Headed to Willmar and Weep No More on Thursday

[Earl]

Finally got the Mooney out of annual and had a few items that delayed me and cost a little time and money to fix (gear box overhaul and repair of my airbox by LASAR as well as the annual itself).  Now on Thursday it is the trek into the cold, white north to drop the plane off to have the tanks resealed.  My plan is to fly from KRYY (Kennesaw, GA) to KTAZ (Taylorville, IL) for a fuel stop and a bio break.  Looks like a little less than 3 hours unless the winds change.  Then KTAZ to KBDH which is another 3 hours.  Plan to land in Willmar around 2pm or so with hopefully an hour of fuel in the tanks.  If the headwinds were not forecast at 20 kts I could make it in one shot but with the coming polar vortex it will be not only cold but I will be flying right into the teeth of the winds.

 

Then catch a quick ride over to MSP and a flight back to Atlanta.  If all goes as planned it will be a long day but I am really looking forward to seeing the fuel I put in the tanks stay in the tanks and being able to top the plane off when I get somewhere instead of waiting until I leave to avoid the loss (yes, I am that cheap).  Weather should be good all the way with only the cold when I land in Minnesota being uncivilized.  High is forecast to be -4degF.  That is just too cold for this damn Yankee.

[KSMooniac]

You won't be disappointed.  I made the trek 6 years ago almost to the week, and yes, it was cold then!  I arrived late in the evening, and they left a car for me to go to the hotel and come back in the morning.  I rented a car for a one-way drive to Minneapolis and caught a ride on a local bizjet that was up there on a trip and had an open seat, so I got really lucky.

 

I had one hiccup...my gear motor died on the way up!  I had to crank my gear down and otherwise landed uneventfully.  I'm glad it decided to die on the way to a Mooney Service Center.  

[Bravoman]

Earl, I'm at kryy also. I think you and I have met when you were rolling your plane into hangar. Good luck on your trip.

[Earl]

Earl, I'm at kryy also. I think you and I have met when you were rolling your plane into hangar. Good luck on your trip.

Thanks!  Should be interesting as I was updating fltplan.com and with today's headwinds it would be closer to an 8 hour trip.  Should be more civilized when I go on Thursday and the weather will be CAVU if cold.  Just curious, who do you have do your maintenance on your Mooney?  I use H&L and have been pretty happy with them.  Have also used Joey Cole for some specialty work (i.e., he installed my EDM-730).  Also, just curious if you are IFR rated.  I fly approaches with Dave Theisen but would like to find a safety pilot for those times when he is unavailable.

[rob]

You don't need an IFR rating to be a safety pilot.

[Earl]

You don't need an IFR rating to be a safety pilot.

I know but I prefer having someone IFR rated as a safety pilot.  I like the critical eye that understands what is supposed to happen and can provide additional feedback that someone that is not IFR rated may not recognize.  Just a personal preference and not a requirement.

[kris_adams]

Hey Earl, I'm instrument rated and based at LZU and would be happy to be a safety pilot. If interested let me know and I'll PM you my cell #. I don't mind meeting you at RYY as long as there is a place I can park. I'd like to meet some local Mooney pilots.

Kris

[Earl]

Hey Earl, I'm instrument rated and based at LZU and would be happy to be a safety pilot. If interested let me know and I'll PM you my cell #. I don't mind meeting you at RYY as long as there is a place I can park. I'd like to meet some local Mooney pilots.

Kris

Kris. Les coordinate when I get the plane back.

[Earl]

Delivered.  What a trip.  Intended to leave at 7am to get a head start with the headwinds.  So the best laid plans of mice and men.  Started to taxi and noticed the brakes were sluggish to start working and slow to come off and it was only 24 degF.  Took the plane over to H&L and they bled some old, nasty hydraulic fluid out of the lines and it worked perfectly.  Unfortunately it got me going an hour and a half late.  Planned the flight at 8,000 and agreed to 10,000 for traffic.  Not a good idea as headwinds were brutal at 10K.  Saw ground speeds as low as 103 kts.......thought I was in a 172 instead of a Mooney.     Ugh!  Was able to get back to 8,000 once traffic cleared but only saw ground speeds in the 115-120 kt range.  Still slow going for a 850 nm trip.

 

Changed my fuel stop from Taylorville to Springfield due to winds 34014G20 which was much easier with Rwy 31 at KSPI than the east-west runway at Taylorville. Once I passed the front the headwinds eased a bit but sadly that was just south of Springfield.  Because of the late start I turned what I had assumed would be an hour fuel stop to a 20 minute bio break and adding 50 gallons of fuel.  Kudos to the Horizon Air FBO.  Friendly and quick.  Then off to Willmar, now only an hour behind schedule.  Filed for 6,000 feet and winds were much less than so I was able to make 140 kts and got to Willmar from KSPI in about 2.4 hours.  And man was it cold.  OAT was -20degC at 6,000 feet.  My heater could not keep up and thankfully I had a sleeping bag for emergencies and draped it over me.  

 

So as I announced myself on the KBDH unicom my ride to Minneapolis to leave the engine running so he could jump in.  That was a surprise that he was flying my Mooney back to Willmar.  I had planned the trip to have limited fuel when I landed in Willmar. Fortunately when I refueled in KSPI I added 10 extra gallons expecting the stronger headwinds so I had enough to get me to Minneapolis and Eric to get the Mooney back to Willmar. Have asked Paul for lots of pictures and I will post as he sends them.  Will I miss the scent of fuel when I open the door to the plane?  Not likely!

[KSMooniac]

Opening the door and not smelling any fuel is so very nice!  

[Earl]

OK, so here are some pix from Paul.

[Earl]

Here are some pix with the tank cleaned.

 

[Earl]

And here are some pix with the sealant prior to top coating.

 

[aaronk25]

Paul is a true expert couldn't say it any better than bluehighwayflyer did.....

[rbridges]

Paul is a true expert couldn't say it any better than bluehighwayflyer did.....

 

he's a lot younger than I expected.   At the panama city fly-in, I told him that I was expecting to see someone much older.  

[Earl]

And here are the pictures of the reseal after top coat, including the ones where the inspection panels were resealed.  No more drip, drip, drip.

 

 

 

 

[aviatoreb]

Wow!

Can you say how much he charged?

[Earl]

Wow!

Can you say how much he charged?

Sure, not exactly a state secret.  He charges $4,450 per side or $8,900 for both.  Again, this is not a project you do until it needs to be done.  I tried the patch route and as quickly as you eliminate one leak for $1K or more another springs up.  Doesn't take long to figure out that its only worth doing it right.  By the way, WetWingoligists in Florida charges the same price.  Both come with a good warranty although Wetwingoligists is 7 years versus WeepNoMore's 5 years.  Both have a good reputation.

 

When I started to have problems I had innumerable folks tell me to get it done right the first time.  I wish I had taken their advice but I simply did not have the cash at the time.  Been saving up since my patch job and finally pulled the trigger.

[scottfromiowa]

Vintage guys reading this that have 26 a side remember your costs to reseal are less about $7000 or $3500/side as there are feewer bays to strip and reseal.

Paul had no problem with doing one side at a time to spread the expense out over two years. Left tank to be resealed in early June and then adios to weeping tanks.

It has been really nice to fill the right side at a cheaper fuel price airport and fly home on fuel in the left tank knowing right tank will be full when we next want to fly. Will be EVEN NICER to have two solid fuel tanks.

[carusoam]

It's nice to have a method of spreading that expense out....

Best regards,

-a-

[Earl]

Vintage guys reading this that have 26 a side remember your costs to reseal are less about $7000 or $3500/side as there are feewer bays to strip and reseal.

Paul had no problem with doing one side at a time to spread the expense out over two years. Left tank to be resealed in early June and then adios to weeping tanks.

It has been really nice to fill the right side at a cheaper fuel price airport and fly home on fuel in the left tank knowing right tank will be full when we next want to fly. Will be EVEN NICER to have two solid fuel tanks.

Very good point about the cost as my Mooney is a 252 so it is higher.  As for spreading out the cost, I considered it but I live in Georgia and decided to do it in one fell swoop so it only took one set of frequent flyer miles and fuel costs.  I just waited until I had the cash reserved for the project.  Of course I got hit with a more expensive than usual annual at the same time.  Doh!!  Why does it always work out that way?!?!?  

[jnisley]

How long did it take?

[Earl]

How long did it take?

I dropped the plane off on February 27th and it will be done early next week but I delivered early due to my own schedule.  However, the project only takes 2 1/2 weeks so if you can drop it off right before they start and pick it up right after that's all the time it takes.  

[jnisley]

Thanks

[paulbeck]

Thanks to all for the great comments!

rbridges....I will be older next time!