Bartman

Byron, I will have the static lines checked. May be time to go ahead and install new if we find something. After all, she just turned 39 this year. TJ and Ron, I have always turned on the Century IIB, trimmed for level, and then turned on the S-Tec Alt Hold. Next flight I will add some up or down trim to see if it changes. Other than that I will have the static lines checked, but I don't think I will throw a lot of money at it. It works great in turbulence when I need it, just not when it smooth when I don't really use it anyway.

My 77J has the original Century IIB with added Stec Alt Hold. When I first got her the wings would rock back and forth and it was really really bad. After seeing a post here about adjustments we have cured that and I am very pleased with the the steady performance. It tracks great in both heading and NAV mode and as a matter of fact, over the past year it seems that the more I use it the better it gets. However, when I turn on the altitude hold I get this proposing osscillation. If it is turbulent you cannot tell it so bad. If it is smooth air it is up and down about 100ft and so annoying you cannot stand it. Where to start ?

FYI We did spray the trim rocker switch very well with the electrical cleaner. I don't know how other switches work, but with mine you simultaneously push down to engage, and also must push forward for UP and backward for DOWN trim. After spraying well and working the switch in all possible combinations there is both a change both on the ground and in the air. Prior to spraying with the electrical cleaner I do not remember hearing any noise on the ground. Now I can hear a relay engage when I push the switch down to the engage position even before pushing for UP or pulling back for DOWN. We have flown several hours and I have had no further issues with the trim switch. However, on the ground I can hear the trim motor is not working smoothly through its travel, and at certain positions in its travel it is obviously working harder than at other times. It is not binding up or anything like that so at next annual we will disassemble and clean the entire mechanism as detailed above.

So we try to do as many beach trips as possible every year, and having a 7on-7off work schedule helps. Two weeks ago we returned from KDTS and washed the Mooney before we put her in the hangar. Today we returned from KSUT after 5 days and nights and washed the plane again. Just before I started washing I was wondering just how much salt is present, so I wiped my finger on the wing and touched to my tongue and it obviously tasted like salt. I know some of you are saying Eeeewwww. Last week we washed, but due to time constraints this time I just rinsed well with water. I decided for my 50th I was going to have a birth month, not just a birthday so we took off the whole month and headed back to the gulf again this week. I will be getting some of the Corrosion-X and spray as soon as possible. Just wondering if you guys wash, or at least rinse immediately after a flight near the coast ?

If a Mooney Space thread goes beyond page 2, expect thread drift that was meant to be funny but written in the same spirit as the thread, and not poking at anyone

If you filed a flight plan that keeps you out of ATL airspace, and then either Jax or Indy center give you a "shortcut" that penetrates ATL airspace even at 12,000 ft even slightly, then expect a deviation when they hand you off to ATL. I think Indy and Jax do that just to tick off the "Big Boys" in Atlanta. Hey...watch this LOL

If you are unloading and securing the aircraft with a smile you can't wipe off your face after your first approach to minimums, and someone from the FBO says the tower at the local airport you were talking to on approach is asking to speak to you on the phone, it's probably because you forgot to close your flight plan in the air or on the ground like they told you.

I have the Century IIB with add-on System 30 for pitch axis. Both have disconnect on the throttle quadrant and no disconnect on the yoke or on the trim switch, just on the console toggle switches. I figure the trim rocker switch is low voltage and activates a relay to the trim motor so all connections and are suspect. I'll also look to see if there is something going to the disconnect. I figure we need to spray the switch well with contact cleaner and check/clean all connections. I have the wiring schematics in the hangar so we should be able to track it down. Thanks for all the info !

Yeah we did M20-313A a few years ago. I do appreciate all those great pics to go along with the instructions.

Congrats ! I bought mine with about 100 hours and although my transition instructor owned a E model Mooney himself, there was not a lot of Mooney specific training to be had on my simple J model. I remember the two main things were approach stall can be "interesting" if the ball is not centered, then 80 final, 70 over the fence, and never ever ever let her touch down until she is done flying. Search the forum and read about the 3rd bounce and prop strike potential. I later experience it and saved it without damage, That can be an interesting ride too...

I've been having a problem with trim as well and appreciate the wealth of information on this board. I think mine is the electric trim switch, and it is intermittent both in flight and on the ground. Trim wheel works fine so I have been keeping my hand on the wheel and if it doesn't work electric then I use the manual trim wheel. After looking at all of those GREAT step by step instructions and photos above we are going to clean the switch and do the jack screw too. Thanks again to N201MKTurbo and 1524J

This is why I don't bother with oil analysis. If it didn't show in the screen, didn't show in the filter, and you didn't do anything about it when it did show abnormalities. and consider not doing it in the future when the plane sits, then why do it ? DXB don't get me wrong I'm not picking on you and not trying to derail the thread, but I am very skeptical about the benefit of oil analysis and do not think sitting in a hangar for a couple of months is going to hurt the engine. Mine does it every winter from December thru February and I suspect a lot of other planes do the same. The way I figure it, the only ones who really benefit is Blackstone. I just fly as much as possible, change oil every 25 hours and check the filter and don't worry if I don't see any metal. Oil analysis is a religion.... Sorry not trying to offend anyone in either camp, just expressing an opinion.

We found a hardened steel pin that fit tight In the dipstick. It's tight and will not come out.

Thanks guys. I think I will go with a cotter pin and put the head of the pin in the elongated hole in the picture. It won't take much of a bend on the other end to lock it in place, and then file that end flat and smooth.

Now that I have your attention... After today's flight I noticed upon checking the oil that the dipstick cap came off, but no dipstick. Apparently there is a roll pin that came out and the dipstick dropped to the engine pan. Fortunately it is not that deep and and the dipstick is long, so I pulled it out easily. On inspection of the cap it appears it had been working over the 3 hour flight and probably longer. The hole in the side of the cap is no longer round, and is larger than the corresponding hole in the dipstick. What is the best way to fix this. Cotter pin ??? See pic below

Congratulations !!! My first solo was almost exactly the same number of hours, and due to a medical issue as well. I have over 900 now..... And it keeps gettin better

Your engine baffles are as bad or worse than mine before I had them changed. I used the Gee Bee precut baffle seal kits and matching valve cover gaskets in Blue. Hot weather is not here yet, but so far both my CHTs and oil temps are significantly improved in climb and cruise. We used some RTV on the gaps around the oil cooler, but not as big as those in your photo.

Seat all the way back, and grab the center roll cage just below the magnetic compass with the left hand. Grab the pull strap or the front door frame with the right hand. While pulling with both hands, stand straight up and put the back against the rear of the door frame. Readjust the hands and feet an place the right foot on the wing walk, and then pivot around and put the left foot on the wing walk. Do not touch the door at any time..

Is there a possibility you got Jet A fuel ? There was a thread here or AOPA about 2 weeks ago about accidentally getting Jet A. I remember there is no way to tell it by color alone, and it will look like 100LL and will not separate. However, I do not know enough about it to know how the engine would perform with a certain ratio of 100LL-Jet A.

I found his product from an old thread here on MS. I can PM his contact info if needed. Basically he has precut kits complete with installation hardware. They installed at annual and the IA pleased with the product and hardware. Oh and by they way, I chose BLUE which matched my color scheme, and got matching BLUE valve cover gaskets too. Looks good and now everything matches.

I went up yesterday in my 77 J model for the first flight after annual and I really wanted to see if replacing that tired old material with the new GeeBee baffle seals made any difference. Previously I was never able to run at peak, or basically anything ROP due to CHT's climbing to 380 and above or else had to open the cowl flaps. So I got used to running LOP in cruise and enjoyed CHTs around 340-360 and I will continue to run that way, but I needed options to run more power. Yesterday I was at 7,500 running 24/2500, 14deg C, and was able to run LOP, peak, 25 ROP, and 125 ROP and did not have to open the cowl flaps once so I am well pleased with the new baffle seals. While I was at it I did the 3 direction GPS speed check a total of 3 times while 15 LOP, 25 ROP and 125 ROP. I got anywhere from 151 kt while 15LOP, to 156 kt while ROP, and that was only at 2500 RPM so she could go a little faster. Sadly, it did confirm that my ASI is off. The best Garmin 430 derived TAS was 147kt, while IAS was 130kt, and the 3 direction GPS speed check revealed 156. So I figure my ASI was showing about 10kt slow during that test.

We finally got her up on jacks today and we were surprised to find out how much play there was in the nose gear. It had excessive play in all 3 direction ps including front to back, sided to side, and also slop in the hemi linkages for turning. We have decided to go ahead and replace everything with whatever it needs from LASAR. we have not disassembled anything, but I think we are better off with one of the pre-assembled subassembly packages offered on their website. I figure we need everything and will go with either package C with rebuilt steering horn, or package D with the new steering horn. Any PIREPs or recommendations on this approach would be greatly appreciated. http://www.lasar.com/docs/lasar%20nose%20gear%20packages-3.pdf

Another vote for the Airpath kit.

I use the screw on twisty extension. After use wrap a couple of folded paper shop towels around it. Put the wrapped funnel in a zip lock, and put that zip lock in a second zip lock.

Wow guys thanks so much for all of the great information! And especially to Allen for all of the step by step pictures. Having only posted a pic once before, and it was too large, it took me a little while to figure out how to post one, much less doing 10 on one post. I looked it up in the logs and the nose gear discs were changed in 2005, and the mains were changed in 2002. We discussed it last night and have decided to go with the the LASAR options and rebuild the nose gear. My bird was hatched in 1977 and I'm sure it could use some more attention than just the bare minimum shock discs. The mains look great sitting in the hangar, but we will jack her up and measure this weekend, and replace if needed.