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.

I put my bikes into bbq covers before I put anything greasy into the plane - all wrapped up in BBQ covers stays clean. Wheels in proper wheel bags

Really?!!

One time I flew out of KMMU Morristown and the controllers are very busy in the area since it is generally in the vicinity of all the NYC traffic. About 10 years ago. I had an IFR flight plan despite severe clear as I often do in such airspaces and I picked it up on the ground. I waited for the controller to have time then he read it to me and I read it back, and it was reasonably complicated but I got it correctly. Then I departed and talked to the area controller who immediately was balling me out for going in the wrong direction and was just pissed at me and ordered me to hold in a circle pattern essentially in place which I did and I was polite. What was depressing is I indeed was doing correctly upon departure as the original flight plan given to me. He asked me where I was going and I told him the way point and he told me that was stupid and I should know what I am doing and he is too busy to deal with clueless pilots. I didnt loose my calm and stayed cool and was beginning the penalty hold he put me into. This is 2 min after departure and essentially within a minute of checking in with the controller. I thought I was about to get the phone number - I didnt talk back rudely and I was not speaking confused in anyway, but at that point another pilot, thankfully who had been listening to the whole thing including had heard me on the ground before I departed, and it was a CFI, spoke up and spoke on my behalf and said he heard the whole thing with the other controller and said indeed I was given those instructions and I was doing as ordered. AT that point the controller calmed a bit and told me to hold and he would get back to me and I confirmed I would hold. He left me in penalty laps no kidding for like 20 min then came back with an entirely different flight plan that seemed as if it was designed to be extra complicated and out of my way just to shove it to me, but I politely copied, read it back and then complied. 10 min later I was out of that controllers zone and on to the next controller and asked me why I had such a weird flight plan and shortly thereafter gave me something much more direct. I guess controllers can have a bad day too or a chip on their shoulder. It was an escalated situation and if I had come back angry right back at him I bet I would have gotten the phone number. That said, it was all on tape and I was confident that the controllers had made a mistake between themselves and I was good.

That's a good question - my Garmin GI256 happily drives my old school King KFC200 adding GPSS steering and no problem in fully coupled approaches.

Well that is friggin scary! So that big gear is visible in the cowl behind the prop during preflight isnt it? Did that gear failure happen all at once or was it showing signs that was missed during preflight before the incident flight? Well this is scary indeed since I fly the same exact engine and I am 2050hrs TBO. All signs are good as far as I know but I did declare enough is enough and I already signed a contract for major overhaul to begin in early November to happen largely during the winter months. Knock on wood then I get a few more hours. But seriously - is there something I can see visually that would have been a sign?

https://www.faasafety.gov/files/notices/2024/Sep/2024-09-25_Mooney_Control_Wheel.pdf Who here could control - and land - a Mooney by reaching over and manipulating the other control yoke in front of the other pilot position. Scary! How general is this incident? I bet an AD will follow.

I have VGs but not a FIKI install of TKS - I have a inadvertent install of TKS.

KPTD - Potsdam, NY - Ive been to KRUT - its pretty close!

My rocket is loud - louder than most Mooneys, but it was much louder when I got it. An expensive fix: when I switched from the McCauley 3 blade prop which was 76'' to my current MT four blade which is 74'' the sound went down significantly. There were other important changes and reasons I did it but on the topic of sound it was notable. It's not just the shorter prop or the four blades but a compliant prop like a MT (carbon wrapped wood) bends and scoops the air more than a metal prop that beats the air. People who stand outside my airplane while on the ground almost all say it sounds different and milder than most piston airplanes.

Im super disappointed Im not there. It's sooooo close to here and when it was announced I was excited I would go. But alas a work travel today and tomorrow keeps me away. Enjoy folks! I hope it comes back to KBTV sometime again.