How to make the lower instrument panel section gleam?

[justincarter]

This is a follow-on from another thread.

 

Have a look at this picture (thanks to Adrian for the link)

 

http://n822e.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/p1010431.jpg

 

notice how the lower panel strip is highly polished?

 

How does one get it that way?

 

Mine has the old grey paint still and it's looking a bit shabby so when I saw Adrian's pic, I wondered if getting it to look like that was as simple as using something (?what ? acetone) to get the old paint off then polishing the strip with some metal polish- hopefully leaving the labels (which are in inlaid black paint) behind? with a gleaming finish to the strip..

 

what does the collective wisdom think?

 

justin

[rbridges]

who cares?  look at the rest of the panel.  

[AlanA]

Love the panel.

[carusoam]

There was a time long ago that a pre J airframe would not be worth upgrading with a GPS.

There are quite a few here that have proven that theory incorrect!

Nice panel,

-a-

[Andy95W]

Best M20E or F panel and equipment I've ever seen. Looks like it's crying out for a good S-TEC autopilot and some new 201- style yokes.

What's up with the clothes pin on the prop control? Probably not rigged correctly at the governor...

[AmigOne]

Didn't know that the E or F also had manual landing gear and this one carries 88 gls of fuel

[Andy95W]

Well, going by the photo link in the first post, it has pre-201 yokes, a pre-201 instrument panel, hydraulic flaps, and the ram-air inlet next to the throttle, and I just noticed that if I zoom in on the EDM-930, it says M20E.

Hey, how did he get 88 gallons?

[Marauder]

Well, going by the photo link in the first post, it has pre-201 yokes, a pre-201 instrument panel, hydraulic flaps, and the ram-air inlet next to the throttle, and I just noticed that if I zoom in on the EDM-930, it says M20E.

Hey, how did he get 88 gallons?

Let's ask him or her. Based on the key holder label, it is N822E: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=822E

[Marauder]

Hmmm... This may be tough to do: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N822E

[scottfromiowa]

Yummy

[Bob_Belville]

Here's my solution. 

[Bob_Belville]

Hmmm... This may be tough to do: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N822E

I've forgotten his name but the story of buying this plane which had been sitting in a hanger in (Bartow, I think) Florida for years was on MS, perhaps a year ago. He restored it and flew it home to France. I don't know that he has posted recently but we followed the ferry saga here and on his live link. I'm sure the long range fuel tanks were added for the trip. 

[Bob_Belville]

Adrian. http://mooneyspace.com/topic/9820-flying-a-mooney-to-europe/?hl=greenland#entry112442

[Bob_Belville]

http://n822e.wordpress.com/

[Marauder]

http://n822e.wordpress.com/

Bob -- you have convinced me to quit corporate America and start a detective agency with you. Between the two of us, there would be no mystery left unsolved!

Sent using Tapatalk

[Bob_Belville]

Bob -- you have convinced me to quit corporate America and start a detective agency with you. Between the two of us, there would be no mystery left unsolved!

Chris, I had seriously considered that plane back in Jan. '11 when I started flying again and I talked to Rick Plage who had owned and hangered it for 25 years. I think he was asking $22k but it had not flown in 15 years. The engine was pretty low time and pickled but in the end I concluded it was too risky, especially with all the Florida based corrosion stories. It needed a prop overhaul and tank sealing for starters. After following Adrian's story I was a little jealous though I am happy with the E I wound up with.

[rob]

Bob, with all those toys what's the KX-155 doing in there!!!

[Bob_Belville]

Bob, with all those toys what's the KX-155 doing in there!!!

I guess I economized. I use it to listen to ATIS!

 

And I kept the WX900 and the STEC50, all perfectly good equipment which could no longer be said for the Narco HSI, the KNS80 or the GPS155 that were the reason for the makeover. 

[adrian]

Hi!

Thanks for the comments about the panel. The picture was taken on my very first flight away from the local area after restoring the airplane. I think we were just coming up to JFK on the way from Maine to Sun 'n' Fun last year.

To answer some questions -

- I don't know how the lower panel got to be so shiny! It was that way when I bought the plane. Everything else got changed, but the the polished lower panel was just right as it was.

- 88 gallons of fuel is what you get from fitting Monroy long range tanks. They were nice to have for the flight to France (the trip could be done without difficulty using standard fuel - but options are nice to have), but they were mostly fitted so that I can fill up the tanks on the rare occasions I come across affordable fuel in Europe! It's $11.60 / gallon at my home field...

- The clothes pin is an FAA approved, PMA'd, Analogue RPM Stability Enhancer! The prop governor has been overhauled since that photo was taken, but I need a new prop control. Engine vibration causes a gradual clockwise rotation of the vernier control. I can either pay a few hundred dollars to fix it... or not!

- Yes, I need an autopilot! But hand flying for long hours over the ocean in IMC is good for the soul. One day I will bite the bullet, but I'm hoping that by then I'll be able to get an attitude-based digital autopilot with a flight director for a lot less money than I'd have to pay today for a rate-based S-Tec. (I'm probably deluded, but I like to be optimistic.)

The whole panel, indeed the whole restoration, is probably over the top. However, the airplane - which hadn't flown for almost 17 years when I bought it - was basically in excellent shape, I had a great A&P working for me with a lot of time on his hands, and I had most of the avionics already; only the engine monitor was purchased new. So for about the same cost as a nice, ready-to-travel M20E I got a nearly perfect one which is just ideal for travelling alone or with one passenger in Europe. Despite being nearly 50 years old, it's impossible to beat the combination of speed, operating costs and short take off and landing.

[Andy95W]

Nice job, and congratulations on your restoration and flight to Europe!

As for autopilots, the S-TECs work great but are pricy... Heck, if your P.C. system works, what else do you need? Probably just altitude hold, really.

[adrian]

It doesn't work!

[tomn]

I have been toying with the idea of replacing my 66E (Bob's old plane) with a newer model. I've been going back and forth on this for months but have not been able to bring myself to did it at this point. I have put a lot of time and resources into this plane and its hard to beat the efficiency of these models. What is it about these E older birds?

[Bob_Belville]

I have been toying with the idea of replacing my 66E (Bob's old plane) with a newer model. I've been going back and forth on this for months but have not been able to bring myself to did it at this point. I have put a lot of time and resources into this plane and its hard to beat the efficiency of these models. What is it about these E older birds?

Tom I don't exactly know what it is. My memories of 49M were so positive that when I was shopping for a Mooney in 2011, even though I looked at a couple of Fs, the '66E was really my first choice. These planes are 25 years older than they were when I sold 49M to Larry in '88 (after 11 years and almost 2500 hours) but for me the romance is still there!