RLCarter Posted April 1, 2018 Report Share Posted April 1, 2018 You might look into a brace of some sort, a glove or wrap that might allow just enough resistance to keep you thumb place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_elliott Posted April 1, 2018 Report Share Posted April 1, 2018 22 hours ago, Red_Bird_Flies said: I got my CPL in this Mooney and I was able to operate the J-bar without issue from the left since I don’t have the same issue with my right thumb. Thankfully I can lower the gear from the right without issue since I don’t need to press the release button at all to get it into the cradle. I’m considering asking the man I took my CPL checkride with (who is also the owner of the school where I am about to start instructing) to fly left seat with me and see if he’s got any suggestions. I know there’s got to be an unconventional method I just haven’t considered yet lol Thanks, J If its the same school thats at KOCF, why not do the checkride in the schools J? Lowering the gear will be much easier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpg Posted April 1, 2018 Report Share Posted April 1, 2018 sooo,,, nobody has asked what must be a dumb question, why on earth will he be expected to take a check ride in the co-pilot seat?? I have never heard of such a Wrong thing to do! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsxrpilot Posted April 1, 2018 Report Share Posted April 1, 2018 22 minutes ago, mpg said: sooo,,, nobody has asked what must be a dumb question, why on earth will he be expected to take a check ride in the co-pilot seat?? I have never heard of such a Wrong thing to do! Every CFI checkride??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLCarter Posted April 1, 2018 Report Share Posted April 1, 2018 37 minutes ago, mpg said: why on earth will he be expected to take a check ride in the co-pilot seat?? Its a CFI check ride Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpg Posted April 1, 2018 Report Share Posted April 1, 2018 OK,,, now I get it,,, he is supposed to act as if he is teaching a student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takair Posted April 1, 2018 Report Share Posted April 1, 2018 3 minutes ago, mpg said: OK,,, now I get it,,, he is supposed to act as if he is teaching a student. Correct. She must also be able to demonstrate her ability to fly or recover the aircraft when the student botches things up. If you don’t normally fly from the right seat, it is amazing how much more difficult it is to fly smoothly using your wrong arm. Muscle memory is all messed up. Sight picture also changes, especially for landing. Regarding the gear and the brakes, the candidate is demonstrating their ability to manage the plane and the student. So, if it is a one sided airplane, you are demonstrating that you have instilled enough knowledge into the student that they will reliably manage those parts you entrusted to them. For example, when teaching in a plane without brakes, you need to spend extra time discussing positive handoff of the controls....or in this case it may be partial handoff. I would never do this with a primary student, and even in transition training, you would want a longer runway for those first tries. One additional tool is the mixture control. If all else fails, the instructor can pull the mixture to at least slow things down if the student fails to get on the brakes. If you want some controversy, discuss training with a throw over yoke on a twin brand B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red_Bird_Flies Posted April 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2018 Whew, I'm MIA for a couple hours and I come back to a ton of great suggestions! However, no modifications of any sort can be done on this plane as I am not the owner. To answer your question, Mike Elliott, this is the school's Mooney, and it's a '65 M20E. When I reference it as "my Mooney" it's simply the Mooney I'm most familiar with. It's also the only plane I've flown since getting my Instrument Rating so I am incredibly attached to her... I guess you could say I finally formed a good relationship with her. While I have had the opportunity to fly a later model Mooney, I left the flight feeling as though I had "cheated" on my Mooney so I've stuck with her since. So much so that when I got into her yesterday and saw that someone had completely trashed her interior (crushed coffee cops littering the backseat, dirty napkins stuffed in every pocket, etc) I took it as a personal offense and MPG, haha I guess I forgot to omit in my original post that this was for a CFI check ride Takair, What I've been doing since riding right is, before even starting up, stating that I do not have any brakes and that the student is completely in control of stopping the aircraft. Therefore, to make taxiing easier, I let them know they will have controls during all stages of taxiing. I reiterate that they are responsible for stopping as we approach the runway (both from the taxiway and from the approach) as a reminder they have controls once on the ground. Aside from demonstrating appropriate wind controls, I do not handle controls on the ground to reinforce that this is their "domain" in a way. This plane is for students who are already have their PPL and are going on for their CPL. Private Pilot students are 100% not allowed to even look at this Mooney, let alone think about flying her lol - Jen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted April 2, 2018 Report Share Posted April 2, 2018 Jen, You are going to find MS is very much a 24/7 kind of place... Our Euro members are up early, our Best coasters come in 9 hours later... The east Coast starts around six am... and don’t shut down until after midnight... Regarding a tool that might work... There are all kinds of specialty tools that might do the job. I have a pair of pliers that is similar in description for pulling ignition wires off automotive spark plugs. Rounded fingers coated in a rubber material... probably wrong dimension... but the idea is close... just a guess.... https://smile.amazon.com/Removal-70053-Remove-Without-Damaging/dp/B01MA1VVDP/ref=sr_1_4?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1522646861&sr=1-4&keywords=Ignition+wire+pliers Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiny moose Posted April 2, 2018 Report Share Posted April 2, 2018 Button from the right is a bear, make sure the down lock block is not worn(most are), and gear is preload adjusted to lower levels and the silver handle is adjusted properly, Oh and lube that handle inside(triflow), make sure button is properly engaged and not dragging on handle or block, also the spring on the button could be to strong (I’m not saying you can have the spring changed to less resistance) Sorry these are all Maintenance issues, you did say flight school! If they have their own mechanics they may take the time to help you out. While they are adjusting preload , you can be the one inside putting the gear up and down from the right seat. You could also ask DPE if the first lesson plan you give is gear retraction lesson plan Just my opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARZ Posted April 2, 2018 Report Share Posted April 2, 2018 One other thought here - after 50 some odd years would a lack of lubrication build up of gunk make the release a bit more difficult? I've never messed with the button during annual to really determine if it's sticky or not..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red_Bird_Flies Posted April 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2018 (edited) 9 hours ago, Shiny moose said: Button from the right is a bear, make sure the down lock block is not worn(most are), and gear is preload adjusted to lower levels and the silver handle is adjusted properly, Oh and lube that handle inside(triflow), make sure button is properly engaged and not dragging on handle or block, also the spring on the button could be to strong (I’m not saying you can have the spring changed to less resistance) Sorry these are all Maintenance issues, you did say flight school! If they have their own mechanics they may take the time to help you out. While they are adjusting preload , you can be the one inside putting the gear up and down from the right seat. You could also ask DPE if the first lesson plan you give is gear retraction lesson plan Just my opinion Hey those are some great suggestions! I spoke with the owner of the school and let him flex my thumb back and out of socket so he could see what I was working with. Initially he was just grossed out but he’s said he’s down to have maintenance lube her up when she goes down for her 100 hour (which is later this week). I’m really optimistic this will help me out! In the meantime, my husband and I are going to stop by a few sporting goods stores so test out some braces. Hopefully we’ll find a solution soon! Thanks again for all of your amazing suggestions, this is such a great community! - Jen Edited April 2, 2018 by Red_Bird_Flies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_elliott Posted April 2, 2018 Report Share Posted April 2, 2018 On 4/1/2018 at 2:35 PM, Red_Bird_Flies said: To answer your question, Mike Elliott, this is the school's Mooney, and it's a '65 M20E My bad, Jen. for some reason, I always thought it was a J on the ramp. I see every time I go to OCF I should know better... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolter Posted April 3, 2018 Report Share Posted April 3, 2018 2 hours ago, Red_Bird_Flies said: Hey those are some great suggestions! I spoke with the owner of the school and let him flex my thumb back and out of socket so he could see what I was working with. Initially he was just grossed out but he’s said he’s down to have maintenance lube her up when she goes down for her 100 hour (which is later this week). I’m really optimistic this will help me out! In the meantime, my husband and I are going to stop by a few sporting goods stores so test out some braces. Hopefully we’ll find a solution soon! Thanks again for all of your amazing suggestions, this is such a great community! - Jen Along the brainstorming in a sporting goods store... goalie gloves for soccer (the good ones) have ribs that keep your fingers from bending back past fully extended. You could cut off all the fingers except the thumb and make a nice fitting brace with palm and thumb that is a tactile layer on the interior. -dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red_Bird_Flies Posted April 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2018 1 hour ago, mike_elliott said: My bad, Jen. for some reason, I always thought it was a J on the ramp. I see every time I go to OCF I should know better... No worries, they can look pretty similar when you’re focused on taxiing 1 hour ago, Dan at FUL said: Along the brainstorming in a sporting goods store... goalie gloves for soccer (the good ones) have ribs that keep your fingers from bending back past fully extended. You could cut off all the fingers except the thumb and make a nice fitting brace with palm and thumb that is a tactile layer on the interior. -dan That’s a great idea!! I’ll be sure to check into that! thanks, jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcrmckenna Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 Can we get a video of your thumb???? hope you find a brace. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffy Posted April 5, 2018 Report Share Posted April 5, 2018 The Law of Unintended Consequences. Just changing seats, who would have thunk? BTW, had a gal as an IOE FO in a 737 that didn't have the left wrist strength to actuate the reversers consistently. Company had to let her go. Get that CFI and have fun with it. I have rt side brakes. First time from the right seat found out that they were crossed up and the right pedal put on the left brake. Didn't get too far before shutting down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red_Bird_Flies Posted April 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 Y'all. GREAT NEWS. She was grounded for most of the week due to a wonky gear indicator light that decided to work intermittently but I just landed after an extremely successful flight: I've got it down!! While she was in maintenance I had them lube her up a bit. They were a bit confused at first but once I showed them what happens with my thumb when I put pressure on it, they understood lol I'm not sure if it was the lubrication on the release button or the fact that I went up with another CFI who again let me take some time to work out a good hand gesture but I did it on my second or third try. After practicing in slow flight, we took her in and I did a couple touch and gos no problem. Today is a very good day Side note: sitting on the right is so different! Not a fan of the new sight picture yet, but I'm sure I'll get used to it Thanks for all of your great suggestions! You guys are great. - Jen 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immelman Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 (edited) I did my initial CFI in my 66E. You are not alone. Operating the J-bar was the most difficult part as it is not designed for right seat operation. As I recall I probably used my index finger to unlock. However, I ended up skinning my knuckle on the instrument panel multiple times getting the sliding end of the bar in and out of its socket. Be careful! All I can say is good luck. Other than that it was no issue flying from the right seat. And brakes.... who needs brakes?? Edited April 7, 2018 by Immelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red_Bird_Flies Posted April 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 Update: 5 hours of interrogation and I passed the oral exam (woo hoo!) However was given a discontinuance due to weather (high winds). Will be flying next week if the weather cooperates but either way, I'm half way there! Thanks for all of the great suggestions, y'all! - Jen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLCarter Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 10 minutes ago, Red_Bird_Flies said: Update: 5 hours of interrogation and I passed the oral exam (woo hoo!) However was given a discontinuance due to weather (high winds). Will be flying next week if the weather cooperates but either way, I'm half way there! Thanks for all of the great suggestions, y'all! - Jen Awesome,, the orals were the hard part for me......good job, halfway home free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red_Bird_Flies Posted May 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 Forgot to pop in and update everyone here: officially a CFI thanks to this gorgeous M20-E!! 7 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertGary1 Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 On 4/1/2018 at 7:35 AM, bonal said: How about a pair of channel locks with some tape on the jaws John Denver has spoken? -Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertGary1 Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 Awesome. Many moons ago I took my CFI and CFII rides in my M20F. They are great planes. -Robert 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris_adams Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 Congrats on passing!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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