nels

Wow, 40 bucks for a 6 ounce bottle, what’s in it??

I really like that airpark from the little I’ve seen of it. I’ve actually been running an ad on Barnstormers looking for an airpark home in Arizona or possibly NM or Colorado. We have two kids in Denver and the commute there would not be difficult from any of the three states. My wife prefers being close to a large city so many of the airpark locations make a hard sell to my wife. I’m pretty sure La Cholla would make the grade though. Good luck and let me know if anything shows up for sale. However, I don’t need a mansion at this stage of life.

I think I saw someone mention synthetic zink or zddp in camgaurd. Maybe that is why?

I didn’t know that! I wonder what the reasoning? Was it ever in aircraft oil? Was it removed?

Bob. Are you saying your oil analysis says you have 3 ppm zink? The Hemmings article says many rebuilders will not warranty an engine if the failed engine’s oil has less than 1200 ppm.

This has been a question in my mind since getting involved with Mooneys several years back and hearing about all the cam failure problems and everyone’s perception of why it happens. Being an old car nut, along with a Mooney nut, I am aware of the auto industry totally moving away from flat tappet cam shafts and onto roller type cam shafts and the reason for the move. Lycoming has also moved to roller cam shafts. The additives of zink and phosphorous have been removed from motor oil mainly due to them not getting along with catalytic converters. The zink is a high wear and extended corrosion additive that is especially useful with dry starts with metal to metal contact. In particular with flat tappet cams. Our Mooney’s often sit for long periods of time allowing most if not all the oil to run off the cam and lifter surfaces so they are often subject to dry metal to metal starts. The zink evidently doesn’t totally leave the cam surfaces over time and allows for lubrication needed during the initial dry cam start.....at least that’s how I understand it. So, for those that get oil samples sent off and analyzed , when an oil sample is returned from a lab check, does it give the amount of zink or zddp in the oil? Also, did Lycoming’s cam problems coincide with the oil industry’s time line of reducing or eliminating these additives in auto motor oil? Or have Lycoming cams been a problem since day one? Here is an interesting article in the Hemmings Motor News blog: https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2012/10/18/tech-101-zinc-in-oil-and-its-effects-on-older-engines/

I don’t think there is an automobile engine presently produced that has a flat tapped camshaft. Virtually all have gone to roller cams. Reason was the epa decided zinc was harmful to the enviorment. Zink is pretty much a necessity for flat tappet cams. In the early 50”s all the new v8’s were spauling cams. They chased metallurgy using steel cams with cast iron lifters and different metallurgy for the cst iron cams with steel lifters etc. the problem was industry wide. The fix turned out to be formulating oil with zink added. I've often wondered if Lycomimg had cam problems before the 1980’s. I’m not sure when zink was totally eliminated from auto engine oil but if it is still in aircraft oil I’m sure it is a minimal amount. Something like 100 low lead but now 50 weight low zink oil. Maybe the new oil is the real culprit? Just an educated guess.

If it can’t be ferried to a facility then the typical transport method by road is to remove the rear tail section so it and be fitted on a trailer for transport.

You have me thinking about O2 setups so I looked on eBay. They seem really reasonable. Most are $150 to $350 for two person but some ( a few) are over $1000. What’s the difference? Two or three hundred would easily be justified for a one shot deal but a grand for possibly one trip..not really.

I didn’t expect this much response and a ton of really good advice. I kind of like the idea of following an interstate, sorta gives a warm feeling that there is some place to put the plane down if you have to other than a mountain side somewhere. The problem might be traffic as that could be what a lot of other pilots are doing? A lot to consider for sure. The southern route, especially as an alternate, sounds like a good idea. A trip up the west coast would be kind of cool. My real problem might be getting someone to fly along with me and share expenses. I don’t think my wife would do it and I haven’t mentioned it to any of my car buddies yet. They might not think it such a cool adventure and would probably think of it as too expensive relative to commercial flights. It’s all “Up in the AIR” right now (haha) but I agree, if I pull it off it will be a trip of a life time. Someone asked where the show is; not sure where the head quarters of the meet is but the parts swap meet is at the Tacoma Dome so I assume the show is somewhere close to that? Also, my plane is a 1978 M20 J.

I’m considering flying to a car show n Tacoma, Washington the last week of August and returning the first week of September. I’ve never flown to the west coast only as far as Denver. I’m wondering if there is a relatively safe route across the mountains that would be doable for someone with no mountain flying experience. I’ve got time to wait out weather etc if necessary but don’t have time to take mountain flying training. With no training and no experience in mountainous terrain, would it just be out of the question? Also, I’m not IFR rated so would only try it if weather was totally on my side. The plane is a 1978 J model.

Glad to know your Mooney is functioning well. You sure couldn’t have gotten all that accomplished in your old 150 given twice the time!

A reason you’de rather not talk about?

Very nice airpark. Was it on the market or did you just happen into it? I’ve looked on line at La Cholla but very few on the market.

Ok, I’m going to admit I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to adsb out solutions but I’m now starting to look around at what is available at a good price. The Garmin GDL82 looks real reasonable to buy and a pretty much install yourself and have it signed off piece of equipment? Price is under 1800 and connects to your original transponder. If it isn’t what you want in a few years you could probably remove it and sell for 70% of the original price. I assume all you are looking for is adsb compliance for now. Let me know if lm in left field as I’m in a learning mode myself.

Are you sure it’s not coming out of the the fuel sump drain. The O ring goes bad in that once in a while. Sometimes just pulling the ring on the floor board up and down a few times will reseat it. Maybe not the problem at all but thought I’d mention it.

The main concern for me would be corrosion on the cam or lifters. When they are dry and you try starting the engine it could be several hundred revolutions before oil gets pumped onto the cam surface. You could ruin a cam and lifters that might be ok if prelubed. Nobody ever mentioned this but what would it hurt to fill the engine to the top of the filler neck with cheap motor oil, pull the lower spark plugs, let it sit a few hours, pull the prop through 10 or 20 times and then drain the oil. It sure seems to me that would be cheap insurance. Even the rings and cylinders would get lubed. Or, am I missing something?

Haha, I was wondering if anyone would catch that.

I guess I’m a CAMO (cheap ass Mooney owner) but I finally got tired of pushing my plane up hill into the hangar. I bought a 110 volt winch from Harbor Freight, bolted it to the back of the hangar, spliced in a thirty foot extension to the remote control, and it works great. I do have to somewhat align the plane to the hangar door but that is pretty easy to do. Well Under $200 for the whole set up.

I did it accidentally on my maiden voyage in my J. I decided to switch tanks and without looking I figured the valve position was the same as my E which was all the way in one direction. The engine ran just long enough that my copilot and I were again comfortable and then the engine quite. What a scare but I quickly realized what I must have done. I figure it ran for about 30 seconds to one minute.

The Mooney looks very nice indeed! I am wondering, how many gallons of material were applied including primers, colors and clear coats?

Craig. I mentioned cleaning out the holes in the rails back on page two. No one responded and that surprised me as I thought it very worth while. So again, I dug debris from the locator holes in my old E model as I was having trouble positively locating the seat. If the pins are only partially submerged in the hole they can easily cam their way back out with just a little extra for and aft load. (The ends of the locator pins have a small lead on them which only gets larger with wear). Make sure there is no dirt build up in these holes or as Craig found out a small pebble that prevents FULL engagement of the pins!

How in the world did I miss that discussion?? That sure filled in a lot of blanks. Pilato mentioned, in that discussion, an AN fitting to transfer the fuel, is this a siphon method or just a hole at the bottom between the standard cell and the added cell?

Probably never do this but it would be nice to have the capability to fly from Cincinnati to Denver non stop. Is there any structural improvements needed in the wing or is it basically adding another filler neck, adding the weep through holes at the bottom of the ribs and adding sealant? How much capacity is gained when done to a J model?

Something we might all check is the female receiver holes in the floor where the seat pins engage. My old E model didn’t latch as good as it should so when I took the seats out I noticed the holes had partially filled with debris and dirt and oil from someone lubricating through the years. I had to dig out the build up with a small pick and blow them clean. Things worked way better after that exercise.