Seefuture

Thanks everyone. So.. yes..2 x IO550 (300hp) normally aspirated. Keeping the tail number was actually not a huge issue process and paper work wise other than everything was delayed at Transport Canada due to COVID. As I understand it, the biggest consideration in changing tail numbers generally (both in Canada and the US) is the cost of replacing the actual numbers / letters which can apparently run to several AMU's if they are painted on. Fortunately, they were vinyl decals on both the Mooney and the Baron which are much less expensive and easy to remove / replace with the updated ones. I agree, the panel does look a little high in the photo but the Baron front seats are measurably higher off the floor than the Mooneys and so I honestly had not noticed it. The whole "sight picture" is generally very different..something to do with neither of the 550's sitting straight in front of the pilot any more...(!). Cheers.

My last post was in the classifieds section after our Ovation found a new home. A couple of folks asked what was next so here goes. As of late October, I have been working on getting used to flying a Baron 58. We looked at several 1980's legacy examples with the intention of converting to a Garmin panel but ended up connecting with this one by chance. It was newer and already had most of the avionics work we were looking for done. We completed the purchase in the summer of 2020 and then spent several months working on a little optional overhaul work, fixing cosmetics, and frustratingly, dealing with some significant deficiencies in the avionics install work that had not shown up in our pre-buy. As has often been said in this forum, buyer beware... just because a shop may hold prestigious dealership status for one manufacturer or another does not mean that the work they are doing necessarily meets the standards one would expect. Ultimately, we got the plane to the condition you see here and to say the least…I am a happy boy. Kudos to Clarence (M20Doc) and the folks at TriCity for their relentless attention to detail, depth of knowledge about fixing / maintaining aircraft, and enthusiasm. Thanks also, to Jasper and the lads at Mid-Canada Mods, for getting the avionics where they needed to be. I started flying the Baron in the Fall, and today marks my first 100 hours in the plane. I already had a MEL rating (thanks, Stu!), and with the help of my Mooney CFI, who also happens to teach in Barons full time, the transition went smoothly (thanks, Dave). I am still fine-tuning things and fly duel often, but my MIFR went well (thanks, Ed), and as you can see, I am starting to stretch the Barons' legs now. I kept the tail number, it's vain yes but I kind of like flying C-FUTR (See Future) and, with the help of those I have mentioned, a cast of many others who encouraged me (you meet the nicest people in aviation) and last but by no means least, my better half (couldn't have done it without you C!) I have arrived at and am flying in the future I had been aspiring to. Be well, everyone, fly safe….PS..yes, I miss the Ovation.

I don’t believe the new owner is a Mooneyspacer yet. As for me, I’m going to try my hand at multi engine flying next.

Our truly amazing Ovation is now sold. Over the last 7 years, she has taken our family and friends from Yellowknife to Newfoundland, the Bahamas out islands to Oklahoma City, Boston to Kansas and more points in between than I can honestly remember...what an aircraft. Thanks to Clarence (M20Doc) and the gang at TriCity for keeping her in such great shape. Be well everybody.

The answer to Mcstealth’s question is yes. All the applicable G1000 avionics softwear Is up to date and does not require further upgrade. That was done when the WAAS and 345x packages were installed at the same time in 2017 if memory serves. Thx.

Serial: #29-0405, useful load 943.94 lbs. Thx.

2005 Mooney Ovation 2 GX. 1,750 TTSN, Platinum engine, 310 hp upgrade, oil changed every 30 hours, regular Blackstone Labs oil analysis, TKS deice FIKI certified, G1000, WAAS upgraded, S-tec 55X (all servos and AP computer factory refurbished 2019), Speed brakes, 102 gallon tanks, GDL69 Satellite Datalink radio / WX, Flight stream 210, GTS800 active traffic, GTX345R (ADSB in / out), Stormscope, 4 place Am-safe seat belts (inflators replaced 2018), 4 place Bose, Factory oxygen (15 year tank replacement 2020), co-pilot brakes, Alphabeam LED landing and taxi lights, Maxpulse landing light controller. Mooney Service Center (MSC) maintained since import to Canada, 2012 @ 273 hrs, last annual January 2020 including IFR static and instrument re-cert. Flown year round from dedicated heated hanger.

As one of the 130(?) or so G1000 /Stec 55x long body owners I have joined Barrys list of committed orders. Frankly, I "love" my Ovation (perhaps too much?) and having already invested in the WAAS upgrade, active traffic and the ADSB in/out thing, upgrading the AP seems like a veritable slam dunk of a decision at least for the type of flying I do. Yes, I am hoping that the same G1000 annunciations and connectivity that I enjoy now ends up being part of the final 3100 package but I am willing to consider variations on that theme in order to get to a digital AP. As a side note, I contacted both Mooney and Garmin on the GFC500 STC possibiltes before I joined the 3100 list and frankly got the equivalent of a firm "we aren't going to (or can't do) an STC for the GFC AP system for your aircraft" from both of them (if anyone has different info on that please let me know). As I am sure we can all understand, economics will ultimately play a part in whether the Mooney STC program actually proceeds at Genesys (see Barrys post regarding the program potentially being postponed...indefinitely). Why, for example ,would they commit to the Mooney STC for a handful of committed orders when another aircraft type may have much more volume for them? For anyone who is on the fence with this decision, I urge you to make your decision before the of the week. Fly safe, be well and greetings from Canada! Grant.

Hi, I experienced a similar issue and if memory serves correctly, it was traced fairly quickly to a simple broken wire in the RPM sensor mounted on one of the mags(?). Didn't even need to replace the sensor...

I too live / fly in the Great White North and simply install the plate in the late fall / remove it in the early spring. The only time I go to the effort of taking it out during the winter is if I do a trip to the southern US (yes please!). I often see OAT's of -20C at altitude during the winter but this is from a trip to Kapuskasing (north western Ontario) a couple of weeks ago.... -23C on the ground at midday....so far at least, thats the coldest I have personally experienced. But as BorealOne points out, it can and does get much colder....Merry Christmas everybody I'm off to throw another log on the fire....

Thanks for sharing this Buddy, I have been having trouble with the same issue on my install too.

So, back in the air now and it seems I have the same issue as Buddy. I have an older iPad and a 1 year old iPhone 6 and neither will connect to the 345. The iPhone finds it quicker than the iPad but I cant get either to pair at all. Working on it with my avionics guys but if anyone has feed back from their own installs I would appreciate it. Thx. Grant.

Hi Buddy, I do not have A/C. I will be back into air sometime this week (annual basically finished now) and will let you know how I get on. Cheers.

M20R, G1000, S-TEC 55X. My install was finished in late December, I did the G1000 WAAS update and the G345R (without WAAS). I have only flown a hand full of times since as my annual started the first week of January but IMHO, this is how the plane should have been equipped from the get go...love it! I have one Canadian market issue left to iron out, it seems the G1000 WAAS kit ships with the US only Safetaxi data base which isn't exactly perfect for those of us living north of the border (where has my home field taxiway map gone?). Apparently its as simple installing a new Garmin base map and Safetaxi update from my account which will include the Canadian info, but other than that, all good. I have yet to play with (read figure out) how to pair my iPad / Foreflight to the 345R ADSP output but all in good time. Thanks for the guidance / planning /assistance to Clarence and Mo at my MSC (Tri-City Aero at CYKF) and to Josh at Brant Aero at CYFD who handed the actual install, on time on budget, a job well done. Now, if one of you fine Mooney owners in the US can just help me with the US / CAD exchange rate (ouch)...... Regards to all, Grant.

I like to think I know the "Doc" reasonably well and so I was surprised to see the title of this post..... what did Clarence do and how come I missed it?! Anyway, having now read the original thread I wanted to come back to this one and simply say thank you to Clarence. Having suffered from the occasional case of hit-send-too-quick-itus in the past myself, I think reaching out to the Mooneyspace community in the way he has here is commendable. As others have noted, humility is an admirable but seemingly rare quality these days. Wishing everybody happy and safe flying in 2017, Grant

Russ, I fly an Ovation 2GX with the same AP G1000 configuration and have experienced exactly the same run away trim issues you have. The first occasion was when the plane was new to me and was, to say the least, a handful. The problem seems to be resolved now but it has left me hyper vigilant during every clime out. For a while there I thought that I was doing something wrong but I'm pretty sure that there is some kind of systems issue involved. Grant.

Thanks for the feed back folks, I'm packing more sick bags now... I have not taken the MAPA PPP course but it sounds like a great fit for me and I am going to see if I can arrange to be in Fort Myers in February for the next one so thanks for that suggestion. Also (excuse the ignorance) what is a "FAST" card? Obviously formation flying related but I confess I have not come across that before and unless I miss-typed it Google hasn't either.... Talking of IMC, I've been sitting in Ontario watching the WX at various spots between me and KGKY (and specifically in and around Dallas) for the last two days and depending on when I get there, I see lots of what I consider "really bad shit IMC", so here I still am for now.. Hoping to head down early tomorrow now cos Monday is my back up day.. G

So, long time Mooneyspacer but first time posting, here goes… I only came to flying about 6 years ago but confess I have become bitten with the bug.… I consider my self fortunate to fly regularly (about 250 hours a year) and just passed my latest IPC. However, I recognize that I sometimes suffer from a lack of confidence mostly in bumpy or harder IMC where, despite keeping on top of hand flying skills, I know that I worry about the “what if I had an emergency right now” scenarios too much. Honestly, some of the stories I read here and on other GA sites of folks flying to IFR approach minimums in single pilot, single engine piston planes in hard IMC conditions simply highlight flying situations that (I think) are always going to be beyond my personal minimums. Still, I fly an amazingly capable aircraft and want use as much of its potential as I feel comfortable with so I started thinking about / talking to other pilots and especially my CFI gurus (thanks Chris, Dave and Ed!) about how I might improve my real world flying skills and in so doing try to increase my IMC proficiency / confidence another few steps at the same time. I mulled over taking the CPL course at first and then maybe doing the multi engine IFR thing as well. But I don't have a real need for either of those ratings and work / the rest of life calls too so the time commitments would have been challenge (not to mention the cost). Anyway, this post is to share my decision to take Upset Prevention & Recovery Training. Next week will see me in Texas with the folks at APS based at KGKY where I will be doing a course that includes a section specificity on IMC upset recovery techniques. The cherry on the top of this whole deal (other than flying away from the start of our Canadian winter for a few days) is getting to experience first hand what an Extra 300L can do as well! The more I read and learn about UPRT the more I’m thinking I made the right call…we shall see. Best of the season to all. Cheers.

Z. Totally agree about Clarence's shop at CYKF, Tri City Aero. He an MSC with huge experience, a great staff, fair prices and is always willing to go the extra mile. If you are flying a Mooney in Southern Ontario, it's a must. I'm based out of CNC3 with an Ovation and had a J prior to that. Feel free to PM me, happy to get together some time. There are several other Mooneys flying out of the smaller airports in the area too. Grant.

Has anybody else seen the ad from Mooney in the December issue of Plane & Pilot?? Do my eyes deceive me or are they introducing a composite J model??

Thanks to all for the replies. Yes the gauge has been tested twice as well and declared good. Interesting point re possible heat issue but we can reproduce the problem on the ground, engine running with the cowls off as well. At this point we are growing more convinced that we have an electrical problem. I forgot to mention that in addition to all the info in the first post, we have also noticed that the gauge only starts to drop when the charge rate drops to its normal level after initial start up. So, when the alternator is actively “charging” the battery after the start, the gauge reads normal for a few moments then starts it’s slow drop after the battery is back up to full charge.

Am struggling with a weird fuel pressure reading issue on a 1994 MSE. On initial start up, the gauge reads perfectly but over a period of 15-20 mins will steadily drop to read zero. This has no effect on performance (the big fan is till turning!) and the fuel flow read out is normal throughout (so we know the fuel pressure is not actually dropping). Interestingly, the drop off is quicker in the summer than the winter(?). Re-setting the gauge breaker returns the readout to normal but it then drops off immediately (no delay after the initial start up slow drop has occurred) to zero again. Both the gauge and the transducer (Part # APT-153-1000-30) have been bench tested by an instrument shop twice and work perfectly for hours under those conditions. We have pin tested the harness, checked all ground/connections etc and found nothing abnormal. There are a few posts with FP issues but nothing I have found which seems to be the same as we are struggling with. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks in advance.