BillC

Roger, I just had two MEDCO keys made for my Mooney. Call Premier in Fort Lauderdale. Give them the number from your key. They in turn will call Mooney and order them for you. Mooney will drop ship the keys directly to you. It took about two weeks to get the keys. They were $20.00 each with free drop shipping. Mooney was very good about the whole thing. I don't know why you are having a problem. BTW, I went to several locksmiths locally and none could duplicate the keys. Bill

The Sky Captain is correct. I had a short stool with a blanket on top that fit exactly under the cowl to remove mine. Then you just roll it out of the way when your disconnected. Be sure to reconnect the landing light wires before reinstalling the top cowl. A note about disonnecting the cowl flaps. Do not unbolt the cowl flap. There is a connector with a barrel just above the bolt that connects to the cowl flap. With your fingers, raise the barrel and the connector will come right off. Is that clear as mud?? It may be difficult to remove the connector the first time but with some lubricant it will free up and come off easily.

Exactly. First he needs to eliminate all other possibilities. Being a Rocket, I'm sure he is right on the edge of proper rudder adjustment. Doesn't the M20K still have a Heim bearing rudder adjustment ?

There is a spring interconnect in the belly that connects the aileron and rudder. Have you checked to see if it is attached and unbroken? PLEASE DO NOT BEND THE RUDDER TRAILING EDGE.

Do the SB208 while your in there.

I got my placards from Aerographics in Colorado. Very nice people and fast shipping. A few were the wrong size so it might be best to measure the old ones and tell them the size you need to be safe. Also, I never had any luck buffing my windows. After hours of trying I got new ones in 1/4". Well worth the price and effort. Good luck, Bill

There is a spring on the right side cowl flap that helps assist the flap to stay open or closed. Check if it is attached.

Phil, I just finished polishing the spinner on my "O". It had some bad scratches around the attaching screws. Enough to catch your fingernail on. I removed the screws on the section I wanted to start with. Taped off the cowling and prop root. Wrapped the cowling and windshield with old bed sheets. I then started with 1800 grit wet/dry sandpaper. It wasn't coarse enough. I went to 1500. Still not enough. 1000 grit finally did the trick. I used plenty of water and rinsed the sandpaper in a bucket of water every minute or so. Keeping the sandpaper clean with water helps a lot. After removing the scratches I then started sanding again with 1500, then 1800. I then finished with "Flitz" (a highly rated aluminum polishing compund) and buffed the spinner with a drill and a polishing kit I bought from Harbor Freight. The kit comes with multiple buffing wheels and compound for aluminum, which I used in the beginning but switched to Flitz. It took me all day to do the complete spinner but the results were remarkable. I can read the serial numbers on a dollar bill. The polishing shops quoted me between 125.00 and 175.00 to buff it out but could not guarantee to get all the scratches out. Worth the money to do it myself but I'm retired and have nothing better to do. Besides, what better thing is there to do than spend the day with your Mooney. Good luck, Bill

Hello all, Would anyone know where to get a Maintenance/Parts manual for my 1997 M20R Ovation? I've seen some on ebay, Essco, etc but they have a disclaimer that the manuals are out of date. Is that a problem for my '97 vintage? I prefer a printed copy but a CD will do. I just need to buy a small laptop so I can use it at the hangar. Thanks for the help. Bill

Marke , You never said if this is a new or old problem. You mentioned a recently overhauled engine. Newly overhauled fuel injection system too? Bill

Sorry for not following up on my mysterious "oil" streak. After adding the oil dye and using a strong black light I found the streak on the left side of the fuselage, beginning at the left cowl flap, was not oil from a leaking engine. Since the 'oil' did not illuminate under the black light, I examined further and found it was the left cowl flap chaffing at the two bolt hinges. Apparently the black dust from the 'working' flap aluminum was making black dust and adhering to the oil vapor and making it's way out along the bottom cowl onto the left side fuselage. I removed the flap, installed clear teflon tape to the rubbing parts of the flap and installed new hardware. The streak is gone! Easy fix that may help others get rid of that fuselage streak. Perhaps M20J has the same problem as I with the streak on the left side of the fuselage. Andy hit it right on the head. Thanks.

Nemesis, Did you ever find the source of the orange particles in your oil filter?

This is the article I mentioned earlier and triple8 confirmed. http://www.mooneypilots.com/mapalog/M20SR_prepurchase_inspection.html

Thanks Lance, I just bought a Batteryminder and will use it as you said. Fortunately the previous owner had pigtails installed and can now be accessed in the baggage compartment. Thanks, Bill

Thank you Steven. I'll be careful. P.S. Looks like my O has the same paint job. Balboa Blue?

Thanks 888. I'll go to the airport tomorrow and get to it. I didn't even think of accessing it that way. And being it has a new O2 tank I wouldn't want to damage it. Thank you.

Hahahaha......she's got so much room I have to reach way back to pet her. And being the O seems to be quieter than the J, I'm sure she appreciates that too!

Hello All, I sold my J a few months ago and bought a '97 Ovation 1. Wow, as some of you said a while ago, I would love this Mooney. You were right. Handling is great, smooth, and has plenty of room. I don't have a maintenance manual yet so I have a question about removing the #2 (right side) battery. The O2 tank is above the battery and the tight fit in the battery box makes it very difficult to remove it. What is the best way to remove the battery? Thanks, Bill

I believe I've read somewhere that the Continental alternator has an orange/red collar(?) that can disintegrate and end up in the oil. Good Luck, Bill

Jeff, Did you find out what the problem was?

I had the exact problem on my J. One flap was not fully retracted because of a very small delamination the the lower trailing edge of the wing skin. It was enough to catch on the flap and stop it from retracting the last few degrees. Once on the ground I lifted the flap and heard a small snap. Looking under the wing I could see where a small piece of the lower wing had delaminated causing the flap to stop fully retracting. It was an easy fix. As mentioned, check flaps are fully retracted. Good luck, Bill

Nickmatic, Please post your findings on the fuel smell. Thanks, Bill

Thanks for the responses guys. I'll post a pirep as soon as I can after I get to Florida. Bill

Good point Dave. I'll look into it. Thanks, Bill

Thanks for the responses. It does have dual 28 volt batteries with dual alternators. I know the Garmin 796 will run on 28v but to charge my cell phone, ipad, etc, I was hoping Mooney installed a 12V adapter to preclude the need to buy a converter. I'll check the voltage when I get home. Anyway, the good news. I found a '97 Ovation that has all the goodies that I need. 530W, KFC150, O2, Speed brakes, HSI, JPI 800, Shadin totalizer, etc. 900 total time. Excellent maintenance. Kept in a heated hangar since new. (Unfortunately, no more) The bad news, I sold my 201. It's hard to beat 155ktas @ 10gph. http://www.trade-a-plane.com/detail/1779658.html