takair

Quote: mooney27239 I have a recently developed issue that neither myself or my A&P can figure out and I hope someone here can help with. On my '65E, when I am in level flight and have the wing leveler on the plane flies true and straight. When I disengage the wing leveler the plane starts banking right rather quickly. This all started after I had washed the plane one day. Prior to that the plane would fly straight with the wing leveler on or off. As far as I know, I didn't hit anything while I was washing it to knock anything out of adjustment. Perhaps the washing is unrelated but this problem arose for the first time on my next flight. Anyone else run into this?

Quote: Espeed Takair, noticed that you were from Richmond Hill, I am going to be flying in to Hinesville Sat. to drop my wife off to visit a friend there at Ft. Stewart and will be picking her back up on Sun. Which airport are you based at and are there any other good places to fly in to close to Savannah other than Savannah Int. I have a few friends in the Savannah area and wouldn't mind flying there to visit them but would rather avoid the class C airspace.

Does the yoke turn hard right on the ground when the vacuum reads in the green? The preflight for the PC is: taxi turn left-yoke should turn right, taxi turn right-yoke should turn left. If with vacuum yoke pulls right all the time then you may have a leak. If it stays level and moves as easilly as with no vacuum then you have an inop PC and probably have rigging problems. You shoudl have a PC disconnect button on the yoke. Sounds like your PC may be disabled.

Quote: jpusser I checked my tail. I don't see any cracks in the brackets but there is a little play when you move the tail forward and reverse. There is none up and down. I would say there is between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. Sounds and feels like maybe a bushing. Is this normal? Would anyone be willing to check theirs for me. Thanks

Hangar is cooled down so I thought I would start the mod. I have 64 E, and access was rather easy. After reading another post on folding seats and the expense of the STC I started looking into a little more. I reallized that the seat back is also the luggage compartment forward bulkhead. Because my plane does not have luggage tie downs, it means this must meet crash requirements. The forward load in a passenger area is 9Gs. Given that the weight capacity is 120 lbs, it means the 9G load is 1080 lbs on the seat back. In simple math (I'm not a structural engineer), that is 270 per attachment point. Most pins are not rated in tension. I did find some that are, but because this goes through the aluminum seat back, I'm not sure it is quite enough. I ended up with a hybrid, using the existing bolts with better access. Not quite quick release, but I have to convince myself that pins would meet the load (I would like to use quick release, with push button and balls on the end, vs cotter pin). Maybe I'm being paranoid? My IA side says this might be more than a simple mod if the crash load is considered. Has anybody had similar input from their IA/Mechanic? Don't get me wrong, I like the mod. and the instructions were great.

I wonder if some steel hardware ended up in place of the brass or stainless. One steel screw, installed with a magnetized driver can really mess things up.

I was looking for something else and came across the procedure I mentioned in an earlier post. Don't know if you got this resolved, but SB M20-150A applies to many older Mooneys. There are procedures for moving some power wires, degaussing and swinging the compass. Link is: http://www.mooney.com/index.php?keywordsearch=m20-150a&option=com_servicepdf&modelid=&Itemid=46&sort=date&direction=DESC&model=all&categoryid=1

Sven points out lots of good info. I have a 64 E model. I had what I would consider a "darting" on both take off and landing, especially at rotation. This can also manifest itself as shimmy if conditions are right. You can check the rudder for play. If you have lots of free play, left/right you may have worn nose gear steering linkage. (can't recall the limits). The thing that compounds this is the collar that many people speak of. I seem to recall that my collar was symetrical. You can get a shim to fix this. Mooney has an SB to correct this condition. See http://www.mooney.com/images/pdfs/sb-pdf/sbm20-202.pdf. From my experience look at both the steering linkage and the SB 20-202 to correct this condition. Age/condition of the shock pucks can also play into this. I flew mine way too long without correcting it. It was like a new airplane after I fixed it. Good luck.

Quote: FlyDave Don't you want to swing the compass with the engine running and all the normally running avionics on so it's swung in "flight configuration"?

FAA guidlines are that the total load should not exceed 80% of the charging capacity, under continuous load. Circuit breaker size is to protect the wiring. A 70amp breaker should trip at it's rated capacity, within the tolerance established by the manufacturer. AC43-13 has details of both. Basically, for a 70amp alternator, your continuous loads should not exceed 56amps. A breaker that is on the lesser end of tolerance might trip at 63 amps based on the spec quoted above, but that would need to be a continuous 63 amps or more. Loads not concidered continuous might be flaps and gear. This 80% rating allows for some margin for these additional short term loads.

As skyking mentioned there is a procedure for degaussing. I think you technically want to remove equipment though. The steel tube in the Mooney is prone to this. The compass is typically mounted to this. I have had to do a compass swing on my Mooney every few years. It does not help when lights and pitoto heat are on. I have gotten in the habit of checking the DG by turning these off for a few seconds. Prior to descendign on an approach, I typically give one last check of the DG before lights and pump. A good DG should give you at least 30 minutes before a check, plenty of time for an approach. It seems that the vertical card compass may be slightly better in a Mooney. You can get optional "balance balls" that are larger compensation magnets. Seems they are a little less prone in a Mooney.

Thanks--I did end up calling Mooney. It turns out that this was specific to the C and models, not the E. So we have the correct configuration.

Yes, see Voltage Regulator II postings.

My belt was in good condition too, so I left it on too. Opening up the baffle was the only unexpected part. The alternator is larger diameter. I tried cheating and doing it while still in the plane only to remove it later to do it right. Will also need new felt or silicone baffle material to seal around the alternator.

I just replaced the oil cooler in my 64E. The parts manual shows an air deflector. Apparently, these were originally added to earlier models to prevent cracking of the #2 exhaust stack. It has not been in my plane since I've owned it. Was there a bulletin or other reason to remove it? Is it installed in other M20Es? Does anybody have details on the installation? The parts manual is vague. Service Bulletin M20-99 has some details, but this is for a C model. Thanks for any input. Rob

I never lost much because the windshield would get so oily that it was distorting vision. I would notice spots initially then after a few hours it was such that the end of each flight was not comfortable due to the oil. I think you would need the seal to come out completely before it becomes catastrophic. The oil on the windhield will cause you to change it out sooner. (I don't have cowl closure, don't know if the same symptoms apply with a closure)

I had good luck with the Zeftronics regulator. Really makes a difference over the old Delco unit. If you keep up with the brushes on the generator it works well. I went to the alternator after the last set of brushes and I would have needed the commutator turned. Had some alternator whine problems since then. The audio circuit is very sensitive to ground loops and the alternator is much noisier than the generator. I ended up cleaning up the entire audio system as a result, added filters and there is still some residual whine with heavy load. That being the reason for my earlier post. Wondering if others experience some noise in the audio after the swap?

Quote: piperpainter Just curious has this helped anyone?

I don't think this is a common problem, but there are some things that can accelerate leakage. Improper installation is one thing that will accelerate a leak. I had a really bad experience after overhaul. The seal would start leaking every 20 hours. After the 4th seal, the case was replaced. Best I can tell, the case was line bored off center. The company who did the overhaul honored the warranty, including pulling and installing the engine. They were first class in spite of the problem. The seal was wearing severely on one side. Before the overhaul the seal was good for over 1500hrs, and since case replaced we have been good for over 400 hours (knock on wood). Don't mean to scare you, in most instances it is just a seal that was not installed quite right. The area is hard to get at, requires cleaning of oil, so the adhesive can work and the seal is easilly damaged on installation if not done correctly. As I recall, depending on the engine you may have a split seal. Some folks preheat the seal in oil. Hard to believe the adhesive has a chance in this case. All that said, I have only done a few. Recommend you consult with a good engine shop if you have on going problems.

Dave Did you get it fixed yet? Any problem with alternator noise on the radios, specifically under heavy load?

Chris, If you have not had a chance to see one yet, I have a 64 E model in Savannah. It's a baby F model. Have had it for about 13 years. Happy to show you. Looks like we live in the same town too. Rob

Quote: Piloto I had my old ATD-300 upgraded to the ATD-300+ for $600 (mod and antenna). The antenna is of the same type as the previous transpoder blade I had so no new holes were required. I had it for about a month and so far it has always pointed in the right direction. The distance readout appears to be more stable than before. Very handy on final approach so you know if the traffic is ahead or behind. The advantage of the external antenna vs. in the cabin is a no brainer for any avionics in the plane. José