kortopates

My K model IPC calls out RTV102 which is a silicone rubber ahesive sealant. These days there are better non-corrosive silicone sealants for electrical apps such as RTV3145 available from Spruce http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cmpages/dowCorningRTV3145.php but pricey and probably overkill for this. The 28V K model uses H35W28V bulb (Halogen 35 watt 28volt) and TP39 socket but your IPC will show the correct Whelen part #'s. Be careful, although the bulbs are available from Whelen, the TP39 sockets the leads fit into are not and are real hard to find. However, its sounds like your issue is more likely wiring if there is no voltage at the sockets.

Congrat's Parker, its good to see your Encore conversion completed!!!!!!!!!!

I hadn't noticed one being better or more interesting than the other - just different content. I've been subscribing to both for 20+ years and enjoy both. Just another opinion. They're a great way to learn about the system and the finer points about procedures.

I agree with Mitch entirely as another very satisified customer of Aero Accessories. Note Mitch said "that is no longer true" as you are both actually saying the same thing because the throw away 4000 series are no longer used. Slicks are entirely rebuildable - but is it affordable to do so? I can tell you as an A&P just working on my own plane, its not affordable for me to replace all the parts that Aero Accessories does at the retail prices that I would pay individually at Spruce, but Aero Accessories that specializes in this work is obviously getting much better prices than I can and can do the 500 hr inspection per Unison L-1363D for a fee that this less than the parts cost would be for me. With proper 100/500 hr maintenance the Slick will last the engine. Overhaul is required when you overhaul your engine and then a new set is probably your best bet and therein the Bendix mags are more overhaulable while the Slick are more afforable to replace with kit prices that include the 2 new mags, wires and set of plugs. Mike Bush tries to make the point in his magneto webinar, that using a good Magneto shop to do your magneto inspections/repairs provide much greater value than doing field repairs by your MSC or A&P where you'll end up paying about the equiavlent cost of a good 500 hr inspection by a Mag shop to have your MSC or A&P to field repair your mags replacing only a couple parts. Aero Accessories provides their full service in 24 hours of shop time, so its not a big time expense either.

Minimal if anything - especially If you have a relationship with the shop. Its only a couple minutes.

Yes, updating of the database cards is specifically allowed as owner maintenace and must be logged by the owner/pilot. But entering setup mode of the GNS430 to alter its configuration/installation parameters goes well beyond that. The issue Mike is having though is a one time configuration change as Mike apparently never had Terrain setup on his unit and thus future terrain card updates will be as easy as navadata card updates.

Very little of what they offer is on their website. You'll have to call: (800) 954-5619 or email them: Parts-Mods@lasar.com. I've had mine for a many years.

+1

Shocking to see so much banter about replacing the clock to poetntially solve replacing a bulb. Most/many clocks use their own batteries for the clock, (hence why they work all the time with out ship power), and are wired to the electrical system for lighting. Find out your clock model and search the manufacturer website (or current manufacturer/owner) for an installation drawing of the clock that will tell you if is lighted and the bulb used if so. Not all are lighted or have the option installed. Then with the proper data, you can troubleshoot the problem and find a new bulb if necessary. You shouldn't need to replace the clock unless you really want too.

Enter setup mode and Select the MAIN SYSTEM CONFIG page, Scroll though the CONFIGURE option to select "Terrain". The "Terrain Type" option should appear below, change the value from "NONE" to "TERRAIN", then highlight the TEST CARD option below and press the ENT Key. Your good if you get a PASS, a FAIL condition indicates the card is unusable. This is not owner/pilot approved maintenance.

I bought my last recognition light for $80 (see www.airsuppliers.com). True that the heat they generate will melt your lens tips if left on while taxining around. Buts its not a problem if you turn them on when cleared for takeoff (LIGHTS, camera, action!) and then turn them off when you land following your clear of the runway checklist. The real cats meow solution is to get a flasher for your recognition lights, available from LASAR. The small flasher unit is wired in to the the rocker switch behind the panel (taking minutes) and is enabled when you turn them on and then off for one second. You retain always "on" mode by just leaving the switch in "On" mode - although I only use flash mode. Flash mode solves the heat issue, substanially improves visibility (IMO) and saves bulb life. My recognition lights are always on in flash mode, day or night, and last for about 1000 hrs on average. BTW, all of us with 28V systems use a 12V recognition light that has a resistor in series with the light.

The accident you refer too ocurred at Dugosh, but I can't recall his name either. Think it ocurred around 2003 or 2004 and that he suffered permanent brain damage - but I hate to second guess as this was quite some time ago. Suggest you post an inquiry on the mapalist or give Ronnie a call at Dugosh.

The NTSB preliminary report gives very little to go on. The witness they quote tells us the final outcome appeared to be stall/spin about 2/3's of mile from the runway after getting very low and slow. Additionally, there were other witnesses quoted by the press in the parking lot of the complex of the accident site that thought the plane lost power and thought the pilot of the plane was trying to set down on the racetrack till it hit a light tower yet the NTSB chose not to include this somewhat conflicting witness account in their preliminary report so we'll have to wait for the full report to hear what they piece together for the flights final moments. I personally disagree with the notion that the Mooney needs a larger pattern, or that striving for a tighter pattern is what's leading to stall spin accidents in the pattern. This is simply not true IMO. Large vs tight is somewhat in the eye of the beholder. But to try and put a number on it, it shouldn't be a problem to fly a Mooney on the downwind within a mile of the runway. Stall/spin are most commonly the result of getting low and slow and then often made fatal by uncoordinated turns or excessive bank for the airspeed in the base to final turn. Its the excessively larger pattern, often from being too far behind the airplane, that leads to getting low in the first place and once low there is a tendency to bleed off airspeed from reducing descent rate and increasing reluctance by the pilot to drop the nose as they're approaching a stall thinking they can fix it with power alone since they're already getting too low - which is too often fatal. A good pattern to strive for, IMO, begins as a continuous descent abeam the numbers and is able to make gradual power reductions or does not need a power increase to make the runway. It just doesn't need a excessively large pattern to do that, but it does require flying a standard pattern and nailing your target airspeeds and descent rate while being aware of the effect of the wind and compensating accordingly.

With the discussion on cool downs and material Byron posted from the Avweb George Braly articles I closely monitored my own temperatures on a couple of approaches this past weekend. I re-verified, as I recalled in my earlier post, that leaning the mixture will mainatin the TIT up there at 1400F easily enough although I found myself inching it in such that I was in 1200-1300 range by short final. However, I found as soon as I enrichened the mixture for landing at 200' agl, the TIT was down to the low 800's shortly thereafter as I rolled off the runway where upon it stayed as I taxied to my final destination. Thus my engine's cool down began just before I touched down, given my SOP to keep the engine warm for a potential missed till committed to the landing, and the 3-4 minute taxi time should provide plenty enough time for the turbo housing to stabilize at that temperature eliminating any cooling benefit from further idling time. The IFR approach profile is the worst case scenario for me, whereas during a VFR pattern landing I'll enrichen the mixture with a large MP reduction for landing (about a minute earlier from landing) and those that enrichen at the FAP with the large MP reduction should see temperatures just like Braly's graph that Byron posted. My only point in this is that the cool down doesn't necessarily begin with the MP pull but when the mixture enrichens. Secondly, anyone with an engine analyzer can collect their own data for their own specific techniques. Thanks to Byron for posting the Braly article and data.

Jim, Congrats on upgrading to a K. Would love to see it sometime. I think your wise to follow your POH recommendations for cool down. However you most likely do have the instrumentation to be able to judge when you can shutdown earlier and I do believe Scott and Byron's quoting of APS and George Braly is mostly right - but its not the whole story in my opinion. First off, the issue we're trying to avoid is as you listed above, to 'reduce oil coking in bearings'. Its a bit of a stretch to call them bearings but we'll leave that for another time. The point is oil is pumped through until shutdown, where upon after shutdown a hot turbo can result in coking, which in turn will lead to less than optimal lubrication and cooling and lead to faster wear. If it was totally an OWT, then don't you think the folks that rebuild our turbos would never see coking? But I digress. I believe TIT is a quite adequate indicator for determining when the turbo has sufficiently cooled. Although I don't have much confidence in my factory TIT gauge I do have full confidence in my JPI TIT readings. My factory TIT probe is almost right at the exhuast inlet of the turbo but always reads over a hundred degrees cooler than than JPI probe which is an inch away from the factory probe. The big disconnect I believe is the non-turbo pilots who assume the big power reduction for landing, such as reducing power and lowering gear for landing, is when the 5 minute cool down period commences. It could be, but it all depends on how you operate your mixture. If you enrichened the mixture at this point, then yes, I do agree you'd be able to count this time as part of your cool down. But I never do this. Every power reduction is accompanied by leaning the mixture to mainain a TIT of 1400+F till landing is assured on short final. Otherwise I risk not being able to develop full power from an overly cool engine and even shock cooling cylinders if I went full rich (NA pilots will say that just another OWT, but its very possible with a turbo). Given my TIT is at about 1400 till short final, and thus glowing a cherry red, my coolest TIT is not right after landing but takes a few minutes after mixture enrichment to cool down. I've found it will cool to just under 900F (at idle) and its always cool enough by the time I taxi to my hangar. But if I have a very short taxi then I'll wait for a couple of minutes till TIT cools to the 900F range. I do believe that's adequate, since TIT is the entire source of heat to cause an coking. I'd suggets you collect your own TIT data on cool down, using a good 5 minutes of cool down as a control, and then form your own personal target TIT shutdown temp based accordingly on your own operating style and instrumentation; as it will cause variances. That should enable you to develop your own shutdown timing procedure with confidence in adequate cooling.

Yes, that was the basis of the groups founding, but I assure you, the main page better reflects the groups makeup and the members section tells the reality of it. But its up to you. There's virtual socializing such as on this web site then there's live socializing over your favorite $500 hamburger. There is also the Mooney Ambassadors with Jolie and Mitch but with a more specific mission to promote GA and primarily at Airport days; as opposed to a luncheon fly-in. But at any of these, you'll always be most welcome! Welcome to the Vintage Mooney Group It's the Pilots who are Vintage! The Vintage Mooney Group was established in August 2003 to promote the fellowship, camaraderie, and a venue for spectacular fly-ins in the Western USA, now including chapters in the Northeast, Southeast, and South Central USA as well. We enjoy the opportunity to share our Mooney specific knowledge, our experiences, our safety tips, and our pride of Mooney ownership with each other. As an added bonus, we appreciate the prospect to develop new friendships. To become a member simply show up at one of our fly-ins. Note - Some of the above menioned chapters appear to be loosing participation.

The thought that VMG is only for Vintage mooneys is an unfortuante misconception. The group even considered changing the name but most of us non-vintage pilots figured its obvious enough by browsing the website. You'll even see Wayne Fisher's Acclaim in the members section. The group represents a cross section of Mooneys equally proportional to the fleets numbers by model. That aside though, i will say the main thing Vintage about the group are the pilots which is why we so much need some younger pilots to join in

I assume you're referring to the fuel cap o-rings. Large one on the outside and small one inside. Both are available from Spruce Aircraft or your local MSC. 85 M20 what? Check your IPC, but for either J or K, you should find: MS 29513-338 large fuel cap o-rings MS 29513-010 small fuel cap o-rings

You both should have joined our VMG flyin to HII just a couple of weeks ago. About 16 Mooneys flew in from CA, NV and AZ and we all enjoyed lunch at Waldo's BBQ. Would have been good to meet you both.

The best/most useful site I am aware of and easy to interpret cloud height forecast is a NCAR site at http://weather.rap.ucar.edu/model/ You'll see cloud heights forcasted at 6K increments - not the desired resolution we'd like, but it gives me a quick idea of ability to top the clouds. It'll tell you if cloud tops go above 6K, 12K and 18K and will also tell you if they go below 6K and they also give you information about being above or below freezing. From that web page you can also click on the "upper air" tab and quickly access the skew-T for all the main sites here in North America. NCAR is a very good site.

I personally went the part 147 Aviation Maintenance school - its offered at my local community college. I assume the weekend class is a joke, because this involved 5 semesters of full time class work after my day job - basically 4:30 to 11pm 4 out of 5 nights to do the full A&P. That's a semester for the General, then 2 semesters (or year) for the airframe and 2 for the powerplant. Of course this is full training program for the person without any prior experience. I think the situtation that Lionudakis describes above is for pretty rare situations involving people that genuinely have gained years of experience. Typically having volunteered with organizations like the CAF or their local Aerospace museum that restores A/C. Much less likely I believe for a Mooney owner that hopes to build the required experience and knowledge working on their own a/c. I've met a few people that have gotten the letter of experience signed off. Fewer that have gotten FSDO sign off to take the exam and I have yet to know anyone that actually completed the writtens and practical. Alhtough I know they exist. The reason being I believe is the signoff is no substitute for the required knowledge. Both the written and practical will cover many topics that Mooney pilot would be unlikely to be exposed too working on his/her Mooney; such as wood and frabric, turbine engines and even helicopters. Thus one will still have to put much effort into studying for those areas tested on both the written and practicals. So my advice for anyone that that's seriously interested and understands the power and value of knowledge is to find a local community college aviation program and utilize it. Its time consuming but very affordable and extremely valuable.

Going south across the us border you can enter any Airport of Entry (i.e. has customs) that is most convienent for you. I suggest pick where about you'd like and then research the specific airport options on BajaBush Pilots website. The immigration fees (~$20/person) and entry/declaration fees are same everywhere and pretty much the same for fuel. Fuel has always been much cheaper in Mexico than in the US. However, airport fees vary a bit from airport to airport. Although you can ask for a multi-entry permit so that you can re-use for the remainder of the calendar year, you will have to purchase a new entry permit (and immigration visa's) entering from the southern border. New Visa's are required for each entry. The Entry permit is northern or southern border specific, thus why you'll end up getting two and are approx $60. Going North you can only enter at one of the two entry points already mentioned, unlike going south.

Review your POH as it has the details. But yes, when pushing the Push to Test buttom all lights except the Starter light will come on. The Starter light only comes on when the starter circuit is energized. If none come on with the Push to Test, then perhaps the button switch is no longer making a sound connection. It always helps if you include your Model and year. What I said above may not apply to a vintage model.

Quote: tomcullen ..... As an interesting experiement, you can fly a Cherokee with a maximum aft CG and get more speed from the plane. The reason is that you require less trim in that condition, so the plane has less drag. ..... Dan, good explanation overall. But one correction or clarification because not everyone may understand your reference to less trim is meant as less lift. All airplanes will improve their performance at maximum aft CG due to less drag but not really less trim. The further the CG moves back the less downward lift the tail has to produce to main level or desired attitude. The less lift results in proportionately less induced drag as a byproduct of lift.

Quote: SkyPilot ... Sounds like my life will be easier with an IFR. I've passed the written so I may as well carry on. 28 years of flying VFR and Bush IFR is enough. ...