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Earlier this year I joined a Mooney Rocket partnership, though only recently have I begun flying it. The performance is phenomenal, especially compared to the Piper Cherokees I came from. As part of my checkout, I flew a 900nm trip in an afternoon and cruised easily in the O2 levels--something unimaginable to me only a few months ago. With the Pipers, I was very involved with the maintenance, and I've continued to be involved with the Mooney. We've had several large mx issues since I've joined, and though I'm fortunate to work with an A&P who is both meticulous and communicative, his time is limited, and so I'm hoping the collective experience of MSers will fill in my knowledge gaps. The latest issue is with the engine truss. One of the beams close to the turbo was corroded. If I understand correctly, the heat of the turbo corroded the paint, which opened the truss to additional corrosion. It's been cleaned off, but there's some question whether that section needs to be replaced completely. My A&P has contacted Rocket Engineering to see whether we're still within guidelines of AC 43.13-1B (where a 10% reduction in material is acceptable). In the meantime, I'm looking to learn more about it, how to avoid it, etc... in general, anyone else's experience with this. Thanks!

Hi there. I'm new to the forums and pretty new to Mooneys. We bought our first plane this past April, a 1981 M20K, and have put about 25 hours on it so far. It just went down for annual in July as well as an avionics panel upgrade. After we opened it up and took off some interior siding we found that a family of mice had moved in and proceeded to eat up much of the insulation and spread their business about the steel tubing in the cage and a bit into the left wing. We figure they came up the left main gear sometime between its last annual and this one. Couldn't smell a thing!!! Corrosion is an issue and some tubes are going to need to be replaced and specialty welded back in. Insurance has been great and is going to cover repairs. The poor bird is scheduled for some NDT early next week. One of the options being presented to insurance, which to my surprise they seem to be on board with, is to have the whole "birdcage" removed after being de-skinned, repaired, sand blasted and then powder coated. Modern insulation and likely some new paint, or a betterment towards new paint, better wiring and some other addons to follow since this is all going on. I'm looking for some expertise and opinion on the powder coating idea vs the standard treatment of green. My concern is that it's a 35 year old airframe and even with a proper prep and coating that should some other crack/corrosion arise in the future it wouldn't be able to be detected anymore. I've noticed its common for engine mounts to receive this treatment these days regardless of the higher stresses they endure. I look forward to your replies.

I decided to take my 1964 m20c to a mooney repair center this year for the annual. The mx for the past 5 years has been completed by the local airport mechanic, but they do not have much mooney experience. The plane has been at the service center since March of this year( and I have no estimate of when I will get it back). A few of the bigger problems found during the annual inspection were: 1. Crankshaft gear bolt lock tab in engine oil screen (and no, I did not have a prop strike that I am aware of from looking through the logs) 2. Lower tube on roll cage assy on pilot side has pen sized hole - and turns out the entire tube is corroded thru 3. Left mag shaft is loose The shop has replaced the lock tab, but is stalled on the tube repair and the mag. I call the shop every 2 weeks to check on my plane, and when the corrosion problem was found, they had to figure out if they needed to replace the entire tube or find a part plane and weld a new section of tube on. The shop has decided they can do the latter method by pulling off skin panels to access for welding. The shop also got "busy" and stuck my airplane outside for a month to figure out this solution. The shop is a 4hour drive away and I have driven there to check on my plane and show that I am an involved owner that wants to understand the aircraft mx. So my question for the forum is how long does this kind of repair usually take? Have you had these repairs done on your plane? How do repair shops prioritize the work? I feel like whenever I call now, even though the shop has a way forward for the repair, there has been no progress made on the repair. I am getting extremely frustrated that the shop cannot even give me an estimated date for completion. I have also asked for an estimated price for the repair(s) and they have not provided it. I am struggling with making demands of the shop and being understanding about the workload of the shop. But why isn't my plane higher priority!!!! How do you all handle extensive repairs with mechanics and ensuring timely completion? Do I need to give them a deadline and be more demanding? I missed many beautiful flying days and I want my plane back!!!! Thanks for reading and providing me any recommendations and experiences you may have had.

It seem every Christmas I am in annual. Took off tail to replace one bolt , so we will replace some rusty ones too. Control rods have " surface Corrosion" , cleaned they are pitted, these are thin wall tubes, so they are getting replaced. Wait I got a few more....

Hello, I am going to remove and replace the right top rear Wing Stringer due to a small spot of corrosion. This is part number 220000-128 It is about 12 feel of 1x1 aluminum angle. Does anyone know of a part dealer where I may obtain this piece? Does Mooney factory support these older aircraft? Do you think LASAR handles this type of part. 1967 M20 E . I"m not doing it , Im having it doneby an A&P,IA , I'm just running down parts , because its a Saturday Carl

I have been actively seeking out corrosion on my bird for the last 5 years or so. I have found a little surface corrosion here and there, but nothing alarming. This year I pulled the wing root farings. While both side were corrosion free save for a bit of surface pitting on a few panels, the potential here could be great. The wings are taped to the fuselage with fabric backed aluminum tape. After many years of service the adhesive separates from the tape. Water can and will enter at the wing root and the fabric tape backing will hold a bit of moisture. I would urge anyone flying an older aircraft to have a look at this part of their aircraft. I cleaned, zinc'd and retreated the airframe with corrosion x. it took a full day, I have now cleaned and treated every nook and cranny of this airframe. I am confident that it will last as long as I want to fly it. After tape removal. None of the existing tape was adhered to the airframe. All farings held in place with #4 and #6 sheetmetal screws plus 2 #10 machine screws amd nuts where the trailing edge of the flap meets the faring/fuselage. I believe they were all #4s from the factory, but over the years we've had to go up a size in some areas. Tape came out in a single strip. Fabric had delaminated from the aluminum. It was powdery and no longer serving any purpose other than to hold water... Cleaned with adhesive remover, then all nooks, crannies and crevices sprayed with Corrosion X. Most of the yellow seen in this pic is Zinc Chromate that was applied from the inside 5 years ago when I had the interior out. I was aggressive with it before we sound proofed and it made it's way out of the wing root. All body panels cleaned and had their backsides treated with zinc phosphate paint. Cleaned thoroughly with denatured alcohol, zinc phosphate touch up and re-taped with fresh aluminum tape. The second photo also showcases that the aircraft came with a true slotted flap.

My plane will be down approx. 3 weeks in August to get the panel redone. I'm wondering how much I should do to protect the engine (O-360-A1D) during this time. I've had the plane 6 months, and the engine has 670 hrs SMOH in 2000 with new Millenium cylinders.. It sat some early its its life and then was flown more regularly before I got it. Pulling #1 jug off after I bought it (IRAN related to an exhaust valve guide) showed some shallow pits on the cam but no spalling of cam or lifters. I've flown weekly since I've gotten it - 70 hrs total with 3 oil changes, and it's done great- runs smooth, no hint of ferrous or nonferrous metal in filter (examined visually, cutting and running magnet, soaking in solvent and running through coffee filter), good oil analyses, using 1 quart every 10 hrs consistently. So I'm really starting to trust this engine to be with me for a while, and I don't want to blow it by letting it sit. But i also don't want to spend 1K for the top of line engine dehydrator. This weekend I changed the oil and filter (Aeroshell 100W + Camguard) and this oil will have <10hrs on it when it goes to the shop. I'm not aware of any benefit to storage oil over this. Should I put dessicant plugs in tail pipe and breather? Lower spark plugs? Top plugs as well (more of a pain)? Can the intake be blocked off? Various other commercial dehydrator products? What's an effective middle ground here, without going over the top? It will be down for <1 month most likely. Do avionics shops ever tend to the engine this way during long jobs?

Hi, I'm seriously considering relocating from the Mountain West to South Eastern Florida. I have a 1965 M20C and I've done essentially all of my 300+ hours in the region. I'm wondering how the climate will treat my bird -- I'm used to having a home base at a dry, high elevation (4,217') airport, and the aircraft has spent most of it's life in this sort of environment. I don't need to worry about the weather much, except icing, and even that's only a concern for a few days in Dec-Feb. I have a few specific questions: How will the weather affect the paint, metal, and other parts of the aircraft structure? Will corrosion be much more rapid / pronounced? Will I need to touch up the paint in any blemishes to avoid rust? If I have an engine that likes to run a bit hot when leaned just barely rich of peak for the local density altitude (which can be as high as 8,000), will I have fewer or more problems at sea level? Does the moisture in the air cause the pitot-static system any specific pain? Also, any other general feedback you've got about the move and how it might affect my flying and my aircraft will be appreciated. I must say, I am excited about being able to fly below 10,500 (my usual altitude for flying through mountainous terrain in the area) when traveling more than 50 miles. I'm also excited to see my low level climb performance. At about 5,000', I usually see about 900-1,200 FPM depending on load and outside temperature. I assume it'll be better down low! Thanks, Matt