TonyPynes

Just had my Mooney's annual completed. It was my first one and it went well and very happy with the experience. One issue that is still being worked out is the fuel level transmitters and gage calibration. Original issue was left tank gage took a few minutes to come alive each time I flew, which is not a problem really but the other was the left tank also recently started showing another problem, at 1/4 tank remaining it would pop up to 3/4. My Mooney M20F has two transmitters and floats in each tank. Inboard and outboard and they share a ground with the inboard having insulated grommets for the screws, a strap to the outboard and then the outboard has no grommets for insulating as I assume it is grounded that way. Transmitters and gages were sent to Air Parts of Lochhaven for repair. They rebuilt them and replaced the brass floats with a new type of float. When installed they showed empty with 8 gallons and showed 3/4 with a full tank. My tank is 32 gallons. My mechanic tried to adjust the float arm with no improvement and also looked at the gage itself. During the process he saw both individually indicated 0-30 ohms which is correct then the inboard stopped indicating altogether. We are sending it all back to Air Parts. Should this be this hard? Any thoughts? Advice welcome.

I think there is always more. congrats on all the work and getting her in shape.

Very cool. Nice paint job. I saw some of your earlier pics but can you recap what all you repaired, replaced or reworked? My plane is in annual and I have to live through others. Also, what is the situation in Savannah for hangars? I may be considering an offer to relo there.

I struggled with the partner versus single owner route. Even talked to some partnerships and looked at the schedule of reservations on the plane. I also talked to some clubs. I knew I wanted greater access to a plane from the first time I took a lesson. For me the spirit or the reason for being a GA pilot centered around freedom. Freedom can in this instance be defined as being able to take off when i wanted, for as long as I wanted. When it came time to actually buy I asked myself why did I want to own. For me there was only one real reason to buy my own plane - convenience. It isnt cheaper for sure. I dont get to buy the best or latest avionics. But when you enter into a partnership you give up some convenience and for me that was a deal breaker. yes it would be cheaper to partner but the compromise was too great. For me the freedom I was reaching for as a private pilot was to fly when and as long as my money would allow me.

Very Cool!

I love that panel. Wish it was mine a cleaned up panel with the aspen and engine monitor is what I am missing.

I saw in your photos you caught a shot of my 9414V at Lou's. Do I need to sign a Model Release? just kidding.

What did you decide?

Congrats! Captain!

Quote: ehscott By the way, it was the first time I have gotten into the airplane since I bought it that there was no odor of fuel. Had always observed a slight odor in the cockpit when I opened the door that went away quickly but not today.

I enjoyed reading your account of your trip and appreciate the details. Makes it conceivable for those of us who have not crossed water before. I chuckled when you said your wife trusted you so you set off. My wife is always saying the same thing. I always tell he I would never trust a new pilot....me....but she is always confident. Sounds like a great adventure.

Quote: carusoam Sounds like the pot hole owner might be responsible in the end...? -a-

I should have a data point in about a month when mine comes up for renewal. I had a pothole on airport surface I did not see and resulted in a taxi prop strike....teardown and inspection...yadda yadda yadda. Will see what the impact in August. I m certain their will be an increase. I had hoped to have my IR done by then but wont happen.

Quote: SkyPilot Interesting thread. I've fixed everything else on my airplane. Now I am tackling the Brittain. The folks down at Brittain were kind enough to email me a pdf Flight Manual and Maintenance manuals for my unit which is a great help. My autopilot has only the heading function not the altitude hold. I had it working briefly on one flight but it hunted back and forth on HDG. Now that I have the manual, I'll begin troubleshooting. If all else fails, I'll send it in. Any suggestions?

Quote: Parker_Woodruff Austin, I don't think the intent of the posts is to say the OP can't make a cross country flight. It just seems like he's trying to rush a process that shouldn't be rushed.

Wow. I thought I was pretty conservative in my flying until I heard the wisdom in the posts above. I have low minimums for wind, cloud cover, turbulence, etc. I cancel often due to weather of if I just don't feel right or if my work out was strenuous that morning I will ask if I am apt to be too tired later on for flying. But I felt very comfortable flying from Texas to NC alone. Not CA to FL but I assume the advice would still stand. I did arrange for CFis to be available if I did not feel comfortable at any point, including the instructor who checked me out and instructors in NC who were ready to fly to meet me along the way if needed. My newbie experience to date with only 150 hours PIC total and 50 in a Mooney was that that initial flight in my M20F with only 100 hours, 15 complex was a comfortable flight with a well planned cross country and alternative plans as needed. Maybe I am not as conservative as I thought.

Quote: 1970m20e I got you all beat. Dropped it of on 30 December 2011. Still in the shop. It keeps getting "bumped" back for other planes with urgent repairs. Engines, skydive planes, turbo props, other customers. Not liking this at all. Oh and I paid in advance. Nice. I cannot wait to see the date when the annual is signed off. It will be a June 2012 date I'm sure. That's 6 months and not because anything major happened.

I dropped mine off for its first annual under my watch this week too and had planned on participating but work has called me to travel the next several days. Figures. I do hope to get back in time to at least see her opened up. My list of to dos after I get the cost of the annual out of the way: Shoulder harness for seat belts Maybe removing the step I don't need and shorter folks seem to avoid. Update 430 database in preparation for IR training this month Maybe a JPi engine monitor with fuel flow

There was an M20F for sale in Chicago awhile back that was yellow and white. Found it.

When I bought my F last year every insurance company I talked to had slightly different reqs for dual and some had specific reqs for the CFI time in a Mooney. For me, none specified model. They just wanted a Mooney experienced CFI and for my time to be in a Mooney. I picked the insurance company with the lowest req hours and price so I could get it done quickly. The plane was in North East Texas. I was in NC. I ended up needing 5 hours dual and so I arranged prior to going to have an instructor meet me there and fly for a couple of days. I only had a few days and had to be back at work. I was lucky and one was located on the field and had flown in the plane I bought. I also found 2 back up instructors nearby who would have flown to meet me there. I then flew back cross country alone to finish my 5 hours solo required before I had passengers. Some insurance companies wanted 10 hours dual and 10 solo. Some didn't need it to be with a CFI, others did. I had a blast. First Mooney I ever flew, went through PTS reqs just like an extended check ride and practiced maneuvers. At one point following the Red River to get a feel for control. This was in 100 degree Texas heat so we only flew an hour or two each time. I felt very comfortable in the plane afterward. Previously I had 15 hours complex in an Arrow. What a different plane from the Arrow. When I took off for home several of the old timers at the field I had met came to send me on my way. Good experience. The flight home was also fantastic and an adventure in itself. First time in MVFR-trust the instruments, first time to 11k, first time over the Smokies, first over 5 hour trip, first landing MY plane on home field and pulling it up to MY FBO and putting her away in MY hangar. Sorry, I meant only to say to have an instructor there ready to get the hours done in your plane. Got carried away.

I switched to Halo aviation "in ear" headsets a few months ago and don't seem to have thee same issue with loudness in my M20F. Of course I went from Dave Clarks and a Piper Arrow. But the sound doesn't seem to be an issue and I do fly hours at a time with no zing.

I am no expert and have called the great people at Britain a couple of times. The Britain B6 AP I have on my M20F works well and has alt hold but if you are new to it you should get the manuals as stated by others. For mine I usually start off just using the heading selector on the B6 unit. It has an alt hold and a pitch knob too. I have a PC system so I am not sure the function of the pitch knob. Need to read more. Its important to note that to slave off of GPS your CDI must also be set to course. At least in mine it is required. once GPS and CDi are set you then select CAP (capture) on the B6 then select TRK (track). I have flown for hours in CAP mode so I am not sure the difference but then I use it for cross country cruising only and there maybe be other stages of flight that require this process. It also has a LOC selection which I have not used yet. Only once did the system not work correctly following the process above and that time it seemed to search 3-4 degrees off of course and I disengaged it. But I am wondering if that was more about the system adjusting for crosswind to keep her on course. I was moving away from the coast and winds were changing. The PDFs Britain will send are more about the technical side of things but there are some user instructions....it does require your attention to figure them out. At least it did for someone new to APs. I do agree that the system is very useful and I would not pop for the cash to replace it. With the flight part of my instrument training about to start this summer it will be interesting to see if the system will be useful for IR work.

I would love to go but doubt I can work it out schedule wise. Would have to be a last minute thing and it is something hat takes planning. Dr Bill we still need to meet up in NC soon. 9414V is flying great. I do have an annual in two weeks but have been really putting in some hours other.

Interesting conversation on this thread. While I am in the get er done camp, perhaps it is because I am anxious about finishing my own IR. My cross countries across states and to mountains and coastlines has done just what was mentioned previously; allowed me to gain independence and more importantly confidence as a pilot and ........ time to learn. If there is one thing I know it is that every time I get in my plane and fly I learn something significantly new. I mean significant too. Like an aha moment. It is exhausting at times. An instructor once told me that every new pilot had a lot of luck. Her job was to ensure that my skill as a pilot grew faster than my luck ran out. While many will think that is a trite or BS comment it has always rung true for me as a 150 hour pilot at 55 years of age. So maybe I am changing my vote. I have just returned to my home in Greensboro, NC from Peoria, IL last wek. The things I learned on both legs of that trip about ice, turbulence, rain, ATC limitations.... are things it requires you to get out in the weather and fly to learn. We just got back from a trip to the Outer Islands today. Fantastic time for my wife and I. I learned about full flap landings when you are coming in hot on a relatively short and narrow runway. It's always something. So once you have the certificate, fly. Gain as much experience as you can. I don't know if that will make the IR easier. But the experience of flying will give you confidence, ownership of your own safety and respect for the weather you are about to fly in as an IR pilot. Just a newbies two cents.

Quote: Parker_Woodruff I made a Texas run this weekend and had a few squawks and other little things I want to take care of. Yesterday I hit Llano, Kerrville, and Dallas. This morning I flew from Dallas to Longview in my M20K and dropped the plane off for MX. Then fantom's M20J back to Florida.