Shadrach

Yikes. Not a good sign. Hope it’s simply an oversight

We had a pneumatic door cuff installed in the early aughts. The door fit was snug but the door closed easily. The seal would not take any air from day one. I suspect this was because input port was compressed against the internal seal. It mattered not. The door had zero leaks. Eventually I just removed the squeeze bulb and hose. Still tight as a drum nearly 20 years later. I have flown some drafty airplanes of all makes. This time of year especially, I am grateful to have a plane that is warm and draft free...I wish I could say the same for my hangar.

RIP Howard. Gut wrenching holiday tragedy.

I can hear/feel my boost pump at idle with Bose A20s. It’s just barely perceptible but it is there. It’s always been loud, but it’s a lot quieter since overhaul. not much to do about the MP gauge other then send it out or replace it . I have always found the Bluetooth interface on the Bose to be unreliable. I struggle to pair my iPhone to my A20s? It so bad that I have given upon several occasions.

Another vote for Perdue. I learned to fly at Monticello (KMCX) not far from the university. I did not attend but I took my written and my check ride there. Impressive facility.

It’s funny, one sort of develops a mental picture of forum members that they haven’t met. You keep throwing out statements that are in direct conflict with my mental picture. I would have assumed that if you were around to do anything “at least 60 years ago” it would have involved a pacifier or a teething ring.

It has been maddening to adjust to “new” appliances made under the latest regulations. Our brand new Samsung washers are fine for someone that never actually gets dirty. They are a big step down for actually cleaning clothes but at least it takes 3 times as long to get the lousy results. Forget about bulky items. I hacked the water level switch which has helped marginally but for all the new tech, a 30 year old top loader yields cleaner clothes. I know because I use an old Whirlpool for well soiled items. The stuff is way less durable as well, which is why the warranties are so lousy. The net result is extra cycles to do the same job and appliances with a shorter lifespan. The Fed is now considering a mandate that will reduce max usage from 5 gals per cycle to 3 gals and a 30% reduction in energy usage. It will be bad for every including the environment.

I’m admitted unfamiliar with the particulars of that era. Kermit definitely had a pump in the tank as did most of the cars I’m familiar with from the 60s and 70s. I know my old man’s 54 XK120 had one as he talked about whacking it with the wheel mallet to unstick it. How were your cars supplied with fuel?

When I was in high school (~1990) a friend of mine was gifted a green 1976 Ford LTD (aka Kermit) with a 351ci V8. As a consequence of its incredible thirst for fuel (6-8mpg around town) and his shallow teenage pockets, it was frequently left wherever it ran out of fuel, which Happened every few weeks or more. Of the many things that failed on that car, the fuel pump was rock solid.. It’s unbelievable to me how dated a 15 year old car looked prior to Y2K…and also what incredible POS’s Detroit was making in the mid to late 70s just as Mooney was turning out it’s most revolutionary airframe.

At my drome and others, turbines are subsidizing the pistons. No way we’d have the facilities we have without turbines. I expect to pay more in a major metropolitan area. I fly into Philly or Atlanta, those FBOs are not going to survive topping my Mooney off with 35 gallons 100LL. I haven’t flown into PDK since Aerocenters bought Epps, but I always received first class service when landing there. Brand new courtesy car, private workspace, free snacks and beverages, etc. turbines and turbine money make this whole thing work.

No fair….I thought I was the resident curmudgeon! These are all cultural issues and I agree with many of your sentiments. GA (in addition to many other activities) is taking a back seat to screen time. It’s not just kids, it’s all of us.

Both coopers were first gen S models I dated one and married the next, an 04 and an 05. BMWs we’re 2001 323ci, 2009 328i touring, 2014 535d and 2015 535d. There were a smattering of e30s in my teens and twenties. I owned some and dated others. Not a fuel pump failure in the lot.

I must be an outlier. I’ve run several BMWs both gas and diesel past 200,000 miles without a care of letting the tanks run down to reserve. Also two Cooper S’ that were run the same way. If there is fuel running through the pump, they shouldn’t overheat…especially given the tank pump is just a low pressure supply pump. The high pressure pump is up in the hot engine bay.

Can you remember which one? I just cleaned all of the old stripping off mine and would be interested in making a change to something clean and easy.

I don't know remember what materiel Ole is using for the vanes but it's hard not to see extended dry run testing that yielded no damage as a confirmation that the design is not susceptible to its previous shortcomings.

There have been a $hitload more than 104 accidents involving Mooneys in the last 15 years. They just don't all get recorded. We've had a few throttle linkage issues here on the forum. It seems like they get stuck open as often as they do closed.

Almost any mid body will accomplish the mission described easily. There is plenty of room in a mid-body for 3 plus long guns and bags. Just make sure the plane has split, folding rear seats. I have transported a 77" Hartzell in my plane with one seatback folded down, that is nearly twice as long as most common hunting rifles.

Scott @KSMooniac is indeed correct. I think an analysis of the 2900lb MGW M20J would show them to be the heaviest of their brethren. The MGW increase merely helped them remain usable as they became heavier. I wish my F were eligible for the increase as it would give me a UL of 1220lbs, and a full fuel payload of 836lbs. It's odd to me that Mooney could have continued refining the mid body into a lightweight with excellent load hauling. Rather than stick with what made them popular, they just did what everyone else was doing...more engine, more fuel and more weight and yes more speed. However, it's telling that the old, low powered models have better loading qualities. Things should not have evolved that way.

The Aeromotor's modified Dukes pump has sealed external bearings (originally had fuel lubricated sleeve bearings). It has been dry run tested for hundreds of hours without adverse effects. Using it to prime should not be detrimental in the least.

True but this way of thinking is sort of like saying don’t reduce the throttle from cruise until the runway is made because there are no guarantees that you’ll be able to advance it again. It’s absolutely true that the throttle linkage could fail, it’s also true that I could probably learn to manage my approaches to a single power reduction but it would be silly and impractical to do so. It’s much easier just to keep the equipment inspected and in good working order

Lois, Was this situation ever resolved?

I will assume in this case you’re working on a vintage Mooney. The instrument access panels should be sealed with a soft weatherstripping material. Do not use fuel tank sealant. Do not use access panel sealant. Both of those are way too aggressive for this application. Instrument access panels are meant to be easily removed and reinstalled. the factory used a material very similar to caulk cord. https://www.amazon.com/M-D-Building-Products-71548-Replaceable/dp/B000CSN69C/ref=asc_df_B000CSN69C/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=216530079730&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11459215495237251950&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9008066&hvtargid=pla-351421888303&psc=1&mcid=69a76529d3453c29a03b935763ea9fed&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6LiWp7KegwMVRF5HAR1V7wNIEA0YASABEgILy_D_BwE

Seems like you could maybe…I don’t know…just open the the cowl flaps a touch. Are the J cowl flaps infinitely adjustable like the earlier models?

It takes a politically obsessed mind to equate the requested removal of a rotting, deregistered, unairworthy, ramp queen that has been sitting for twenty plus years with capitalistic greed and the destruction of the public good. This Aircraft has probably been in violation of its lease agreement for several years now. This situation is entirely the making of the owner/estate that holds title. This was a desirable and marketable aircraft that could have been sold decades ago but was instead neglected and allowed to languish. At best this situation was facilitated by an unfortunate string of events. At worst it was facilitated by an owner’s stubborn refusal to sell or by infighting/disputes among the heirs. The only place capitalism had anything to do with this is in your head.

Do you think an analysis of fuel exhaustion accidents would show more incidents involving malfunctioning selector switches or unselected fuel tanks with usable fuel inside?