M20F-1968

To add rgt sided brajkes, you will need the rgt brake padals, a pair of master cylinders and install the extra brake lines. The brake lines can be made. There are several brake line configurations which Mooney has used. I have the drawings from Mooney for the reported best version and it does not use a shuttle valve. If you do it this way you will need a DER (or possibly IA) to sign off. John Breda

I have a set of working gauges (entire cluster) from a 1967 low time M20F. You can call me at (617) 877-0025 or e-mail me at johnabreda@yahoo.com if interested. John Breda

I have a set of working gauges (entire cluster) from a 1967 low time M20F. You can call me at (617) 877-0025 or e-mail me at johnabreda@yahoo.com if interested. John Breda

The pre-oiler that I have is made by Oilamatic. The web site is: http://www.oilamatic.com/ It is a pump type pre-oiler. Weight about 6 lbs. Pros: more oil at start-up Cons: does not do much for cylinders, camshaft lobes Weight - 6 lbs More connections and oil hoses to fail John Breda

I agree that limiting the postings to: 1) The owner who had work performed, and the results of that work, and any objective facts, documents, evidence. 2) The shop's reply would be the best approach. It needs to be a a short, objective, easily reviewed and read site of owners' experiences. Listings could be by state and by specialty (airframe, general maitenance, paint, engine rebuild, avionics, etc...) The emotions should be left out, post what is factual and readily proven. John Breda

I second Jezzie's sentiment. I did my rebuild project 1500 miles away from where I live. I had to redo a bunch of work done by the original mechanics. I subsequently found a 40 year old sheetmetal manager from Gulfstream who did sheetmetal work for me and did very nice work. Like everything, its all about the people. If you are not nearby, the mice will play if the mice are so minded. Now the mice have to deal with 2 legal judgments against them. John Breda

I have a new preoiler which I originally put on my rebuilt 1968-F model, but then removed it due to weight concerns before completing the weight and balance. I now feel as though there is sufficient useful load to consider it putting back on, but need a better sense of whether these things are indeed helpful. I live in New England, have a Reiff heater, and can easily see myself using the plane in the winter to fly to Maine, NH, Vermont, and Canada where I may not have electric available or even a hangar overnight. For those of you in the cold climates, please advise. Thanks, John Breda

I just finished reading the thread "legal Action Against a Certain Shop in Florida" and decided to start this thread. Having been the vicitim of some unscrupulous mechanics in Texas I have to support the idea of a forum where objective and factual stories can be posted, showing both the good and the bad. I was new to this industry 8 years ago and was quite surprised to see the variability (to be polite) in the levels of competence, integrity and honesty acress the various A&P mechanics from which we as owners have to choose. I was surprised at how inconsistently an A&P or IA certification translates into what an owner may or may not expect in terms of competency. That is to say nothing of honesty and integrity. I think that an "Angie's List" devoted to A&P mechanics would be helpful. No one would complain about the listing of "Kudos" for the shops who all know and love. If owners can stick to objective experiences in their description of their bad experiences, that can be helpful as well for all of us. If one owner had a bad experience. and several owners post good experiences with the same shop, the truth will show as an average of all the responses. I would like to see such a section created on this forum. I would likie to hear if there are other owners who feel that this would be helpful. Thus, references for mechanics, avionics, paint, etc... can be derived from one site. Thanks, John Breda

WOW - This is disheartening. I though I enjoyed flying, in part, by getting away from the ego/self centered jackasses like this that walk the earth. Is there any way of knowing what happened at the end of his flight? John Breda

I have an essentiually new Lone Star 14V to 28V converter. It is the newer model LS03-05002 (. It was screwed into place in the aircraft but never wired or installed fully. I bought it new from Lone Star when I thought I would be installing an Artex Nav interface box which was 28V. The ME406 came out which was a smaller Artex ELT. Artex took back the Nav Interface and swapped the ELT leaving me with the Lone Star Converter. This is the newer version, smaller in size and measures 2 3/8 X 3 3/4 X 2". If you can use it I am sure we can agree on price. New it selle for about $380 - I am looking to get about $250. You can e-mail me at johnabreda@yahoo.com or call me at (617) 877-0025. Thanks, John Breda

I did the modification but I did it the easy way. I obtained a baggage door from an Ovation. We just changed 1/2 of the hinge on the airframe and swapped the doors. The new door fit perfectly. The locking mechanism worked without further modification and even the door seal was tight. I doubt you could find a complete door. I happened to find a crashed Ovagtion at a salvage yard 2 miles away from from me and they knew I was renovating my F model. You could possibly get the parts and change the locking mechanism but this would mean reskinning the outside of the door as well. My mod was done with DER approval and 337. John Breda

I removed mine from my 1968 F model, but I had an Ovation available to pull parts from. Namely the entire new ventilation system. It wouyld be difficult to find these parts without the factory as a source. I changed the top skin and it is a die formed part so it too would be a difficult skin to make unless you have a very good sheet metal mechanic. The top skin is also a thin skin and difficult to work with which is another reason you would need an experienced sheet metal mechanic. The other obstacle is the authority to do the work. I do so with DER approval. John Breda

If there were that many mouse droppings over a long time of hangar storage, I would also start seriously looking for corrosion somewhere. John Breda

I also have an extra set of Meyers jacks for sale which are the correct height for a Mooney. You can e-mail me at johnabreda@yahoo.com or call me at (617) 877-0025. They are located in the Boston area and can be shipped on a pallet. John Breda

Richard Heitzman: I hear you. I have never defueled an aircraft and posted my question to get a sense of what people were doing. If the Monroy tanks are fuel, you really have a 2 person airplane. I plan on keeping 64 gallons in the airplane as a normal course of action. The only concern with that is the feeling that keeping the tanks full is theoretically better for the PRC sealant. But, there are also those that believe the fuel fumes in a partially full tankl are enough to sustain the PRC. I certainly appreciate the concerns for static electricity and the hazards that creates around fuel. Certainly need good grounding and proper procedures. I was not sure if there are owners who routinely do defuel for weight reasons. Thanks, John Breda

Does that mean that you fly the fuel off with the 3rd or 4th passenger over gross weight, or you do so before taking on the 3rd or 4th passenger? I ask that only to get a sense of the 201's performance. John

What equipment and procedures you any of you use for de-fueling as may be needed for weight reasons? Now that I have Monroy tanks, this may become an issue if I want to add one more passenger and eliminate fuel. John

I have a file that was used for a standard steam gauge layout for water-jet cutting of a panel. I also have one for a Garmin 600. See pictures. The file is a .dxf file. I would think you could crop out that part of it that you need. You can e-mail me at johnabreda@yahoo.com or call me on my cell phone at (617) 877-0025. John Breda

I just went onto the Boss Aircraft Refinisher's website. The have a Mooney 201 N201EE posted in their gallery, apparently as an example of their work, but I believe the aircraft to have been painted at Tejas in San Marcos. What's up with that. Does anyone know anything about this airplane? John Breda

I am looking to paint my F model project plane soon. The plane is now in Texas and I am in Boston. I would welcome any excellent recommendations of shops who do excellent work, will not cause problems such as tank leaks and the like, and who are well known to be reliable. Thanks, John Breda

2 seals need to be replaced: 1 on ouside diameter of fuel cap, 2nd around inner shaft. Needs to be done annually and religiously. This IS a safety of flight issue. Contact MSC for parts. John Breda

2 seals need to be replaced: 1 n ouside diameter of fuel cap, 2nd oround inner shaft. Needs to be done annually and relogiously. This IS a safety of flight issue. Contact MSC for parts. John Breda

I have a 1968 F model. It has the vacuum retractable step and lots of avionics in the tail avionics bay (see pictures). A question was raised to me a month ago asking if water might be a threat to the avionics given the hole in the tail into which the step retracts. There is an outer skin that overlaps the tailcone when the step retracts. I asked the factory personnel who did not think it was an issue. Just wanted to put the question out there to see if anyone had any related experience. The alternative would be to replace the step with a modern fixed step. Not sure I want to do that if it the vacuum step is a non-issue. John Breda

The tie-down eyelet and hole it is threaded into is located in the bay of the Monroy tanks and is a through hole into the tanks. The Monroy STC only calls for the tank side of the hole to be sealed with PRC. If there is motion of the tie-down threaded shaft, usually by threading it in further than when it was sealed, this can and will cause a leak. I would assume that pulling on the tie down would also cause enough shift to upset the PRC. The usual fix (and recommended install) for the Monroy tanks in this area is to make a little hat from aluminum, riveted to the area over the tie-down, and then PRC over it. Then this area will be sealed like the rest of the tank and the seal of the threaded through hole will be protected from movement of the threaded shaft of the eyelet. The next problem that bothers me is that the eyelet is loose. Dus the force partially strip the threads on the tiedown or the wing. This needs to be investigated as well. Also, once the fuel leak is repaired as above, you should check for leaks in other places. John Breda

I have an STEC-60-2 which requires the turn coordinator. I mounted it blindly behind the panel, and have a Garmin 600, a 3" vacuum AI with off flag and a 2" Mid-continent electric AI with inclinometer. I did not use the back-up battery for the Mid-continent since I have enough redundance and have a RAT (air driven alternator) in the airplkane as well. The vacuum AI is the only vacuum instrument I have left. The reason for it is that in unusual attitudes (which you hope you do not get to) the vacuum instrument is more reliable and rights itself quicker. I would rebuild you vacuum AI, and replace the turn coordinator with a 2" electric AI with inclinometer. You can take a look at my panel pictures in my gallery. John Breda