M20F-1968

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

The plan is to use a plastic pipette - they come standard in 12" and 25" length. I am thinking the 25" length is best. 12" seems like it may be too easy to drop into the tank. John Breda

Thanks. John

I am thinking of making some fuel tank calibrated dipstick gauges to measure fuel quantity directly. My plane is presently 1000 miles away. Can anyone with an F or J model let me know what the depth from the filler cap to the bottom of the fuel tank. I am looking for various materials and need to know how long a material to order. Please reply with the actual tank depth to the top of the wing. I'll add material to the length from there. If any of you also have Monroy tanks in an F or J the depth there would also be appreciated but I think it will be a lesser depth than the mains. Thanks, John Breda

Please list the name of the shop that is causing you to grief of the 6 month annual. That is ridiculous! What excuse has he given you? John Breda

Try calling Paul Loewen at LASAR a call. John Breda

I have 2 of the royalite pieces and also made a fiberglass copy of this part. I could make another one if you wished or perhaps I could be convinced to get rid of one of the 2 original parts. You can e-mail me at johnabreda@yahoo.com or call me at (617) 877-0025 Thanks, John Breda

I have 2 of the royalite pieces and also made a fiberglass copy of this part. I could make another one if you wished or perhaps I could be convinced to get rid of one of the 2 original parts. You can e-mail me at johnabreda@yahoo.com or call me at (617) 877-0025 Thanks, John Breda

I am trying to clean out my hangar of left over parts from my rebuild project. I have a bunch of parts left over. Some are quite nice such as a completely rebuilt RayJay turbo normalizer system. Others are small parts just left over that someone might need. I have listed about 150 photos on photobucket. The like is: http://s1067.photobucket.com/albums/u434/jbreda/?start=all If there is anything you might need or want, please call me at (617) 877-0025 or e-mail me at: johnabreda@yahoo.com I have more stuff still in Texas and will post when I can get pictures. I have documentation for many F model mods which I have generated which led to FAA approval, so if you are thinking of a project you might give me a call. Thanks for looking, John Breda

I am trying to clean out my hangar of left over parts from my rebuild project. I have a bunch of parts left over. Some are quite nice such as a completely rebuilt RayJay turbo normalizer system. Others are small parts just left over that someone might need. I have listed about 150 photos on photobucket. The like is: http://s1067.photobucket.com/albums/u434/jbreda/?start=all If there is anything you might need or want, please call me at (617) 877-0025 or e-mail me at: johnabreda@yahoo.com I have more stuff still in Texas and will post when I can get pictures. I have documentation for many F model mods which I have generated which led to FAA approval, so if you are thinking of a project you might give me a call. Thanks for looking, John Breda

I replaced my rotating beacon with a Whelen LED beacon. I used DER approval and 337 as the path. Whelen supplied a mounting ring with no holes as I remember. You can e-mail me at johnabreda@yahoo.com if you are interested in more details. It is seen lit up in a picture in my gallery. John Breda

I started my IR at about 50 total hours after earning the PPL at about 42 hrs. I earnd both my PL and IR while living in Portland, OR with the advantage of overcase, foggy, rainy weather 10 months out of the year. This allowed me to build time with an instructor from 50 to about 130 hrs in actual conditions. We flew every weekend and filed in the cloud layer. I eventually became more comfortable on instruments and still prefer to file IFR. Try to get as much actual time as possible. I still do not understand how anyone can feel comfortable without significant actual condition training. Learning under the hood is not the same. Also, realize that it will take some time to feel comfortable "without the instructor" after you get your IR. Know your limits and take on small challenges at a time. Get the experiences into you long term memory and skill bank. Also, realize that it will take years to full develop your IR skills. Be safe and do not take chances. John Breda

The "twisted wing" really is not "twisted" at all. The outboard skin is the same as in all other Mooney airplanes. The forward wing ftip is depressed about 1 1/2" so thbat the outboard skin is aligned differently in relation to the next skin inboard, but the skin itself is still a straight skin. In other words, you can put a straight edge on the outboard skin and find that the skin is straight. The skin's leading edge is formed from the factory. You may be able to find a shop who can make the skin. Try Beegle's Aircraft in Greeley, CO. (970) 353-9200 They do only structural repairs, do good work and are well recognized. John Breda

The "twisted wing" really is not "twisted" at all. The outboard skin is the same as in all other Mooney airplanes. The forward wing ftip is depressed about 1 1/2" so thbat the outboard skin is aligned differently in relation to the next skin inboard, but the skin itself is still a straight skin. In other words, you can put a straight edge on the outboard skin and find that the skin is straight. The skin's leading edge is formed from the factory. You may be able to find a shop who can make the skin. Try Beegle's Aircraft in Greeley, CO. (970) 353-9200 They do only structural repairs, do good work and are well recognized. John Breda

The "twisted wing" really is not "twisted" at all. The outboard skin is the same as in all other Mooney airplanes. The forward wing ftip is depressed about 1 1/2" so thbat the outboard skin is aligned differently in relation to the next skin inboard, but the skin itself is still a straight skin. In other words, you can put a straight edge on the outboard skin and find that the skin is straight. The skin's leading edge is formed from the factory. You may be able to find a shop who can make the skin. Try Beegle's Aircraft in Greeley, CO. (970) 353-9200 They do only structural repairs, do good work and are well recognized. John Breda

FYI: I have a nice set of cowl cheeks which yours is missing and an F model top cowling if you need it. My e-mail is johnabreda@yahoo.com Cel phone - (617) 877-0025 John Breda