Bartman

The reason we flew in today was to reposition the airplane to go to DTS tomorrow morning. Airport is reported as open and even though my airplane is airworthy and all, I still don’t relish the thought of going there with two alphabet agencies on the grounds.

According to reports everyone is safe and uninjured and that is the main thing. Cessna Citation destroyed in the post crash fire. Yes I should have said they ran off the end of the runway, but what I hastily posted is a copy of a txt I sent to someone and I didn’t have time to fix it on the road. Anyway no injuries and local police, EMS and fire departments did their jobs well. AWOS reported winds as light and variable as we approached, but this is an airport surrounded by mountains and you gotta be on your game and expect the unexpected winds and downdrafts. When we turned final I said to my wife we have a tailwind. I even said to her we may need to go around but with just a little slip we settled down and landed about half way. That’s the farthest we ever touched down at this airport, but we were poised for the precautionary go-around but was not necessary.

Dale Earnhardt Jr just crashed at Elizabethton about 3 hours after we landed. We came in on runway 24 which basically you fly in the valley, turn the base leg over the hill and then turn final. When we turned final we caught a tailwind out of nowhere and I actually landed about half way. Based on my limited information and knowledge of the area I would say that’s what happened to them. Reports are he, wife, kids are OK and that all I know.

I bought what was at the time a really good example of a well maintained and reasonably equipped J model. It paid dividends because other than some general upkeep I have never been hit with a big expense, except for an expected an negotiated fuel tank seal. That will soon come to an end with a rebuilt exchange in my near future. Don’t buy cheap unless you really know how to evaluate. It can be expensive.

How about a spray of TriFlow or LPS-2 every oil change ?

Mine had SB compliance documented by a reputable shop, didn't mean squat. At one of my subsequent annuals we removed the side panels and found surface corrosion on the cage under the pilot side window. Had to be done again but it was only surface corrosion and not pitted. The previous repair looked like Krylon or something like that but after preparation we put the Zinc back on. Last year I found some very light surface corrosion on the center beam by the roof vent control and took care of that quickly too. Only way to really know is to look at the airplane, not the log book.

I have been cleared by Indy Center into PBX many time from as far out as 25 miles from the IAF and not hear another transmission until I'm inbound, yes its that quiet at times. The first time I got a clearance this far out was a few years ago back when RNAV27 was still a T shaped approach and I was cleared to one of the IAF on one of the side arms with "N201TF is 25NM from COFTA and cleared for the RNAV 27 approach, maintain at or above 4,700 until established, report inbound at OBSEW." I was kinda shocked they would clear me that far out, but later I found this to be commonplace into this airport. By no means am I an expert, and as Paul I think it was pointed out I was newly minted and unsure so I asked for lower when I reported inbound and all I got back was "N201TF you are cleared for the approach." Afterwards I discussed with my instructor and now I understand what cleared means, in other words if there are no other restrictions such as a crossing altitude then I am cleared to do what the approach plate says. Now we have the HILPT format and now I usually get the clearance with maintain at or above 4,700 and have even been given 5,000 until crossing OBSEW which is now the IF/IAF. OP, with my understanding I would remain at 3,000 until established or given instruction for lower. I have been bailed out by nice controllers like this one as well. Thank you for posting it and I learned from this thread.

Yeah mine has that on the top center case split since purchase in 2007. I don't remember what kind of material it is but it is hard and smooth and documented in the logs and was done at an engine shop about 200 hrs on this rebuild. There was documentation of having to split the case a couple hundred hours after rebuild due to leak at that seam. It does not leak at the top seam in the past 1200 plus hours. My current problem started when we put some dye in the oil and I saw that was the only place on the whole engine with a single drip with the blacklight so we thought it would be an easy fix.... NOT !!! The leak wasn't that bad before, just a nuisance, but now it drips on the nose wheel and although it has been steady for about 50hrs I still don't like it. Still considering if the camshaft looks good we hone all 4 cylinders and service the valves and maybe new rings and keep on flying on condition.

Thanks to everyone. I think we will pull at least one cylinder and look at the camshaft and if it looks good then decide what to do from there. I have a trips planned the next couple of months and in the meantime we will speak with an engine shop and make plans. It just so happens our AP/IA also runs a full machine shop as his main business so tools and expertise are not an issue. He is also a pilot and maintains a handful of planes at our field as a side hobby job and we are lucky to have him just like Mooneyspace is lucky to have knowledgeable members like yourselves and others. We will tackle this in the fall and I’ll post an update. Thank again !

A couple of years ago I found the cause for an annoying leak, the top bolt that goes all the way thru leaking around the nut. I let it go for a long time but this past annual we decided to remove the nut and put some sealer on it. Lets just say it leaked more...a lot more but on the other side. We pulled both nuts and put sealer on both sides but now it is leaking and coming out at the base of the cylinder on the opposite side and more annoying than when I started. Leaks about 1 quart in 4 hours and enough to make a mess on the nose gear every time I park and no it's not the magneto or anything else. I am currently at 1950/2000 hours and 5600 hours total on the original IO-360 A3B6D and compressions are great with clean oil screen and oil filter. My plan has always been to keep running based on condition and my AI/AP is supportive, but the oil leak has got to go. Here's the question ??? I have considered pulling the 2 opposing cylinders, apply sealer on the thru bolt and keep on flying. If the camshaft is questionable then I'm not going to rebuild a 1977 vintage case and I'll go with a roller cam upgrade. But if the camshaft looks good why not pull all 4 cylinders, have them serviced and keep on flying with new rings and gaskets? I'm going to do something, just looking for some advice due to the age.

Sure, there was a convective SIGMET but not “active” until well after my arrival time and I would categorize this as mild and borderline moderate turbulence. I’ve been flying IFR for about eight years now and I don’t mind flying through the small Cumulus, but sometimes it’s uncomfortable but if you’re going to fly an approach in my area then most likely you’re going to fly through some small stuff because Approach maneuvering altitudes will put you right in the middle of it. The point of the post was despite forecast for tops at 6-8K, you get what you get. I was flying from the Tennessee Valley which is relatively flat, then over the mountains to the north. Like others said you see this in the mountains and my experiences told me to expect it because if the winds are perpendicular to the mountain you do get lifting and higher clouds, even if they’re only 4000 feet. Even if the tops are not all that high you can still see some pretty impressive stuff in the Appalachian Mountains that I will not fly through despite the tops being on around 8 or 10. Enjoy the instrument rating, get some experience your own flights and discussion with others, and fly safe.

Timely thread. I flew IFR today, filed at 6K and as I leveled off I was at the tops, only about 3,000 ft thick and smooth ride. Suddenly the smooth tops became rolling tops were building so I climbed ot 8K and couldn’t outclimb it. The flight was only 35min total and by the time it got rough I was closer to destination than any other airport so we carried on and asked for lower which did give a better ride. Forecast was for tops at 8K, no rain on ADSB weather, but like ice and other things forecasts are only forecasts, and it is where you find it. Occasionally I’d break out and tops looked over 12K and shap boiling edges. Anyway, we got bounced around pretty good and hit my head a couple of times and ended up hand flying. Wife didn’t like it, but didn’t complain either. Basically I’d say we flew thru a small embedded towering cumulus and by the time we landed you could see the showers on the Aviationweather.gov radar. Worst part only lasted about 5 min but it sure got my attention.

I bought my J in 2007 as a first plane after my PPL and I fell in love at first sight, so in ignorance I ignored the gas smell in the cabin because it smelled like the Cessna and Piper trainers I had flown. I soon realized she needed a strip and reseal on the fuel tanks, but other than some planned upgrades and an autopilot service I have been blessed with no significant issues in 12 years. Have her checked out with a good pre purchase inspection and enjoy. Plenty of room and useful load for small children and parents, but with an average 975 pounds of useful load only you will know how long the J will serve your family. BTW I’ve had 4 adults and 50 lbs luggage and enough fuel for 2 hour hops and total 6 hour flights in a day many times. Still under my max 980 useful load.

Shout out and special thank you to @Cody Stallings for some great advice today. Mooneyspace is blessed to have him and I know where I will be sending my prop for service in the near future !

My trim indicator is not accurate enough to rely on for indicating exact trim settings. I almost always land full flaps and of course reset them before shutdown, but leave trim where it is. I found that if I give it 4-5 full strokes of down trim on my trim wheel this gets me in the ballpark for takeoff. I did that a couple of times before shutdown but then couldn’t remember if I had done it and then gave more nose down trim which was quickly realized on takeoff. It is now part of my pre-takeoff checklist. Full up elevator by the yoke may be indicated in certain situations but I don’t see any benefit to put in full up nose trim before taxi, and the OP has described a potential complication of doing so.