Marauder

My apologies for the lousy photo. I am in the middle of a major avionics upgrade and the avionics tech sent me this photo of my tach cable. May be something others will want to look at. The cable has been rubbing on the scat tubing next to it and began rusting. I was at the shop late last week and had an opportunity to see the cable first hand. The outer sheathing is compromised and you can actually see the inner cable. In addition, the tech pointed out all of the duct work behind the panel was rotted! We did have any problems ordering the replacement cable. If you are still looking for one, let me know and I will ask where he got the replacement. The second photo is the current open panel status -- I just hope it all goes back together correctly!

Damage history, especially something that happened long ago and shows up in the logs with proper documentation, concerns me less than the hidden problems that may not found in a pre-buy (rusted cage, etc.). Also with the ever increasing cost of avionics, having a relatively current stack can save you a ton over doing the retrofit yourself and incurring the depreciation.

This has been an interesting challenge since I bought my 1975 F in 1991. My entire POH has the speeds listed in both MPH and Knots. My airspeed indicator is labeled the same as well. The outer ring is in MPH, the inner is in knots. And it has caused me problems over the years. If I do a BFR/IPC i need to know whether i am dealing with a "knots" Or "MPH" CFI. I am in the process of having an Aspen installed. This will force me to pick one. Thoughts?

At one of the Mooney Mapa Fly-ins I asked about that hole in the pin. I was told that it was there to hang a reminder banner so that you would see and remember to check it during your pre-flight. Sort of like the red banner hanging down from the pitot cover if you have one installed.

I am wondering if the guy i met with had anything to do with the GA side. He whisked me through a hangar that had a Cessna having avionics work done and took me on a personal tour of the hangars where the helicopters were being retrofitted. Considering I told him what I was looking for and provided my contact information, i would have thought being a Delaware resident and based in the state they would have wanted to try to get my business. If you have never seen a Mooney there, probably a good indicator that they don't work on them much.

Another satisfied Concorde owner -- for an unbelievable 8th year! All of the Gills i had before the Concorde lasted 3 or 4 years. I expected that after 4 years that it would eventually fail, but the IA doing the annuals says it is showing no signs of wearing out. Granted I keep a maintainer on it during spells when I don't fly often (winters). I have no explanation for why it is lasting so long -- but I am not complaining.

The RSM unit has a spec for being absolutely level and plumb. The installation also has a distance requirement from the com antennas as well as how close two RSMs can be together (like in a PFD/MFD 1000 install). Unlike other manufacturers, the Aspen units are surface mounted to allow for the OAT to work. I think the Bendix King unit is in the wing.

Hi. I checked out Summit but they appear to be geared towards all of that helicopter retrofit stuff (big iron). Even though they were cordial during my visit, it was clear GA was not their primary interest. I spoke to their avionics shop about an upgrade at the same time and said they could do the work, but never bothered to call me back after I left my contact information with them. The guy you want to see is Dennis Glick, Dutchland Aviation in Smoketown, PA. Very experienced with Mooneys and very reasonable. As for the bladders, I had mine installed in 1991 and they have been fine. As mentioned by another poster, the O rings are extremely expensive. They offer a new cap but it is not flush mount (looks like a Piper cap). Very happy with the bladders. I had mine installed by O&N.