Robg

Anyone know where the panel light dimmer control unit is physically located on a Bravo? I can't find it anywhere. The glareshield dimmer unit is located on the bulkhead in the avionics bay, but the panel light dimmer unit is nowhere to be found. Any help greatly appreciated. Rob

I have the exact problem in my Bravo with all king original avionics including the EFIS and KAP150 with the FD of about the same vintage as yours. Mine will do sudden excursions either up or down. Sometimes it is fine, others it's all over the place. Mine is definitely being commanded by the FD,though. I can have it in FD mode only without the autopilot engaged and see the command bars make uncommanded climbs and descents. I've had the ap computer checked, AI overhauled, a bearing on the trim shaft replaced and the trim servo replaced but nothing has fixed it. We are still trying to troubleshoot it, although it seems to only happen in colder, by no means necessarily freezing, weather. It's driving me crazy.

Select Avionics at McKinney TKI. Very good service, great people to work with. Jerry Huntley is the owner; jerry@selectavionics.com, 214-491-1600.

Here are the results of the 2007-2011 sport air racing league races, by aircraft type. It looks like the RV's smoke the Mooneys by 15-20kts, but a lot of these RVs are souped up and flown by experienced racers. The Mooneys obviously have fewer modification options to boost speed. http://www.sportairrace.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/112211aircraft.xls

FWIW, the FBO at Austin Executive is a destination unto itself. There's a Concorde engine on display in the lobby, the pilot lounge is out of this world (it has a movie theater!), unique artwork (look for the one signed by Orville Wright), etc. Its a great place to stop if you are in the area.

I had this exact same problem in my Bravo. Trim worked ok on the ground, but would stiffen up at altitude, and when really cold, would freeze up and the trim wheel would not move at all, either manually or with the electric trim. The thrust bearing was bad and required replacement. If I recall this was a King part number.

A quick follow-up on this, I went with Planexhaust in Fort Lauderdale, who quoted $1600 and a 3-5 day turnaround. FYI

During a routine inspection on my '92 TLS Bravo, my mechanic used his smoke machine on the exhaust system after looking for an induction leak. We discovered a small hole on the back side of the exhaust transition part #47C19818, which attaches to the turbocharger (Picture attached). Its almost completely hidden behind the exhaust I don't think it would have been found visually without the smoke. I know very bad things happen if this thing fails in flight so I'm very glad to have found it, but finding a replacement is, well, almost impossible. The list on this thing new is over $5k, and even to get mine "overhauled"/repaired, its over $3,800 (assuming its repairable). Does anyone know of a reliable source, either new, overhauled, or removed-as is? Five grand for this part almost takes your breath away. Thanks.

I had mine replaced in 2008. It came from Pacific Scientific in Miami. www.pacscimiami.com. There was a long lead time then, as well. They told me that there wasn't that much demand for them, and since the part has a finite life, they don't want them sitting on a shelf for a year before it sells.

Quote: jetdriven

Be careful using the Mountain High 02D2 downstream of the installed O2 system in the Bravo. http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20090731X10108&ntsbno=ERA09FA429&akey=1

The FAA hosted a Wings seminar last weekend at Air Salvage of Dallas entitled "Legal but Fatal". They had three aicraft involved in fatal accidents displayed in the salvage yard, and a member of the FAA team and Lucky Louque went through the specifics of each accident, background, probable cause, etc while the participants where assembled around the remains of the airplane. The first accident they discussed was a Commander 114 with the dual mag that crashed at night in Hot Springs, AR after the mag failed. Lucky spent no less than 15 minutes talking about the maintenance issues on these mags imploring everyone to maintain them religiously or "come with me and fill out an accident form in advance. I'll fill in the date later". The other point he made was the Aaron Reid with Select in Lancaster is one of the best in the country with this model of magneto. Sounds like you are doing the right thing and sending them to the right place.

I have a 91 TLS with the Bravo conversion done in 1997. Recently seeing oil pressure that decreases at high power and increases at low power. My mechanic called Lycoming, who recommended we check to ensure that the correct lower exhaust valve seat was installed. 1700TT with about 900 since the conversion. Three cylinders pulled and reworked/overhauled since that time, one by a prior owner, two since I've owned it. I've owned approximately 3 years. Apparently, the wrong part number is installed for the valve seat and the correct ones are $200 each. Question to those knowledgeable about this marque: Does the Bravo conversion come with all new cylinders, or is it a kit to modify existing ones? I'm trying to figure out how the wrong part number would have been installed on cylinders that have never left the engine (assuming logs are accurate and I've had no occasion to think otherwise since I've owned it). Second question, if the part number that's installed is for the -AF1A engine, would that cause the symptoms I'm seeing now? (Oil pressure is confirmed accurate, since the factory gauge matches the OP on my JPI that uses a different transducer). Appreciate any insight from those familiar with this engine. Thanks, all.

I have a 91 TLS with the Bravo conversion done in 1997. Recently seeing oil pressure that decreases at high power and increases at low power. My mechanic called Lycoming, who recommended we check to ensure that the correct lower exhaust valve seat was installed. 1700TT with about 900 since the coversion. Three cylinders pulled and reworked/overhauled since that time, one by a prior owner, two since I've owned it. I've owned approx 3 years. Apparently, the wrong part number is installed for the valve seat and the correct ones are $200 each. Question to those knowledgeable about this marque: Does the Bravo conversion come with all new cylinders, or is it a kit to modify existing ones? I'm trying to figure out how the wrong part number would have been installed on cylinders that have never left the engine (assuming logs are accurate and I've had no occasion to think otherwise since I've owned it). Second question, if the part number that's installed is for the -AF1A engine, would that cause the symptoms I'm seeing now? (Oil pressure is confirmed accurate, since I the factory gauge plus OP on my JPI that uses a different transducer). Appreciate any insight from those familiar with this engine. Thanks, all.