First Year Ownership Gotchas

[base698]

Looks like I'm finally going to be in the ownership club as of Thursday.  Anything surprise you the first year?  What would you tell a new owner not to forget?  What do you keep in the plane--a binder like flight schools?  

[MB65E]

Congrats!! Fly it hard and see when it pushes back. Change the oil every 20-25hrs. 

-Matt

[RobertGary1]

Always surprises. I avoid spending any big money on upgrades the first year until you see what issues may come up.  

-Robert

[Oldguy]

Congratulation!

Take any extra money you find, and put it away for your first annual. The plane somehow knows if you do not do this, and will have one or two "surprises" for your mechanic. Have some money set aside and nothing will be found.

Two planes, two first annuals. Still not sure how a C172 annual cost 2 x my first Mooney annual. 

[Jeff_S]

Here's a list of things I addressed in the first year on two different Mooneys: a 1990 J and a 2007 Ovation.

1) Shock discs (on both)

2) Minor fuel seeps that didn't show up until the weather got cooler. (J)

3) A new electric turn coordinator for the S-TEC 55x (J)

4) New battery (J)

5) Brake master cylinder repair (J)

6) Added LED landing lights (both...not mandatory but I like to leave them on full-time for visibility)

7) New tires (Ovation)

[SantosDumont]

Change the fuel cap o-rings.  This probably hasn't been done in years on your plane.

[RobertGary1]

1 hour ago, SantosDumont said:

Change the fuel cap o-rings.  This probably hasn't been done in years on your plane.

Every year at annual.

-Robert

[Drew_Wagner]

My first year was spent chasing electrical gremlins but I now know the airplane and her systems really well. Find a quality mechanic that will let you peek over his shoulder and ask questions.

Do your transition training with a Mooney instructor that knows and better yet owns a Mooney. It makes all the difference.

Make a maintenance folder with a list of all SBs and status. This saves a ton of time at annual or if you end up having to go to a different mechanic.

Your flight manual is the procedure bible but it's a great exercise making your own checklists that are specific to your airplane. I have a full and condensed version that I laminated and keep tucked in the crease between the pads on the doors. Always available. Include base emergency procedures and you have a quick way to take action.

Buy one of those vent scoops today. It puts a scoop outside of the vent window and increases internal airflow by about 1000% after start up.

Learn and read everything you can about about your engine and how to take care of it.

Hangar your plane if at all possible and fly frequently. If you don't already, get your instrument ticket and enjoy the freedom of owning and flying a wonderful machine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ArtVandelay]

Expected, from log review:
Gear actuator O/H
Gear donuts
Mags 500 service

Unexpected:
Fluid hoses
Muffler, prebuy said it was ok, but with heat on it leaked exhaust.

Optional:
I had bad power supply, and 1 landing light out, so upgraded to LEDs all the way around. With 4 landing/taxi lights it was expensive upgrade.

Also had battery, tire, spark plugs, flap switch and some other minor work done in first year,but that's normal wear and tear items.
I've also replaced the starter, vacuum pump, A/I, boost pump, another 500 hr mag service, 2 other tires, voltage regulator and gear bracket in the following 3 years.

My plane is almost 40 years old, stuff is going to break, some of it is expected, some not. For every hour of tach time seems to translate into about $12 of repairs, not counting annual or future engine or prop overhauls. YMMV

[carusoam]

My first year...

stuck valve,  OH'd cylinder... 1AMU or so...

save up for a JPI and a FF gauge...  better for identifying a stuck valve.

Best regards,

-a-

[Yetti]

It's a 50 year old mechanical device.  You should create a maintenance plan that covers many years.  Replace all hoses, Reseal the prop,  Redo the mags, Filters, etc etc.  The guide to create the maint plan  is the 100 hour/annual inspection which can be obtained from the Mooney website.

[Yetti]

In excel I keep a running list of things to do.  This is the current list

[RobertGary1]

4 hours ago, Yetti said:

In excel I keep a running list of things to do.  This is the current list

Don't put too much into the board rigging. That's just a starting point and then you fly numerous times to fine tune. Many people have wasted a ton of times rigging to boards and then 5-6 flights to fine tune to end up at square one. If the plane flys straight, no way I'd mess with it.

 

-Robert

[gitmo234]

I'm still in my first year with my Mooney but I expect its similar to the first year with my Cessna. First annual was close to $3k. After that they were about $1500-$1800. The records from my Mooney indicate that one previous owner got some sticker shock by taking her to get an annual at an MSC his first year, and it was almost $10k. Lots of small stuff (rivets missing, parts installed incorrectly, etc).

I expect I'll get some sticker shock from my first annual and you should too. I'd almost bet you could fly a brand new airplane home and roll it straight in for an annual and the new mechanic would somehow come up with $3k in stuff that needed replaced. After that it calms down.

Keep in mind I'm the type that gets the smallest sputter or worry about something and I throw it straight into the shop. An expensive habit but I didnt have confidence in my cessna for awhile. I just couldnt believe I had an airplane for that price and nothing was really wrong with it. That lack of trust was basically misplaced.

[XXX]

3 hours ago, RobertGary1 said:

Don't put too much into the board rigging. That's just a starting point and then you fly numerous times to fine tune. Many people have wasted a ton of times rigging to boards and then 5-6 flights to fine tune to end up at square one. If the plane flys straight, no way I'd mess with it.

 

-Robert

I don't know about that. We rigged my "F" according to the book procedures and it was dead-on the first flight. 

[Yetti]

The "check with rigging boards"  has been on the list for 3 years.   It is more of a curiosity than a need to do.   It may get pushed down till it falls off. The problem with annual is that it take half a year before you start trusting the plane again... then you have to tear it apart again.....  For people who know how to maintain things it would be better to do an annual every two years.

[Marauder]

10 hours ago, Chupacabra said:

I don't know about that. We rigged my "F" according to the book procedures and it was dead-on the first flight. 

Mine wasn't. At my last annual (July) the MSC that did my rigging managed to make it worse. In my case they zeroed the flaps and attempted to align the ball by adjusting the rudder. It is off and I will be going back to get have it re-rigged.

Just as a side note. My F is a fairly quick one and the mis-rigging has cost me 4 to 5 knots. Also, I was told years ago that leaving our flaps in trail a couple of degrees would make the plane faster. One of our F troop members recently tried this and found a 4 knot increase in a 4 course speed trial.

[Htwjr]

Congratulations!  Jump on in the waters fine.  What model are you getting?  I got my C four years ago and have really enjoyed it.  If you are at all mechanical I would recommend finding a good mechanic that will let you do a lot of the work under his supervision.  Study as much as you can about your plane and its systems and how they work.  Watch some Mike Busch videos.  Hopefully you have already got the main gotchas covered like checking for spar and tube corrosion.  I also recommend leaning aggressively on the ground.  My first annual was costly but I had the prop overhauled and the hub replaced with one that did not require the eddy current inspection.  I keep misc tools as well as some wire, tape, wire ties, spare plug etc. in the plane but have not needed them so far.  As for books I have the operators manual and shop manual on the ipad.  Have fun learning.

[jonhop]

Congrats on your acquisition.... here's my 2¢.

+1 for having extra funds to cover the things that aren't discovered in the pre-buy inspection... Following Jeff_S' lead I'll let you know the things I addressed in my first and second year of ownership.

The PPI produced a clean running J that flew fast and flawless on the demonstration flight and functional test... In the first year, I discovered some issues that I didn't wan't to defer. Over the past two years, some issues are resolved and one is ongoing...

Year one:

1. Broken baffle tin and seals - repaired - free - materials and RTV donated

2. Oil leaks - repaired - $75 - previous owner put in the wrong quick-drain valve--fuel--and used silicone tape on the threads of the valve.

3. Battery box corrosion - repaired - $80

4. Left main tire and tube - replaced - $125

5. ELT battery - $30.00

6. Leaking brake line - $120.00

7. Annual - $2AMU's that included relocation of the brake master cylinder for better battery access/repair. 

Additional costs: Oil & fuel for 90 hours. Hanger  @ $450 per month.

Year two

1. Pitot static inspection $150

2. Garmin Database Update $500.00

3. Propeller hub started spitting grease... required overhaul and replacement of out of spec'd blades. $7.3AMU

4. Governor overhaul - $773. Performed when new propeller was installed and engine couldn't produce max rpm.

5. Governor inspection - $300. Performed when propeller shop disagreed with governor overhaul shop on whether the prop or governor was the problem. Was charged $300 COD after I thought that they'd inspect the governor for a reduced amount to help diagnose the problem. The problem remained and they could not find a problem with the overhauled governor. The prop shop blamed a weak engine and that was it... Won't go back there even though they had a good reputation, not that I will need to in my lifetime.

7. Leaking fuel tank sump - $25.00

6. Annual - unknown... consulting with my A&P to trade services. IT for wrenching, so we'll see...

Year one and two:

KAP-150 - intermittent issues - ongoing - running total $4.5AMU's. 

1. Replaced Trim switch

2. Overhauled KG-258

3. Troubleshot and replaced several bad capacitors in KC-191

4. Bench tested the whole system - required flying 800NM round trip, three times for analysis. The problem that was experienced in the air 95% of the time, could not be recreated on the ground while connected to the test stand for 36+ hours. Good thing the J is fast and efficient. 

Flight operations on autopilot are greatly improved with the efforts above but there is still a problem with vertical oscillation. Troubleshooting continues... until an affordable autopilot replacement comes to fruition. Anticipate $7 to $10 AMU's in the future for that...

Have fun with your new machine! Given all of the above expenses, I still love the heck out of mine and would do it again. 

Take care,

Jon

Edited August 18, 2017 by jonhop