?

At least we don't have to pay everytime we use the system or land (yet) like they do over the pond.

From reading through the Deltahawk materials they say 2000 TBO and 1 overhaul permitted per engine at an estimated $15,000 US. This is all estimated of course at this point so YMMV.

Try All American. They are on the same field, SAT, and are generally well respected.

Wait, wait, I said we didn't have to place our bets yet! Seriously, I really hope we will all be presented with some choices when the time comes of either new engine technology (diesel, or MOGAS), or a new specialty fuel that the whole fleet can use. I started the thread because of the recent developments on the diesel engine side and though people would like to know. On MOGAS who knows maybe Rotax can supersize the 912 but I have not heard of anything like that in the works. Perhaps I should have started with a poll...What is the solution to 100LL for your Mooney? (Mooney content) 1. MOGAS ala Rotax 912 2. Diesel ala Deltahawk 3. Specialty Fuel ala G100UL OK, now place your bets!

MOGAS in 1927 is not MOGAS in 2010.

Dave - all very good points. The other side of the equation isn't without uncertainty regarding fuel availability either. Currently we seem to be faced with either believing in a magic engine that burns Jet A or a magic fuel that is a drop in replacement for 100LL. Fortunately, most of us don't have to place our bets yet. That being said I plan to watch both the G100UL and Deltahawk SR20 STC very closely over the next couple of years. My personal hope is that both alternatives succeed and are offered with their respective compromises attached to each solution and the consumers will be able to decide. Overwhelmingly, I believe the rest of the world would largely prefer an engine solution, while we in the US would probably prefer a fuel solution. Short term this is probably acceptable, long term I am concerned that this would further marginalize the NL avgas market and make whatever fuel solution is found even more of a boutique fuel than 100LL driving prices even higher and the Jet A/NL Avgas differential higher. I'm just happy that the industry is attacking this problem from multiple angles. This is why I love market forces and good old free enterprise. A problem is identified/created (by the EPA) and the market goes to work on alternative fixes. Nothing like a little competition to keep the consumer (reasonably) happy.

Here is a reply I got from the CEO of LoPresti regarding their potential future development of an STC. Looks like very rough numbers would put the performance of the M20f/j/k in the range of +200kts at FL180 buring 7-9 gph of a fuel that we all know will be around worldwide for years to come. Powerplant weight (installed) would be essentially a push, i.e. no CG issues. It would also mean range would be significantly increased. Pretty compelling if proven true. Look out Ovation owners! Only time will tell if the Deltahawk engine is any more reliable than the Theilhert/Austro/Centurion attempts. Thanks for your comments. The performance we're currently getting with our test bed Velocity is very encouraging. The engine holds 100% power to 18,000 ft. In the SR20 that means it's faster, uses less fuel and carries more weight than an SR22. For the fixed gear SR20 that means 210 cruise on about 7 gph. We'll see how close the emperical comes to the projected but the engine now is burning 40% less than the Lycoming at far greater speeds. As for Mooney drivers. It is likely we will be able to certify long body and short body as only two seperate STC's. That won't happen though until we get a list of depositors. So it remains to be seen. Cheers! Rj Siegel CEO/LoPresti

Respectfully gentlemen I disagree. MOGAS will never satisfy the requirements of the GA fleet as a whole, especially in the US where the ethanol content is a significant issue. Jet A is the standard.

I pinged the guys at LoPresti about the Deltahawk conversion they are doing for the SR20 and here is their reply... Hi Geoff As you likely know, we are attached to Mooneys at the hip. It was the first conversion we considered. We all know 100ll is going away and we wanted to make the aircraft capable for years to come. Doing an STC of this magnitude is about $300,000 to $500,000 per aircraft design, so the size of the potentila market is always a consideration. The Cirrus market provided the funding in the way of deposits for future engine deliveries (10 users at $80,000 apiece). Thus that decision was easy to make. I think the Mooney market might also be such a candidate but I would very much appreciate your viewpoint as a Mooney owner. Rj Siegel CEO/LoPresti Aviation Engineering

I got the attached reply from Deltahawk on my inquiry regarding an STC for the M20E/F/J/K...This could be a potential opportunity for the Factory to pursue if they were so inclined. Hi, We have talked to people about engine mount and firewall forward kit for the Mooney but no one has committed to that project. We hope that by the time we complete our FAA certification of the engine in 2011, there will be a completed STC for several aircraft including the 172, PA28 and Mooney. Thank you for your interest in DeltaHawk engines. If you have further questions, please let me know. Sincerely, Rip Edmundson DeltaHawk Engines, Inc. Racine, Wisconsin USA rip@deltahawkengines.com

I found the SR20 DeltaHawk comparo... follow link. An STC on a 201 looks like it would essentially turn it into a 231 or 252 killer. Positives are likely increases in speed, primarily due to turbo/supercharging, and less weight due to lighter powerplant and less fuel burn vs current 201/231. http://www.deltahawkengines.com/Firewall%20Cirrus.shtml

One problem with the SMA/Connie is weight. The thing weighs 432 lbs while the Lyc io-360 only weighs 300 lbs. This cuts into payload pretty heavily. I would have to think a long time about giving up 132 lbs of payload.

Dave, I agree. How about a diesel STC for the older planes using Deltahawk/other engines? I think LoPresti is pursuing this on the SR20.

Anybody out there clost to TBO looking at diesel alternatives? I saw an article that Deltahawk/LoPresti is pursuing an STC on the SR20. Given the LoPresti Mooney history I would expect that there could be a STC in the works soon for 200hp Mooney's. The The Deltahawk guys have been around a long time but it sounds like they are getting very clost to V4 certification. I fully intend to check them out at OSH. "DeltaHawk is well on its way to type certification of the DH-180A4 engine (180 HP). An FAA Designated Engineering Representative consulting group, The DERs Group, has been engaged to manage and direct the process. Current estimates are to achieve Type Certification (TC) as early as the beginning of 2011. The remaining engine model variants will be quickly certified afterward as amendments to the initial TC."

How is the liability issue being addressed with the service work that MAC currently performs on older airframes? Perhaps the refurb concept would need to be limited to some degree like a Certifed Pre-Owned program from car dealers. While I'm not a lawyer, I think the creative structuring could partially addresse liability as follows. Start a new company, LLC or whatever with separate owner ship from MAC, called, "Mooney Design Co, or MDC" have MDC sublease space in the idled Mooney factory, contract independent labor from the former MAC employee pool, and purchase warranties from MAC for the work performed. No structure is suit proof. Anyone can sue anybody for anything.

Good point George. I have no firsthand knowledge of any internal analysis at MAC. I am drawing my conclusions from their behavior and an making an assumption (albeit a fairly safe one) that they have run down all the logical alternatives for the capital they have invested in their facility and the best way to put that capital to use. Their shareholders would demand this.

The three of us hangered in a row at San Marcos, where there is a MSC on the field take our planes to Dugosh in Kerrville. This is not to say anything bad about the MSC in San Marcos but rather how we feel about Dugosh. Ronnie Kramer and his crew are top notch IMHO.

I'll be headed up from Central Texas on Thursday through Sunday.

I have enjoyed reading everyone's thoghts and ideas here. The guys at MAC know this market and the costs, risks, and liability issues better than me and I'm pretty sure they have already vetted all these ideas. Which means they have decided that they are not feasible. To me that's the sad part, the acknowledgment that there really is little they can do under curent circumstances. That's why I started my original post with "nothing in GA is going to get better until we get the pilot population moving up again". Anybody got any ideas about how that could happen?