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How to put the plane on a diet?


kmyfm20s

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Can you post a video?

Not right away, I just got back from the hanger (15 mi) and wont be going there again until Sat. at the earliest, when I plan to fly again. I am not sure a video would even do it justice. If you were thinking of wingtip strobes, this most certainly is the ticket. The increase in recognition/visibility is such I am planning to turn mine on day or night!

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How much weight and drag savings are the following?

 

DME

Marker Beacon Antenna

Step

Electric Trim

KN61 maybe 7 lbs, KN64, is much less,  maybe 2.5 lbs.  speed is minimal, the DME antenna sharkfin has basically zero drag, the ball on a stick is worth zero - .2 knots.   Not much.  Keep the DME, we have the KN61. It works

MB antenna,  minimal drag.

 

Step 1-3 knots depending on what beer you are one at the hangar.

 

Electric trim.  save 3 lbs.   I'm keeping mine.

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... The increase in recognition/visibility is such I am planning to turn mine on day or night!

I'm ordering a set today. In an email exchange with Chris Winter I learned that I can keep my existing strobes. The sextant adds an additional strobe functionality in with new nav bulb.

I think it's a great idea. The more flashing lights the better.

And it's a simple, changed light bulb kind of logbook entry.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Third time I've posted this in the last ten days. Besides the pounds, save yourself at least $700:

 

"This NavStrobe LED kit, just approved as a drop in plug replacement, was getting a lot of attention at the AOPA Summit Spruce desk last week.

 

Turns Nav position lights into bright LED recognition/strobe lights, at low cost. What's not to like?

 

http://www.navstrobe...robes,-30w.html

 

Kinda cool, IMO."

How did you handle the tail nav/strobe combo? I believe it's the Whelen and has the little nav light in the middle, the LED bulb included in the kit wont fit. Did you convert you light receptacle or is yours different than mine?  The wing tip nav lights went in no problem with exception of my glass colored lenses where cemented in so I just left them.

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  • 4 years later...
On ‎10‎/‎30‎/‎2013 at 5:54 PM, kmyfm20s said:

Reading through some other threads I learned that 100LL is actually 5.82 Lbs vs the 6 Lbs based off the previous non low lead. That is a little over 12 Lbs of useful load just from using the proper fuel wieght, and yes it does very slightly with temp.

To bring this thread back to life.  I will ask:

1.  I cannot find where 100LL is actually 5.82 lbs, is this true and what sources?

2.  What other things have people done to put their planes on diets?

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1 hour ago, wcb said:

To bring this thread back to life.  I will ask:

1.  I cannot find where 100LL is actually 5.82 lbs, is this true and what sources?

2.  What other things have people done to put their planes on diets?

The first place I found the 5.82 pounds was in a generic M20J POH I found on line.  Manual #3203, page 2-5 and 6-2.  If you try to search for 100LL density on the internet, you'll probably find values ranging from about 5.8 to 6.1 lbs/gallon.  Most will be around 6 lbs/gallon.  With that said, the difference in weight by using 5.82 vs 6 is only about 11.5 lbs for a completely full tank of gas.  I suspect most of our W&B figures are off by that much and we only estimate what we weigh and what our baggage weighs.  So it becomes the old military method of measure with a micrometer, mark it with a chalk, cut it with an axe.

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I weighed all the extra stuff I carry. Very surprising. 98lb. This is tool kit, survival kit, extra oil, windscreen cleaning supplies, cabin cover, tie down straps, etc etc. after this I left hou the documentation bag with the avionics manuals. Those are on my iPad now. Now I just have the required POH.

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There’s 2.125 pounds available for the taking if you still have your nose gear shock absorber, or (more likely) it was removed ages ago by persons unknown and the plane’s W&B was never updated. 
Jim

Too late now isn’t it? You can’t go back and correct it, especially because it’s not listed in POH as a separate W&B item.
When did they stop using it?
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21 hours ago, wcb said:

To bring this thread back to life.  I will ask:

1.  I cannot find where 100LL is actually 5.82 lbs, is this true and what sources?

2.  What other things have people done to put their planes on diets?

The density of 100LL will vary a little between batches.  Typical densities can be found in manufacturers SDS's.  For BP it is 710 kg/m^3 (~5.93 lb/gal) at 59 deg F.  For Shell it is 744 kg/m^3 (~6.21 lb/gal) at 59 deg F.  Shell even describes that density as "typical" in the SDS.

The density will change with temperature but remember that it is the temperature of the fuel not the air temperature that matters.

5.82 would be at the low end of the range and would almost guarantee that your calculations are low in most cases.

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Use this this drawing number for reference.  I know both our ‘65 C and ‘78 J originally came equipped with the shock absorber.  You can call Mooney and ask if you are unsure of your particular aircraft.

I know it did, I have log entry, just not the W&B entry.

What I’m saying is, you can’t go back and fix missing or incorrect W&B entries?

Thanks for the drawing.

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While re-installing instruments after recent panel upgrade, I decided to have my A&P remove the TrafficWatch because (1) it is made redundant by our Stratux ADS-B receiver and (2) never seemed to be very informative.   We noticed how much wire there is that has been bundled up over the years associated with long-ago removed electronics.  Looking through the manuals, the a/c has contained three generations of electronics.  Narco radios?  Gone.  ADF?  Gone.  Loran C?  Gone.   It used to have a LOT of stuff that is gone, but the legacy wiring mostly remains.   I wonder what the original wiring harness looked like?   Has anyone ever stripped their A/C wiring behind the panel down to anything like the original harness?   I'm in the market for a Garmin 430W then the KLN89b goes away.  Should I have my instrument guru pursue removal of legacy abandoned wire when we do that install?   My a/c has a huge bundle of wire jammed behind the vacuum regulator and firewall that I suspect has mostly or perhaps entirely added since new...

 

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Yes, remove the old wire! Makes it easier to work back there, your installer will appreciate it, along with everyone who has to reach up there to work.

If you're OCD enough, weigh it all up and remove from W&B using your instrument arm.

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When we first got our plane we removed the radar altimeter, an ADF,  a nav/comm and a few other small items.  We pulled all the wire for those items.  Turned out to be quite a pile.  Probably didn't even weigh a pound, but it was good to get rid of it.

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5 hours ago, AlexLev said:

Ugh, I just gained ten pounds...time to go for a jog. 

edit: reweighed myself in jogging clothes and it was a false alarm. amazing how some jeans and a sweater can add 10 pounds, WTH!

That's alright--if I was in Buffalo this time of year, I'd have ten pounds of goose down and thinsulate on top of jeans and sweaters . . . . Our weather forecast this weekend is upper 60s, and my wife commented that it will be cold.

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Well turns out I lost almost 10 pounds just by adding the JPI 900 and getting rid of all the gauges allowed.  I expect to loose more on the G5's install and removal of some of the older equipement (ADF and DME as well).  Also, after the JPI install the refueled to the perfect 32 gal per side and I probably had at least a couple gallons per side.  Therefore my deduction is that when the line fills me to the tip top I am actually several gallons over max fuel per side.  Although calculating at 32 per side and getting say 35ish per side only adds up to 36 pounds it turns out to be an inaccurate calculation.

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