Mooney Hanger Elves at Hagerstown save Christmas

[Stephen Skinner]

A BIG thanks to Shadrach (Ross) and gsxrpilot (Paul) for his MooneySpace Map.

My family and I were on route from Peterborough Ontario Canada to warmer climate when we had a charging system failure showing 11.6 Volts.

We landed at Hagerstown at sunset and called it a day. Early Christmas Eve morning I remembered gsxrpilot created MooneySpace Map.

I used the MooneySpace Map and I was able to look up Shadrach who is based in Hagerstown.

I sent Shadrach a PM and he came down to the airport the same time I arrived.

We removed the original voltage regulator and cleaned the contacts. Ideally, I would have replaced it but all the service shops were closed for the holidays.

We then noticed the SCAT air hose going to the back of the alternator was touching the terminals on the alternator. It is very possible the wire in the hose was making contact with the terminals and grounding it out. We put some RTV insulating pipe around the hose and started her up.

To our delight we got 13.8 Volts.  

We had a great flight on flight on Christmas day to Kissimmee Florida with time to enjoy the sunny afternoon.

I can't thank Ross Shadrach enough for spending Christmas Eve day out in the cold and away from his family getting us up flying again.

And, Paul gsxrpilot for creating the MooneySpace Map and allowing us to be part of it.

You guys saved Christmas and I am very grateful.

Stephen Skinner

 

 

[M20F-1968]

Glad to hear all went well.  Stories like this are a tribute to Mooney Owners on Mooneyspace and validate the reasons we have this website.  

It is also a testimonial to what I think sets us apart from other owners groups.  I think Mooney owners are more in touch with the technical aspects of their 

machines, as it should be to facilitate safe flying.

It is nice to be part of this community and I am sure others feel the same.

John Breda

[rbridges]

Landing near Ross was a stroke of luck. He has been beyond helpful with a few issues I've had on my Mooney. Glad your trip was uneventful otherwise.

[Shadrach]

Glad everything worked out for you Stephen! This demonstrates one of the short comings of our birds. A missing or worn terminal cover on the alternator field wire is not visible without removing the cheek panels. Preflight couldn’t have caught it without decowling. 

[Captnmack]

I am a member of the BMW MOA, 2 wheel owners, and we have an “anonymous book” that list people who are will to help in cases like the one described. I have not seen the “map” so perhaps it should be re-posted or have a prominent link...

 

Mack

[Mcstealth]

1 hour ago, Captnmack said:

I am a member of the BMW MOA, 2 wheel owners, and we have an “anonymous book” that list people who are will to help in cases like the one described. I have not seen the “map” so perhaps it should be re-posted or have a prominent link...

 

Mack

I agree. I need to locate it on our site myself. 

[carusoam]

Great pirep, Stephen...

It is great to be a part of the MS community.

You never know when you are going to get some needed help, or even give some needed help...

 

 

Let’s see...

what would happen if I were to type Member map into the search function...

Thanks go out to Paul and Ross for doing what you do!

Best regards,

-a-

[DonMuncy]

And how do we access it. I put my information in, and I'm sure Paul told us at one point, but I seem to have forgotten.

[Guest]

10 hours ago, Stephen Skinner said:

A BIG thanks to Shadrach (Ross) and gsxrpilot (Paul) for his MooneySpace Map.

My family and I were on route from Peterborough Ontario Canada to warmer climate when we had a charging system failure showing 11.6 Volts.

We landed at Hagerstown at sunset and called it a day. Early Christmas Eve morning I remembered gsxrpilot created MooneySpace Map.

I used the MooneySpace Map and I was able to look up Shadrach who is based in Hagerstown.

I sent Shadrach a PM and he came down to the airport the same time I arrived.

We removed the original voltage regulator and cleaned the contacts. Ideally, I would have replaced it but all the service shops were closed for the holidays.

We then noticed the SCAT air hose going to the back of the alternator was touching the terminals on the alternator. It is very possible the wire in the hose was making contact with the terminals and grounding it out. We put some RTV insulating pipe around the hose and started her up.

To our delight we got 13.8 Volts.  

We had a great flight on flight on Christmas day to Kissimmee Florida with time to enjoy the sunny afternoon.

I can't thank Ross Shadrach enough for spending Christmas Eve day out in the cold and away from his family getting us up flying again.

And, Paul gsxrpilot for creating the MooneySpace Map and allowing us to be part of it.

You guys saved Christmas and I am very grateful.

Stephen Skinner

 

 

If you want to do customs at CYKF on your way home, I’ll take a quick look over your plane and see if there are any other “gotchas”

Clarence

[DualRatedFlyer]

9 hours ago, Captnmack said:

I am a member of the BMW MOA, 2 wheel owners, and we have an “anonymous book” that list people who are will to help in cases like the one described. I have not seen the “map” so perhaps it should be re-posted or have a prominent link...

 

Mack

What a great idea. I am on the lower end of the maintenance savvy folk, but I am always more than willing to provide a place to sleep and eat for those that may need an overnight at KLNS should they find themselves in a sticky situation in my neck of the woods. 

[Mcstealth]

9 hours ago, carusoam said:

Great pirep, Stephen...

It is great to be a part of the MS community.

You never know when you are going to get some needed help, or even give some needed help...

 

 

Let’s see...

what would happen if I were to type Member map into the search function...

Thanks go out to Paul and Ross for doing what you do!

Best regards,

-a-

Search? SEARCH!!!!! How dare you........

 

[gsxrpilot]

Thanks for the kind words @Stephen Skinner. I was away from the computer all day... flying the Mooney and climbing at Joshua Tree... 

When I got back online I had almost a dozen requests for the map. I was wondering what tipped that off.

Glad it helped you out.

[gsxrpilot]

12 hours ago, Captnmack said:

I am a member of the BMW MOA, 2 wheel owners, and we have an “anonymous book” that list people who are will to help in cases like the one described. I have not seen the “map” so perhaps it should be re-posted or have a prominent link...

 

Mack

Just a note about the map. Not everyone on this forum is willing to disclose their location. When I put the map together I was concerned about only being able to list members who have disclosed their location. My solution has been to only provide the map to members who are listed on the map. To be listed, one has to list their location, either a City or an Airport, in the location field of their profile. This is why the map is not posted publicly. I guess another way to put it is that to have access to the map, one has to participate and be listed on the map.

I try my best to keep up with requests and populate the map as quickly as I can. If I'd spend a weekend and learn python I'm sure I could automate the process, but for now it's somewhat labor intensive and therefore sometimes takes awhile to get updated.

But I must say, I'm very glad people are getting use from it.