Seat tracks

[EricJ]

1 hour ago, Skates97 said:

Mine just has a clevis pin through the hole in the rail and a cotter pin keeping it in place. Same thing in the front and back of the rail. Buying the clevis and cotter pins by themselves instead of as part of that kit listed above is much cheaper. Replace the cotter pin whenever you remove the seats for a few cents each.

And you can take some small pieces of 0.040 aluminum and make the covers like from the linked Cessna kit on spruce.   I think that's actually what mine are, some clevis pins with some fabricated pieces to mimic the Cessna units.   And instead of cotter pins mine have hitch pin clips, so they're really easy to take out and put back in.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, PT20J said:

Clarence,

That’s interesting. The IPC shows the AN3, but... my ‘94 J had the setup you describe. So, maybe the documentation didn’t reflect practice. I went to the hardware store and bought 8-32 screws and 1/4” long threaded bushings and installed those since they are easier to remove.

In Cessnas, the stops are designed to restrict the seat travel so you can still reach the controls if the seat slides. In the Mooneys, the stops just keep the seat from sliding off the rails at the extreme end.

Skip

Odd indeed, my IPC shows screws.

Clarence

[PT20J]

37 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

Odd indeed, my IPC shows screws.

Clarence

OK, I see that. The stops are depicted on the outside rails. Mine were installed on the inside rails, so I saw item 24 and thought that was it.

So, what is item 24 for?

Also the effectivity is a little strange: Cotter pins 24-0378 -- 24-3117, screws and bushings 24-3118 -- TBA. So what was before 24-0378?

Skip

[Kelpro999]

The Cessna seat safety stops that I have do not fit on my ‘62 C. Rail profile slightly different between Cessna and Mooney. Some machining on the safety stop will remedy this condition.

[Guest]

48 minutes ago, PT20J said:

OK, I see that. The stops are depicted on the outside rails. Mine were installed on the inside rails, so I saw item 24 and thought that was it.

So, what is item 24 for?

Also the effectivity is a little strange: Cotter pins 24-0378 -- 24-3117, screws and bushings 24-3118 -- TBA. So what was before 24-0378?

Skip

Item 24 is a bolt below the floor board.  Cotter pins are used in earlier serial numbers.

Clarence

[carusoam]

M20C got cotter pins...

M20R got screws and nuts...

Having the seat slide back on T/O is going to be bad....

Consider the opportunities to accidentally cause a stall.

 

Having the seat slide back while getting in the cockpit.... the kids in the back aren’t going to like you very much that day...   

PP thoughts only...

Best regards,

-a-

[PT20J]

11 hours ago, M20Doc said:

Item 24 is a bolt below the floor board.  Cotter pins are used in earlier serial numbers.

Clarence

Clarence is correct -- of course

But I think there is a larger point here: A maintenance professional should know more than pilots. But what happens when they don't? I've seen posts that start out with, "My A&P thinks..." On the rare occasions that this has occurred with me, we simply looked it up. There is precious little about maintaining an airplane that isn't documented somewhere, and I've never known a good technician that wasn't interested in reviewing the documentation. The beauty of Clarence's posts is not just his experience, but the fact that he separates opinion from fact by taking the time to post the relevant data.

Skip

 

[Ned Gravel]

2 hours ago, PT20J said:

Clarence is correct -- of course

But I think there is a larger point here: A maintenance professional should know more than pilots. But what happens when they don't? I've seen posts that start out with, "My A&P thinks..." On the rare occasions that this has occurred with me, we simply looked it up. There is precious little about maintaining an airplane that isn't documented somewhere, and I've never known a good technician that wasn't interested in reviewing the documentation. The beauty of Clarence's posts is not just his experience, but the fact that he separates opinion from fact by taking the time to post the relevant data.

Skip

 

My mechanic....

[Guest]

8 hours ago, PT20J said:

Clarence is correct -- of course

But I think there is a larger point here: A maintenance professional should know more than pilots. But what happens when they don't? I've seen posts that start out with, "My A&P thinks..." On the rare occasions that this has occurred with me, we simply looked it up. There is precious little about maintaining an airplane that isn't documented somewhere, and I've never known a good technician that wasn't interested in reviewing the documentation. The beauty of Clarence's posts is not just his experience, but the fact that he separates opinion from fact by taking the time to post the relevant data.

Skip

 

Thanks Skip!

I’m happy to help, there’s little in it for me other than helping people with correct info to hopefully maintain their airplanes correctly.  There aren’t a lot of Mooneys in Canada and only 2 MSC’s for the entire country.

Clarence

[Jim DelVecchio]

Looking for the labor cost to replace left and right seat tracks on a M20K, 83 model

[Hank]

12 hours ago, Jim DelVecchio said:

Looking for the labor cost to replace left and right seat tracks on a M20K, 83 model

Depends a lot on where you are . . . .

[Guest]

12 hours ago, Jim DelVecchio said:

Looking for the labor cost to replace left and right seat tracks on a M20K, 83 model

It’s expensive, quite labour intensive.  Depending on vintage, one piece belly, or segmented belly has to come off. Mechanical items below the floor are often in the way.  It takes two people to the work, drilling and punching out the old rivet stems, and two people to set the new rivets.

In my shop, $100 per hour per person till it’s done.

Clarence

[Woodpile]

At my last annual, the mechanic pointed out that my rail holes were getting oval shaped and that I should consider new rails. There are no new rails, and the salvage ones I have found are not a significant improvement. Is there any general knowledge on what amount of oval is safe?

Can they be sleeved? Or plugged and re-drilled?

[Woodpile]

That seems like a fascinating, and easy solution. Could probably be done without removing the rails, too. I'll look into that, thanks.

[kortopates]

23 hours ago, Woodpile said:

At my last annual, the mechanic pointed out that my rail holes were getting oval shaped and that I should consider new rails. There are no new rails, and the salvage ones I have found are not a significant improvement. Is there any general knowledge on what amount of oval is safe?

Can they be sleeved? Or plugged and re-drilled?

I'd just get your order into the factory through an MSC and you'll eventually get your new rails - very little now is available off the shelf.

Its a common repair, just time consuming. BTDT.  

Anything that alters the seat rails will have to have its structural integrity and strength assessed by a DER to get approval which I could only imagine getting very expensive for just a 1 seat rail replacement job. I'd bet it would exceed the labor to replace the rails.