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Honestly, how bad is this?


WaynePierce

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New to this Mooney, new to sole ownership, new to hangar life, I dinged the elevator this evening after a pretty good flight with the wife. While backing the plane in to the hangar, just about the time the nose wheel was going over the track, my head down and pushing I hit an unmovable I beam. Pictures attached. How do I get this repaired, is it safe to fly in this condition? It was bent at almost a 90 angle. the tear goes back maybe a half inch.

Thank you for any help and or guidance you can give me. I feel pretty stupid and sick all at the same time.

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@WaynePierceWelcome to the hangar rash club - one crappy organization for sure.  I did something very similar right after moving into a new hangar that gave me slightly different  visual landmarks while pushing it back.

I think most people regard bits of rash on the trailing edge as mostly as cosmetic issue. My ding did not alter my flight characteristics at all that I could tell. In theory it might alter flutter margin past Vne.  It's controversial how bad it has to be to be truly unairworthy. 

However yours is cracked - mine was not. I suspect that might mean it really must be fixed, although I'm sure the experts will weigh in.  

My rash visually looked worse than yours.  Reskinning and replacing are the only options really, even for small dings. Drilling out the adjacent rivets before rebending it can help but it will never be right.  The metal stretches so there is no way to get it perfectly flat again.  Replacing is usually most practical.  My replacement by an MSC that had a used one in stock was about 3.5 amu with repainting and install.  

Don't forget that your insurance company can cover this.  

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Bad.

 

Damage to a control surface with even minor bending or cracks makes the aircraft not airworthy. The manufacturers’ want nothing to do with aberrations that might cause flutter or another strange flight characteristics and every time I have suggested a patch or repair to Mooney or others is was denied. Liability and safety listed as the reasons.

 

The faa punts this back to the manufacturer. If the manufacturer approves a repair, they will send you a letter stating so and what steps you need to follow. Failing that, you have to buy: a whole new assembly, a good condition used assembly; or new skin sections (which are not cheap).

 

Also, if you paint a old usable part, (or use new skin sections) you are required to re-balance the entire control surface following the manufacturer instructions for such.

 

Sorry for the bad news.

 

Please make sure you triple check any advice you get to the contrary.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

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Bad.  

Damage to a control surface with even minor bending or cracks makes the aircraft not airworthy. The manufacturers’ want nothing to do with aberrations that might cause flutter or another strange flight characteristics and every time I have suggested a patch or repair to Mooney or others is was denied. Liability and safety listed as the reasons.

 

The faa punts this back to the manufacturer. If the manufacturer approves a repair, they will send you a letter stating so and what steps you need to follow. Failing that, you have to buy: a whole new assembly, a good condition used assembly; or new skin sections (which are not cheap).

 

Also, if you paint a old usable part, (or use new skin sections) you are required to re-balance the entire control surface following the manufacturer instructions for such.

 

Sorry for the bad news.

 

Please make sure you triple check any advice you get to the contrary.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

I’d send pics to LASAR or Don Maxwell in Longview TX. They can give you solid advice as to the next steps.

 

During the pre buy on my plane Don noticed substantial issues with my flight controls after they were re-skinned by the seller after hail damage. He replaced both ailerons and flaps and repainted to match.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

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Sadly this is fairly common damage to all aircraft.  The crack means a repair is in order.  The maintenance manual does not have any guidance regarding flight control repair, yet under flight controls it says to balance the control after repairs.  Luckily a few years ago Monney started stamping these skins again.

A call to Williams Airmotive in Indiana may be in order.

Clarence

6639B815-81EF-448B-A0B6-2B911951D171.jpeg

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My nightmare.  My Mooney  barely fits in my hangar, and I'm so vertically challenged and diminutive that I can't see over the nose when pushing it.  Really sorry to hear.  Hope the airplane gets all better.

Edited by steingar
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Word of warning about Williams. They re-skin them but don’t guarantee them to be flat and true after it’s done. I went round and round on the phone with them about my M20J ailerons. It was around 2400$ each to re-skin them.  When I started asking their tolerance for twist and bow he wouldn’t answer. When I asked if it had 3/8” of bow or twist in it if that was passing he said how it comes out of the jig is how you get it. (They are built On a table at the factory). I  originally thought to ask because some pilot here had his ailerons re-skinned and it didn’t fly straight after. A total re-rig ate up all the savings. I bought two new ailerons from the factory. One was bowed and one was damaged, they took them back and remade them. 

Edited by jetdriven
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2 hours ago, jetdriven said:

Word of warning about Williams. They re-skin them but don’t guarantee them to be flat and true after it’s done. I went round and round on the phone with them about my M20J ailerons. It was around 2400$ each to re-skin them.  When I started asking their tolerance for twist and bow he wouldn’t answer. When I asked if it had 3/8” of bow or twist in it if that was passing he said how it comes out of the jig is how you get it. (They are built On a table at the factory). I  originally thought to ask because some pilot here had his ailerons re-skinned and it didn’t fly straight after. A total re-rig ate up all the savings. I bought two new ailerons from the factory. One was bowed and one was damaged, they took them back and remade them. 

Interesting to hear that about Williams, I thought they were quite good.  Most flight controls for Vans aircraft are also built on a flat table as well.

Clarence

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35 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

Interesting to hear that about Williams, I thought they were quite good.  Most flight controls for Vans aircraft are also built on a flat table as well.

Clarence

OT, but Van's uses skins that are pre-punched with under-sized holes on a computer-controlled machine, so when you cleco the skins together, everything lines up without a jig.  Then the holes are drilled to full size and riveted.  Technically, you don't even need a flat surface to make them.

That being said, Van's technique for riveting the control surface trailing edges is...interesting.   They sandwich a piece of aluminum angle between the skins at the trailing edge.  you then drill through the angle, remove it and countersink both sides.  You dimple both skins, and then you back-rivet flush head rivets.   You flatten the shop head until it is flush with the other dimpled skin, which doesn't quite fill the dimple.

I'm pretty sure no regular aircraft manufacturer makes trailing edges this way.  Anybody know?  I imagine the Mooney elevators are harder to manufacture (with all the reinforcement bumps and ridges), but easier to assemble

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Send the elevator to DMAx or remove and send to Henry Weber in PA.  HW did my elevator skins after hail with factory ordered skins.  Took about 3 weeks from the factory because they had a batch of sheet metal that didn't pass QA and had to start over.  Elevator came out perfect, however.

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Send the elevator to DMAx or remove and send to Henry Weber in PA.  HW did my elevator skins after hail with factory ordered skins.  Took about 3 weeks from the factory because they had a batch of sheet metal that didn't pass QA and had to start over.  Elevator came out perfect, however.
I'd go this route, or look for a good salvage unit somewhere for $1000 or less.

Sent from my LG-US996 using Tapatalk

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After a day of beating my self up, reading this post and the vast amount of knowledge shown... I've called my insurance agent, sent him the pictures as well and now we are looking for someone to do the work or at least an estimate for what it will be. There are no Mooney specific, or specialty shops in the greater Memphis area.

Since my last plane was in a partnership all the maintenance was done by someone else and since it was on a tie-down there was no such thing as hangar rash... Oh the things you learn when you own your own plane...

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10 minutes ago, thinwing said:

Don't bother with a repair...order new elevator half from factory via closest MSC...in order to get ferry permit...might need to stop drill crack and temp patch...

I've just sent an email to Mooney to get their input...

 

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Spend the time to get the mooney to Longview for Don to repair. It's a fairly short flight and could be done with a ferry permit.  Don understands these types of repairs better than anyone.  You don't want him noticing the repair was not done correctly when he is ask to prebuy it when you sell it.  Take the time to make sure it's all done right.  Don pointed out several repairs on my past mooneys that no one else noticed. He is that good.

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