An Absolutely Horrible Day!

[donkaye, MCFI]

On 10/1/2018 at 3:32 PM, Mooneymite said:

From the description of how the accident took place, it would appear that the nose gear progressively retracted rather than collapsed, so any shock to the crank shaft was mitigated.

It collapsed.

[donkaye, MCFI]

35 minutes ago, Bravoman said:

Have you been given the name of a carrier and the number of their claims dept.(which is always set forth in the policy)  or is the shop telling you they have contacted their insurer and are putting them in touch with you? If it is the latter I would insist on the former and get the name and number of their broker as well so that you have a backup to call to get the fires lit in multiple places. Also get the policy number for easy reference. You should have heard from an adjuster by now.

None of the above.  I'll get it tomorrow.

[Niko182]

2 hours ago, donkaye said:

I looked on the Hartzell site and couldn't find a Bravo Prop.  Has one been approved, yet?

its being STCed right now. I believe that they have a bravo being used right now for testing. It's not my money, but if it were
me theres no reason to go back to the old mccauly. it's a prop from the 70s being used on a plane thats from the 90s, and
has practically every single upgrade on it that can be thought of, except the prop. both the MT and the hartzell will do everything
better than the hartzell in every aspect. They're both lighter, quieter, faster cruise, better climb, shorter takeoff, and way smoother.
I believe the MT is 74 inches, and the Hartzell is 76. lets not forget that either of these props looks way cooler than the mccauly,
but thats just my opinion. From what I heard the MT is like a speed brake on the nose when you pull the power, which if used correctly
is another advantage.

[mike_elliott]

8 hours ago, donkaye said:

I looked on the Hartzell site and couldn't find a Bravo Prop.  Has one been approved, yet?

Call Danny Glaser at Hartzel, the senior integration engineer (937) 778-4231

 

[Lance Link]

Seven days is way too long for no contact.  I'd pursue the liability claim with an attorney rather than go through your first party carrier.  The attorney may not have to do much.  This approach may get the matter resolved most smoothly and quickly for you at what will probably be very little cost, relatively speaking.  Worth the grief it will save in my opinion.

[donkaye, MCFI]

Finally, I was given the contact information of the adjustor.  I contacted him, and spent quite a while discussing the situation and what I expected.  I then spent the afternoon putting together a spreadsheet of what I wanted and assembling the documentation to support it.  I emailed it to him.  He responded back fairly quickly.  He was very nice.  He promised to keep me involved in the process.  Now it's a waiting game for estimates of tear down and prop costs.  Luckily, I'm told all the landing gear parts are used on the Acclaim and Ovation, so there shouldn't be a problem getting those parts.  Since the plane is down, I wonder if the engine could be immediately sent back to Lycoming, so I don't have to worry about dealing with the core charge.  I'll check tomorrow.

[thinwing]

How many hours on the engine Don?

[donkaye, MCFI]

1 hour ago, thinwing said:

How many hours on the engine Don?

1,600.03

[jetdriven]

4 hours ago, donkaye said:

Finally, I was given the contact information of the adjustor.  I contacted him, and spent quite a while discussing the situation and what I expected.  I then spent the afternoon putting together a spreadsheet of what I wanted and assembling the documentation to support it.  I emailed it to him.  He responded back fairly quickly.  He was very nice.  He promised to keep me involved in the process.  Now it's a waiting game for estimates of tear down and prop costs.  Luckily, I'm told all the landing gear parts are used on the Acclaim and Ovation, so there shouldn't be a problem getting those parts.  Since the plane is down, I wonder if the engine could be immediately sent back to Lycoming, so I don't have to worry about dealing with the core charge.  I'll check tomorrow.

I wouldnt worry about that.  You write them a check for 20 grand and if they take the core, they dont cash it. If its complete and operable you shouldnt have any trouble with them accepting it.

[alextstone]

Welcome to my life.  And yeah, getting the insurance company to pay the claim on mine was like pulling teeth. I hope they can make your airplane all better, Don.  I always dread annuals.

Hey now, I'm I dentist so pulling teeth is no big deal

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[RobertGary1]

You have a significant amount of time to send the core in. I want to say 6 months. I installed the new engine and drug my feet sending the old back to Lycoming. 

-Robert 

[FoxMike]

Don,

I looked into a Hartzell prop and found they did not have a product for the Bravo.  One of their reps at OSH suggested they might design one for the Bravo but they would need me to let them use my airplane for 6 mos.  Mc Cauley had a design for an all composite prop (very light weight).  I followed that for a while and watched it die a slow death.  So the MT or original McCauley are the only games on the planet for the Bravo.  After having the MT for 9 months or so I would not go back to the Mc Cauley.

[donkaye, MCFI]

1 hour ago, FoxMike said:

Don,

I looked into a Hartzell prop and found they did not have a product for the Bravo.  One of their reps at OSH suggested they might design one for the Bravo but they would need me to let them use my airplane for 6 mos.  Mc Cauley had a design for an all composite prop (very light weight).  I followed that for a while and watched it die a slow death.  So the MT or original McCauley are the only games on the planet for the Bravo.  After having the MT for 9 months or so I would not go back to the Mc Cauley.

Thank you.  I'm looking into the the MT.  It's a 4 blade.  Apparently the differential over a new McCauley is not that great.

[Yetti]

More blades is always cooler.  

[alextstone]

9 minutes ago, donkaye said:

Thank you.  I'm looking into the the MT.  It's a 4 blade.  Apparently the differential over a new McCauley is not that great.

Don, when you refer to differential, are you meaning performance or price or both?

 

Alex

 

[donkaye, MCFI]

1 hour ago, alextstone said:

Don, when you refer to differential, are you meaning performance or price or both?

 

Alex

 

Price.

[Niko182]

3 minutes ago, donkaye said:

Price.

Also a pretty significant delta in performance. Shorter takeoff. Smoother operations. A knot or 2 increase in airspeed in the na levels and a couple knots faster at cruise in the flight levels. Better climb. Lighter.

[fantom]

Don....just read the entire thread, and so sorry for your aggravation. Snuff happens, and this stuff stinks.

Hoping the insurance adjuster takes care of you and your baby. Good luck, my friend. 

A commercial flight to Longview should be a treat. 

 

[carusoam]

On 9/28/2018 at 10:26 AM, Txbyker said:

I wonder why Mooney issued the 2008 Service Instruction to use an A-Frame hoist up to the "L" models but not the long bodies. 

Russ

 

M20-114.pdf

Expect that the long Body engine mount has a jack point designed into it.  It isn’t readily obvious... just a hole that accepts a jack point... on the pilot side.

There is a decal on the outside of the cowl that simply says Jack Point...

It should say jack point is under cowl...

 

Best regards,

-a-

[steingar]

I just remember when I had my little snafu (and I didn't have the luxury of blaming on anyone but me ).  The adjuster was so bad I switched insurers.  He wanted the mechanic, then me, basically anyone but him to do his job.  Had I any money I probably would have hired a mouthpiece, the have their uses.  Truly sorry for your situation Don. Hope they make it right.

[thinwing]

Haven't heard anything about how it's going with repairs...curious ,did they find you a loaner aircraft Don?

[donkaye, MCFI]

On 10/4/2018 at 12:24 PM, FoxMike said:

Don,

I looked into a Hartzell prop and found they did not have a product for the Bravo.  One of their reps at OSH suggested they might design one for the Bravo but they would need me to let them use my airplane for 6 mos.  Mc Cauley had a design for an all composite prop (very light weight).  I followed that for a while and watched it die a slow death.  So the MT or original McCauley are the only games on the planet for the Bravo.  After having the MT for 9 months or so I would not go back to the Mc Cauley.

How long did it take to get the MT from placing the order till it came?  What did you use in the meantime?  Why did you even think about the MT in the first place?  Thanks.

[donkaye, MCFI]

5 hours ago, thinwing said:

Haven't heard anything about how it's going with repairs...curious ,did they find you a loaner aircraft Don?

Slowly, but until it gets close to having the engine shipped (December 4th it is supposed to be completed) I have been biding my time.  No loaner although I have been offered to use a couple of my student's airplanes if I need one.

Right now I am in San Antonio having just completed my first training of a student in the new Acclaim Ultra.  One nice airplane.  I needed to be at 15" to get near 90 knots on downwind (gear and approach flaps) in the pattern.  It just wants to go fast.

[M016576]

That’s a real bummer- not something one would expect from a MSC that’s so highly regarded.  

Looking at the bright side, though- at least you won’t have to worry about a new motor or prop for a while after all this is over.  In some ways, it’s kind of lucky- I guess it’s all a matter of perspective.  Glad no one is hurt, sad you’re out of an airplane for a while.

[FoxMike]

Don,

I ordered on Monday after OSH and the prop arrived in Deland in early December.  It took another week for MT Deland to get it assembled.  I flew down early January to have it installed.  My McCauley was serviceable.  I have since sold it.  What made me aware of the MT STC was a few of my friends owned them on other aircraft and raved about the smoothness.  I looked over the STC on the MT website and decided to give it a try.  So far no regrets.  If you decide to do it you will probably have to rent a prop for a while.  Maybe someone  starting an engine overhaul might want to rent you one for a while.  A prop shop might have one in stock you could use for the months it takes to get one from MT.  It probably will be worth the extra hassle.  If you come through Denver on your way home I will take you for a ride.  I will be in Caribbean from Nov. 7th til  the 19th.