Search the Community

I flew to Nashville this morning without any problems (one of the prettiest days of flying ever by the way). I set flaps for takeoff and retracted them fine after takeoff. I landed 3 hours later at John Tune airport in Nashville and retracted the flaps after landing...or so I thought. I parked and realized the flaps were still deployed. I tried to retract them, and no joy. I reset the breaker and again no joy. I have turned it over to Cumberland Aviation to look at it but would appreciated any ideas. Thanks

Have a basic stupid question regarding flap extension speeds. I am getting ready to fly an Ovation for the first time, and my Mooney trained CFI and I were discussing flap speeds. I have always waited to add any flaps at Vfe which is 109 kts in my F. My CFI mentioned that this speed in the Ovation (110kts) is the maximum extended flap speed and partial flaps can be dropped at a faster speed. Furthermore, this quote from the POH pp 2-3 says: "Vfe, Do not exceed this speed with flaps in full down position." Elsewhere in the POH it indicates in Figure 2.2 White arc range 59-110 as the "flap operating range." Other high performance aircraft I have flown have an approach flap setting of approximately 10 degrees. So the question is, can I safely extend say 10 degrees at a faster airspeed than 109 or 110 kts? If so, what speeds are commonly used for an approach flap setting? Thanks

Hi, Looking to find a working flap pump for 67F/HE-626. As in all things it is a long story…

1978 M20J is down for annual inspection and up on jacks. Cycled flaps down won’t retract up CB not popped. Seems froze what's next?

Since this site is about sharing knowledge I just got a "T" shirt in Flap Troubleshooting. About 2 months ago my flaps would not retract from landing position. I removed the belly pan and did all the normal stuff as in making sure the switches were tight and the contacts were actually depressing. This along with Electronic Cleaner and magically they started working again. until last Saturday.... Same situation. They would not retract from the Landing Position. We dropped the belly cover again this time with the plane on jacks and a comfortable creeper. I wanted to painstakingly go through every switch. I checked each switch for continuity and alignment, all good. Still the flaps would not retract. So what creates an intermittent problem.... Hmmm a relay! Yes... there are two permissive relays on a circuit board. With the flaps still stuck in the down position I taped on the relays with a screwdriver and up the flaps went! I could not find the exact brand but I was able to cross match it to a potter-brumfield part which I use a lot for control panels. There are six solder locations per relay and dropping the board is a PITA. But..... knowing the flaps will retract at a destination away from hope was worth every minute to get it corrected. Rick

Hello All..... On today's flight I could not get the flaps to retract upon landing. They were stuck in the landing position (full down, no movement up at all). Removed the belly and took a hard look at the switches. Nothing loose or obvious. There are two micro limits on the Tube (Motor) that appear to be for Full Down and Take off positions and two on the Flap mechanism contacted by a striker that appears to be an indicator for flaps fully retracted. I was working with very limited tools so we could not do a complete voltage check so I did the typical shake the switch and listen for the click as I manually triggered each switch. After making ZERO progress I simply rotated the motor manually (LOTS OF TURNS) until manually retracting the flaps. It was enough to get the bird home. Seeing nothing wrong with any of the switches in the belly I took the flap switch out of it mount in the console. The terminals were slightly oxidized so I cleaned it up and shot some cleaner on the terminals, re-tightened and the flaps appear to be working fine. The switch looks like a sealed unit so I doubt squirting cleaning fluid in the switch did any good. But.... the back end was oxidized and needed some attention. My concern is the flaps working again was a fluke....and there really is a bad switch somewhere in the system. Any input would be very much appreciated! Thanks! Rick

An interesting topic came up the other day while reviewing the POH of my 2006 M20R Ovation2. As it states, and as indicated by the white arc, full flaps can be deployed at 110kts. Typically, in the other aircrafts I've flown, I've been instructed to put the first notch of flaps and gear down at the same time, as the increase in lift counters the increase in drag and results in less needed control input. This has always made sense to me, but most aircraft I've flown have a placard for the airspeed deployment for the first notch of flaps, or at the very least, have some indication in the POH. This, however, is not the case on the Ovation2. I would assume that the first notch can withstand the forces that the gear can withstand at 140kts, but since it is not listed anywhere, I have not attempted it. My instructor and I were both a little confused by the lack of information in the POH, which seems to only mention full flaps in most cases. Any input from my fellow Mooney pilots would be appreciated.

So today after doing a practice ILS and a go-around from 50 feet, the flaps stuck full down. The airplane was quite a bit below gross so it did climb, but performance was marginal. Anyways, limped home at 120 MPH and after landing, the flaps came up no problem. A full cycle or two they work fine now. However, I know airplanes rarely fix themselves, so what do we think might have happened here and better, how do we prevent it in the future? I tried banging on the flap switch and rough handling it, and resetting the flap CB. Nothing would raise the flaps.

When I got my '68 M20C a few months ago, my flap handle worked nicely - 2 pumps for takeoff setting, 2-3 more for full. Exactly what the POH says. The release lever was very stiff, but then a local MSC simply lubed the cable, and it worked perfectly too. Now suddenly (on first solo after finishing 10 hrs transition training, of course), it takes 3-4 rapid pumps to get any back pressure behind the handle and have flaps start coming down. Then it takes 6-7 pumps to get them down to full. They seem to stay down ok and will still come up at appropriate speed subsequently. I've read various stuff on other posts regarding leaks, bleeding the system, including trying to get air out by various strategies. My questions are (1) Did I do anything to cause this problem? (2) What, if anything, I should try to do myself here before flying back to MSC. Dealing repeatedly with early squawks is getting old, and I really just want to fly it for a while to get my skills honed.

Fellas, My plane is in annual and I'm attempting a light refurb on the interior. Since the panels are removed, I'm looking to fix the broken flap cable. The cable broke where it attaches near the flaps and now the flap indicator is forever stuck at T/O flaps. The cable is .058" diameter and approximately 8ft long. I need help finding a replacement inner cable or suitable ersatz inner cable. The only inner cable I could find on Aircraft Spruce is inner Bowden cable, but that is .078" and I don't think I'll be able to shove that through the outer cable housing. I emailed Don Maxwell last week for guidance, but have yet to hear back from him. I also emailed LASAR today, but wanted to check with you guys to see if any of you have a source or at least some recommendations. Thank you in advance! v/r, Raygun

The following items removed serviceable from 1981 m20j many other parts for sale not listed here spinner from mcauley priop pn 680031-515 spinner rear bulkhead pn 680031-003 ailerons pn 230015-505 left ailerons pn 230015-506 right wingtips pn 210382-501 left right part number 210382-502 elevators pn 430026-002 two each rudder 460043-000 flaps 240014-509 left 240014-510 right flap actuators , fuel valve, instruments ,radios transponders, call for what you need . parting out m20j aircraft. no engine or prop. doors main door and baggage door tmoth25@yahoo.com 8084438506

Guys, as many of you know by now I am currently outside of the country with my Mooney. In Guatemala there are 2 Mooneys (Hopefully 3 soon). So knowledge about how to maintain a mooney is not always available. That is why I post some many questions....Thus here goes another one: My Mooney has electric flaps. When I put the Flaps in take off position (I know some would say simply don't do it) the flaps have to much play upwards and as soon as I start rolling they move up 5 degress. However when I put the flaps down to full flaps they stay in place. I asked my local mechanic (not a mooney expert) to look into it he said that everything looked OK. When I use the flaps for landing they stay in place (I guess because of the airflow)> . As you can imagine I don't think that this is right. Thank you for any advice you can give me!!! Oscar