I did a thing today.

[Pasturepilot]

7 minutes ago, Fly Boomer said:

Everything looks great!  I'm particularly interested in the placards.  Can you say more about how they are applied, and where you got them?

I used the website https://drytransferletters.com 

they’re a print shop in Los Angeles, and their turnaround time was pretty quick. 
 

I laid out my placards in Microsoft word, saved it as a PDF and uploaded it to their website order system. Here’s where it went wonky, and learn from my mistake. 
 

Because I wanted white text, I converted the text to white in the word processor, saved the PDF, and uploaded it. When they process the PDF, the file corrupted and the text turned into crazy characters. The good way to keep from getting a print of comic strip curse words in the mail, is to upload it with the text Black but attach a note telling them to print it as white.

 

applying it isn’t difficult. There are YouTube tutorials on applying dry transfer decals - basically it’s printed onto the back side of a transparency sheet. You cut the decal out, and tape it down around the edges. You use a hotel key card (or something similar) to burnish the transparency and the text sticks better to your panel than the clear plastic. 
 

but throw a coat of clear over it quickly, as it’s easily damaged when not protected. 
 

10/10 would recommend over a homemade label maker. I’ve got placards printed to do the rest of the panel when I get around to it. 

[Fly Boomer]

47 minutes ago, Pasturepilot said:

10/10 would recommend over a homemade label maker. I’ve got placards printed to do the rest of the panel when I get around to it. 

Do you mind sharing the total cost for the placards you bought, including the ones you haven't used yet?

[cliffy]

Nice job I too am an electronically hindered A&P to an extent 

Looks like you did a good job and it WORKs!  :-)  

The gutted view is scary when you first look at it    Mine was too. 

When I redid my panel I decided to dump everything after many years of "thinking" about it and had a shop do the work this time. First time any shop worked on  my panel in 25 years. . 

With the higher airframe values now it makes sense to rehab the panels. 

Edited March 8, 2023 by cliffy
spell

[Pasturepilot]

4 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

Do you mind sharing the total cost for the placards you bought, including the ones you haven't used yet?

It was about $120 delivered; I shoehorned everything onto a single 8.5x11” sheet.

[Fly Boomer]

19 minutes ago, Pasturepilot said:

It was about $120 delivered; I shoehorned everything onto a single 8.5x11” sheet.

Excellent!  I hoped it worked that way, but couldn’t tell from their web site.

[Pasturepilot]

Five years since I first said hello around here... Still doing Mooney things today.

My alternator bit the dust this summer right after Oshkosh - wound up going the plane power route to replace the old alternator, regulator, over voltage relay, and then a whole lot of "while I'm here, I might as well knock out such-and-such" projects snuck in. Master and starter solenoids, Bogert Aviation battery cable kits, rewiring the heavy gauge wire between bus bars... Have I ever mentioned I hate electrical work? But then again, the whole panel is electrical these days, and I wanted the confidence that I'd lacked with some of those pieces being 1965 vintage. 

 

Anyway, for those who haven't read the tale of I wound up with the Mooney and don't want to wade back through a mess of posts, here it is in two substack articles, along with some additional pictures and a few fresh words, to boot: 

https://wordsaloft.substack.com/p/tales-a-mooney-might-tell-part-one

And the second installment, of how I've connected with the original owner's son, and gone flying with him: https://open.substack.com/pub/wordsaloft/p/tales-a-mooney-might-tell-continued?r=2zm3id&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcome=true

Time to put on some shoes and head to the hangar. Amy and I are gonna fly down to south Alabama today and stock up our deep freezer with some Conecuh sausage.