Wish me luck...

[chrixxer]

Chris. Was the tank empty, or below the visible fuel level in the tank? Could be 5 gallons in it and you could not have seen it.    Could the mechanic had something a little loose during all of the work and it leaked?
The mechanic may have drained the battery with the work completed. I would suggest charge it good, test and then decide. Battery was replaced last sept or October.
The age of the fuel pump and the mag wires is not known to me, could be the last engine overhaul.
if you have flown the plane 75 hrs. Since April you are getting close to several ad’s being due.  There are several that are every hundred hour due.  Annual time now instead of a couple months from now?
Fly safe.
Ron 

Below visible, and I think bone dry. Certainly possible, and he's going to go over every inch before I even taxi it!

Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm thinking, in connection with the plane sitting for weeks and starting a few times but not running at cruise power for any length of time to build the charge back up. We may have smoked the battery through all this, but if so that's "only" another $300 or so, right? :/

I'm tracking the ADs in my database , and already inquired as to whether or not it makes sense to just do the annual now (great minds ). It'll already be largely apart and is AOG anyway... And after all this I'll feel better with a full inspection and sign-off.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ron McBride]

Battery may be under warrantee also.   Check all of the log books.     The battery should survive not being used for months, but with how many starts and very little charging?

If someone siphoned the fuel, I doubt that they could get the last 3 or 4 gallons.  You cant drain enough fuel through the drain to be effective to steal fuel.   If they did for there car, someone will have catalytic converter problems.   If bone dry, it must have leaked when the fuel lines were disconnected.  I never noticed fuel disappearing like this though.   Was the fuel selector turned completely off?

Ron

[chrixxer]

3 hours ago, N803RM said:

Battery may be under warrantee also.   Check all of the log books.     The battery should survive not being used for months, but with how many starts and very little charging?

If someone siphoned the fuel, I doubt that they could get the last 3 or 4 gallons.  You cant drain enough fuel through the drain to be effective to steal fuel.   If they did for there car, someone will have catalytic converter problems.   If bone dry, it must have leaked when the fuel lines were disconnected.  I never noticed fuel disappearing like this though.   Was the fuel selector turned completely off?

Ron

I'll check re the battery, thanks! And yeah, I think it was several starts with very little charging.

I'll note my boss runs 100LL in his '69 Charger.

I've never had any fuel loss before, and I now strongly suspect something happened with all of the mucking about with the servo, pump, etc. that's been done, under less than optimum working conditions, over the past several weeks.

It's grounded at CMA (my call) until after everything is 100%, which at this point (I confirmed today, we're going ahead with it) will include a full annual inspection and all the ADs, no matter how "early." 

EDIT: Battery changed 10/7/2017.

Edited August 2, 2018 by chrixxer

[Yetti]

On 8/1/2018 at 3:41 PM, chrixxer said:

I'm asking, in all sincerity, what would you have done in those specific circumstances?

Never trust the fuel gauges is what I would have done.  Since it looks like you are sitting on the ground, based on my gauges it looks like you have about 6-10 gallons in the left tank which will start responding when you get it up in the air.    But I also have a calibrated paint stirer which you can create by flying and fueling.   dip the tank draw a line.   Fill the tank, subtract from total, write the number on the stick.  As far as the high fuel pressure, it has been said the new pumps need a bit of break in and then the pressure comes down a bit.

[chrixxer]

12 minutes ago, Yetti said:

Never trust the fuel gauges is what I would have done.  Since it looks like you are sitting on the ground, based on my gauges it looks like you have about 6-10 gallons in the left tank which will start responding when you get it up in the air.    But I also have a calibrated paint stirer which you can create by flying and fueling.   dip the tank draw a line.   Fill the tank, subtract from total, write the number on the stick.  As far as the high fuel pressure, it has been said the new pumps need a bit of break in and then the pressure comes down a bit.

I never said I trust(ed) the fuel gauges. I had a dipstick on board, which, while not specifically calibrated to that airframe, has been verified - on multiple occasions, by myself and the previous owner - as reading, conservatively, 5 gallons less than what's actually on board. If the dipstick says I have 10, I add 15 and calculate for 15, but what I actually have on board is more like 16-17.

I dip sticked the tank, and cross-checked it with what the fuel gauge read. (And these have proven to be more accurate than the trainers I flew. But I also have a fuel totalizer on board, and check the levels after every flight, and ...) 

[chrixxer]

16 minutes ago, Yetti said:

As far as the high fuel pressure, it has been said the new pumps need a bit of break in and then the pressure comes down a bit.

Hmm, hadn't heard that before. That, plus the issues the A&P identified (air in the lines, gunk in the gauge) ... 

[Shadrach]

On 8/1/2018 at 3:58 PM, bradp said:

@chrixxer read about the very experienced Mooney pilot who went through a living room at W78 one or two summers ago by mistaking runway available during an intersection departure.  First flight after major maintenance is just about as prone to failure as if you just slapped a newly overhauled engine. If I were flying after an invasive engine surgery I would expect the engine to fail at the worst possible time and plan for more than the availability of the ocean ahead. Flight of Hawkeyes inbound?  What’s the rush ... you wait or they wait.  Use your PIC authority in more than emergency situations. That’s risk mitigation. 

In fact you did likely have some sort of MIF with your alternator....

No Mooney accidents listed at W78. Are you referring to the C model that crashed at W75 November of last year? That gentleman was not an experienced Mooney pilot in the least. He was heavily credentialed and I am sure a great stick but under 30hrs in type. 

[bradp]

Yup W75. Wrong on both.  

[N201MKTurbo]

I won't fly if there isn't fuel directly below the gas cap in both tanks. In both of my planes (F and J) there is 1/2 hour of fuel when the edge of the fuel is at the gas cap. Less than that and I cannot tell how much fuel is in the tank and I have to assume it is empty.

[MIm20c]

On 8/2/2018 at 4:35 PM, chrixxer said:

I'll note my boss runs 100LL in his '69 Charger.

It works great in my Honda 125 shifter kart too and is a good bit cheaper than race fuel. 

[chrixxer]

2 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I won't fly if there isn't fuel directly below the gas cap in both tanks. In both of my planes (F and J) there is 1/2 hour of fuel when the edge of the fuel is at the gas cap. Less than that and I cannot tell how much fuel is in the tank and I have to assume it is empty.

No dip stick?

[N201MKTurbo]

8 minutes ago, chrixxer said:

No dip stick?

What for? if you had a dip stick the very end would just get damp. 

I can look in my tanks and tell you within 15 minutes how much fuel is in it.

[b65cuda]

7 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

What for? if you had a dip stick the very end would just get damp. 

I can look in my tanks and tell you within 15 minutes how much fuel is in it.

If I had to stare at my tank for 15 minutes to figure out how much fuel I had, I'd probably buy the dip stick :)

[N201MKTurbo]

3 minutes ago, b65cuda said:

If I had to stare at my tank for 15 minutes to figure out how much fuel I had, I'd probably buy the dip stick

Some times it takes me 1/2 hour to figure it out!

[Shadrach]

6 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I won't fly if there isn't fuel directly below the gas cap in both tanks. In both of my planes (F and J) there is 1/2 hour of fuel when the edge of the fuel is at the gas cap. Less than that and I cannot tell how much fuel is in the tank and I have to assume it is empty.

 It seems that edge of the fuel at the gas cap is closer to 10gal usable for my F but it’s good to be conservative. 

[Guitarmaster]

Is there any place that sells the sight gauges that are installed in the inspection plate?  I would love to install those in my plane.

[Jerry Pressley]

Matt.  I have a couple sets either installed already on the inspection panels or ones to install on your current panels. 

[HRM]

On 8/3/2018 at 6:53 PM, N201MKTurbo said:

What for? if you had a dip stick the very end would just get damp. 

Not this one:

I calibrated mine and added an overlay scale and easily get within 0.5 gallon or accuracy.

[N201MKTurbo]

Just now, HRM said:

Not this one:

I calibrated mine and added an overlay scale and easily get within 0.5 gallon or accuracy.

Huh?

I was talking about how much fuel is in the tank when the fuel is just wetting the bottom of the tank under the fuel cap. There is no dip stick that would give you any more information then just looking in the tank.

[Marauder]

29 minutes ago, HRM said:

Not this one:

I calibrated mine and added an overlay scale and easily get within 0.5 gallon or accuracy.

 

24 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Huh?

I was talking about how much fuel is in the tank when the fuel is just wetting the bottom of the tank under the fuel cap. There is no dip stick that would give you any more information then just looking in the tank.

Or you could install CiES senders and know for sure.

[N201MKTurbo]

22 minutes ago, Marauder said:

 

Or you could install CiES senders and know for sure.

I got a set of used mechanical gauges a few years ago. I installed one in the right tank last year when I was doing some tank repair. It is dead nuts on! Much easier then a dip stick!

My left tank refuses to leak, so I guess I will have to just pull the cover to install the other gauge before my sealant expires.

[HRM]

2 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I was talking about how much fuel is in the tank when the fuel is just wetting the bottom of the tank under the fuel cap.

Mea culpa.

[HRM]

Did @chrixxer ever get his Mooney off the airbase?

[chrixxer]

19 minutes ago, HRM said:

Did @chrixxer ever get his Mooney off the airbase?

Yes, it’s mostly at CMA now (the mags are in Van Nuys getting IRAN’d). With all the attention it’s getting, and all the work done under sub-optimum conditions on the ramp at NBVC, I’m having an early annual done, too. Will feel much more comfortable with a tip-to-tail inspection.

[Shadrach]

On 8/5/2018 at 10:51 AM, Guitarmaster said:

Is there any place that sells the sight gauges that are installed in the inspection plate?  I would love to install those in my plane.

Pretty sure Don Maxwell sells the mechanical sending units with the factory installation drawings for a very reasonable price. install is easy for a person with the proper tools. Only requires a A&P log book entry to install.