FloridaMan

What kind of Mooney and prop is that? It looks like it has a 4-blade wooden prop.

Germany has a reputation for weather turning for the worst in a hurry. A friend of mine who flies over there suggested that perhaps the guy didn't want to spend the 120Euros for the IAP. He also mentioned that he did not like flying into that airport due to the high trees and that the approach is very difficult, even in the day.

I believe that WeepNoMore did my tanks many years before I purchased it and they are still in great shape. If you get your tanks sealed, look at the thread on that recent C crash where Piloto explains issues with the fuel drains and tanks resealed by people who weren't exceptionally familiar with Mooney tank reseals. If I had to have my tanks resealed, I would consider the long range STC.

nvm

My understanding is this, if it is a Hartzell two blad propellor: Hartzell produces their own spinner assembly, but if the spinner is more than a few years old, it's likely the "Mooney" part, which is produced by Globe. The Hartzell bulkhead attaches to the propellor hub. The Mooney bulkhead attaches to the flywheel and also should have a set of doublers on the bolts that hold it to the flywheel (I think it's a airworthiness directive). Those doublers are little plates that have two bolts through each one to distribute the torque from the bolts through the flywheel. About 15 months ago, when I needed to source the bulkhead, rumor had it that the bulkheads may have been on the shelf at Globe, but due to Mooney being out of operation, you couldn't get them. This may be different now, and I would recommend calling Mooney to see if they can find anything. The last time I called them looking, after they'd been acquired, a guy found a NOS McCauley assembly and I think it was in the neighborhood of $2,000-3,000.

I was talking to a pilot recently who said he lost both engines in a twin that he'd preflighted the night before. He successfully dead sticked it in for a landing and that somebody had stolen the fuel out of his tanks during the night. I know of a local airport where a guy working in a shop on the field got busted stealing fuel from airplanes as well.

I don't know if I would just count on inspections if I had that dual mag; I would probably insist that gear gets replaced at some interval. Although that Mooney that went down in the Devil's Golf Course crashed because the dual unit wasn't properly tightened. I make it a point to be tightly connected with the maintenance of my airplane and to work with mechanics that want to involve me.

I do have an extra spinner, but no bulkhead or cheek plates. I'm just guessing that your customer had his bulkhead crack since that's what commonly fails along with the cheek plates.

If your customer has a two blade Hartzell prop with a J model spinner and a cracked bulkhead that bolts to the flywheel tell them to lube up. It's no longer available and the NOS/used market is completely depleted. Hartzell sells a replacement assembly that bolts directly to the hub instead of the flywheel for around $2500. I looked for about 9 months before I found a used bulkhead and, given the aggravation and costs associated with all of the repaired bulkheads, it would have been cheaper if I had just bought the new assembly from Hartzell to begin with.

Ditto on the GPS check. I'd also recommend cutting open your oil filter next oil change. I'm a guy on the internet and not an A&P and I'm far from an expert, but I've heard that when the IO360 has a cam lob start to round itself off that the symptom is that the engine is a little "tired." See: http://www.cujet.com/html/engine.html My modded M20F at 6500ft with full fuel indicates 160-165 mph ROP. I don't think that making full RPM is indicative of making full power. I would assume that the prop governor would just adjust the prop to take less of a bite out of the air and that it would still reach 2700 RPM. Wait... did you say you're only getting 21" MP at 2500ft? You should be well over 25" at 2500ft. Also, if your step is fixed and it was a retractable step, is the hole where it retracts covered? When I lost my vacuum pump on my F, I lost a considerable amount of airspeed due to what I perceive being the step being out and that big hole adding drag.

If I understand it correctly, the drain valve refit involves riveting a new plate that changes the overall depth of the valve.

I know of an M20E pilot who was killed due to the same thing. There should be an AD on this, given the level of effort for the modification and the associated risk.

What a bargain...

In my case with a clogged injector, I didn't know which cylinder the corresponding selection indicated, so I ended up, under the supervision of a qualified A&P, pulling each injector and looking through it. The clogged injector was obvious. Have you been able to notice anything unusual when switching mags? Fouled plugs or a bad mag should show up right quick. Another thing to check is leaking o-rings in your fuel servo (throttle body). Open your ram air, set your mixture to idle cut off, throttle wide open (so you can look inside), turn the electric fuel pump on and look at the four little tubes in the opening. See if any of them have fuel running out.

Guys, if your plane sputters, abort.

I think that the main speed advantages with the LoPresti cowling are from cooling efficiency and prop pressure. The three round holes of the cowling are pushed almost right up to the prop, which I assume allows for prop pressure to really force air through the cowling and the ram air. I gain 1-2 inches of MP with the ram air open on the LoPresti cowling.

I swear this is the third post (my own included) in the past couple months I've seen like this. My M20F has the selectable 4 cylinder EGT. My issue ended up being an obstructed injector. The issue was inconsistent. In flight, it felt as if the engine was surging when I opened the ram air. Adding richness fixed the issue. Then, one day I went to take off and the engine stuttered a little as the engine passed through 2400-2500 RPM. I opted to not fly until I found a smoking gun as the cause. I recommend that you do the same. While it's easy to dismiss issues as intermittent or an indication error, we should always assume the worst until we've diagnosed the cause. It is in our nature to want to trivialize issues and say it's the old instrument or a spot of bad gas, it's best to treat it as if the symptom is a heavy-handed letter from the IRS as leaving it unanswered may likely burn you. With the clogged injector and what I presume to be the original 4 cylinder EGT gauge with the selector knob, here is what I observed on the ground. At 1900 RPM, one cylinder EGT was much higher than the rest, then at 2400 RPM (still on the ground), the EGT for that cylinder dropped to nearly zero with the engine misfiring. A clogged injector will do more than just make one cylinder run lean, it'll make the others excessively rich at the same time since they'll get the fuel intended for the cylinder with the clogged injector. On my engine, it was the #3 cylinder. On the EGT selector, that was the second click from the left, so I assume left to right on the knob is 4-3-2-1. The other issues suggested were fuel servo issues and spark plugs, which are easy enough to diagnose (the cylinder with one plug not working will have a sky high EGT while the others are normal -- also a way to detect a failing magneto). I also wanted to add that a rough running engine that clears up after running for a bit may be the sign of a failing valve. A valve failure will ruin your day. How much time (years/hours) is on your engine SMOH?

Mine doesn't like to slow down. http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/33968-img-2111/

I always give the handle a twist after changing from up or down. Having that handle pop up and hitting your elbow while you're in the yellow arc will get your attention.

Really the issue is whether to run LOP or ROP

I'm with skywarrior on this. Have you removed and reracked your radios?

FL is a 50% penalty, but they tend to waive it if you call them when you get their letter.