Inner gear doors

[flyboy0681]

Both inner doors on our '83 J are in fairly bad shape. What's the downside to just removing them in terms of performance? Any other disadvantages?

[HRM]

I pulled mine following a rough landing. They sit against a wall in the hangar, not missed.

[gsxrpilot]

6 minutes ago, flyboy0681 said:

Both inner doors on our '83 J are in fairly bad shape. What's the downside to just removing them in terms of performance? Any other disadvantages?

Will a set off a 252 fit? I might have a set to sell.

[ArtVandelay]

Are your brakes on the outside?


Tom

[FLYFST]

If you remove them, then consider also removing the fairings on the lower wing behind them as the two just represent flat plates that increase drag when the front gear doors on their front are removed.  I had mine removed 8 years ago and I am pleased with the decision and results.

Hank

[flyboy0681]

3 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Are your brakes on the outside?


Tom

Don't recall, how does that change things?

[ArtVandelay]

Don't recall, how does that change things?

If exposed to the airstream, they will have a lot of drag.

Also, do you have hub caps installed, if not you should probably get them for same reason if removing the doors.

 

Tom

[Guest]

Don’t Mooney hub caps tuck up against the wing skin when the gear is retracted?

Clarence

[ArtVandelay]

Don’t Mooney hub caps tuck up against the wing skin when the gear is retracted?
Clarence

Not once you reverse the brakes, brakes would be tucked up against the wing skin, hub caps on the outside. Right?

Here is a thread with pictures:
https://mooneyspace.com/topic/172-stc-for-brake-caliper-reversal-on-m20e/page/2/



Tom

[flyboy0681]

Seems I can't get a consensus.

[201er]

I've got my old inner gear doors available. Not in the best of shape but not damaged either.

[ArtVandelay]

Seems I can't get a consensus.

They are fairly easy to remove, go fly, note speeds...land and remove gear doors, go fly again....post results.


Tom

[flyboy0681]

1 minute ago, ArtVandelay said:

They are fairly easy to remove, go fly, note speeds...land and remove gear doors, go fly again....post results.


Tom

If the gain by having them on is one knot, it will be difficult to determine.

I dug up an old video of a gear swing when the plane was on jacks. On one hand it looks like the bump created by the closed door would create a lot of drag. On the other hand, why would Mooney have put them there if it slowed the plane down, especially during the LoPresti years?

 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Not once you reverse the brakes, brakes would be tucked up against the wing skin, hub caps on the outside. Right?

Here is a thread with pictures:
https://mooneyspace.com/topic/172-stc-for-brake-caliper-reversal-on-m20e/page/2/



Tom

Brake caliper reversal has nothing to do the hub cap location.  With brake caliper rotation, the caliper moves from aft to forward side of the wheel.  The wheel orientation remains the same, axle nut and hub cap toward the centre of the plane.

Clarence

[ArtVandelay]

Brake caliper reversal has nothing to do the hub cap location.  With brake caliper rotation, the caliper moves from aft to forward side of the wheel.  The wheel orientation remains the same, axle nut and hub cap toward the centre of the plane.
Clarence

I’m confused, so why do it?


Tom

[jaylw314]

39 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said:

I’m confused, so why do it?


Tom

If you look at the photos in the thread above, you'll see when the wheels are retracted, the aft side of the main gear hangs down more than the front side.  So moving the caliper from the aft to the front side of the wheel will place them in a position more shielded from the air and, in theory, make less drag

[FloridaMan]

I pulled the hubcaps off of my rocket to make it easier to check tire pressure and refill tires. I don't see how hubcaps could make any difference when the gear is retracted. Doesn't the Encore have a 3rd gear door on each side to completely close off the gear? 

[Ricky_231]

On 3/31/2019 at 7:13 PM, gsxrpilot said:

Will a set off a 252 fit? I might have a set to sell.

I know it's a long shot but do you still have those doors lying around somewhere?

[HRM]

40 minutes ago, Ricky_231 said:

I know it's a long shot but do you still have those doors lying around somewhere?

I think I left them in my hangar at KBPT when I moved to 03NC.

I'll look around and see if they are here.

[Ricky_231]

1 minute ago, HRM said:

I think I left them in my hangar at KBPT when I moved to 03NC.

I'll look around and see if they are here.

awesome - thanks!

[HRM]

@Ricky_231 I checked, they are not here. It is a long shot, but you could call the FBO at KBPT (409-719-4950) and ask them if they could take a look in hangar 31 (public T-hangars). The county folks are just good Tejas people and most likely would take a look for you.

I know I didn't toss them and by now you are probably aware that they are made from unobtanium. 

[Ricky_231]

13 hours ago, HRM said:

@Ricky_231 I checked, they are not here. It is a long shot, but you could call the FBO at KBPT (409-719-4950) and ask them if they could take a look in hangar 31 (public T-hangars). The county folks are just good Tejas people and most likely would take a look for you.

I know I didn't toss them and by now you are probably aware that they are made from unobtanium. 

thanks for checking! I'll give them a call. Yeah, they're rare and somehow it takes a month to manufacture a new one - i guess it's mining the unobtanium that takes so long :-)

[gsxrpilot]

8 minutes ago, Ricky_231 said:

Yeah, they're rare and somehow it takes a month to manufacture a new one

When Mooney says it takes a month... start looking somewhere else. I'm pretty sure their run schedule only goes out three weeks. So when they say a month, it really means it's not on the schedule and might never be 

[Ricky_231]

1 hour ago, gsxrpilot said:

When Mooney says it takes a month... start looking somewhere else. I'm pretty sure their run schedule only goes out three weeks. So when they say a month, it really means it's not on the schedule and might never be 

I only found ONE on the entire interwebs, and it's cracked in two places - i'll probably take the other one out for the time being and lose a couple of knots while either I wait for a new one or find a used one somewhere.

[Ricky_231]

On 3/13/2021 at 10:00 AM, gsxrpilot said:

When Mooney says it takes a month... start looking somewhere else. I'm pretty sure their run schedule only goes out three weeks. So when they say a month, it really means it's not on the schedule and might never be 

Found one at Wentworth. Let's see.