kortopates

Quote: allsmiles

Quote: scottfromiowa -Four dead in California-believed to be stall trying to climb above fog. -one dead in Georgia- climb departure-engine failure prop? -three dead in Idaho-Unknown? -two dead in Arizona-Departing engine problems stall spin on return? Ten lives lost in a very short time period. Tragic. I have read the articles on those lost. Just leaves a pit inside.

Quote: N4352H Sad, but they very well may be related. The gear up was earlier this year, and a friend of mine who lives and keeps his plane just outside of Augusta is hearing stories about the prop spinning off the plane, and talk about substandard repair work.

http://www.thekathrynreport.com/2011/07/mooney-m20c-n6855n-three-people-killed.html Very little known about this one except that it took 3 more lives since it happended at a private strip. I don't recall seeing such bad accident statistics in our Mooney family. Over the last 10 days of FAA accident/incident reports there have been 10 Incidents/Accidents, of which 4 accidents totalled to 8 fatalities. 4 of the fatalities where in todays daily report (ocurring yesterday) involving 3 accidents. We all have to be more careful out there!

Aviation Consumer just reviewed their newest offering PM8000BT in their June issue - new with Blue Tooth. If interested, you can see it at http://www.aviationconsumer.com/issues/41_6/avionicsreport/6135-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS (although you need to be a subscriber to see the entire article though) I've owned both Garmin and PSE in the past, currently have the Gramin. You can't go wrong with either. Av Consumer has tended to say PSE provides better audio quality and typically has more features. I was never felt the need for a lot of audio panel features though. Had a PSE previously that enabled playback of things like clearances and I never used it. Audio quality though is more important these days thanks to the wonder of XM music in the cockpit. Don't know how I got by without it for all those years

The FAA recently updated their guidance on fire extinguishers in the cockpit. It addresses the newer halon subsititutes since Halon 1211 & 1301 are no longer produced - see http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC%2020-42D.pdf Only one of the Halon type (1211, 1301 or the newer formulations) belongs in the cockpit. Mooney provided a kit for installing a fire extinguisher in the cockpit below the rear seat - at least starting with the K model and maybe earlier. The kit though is unnecessary and a drawing is provided in the IPC. There is no greater emergency than being on fire at altitude. That said though, the more common and realistic use of a fire extinguisher IMO will be after an off airport landing.

Totally a non issue and I'll bet even better than your Sierra did!

Mooney provides a drawing and a kit for installing the right hand side brakes. These days it could take some time for them to put the kit together but I'd bet its very doable. Contact your local MSC and they'll in turn contact Mooney for availability. I love our dual brakes on our 252. They proved really important after my wife transitioned to flying our Mooney 6 or 7 years ago. She really needed the rudder pedal extensions - i do not. Plus she needs the seat much higher than I. As an instructor, it was easy to just give her the left seat permanently. I fly exclusively from the right and we no longer need to make seat adjustments with every leg. And thanks to the right side brakes, I can taxi and land just as well from the right. And just as you mentioned, when someone wants to tag along they get the full experience from the left seat.

Luc I htink your J uses the same annunciator as my K except in a 14v version. My Mooney IPC for the K model uses a CM7327 bulb, which I found at Mouser (95 cents each) when I had the same problem a few years back - you probably just need the 12v version of the otherwise same bulb, See your IPC and/or the Mouser info on mine at http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=7327virtualkey60600000virtualkey606-CM7327 and you should be able to find the correct one you'll need and perhaps from a supplier in Europe. These aren't soldered to the board, eventhough I though the same thing, till I realized they pull out and push in.

Andy, You really need to find the airplane first, then the instructor. As a prospective Mooney owner/pilot, I would suggest looking for the nearest airplane club that rents Mooneys, then you'll find the club/school has designated CFI's. For example, I quickly found the Northwest Pilots http://www.nwpilots.com/organizations.html - they show Wings Aloft in seattle has that K model you are looking for http://www.wingsaloft.com/rentalfleetmooneym20k.html . Don't know how far Seattle is from Kelso but that may be your closest bet. Good luck.

Some years ago, Aviation Consumer did a tire test and gave highest marks for the Goodyear Flight Custom III tires, which were an improvement on their Flight Custom II tires by adding more tread. Sacramento Sky Ranch provides more in depth detail on the design, benefits and history that what you'll find from Goodyear. See http://www.sacskyranch.com/faqaircrafttire.htm But you'll also find some people swear cheap retreads are the answer and some are critical of the Flight Custom because their heavier (presumably from that extra tread). They provide excellent heandling; especially on contaminated runways. When replacing the tires, be sure to use the "leakguard" or butyl tubes rather than natural rubber since the natural rubber will leak air slowly and you'll be frequently adding air. I go virtually annual to annual without adding air, but your climate will have some bearing on it. Tubes will last the life of the tire but should be replaced with the tire. I get approx. 500 hrs on the main tires and more than double that on the nose tire.

Quote: flyboy0681 I'm soliciting those of you that have a 4/530 setup. I was practicing a DME hold today and tuned the GTN to the VOR. I don't know why but I expected the distance to the station to instantly display in the "Distance" field in the default navigation area of the screen, but it just kept reading zero. I fumbled around a bit but nothing. I eventually figured out that the only way to get the distance was to enter the VOR as the destination, either as a waypoint or by hitting the Destination button. It makes sense to me now because the GTN isn't equipped with an integral DME. Can I assume it's the same way on the 4/530 series as well?

I owned a 231 before my current 252 and I would highly recommend the 252 or Encore. I could take an hour to describe all the improvments, but quite simply besides getting a real turbo installation with tuned induction system (rather than just a compressor with after market options for the intercooler and adjustable wastegate) you get a whole lot more including a 28V electrical system with 4 times the electical capacity with the dual alternator (70 amp) options, and many other airframe differences including higher gear speed, rear bucket seats that fold down and lift out, the electric cowl flaps that enable micro adjustment of temps without a speed loss you get with the 231's cowl flaps, and many options that became standard, and on and on. Download the type cert and you can go over some performance differences such as gear speed and the critical alt of 23k with max altitude of 28K (not that you'll want to go much higher than the lower 20's) - but ideally you'd like to compare the performance tables too. The 252 was the turbo installation done right and the last of a long line of ever improving fuel efficient Mooney's till speed & HP seemingly became the biggest market priority to retain the title of fastest single. Among all the K's, opertaing and maintenance cost will be on a par, yet with the 252 & Encore being a bit more efficient/faster and cooler running than the 231. There aren't very many 252's though in comparison to the much larger 231 fleet and even fewer Encores that provide the increased max gross load with the SB engine - but what a great time to be a buyer! Either way, you can't go wrong with any of them.

Although probably easiest to do the upgrade duirng an engine change, its also straightforward to reconfigure one current TSIO-360-MB to the SB. Its also possible to do it in two stages, which is what I am intending to eventually do. The main airframe change is to put on double puck brakes, which can be done as the first step. A Mooney Drawing provides the details and they have a kit for the brake parts. The double puck brakes will bring back the shorter stopping distances with the increased max gross weight. Another Mooney drawing will provides the details of the engine changes which basically involves i) having the fuel pump and pop-off valve overhauled to be set up for the SB configuration with its greater max MP, ii) and adjusting the governor back down to 2600 RPM max and iii) with the engines changes come some additional airframe and instrumentation changes: the airspeed indicator, MP gauge and RPM gauge will have to be re-marked, Encore control balance weights must be installed to replace the 252 balance weights (aileron, elevator and lower rudder) and lastly update (mostly Section 5) of the POH with the Encore POH pertinent parts. In lieu of remarking the old MP and RPM instruments its probably a good time to upgrade to an approved digital unit(s). Alternately of course, one could use their MB core as a trade-in towards a TCM new or rebuilt SB engine or just have their MB field overhauled to the SB configuration. One can get both the Engine and Brake upgrade drawings from the factory to get all the details of the upgrade process. A owner that's also an A&P like myself can pull this off pretty easily in stages. I was about to start when the factory was furloughing people and at that time they needed 6 weeks to put together the brake kit. I haven't inquired how long it would take since then and put the project on the back burner for awhile.

In addition to the install, (which is trivial), the A&P will swing the compass and create the compass correction card - which you must always have to remain airworthy. I'd suggest copying the card in case yours is ever misplaced so that you can avoid having (your A&P) re-swing the compass. The popular Precision Vertical card compass is a dry compass and not subject to fluid loss or air bubbles that the traditional whiskey compasses are. I love my Precision vertical card compass (and think its the only TSO'd option, but not sure). Precision provides great support and will service their compasses at very reasonable prices and with a quick turn around. There is no maintenance per se for a compass other than periodically swinging it after changes to your airframe that could effect accuracy, such as electrical equipment changes in your panel (e.g., avionics) or even a hard landing. You should be aware they have some drawbacks; especially when installed in the Mooney. The vertical card compasses have compensating magnets in them just like whiskey compasses, but they are not capable of compensating to the same degree whiskey compasses are. Swinging them can be a greater challenge than the old whiskey compass. Secondly, the steel tubluar structure in our Mooneys tend to pick up some magnetism over time, that may not have be noticeable on the whiskey compass yet could be enough to make it very difficult or impossible to get the Vertical card compass to compensate enough to be within the required 10 degrees for each of the 30 degree bearings. If you find that to be the case, Precision offers an external compensating magnets called "Balanced Balls". These are pretty hard to work with IMO and not a sure fix. The other option for our Mooneys is to comply with Mooney Service Instruction M20-95 to demagnetize the cabin. With the vertical card compass, one is much more likely to need it.

Although I am with Geoff and Randy, this is a very small example why most of have us have learned to take our Mooney's to MSCs or to Mooney savy mechanics that know our planes peculiarities. But except for not knowing to check the obvious when you first returned, he's standing behind his work which is great to hear.

The issue is much too common sadly. Luckily for me I was already a pilot when I met my wife and when I encouraged her to learn how to land our bird she concluded - "Hey! I am don't just need to take a pinch hitter course - i am good enough to become a pilot." And there began a long journey for my wife that ultimately lead to her getting her private pilot license and instrument rating - and to me loosing access to the left seat permanently and now only flying 50% of the flying. So be careful what you ask for But of course its wonderful that we can share our love of GA together and fly all over together in our Mooney. But getting back to your situation, like PK said, you must respect your wifes choice - afterall the GA safety track record is on a par with motorcyles and the two of you have young children - not making a judgement but just saying her concern is not unjustified. Her in socal, all of us Mooney pilots know a guy that shares your dillema and loves to write up trip reports and post them on the web. Ed is one of those guys that has not been able to get his wife to join him on a flight in 21 years - till just recently. You can read about it here: http://www.mooneyevents.com/Find%20London%20Bridge.pdf I hope you don't have to wait 21 years like Ed did for your wife to fly with you, but you can always encourage her by taking up countless other female friends like Ed has done (read some of his past stories for chuckles). But in the mean time, seriously, be as respectful and patient with your wife as you can, because AIDs (Aviation Induced Divorce) is very real and you really don't want the love of aviation to be a stress factor for your marriage but something you can hopefully eventually share. Good luck!

Quote: Mazerbase ....Not a true replacement for the recognition lights, maybe, but it is something. Worth the cost and effort to replace. Probably not but I'm not done investigating ....

Per Whelen's catalog 71110 is direct replacement for your current nav light: "71110 series is a wing tip mounted strobe anti-collision/position light assembly utilizing LED's for the forward position lights....Direct replacement (exact footprint) for the Whelen Model A650PG/PR series without replacing the current strobe power supply." But I am not trying to sell you on a Whelen - just listing (legal approved ) options. The Aveo lights are not a replacement for the "recognition" light that has the issue with melting the plexiglass wing tip covers. Alhtough they provide 3 functions of Nav, strobe and position lights - they do not provide the recognition light and thus you'll still need the existing recognition light. Plus the position light portion of the Aveo is non-functional when installed in the Mooney wing tip since it will not be visible from the behind and thus you'll you'll still need the white position light on the rear of the wing tip. So what does this buy you? an LED strobe and LED position light that doesn't really fit, and neither of which are melting your wing tip lenses like the recognition light that you still need. I am very skeptical about any STC and in fact skeptical about if they're even TSO'd yet. They say they they exceed TSO requirements, but no where do they say they are FAA/TSO'd i.e. approved by the FAA yet. Alhtough I would expect they are working on it - and could be for a long time. That said, sure I'd love to hear differently that they are TSO'd and they do have an STC and that your installer can get them in looking like they really belong there. Incidentally, the '86 252 surely does not have a strained electrical system. It has double the electrical output of the prior 231 because of going to a 28v system. And if you have dual alternators, like most 252's, then you have four times the electrical capacity of the 231. Good luck with the lights but the real problem still remains - a suitable cooler running Recognition light. A pulser is still the best option to keep it running cooler.

Nice looking light but they don't exactly look like they fit in the same footprint of your existing Whelen light, nor attach to the current retainer. Do they? Nor do they provide a recognition light, this just seems a lot of work when you could replace your current Whelen strobe/Nav lights with their drop in replacement model 71110 light at under $600 for the pair - if you really want the LED Nav lights. (It still uses the their non-led strobes, but what's the problem with their $75 flash tubes?) But none of this is a solution for the hot recognition light which I thought was your intent? What has your IA said about the approval process for installing these? Have you considered putting the recognition lights on a pulser, available from Lasar? That's easy and it'll really help the heat issue.

Regarding what happens to your remote transponder capability if you lose the GTN750 Quote: allsmiles The airplane is grounded because there is no squaking capability until the 750 gets repaired or replaced. Within the 2 year warranty it will be replaced. Outside the 2 years it gets exchanged with another unit. Maybe it's not a bad idea to leave the transponder dedicated external to the 750. In other words not the remote transponder.

An update to my prior post. I found a KLN94 Users Guide and found Turn Anticipation is an available feature that must be Enabled. So check Set up page 10 to verify Turn Anticipation is Enabled (or see page 4-10 of you manual) . With it enabled it behaves a bit differently from what carusoam described above. When the WPT annunciator in the upper right section of the screen begins to flash, this is Waypoint Alterting (Not turn aniticpation), more precisely its a 20 second alert to Turn Anticipation. Turn Anticipation begins when the Waypoint flashing goes to a solid from blinking and the unit tells you the new course to dial in - now turn the OBS on the CDI to initiate the turn. If you don't have turn anticipation turned on, then you'll get a 36 sec (not 35 sec as I recalled earlier) altering/blinking message all the way to station passage. So ensure its enabled. Hope that helps.

Yes - this was my questions to you in my first post - you have to be updating the OBS on the CDI as you sequence through waypoints in your GPS while in NAV mode. Do it when your GPS provides the turn anticipation but if it just provides a fixed 35 sec warning, then you have to estimate (i.e. 10 sec for 30 degree intercept). Turning the Heading bug while in Nav mode doesn't do anything. But note if you are peforming VOR navigation, then you KFC manual tells you switch to use HDG mode just as you approach the VOR and to turn to the new heading and course and then set the new course into your OBS of the CDI and switch back to NAV mode once your past the zone of confusion right over the VOR. Your installation must have GPSS capability before you no longer need to keep updating the OBS on the CDI to follow a series of waypiint in NAV mode.

Quote: allsmiles

Concur that it shouldn't be going past the current Heading bug value - if when you've come to the desired heading you're GPS and CDI is not indicating a major deflection - more than a couple dots. In other words, if the plane is not on the desired GPS Track when it completes the turn to the desired course it wouldn't be abnormal for the AP to have to continue the turn to correct for being offset from the desired Track. Quote: txbyker Last night I set up a GPS approach, got ATC cleared to the first point. I had the GPS approach loaded, pressed NAV, moved the CDI to the desired track and set the heading bug on the CDI course. The plane turned toward the new heading and blew past the first GPS approach point.