Fuel Bladders soon to be approved !

[rbridges]

12 hours ago, Sabremech said:

Yes, this would be nice but both sides seem to do the same in regards to each other's choices. 

I've been married for a few decades.  I don't argue.  I just assume my opinion is always wrong.  

[N6758N]

Just spoke with Ruth @Griggs. The FAA is there this week doing their final PMA inspection and then they should be set to start delivering. 

[Chris Murley]

After what seemed like forever, we at Griggs Aircraft, as of today are a PAH with FAA-PMA on your Mooney Bladders under the STC's that we all purchased from O&N. I'm not sure how familiar you are with our company but I assure you we are not just some start up company that bought these STC's when they became available. Myself and Matt Griggs are the owners of the company, I worked at O&N for 14 years and Matt 20.  when O&N closed we took on 6 of their employees, 2 of which are the machinists and fabricators that not only made and installed your bladder kits, they also designed them. Kenny, one of our fabricators was O&N's first employee in 1987.  So, your future bladder kits will be built by and / or installed by the same people who built them for all those years at O&N. We really look forward to your business and are very sorry for the gap in service between O&N closing and us getting our FAA approval. It was a long road, and took a lot more work than we realized but we are proud to have arrived!  If anyone chooses to have the bladders installed here, please come and check out our brand new 10,000 sq ft facility at Skyhaven Airport 76N located in Northeast PA.  We are in the process of getting the offices, phone system, and internet moved into our new hanger so if you call for questions or orders, leave a message on the machine if Ruthie doesn't get to it and we will get right back to you. Thanks a bunch and look forward to hearing from you!

 

Chris Murley

Griggs Aircraft

570-836-5757

 

[Bob_Belville]

21 minutes ago, Chris Murley said:

After what seemed like forever, we at Griggs Aircraft, as of today are a PAH with FAA-PMA on your Mooney Bladders under the STC's that we all purchased from O&N. I'm not sure how familiar you are with our company but I assure you we are not just some start up company that bought these STC's when they became available. Myself and Matt Griggs are the owners of the company, I worked at O&N for 14 years and Matt 20.  when O&N closed we took on 6 of their employees, 2 of which are the machinists and fabricators that not only made and installed your bladder kits, they also designed them. Kenny, one of our fabricators was O&N's first employee in 1987.  So, your future bladder kits will be built by and / or installed by the same people who built them for all those years at O&N. We really look forward to your business and are very sorry for the gap in service between O&N closing and us getting our FAA approval. It was a long road, and took a lot more work than we realized but we are proud to have arrived!  If anyone chooses to have the bladders installed here, please come and check out our brand new 10,000 sq ft facility at Skyhaven Airport 76N located in Northeast PA.  We are in the process of getting the offices, phone system, and internet moved into our new hanger so if you call for questions or orders, leave a message on the machine if Ruthie doesn't get to it and we will get right back to you. Thanks a bunch and look forward to hearing from you!

 

Chris Murley

Griggs Aircraft

570-836-5757

 

Chris, welcome to MooneySpace! Your first post is a welcome one indeed. Some of the smartest owners on MooneySpace have O&N bladders with many years of trouble free service. 

Do you have a long waiting list for installs? What about the 10 gallon add on for folks like me who have the original 54 gallon installation? Are kits for field installation going to be available? 

How much are you reducing pricing compared to the last Price List from O&N? 

[Chris Murley]

haha, now that's funny........ you know prices never go down in aviation!     we have an install coming in a week and another after that. yes, we offer the the entire bladder system as well as 10 gallon ad on as something you can have installed anywhere you choose.  For current pricing give Ruthie a call. I'm pretty sure not much has changed since the last O&N prices.........

 

Chris

[Piloto]

On ‎7‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 0:45 PM, Sabremech said:

This thread is another reason I'll stick with sealant. When's the next time that bladders won't be available? Sealant will always be more readily available. 

New planes no longer use bladders so market is limited.

[Bob_Belville]

41 minutes ago, Piloto said:

New planes no longer use bladders so market is limited.

Did Mooneys ever have factory bladders? What are there, 8000 Mooneys still flying? If none were built with bladders there are thousands of potential customers for Griggs.

AGL is patching another Mooney tank this week. Lynn is telling the owner that the condition of the sealant is that it really needs to be completely redone. Or get bladders. 

[Andy95W]

Chris- this is great news.  Having more options is better than fewer.  Thanks for putting in the effort to get the approvals.  

[carusoam]

Welcome aboard Chris.

Please take a copious amount of photos of the entire install process, and all the parts, if you would be so kind..?

fair warning, this is a favorite topic of a long debated subject... some posts can get a bit funny depending on the day.

Best regards,

-a-

[Marauder]

After what seemed like forever, we at Griggs Aircraft, as of today are a PAH with FAA-PMA on your Mooney Bladders under the STC's that we all purchased from O&N. I'm not sure how familiar you are with our company but I assure you we are not just some start up company that bought these STC's when they became available. Myself and Matt Griggs are the owners of the company, I worked at O&N for 14 years and Matt 20.  when O&N closed we took on 6 of their employees, 2 of which are the machinists and fabricators that not only made and installed your bladder kits, they also designed them. Kenny, one of our fabricators was O&N's first employee in 1987.  So, your future bladder kits will be built by and / or installed by the same people who built them for all those years at O&N. We really look forward to your business and are very sorry for the gap in service between O&N closing and us getting our FAA approval. It was a long road, and took a lot more work than we realized but we are proud to have arrived!  If anyone chooses to have the bladders installed here, please come and check out our brand new 10,000 sq ft facility at Skyhaven Airport 76N located in Northeast PA.  We are in the process of getting the offices, phone system, and internet moved into our new hanger so if you call for questions or orders, leave a message on the machine if Ruthie doesn't get to it and we will get right back to you. Thanks a bunch and look forward to hearing from you!
 
Chris Murley
Griggs Aircraft
570-836-5757
 

Chris - glad you are able to continue the tradition of offering an alternative to the wet wings. I had my bladders installed way back in late 1991 at Factoryville. When dropping off the plane I got to meet Myron & Richard and got a first hand look at a Silver Eagle project that they were working on.

I would ask that you let us know if you are able to provide the O rings for the older style caps and if you have an upgrade path to install the newer style caps for those of us looking to upgrade.

Congratulations!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[Chris Murley]

15 hours ago, Piloto said:

 

 

The Silver Eagle is a great airplane. at O&N I built over 50 of them. we maintain a few dozen of them now and have the STC to build them if someone was interested in a new one. As to some of your questions, we do not have a line on new orings for your original shaw aero caps. At one point we ordered the orings from shaw (which cant be done anymore) and learned that the caps are not serviceable. you can not disassemble them to get the new oring in. the cap needed to be sent back to them to replace it. we have recently switched to a newton style cap and this is an upgrade you can make. it is a lockable cap with key. the shaw aero caps went up to a crazy price of  $2000.00 a piece!!! They must want to be out of the fuel cap business. So yes, we offer an upgrade kit to replace your existing cap with these locking caps. The cost for this conversion is $190.00 a side. Ill see what I can do when the install comes in a few days as far as taking pictures of the install process and getting some of them up on here.   thanks!

 

Chris

[Marauder]

2 hours ago, Chris Murley said:

 

The Silver Eagle is a great airplane. at O&N I built over 50 of them. we maintain a few dozen of them now and have the STC to build them if someone was interested in a new one. As to some of your questions, we do not have a line on new orings for your original shaw aero caps. At one point we ordered the orings from shaw (which cant be done anymore) and learned that the caps are not serviceable. you can not disassemble them to get the new oring in. the cap needed to be sent back to them to replace it. we have recently switched to a newton style cap and this is an upgrade you can make. it is a lockable cap with key. the shaw aero caps went up to a crazy price of  $2000.00 a piece!!! They must want to be out of the fuel cap business. So yes, we offer an upgrade kit to replace your existing cap with these locking caps. The cost for this conversion is $190.00 a side. Ill see what I can do when the install comes in a few days as far as taking pictures of the install process and getting some of them up on here.   thanks!

 

Chris

Chris -- I would definitely be interested in the locking caps! As for the Shaw caps, I have done some research on them. Shaw Aero was purchased by Parker Hannifin a little while back. You can find the Shaw products on their website but as you pointed out, they don't seem to have an interest in keeping at least the cap business alive.

The Shaw caps can be disassembled. Where the challenge is getting them back together again. There is a set pin epoxied to a certain spot depending on application. The set pin aligns with a hole in the top of the cap and the plunger assembly is tightened to a specific number of turns depending on which fuel tank it is being attached to. The pin can be cut off and the cap taken apart. The main O ring is pressed fit into the cap top. Not an easy process to replace an O ring.

I looked at your airport. Garmin Pilot shows it as a grass strip being 800' by 30'!!! I saw in the AFD though there is a 2000' asphalt. Are there plans to lengthen it any? 

[Bob_Belville]

1 hour ago, Marauder said:

Chris -- I would definitely be interested in the locking caps! As for the Shaw caps, I have done some research on them. Shaw Aero was purchased by Parker Hannifin a little while back. You can find the Shaw products on their website but as you pointed out, they don't seem to have an interest in keeping at least the cap business alive.

The Shaw caps can be disassembled. Where the challenge is getting them back together again. There is a set pin epoxied to a certain spot depending on application. The set pin aligns with a hole in the top of the cap and the plunger assembly is tightened to a specific number of turns depending on which fuel tank it is being attached to. The pin can be cut off and the cap taken apart. The main O ring is pressed fit into the cap top. Not an easy process to replace an O ring.

I looked at your airport. Garmin Pilot shows it as a grass strip being 800' by 30'!!! I saw in the AFD though there is a 2000' asphalt. Are there plans to lengthen it any? 

Chris, look at the field in Google maps. It appears the pavement is much longer than the runway markings with a displaced threshold on the north end and a turn around far beyond the marking defining the south end. I wonder if the WalMart affects the usable length. 

[Marauder]

10 minutes ago, Bob_Belville said:

Chris, look at the field in Google maps. It appears the pavement is much longer than the runway markings with a displaced threshold on the north end and a turn around far beyond the marking defining the south end. I wonder if the WalMart affects the usable length. 

I see what you mean Bob! That displaced threshold on runway 1 looks like it is a couple of thousand feet!

[Bob_Belville]

Just now, Marauder said:

I see what you mean Bob! That displaced threshold on runway 1 looks like it is a couple of thousand feet!

Yeah, let's see what Chris or someone who's been in there has to say. 

[Chris Murley]

Not sure whats up with Garmin Pilot,  the airport is currently licenced as 2000 x 50.   however there is a 1100 foot extension that is not marked yet or licenced.  there are wires on the approach end of this extension about 8 ft above and 50 ft before the end of the extension. there are balls on them however this is the reason the threshold is not moved yet. there are 2 houses down by the river that these power lines go to. when we built our hanger over here we ran the power under the runway from Walmart. the next step is to tie those two houses into our power and then the wires will come down and the threshold will be moved all the way to the end giving a full 3100 useable.  taxiway to our hanger and our ramp is compacted gravel and plans are to pave it soon. the rest of the airport is grass taxiways.  if customers are not comfortable with the gravel taxiway we currently have (dont blame you) you can park on the grass by the runway and we will fetch you with the tug. the extension is usable for landing on 19 as an overrun, take off on 1 full length is approved, and landing on 1 "should be made on the threshold", just watch the wires if you touch down short.  I got my license here in 98 and its a great airport to fly into. very scenic with the hills all around. we have several restaurants within walking distance. 

 

as for the fuel caps, yes we are aware of the company that took over the shaw caps and they definitely made it known they are not interested in manufacturing them and or selling them. i should have been more clear, yes you can get the cap apart to replace the oring, but its not a normally serviced procedure. you cant leave the cap in the same state it was before you took it apart.

Edited August 17, 2017 by Chris Murley

[Mooneymite]

8 hours ago, Chris Murley said:

...... So yes, we offer an upgrade kit to replace your existing cap with these locking caps. The cost for this conversion is $190.00 a side. Ill see what I can do when the install comes in a few days as far as taking pictures of the install process and getting some of them up on here.   thanks!

 

Chris

Does this change or delete the AD AMOC for those of us who opted to retain the Shaw caps?

[75_M20F]

What does a bladder install cost these days?

[Chris Murley]

2017 pricing is as follows:

 

6 bag bladders 54.8 Gal $6,950.00,  installed $10,250.00

8 bag bladders 64 Gallon $8,875.00,  installed $14,250.00

2 bag add on for existing 6 bag customers $3,250.00,  installed $4,700.00

[Alan Fox]

21 hours ago, Bob_Belville said:

Yeah, let's see what Chris or someone who's been in there has to say. 

I have been in there multiple times , The airport itself is easy , the prevailing winds usually put you on an approach to the "long" runway , the extension is useable from both approach ends , and the grass is decent enough to taxi a Mooney on,   The terrain coming in is a bit challenging , and a little intimidating on the way in , but after the first time in , it is one of the coolest rides ....  Don't be fooled by the small airport , this is a real shop , with real manufacturing capabilities ,  I met them while I was rebuilding a P-210 , and they are great..... They do everything from custom carbon fiber work , to Turbine conversions..... Also very fair on pricing....

[Alan Fox]

As far as a reseal lasting longer than the factory seal , I say hogwash !!!   No matter how well you prep it , nothing sticks like virgin metal , also if you have a F or later , the sealant was put in before the ribs were riveted , Tell me how putting sealant on the fillets is better , also the bladders in the Mooney conversions are literally almost twice as thick as a factory ( beech piper Cessna) Bladder , that's why they never leak.....  If the 30 lbs of useful is needed , perhaps the reseal is a better option , but I have installed two sets of bladders , and the people that bought the planes are glad I did.....  Also when you sell your plane , the bladders are a HUGE consideration.....

 

[Chris Murley]

Hi Alan! thanks for the kind words.......

 

also, for the question on the AD. No it still applies.

Edited August 18, 2017 by Chris Murley

[N6758N]

51 minutes ago, Chris Murley said:

Hi Alan! thanks for the kind words.......

 

also, for the question on the AD. No it still applies.

Thanks for all your hard work Chris. Alan is a 'friend' of mine and he put me in touch with you guys in order to get the rest of the pieces I need for my system.

Ruthie at Griggs is so helpful and easy to deal with. I just received all the rest of the parts I need to complete my bladder install from them. Their prices are very fair and they are willing to sell just pieces of the system along with purchasing the STC, which makes installing a serviceable set of these a possibility. Most companies these days want you to buy a whole new system or at least send everything back to them for overhaul (S-tec for example) Looking forward to doing more business with Griggs in the future! I'd love to have them paint my Mooney if the budget ever allows it. 

[Chris Murley]

Thanks!  yep we are here to support the fleet, anything you need just call. if you have service questions ask for Mike or Kenny.  If /  when you get to the point, give us a call we would love to quote a paint job for you. we have painted several mooneys.

 

Chris

[steingar]

I just recall when buying my airplane, the bladders had been installed like 20 years ago.  Had those been sealed 20 years ago I'd have had worries, indeed I might have passed on this aircraft.  The bladders really sold it.