Brand new Bravo owner with Monroy fuel question

[LANCECASPER]

40 minutes ago, Danb said:

Lance good inquiry, I have a BravoGX without TkS but have LR tanks, my useful load is 1012, I’m sure the tks system isn’t 120 lbs. knuckles uw is suspect.

 

On the Bravo the TKS System holds 6.3 gallons @ 9.2 lbs/gallon which figures out to 58 lbs. The airframe additions and pumps and plumbing weigh 34 pounds, but full with fluid the system takes up 92 pounds up useful load for the Bravo.

[ilovecornfields]

On some FIKI aircraft the full fluid is part of the empty weight. My understanding is that it is not certified for flight into known icing unless the fluid is full. This is on the W&B of my plane (FIKI Ovation). Not sure if this is right or wrong, but that’s just how it is. I think it’s a good suggestion to go and look and see what was included in “previous empty weight.” Or weigh the plane.

[MIm20c]

If you decide to upgrade to the 345r it will combine the adsb traffic with your skywatch.  Very nice bravo by the way!

[carusoam]

Knuckle,

It may be a great opportunity to give Mr. Kendrick a call...

Error or not, Brian can go through your WnB details with you...

Brian is  a well regarded Mooney mechanic with many years of experience...

Do you need a phone number for Brian, or you have that somewhere?

Nice plane, well equipped, and a nice history of maintenance.  All from one picture, and a log entry... and a few assumptions...

Best regards,

-a-

[StevenL757]

Good call.  His website is 

http://www.mooneysupport.com/

[philiplane]

I just weighed an early Bravo, original paint & interior, Monroy tanks,  all original King equipped, but with GNS480, GMX200 display, no TKS, a lightweight starter, and the useful load is 1002 lbs. These planes are heavier than you think and most of the changes over the years with lighter avionics don't help a lot. I tell people before I put in on the scales, to expect that the old girl has put on some weight over the years.

[Guest]

It may also have been weighed with full fuel then had the weight removed by arithmetic which can be inaccurate.  It’s worth looking at how it was weighed.

Clarence

[kortopates]

It may also have been weighed with full fuel then had the weight removed by arithmetic which can be inaccurate.  It’s worth looking at how it was weighed.
Clarence

Agreed, they almost always gain weight by being re-weighed. If that was the case, it would be advantageous from a useful load basis to go back and stick to arithmetic updates only. Of course re-weighing is always an option - probably not nearly as helpful though.


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[Knuckledragger00]

Lance,

That is the first thing I in fact did (great minds), and he has two WAAS units left.  The price seems insanely high ($25,900) considering I upgraded a 430 to WAAS for what I think was about a grand.

I am embarrassed to admit this but with the Monroy fuel tanks my total fuel is actually only 118 gallons.  Still a decent amount especially when you consider a UL of 888..

I have included the prior page from the W & B:

 

[nfonville]

I thought mine was pretty low at 950UL. I was thinking about having it weighed at annual (with Brian) this next week. I don't think it has been weighed since new with updates through the years.

[Knuckledragger00]

Steve and Car,

it is amazing how much I have learned just from reading on MS!

I  will reach out to Kendrick!  

I am also truly amazed by how many more flying days I will have with the FIKI and turbo from my last Mooney.  This really makes the plane so much more usefull!! 

Just need to overcome my terror of the scary looking computer screens!

2 hours ago, StevenL757 said:

Good call.  His website is 

http://www.mooneysupport.com/

 

Edited October 26, 2018 by Knuckledragger00
Spelling error

[smccray]

There are rumors that Mooney, like the rest of the OEMs, has the paperwork to offer NXI upgrades to G1000 aircraft. It might be worth a call to Mooney expressing some interest in the NXI.

Your plane is probably the only bravo with the GFC 700 autopilot, and the bet is the autopilot would be required for the upgrade.  It’s speculation on my part, but if the NXI is coming it would be good to get your Bravo included in the paperwork.

[Knuckledragger00]

1 hour ago, M20Doc said:

It may also have been weighed with full fuel then had the weight removed by arithmetic which can be inaccurate.  It’s worth looking at how it was weighed.

Clarence

Clarence,

Just checked and it was weighed with only unusable fuel (3 gal) per side.

[LANCECASPER]

1 hour ago, Knuckledragger00 said:

Lance,

That is the first thing I in fact did (great minds), and he has two WAAS units left.  The price seems insanely high ($25,900) considering I upgraded a 430 to WAAS for what I think was about a grand.

I am embarrassed to admit this but with the Monroy fuel tanks my total fuel is actually only 118 gallons.  Still a decent amount especially when you consider a UL of 888..

I have included the prior page from the W & B:

 

 

That's great!

The book may say your tanks only hold 118, but if you are patient when you are filling the tanks you should be able to squeeze in close to 130 for the times you want it.

[LANCECASPER]

4 hours ago, StevenL757 said:

Good call.  His website is 

http://www.mooneysupport.com/

Brian's name is all over the logs for this airplane, many times from when he worked at the Mooney Factory Service Center. Also he did the 2016 annual on it.

[StevenL757]

5 hours ago, LANCECASPER said:

Brian's name is all over the logs for this airplane, many times from when he worked at the Mooney Factory Service Center. Also he did the 2016 annual on it.

I recall this airplane now.  Unless I’m thinking of another Bravo on which Brian worked recently, I believe he did the tank expansion on this one.  Another good sign.

[StevenL757]

7 hours ago, Knuckledragger00 said:

Steve and Car,

it is amazing how much I have learned just from reading on MS!

I  will reach out to Kendrick!  

I am also truly amazed by how many more flying days I will have with the FIKI and turbo from my last Mooney.  This really makes the plane so much more usefull!! 

Just need to overcome my terror of the scary looking computer screens!

 

Definitely make that call to him.  Brian is the reason I fly from Long Island to Texas for my annuals and spend the week working on it side by side with him.  He’s an excellent teacher and pilot.  He will give you plenty of guidance in the use of the GFC700 and get you comfortable with it, as well as give you pointers and things to do so you can help maintain the airplane to those standards in between annuals.

Steve

[LANCECASPER]

2 hours ago, StevenL757 said:

I recall this airplane now.  Unless I’m thinking of another Bravo on which Brian worked recently, I believe he did the tank expansion on this one.  Another good sign.

That's the one - the logs show he did the Monroy Long Range Tanks.

[Marcopolo]

12 hours ago, Knuckledragger00 said:

I am also truly amazed by how many more flying days I will have with the FIKI and turbo from my last Mooney.  This really makes the plane so much more usefull!! 

  The W&B page you attached in the photo says TKS ice protection, not sure that makes the plane FIKI.  What else needs to be in place to confirm FIKI ability?  Two fluid pumps, windshield spray, vertical stabilizer weep panel, prop slingers or heat?

 

Just curious,

Ron

[Knuckledragger00]

Mar,

It needs a backup pump on the TKS to be FIKI.  

[Knuckledragger00]

SM,

Called Garmin on the possibility of an NXI upgrade and they said there won’t be any option to do that.  Only available on new Mooneys:(

[smccray]

1 hour ago, Knuckledragger00 said:

SM,

Called Garmin on the possibility of an NXI upgrade and they said there won’t be any option to do that.  Only available on new Mooneys:(

Rumor has been that it will be an option, but it will be from the OEMs not through Garmin. The same way the King Air can be upgraded, legacy aircraft could be upgraded from a technical perspective. Time will tell if they decide to offer it.  Garmin has a history of saying No and then changing their tune later. 

If nothing else, wait for Mooney to get into financial trouble next time and they start shaking trees for cash. 

[LANCECASPER]

1 hour ago, Knuckledragger00 said:

SM,

Called Garmin on the possibility of an NXI upgrade and they said there won’t be any option to do that.  Only available on new Mooneys:(

That's on Mooney then - it means Mooney doesn't want legacy G1000 airplanes with NXi upgrades to compete with new airplane sales.

[PaulM]

18 minutes ago, LANCECASPER said:

That's on Mooney then - it means Mooney doesn't want legacy G1000 airplanes with NXi upgrades to compete with new airplane sales.

I suspect it is a "we don't have it now, and won't announce anything until it is actually there"   Might also depend on what the competitors do.  .. TBM has issued the update,   So we will see what Cirrus will do.    Then we need to tell marketing no I won't buy an Ultra since you don't support your avionics like Cirrus is they only way to have leverage.   

We had some discussions with Mooney reps at the Summit, and I didn't get a feel that they had a real idea that they weren't supporting the G1000 and that there were still open issues with GTX345's and the ADSB weather, FS210, things like that. 

either way, the OP will want to get the WAAS update since the GIA63W's would be a requirement for any future update. 

[carusoam]

Marco,

One of the small details you can see from the outside on a fiki plane...

The ice light pointing towards the leading edge...

Also look for the heated stall vane... not sure if this detail is very obvious...

Best regards,

-a-