goncaloareia

Any of the european friends at this forum know where we can get a dynamic prop balanced in Europe? Southern Europe preferably? Thanks!

Here's my 2 cents on these excellent news regarding mooney comeback... Here in Europe (and increasingly throughout the world) Mooney wont stand a chance in selling M20's (mid or long body) if they insist in the US vision of big gasoline (AVGAS) engines. No matter the solution that is found for the AVGAS replacement, JET-A1 is the ONLY option in certified general aviation in a near future (because in Ultralight or LSA Rotax will rule for years to come). This comes mostly from the fact that the cost of AVGAS compared with JET is just unbearable now in most parts of the world, and in entire continents like Africa, most of Asia, parts of South America and even in some airports in Europe, AVGAS is just not available... No matter the solution found for the lead in AVGAS, the volumes to be produced will always be very slim, so the prices will always be higher (I fear significantly higher) than JET. So, my vision for a solid Mooney in the future is to innovate firewall forward... something that Cirrus, Cessna and Piper are taking too long to do, and that can create the "difference" factor that Mooney now needs on its comeback to the market... Continental has the engines and the support for that innovation to appear... I'm already dreaming with a long body M-20 with a JET-A1 diesel engine, performing like an Ovation at half the price in fuel cost of the excellent performer Mooney 252...all of this is achievable TODAY... In a few words: Mooney needs to think AHEAD and not just try to sell some newly painted Acclaims or Ovations. Kind regards to all! Goncalo Lisbon, Portugal

Hi I have a TSIO-360-MB1 engine from my 252 that has been boxed in storage (with special inhibition oil) for some years and I'm selling it. Since most people are not considering buying it "as is" because of the extended "box time" (which I understand) I'm thinking of getting it overhauled. This engine and the low price I'm asking for it may be a good solution for your mooney conversion, at a fraction of the price that you currently have quoted. Whatch my other posts and you'll see the history of this engine or contact me if you're interested. Kind regards from Portugal. Goncalo

Hi I have a TSIO-360-MB1 from my 252 with not more than 5 hours since factory new, and in storage since 2002 (documented storage with long-term storage procedures). Its a long story that I can tell you later. It's for sale for not much more than a worn-out similar engine. With a quick overhaul or just a check at an engine shop you can get your 262 project working for a decent number. PM your email me in case you're interested. Kind regards. Goncalo

Hi David! The motor was disassembled and checked and the gear mechanism was reconnected, and the guys who did it tell me it's ok now. The entire cowl flap mechanism is also being rigged and I'm hopeful we got this thing straighten out! I'll let you know later. Thanks for the help! Goncalo

An update on this: We finally found the reason for the 4th sonalert in the alarm cluster. It's the preselect alarm from the KAS-297B module that our ship has connected to the KFC150 autopilot. Thank you all for the tips and precious help! Goncalo

Hi again, I got to the plane today and was able to check this situation. Rotating the prop on the normal direction is totally ok, with no resistance noises or vibration apart from the normal compression and the strokes of the engine. Rotating it opposite is a little (not much though) harder, and some noise and vibration from what looks like a gear is attached to the engine is clearly perceptible. The noise is clearly coming from the starter or the starter adapter. So I guess that the clutch mechanism in the starter adapter is still on? This engine is only 15h since factory new, even though it was preserved in storage for 6 years. Could this be the tolerances on the starter adapter too tight? Should we worry or do anything now? From the Continental maintenance manual there seems to be no action/inspection of the starter in the 50/annual inspections apart from seeing if everything is connected, which looks like it's a trouble free mechanism (not like the lyc starters I'm more used to, that keep having bendix problems). Thanks for all your help and kind regards to all. Goncalo

Dear all, My A&P today phoned me to tell that he finds weird that the propeller on the TSIO-360-MB1 rotates normally (like any other aircraft) when pushed/rotated by hand in the normal prop way, but rotating opposite to the normal prop rotation is, according to him, strangely different, like if some accessories (starter, magnetos, alternator?) where connected/engaged and would difficult that opposite rotation of the prop/engine. The starter light goes out normally after start of the engine so I don't think it is the starter. Does anyone got the same feedback/feeling on these continental engines? I'll go to the airport tomorrow to check it but if someone with a 252 has some input about this, I'll appreciate. Thank you all and kind regards, Goncalo

Thanks for the tips! This cowl flap issue sure looks like a bad design from Mooney. No wonder they've changed it in more recent models, or skipped the cowl flap totally! David, I'll PM you after getting more news tomorrow from the A&P shop and have more clues on the various solutions that we can have for this. Goncalo

Hello all! Our Mooney 252 had a working cowl flap engine actuator until last week, when it went to the avionics shop, the guys removed the lower cowl, putted everything back on when they finish, and now... guess what... the cowl flap motor is malfunctioning.... They removed the motor, and told me that the electric part of the motor is fine, but the shaft assembly and specially the secondary shaft that connects to the gears that multiply the motor force is worn out and also loose. They tried to grip it back in place with no success... I'm now seeing some 1.300 USD as the lower price I can find for the stupid small motor... Any ideas of how to repair (if its possible) this motor and its gears/shafts? Any clues of how easy/cheap it could be to put the cowl flap control manual? And one last question: we are afraid of flying with the cowl flap motor inop because the cowl flap moves almost freely from open to close, and it closed somewhat when we did a run-up test this morning. Do you guys know if the cowl flap will open or close in flight? Thanks for the help and best regards to all. Goncalo Areia Lisbon, Portugal

Hello all! Our Mooney 252 had a working cowl flap engine actuator until last week, when it went to the avionics shop, the guys removed the lower cowl, putted everything back on when they finish, and now... guess what... the cowl flap motor is malfunctioning.... They removed the motor, and told me that the electric part of the motor is fine, but the shaft assembly and specially the secondary shaft that connects to the gears that multiply the motor force is worn out and also loose. They tried to grip it back in place with no success... I'm now seeing some 1.300 USD as the lower price I can find for the stupid small motor... Any ideas of how to repair (if its possible) this motor and its gears/shafts? Any clues of how easy/cheap it could be to put the cowl flap control manual? And one last question: we are afraid of flying with the cowl flap motor inop because the cowl flap moves almost freely from open to close, and it closed somewhat when we did a run-up test this morning. Do you guys know if the cowl flap will open or close in flight? Thanks for the help and best regards to all. Goncalo Areia Lisbon, Portugal

Thanks! Yes, Portuguese, born and raised! And yes, the "D" registration may look strange but inside Europe there's lot's of airplanes flying with registrations from another EU country. And you can also find hundreds of general aviation aircraft with "N" registration flying for years in Europe, mainly due to the easy (compared with the JAR-FCL / EASA regulations) requirements for instrument ratings.

Done...

Oh Man... lawyers really have a bad reputation don't they!!! ;-) My profile will be updated in 5 min!!

Parker, I will not endure on this discussion... your arguments may be valid (and your liability horror stories accepted of course) but that was not the point of this discussion in the first place... And finally, you can count me in for providing all the info/tips/docs that you or anyone else may need... Here in Europe liability matters are just too different from the US and these discussions would NEVER be accepted in court as indicting anyone... Cheers to all!

Aaron is totally right! And guys, let's stop the finger pointing! It's not ridiculous to discuss these matters and we're all grown up, responsible and liable for our acts! And by the way, I'm a lawyer so I guess I have a clear picture of these matters... Let's keep the discussion as opened as possible for the sake of the airmanship that we all must look for. We all know that one day or another we'll operate our ship's at gross or very near it, so this discussion is very important for all of us to understand what's involved and allow us to make the best decisions.

That's a good point... Recovering the "252-encore" conversion subject, it's a fact that the only changes required are more powerful brakes, new counterweights (this is probably the most important aspect of the mandatory changes, together with the 10hp added), and changes in the engine to get 10hp more. So if the gear is the same and the airframe is the same, it would mean that 3200 lbs. TOW operation (inside the W&B envelope) may not be a BBIIGG issue from a technical point of view (even though it's illegal), if we are wise operating in those conditions (big runways, no terrain limitations, no W&B problems...). Am I missing something?