smccray

Quote: N601RX Looks Good. You might want to add some safety collars so they can't leak down and possibly damage something. I built a pair of jacks about a month ago. You can see the safety collar in the picture below. I got them from Mcmaster Carr for about $10 each. I had to machine the ID out to fit the Jack Shaft. I can look up the PN if you are interested. Leveling bolts are nice also if your is floor is as unlevel as my floor is.

Quote: txbyker Very nice job you guys. You mention being able to swing the gear and I see a third jack. What are you doing with the nose gear in regards to jacking?

You may recall a post I made a few months ago where a tire went down on the taxiway at RBD. I was lucky that Don Muncy was at the airport and lent me his wing jack for a few days to fix my problem. Don expressed some interest in getting a second wing jack and I wanted one for the hangar just in case there's a next time. We took advantage of the Harbor Freight holiday sale and picked up three 3 ton hydraulic rams. Don had the square tubing (and the welding ability), and he found the 3 inch iron pipe for the collar round the body of the jack. Add in some 3/4 inch conduit and appropriate bolts and we have the wing jacks in the attached photos. We a few more details to work through we'll have the capability to do a gear swing in our own hangars. Many thanks to Don for all the time he invested in this project. I helped, but credit goes to Don for the design and execution. My schedule made getting together to work on the project challenging at times. I'm lucky to have an understanding partner in the project.

Does anyone know the pait code for the lighter panel in an M20J? To take it a step further... does anyone know the type of paint that would generally be used on a panel? Scott

Quote: jetdriven : 14 CFR Part 1.1 Major alteration means an alteration not listed in the aircraft, aircraft engine, or propeller specifications - (1) That might appreciably affect weight, balance, structural strength, performance, powerplant operation, flight characteristics, or other qualities affecting airworthiness; or (2) That is not done according to accepted practices or cannot be done by elementary operations. Minor alteration means an alteration other than a major alteration.

I've opened the ram air at altitude but doesn't seem to make any difference. If there is a difference I don't see it on the MP gauge.

Quote: KSMooniac Finance and accounting issues make my head hurt... aircraft engineering topics make me smile!

This thread makes my head hurt.

Tradewinds also did a turbine conversion on an A36. There's a couple owners on beechtalk along with pros/cons of the conversion. There's also a single engine turbine conversion of a Barron 58P called a Lightning. They removed the wings from a 58P and mated A36 wings to the pressure vessle. Then the engineers mounted a turbine on the front to give you a pressurized single engine turbine. Timing was the early 80s...and we all know what happened to aviation later that decade. It didn't go into production. I believe they did the same thing to a couple standard B58 barrons yielding a non-pressurized option single engine turbo prop at about the same time.

We have this trip on our short list as well due to proximity to Dallas. As a low time pilot with zero mountain experience, my plan (on paper- no further investigation) is to land at las Vegas, NM and drive up to Angel Fire. It's only 60 away miles and it keeps me east of the Rockies.

Quote: Parker_Woodruff

So I've received a report from the IA that did the tire change. Apparently the tube is torn by the valve stem. Don Maxwell changed the tire about a month ago and apparently the tube was not changed. Don said they frequently do tire changes without changing the tubes. I didn't know what I didn't know, so I didn't even ask about the tube. Didn't know about leak-stop tubes or airtights- but I believe we're back up and running. The IA at Dallas Exec is doing a gear swing this afternoon to make sure that everything is okay after towing the plane. The FBO moved the plane off the taxiway onto the ramp and eventually into their main hangar using a tug that picks up the whole wheel. Instead of scooping up the nose gear, they used the tug on the left main and a towbar to help steer the plane. The first 20-30 feet there was a small side-load on the right main; after we raised the left main on the tug a little higher the side load disappeared and all was well. I would definately feel comfortable tackling a tire change with a little guidance, but work and family comittments made outsourcing this one an easy decision.

It was less than a month old changed by a pro. New tire old tube.

Happened while taxiing. Still not sure what happened.

That looks like a really nice master bedroom Parker. I like your style, but I'm not sure about sleeping in a crib... j/k

Vibration remained down at 2700 rpm below 20". Plane just came out of a prebuy/annual in August and was just at maxwell for an oil change a couple weeks ago. I wouldn't think the engine mounts would be an issue, but perhaps I'll pull the cowl and check it out. What am I looking for? Any other possible culprits?

Quote: Mooneymite Aha! Hank, it appears that you are correct. I was led down the wrong path by the verbiage in the POH. I just went out and disassembled the throttle quadrant covers. There deep in the cavity behind the quadrant shaft, was a small micro-switch activated by a lobe on the throttle lever. It appears very difficult to access should it need to be replaced; tomorrow I will see if there is any way to apply contact cleaner without a total disassembly. With a little luck I can check the switch continuity and see if the switch is the problem, or if the gremlin is elsewhere. Anyone have any luck with this?

I'll try 20" and 2700 on my next flight. I wouldn't guess the engine mounts would be a problem due to the recent maintanence history. I don't have an engine monitor or I'd upload data here to scrutinize the injector/plug data.

My engine develops a pretty high vibration level whenever it runs at 2700 rpm. It's bad enough that the compass shakes pretty hard. When I bring RPMs down the vibration subsides at 2600 and doesn't return at lower RPMs. I've been reading and I'm thinking I might need a prop balance, but I'm not certain. Is there anything else I should think about? I'm assuming the vibration isn't normal?

Quote: jetdriven See? I read that airplanes with over 12 years on an engine or damage history are worthless. Scott, Jim, your airplanes are worthless! Along with mine! But Scott and I just bought ours, so if they were worthless, and someone just bought them. Well. Umm.

Quote: JimR I know. And my airframe has over 10,000 hours on it. And scary damage history . . . from a mid-air, no less! And no IFR-certified GPS installed. Someone will absolutely steal it from my estate one day.

Another datapoint- My engine is ~7 yrs old with 850 hrs. Mine are all 78-79.

Just thought I'd follow up on this... Don Maxewell looked under the cowl a couple weeks ago and and addressed his preliminary hypothesis about the MP and found one other problem that was fixed/possibly related. From time to time the hard line on the right side of the engine that leads to the MP gauage gets clogged. There should be a small hole in the hard line near the number 1 cylinder, but if the like gets clogged (oil/gunk/etc.), or if the small hole is clogged/missing, it's possible that the MP line is blocked causing the problem that I experienced. The solution was to remove the MP line and clean it after making sure the small hole was there- apparently it's not uncommon for this vent hole to be missing altogether. The hard line transitions to a flexible line between the engine and the firewall. There should be some play in this line, but the length of the line on my plane was too long. I'm not sure how to describe it other than to say that there was large droop in the hose that Don felt could accumulate gunk (yes that's the technical term) and block the line. The solution was to shorten the line between the hard line mounted to the engine and the firewall. No solution for the gear warning horn issue as it doesn't seem to occur regularly, but I did get down underneith the panel and it doesn't appear that there's any play in the throttle that would keep the switch from engaging. I haven't tried the flight test Mike suggested above but I'll put that on my list for my Sunday flight.

Probably not going to get up- wife's birthday weekend. Maybe an hour or two on Sunday.

I'm based at RBD/Ambassador as well. Don has been spying on me and says our planes are hangar neighbors, but I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him anywhere other than right here on MooneySpace. One of these days we'll have to fix that...