Tony Armour

What you describe there......isn't that exactly the same as many overhauls that don't use a new cam ? BUT, the cam was checked, magnafluxed and visually checked. Sounds like it was a complete bottom overhaul. NOW, the cam has been visually checked and I assumed passed where many surprise overhauls start with a simple cylinder replacement it sounds like you are ok. With all of that, if the filter and screen did their job there shouldn't be trash floating around (no hole in the piston). It would have been nice to have taken an oil sample. With what I consider a low time bottom, I would consider redoing all the cylinders....personally I would do (I did) the nickel coating process with new parts: guides, valves, pistons, pins, rings, recondition the rods and for good measure I would replace the rod bearings again unless yours were pristine. All you are betting on is metal didn't get in the main bearings and cam areas, journals/lobes. I would imagine that most damage/loose parts were larger and it wasn't just grinding metal into powder. I feel like most mechanics would lean waaay toward saying overhaul given the option. Unless the $$ for a new/fresh engine is worth it for a warm and fuzzy feeling to you. :-)

So your stormscope is displaying on the 530 ? Your killing me here. I asked what kind of stormscope you have. Please point the stormscope out in your pictures. My wx1000 gets stabilized course info from the KLN90 GPS, that is the navaid option. It also has the heading stabilization option and that info comes from th HSI. I'm thinking about ditching the KLN and that's why your comment peaked my interest. If you have something other than a WX1000 then any issue you have may not pertain to mine......that's all I'm trying to figure out :-)

I'm lost. Are you saying that you have traffic on the stormscope too ? None of that made sense to me. Earlier you said the 530 got heading info from your storm scope..... Just doesn't make sense. Why would a 530 need heading info from anything. What stormscope do you have ? How is the sight picture to the right stack ? I assume there is just no reasonable way to get it in the center stack. Yours looks the same as mine. EDIT: I just looked at your pictures and don't see a stormscope ? Maybe it displays on the 530.

19 gallons more, and 40 minutes faster. A few minutes after I posted the 201 numbers I realized I didn't change from the 16,000' so I had to redo the flight numbers. I'm willing to pay that to make more flights, go faster AND keep my wife in blue skies ! If I figured right, 75 hours a year will cost around $2,000 more in fuel. In aviation a $2,000 swing in a year doesn't seem like a big deal.

Just for kicks, here is the same flight with the profile I used with my 201.

See, I told you what folks would say. I just thought it might take a LITTLE longer..... BOB :-) There have been quite a few flights I would not have done in the 201. There have been a LOT of flights in the TLS where I was in the blue skies and with the 201 it would not have been near as enjoyable of a flight. My wife likes blue skies, no clouds, and no weather :-) No wind flight:

I owned an 83 J for about six years and now have owned my TLS for ten years. I have never regretted it, not one time. You do not have to live in the big mountains of the west to make it work for you (as some will say) The only Bo that would compare would need to be turbo normalized. Expect fuel at 20gph and an overhaul at $60k. This airplane just came up on Beechtalk yesterday, looks like a decent price to me if you want TKS. I don't know if it has been on the market long or before. With oil analysis and the fairly recent top, I would not hesitate to run the engine to 2200-2300 hours. I'm actually in the same boat with mine 1925 TT and 600 or so since a TOH. http://www.beechtalk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=114902

frcabot, Since I have been watching the results/hanger talk of the recent Cirrus landi...errr...crash.....errrr....save... I'm curious, did you make an immediate turn toward the airport and mostly on my mind, did you start descending before you had the airport made or ? No judgements here but what you did and the thought process behind it....I am very interested in. Did controllers give you instructions ? If you are familiar with the Cirrus incident you will understand my questions. I hope I have learned from it. Regarding what to do on your engine (based on auto experience, may mean nothing) Once you get shrapnel in one cylinder it can make it's way back thru the intake to other cylinders. I'm sure all will be checked out well before putting you back in the air. Anything I could do to make it safe to fly back to my home mechanic....I might do that. The cheapest reman cylinder I could find or a good used one to buy or borrow. Get it home and then make a decision. Once again GREAT JOB !

Great job getting it down ! It's nice to hear stories with good results.

Not sure I understand. Do you have a WX-1000 storm scope or something else ? Why would the 530 need a heading source from a stormscope ? After looking at the manual for the WX-1000, I think I have the heading stabilization option as well as the navaid option. I think the navaid option recieves it's data from my KLN- whatever GPS. It's possible I might remove the KLN and then the WX-1000 would need route/navaid input from the 540. What are your thoughts on the 9000 now ? Also regarding not having traffic heading on your 530 ? Sight picture to the right stack ? Here is what I have to work with:

Any pictures Mike ? I'm leaning that way but with active traffic. From the pics above, no heading info on the 530......I believe that is the way it will also display on my 540. Is that the way the 430 displays ? Not a deal breaker and I think it will eventually display correctly.

An avionics shop will have a portable transmitter and can test the HSI in like two minutes. That may not help your situation other than if you have a radio problem but it sure is quick and probably free if they typically do work for you.

Before doing your test, just barely/gently try to move the trim wheel. If it doesn't move easily like it should don't move it and see if it fails the test. If it fails, then move the trim wheel manually and try the test again. I forget everything about how it works but there is a part that works via magnet and sometimes the arm doesn't let go. A possible fix may be as simple as a piece of electrical tape to calm down the magnetic part. That's the best way I can explain it but if that test works the same for you, I can find out more. Mine gave fits for a few flights and I figured out the trim wheel work/not work deal. When the trim wheel was "stuck" I would manually move it and the autopilot would test fine. We never did the tape because it just quit...not working :-) and has been fine since.

Gann Aviation in NW Georgia 9A5 will be building mine when the time comes. He has a great reputation, does all of Bill Elliot's airplane stuff etc. I'm at 1925 on my 93 TLS with good oil analysis and low oil consumption. Carlus Gann did my J engine some 15 years ago. I like the idea of one man doing my motor. He has a (my) mechanic on site or Joey Cole/Mooney Service Center at KDNN (my airport) is the next airport just over the ridge. Thursday I was in Coles shop and a brand new $60,000 Bravo engine had just arrived. Small pallet of stuff for that much $$$ :-o they said the crank AD had come up time wise or something ? I think Joey also uses Gann on some builds. I also like the idea of a privately built engine so that I can go back with nickel on the cylinder walls like I did on my top when purchased at around 1250 hours. Carlus had those done and that same IA and myself installed them. I think carlus has been pretty busy with a lot of engines lately.

I would discribe it but it's impossible :-) Might should belong in the Vintage forum ? http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/5270430991.html

That's a pretty awesome obituary ! Love the way it was written. RIP

Well dar n the weather. Maybe we could do something like that some time. Maybe get a few more folks an have lunch too. High school football games are already moving from Friday night to tonight up here. Supposed to be pretty bad, and our Friday night weather will probably be in Greenwood Saturday morning. What airport do you fly out of Jeff ?

What are you seeing on the weather Jeff ? I'm not seeing good things.

After another Cirrus chute pull on camera again yesterday, if they or any manufacturer wants to start selling more airplanes then they better start putting chutes on them. An STC for older Mooney's would be great too.

I will try that but it may be Saturday :-) I asked about the turn altitude since it reads be "at" that altitude and was told that the published turn altitudes are minimum altitudes. Probably no worries with your power and my experience. I may not even run full power since I'm just learning, even firewalled I'm down a couple inches from max boost.

So it's not legal to fly now ?

I was 12 hours from buying one that had the conversion to the big water cooled engine (my TLS came on the market over night) Might have been a mistake but it sure was a sweet flying and COOL looking bird ! The same one was recently for sale again, maybe last year. I can't even recall the conversion name now.....there was a line of twins that had the same engine conversion. Had the big air outlet on the side, think turbine looking :-) Edit, duh. It was a liquid cooled Rocket Engineering conversion. This is the one I flew..SWEET !! http://www.aircraftmerchants.com/cf/acDetail.cfm?AircraftId=AF4ED3BD-EB93-4D07-A7B1-108F46178B90 Look at those small air inlets. NO shock cooling either, full throttle to the pattern and chop the throttle.

I've been using RUC winds, not winds aloft. I think VAD would be a good back-up check but more useable data with RUC and can be seen in a much friendlier format and lower altitudes where a lot of the flying will take place. http://ryancarlton.com/?loc=KGRd&units=KTs&tempformat=0&altformat=0 Seems to be a normal sweet spot in the 3,000' area there near the race location. Well, sweet if you want to be that high and I do :-) The weather looks iffy right now.

No clue on how steep or how many G's. I was just trying to make a decent turn around a point at speed. (Not full throttle though) Seeing what the airplane did and what I was doing. I think the airplane would try to climb and I was also naturally pulling back on the yoke early in the turn. Ground speeds were 150 to 180kts. These would not have been "air show" turns but certainly something I have no reason to do in normal flying. I only noted the speeds because I have been watching/learning the low level wind forecasts.

What little time I have had trying to stay beside another airplane for a photo op, I found out formation flying would not be an easy task. Certainly a learning curve. And yea.....we were always told to avoid others LOL