aviatoreb

When does that modern mooney era begin? Starting with which models?

Mostly hours. I have felt a slight reduction in general power in the last year like getting tired but not drastic. Sone moderate elevated oil analysis values. No smoking gun but that and hours I figured ok let’s do it. In the winter a time of my choosing.

Well - it's Engine Time. I dropped my airplane off at Weber for engine overhaul. My TSIO520NB is at 2050 hrs - on a 1600hr TBO engine. It was going ok but I decided enough is enough. When I bought this airplane in 2010 it had like 700hrs on the engine but the owner I bought it from who had owned it for 1 year had bought it from a widow and it had sat unused for 3 years or so. So I was worried about corrosion and it wouldn't go the distance. But I got it for a fantastic price in that post 2007 crash economy. I was prepared to need to overhaul it sometime in 100hrs or so...but I guess it made it the distance. Hello Penn Yan. Can't wait. Is it Spring time yet? I am a flightless bird for the time being.

This guy actually did it

Yes - try not to fly in ice. But the tks works - but as described. A word of operations - avoid ice if you can, but pre-run your tks before ever entering a cold cloud even if ice is not forecast because it takes like 5 min for the system to express lots of fluid from the wings so - pre-prime it - eg on the ground before you depart to punch through a layer, etc. And run it monthly at least to keep it ready and healthy.

Well there is no doubt - I am going to refresh my airplane with a new motor and no doubt its going to cost a lot a lot a lot, but I am just saying I am going in to it I am aware that my fondest wish that it will be a flying world in another 20 years is not a sure thing. But then, here is to the hope that furthermore, in another 20 years, when I am 77, I will also be in flying condition and I will be excited to hang yet another refreshed motor on the nose!

That is a depressing, and probably true assessment. I am just about to gamble on my airplane for another 20 years investment. Its engine time and in two weeks, I am due to fly my airplane to an R&R shop for them to ship my engine off for major overhaul. Replacing an engine is crazy expensive but I feel at peace with it if I am thinking it is a 20 year investment into something I love. If somehow fuel (by regulation) or parts become unavailable in 5 years or so, and I knew that now, I might be making a different decision. But I am taking the gamble, because I love it.

Yeah. I know that routine. A Mooney crashed at Lake Placid relatively nearby here about 10 years ago. I was on a flight to Denver and at 16000 ft and I started getting texts from all sorts of people asking if I was ok. And I couldnt reply right away since somehow I receive texts sometimes in bursts at altitude but I cannot reply. It was a dad and two college age kids; he had just purchased a new to him airplane up from North Carolina and handled it improperly upon a go around at KLKP that has some sort of unusual features. Very sad.

Well there’s 2 within 5 miles within the last 5 years and 1 more within 10 mi within 10 years. Real crashes with substantial damage but not fatal. I’m amazed I hadn’t heard of them

That's a depressing website. There have been 3 crashes within 15 miles of here that I never knew about. Which for a small town area sort of surprises me.

Why is it that turbine engines are so much very much more expensive? At first blush they seem like a simpler concept. I know the thing that has to do with creating single crystal material is intensely complex but is that technology in a standard PT6 or a RR300? I just dont understand why a turbine engine is 5 or 10 times as expensive as a piston aviation engine which is already 10 times as expensive as the equivalent car engine (that last I get because of economy of scale - and the car engine has better precision in build). Well I would love to have an RR500 (that mythical engine that Mooney never got built) hanging on the end of my nose - but in reality if I had the money to think about that I wouldnt likely do it - the turbine Mooney already exists - I would more likely buy a used TBM700. And after all it is a Mooney - M in TBM is for Mooney. It's a more modern Mooney 301 - which was an early 1980 Mooney concept plane that eventually morphed and lead directly to the TBM700.

Mooney aircraft - the factory - had made some moves to hang a Turbine on the front end of the M20. There was a planned RR500 - a little smaller than whats in the helicopter engine on the Bonanza turbine. So maybe a little better fuel specifics? I dont know but I dont think Rolls Royce ended up making that engine in the end and Mooney took one of its typical bankruptcy moves... https://www.flightglobal.com/mooney-chooses-rr500-turboprop-for-new-product-development/82197.article and it was covered in Mooney space back in 2008 Would have been a fun option.

No I do not think it is the same. Unless you have waxed a chain with a block of melted paraffin wax I think you are mistaken. I have used paraffin lube in the past. Now I wax my chain maybe once a season and it just lasts and lasts and stays clean as well. It sounds weird but it has to be seen to be believed. It has to be seen to be believed. As for cleaning a crock pot - buy a cheap $25 mini crock pot and melt some wax into it and leave it in there forever devoted to the purpose. For next seasons waxing - or another bike. Its really trivial and easy and the result is amazing.

Oh - I think that was me!

Better and cleaner than paraffin lube. Just use paraffin. I soak my chains in heated wax in a crock pot. The chain stays clean for months - bonus - its reputed to save 10 watts of pedaling power.