Jump to content

I flew with FlightChops in Vegas.


SantosDumont

Recommended Posts

Great video and a really sweet F model.  Please don't take this personally but I have to say that I am baffled by your gear retraction technique. Your very beautiful bird does not appear to have modified gear doors so something must be out of rig.  My 80 year old father has a much easier time raising the gear in our 67 F than you appeared to in the video.   What's up with the twist to unlock?  That is not normal.  The F model does have bungees to assist in gear retraction.  Nosing the plane over is not a technique for raising gear,  it's a symptom of something else. You definitely do not need to wait for 80kias to raise the gear.

Your bird has a lot of unique features and mods. Are you departing with the prop vernier backed out (reduced RPM) or is the mounted further out than the rest?  It's a great video but gives folks an inaccurate view of manual gear Mooneys.

Edited by Shadrach
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, SantosDumont said:

I’ve since lubed the bar so I don’t have to twist it anymore. I’ve become used to 80kts, any faster and it’s impossible to shove the bar down the last inch.  One day I’ll have to take the plane up to LASAR and have them check it out. 

I was suggesting less not more! positive rate, gear up.  I think there's more going on than a lube issue.  I've never lubed the J bar end nor is it called for in the MM. Have your preloads checked, manual gear retraction should require little force below 100mph.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm in agreement with @Shadrach. When I flew a manual gear Mooney, I'd never have my hand on the Johnson bar for more than about 5 or 6 seconds and there was no effort exerted at all. Just a quick easy motion and the gear is stowed. But I'd never wait that long either. Once the weight is off the wheels and I had positive rate, gear is immediately put away. There should be no effort at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, aidanf said:

About the 7 minute mark it was mentioned that this F was special because it had a Continental io-360 - this is the first time I have ever heard of this - could you provide more info?

ModWorks STC. Unfortunately ModWorks is no longer around. That’s about all I know about it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Shadrach said:

Great video and a really sweet F model.  Please don't take this personally but I have to say that I am baffled by your gear retraction technique. Your very beautiful bird does not appear to have modified gear doors so something must be out of rig.  My 80 year old father has a much easier time raising the gear in our 67 F than you appeared to in the video.   What's up with the twist to unlock?  That is not normal.  The F model does have bungees to assist in gear retraction.  Nosing the plane over is not a technique for raising gear,  it's a symptom of something else. You definitely do not need to wait for 80kias to raise the gear.

Your bird has a lot of unique features and mods. Are you departing with the prop vernier backed out (reduced RPM) or is the mounted further out than the rest?  It's a great video but gives folks an inaccurate view of manual gear Mooneys.

My c model has the inner gear doors, and if I don't stow the gear almost immediately after takeoff, I have a hard time locking the bar.  The guy who sold me the plane said it added a little more resistance and to remove them if I had an issue with them. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, rbridges said:

My c model has the inner gear doors, and if I don't stow the gear almost immediately after takeoff, I have a hard time locking the bar.  The guy who sold me the plane said it added a little more resistance and to remove them if I had an issue with them. 

I’m aware that the inner doors increase retraction effort. His bird does not appear to be so equipped, which is good IMHO as I that think they’re over rated in terms of drag reduction and are susceptible to damage if a tire fails. N221HP really is a beautiful bird inside and out! However, My two cents is that there is an issue beyond technique at play. Even if it had inner gear doors, unlocking the J-bar from the socket would not be that hard. Could be as simple as carpeting or paneling causing an issue, but it could be a preload issue as well. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've mentioned on here before, I have no issues raising the gear in my 67F at any speed.  I don't know it it's rigged "just right" or what, but I don't do the dip or anything special.  My standard practice is to put the gear up right as I leave the runway, but the times that I waited, no problem up to 90 - 95 mph.  I've never tried it above that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, Shadrach said:

I’m aware that the inner doors increase retraction effort. His bird does not appear to be so equipped, which is good IMHO as I that think they’re over rated in terms of drag reduction and are susceptible to damage if a tire fails. N221HP really is a beautiful bird inside and out! However, My two cents is that there is an issue beyond technique at play. Even if it had inner gear doors, unlocking the J-bar from the socket would not be that hard. Could be as simple as carpeting or paneling causing an issue, but it could be a preload issue as well. 

You're talking about unlocking the bar. I didn't catch that part. I also agree about the tire damage. I had a flat and it bound up against door. Would have damaged it if it were in motion at the time.

 

Screenshot_20180831-100831.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, rbridges said:

You're talking about unlocking the bar. I didn't catch that part. I also agree about the tire damage. I had a flat and it bound up against door. Would have damaged it if it were in motion at the time.

 

Screenshot_20180831-100831.png

Didn't catch that angle.  I see now that indeed it does have the inner doors. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, skydvrboy said:

I've mentioned on here before, I have no issues raising the gear in my 67F at any speed.  I don't know it it's rigged "just right" or what, but I don't do the dip or anything special.  My standard practice is to put the gear up right as I leave the runway, but the times that I waited, no problem up to 90 - 95 mph.  I've never tried it above that.

The updated two piece gear door makes retraction harder as speed builds. If your gear is as it was delivered in 67, it should be easy.  That being said, I think you'd find it challenging at high speed.  When I was a newby, I once retracted the gear without fully locking the bar in place.  The gear dropped in cruise at 150Kts.  When I looked over and saw the bar bobbing back and forth in the center of it's arc my first instinct was to push the bar forward and lock the gear down.  That proved to require a lot of force.  When I realized that I had just locked the gear down, I retracted it.  That also proved to require a lot of force. Speed matters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, Shadrach said:

Speed matters.

I fully agree, but I doubt that many who complain about the gear being difficult are waiting until cruise to put the gear up.  The inner gear doors probably also make a big difference, but again, how many who are complaining have those?  My point was that anytime "reasonable" time during initial climb out, it should be easy to put the gear away unless something has changed from the factory.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/30/2018 at 9:20 PM, SantosDumont said:

If anyone watches Flight Chops on YouTube, I flew with him a couple months ago.  He just dropped the video featuring N221HP.

 

Very cool! 

That is a great looking Mooney. 

My only criticism is that CO spot detector. I didn’t see a Guardian or Sensorcon in there. :)

Cheers,

Dan 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It’s is hard to read this thread after the initial post. I might be wrong, but I’m guessing that the OP posted to share something cool and unique.

That is a darn good looking plane. Inside and out. I’m a bit jealous of the plane and the flight. Well done!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Mooney-Mark said:

Very cool vid and great looking F.......nice panel and great paint job!  The speed breaks are such a cool feature as well!  Did you say that you had a 6-cylinder, 200 HP Continental in your aircraft?

Yeah ModWorks installed a TCM IO-360-ES in 1998.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.