M20F-1968

My brake pedals, master cylinders, parking brake are from a 1998 Ovation. Installed with DER approval. I think the pedals and arms are the same. John Breda

I would also be careful running your MT Prop with a Turbo-normalized IO-360A1A. I have a 1968 F model and looked into using an MT Prop with a Turbo-normalizer. Both STC's allow for use with the original Hartzell propeller that came with the IO-360A1A. A Propulsion DER stated to me that if I used the MT prop I would need to prove to the FAA that there is no incompatibility between the MT prop. on the turbo-normalized engine. You may safe, you may be unsafe, you may be illegal, and you are a test pilot. John Breda

Also, the second wing skin from the fuselage on the older Mooneys has a small area of about 2" X 2" where the metal is stretched to make room the the skin underneath it. This area is near the leading edge, inboard edge, and is not found on the newer wings. Thus, you may need to alter a skin obtained from the factory by hand-working the metal, or you may find that the exact skin is not available. Be sure to check this out with the factory before they mail you a skin. Send them detailed pictures of the entire skin you will be replacing. John Breda

And...changing the wingtip skin as shown in this video is probably the easiest skin to change on a Mooney. John Breda

You likely shut off the master with the speed brakes deployed. John Breda

15K is not out of line for a shop of Beegle's quality and the amount of work needed. John Breda

Call Beegale's Aircraft in Colorado. They are one of the best structural repair shops in the US. The plane should be flyable to them. You might verify this with Mooney or a DAR. A DAR could give you a ferry permit. The damage looks too much to be straightened. Replacing the skin is likely. You may or may not be able to get a skin from Mooney as some of the skins for the older airplanes are not exactly like the newer ones. You need to jig the wing and airplane before removing the skin to retain its original shape. This is the type of work Beegles does well. Their work is as good if not better than the factory's work. I have used them a couple of times during my rebuild with no regrets. John Breda

Try running the larger scat in front of the smaller one. I hope you are small, do not have wide shoulders, and do not mind standing on your head for a while. John Breda

I would not try to install a Garmin autopilot myself in an F model. If you rely upon it it is flight critical, and interfaces with avionics which can be an issue troubleshooting. You will at some point need Garmin's support. John Breda

The Ovation interior is the easiest and most desirable interior of the Mooney line. The fiberglass panels have minimal screws, and come out readily once the front seats are removed. The Center ceiling panel is more work because of all the stuff mounted there. John Breda

FYI: For those of you doing interior work on mid-body Mooneys, I have an extra pair of ceiling panels from an Ovation left over from my rebuild. Seeing that my plane is finished and the fiberglass ceiling parts will likely not need to be replaced, they are available If someone wants to go that route. Being fiberglass, they can be reshaped as you need them to be. They have been cut to fit the mid-body planes. Take a look at my album pictures to see what is possible. John Breda

I have the fixed center cowl flap which hides the horizontal tube where the pointer and turning limits are shown. This is my solution when I am leaving the plane for any significant time. I also use the York Gust Lock which locks the yoke and rudder pedals. Towing is not an option with these in place. I have a Johnson Bar plane. I have never tried to put the gear up with the plane of jacks to see what would happen. I make it a point to walk around the plane every time it is parked anywhere away from home. I suspect that if I tried to put the gear up with the nose gear lock on, I would know it. But, assumptions never mix with aviation. John Breda

I would be careful with this. Bare aluminum is not a good idea. Corrosion sets in rather rapidly on bare aluminum and progresses from there. Cracks in paint and bondo, allow water to get in and accelerates the corrosion process. You will need to remove the paint and Bondo down to bare metal and good paint, clean the underlying metal well and use allodine and paint or an etching primer just to protect it. This should be done particularly in light of the fact that you are flying it and it will be exposed to weather and the element. Don't concern yourself about what it looks like. You need to protect the metal. It may turn out that there is sufficient damage to warrant changing the involved skins. Don't be surprised that if the work is sufficiently substandard given the history, changing the skins would be a good choice. John Breda

Does it need the electric gear to do that, or can the Johnson bar gear be configured to do the same? John Breda

I concur. That is why I belive the value of this system is identifying the last 2 feet of altitude. John Breda

I have both the P2 system and the LHS. Both perform different functions but work well together. The "Check Gear" voice of the LHS does not look at the position of the gear as the P2 does and is just an additional reminder to think about the gear and confirm in your mind that the plane and you are ready to land. I installed the P2 first, and the LHS later. The last 1-2 feet of the LHS callouts are the most helpful. It is very difficult to determine when your wheels are 1 foot above the ground. Having that information, especially at night is well worth the cost of the LHS. John Breda

There are lots of capable people who can do high-quality upholstery work, usually on automobiles, and some on aircraft. The only difference is the materials used. I do not believe that one needs any special certification to sew. You do need to be able to produce flame certifications. Leather can be bought inexpensively provided you look and do your homework. I bought the leather I used for my plane from an aircraft salvage yard that had new, unused hides from a company that had been doing jet interiors. You can get your leather hides flame tested for not a lot of money. Eurostretch is a good cloth to cover the headliner. It used to be made in tweed colors, but now just a single color. Comes from England. It does have some stretch. Mooney said that the lower side panels could not be covered in leather. They are wrong. My complete interior is covered in leather. John Breda

I used the SoundEx product throughout the cabin, including the roof. Do not glue it in. It is not necessary to do so. You then have access to the skins for inspection later, running wires, or general maintenance. John Breda

What is the mathematical calculation used to adjust the time, ending discharged amount, the resulting voltage used to determine the condition of the battery? I ask this because 12V battery capacity testers are available which have a lower load maximum which also reflects in a lower cost. John Breda

Is there an affordable battery capacity tester? At 12 volts, what should the load be to drain the battery how far? The more the load, the more the capacity tester costs. Is a 150 amp load for 1 hour equal to testing with a 50 amp load for three hours? John Breda

I am addressing the STC's held by M20Turbos. The developer of the STC is deceased, his wife did not want it. It is not being used and the company is no longer an entity. John Breda

There have been some posts about this. I recently found some electrical connectors that fit inside the external power connector box easily. A fused harness can be made from Milspec wire, to come from the battery, through the space between the external power supply box and the aircraft skin, and be fitted with these connectors which are small, rated for the voltage/amperage needed, and allow easy closure of the connector-springed door. The maker of the connector is PowerWerx and can be found at https://powerwerx.com/ The connectors come in red and black and can be ordered pre-bonded together so it is just one click to connect to the airplane. The same connector is placed on the wire from the Battery Minder. They make an extension wire that has O ring connectors on one end and the automotive connector they use on the other end. I used that cable to connect between the MIL Spec cable installed in the plane, to the Battery Minder itself. That way you can leave the actual cable connected to the Barrery Minder unaltered.

Here is the same post with a JPEG: There have been some posts regarding seat pins not fully engaging in the seat rails and causing unexpected seat release. I am using Ovation seats in my F model. Yes, they do fit, however, I replaced the seat pins (which are quite expensive to purchase) due to their being bent. I also bought these seat rail stops, originally designed for Cessna seat rails, but will fit a Mooney if you enlarge the groove opening as the upright part of the Cessna seat rail is thinner than part of the Mooney seat rail. They work quite well and do hold. Also, at least with the Ovation seats, you can tell by placing your finger where the release bar approaches the corner of the seat. If the pin is properly in place, the space between the seat release and the seat is very small, almost touching. Test this on both sides.

There have been some posts regarding seat pins not fully engaging in the seat rails and causing unexpected seat release. I am using Ovation seats in my F model. Yes, they do fit, however I replaced the seat pins (which are quite expensive to purchase) due to their being bent. I also bought these seat rail stops, originally designed for Cessna seat rails, but will fit a Mooney if you enlarge the groove opening as the upright part of the Cessna seat rail is thinner than part of the Mooney seat rail. They work quite well and do hold. Also, at least with the Ovation seats, you can tell by placing your finger where the release bar approaches the corner of the seat. If the pin is properly in place, the space between the seat release and the seat is very small, almost touching. Test this on both sides. I uploaded the pics as PDF's so I think you will have to click on them to see them. John BredaIMG_7072 2.pdIMG_7070 2.pdfIMG_7070 2.pdf

The seats from other models will fit. I rebuilt a 1968 M20 F with many Ovation parts including all 4 seats and full interior. Take a look at the pictures in my profile. It does take time however. John Breda