Annual Anxiety

[Guest]

Once you accept the reality that your wallet is actually your mechanic's, you will be fine

That is why I love working with my mechanic. We talk throughout the process and I am the one that usually says "let's replace it" when he says "it will be good for another year".

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For all of my better clients we have an agreement and a joint bank account. The customer/owner is responsible for keeping the bank account full at all times, I on the other hand will do my best to keep it empty.

Clarence

[Yetti]

When static ports cry

 

[bonal]

Sorry guys I'll get over it but it was looking real good and I thought all the hard work and money was going to give me a routine one for once

[Andy95W]

Sorry guys I'll get over it but it was looking real good and I thought all the hard work and money was going to give me a routine one for once

It will be worth it, if not this year then sometime in the future.

At some point you'll notice that other people's airplanes break, but yours continues to fly. That's when you'll know the hard work was worth it.

[Marauder]

Sorry guys I'll get over it but it was looking real good and I thought all the hard work and money was going to give me a routine one for once

 

Someone once told me to make sure I was introduced to the kids of the mechanic who would be working on my plane. If the kids already had braces, it was okay to work with him. 

[Ned Gravel]

For all of my better clients we have an agreement and a joint bank account. The customer/owner is responsible for keeping the bank account full at all times, I on the other hand will do my best to keep it empty.

Clarence

Clarence:

Do we have to talk? Should I be worried?

Ned Gravel

Lucky steward of C-FSWR, a '65 E model at Rockcliffe, Ontario, (CYRO)

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[Hank]

Sorry guys I'll get over it but it was looking real good and I thought all the hard work and money was going to give me a routine one for once

I know the feeling. Last year was new nose tire, all new pucks (plus rental compression tool) and some sheet metal work on the doghouse. This year was more extensive doghouse repairs and lookkee here--a giant hole in the bottom of the muffler.

[Guest]

Clarence:

Do we have to talk? Should I be worried?

Ned Gravel

Lucky steward of C-FSWR, a '65 E model at Rockcliffe, Ontario, (CYRO)

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Ned,

No need to call, I looked after the bank account. Almost as good as being married!

Clarence

[C-GHIJ]

The anxiety level goes down if you trust the guy working on it.   It's always a crap shoot.  I'd rather they find it on the ground, than I find it in the air.  Was luck to walk away from the first crash (well sort of) and don't really want to have another.

[Ned Gravel]

The anxiety level goes down if you trust the guy working on it.   It's always a crap shoot.  I'd rather they find it on the ground, than I find it in the air.  Was luck to walk away from the first crash (well sort of) and don't really want to have another.

 

+1  See my recent post on Metal in the Oil Filter.

[Cruiser]

We are just finishing up with the annual inspection, no major issues. This is the first time I have fully participated. I learned a lot and and saw parts of the Mooney I didn't know existed.

 

My arms are sore, my bu** is sore and my fingernails will NEVER come clean.

Some of the benefits in pictures.........

[carusoam]

Nice shot of the third jack stand that the LBs use...

Best regards,

-a-

[Hank]

We are just finishing up with the annual inspection, no major issues. This is the first time I have fully participated. I learned a lot and and saw parts of the Mooney I didn't know existed.

My arms are sore, my bu** is sore and my fingernails will NEVER come clean.

Some of the benefits in pictures.........

Congrats, Tom! I did the opposite, had very little time to participate this year (for the first time).

Looks like your red flannel shirt will also never come clean . . .

[bonal]

Tomorrow will be first cross country since annual, test flight checked out A OK so should be good to go but always a bit of nail biting until I know it's as good as it was before we took it all apart.

[bonal]

Cross country complete no gripes good for another year.

[Hank]

Cross country complete no gripes good for another year.

If only it was that easy! After my annual, the re-refurbed doghouse sped me up enough that I needed to redo my IFR power settings. They're all reduced about 2" MP. Annual finished in early Feb.

Yesterday, my right mag ran rough at runup, so I throttled up and leaned out for 60 seconds, which took the RPM drop from 150 to 250! Left mag shows almost no drop after the burn off. Worked great after annual . . .

Guess it's time for an IRAN.

[jetdriven]

Slick magneto coil. Brace yourself it's 450$ and after you add the labor the Iran the mag with it, it's a grand. Which is the cost of a new one too.

[ArtVandelay]

Slick magneto coil. Brace yourself it's 450$ and after you add the labor the Iran the mag with it, it's a grand. Which is the cost of a new one too.

I had 2 IRANed after 1100 hours, was about $300 for both

[bradp]

Re Slick magneto coil. Ugh. I IRAN'd both mags at 500 hrs and had spent way too much time troubleshooting why all of a sudden I couldn't hot start for the life of me and cold stars were significantly more difficult. Shop that did the work (a not very well known MSC in the region btw) kind of shrugged their shoulders and said it is what it is. Sent mags back for re inspection and the benched fine twice, and local A&p and I troubleshot air an fuel systems will all okay. We found that the left impulse coupled mag never made a good spark across air gap. It was always weak (like 1/4 inch instead of 3/8) inch. Got a replacement mag on there and back to usual strong starts again. I should have probably just put a set of bendix mags on there it retrospect, but at least I have a set of working mags.

I called Dorn at Henry Weber and he was of course immensely helpful as was the local a&p where my plane was kind of stuck as I no longer had confidence In the engine with this starting problem. Anyway, I brought the J to annual at Henry Weber this week and if anything I have less anxiety knowing that knowledgeable folks are working on it. Dorn also had awesome flying and maintenance adventure stories and I could probably listen to him for hours.

Lessons are your perfectly well working equipment can come back in a messed up state after IRAN and there is a difference among folks that know and care about Mooneys and versus those who just put the logo up on the hangar.

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[bradp]

Well inspection is done - the folks at Henry Weber are very good - extremely detail oriented.  But not cheap by any means.  They found things that other reputable Mooney shops either missed or just plain did wrong.  I have been flying around blissfully ignorant for the last few years.  Fortunately nothing major but the big ticket items are shock disc replacements for the mains and the AD on the Duke's gear actuator motor.  

[Marauder]

Well inspection is done - the folks at Henry Weber are very good - extremely detail oriented. But not cheap by any means. They found things that other reputable Mooney shops either missed or just plain did wrong. I have been flying around blissfully ignorant for the last few years. Fortunately nothing major but the big ticket items are shock disc replacements for the mains and the AD on the Duke's gear actuator motor.

Well as the self appointed President of the Cheap Bast$&d Club, it sounds like we need to revoke your membership. Either that or get you a smaller wallet since you won't be carrying around that much money anymore.

What Mooney are you flying?

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[Rod Vivian]

My worst was when my mechanic called me saying, " are you sitting down?" I did and things only got worse from there, oh well. I really hate, " we found metal in the filter, fly another 10 hours and we will check it again. " that has never worked out. It has always turned out that the worst possible outcome became THE outcome. Never a problem money can't fix as long as it's on the ground. But I keep at it because it's worth it, I think.

[Ned Gravel]

My worst was when my mechanic called me saying, " are you sitting down?" I did and things only got worse from there, oh well. I really hate, " we found metal in the filter, fly another 10 hours and we will check it again. " that has never worked out. It has always turned out that the worst possible outcome became THE outcome. Never a problem money can't fix as long as it's on the ground. But I keep at it because it's worth it, I think.

 

I am with you, as my recent similar experience will testify.  Gittin' 'er done while on the ground is way better than trying to solve the problem at 3000' in IMC over suburbia.  And we made the decision that it is worth the expense.  My wife says flying is part of my smile.  

[jetdriven]

Well inspection is done - the folks at Henry Weber are very good - extremely detail oriented.  But not cheap by any means.  They found things that other reputable Mooney shops either missed or just plain did wrong.  I have been flying around blissfully ignorant for the last few years.  Fortunately nothing major but the big ticket items are shock disc replacements for the mains and the AD on the Duke's gear actuator motor.  

I am not aware of an outright AD on the Dukes actuator motor in the J model. Have a reference?

[bradp]

Upon further research as long as the Dukes P/N is not 4196, the AD doesn't apply. The early J's (mine is 24-0348 1977) are supposed to have Dukes 1057 with the 40:1 gear. I had taken "need Dukes actuator inspected per AD" at face value. Thanks for helping me inch my way back towards the CheapBa$tards club which I feel I have currently self ostracized myself from. I let Henry Weber know that and am waiting to see what they say. Unfortunately the mounting bracket for the actuator is cracked and needs a doubler. So the part about leaving the motor attached is moot.

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