Vintage Mooney cowling mod completion pictures!

[Sabremech]

Hi Ryan,

The rest of the airplane needs to be stripped and fresh paint applied. I'd like to get it painted but after the cowling is finalized and any bugs worked out so I don't have to do it twice.

Thanks

[Oscar Avalle]

Really nice... I would love to hear how much would it go for! Agree with powerflow mod. Many have the new exhaust...

[ryoder]

Once you get your plane all painted up nice get some pics with Hooters girls or girls of their ilk.  Take a lesson from car mod manufacturers and sell the sex appeal side of it :)

[Shadrach]

Here's here's the only profile photo I have with me. 

Thanks,

David

David, 

 

Thank you so much for getting taking on this project. I think this is a vast improvement over stock, and I look forward to seeing the flight test data. I am curious about the outside corners on the upper cowl. What is the major challenge to integrating/blending the upper cowl into the air inlets?

 

 

 

 

[MyNameIsNobody]

I will help you screen the candidates...Rough job, but I really feel I would be good at it and am willing to jump in head first.

We unveiled the completed cowling today at the Mooney Summit III. It was great getting to meet many of you who've followed the project here as well meeting those who just saw it today. I'll start flying with it on my airplane in the next couple of weeks. Thanks to all who stopped by and gave me feedback. 

 

 

[Guitarmaster]

That looks great!!!  Can't wait for the flight test data!

Burlington, WI?  Wow!  I am almost right next door at Poplar Grove!  I stopped in there for the cheap fuel the other day.    Had my exhaust "rebuilt" at Dawley...  

 

Edited October 5, 2015 by Guitarmaster

[Sabremech]

Here's an FAQ in regards to the cowling modification based on Ryan's request. Please feel free to add additional questions and we will update this as firm answers become available.

Thank you,

 David

 

 

 Mooney cowling FAQ.docx

 

Edited October 6, 2015 by Sabremech
update FAQ

[yvesg]

David, plase add a FAQ question (and answer) about the spinner required please. The pictures seem to show a 201 spinner right?

Yves

[rbridges]

the rounded inlets look so modern, even compared to the J model cowling.  No science involved in my calculation, but it looks like it should be worth a few knots in aerodynamics.

[Sabremech]

Thank you Yvesg,

 I've added the question and answer in regards to the spinner.

 David

[steingar]

+1 to that.  Nice to see someone taking care of these legacy aircraft.  I suspect a booming market in these.

[1964-M20E]

Does it work with the oil cooler relocation mod?

[Sabremech]

Hi 1964-M20E,

 Question and answer in regards to the oil cooler added to FAQ.

 Thank you,

 David

[Yooper Rocketman]

David,

Looks very nice!  

Tom

[Browncbr1]

Hey David, are you using the carbon spinner that you were talking about making?  - Craig 

[Sabremech]

Hi Craig,

I plan on looking into a carbon fiber spinner. Mine will be getting sent out the end of this month to look at the possibility and more importantly at what it would cost. 

Thanks,

David

[Hank]

But I really like the look of my polished spinner . . . Are they available in a J version for less than the price of the cowl mod itself?

[Sabremech]

Hi Hank, 

The 201 style spinner like I have on mine is $2k from Hartzell. I need to find a better option in order to get the price of the kit where I want it without sacrificing the integrity of the spinner.  It will be an option for the customer to either have a spinner included or find one for themselves. 

David

[Marauder]

Hi Hank, 

The 201 style spinner like I have on mine is $2k from Hartzell. I need to find a better option in order to get the price of the kit where I want it without sacrificing the integrity of the spinner.  It will be an option for the customer to either have a spinner included or find one for themselves. 

David

David - really like the progress on this project. I agree, a $2k spinner requirement would make for a challenging cost for some owners.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[C-GHIJ]

Looks FANTASTIC, I cant wait for the early M20C version....

Plus 1

[ryoder]

Ok now that I know it adds weight I want a carbon fiber version :)

[Sabremech]

Hi Ryan, I don't think you'll want to pay what a carbon fiber version of this will cost. There will be some parts made out of carbon fiber to bring the weight down to negligible, but definitely not the two largest parts of the cowling. 

Thanks,

David

[N601RX]

I had a couple of composite spinners on an experimental. Both caused tracking problems with the prop tips due to slight variations in thickness of the baseplate. It was only a few thousands, but that was enough to throw the tip tracking out.  I finally had to machine both sides lightly. It would seem that with good fixturing one could be made correctly. 

Edited October 16, 2015 by N601RX

[StinkBug]

Looks AMAZING! We need to find out also if the top prop spinner will work. I know I promised to measure mine. I keep forgetting, I'm sorry.

[StinkBug]

Finally remembered to look at my spinner today. Kinda hard to measure diameter without taking it off but it's right about 12" and the back edge of the spinner is 1-9/16" from the front of the flywheel teeth.