Flying through rain

[Jerry 5TJ]

Hector, the water shield that was originally installed is not visible in your photos.   

Perhaps Floyd will share his retro design shield with you. 

The original factory Rexolite shield directed the water leaking through the Radio hatch away from the electronics and into your shoe.  

[Hector]

Hector, the water shield that was originally installed is not visible in your photos.   
Perhaps Floyd will share his retro design shield with you. 
The original factory Rexolite shield directed the water leaking through the Radio hatch away from the electronics and into your shoe.  

Was not even aware there was such a thing. Would love to see a picture.


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[Jerry 5TJ]

Sorry but I don’t have a photo of that part.  It isn’t glamorous.

I’m sure if you fly to Lakeport and poke around in their collection of disarticulated Mooneys you can find one.  

Picture a sheet of ~ 8.5 x 11 plastic, creased widthwise to form a tent-like cover.  That sat at the top of the center radio stack.  

 

 

[Floyd]

I do not have a picture of mine.  I think the plane had the factory original in it when I did the panel upgrade.

I used a piece of plastic I think was about 1/8 inch thick with a couple inches overhang on both sides and front of the radios.  Zip ties to hold it in place sloping down in front.

Pretty high tech.

[0TreeLemur]

55 minutes ago, Floyd said:

I do not have a picture of mine.  I think the plane had the factory original in it when I did the panel upgrade.

I used a piece of plastic I think was about 1/8 inch thick with a couple inches overhang on both sides and front of the radios.  Zip ties to hold it in place sloping down in front.

Pretty high tech.

I made a roof for my radio stack using a disposable paint tray liner.  It hemmed in by the SCAT hoses on the sides, frame beneath the glare shield, sloping steel tubular frame members, and the starter vibrator box.  It slopes forward about 1".  There is a gap between the forward end of the rain shield and the starter vibrator.

[irishpilot]

As a last chance water shield,  I installed a piece of rigid plastic across the top of the radio stack.  If water does get in, this should keep out of the radios.

Agree with this. Struggled with leaking panels in my M20E. Fixed it with window seal and plastic guards for extra insurance. After messing with the panels, I'd opt for the 201 mod, despite only being able to access the panel from below.

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[Ragsf15e]

10 hours ago, irishpilot said:

Agree with this. Struggled with leaking panels in my M20E. Fixed it with window seal and plastic guards for extra insurance. After messing with the panels, I'd opt for the 201 mod, despite only being able to access the panel from below.

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Until you have to get behind there... I can’t get to a damn thing behind my panel!  I was just drooling over the access you have in those pictures!

[irishpilot]

Until you have to get behind there... I can’t get to a damn thing behind my panel!  I was just drooling over the access you have in those pictures!

Valid, but I almost lost my 530W because of flying through heavy rain. It shorted and I had to get it overhauled by Garmin. Not fun and not cheap.

However, you are totally right, the 201 mod is not avionics mx friendly.

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[Ned Gravel]

22 hours ago, Ragsf15e said:

Until you have to get behind there... I can’t get to a damn thing behind my panel!  I was just drooling over the access you have in those pictures!

It's not really all that easy to access some of the avionics.  I have scraped more than one section of skin off my hand trying to get stuff done in there.  Fred also uses a different sealer than I do.   His is clean and nice.  Mine is the recommended one.  It is ucky and black and sticks to everything but has not allowed any leaking into the avionics bay since I bought my airplane in 2004.

[hoot777]

Anyone have a picture of the rain shield from Mooney. My m20 g does not have one.  Comm was noisy in the rain last trip.

[takair]

5 hours ago, hoot777 said:

Anyone have a picture of the rain shield from Mooney. My m20 g does not have one.  Comm was noisy in the rain last trip.

It’s quite crude, but that’s what was in there. There are a few threads on alternate methods that seem to do a better job.  (Some of the sealing ,ethos in this thread are more effective too....hadn’t read the entire thread)  as Jerry suggested, this redirects the water on your shoe.....into the rug and eventually to your spar.  Best to keep water out of the cabin entirely.

[hoot777]

Just had a leak on my m20 G.   The previous owners had put the black gook in the rain gutter. Not good. It held up for several years but now is not tight . Thanks for all the info. I do have a box of the 3m stuff. 

[0TreeLemur]

Just returned from my first big IFR cross-country that took us from AL-WY-CO-TX-AL.  Got about 4 hours of actual and flew through a lot of rain.  I'm pleased to report that the weatherstripping suggested by @Hector plus the rain shield shown above worked wonders.  No issues with the avionics in our C.  I recommend the weather stripping.   Using the black tar-rope of death in a hot hanger in Alabama is not an option.  That stuff just is unworkable.

[The Other Red Baron]

On 8/30/2019 at 1:06 PM, 0TreeLemur said:

Just returned from my first big IFR cross-country that took us from AL-WY-CO-TX-AL.  Got about 4 hours of actual and flew through a lot of rain.  I'm pleased to report that the weatherstripping suggested by @Hector plus the rain shield shown above worked wonders.  No issues with the avionics in our C.  I recommend the weather stripping.   Using the black tar-rope of death in a hot hanger in Alabama is not an option.  That stuff just is unworkable.

Is this the black tar rope of death?  Trying to figure out what to do with ours.

https://www.amazon.com/3M-08578-Black-Strip-Calk/dp/B000PEZ1L4

[WaynePierce]

On 6/1/2019 at 6:24 PM, neilpilot said:

seems like this would be cruel to the owl

 

Not at awl.

 

[0TreeLemur]

29 minutes ago, The Other Red Baron said:

Is this the black tar rope of death?  Trying to figure out what to do with ours.

https://www.amazon.com/3M-08578-Black-Strip-Calk/dp/B000PEZ1L4

Yes, that's it.  I've got a box of it that I wish I could give to someone.   The black rope of death is impossible to deploy in a hot Alabama hangar.  Reminded me of how the animals must have felt in the LaBrea Tar Pits! 

  @Hector hipped me to this stuff: 

Photos of application above.

 

[Yourpilotincommand]

A 5” x 7” Tupperware plastic over the top of the radio stack in addition to the weather strip. The first time you fly in the heavy rain and you feel drips on you legs... will certainly get your attention. Protect your avionics stack!,

[The Other Red Baron]

@Hector

I'm having a heck of a time finding that specific size of MD seal.  Where did you get it?

Edited July 17, 2020 by The Other Red Baron

[0TreeLemur]

1 hour ago, The Other Red Baron said:

@Hector

I'm having a heck of a time finding that specific size of MD seal.  Where did you get it?

Sometimes Agent Orange (HD) has it.   The last time they didn't so I ordered it off amazon.

Similarly to @Yourpilotincommand I installed a roof over the radio stack.   If you read other posts on MS you'll find that our planes came from the factory with one, but most have gone away.  I used a plastic paint tray insert to fashion one that fit around the cross members and is held in place between the two defroster scat tubes.   Just a little silicone helps to seal the gaps fore and aft of the center strip connecting the two larger instrument bay panels.

Good luck.