DanM20C

The wire terminations in the regulator had some sub-par solder joints. The only strain relief for the bundle of wires going into the requlator was an adel clamp on the outside of the box. It was just a mater of time until there was a problem. In your case 34years Cheers, Dan

I did enjoy your beautiful 231. But I enjoyed meeting you and Kelly even more! Call anytime. I think I can speak for the entire Mooney community saying we are glad to have you BACK! As Justin mentioned above the MP had crept back in that photo. His is adjusted at the bottom end of what I would like to see. 37" was giving us 22ish gph. CHT's were well behaved but it wouldn't hurt to bump it up 1-2gph. Cheers, Dan

Very cool! That is a great looking Mooney. My only criticism is that CO spot detector. I didn’t see a Guardian or Sensorcon in there. Cheers, Dan

Unfortunatly this will be my second cylinder lamp. Years ago I had a rocker shaft boss break on my O200. A bit less dramatic than this one. I made a lamp out of it though. Damn Continentals.. Cheers, Dan

Thanks Clarence. I think I’m going to start doing the soapy water trick every other oil change. i just found out that a Cardinal on my field had a head let go a three years ago. That was on a 4 cylinder Lycoming. I imagine it’s twice as likely to happen on a 8 cylinder Because of my total loss I’m now on a first name basis with my adjuster . I called him to see if there was a claim here and he said unfortunately not, being the damage was limited to just the engine. Global was my carrier for the total lost and continue to be. They have been very good to work with. My premiums are a little higher than I would like (partially due to the total loss). But they paid out far more to me than they will ever get back from me in premiums. I can’t get upset over them not covering something like this. Cheers, Dan

I’ll see what I can do when im back in my office. Unfortunately the previous flights we’re short duration local flights and formation flights. It’s difficult to gather much from that data. It is beefy but it’s also aluminum. That is the exact area that see the stress from every combustion cycle. Literally millions of cycles over the life of the cylinder. Aluminum fatigues and will fail eventually. High temperatures can speed the process along. Many early 231 pilots were miss informed, had only one factory CHT probe, and ran the engines hot. I’m assuming these cylinders were abused in a previous life. I hope the other 4 hold together cheers, Dan

Thanks. Apparently I haven't read though the manual thoroughly enough. I just printed the instructions for the pre-alarms and will be setting them up. The current cylinders are really unknown. The engine is around 750 SMOH. The logs from the engine shop just state that OHC cylinders were installed. I have no knowledge of the cylinders before that. The 1st run replacement cylinders I had overhauled I know the history of and feel confident in. I would like to to a complete new top end, hoping these 2 OH cylinders can get me a few hundred hours before I pull that trigger. Dan

Last week I was able to make it back to the plane to get a closer look and download the JPI data. The cylinder failed in the classic spot, cracking at the first thread between the barrel and head. Thankfully, the barrel was completely intact. Keeping the rings captivated and bad bits of metal or derbies out of the case. The #2 Cylinder had a fair amount of cooling fin damage. Several fins are bent and one has a visible crack around the base of the fin. I'll be replacing #2 and #4 with two overhauled 1st run cylinders that a friend of mine had on hand. It will still be a few weeks until the shop has time to get me in. The poor thing will have spent a month outside. Some of the damage to #2 e. I examined the JPI data closely to see what kind of warning signs were there. The previous dozen or so flights were are very different profiles from normal cruise so it was difficult to see any sort of trend. But for he most parts the CHT and EGT were very stable and trended the same as the other cylinders. On the flight where this occurred the CHT for this cylinder started going up 1 degree/min about 20mins before the event, while the egt remained constant. The last minute prior to the failure the CHT shot up another 20 degrees. It failed at a CHT of 396. I didn't notice it go up that high, I wish the JPI900 could set to warn at lower temps than factory. It looks to me like the crack started on the lower left of the following photo. The thermowell for the CHT probe is on the other side of the small cooling fin in the bottom center. This would explain the slow 1degree/min climb in CHT as there would have been blow-by there. Hopefully in a few weeks we will be in the shop and get put back together. Cheers, Dan

Don, I am terribly sorry for your loss. Know that a fellow 231 pilot is thinking and praying for you and your family. Dan

Sticking with the sunset theme. My old 69 C. May she RIP. Cheers, Dan

The nice thing about the Sensorcon is it gives real time data all the time. It’s not just an alarm. Most people are checking it as regularly as they do their engine data. I think that is good practice. The alarms could be difficult to detect depending on where you have it mounted, but if you will be regularly checking it. cheers, Dan

I just ordered the book thanks to Anthony’s Link! i have been a long time reader of Mr. Bush. Loved his first book. Cheers, Dan

I think it is a optical illusion. It was just a puddle of oil. Nearing oil change time so it is at it’s dirtiest. But not as nearly as dirty as how the photo depicts. Cheers Dan

It’s margaritas here tonight. I will raise a glass to you! Cheers, Dan

Ken, your glowing posts about your 231 over the years is a major reason I determined one would fit my mission. Where was all the twin talk back then? That could have saved me a lot of trouble. I actually was planing on getting a Barron after my accident. I don't have a multi rating so I called a school that I new had a Barron. At the time it was down for a new engine and they didn't expect to finish it for 1-1/2 months. That time allowed me to think hard about the next airplane. The Mooney just feels right to me. And as it turns out, getting insured after a total loss isn't easy. I honestly don't think I could have got insurance on a twin. Cheers, Dan