nels

I had less than 100 hr and all in a cessna 150. The hard part was the 35 plus years between my last flight in a 150 and my next flight in my own, dream come true, M20E.

I think the starter works about the same as the one in your car. When the starter turns over to start the engine, the starter pinion winds it's way out to the ring gear and engages it. There is another reverse thread on this Bendix which once the engine starts and speeds up the pinion faster than the starter it winds it's way back to the retract position. I think the spring is there to absorb the retact impact as it can be pretty substantial.

You have to be pretty aggressive with the gun to heat the metal to the point it would burn the paint from the other side. I've used a heat gun removing the undercoat from the backside of fenders without ever damaging the paint. I've even heated the paint side of a fender and removed the undercoat from the reverse side. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has tried it.

I know sparks, heat guns etc are dangerous around gas but if the inspection covers are off the tanks and tanks are washed clean and ventilated while working, I don't think it would be a problem. Heat guns usually work real well for removing a lot of sealants. Just wondering if it might be a method worth considering.

I'm interested but is delivery next wk, next month to next year? Any idea?

This plane was discussed on the forum about a month ago. Fellow thought he needed a ferry permit.

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One other comment on the plastic panels: don't be afraid to use a heat gun to heat up those puckered or deformed spots and press them back into their original shape.

I redid my panels in my E and actually tried all methods mentioned here but really didn't like any of them that much. I did body work as a kid and continued on restoring cars all my life. I thought the royalite would be a snap but nothing really adheres to it like I thought it would. The best method and the easiest I found was suggested by my cousin who used to build model airplanes. I went to a hobby shop and bought two types of super glue, one thick and one thin. I also bought a small spray pump bottle of accelerator and some fine woven fiberglass cloth. I cleaned the surface on the back side of the crack with acetone, cut a piece of cloth, put down thin super glue on the area for repair, placed the cloth in the glue then misted it with accelerator. I little smoke and the patch was cured. Added more cloth in a similar method until I thought it was strong enough. I turned the panel over and applied a bead of thick super glue in the visible crack as a filler then again misted it with accelerator. This method worked well and went along at a nice pace. I'd try this method first as it is quick and is not messy. Just keep the glue off your hands.

I've been curious what the salvage planes go for. It appears they bring better money than they should considering the price of flying airplanes these days. Why would you pay 20k for a geared up E with a prop strike when you probably could have bought the plane for 30K before the damage occurred? It is such a crap shoot! I sure learned the hard way.

While reading the forum for the last couple years, I've heard mentioned that a good wax job increases cruise performance. I believe it should but has anyone ever put a number to the before and after?? Mine is at the point where a clay bar and a good polishing is in order. I know its a lot of work so besides just making it look better I guess I'm looking for a little extra motivation.

Glad you guys appreciated my post. I almost didn't bother but thought it might help someone out there and maybe it will.

Since I've been flying my M20E, only about nine hours now, I have noticed that the number four cyl EGT is always higher than the rest. A couple weeks ago during a mag check we noticed a large drop in rpm and abnormally high EGT on cyl four so aborted the flight for the day. Several days later a pulled the bottom plug which was the problem plug according to the monitor. It was wet and had plenty of carbon build up down inside so I sand blasted it clean and reinstalled it. I started the engine and it ran well through a mag check. While it was idling I leaned until engine rpm drop then enrichened. EGT on four was again high. I applied power and the engine began to backfire so I enriched the mixture to full rich and had the same backfiring. Engine was running rough when I did another mag check which showed no difference in rpm. I glanced at the #4 cyl temp again and saw it had gone to zero. Disgusted, I shut it down. The following day I pulled the prop through about a dozen times to make sure I didn't lose a cylinder or stick a valve; fortunately all four still had great compression. I thought I probably had a dirty injector on four so I pulled the injector out of four and number one. With the injectors connected to the feed lines I put each into a small prescription bottle and set the mixture to full rich and turned the electric pump on for 30 seconds. I expected to see a volume difference between the two but they were precisely the same. While replacing the injectors I just happened to notice that the flare connection interface on number 4 had a carbon layer approx 1/3 to 1/2 the circumference of the sealing surface. The deposit was easy to flake off with a dental tool. I'm sure this had been leaking for some time. Not sure why it wasn't sealing up as the fitting was tight. I assume there was a small speck of debris at the interface which prevented the seal? Anyway, I pulled the top spark plug, it was carboned up down between the porcelain and wall so I cleaned it out with a dental pick, gun cleaning fluid and compressed air. I then removed the previously cleaned bottom plug and used the gun cleaner and compressed air on it. I recowled the engine. I then started the engine, let it warm, leaned to eng rpm drop and enrichened. For the first time since I've owned this plane all the exhaust temp were about the same. I ran it at various rpm's, rich, lean, etc. and the exhaust temperatures all remained about even to each other. All this time I thought I had a bad instrument or I just didn't know how to operate it correctly. I hope I didn't bore anyone with all my windage but I thought someone else out there may benefit from this. I will also say that the engine has never run so smooth and able to idle so gracefully at 700 or 800 RPMs since I started flying it. Once I'm able to get back in the air I will know for sure I've remedied my problem but for now I feel pretty confident. Should I be?

That's what I was thinking.

Thanks for all the input. This should be a fun trip, I hope to learn some about my plane on the way out and back. I do want to try lop but don't want to try it if I'm at 3500 ft but if I go up around 6.5 I'll give it a shot. We may work our way back home via Denver. I have two kids out there and my daughter wants me to baby sit her fifteen lb dog while she and her husband are on vacation. A little concerned about hauling the dog back to Cincinnati since it's never been on a plane. Also from Phoenix to Denver is a lot shorter going over Albuquerque than going way south to Demming then heading north again. It was mentioned that the short route is hazardous in the summer. What about in January? What are the particular problems taking that route?

Not sure what you mean by plan for the winds and pick __"your best safe altitude (especially going west)"

My tanks are the standard 52 gal versions. I've done no lop flying but hope to try it on this trip. I might even slow it down some to try to improve fuel consumption/mpg. We're in no real hurry.not sure how much that will help but from what I've read it sounds like about 135 mph is the optimum speed for max mpg(?).

Thanks, it was a long hard battle and a lesson learned!

I will probably be flying from Cincinnati to Phoenix next month with my friend and instructor so I might finally get enough hours in for insurance requirments. My plane is a 66 E model with the 201 windshield, two blade prop and no other mods. I'm curious as to experiences others have had with similar planes as far as fuel usage on long cross countries. I guess it would be best to assume 10k ft, zero wind, one hour of reserve. It looks like the trip will be about 1400 miles one way. Doing a hipothetical flight plan with no stops says I should use about 100 gal with no wind. That is 14 nautical mpg. The fuel stops, which were not included, should bring that number down to even a lower number. So, real world, how far can you guys go on a tank of gas with no wind consideration, including take off and landing with maybe an hour reserve? Any suggested techniques to improve the mpg will also be appreciated including lop operation.

It sounds as if no gear damage occurred so you should be able to inspect It thoroughly and determine what the cause was. Once the problem has been definitley determined it should put your mind at ease for the next time. On another note, I think the insurance company would sell you the plane after totaling it. You might come out way ahead of the game.

Hopefully you are not stranded somewhere this time!

Was there a mechanical failure this time? Did anything break or did it just retract as if it wasn't fully in its detent so to speak?

I personally would say the best thing for you to do would be to get your license in something like a Cessna 150 then look for a Mooney. As several have mentioned, insurance will be the determining factor. You might consider buying a 150 to get your ticket. This will give you some insight on owning a plane and may be a better financial decision if you buy right. Sell it when you are ready and buy a Mooney. I understand your excitement about owning a Mooney, I went through the same thing recently. I got my ppl about thirty years ago in a 150. I flew a couple years and stopped. I always wanted a mooney so about two yrs ago I bought a 66 E model afetr I decided I wanted to start flying again. What surprised me is that insurance was reasonable since I had my ppl even though I was not current and had no time in a sophisticated aircraft. The requirement was 15 hrs of dual time plus ten more to take passengers. These guys here have mentioned the problems learning to fly in a complex aircraft and they are right. The Mooney is more than a handful for me. I think I will be well over twenty hrs before I feel capable of flying it alone and I have prior experience in the Cessna and recent experience in a small Beach.

Now that the miserable cold has come down on us here n southern Ohio, I was wondering about checking for water in the the tanks and sump. Say its zero outside and you sample for water in each tank and let's say you feel confident there is some water in the tank, will the drain just not dislodge due to ice? What would I expect to find. Does ice float in gasoline, I know it is less dense than in liquid form. Is there any de-ice or ice guard for fuel that is safe with the tank sealant? Just thinking out loud here. WELL, I should have read an earlier post. That one pretty much answered my questions. sorry.

I always thought it would be good experience to take an old junk airplane apart and maybe save some stuff for spares and sell off some stuff to pay for the initial investment. The trouble is two fold, it would have to be cheap and you have to have a place to do the surgery and store the remains. Still, the hands on education would be great.