larryb

and he tells me that there has been an incident at the airport, my hangar row is damaged, and I need to move my airplane to a different hangar. No damage to my aircraft, but this was a close call to say the least. My hangar is right next to this.

A typical hangar is large, metal, and un-insulated. This space won't be heated by any electric 115V heater. Simply not enough power. An infrared heater is your best bet as long as you can be working near it to feel it's effect. If you want to actually heat the space what you really need is a gas powered unit heater like this: https://www.ecomfort.com/Reznor-UDAP-150/p46932.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyfm92Kfu7AIVQxatBh3UxgudEAQYBCABEgKKCvD_BwE Unfortunately for me, since I rent a hangar from the county, a nice heater like that is out of the question. I do have one of these. It is useful to take the chill off if I need to work on the plane in the winter. But it is loud and annoying. And the combustion by-products are not vented. It seems OK for short term use in a drafty hangar. I do have a CO monitor in my plane, it has not gone off while running the heater. https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-MH60QFAV-Portable-Propane/dp/B00KRFVDP4/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=propane+heater&s=hi&sr=1-6

Keep them and sell them here to somebody who needs them.

In San Jose, CA, KRHV is very close to KSJC. We must be sequenced in with the jets. Also, the approach is from the South, I am usually approaching from the North. So it's 10 miles South to join the approach, 20 miles extra. Then there are the vectors for sequencing into the SJC traffic. VFR is simply a standard pattern and land. On departure it can be 20 minutes for release, although typically it's around 5 minutes. They wait for a lull in the traffic at SJC before they can let you go. At KTRK it is a non-radar environment in the mountains, and the protected airspace is shared between two airports. So only 1 IFR operation allowed in the entire area at the same time for both airports. If there is an approach in progress at KTVL, you have to wait until it is complete before you can start yours at KTRK.

I would disagree. Dew point is 100% RH. But corrosion starts around 60% and increases as the RH increases. What you are concerned with is how much water is actually on the surface of the metal. You can have water molecules on the metal in the absence of visible condensate. If the temperature of all metal components of the engine is high enough that the local humidity is < 60% then corrosion should be minimal.

For me it depends on expected weather. In the west it is often very clear and easy to fly a long trip VFR. In the east I have found it is generally a lot more cloudy and simply easier to fly IFR. Most of my IFR time at home is simply popping through a marine layer. Less than 1 minute actual for the flight. For my normal trips IFR adds at least 20 minutes to the trip, so I only do it when weather dictates. There have been tons of flights that I made VFR but would not have attempted without having the IFR rating and currency. Just have to have that option when you need it. It does remove a lot of anxiety. That said, it does not remove all anxiety. Once you have the rating the next challenge is icing. After I had my IFR I cancelled a lot of trips because I could not be sure not to encounter a freezing cloud. Eventually I sold my J and bought a FIKI Encore. I rarely use the TKS, but just having it allows me to complete more flights than I could with my J. Larry

I would add the O2. Ideally the Mountain High O2D2 system. With that system 2 people can fly over 20 hours at 15,000 feet on a single 24 cu ft tank. When I had my J I flew it often at 14.5 to 15.5K. Without O2 you will be uncomfortably close to those rocks. Not having O2 is very limiting in that area of the country. Sure, it can be done without but it is much better with. I haven't flown your exact route but I have flown in the area. The terrain between KCPR and KRKS is relatively friendly. That is generally where I cross the Rockies. Airports are few and far between in that area, so it can complicate your fuel planning.

The only water that matters for corrosion is the water on the surface of the metal which makes a little micro battery. Water trapped in the air is not available for corrosion and therefore a good thing.

I have also instrumented my engine with RH and temperature measurements. My results duplicate the referenced article. As temperature is increased RH decreases. Using a Reiff heater, blanket over the cowl, and a thermostat I have my setup maintain a constant 90 degrees F year round. The oil fill cap is left off when the airplane is home and inside. This is in a relatively dry California climate. I maintain around 10% RH when the plane is in Truckee and around 30% when the plane is in San Jose. In a humid environment this might not work as well and active dehumidification might be required. Actually measuring the humidity is key, and avoids any guesswork. What is interesting is that right after flight RH is typically 60%. I have seen it at 100% after taxiing without flight, such as bringing the plane back to my hangar after avionics work at my home field. After a day or so at 90 degrees F the RH drops to the stable long-term values.

Yup, I noticed a basemap issue last flight. I guess I'll go through the process. But, does the worldwide basemap even matter if you have a current local nav db?

Glen: Is the beeping continuous, or does it stop after a few beeps? If the beeping is continuous, I agree it is likely the gear warning system. As others mentioned, this activates when the gear is up and MP is reduced to near idle. The purpose is to prevent gear up landing. If this is what you are hearing, I would recommend you change your procedure and descend at no lower than 15" MP. Lower than this and the prop is driving the engine, and that is not terribly good for the engine. Only reduce to idle when necessarily for landing. And at that point, your gear should be down and you won't hear anything except the stall warning right before touchdown. When I had my J I would reduce the MP/mixture on descent every couple thousand feet to maintain my cruise MP setting and fuel flow. If it is a few beeps that then stop, it can be the autopilot disconnecting. I had this happen once in turbulence. If you have a KAS297 altitude pre-select you also get a beep 1000' before reaching your target altitude. But that is just a single beep, not a series of beeps. Finally, my Aspen also issues a beep when arriving or leaving the set altitude. Finally a Sonalert is just a component made by Mallory. It is not a Mooney specific part, any electronic supply house sells them. They make two versions, a continuous tone or beeping tone. Many Mooneys will have one of each. The stall warning one is a continuous tone. The gear warning one is a beeping tone. Newer Mooneys, including my 1997 Encore, replaced this simple and cheap component with a simple but expensive electronic box and speaker that does the same thing. Larry

So just a few days ago I start the airplane. What is that beeping? Oh, it’s the CO2 monitor. Never seen that before, readings around 50. That’s not good. Then I recall that the wind is a direct tailwind, 10G20. And the window is open. Maybe that’s it. I taxi into the lane and turn 90 degrees to the wind. Reading drops to 0. Relief. I decide the airplane is fine and depart but keep an extra sharp eye on the monitor. All good, it was the tailwind. First time for that experience in probably 800 Mooney hours with a monitor.

It is always windy and bumpy down there. On our way to Flag it was smooth at 17.5k and the bumps started descending through 13k. Very rough ride from there all the way to touchdown. Seems like it is always like that when we go there. This was around 11:00 am. My advice for flying in the desert Southwest is to stay high as much as possible.

Just flew back from a 2 week rafting trip in the canyon. Flagstaff to Truckee.

So in my aircraft the battery is not in a box. It has a manifold connection for the vent hose directly on the battery. What this means is that the battery minder wire does not run next to the main battery wire and is not attached to it. That said, and after reading this thread, I do like the idea of attaching the wire to the solenoid instead. With fewer wires attached to the battery fewer wires will be disturbed when the battery is changed. I may just have mine changed. It would only take a few minutes and is not a big deal.

My install is directly to the battery. However it does not use the provided hardware. It uses standard aircraft grade tefzel wire, ring terminals, and an inline fuse holder just like the others in the battery area. Terminated with a molex connector behind the aux power port.

What kind of engine? If the Lyc IO360 connect the quick drain when you return home from a flight. A day or two later go out and finish the job. All the oil will have drained from the filter and it will only spill a couple drops. Waiting a day after the flight is the key point here. But you said you waited two days, so I really don’t know went wrong. The Continental with the filter mounted under the motor is a little harder. I fashion a bib out of a plastic garbage bag to direct the oil into a bucket.

I also generally run 25” 9.5 gph in my encore. I used to run 28” 10.5 gph but the plane was not as happy, I get a slight vibration at that setting. If I want to go faster I do 28” 14.5 gph rop. That is 20 Ktas faster than the 9.5 gph setting but significantly less mpg.

The cylinder pressure they are talking about is peak pressure. You don’t want the peak too high. Think of a sharp spike vs a gradual push. In the red box you get more of a spike. Outside the box more of a push.

One should make good decisions based on their experience, skill, and capabilities. I flew a week ago from Truckee to San Jose VFR. It was legal VFR but would have never done the trip without being rated and current.

First detail, your trim switch is actually a switch circuit breaker combo. So the fact that it does not stay on is because the breaker part is tripping. Second point, it is not necessarily a $5K bill every time a king autopilot glitches. I had a roll servo go out. It was sent to Mid Continent for a $600 repair. My shop was another $400. The bottom line is you need a competent technician to trouble shoot the system. It could be anything and other people’s experience with similar symptoms don’t matter much. An incompetent technician won’t do the debug and will send all of your components out for overhaul when the real problem is a chafed wire and all of your components were fine.

I frequently experience this in my encore. One time the downdraft was so severe that IAS dropped to only 90 kts and I had to go to full power for 5 minutes to maintain altitude.

You have an Acclaim. Even if you are going to get a twin, why trade down? Save a few $? There is a lot of risk in buying a “new to you” airplane. And then you plan to spend a lot of $$$ improving the Bravo you are going to buy? It seems like a lot of hassle and risk to me. I suggest skipping the piston twin and go straight for the TBM.

3 years ago I sold my J and bought a FIKI 252 Encore. My airplane had the TKS installed by the original owner by CAV at around 100 hours TT. As far as I know the factory never installs TKS, the planes are sent to CAV after the factory is done building it. As far as the value, well that is in the eye of the beholder. Some people don't want it at all because it slows the plane down all the time, and weights 100 lb, including the fluid. When I did my upgrade I really wanted it because I had cancelled a number of flights because I could not guarantee no icing. Having TKS has certainly improved my dispatch rate. But truth told, it is just a few flights a year. The improvement in my "comfort level" is significant. I am still happy I have it and would not want a real traveling plane without it. I don't feel the after-market values TKS much at all. I feel I got mine for free. There were 3 Encores on the market when I bought mine. All had similar hours, equipment, and price. But only one had TKS, the one I bought. It's like a house with a swimming pool. One of the requirements to get the FIKI certification is dual alternators. That means your J can never be FIKI because it can't have dual alternators. When I was plane-searching I skipped over all non-FIKI installations. Only Bravo's, Ovations, Acclaims, and Encores can be FIKI.

It is hard to believe it can’t be serviced. In my old Grumman it leaked one day. A couple of standard Orings and lube later and it was good as new. I don’t think it was even removed from the aircraft for the work.