bnicolette

I'm with you John. I put a lot of stock in an MSC and also my local shop. Between the three of us I firmly believe that we have one of the most solid airplanes around. I have good working relationship with my local shop as he used to work with me before working on the larger equipment as well, but was "raised" up working on the smaller aircraft and engines. I can change the oil in my plane, but I elec to have my shop do it as it gives my plane another set of eyes looking at here when the cowling is off. I also have him check the brakde reservoir back by the batery and that get's his eyes back into the fuselage. I try and do this along with him but it's not always possible. I ALWAYS want a second pair of eyes looking at my arplane no matter what and I consider myself pretty mechanically nclined and have the time (& lack) of money to just let him do it himsef, but it works out really well as we aer both looking over things when the airplane is opened up. There are so many things that can be overlooked and probably do.........but we'll do what we should be able to do bast as pilot and that is manage risk. I'm sure there are those out threre that think I am just wasiting money, but in my mind, it is spending money for a piece of mind that I did about all I could do to make sure that it is airworty at any given time. It's all a trade off. Mike's company is GREAT for those BIG money guys out there hthat have very little time, mechanical skills, knowhow, etc. and need somebody representing them in the maintenance shop. We all know that there are those shops out there that will just rape and pillage you to the end if then can and this is where Mike's program really comes into play. Kudos to mike for setting up that company. I sort of have that relationship with my current shop in that they know my airplane so well by now that they would be my first call in the even of a mechanical while being a transient at an unfamiliar airport and not knowing exactly what is happening with my airplane. It is just coporate aviation on a much smaller scale. Owever wants an airplane but has no time to deal with that airplane and just wants to fly it. He hires a person like Mike to manage the airplane for him. It's a good service and will keep that owner much safer than he would be without Mike watching over his maintenance. (I think) Let's face it.............There needs to be a bottom line in this discussion somewhere..................There are all kinds of planes, owners, mechanics, shops, etc. The best thing to do is find a balance owner/mechanic/shop 3rd party maintenance management of this regarding your time, pocket power, knowledge. I know that most of us have the way we do things, some may or maynot be as safe as others, some others may be overkill on what needs to actually be done on these things to be safe, well you get my drift. it takes all kinds. Thankfully, these things are very reliable and will more than likely start giving you signs she needs some attenetion wasy before she puts here foot down and just says..........okay........I quit..........I want it now. We all need to be prudent to pay attention as the planes do talk to us and then take care of it in the best fiscal method you can. Blue skies everybody, B~

Absolutely horrified. About ten rungs up on a ladder is about it for me. Can't stand on the edge of anything. My cousins tree house is absolutely terrifying to me and I get dizzy. No problem surrounded by fuselage though!!

It is a great site and the only problem I can see (wife and kids also) is that I spend too much time on it!!! Thank you Craig!!

Is it absolutely oil? I sometimes get hydraulic fluid on the left nose gear door from the master cylinder?

To the hangar. :-( HSI is not back from the avionics shop yet, so I am grounded. I supposed I'll spend the weekend clenaing the interior. B~

Quote: fantom Keep me in the loop guys. If I'm not flying (work), I'd love to join in. email: bnicolette@yahoo.com

I used to walk around F45 everyday while I was on trips in PBI waiting around. We would base our Falcon at PBI during the winters and to kill part of the day I would walk around F45, Indiantown, and Lantana. There are a lot of great folks at F45 and lots of activity in the bigger hangars by where the "car ports" are. Many great guys there!! I remember seeing a lot of the ports open last time I was there. The guy that rebuilt this airplane is just phenomenal to speak with! I can't remember what kind of airplane it is though.

Quote: rbridges At $600+/month in South Florida, are you able to walk right into a hangar, or do you have a waiting list? Your question may be answered for you if you can't get in one anyway.

You know the strange thing is that hangar space is pretty much at a premium at just about any airport. I know I got the very last hangar at my airport and there is already a huge waiting list which is the case at most airports. If we were wise, we would start an investment club and build some freaken T hangars!!!!

Quote: gregwatts You Mooney guys are known for your opinions,.......so give em to me!

Scott you are absolutely right. It all comes down to budget. And I would most definitely consider hangar expense part of the budget. However, that is just me and we are all different folks with different ways of doing things and caring for our airplanes. For me........There is no better preflight than a very thorough post flight which for me is cleaning every single bug and other debris off of my airplane after each flight all the while looking everything over as I'm cleaning. In the winter, rain, snow, etc., I still have no problems doing this as my airplane is pushed right into the hangar which I can light up like the sun were shining and heat it if need be. Greg....It all comes down to how you intend to operate and care for your airplane. If you want a museum piece that just screams "I'm babied", then get the hangar if you can find one and the budget allows it. On the other hand, leaving it outside will take it's toll on the airplane but it is certainly not going to crumble and fall into little Mooney pieces of trash overnight. What airport are you basing it at? Aren't there a lot of options in Florida for even getting it under roof? I've spent a lot of time at Lantana and North Palm Beach airports and they both have "ports" for airplanes. Do they have those at the airport your thinkng of basing at? Those would be way better than just leaving it outside or putting a cover on it, wouldn't it? Whatever you decide, just give it the care it deserves and if you end up keeping it outside, just give it extra extra care with cleanings and wax. Good luck and let us know how the prebuy goes. Where is the pre buy being done at? B~

Holy cow!! $600 is a lot of money for rent............double what I pay. However, Greg there is no way i would leave a "nice" Mooney outside in the elements no matter where it was located, but especially in Florida. I would just consider it part of the flying budget and grin and bear it. I spend so much time at my hangar just playing around with and cleaning my airplane. I'm sure if it were left outside, it would not get near the care that it does now. I think a hangar is a MUST. B~

I haven't taken the time to read through all these posts, but the company I am working for now (Skyward Aviation) is a training center for Cirrus and I know that he has sold over 5 of the SR22's? this year alone. They seem to be doing pretty well. They have a dedicated full time instructor to teach folks in these things? Is the company not doing well? I was almost toying with the idea of sellling my Mooney and trying to get a club going of 5 - 10 guys on a new Cirrus, but I just love my Mooney too much to be thinking of that right now.

Does anybody have any nice Time log sheets or equipment list sheets like would like to share in excel or numbers format?

I would love to upgrade, but I just don't have any extra funds to do anything right now. I am doing what I absolutely need to do to keep it airworthy and functional. Someday perhaps, but for now, it will have to do. It hasn't been overhauled since it's been installed and since I already have overhauled the following just this year, I should be good for a while: Attitude Indicator (Vacuum) Attitude Indicator (Electric) NSD360A (Both) I'm tapped out now, but in the future, I would love to upgrade to EFIS. I'm just excited to see my autopilot slide down the ILS finally all by itself. Yippie. B~

Got the word from Autopilot Central today and my HSI is going to get a complete overhaul. Owie!!!!! Oh well, at least it will be good to go for years to come!! They really are great folks to work with. Thanks Barry!!

Great idea. I had one installed in my airplane as soon as I purchased it. It is such a warm and fuzzy feeling plowing around in the clouds knowing that if you have a vacuum pump failure or even an electric failure you still have a gyro to hang on to!! In that circumstance, it is a priceless addition!!! Definitely go for it!!

Quote: carusoam Would it make sense to use lock-tite to keep the new heli-coil in place? Thinking out loud... Best regards, -a-

It's only two of them that need replaced, and I think it's not so much that they are stripped, but they backed out over time I guess and there was't much left in there for the screw to grab on to?

Thanks Scott. I have definitely decided to keep the Mooney for the forseeable future. I don't know how to explain it, but I know we all feel it. I have just grown so fond of this airplane and finally just about have it perfect. It would be a waste to get rid of it now and even though I won't be commuting to work with it I still want to have it around to play with and will give us an excuse to take some daycations with the wife and occasionally the boys.

Well I went out and played at the hangar the other day and noticed that the dust cover holes in the rims already had heli coils in them. SO, should I just replace the 8/32 heli coils or should I step up to the next size heli coils? I have my dust covers off now and I have to say, I cant stand seeing the plane with those covers off! I ordered a heli coil kit for 8/32 and 10/32 just in case the 8/32 won't work anymore.

My NSD360A HSI should be arriving at autopilot central tomorrow. Dang was it expensive to just ship out. $105 for ground and $265 for overnight...........so, I elected to send it ground. Now I wish I would have overnighted it. I'm getting antsy to fly my baby. I can't wait to get it back and then hopefully be able to fly down the ILS or track a VOR with the autopilot. I had been just using the heading and altitude hold or using the REV mode to track a Localizer inbound. However, I couldn't stand not having that part of the autopilot working. Those functions (NAV/APR) haven't worked in over 10 years according to the last owner so if this HSI comes back and everything works, I will be OVERJOYED and other than the upcoming rigging on my airplane it is now going to be Perfect!! I will advise when I get the HSI back in and reading posts about autopilot central folks here, I am very confident that it is going to be fixed!! I love this forum and it is such a GREAT source of advice and information!!

Wow,.........okay guys. You're right. I know that the other folks that I mentioned are also MSC's but I guess we all know that there are all kinds of MSC's out there and Weber definitely has the reputation of being one of the top ones. Being that I am picky with the maintenance, I really shouldn't short myself on this "last step", and clould just be causing myself more frustration with the illusion that somebody is actually promising to have it fixed same day without even seeing the airplane before. The rigging is not "bad".............well, I mean the ball is not that far out of center (1/8 - 1/4 ball to the right/Ailerons not exactly same with regards to the flaps) in cruise flight, but who knows what is really causing that and I suppose it could be a bunch of things.......flaps, ailerons, gear doors, who knows........but Weber will certainly be able to figure it out and make sure it's right. Thank you as always for the direct and honest input. I really appreciate the time you guys took to point me in the "proper" direction! I definintely felt that this was a job for a MSC and not my local shop (although he is VERY good), he doesn't have the proper tools and is not used to doing the rigging and like was said before, I don't want him learning on my time. Thanks everybody!!!

Hi all, I am down to getting my flight control rigging checked and adjusted and it is the LAST item on my "to-do" list. Well, until the next thing happens of course. I originally wanted to take it to Webers to have them do it, but they are unable to committ to doing it in one day meaning flying it into the shop in the morning and then being able to fly home that evening. Being that my schedule is very difficult to work around now a days, it is imperative that I be able to do it this way. There are two shops within reasonable flying distance that will committ to doing it during a one day visit and they are: G-Force out of Akron, OH and Air Mod's in New Jersey. Akron is much closer but both are reachable. Does anybody have any experience with either of these shops and which one would you trust to do an "A-1" perfect perfect job at the rigging process. I am not difficult to get along with when it comes to maintenance on my airplane, so long as it comes out PERFECT. :-) Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If you don't want to publicy say anything negative about either of these shops, please PM me as I really would like to get the "straight up" opinion or experience on these shops. As always, thanks to everybody for their input!!! Brett

Quote: jetdriven I am not a certified A&P mechanic, but rumor has it that a heli-coil is an approved repair per AC43-13 for simple things like that, same as it is for a spark plug which is a critical item. Also, if you leave the hangar door ajar, sometimes the heli-coil fairy appears at midnight and waves her wand. She cannot write therefore no log entry. She also fixes leaky compass diaphragms from time to time and adjusts KI-266 DME indicators.