Wish me luck...

[KLRDMD]

Definitely time for a twin. Two engines, two electrical systems, pretty much two of everything 

[chrixxer]

Update: Here's my current theory ... The battery was low / weak from sitting. Running the gear motor put enough of a load on the system, it tripped the alternator circuit breaker. The battery being already weak, didn't have much juice to continue to run avionics.

The circuit breaker for the alternator is behind a spring-loaded door at the lower right corner of the panel, behind a metal tab used to pull the gear breaker when manually extending the gear. It's not very visible in flight and it's hard to reach. It looked and felt okay, and from my awkward position didn't seem to be in a tripped state from which I could reset it.

Once on the ground, after I'd eaten and collected my head a bit, I took another look. When I sat right seat and pressed it firmly, it clicked like it was being reset, and sat maybe a millimeter lower.

Haven't messed with it since; will have the A&P look at it and charge or replace the battery.

Hopefully that's all it is. The panel redo will definitely have all exposed and easily accessible breakers!

[Hank]

2 minutes ago, KLRDMD said:

Definitely time for a twin. Two engines, two electrical systems, pretty much two of everything 

The way @chrixxer's luck has been going, it would just be twice as many things to fix, fail in flight or replace . . . . But he has shown admirable skills dealing with things when they do happen.

Looking forward to the next chapter in your story! 

[chrixxer]

Definitely time for a twin. Two engines, two electrical systems, pretty much two of everything 

I'm not going to lie, I've looked at a Geronimo and talked at length with a neighbor who's had his Apache for 47 years... Not there yet, though.


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[KLRDMD]

Just now, chrixxer said:

I'm not going to lie, I've looked at a Geronimo and talked at length with a neighbor who's had his Apache for 47 years... Not there yet, though.

Not worth looking at Apaches and versions thereof. You need a Twin Comanche, '66 or later.

[McMooney]

chrixxer just heard your atc conversation from the Burbank incident,

have to say you were incredibly composed and calm, way to handle it.

[carusoam]

Chrixxer has ‘composed’ as a core skill!

Logical writing throughout a stressful expensive ordeal...

Way to go Chrixxer!

Does all this calm under pressure come from a stressful work environment?

Policeman, Fireman, full time father of eight teenage children? (PP guesses only, not a therapist..) 

congrats on the past few steps, looking forward to the successful next steps!

Best regards,

-a-

[chrixxer]

Thanks all. TBH, though, I'm really, honestly, soul searchingly inquiring as to how I can avoid being composed in crises. By, you know, avoiding crises.

I was pissed when 3RM lost power. I'd done everything right. (I even had a witness! A CFII and tower controller who was with me right seat all day.) I bought a plane that had obviously been well taken care of and was in great shape. She'd just been looked at by an A&P less than 10 hours before. Every squawk was being addressed. I have a whole database built to track service intervals, etc.

No hint of any issue over hours of flying that day, by the book preflights and run-ups, everything in spec, not so much as a burble.

Likewise today, radios were strong and clear, normal run-up (I have video! ), one thing was out of spec and I immediately texted the A&P to make sure it was okay to fly (if I hadn't gotten that confirmation I would have taxi'd back to the Hawkeyes ramp and dealt with the Navy's ire as needed). Radios were strong and clear. It fired right up. (I've tried to start a rental with a failing battery, I know what that feels / sounds / looks like; that was not that.) It acted like a plane that had sat for a few weeks, but was otherwise fine. Until it wasn't.




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[chrixxer]

chrixxer just heard your atc conversation from the Burbank incident,
have to say you were incredibly composed and calm, way to handle it.

Thanks. In the moment, you do what you have to do. Is it still online? I thought LiveATC dropped off after a month or so?


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[chrixxer]

Chrixxer has ‘composed’ as a core skill!
Logical writing throughout a stressful expensive ordeal...
Way to go Chrixxer!
Does all this calm under pressure come from a stressful work environment?
Policeman, Fireman, full time father of eight teenage children? (PP guesses only, not a therapist..) 
congrats on the past few steps, looking forward to the successful next steps!
Best regards,
-a-

Thanks for saying! I'm a lawyer actually. Aviation and other litigation matters. I'm looking forward to some successes too ... and learning everything I can from what's gone before. (I'm still processing...)


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[McMooney]

2 minutes ago, chrixxer said:

 

Thanks. In the moment, you do what you have to do. Is it still online? I thought LiveATC dropped off after a month or so?


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[MrRodgers]

Chris,

Man you have had a time of it. 

Glad you have your plane where you can get to her without a military escort. 

Stay safe.  Hope you can make the Summer Fly-In in September.

 

[MBDiagMan]

Well chrixer, you gave away your age with the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS comment.:). It’s okay though.  I go back even further to the mini computers from DEC in the early seventies.

Happy to see you home safe.

Edited August 1, 2018 by MBDiagMan

[1964-M20E]

12 hours ago, chrixxer said:

The circuit breaker for the alternator is behind a spring-loaded door at the lower right corner of the panel....

I removed the spring loaded door.   I like to see the breakers they are part of the plane and do not need to be hidden.  However, I am an electrical engineer so I like those kind of things.

[Bartman]

I posted before this flight that you of all people are due for some good luck. It obviously didn't happen on this flight, but you once again demonstrated composure, knowledge of emergency procedures, and ability to act instead of freeze. Should any of us have a similars issue I hope we act as well as you have done repeatedly. 

[carusoam]

A DEC PC350 with a 10meg HD and a tiny monochrome monitor? So 1983! 

There is only so much that is available that an MSer can do...

Reducing risk comes in various levels of spending extra chunks of change... these are a few of the ideas I covered early on while acquiring the O... combined with experience that other MSers are currently doing....

1) If you can’t buy a brand new plane... go slightly used... less hours can have a lot less minor wear that shows up in funny hard to see ways...

2) Get your transition training from Mooney specific CFIIs... there is the extra ability that these fine resources may recognize something not quite right about the machine.

3) Get some of your maintenance done from the finest shop available... DMax is a great resource... As is Clarence’s shop...  and a few around this fine land...

4) Do your IR training with a well know resource with a real training syllabus system.... stay current...

5) Getting to know every nut and bolt of a machine can take years... not terrible if this is your forever plane...

6) Getting a complete engine monitor with all the recording options.... integrated with FF and GPS.... with easy to download data... and a Savvy account.  What could be better than that? Have Savvy Compare your engine to many Mooney engines like yours....

7) BFR with MAPA training... a group event that has great shared experience with like minded Mooney pilots...

8) Hanging out with your Mooney buds on MS discussing all possible Mooney issues... sharing your experience...

9) Compare your engine out experience to Erik’s earlier this year... everything was good, until it wasn’t... TC failure at altitude... a good discussion followed that incident for people with TCs...

10) The chance of having an engine failure is pretty good... everybody has one in their lifetime... two in one lifetime is more rare...

11) unfortunately, the statistics still apply as if you have never had an engine-out... you may have another on the next flight... stay vigilant!

12) fly right seat with another MSer...  pay attention to their plane, to their procedures, and their instrument panel... so many hints to be gained...

13) Go Fly, Often!

 

After all that... somebody bought my plane brand new... still he had the misfortune of having a cracked oil cooler dump the oil overboard... the rumor was a successful off-field Landing... 90’s IO550s got new oil coolers after a bunch of various planes came down with cracks...

Best regards,

-a-

 

[MyNameIsNobody]

13 hours ago, chrixxer said:

Yeah I had one of those in 4BE and may start keeping one in the plane as a backup (the EDM-700, soon to be a -730, has a volt meter, but again, it's in Marana). Along with a handheld, PTT switch, headset adapter, external antenna hookup, flare gun, parachute, a .45 automatic, (2) boxes of ammunition, four days' concentrated emergency rations, antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills, a miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible, $100 in rubles, $100 in gold, 9 packs of chewing gum, prophylactics, lipsticks, and nylon stockings...


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All good except the pep pills, cause they make your girl...well you know.  

 

[MyNameIsNobody]

13 hours ago, Hank said:

The way @chrixxer's luck has been going, it would just be twice as many things to fix, fail in flight or replace . . . . But he has shown admirable skills dealing with things when they do happen.

Looking forward to the next chapter in your story! 

Or not.  How about you just quietly enter and exit the aircraft repeatedly for 20-30 years with only a pat on the cowl before hanger door comes down.  Yes, less is MORE here.  Demons exercised.  Carry on.

[chrixxer]

Or not.  How about you just quietly enter and exit the aircraft repeatedly for 20-30 years with only a pat on the cowl before hanger door comes down.  Yes, less is MORE here.  Demons exercised.  Carry on.

Yeah, I'm hoping the next "chapter" is simply: "And they lived happily ever after."

With a prologue... "When he landed at Kerrville, the broker was already there, waiting for him. 'She's going to a good home,' she said, as he gave the blue cowling one last pat of affection. Eyes threatening to leak, he turned away from the old bird, and started walking towards the factory complex across the tarmac, where his new Acclaim Ultra II was being rolled out. A grin started to spread across his face as he saw the three bladed prop emerge into the sunlight. 'Mooney Zoom!'"


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[steingar]

When the chips are down I can only hope to be as cool and collected as our valiant OP.  I do feel his pain, my own radios are playing host to a small tribe of gremlins which are playing hob with my ability to communicate.  I've had light gun signals more than once.  Nice to know I can see the things.

[chrixxer]

7 hours ago, MrRodgers said:

Chris,

Man you have had a time of it. 

Glad you have your plane where you can get to her without a military escort. 

Stay safe.  Hope you can make the Summer Fly-In in September.

Yup.

Also, yup!

Wilco. And,  I hope to!

[chrixxer]

3 hours ago, carusoam said:

A DEC PC350 with a 10meg HD and a tiny monochrome monitor? So 1983! 

There is only so much that is available that an MSer can do...

Reducing risk comes in various levels of spending extra chunks of change... these are a few of the ideas I covered early on while acquiring the O... combined with experience that other MSers are currently doing....

1) If you can’t buy a brand new plane... go slightly used... less hours can have a lot less minor wear that shows up in funny hard to see ways...

2) Get your transition training from Mooney specific CFIIs... there is the extra ability that these fine resources may recognize something not quite right about the machine.

3) Get some of your maintenance done from the finest shop available... DMax is a great resource... As is Clarence’s shop...  and a few around this fine land...

4) Do your IR training with a well know resource with a real training syllabus system.... stay current...

5) Getting to know every nut and bolt of a machine can take years... not terrible if this is your forever plane...

6) Getting a complete engine monitor with all the recording options.... integrated with FF and GPS.... with easy to download data... and a Savvy account.  What could be better than that? Have Savvy Compare your engine to many Mooney engines like yours....

7) BFR with MAPA training... a group event that has great shared experience with like minded Mooney pilots...

8) Hanging out with your Mooney buds on MS discussing all possible Mooney issues... sharing your experience...

9) Compare your engine out experience to Erik’s earlier this year... everything was good, until it wasn’t... TC failure at altitude... a good discussion followed that incident for people with TCs...

10) The chance of having an engine failure is pretty good... everybody has one in their lifetime... two in one lifetime is more rare...

11) unfortunately, the statistics still apply as if you have never had an engine-out... you may have another on the next flight... stay vigilant!

12) fly right seat with another MSer...  pay attention to their plane, to their procedures, and their instrument panel... so many hints to be gained...

13) Go Fly, Often!

 

After all that... somebody bought my plane brand new... still he had the misfortune of having a cracked oil cooler dump the oil overboard... the rumor was a successful off-field Landing... 90’s IO550s got new oil coolers after a bunch of various planes came down with cracks...

Best regards,

-a-

 

(1) Yeah, well, when I can afford a new or lightly used Acclaim Ultra, I'll do that. Until then, like most people, I'll just try to fly the best "classic" I can find. I trained in planes older than 3RM, and the rentals I was flogging were generally no more than 3 years newer. 3RM has about 4650 hours over 49 years, or about 95 hours/year average.

(2) I did, I got transition training in an M20B from DuBois at Chino. But not in 3RM. (But, I didn't really feel like I needed transition training for 3RM, it's not that dissimilar to 4BE (F vs. E); I'm familiar with the GNS430W and the S-Tec 30 and the KX-155 and the EDM-700. The FS-450 took about 3 minutes to learn. The emergency gear extension protocol isn't dissimilar to the Cessna 182RG and Arrow complex trainers I learned in, and I have that checklist handy... I did have Lou DuBois take a look at 3RM when I got her, he's heard her run. But I don't think anyone would have predicted what happened over Mugu a few weeks ago. There were no warning signs. 

(3) 3RM has been worked on by LASAR and Top Gun, recently...

(4) My IR training was typical Part 61, but to date I haven't had any IFR issues. Wait, where's the wood I need to knock until my knuckles are bloody...?  I stay current, including periodic IPCs required by the Cirrus insurance.

(5) She's my forever-for-right-now plane. I'll have her years, barring calamity. I can't say I'll never upgrade, but I have no immediate plans to change airframes.

(6) The -730 will do almost all of that, and will live on as backup instrumentation when I convert to glass.

(7) That's a thought... Are there any such, local to SoCal or within MooneyZoom™ cruising range?

(8) Naw, I'd never do that!

(9) Link?

(10) So I'm learning...

(11) Always.

(12) I already fly with a wide range of pilots in a variety of aircraft (so many bad habits out there; if we ever share a beer, ask me about the 5000 hour ATP...), but I'd love to right seat with any of y'all any time.

(13) That hasn't been a problem, until recently...

Thanks for the thoughts!

[jetdriven]

Did you have a good pre-buy inspection on both of these aircraft? Because you have had more problems with airplanes in the past month than I've had in over 20 years and 12,000 hours of flying, including 3 years full time as a ferry pilot and 8 years of aircraft ownership. And working 6 years in a shop.   All of it.

An alternator failure is not an emergency in VFR conditions.  Going through the POH or the checklist will direct you to check the circuit breakers and if necessary, pull and reset the field breaker to reset the crowbar circuit in the voltage regulator.

I've only had to say this 3 times in my entire career, but I think some sort of safety stand-down is in order for you.  The other two pilots are dead. i think you are next.

Luck and hope are not strategies.

You need to get a handle on this, and its not all the machine here.  You have had two outright complete power loss events and both, for one thing, have dubious fuel states. And neither was solved. So nothing can be applied here to learn from.

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by jetdriven

[Marauder]

Did you have a good pre-buy inspection on both of these aircraft? Because you have had more problems with airplanes in the past month than I've had in over 20 years and 12,000 hours of flying, including 3 years full time as a ferry pilot and 8 years of aircraft ownership. And working 6 years in a shop.   All of it.
An alternator failure is not an emergency in VFR conditions.  Going through the POH or the checklist will direct you to check the circuit breakers and if necessary, pull and reset the field breaker to reset the crowbar circuit in the voltage regulator.
I've only had to say this 3 times in my entire career, but I think some sort of safety stand-down is in order for you.  The other two pilots are dead. i think you are next.
Luck and hope are not strategies.
You need to get a handle on this, and its not all the machine here.  You have had two outright complete power loss events and both, for one thing, have dubious fuel states. And neither was solved. So nothing can be applied here to learn from.
 

Yeah, I wasn’t going to say anything, but he does seem to have some bad mojo going on.


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[carusoam]

@aviatoreb‘s engine out experience...

i copied the link while 1/2 through the thread... start at the beginning for the full feel...

Best regards,

-a-