rubixcube2k3

In flight my Ammeter (when I had an analog gauge) reflected a negative value. On the ground with the engine off, but electronics on, it would reflect a positive value. I chalked it up to being something flaky with the gauge. Now with my MVP-50, it still does the same thing. Is that normal? In my mind, it should read positive when charging and negative when discharging. By that logic, it would stand to reason that it is discharging when the engine is running and charging while it is not? Advice or opinions? Thanks, Abe

So today, I had some fun, ran the engine hard, got a fairly cost effective upgrade to a 2015 Corvette Stingray, and got to see two of my favorite people. Mike, I did take your advice and run as much MAP as possible while varying RPM between 2300 and 2480ish. Seemed to keep all of the cylinders CHT in the green zone for the duration and under 390 for the most part. Thanks for that advice. The logs are attached and labeled accordingly, I had a lengthy descent into KECP since Tyndall decided to keep me at altitude until I was directly over the airport. In both directions, I noticed that CHT and EGT on cylinder 3 seemed to exceed that of Cylinder 4. Not in a large amount, but basics of understanding would make me think that cylinder 4 would be marginally hotter since it is further to the rear in the baffling. Am I correct that it's not the norm, or am I hyper-analyzing? The higher EGTs make me wonder if there isn't a plug fouling, perhaps. I'm currently running champion massives, but I am contemplating returning to the fine wire plugs that I installed and pulled out right after the mags were installed last year due to fouling. (I now believe the fouling to be a result of the failing cylinder, rather than just bad luck with the plugs. Anyway, as always, I welcome any thoughts and recommendations from the community. KECP to 1R8 1R8 to KECP

Figured I'd share the actual flight info from the MVP as Charted by SavvyAnalysis. May as well take advantage of it's data recording capability, right? No point in having it to not use the post-operational flight analysis features. Top chart is EGT & CHT vs. Flight Time, while the bottom Chart is RPM & MAP vs. Flight Time. I placed a call to EI and Southern Avionics today to get some more information about the calibration error. No answers yet, but honestly, it's backseat to everything else, considering that I can complete the break-in without looking at the HP Output field. Going to do some 1-2 hour flights over the next few good weather days to well known territory. I pulled the lower plugs today and while the rear plugs were dry, the front plugs had a fairly light oil coating on them. It appears as though the engine used just shy of 1/3 quart of oil in the 2 hours of flight yesterday. I'll keep sharing data through the break-in if anyone is interested.

He actually recommended following the Lycoming Break-In SI without variation. The problem was that it referenced HP, and not MP/RPM. The PoH suggested one thing but the MVP reflected differently. Referring back to the Lycoming Break-In SI, it plainly states to use the PoH Published power settings for best results. That being said, I'm glad that was what I did for the most part. Now just to get another few hours in it running it at those numbers, and hopefully all will be fine. I'll keep checking the oil and the plugs between flights just to be sure.

Thanks everyone, I guess I'll pay southern avionics a visit and ask about the calibration. I also have a dome light issue for them to look at so I need to drop in and pay them a visit. Is it fairly safe to say that flying by the book numbers I can be fairly confident that I am breaking in properly? I should have stated initially that I didn't linger very long at the posted HP combinations. the better part of the 2 hours flown today was spent at 24"/23 and 21"/21-22. I didn't think flying that slow was correct or safe. I went to the lower power settings between flying the book numbers, only to find that it felt really really weird. It definitely helps to hear from other's experiences. I just wanted to make sure that I was correct in following the book, over the latest and greatest instrumentation. Thanks, Abe

So I'm looking to get some feedback from anyone here experienced with breaking in an engine after a top overhaul. We installed 4 new cylinders, pistons, etc this annual, and of course being the OCD SOB that I am, I have tried following the lycoming instructions to the letter regarding breaking in. The first problem I encountered is that the recommended numbers by the PoH don't line up anywhere near what my MVP 50 is reflecting for power output. My cylinders were surprisingly cool throughout the takeoff, climb, and cruise. Even so cool at points that I had to run it harder to get them into the lower end of the temperature green range. (at times we were below 350* CHT on cylinders 1 and 2). I will be attaching a few pictures of the MVP-50 at various cruise phases. At the PoH recommended 17"/23 I was still showing in excess of 79% HP on the MVP at 5000' with an OAT of 58*. Can anyone advise if I am doing something wrong? I just want to make sure I'm doing what I should be doing- I'm terrified of glazing a cylinder or causing some inadvertent damage due to not properly breaking in the new cylinders. We flew for 2 hours today, and never at the same RPM and MP setting for more than 45 minutes, but for the life of me I could not get anywhere near the 75% and 65% numbers on the MVP-50 without feeling like we were going to drop out of the sky or fly backwards in a stiff wind. I took three pics all together, one at 17"/2300, and two reflecting the only "safe" power settings I could choose to get 65% and 75% reflected. At no point under 85% indicated HP on the MVP could I get Cylinders 1 and 2 into the green zone for CHT Temps. Thanks! Abe

True Clarence, D. Maxwell suggested to me in 2010 that they were marginal at best. At that point the lower mounts were worn just within limits, but they hadn't failed from what I was told. . I can literally tell you the flight, my position, and the first thought that went through my head when the pictured mount collapsed to the point of touching the frame. It was a noticeable difference in vibration at that moment and going forward as well. According to my logs, the mounts were changed in the 80s, but never again since. Not surprising since I still had the original 1975 oil, fuel, and landing gear biscuits as of the first annual.

We had to pull all 4 cylinders and pistons anyway, so all the main obstructions, including battery box and baffles are out of the way. We then took a cherry pick and lifted the engine while removing the mounts. I will definitely advocate against trying to do it without the engine hoist. There is no graceful or safe way to support the engine and it is definitely not something you want to try without an adequate tail-stand. Also on my C, one of the lower bolts was pinned by the firewall and we had to gently move the engine forward once it was floating to free it. In my case, we also had the plane jacked already also to get the nose-gear off for rebuild, so there was nothing to worry about in terms of tail-stand or nose weighting. It's not a lengthy process for the mounts alone, but making sure you have the proper setup is everything.

The dialpin is actually supposed to be centered in the mount frame itself on my C. It stops the mount from twisting and failing as this one did. The old mounts are Barry, but the new ones are Lord. They both have the alignment hole, but from what I have gathered some other models may not have it.

So since it appears that this is another one of those "All In" Annuals,We (Charlie, my local IA and I) decided to change the old engine mounts (With the approval of the banker - AKA wife) this year. "May as well", was my answer since we are topping the engine. The old and new mount from the lower right are side by side in the pics. Not only had it twisted because it wasn't installed aligned with the dial pin on the frame, but it was over-torqued and had completely collapsed. A picture is worth a thousand words, but all I could say after we removed these was "Wow".We also have engine angle pics before and after that I'll post when the new cylinders and baffling are installed.As an aside, anyone thinking about replacing or overhauling a Lycoming cylinder, give Airpower a call. Their prices are unbelievably good on factory new as well as Superior, and ECI kits. Considering that Factory new came with new piston pins and caps the price was minimal in terms of difference. Add in a 2yr warranty parts and labor on Lycoming cylinder kits with unlimited hours and it was a no-brainier. Having peace of mind that the Cam is in impeccable condition, I figured it to be worth a topping now to guarantee running to TBO and maybe a little extra if condition permits. I'll follow up throughout the break in process with how the MVP 50 reports and how all develops for anyone interested.I will say that this is the most extensive owner assist work that I have ever done, and I certainly have a renewed respect for A&Ps :-).

Mooney Summit Teaser Pics from the event so far! A special thanks to all of the Subject Matter Experts, the Team at Mooney International and everyone else who contributed to making this event bigger and better!

Oh dear lord! Marauder (even as the president of the CB club) has been placed on registration restriction until I confirm that he intends only to bring bikini beach body ready models to PCB.

Haha! Fantom and Hank strike again! I cannot wait for October and Shenanigans in Panama City Beach with this dynamic group of peeps.

Good Evening All, I realize I’m a little late to the party, as I have been looking at the registration site code for the past 7 hours instead of checking email like normally. I have found that there are some issues with the latest Mozilla Firefox and latest versions of internet explorer. Feel free to email either Mike or I directly if you wish to register and are having difficulties. We will get you added in the order received. I’m working to resolve the issues, but at the rate we’re going (86 registrants currently) we may hit capacity before I can actually fix it for this registration run. In any case, thanks for your interest and support!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Pilots and 99s, Aviators and Aviatrixes of all ages, Mooney Summit III Registration is now up at http://www.MooneySummit.com. Registrations will be accepted after 1PM CDT. In total, there are 95 Registration slots available, so if you know you want to attend, don’t delay in getting there and signing up! The last two events were absolutely amazing, but even we are blown away with the expert and distinguished guest list of attendees for this year that have already committed. The activities this year include an Open House Reception at KECP, on field IPC and BFRs (limited space), and a number of the best Subject Matter Experts in the Mooney Community. This is certainly something you will not want to miss. Last but not least, as many of you already know, this is an entirely donation driven event, and in an effort to make this the biggest and best Mooney Summit Yet, we have setup an online option for you to be able to make donations from right within the site after you register! (Of course you can still email and contact Mike to make a direct donation - iwannadonate@aviating.com) Any donations in excess of the direct required funding to drive the event go to the Bill Gilliland Foundation to aid with crisis therapy and financial assistance for the families of downed pilots. We will be looking forward to seeing you in Panama City Beach on October 1, 2015! The Mooney Summit Team

***Warning: Proud Parent Moment Follows this Disclaimer*** So she was 20 months before we got to take actually take her up for her first flight, but after 30mins of playing with her ipad, and being bounced around in moderate turbulence at 5500' she dozed off and slept through remaining 15 minutes of the flight, the three point crosswind landing, me pushing the plane back in the hangar, putting her in Mommy's arms while I moved her carseat from the plane back to the Rover, then all the way home ( a 30 minute ride). Now I know you don't know my daughter that well, but she's much like me in that she is somewhat reluctant to sleep because she's afraid of missing something. So her sleeping while in flight, and all the way back to the house in the middle of the day is a huge compliment! I cannot wait to keep her sitting behind that big fan, and even more excited about getting her in the right seat when she's old enough to understand it :-). **End Proud Parent Moment** Abe L. Harper, Jr.

Great panel, mate! Looks very clean and appeals to all of my OCD tendencies :-)

Ok, So I'm getting used to my new MVP-50. I FINALLY figured how to get the yellow light of annoyance to go off with EGT difference. I raised my factory default from 100* to 125*. That fixed the warning, but what am I really doing here? Should my cylinders be with 100* of each other on EGT with a carbureted engine? I'm not used to having this much information at my fingertips so I'm somewhat overwhelmed with all that I can see and do. Thanks for any information you can provide. I also realized that there are probably hundreds of features that I'm not taking advantage of. I'm open to hearing what everyone calls their "favorite feature" on the MVP.

http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36409-/ http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36408-farewell-1975-panel/ http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36407-new-landing-whelen-parmetheus/ Just a few more images that came today from the hangar. I flew my first instrument GPS approach today....OMG.....why didn't I do this sooner! Few small quirks to work out (an overhead light that was left disconnected, and a rattle in the visor, otherwise it's amazing.)

I actually had it removed. The picture showing it was not the finished product, as the glareshield was still out. It was just the best day time pic I have currently. I'll be going to the airport Sunday to get some more pictures and some more flights in. I've already answered half of my questions about the MVP-50 by RTFM....I guess I missed those points when I blazed through it the first time.