My 2014 Annual

[Ned Gravel]

So here I am in Bangladesh, and although this UN duty does not require me to wear a blue helmet, it does get in the way of flying my bird.

 

Annual is due at the end of this month and since I could not fly her to Clarence, Yves (on this forum) did it for me yesterday.  Yves is now tucked away in his house enjoying the comforts of home again and C-FSWR is in Waterloo.  A successful flight during a winter that is desperately trying to hang on.

 

Now to the purpose of this post.  Clarence has my Mooney and we have discussed some of the things I am doing this year to make it a better aircraft.  (Yes I know you should spend the money on the aircraft you want up front, but I had neither the money, nor the knowledge at the time of purchase nine years ago, to do that.)  So every year, Clarence and I do something to make her a better bird.  I can afford a little of this extra every year now and it provides me the opportunity to appreciate my bird through its improving performance and utility.  

 

I feel that if I had gone from an E model (mine) to an Orgasmatron (Acclaim S) then I would just not be able to appreciate the feel for the aircraft as much.  I love to fly because of the way it makes me feel and being one with my aircraft is part of that.  So this slower process is OK for me.  The only really difficult year was four years ago when the engine was out for overhaul.

 

This year, I cannot participate in the annual and I will miss the banter going on in the shop as I spend my day under the wings and belly removing (or reinstalling) belly panels etc.  Clarence still calls me an "apprentice" and that is OK.  If he does not demand a level of performance from an owner, how can he demand it of his own folks.

 

The following are the things we are doing this year.  Some things may require STC from other well-known Mooney shops.

1. We are taking out the beautiful doghouse that Clarence rebuilt for me following engine overhaul and we are replacing it all with a 201 style baffle kit.
2. We are relocating the oil cooler to the back of the engine.
3. We are rotating the brake callipers to take them out of the slipstream in flight.
4. We are hoping to create a "taxi light" space where the oil cooler once was.
5. I think I want a Sirs compass to replace the vibrating (canted in flight) thrice-rebuilt piece of junk that is mounted to the centre pose of the cockpit.  I like the look of a PAI 700 (vertical card compass) but I have participated in doing a compass swing on those and they never come out right.

When an aircraft enters Clarence's shop for extensive work, the guys will invariably put it in the "million dollar" corner of the shop.  It is called that because of the cost of doing that much work (joke here!!!  not really a million dollars worth of work).  Fortunately, that corner is apparently taken up by a Comanche 400 having work done to some of its eight cylinders.  

 

Besides the annual with all of its parts, these mods are not as demanding as a windshield or panel upgrade, but as things progress, I will try and post updates.  

[quik flite]

Sounds like your airplane is in great hands, let us know how you like it.

[Bob_Belville]

Glad to hear about another E being upgraded. Depending upon our mission, these are the best of the best. FWIW, I suggested going to a vertical card compass when we "majored" my panel ('66E). The avionics guys' advice was that it was a waste of money and the VC was less reliable the the old whiskey compass. It is a pretty moot point, with new avionics there's no need for the compass except to be legal. 

[The-sky-captain]

I have the SIRS compass and am happy with it. It's much more stable and easier to read vs the old whiskey compass.

[Ned Gravel]

Bob:

 

I see you are an E model aficionado.   I really like my E.  Not the most amount of space, but light and trustworthy.  I know it will keep me safe if I fly it right.  

 

As for the compass, I hear you, but I am always trying to be ready for the thing (whatever it is) that will bite me.  I still like the redundancy of the magnetic compass that is still on my team.  But, that's just me.

[Ned Gravel]

Thanks Bodie:

 

I am sold.

[Guest]

Ned,

The 400 is no longer in the corner, cylinders (all eight) are reinstalled and working very well. I flew Yves to City Centre airport late Friday afternoon. He was most impressed with the take off fuel flow of 36 GPH.

Have to get a 421 out of the "million dollar corner" to make room for yours.

Clarence

[Ned Gravel]

Nooooooo.   Not the million dollar corner!!!!        

 

BTW:  Can you get a SIRS to replace that "we-have-tried-so-hard-to-recondition-and-make-it-work-piece-of=#@$!" attached to my centre post? Compass swings are fine.  Tilting in straight and level flight:  not so much.

[Ned Gravel]

Yes, Yves can make even the cheapest of us feel like we are too frivolous with our money.

[Hank]

Clarence / Ned —

 

Please keep us updated on progress, with photos for Ned. I am most interested in the doghouse-to-baffle conversion, and would appreciate any/all information that you can provide. I discussed it with my A&P last fall, but we were unable to find out much about it. So he got out his tin snips and did some reconstructive surgery on one side, and I'll just have to figure out what to do the next time. Conversion would be best, I think. Is my C eligible for this conversion, which I hope is an STC and not a 337 requiring a DER?

 

I do enjoy the owner-assisted annual, even though the shop is often empty when I am there [evenings and weekends]. We discuss what I do step by step, and if it's anything complicated he shows me how to do it. So far my list has evolved from removing/reinstalling inspection panels to cleaning plugs, greasing and lubricating everything underneath, grease prop, remove & reinstall plugs, and lots of cleaning and waxing [as much as possible--it's a nice break after laying on a creeper working above me for a while].

 

But now I'm moving, and will need to find a local shop where I can do this again . . . . as well as a hangar.

[ELT]

Hi All,

I would like to know more about the doghouse conversion on an E model too.

Thanks,

Eddie

[Oscar Avalle]

The doghouse conversion is something that I am also interested in... can it be done on a C...

[PLN_FXR]

I'm looking at doing the doghouse conversion on my "D" (C-configuration), as several mention above.  Question - Where are the 201-style baffles available from?  I could make them, but to make them properly is a lot of labor time.

[Ned Gravel]

Folks:

 

As for the doghouse conversion legalities, I am not as familiar with Transport Canada (TC) regulations as Clarence is, but these came off a Mooney F model so I know that the conversion can be done.

 

Given the above, I am not certain what FAA regulations might be for this, or how they compare to TC.  

 

The source of the engine baffle kit is a Mooney F model and Clarence offered them here on http://mooneyspace.com/topic/11282-m20f-engine-baffles/.  I have never seen them, but I trust Clarence and he knows my aircraft inside and out.  

 

Wish I had more information to give the inquirers (Oscar, ELT and PLN_FXR), but from where I sit (some 14,000 miles away) that is all I know.  I will know more as the time for the actual conversion nears.  

 

For PLN-FXR (who is probably an A&P), do you know the FAA rules for this?

[PLN_FXR]

Our Mooneys are CAR-3 aircraft, built primarily in compliance with Part 21 Airworthiness standards (as opposed to the more stringent Part 23 standards).  Appendix A to FAR part 43 lists what the FAA considers Major & Minor repairs, Major and Minor Alterations, and Preventative Maintenance.  Para (a)(1)(xii) states (paraphrased) that changes to the basic design of the cooling system is an Airframe Major Alteration.  This is pretty clear on first look ... but it gets muddy.  If you are installing an improved baffle system from an aircraft on the same type certificate (as all Mooneys except the M-18 an M-22 are), that allows for more thorough preflighting of the engine (as removal of the tent does), you may make an argument the work is a minor alteration and win that argument - but this depends on your local FSDO personnel and your A&P/IA (ensure you clear this PRIOR to starting work; in my experience FSDO folks are generally open to discussing changes PRIOR to their being made, and less open after they have already been accomplished).  

 

In my case, I'm changing to a J-style cowling, so it only makes sense to install J-style baffling.

 

Any insight from other Technicians out there is welcome and appreciated 

 

Keep 'em flying!

[Ned Gravel]

Annual is done and I am coming home.

 

Today I booked to fly out of Mexico and I will be in Ottawa tomorrow morning off a flight from IAD.  My Mooney was flown home by Yves yesterday afternoon/evening after he was flown to Waterloo from Ottawa by a 231 owner in Kingston.  My thanks (publicly) to Yves for doing this.  Extra care and attention worth far more than the cost of any gas and food incurred for this ferry service.

 

Here is what was planned:

1. We were taking out the beautiful doghouse that Clarence rebuilt for me following engine overhaul and we are replacing it all with a 201 style baffle kit.  (DID NOT HAPPEN - Ran out of time)
2. We were relocating the oil cooler to the back of the engine.  (DID NOT HAPPEN - Ran out of time)
3. We were rotating the brake callipers to take them out of the slipstream in flight.  (Done!)
4. We were hoping to create a "taxi light" space where the oil cooler once was.  (DID NOT HAPPEN - Ran out of time related to 1 and 2 above)
5. I got a Sirs compass to replace the vibrating (canted in flight) thrice-rebuilt piece of junk that is mounted to the centre pose of the cockpit.  (Done!)

I am OK with not having done the change to the 201 style baffling as I was skeptical about airflow over the cylinders being as good as the doghouse Clarence manufactured after the engine overhaul.

 

Here is what Yves wrote me this morning regarding the flight home:

 

I really enjoyed flying C-FSWR yesterday. The new compass is not vibrating at all. I put the autopilot on and enjoyed the show at 5.5 K

 

About mid point I was getting bored and then I saw this control called "power boost" which does not exists in my C. I pulled this and saw MP go up and wham... 150 knots

 

From now on I will call your bird "the speed machine"

 

.......

 

......

 

Thanks for letting me fly it.

 

So she is now home and parked on her "patio."

 

My girl is picking me up at the YOW tomorrow morning and we are spending the morning on a date to start our vacation and sometime during the morning she wants to drive over to Rockcliffe to "pet" the airplane and straighten out things in the storage box.

 

The next three weeks will involve a LOT of flying to get back up to speed, to become current, and to practice for Oshkosh and Caravan.