Wing tip fairing lens

[FlyBoyM20J]

Windy day in the NE and ice on the ramp.  A gust of wind shifted my J sideways over the ice and the starboard wing fairing hit a closed hangar door.

Any suggestions on who I should contact to get another lens?

[PT20J]

LASAR has a PMA one that is much cheaper than the Mooney part. You’ll have to trim it to size and drill the mounting holes.  There’s a thread somewhere on MS with recommendations on various ways to do that. I used a Dremel cutoff wheel and step drill. Sand the edges smooth after trimming to avoid any stress risers - acrylic loves to crack.

Skip

[anthonydesmet]

LAZAR.....always......that’s if someone here doesn’t have an extra on hand.......

 

sorry about the mishap though......stinks going out for a quick attitude adjustment flight and then bam!....F!......especially up north in December...so few  and far between

[FlyBoyM20J]

27 minutes ago, PT20J said:

LASAR has a PMA one that is much cheaper than the Mooney part. You’ll have to trim it to size and drill the mounting holes.  There’s a thread somewhere on MS with recommendations on various ways to do that. I used a Dremel cutoff wheel and step drill. Sand the edges smooth after trimming to avoid any stress risers - acrylic loves to crack.

Skip

Is this the same PN as the stock lens prior to the STC'd fairing install? 

Thanks again, Skip!

Cliff

BTW, I found the other thread here...

 

[FlyBoyM20J]

30 minutes ago, anthonydesmet said:

LAZAR.....always......that’s if someone here doesn’t have an extra on hand.......

 

sorry about the mishap though......stinks going out for a quick attitude adjustment flight and then bam!....F!......especially up north in December...so few  and far between

Thanks...and yeah, this was my normal commute flight and I had just done a sweet touchdown in some challenging winds.  I was thinking how nice it was that I could let the prop pull me over the snow and ice.  Didn't think what might happen if some of that wind caught me between the rows of hangars.  Now I need to figure out how to handle this if it happens again sometime.  

Cliff

[ArtVandelay]

Another source:

http://www.glapinc.com/Mooney/m20j.htm


Tom

[Hank]

1 hour ago, ArtVandelay said:

Another source:

http://www.glapinc.com/Mooney/m20j.htm


Tom

Wow! Got mine from LASAR for about $140 two or three years ago. 

[PT20J]

3 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Another source:

http://www.glapinc.com/Mooney/m20j.htm


Tom

Did you install one of these? I’m curious how it compares to the LASAR part. Does it require trimming? Also, I found the radius at the extreme outboard  point where the lens meets up with the wingtip to be off just slightly on the left side LASAR part and it also isn’t as distortion free as the original. How’s the fit and finish of Great Lakes part. The LASAR part is fine unless you are a perfectionist, but maybe the Great Lakes part is better for the extra cost.

Skip

[FlyBoyM20J]

I also found this...says "little to no trimming" but it appears that it requires drilling (makes sense).  Anyone ever try these?

https://www.knots2u.net/wing-tip-lenses-mooney-m20j-thru-m20s-mooney-part-210384-001-210384-001-gla2494/

EDIT: looking at the price and part number, this would appear to be a Great Lakes Aero part.

[carusoam]

ouch!!!

That might benefit a call to your insurance guy...?

That strobe light may be difficult to source...

Lens, lights, install and paint... might be in the 1amu category to do it nicely...

 

Doing it the CB way... happens all the time... around here...

Check the health of all the parts you need  the black thermoformed part didn’t get away uninjured...

if you saved all the parts... epoxy may be the way to save the molded plastic pieces...

Local corvette shops are pretty good with the fiberglass piece if that got damaged...

How perfect do you want it to be?

Or just operational?

PP thoughts only, not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

[kortopates]

1 hour ago, PT20J said:

Did you install one of these? I’m curious how it compares to the LASAR part. Does it require trimming? Also, I found the radius at the extreme outboard  point where the lens meets up with the wingtip to be off just slightly on the left side LASAR part and it also isn’t as distortion free as the original. How’s the fit and finish of Great Lakes part. The LASAR part is fine unless you are a perfectionist, but maybe the Great Lakes part is better for the extra cost.

Skip

I am pretty sure, that both Mooney and LASAR get the wing tip lenses and other lenses from GLA. The only difference I've ever seen is in price; primarily Mooney's mark up. Trimming to fit and drilling is no different. 

BTW every plastic part for a Mooney requires trimming to fit and the same is true for a lot of aluminium parts as well; especially doors.

Edited December 9, 2019 by kortopates

[PT20J]

Just now, kortopates said:

I am pretty sure, that both Mooney and LASAR get the wing tip lenses and other lenses from GLA. The only difference I've ever seen is in price; primarily Mooney's mark up. Trimming to fit and drilling is no different. 

Maybe, Paul, but my LASAR lens was noticeably lesser quality than the Mooney lens as I noted. Also, if the drawing in the IPC is accurate, the Mooney lens is already trimmed. But, the LASAR lens was good enough for me and in stock so I didn’t even inquire about the cost of the Mooney part because my mother taught me never to ask a question if you can’t stand to hear the answer 

Skip

[kortopates]

Just now, PT20J said:

Maybe, Paul, but my LASAR lens was noticeably lesser quality than the Mooney lens as I noted. Also, if the drawing in the IPC is accurate, the Mooney lens is already trimmed. But, the LASAR lens was good enough for me and in stock so I didn’t even inquire about the cost of the Mooney part because my mother taught me never to ask a question if you can’t stand to hear the answer 

Skip

One of my first lenses was a Mooney lenses - it required the same trimming to fit. I wished I had put a micrometer to verify if identical thickness because I originally thought the Mooney one might be a bit thicker but I didn't discern a noticeable difference in thickness (but didn't measure exact thickness either). I've sourced from all 3 places over the years.

[carusoam]

The process for forming the lens is probably a thermoforming process...

Either the heated sheet is drawn/stretch into a cavity mold, or pulled down and stretched over a boss (solid shape) using vacuum to remove all the air....

Controlling thickness of the part begins with the thickness of the material sheet it starts with... but the process itself will change the overall thickness as the material stretches...

 

Depending on who owns what mold... the accuracy of the edges, and screw holes can be really good...

Since things change a lot over time... except molds... leaving the edges and screw holes to the installer seems to be the preferred way to go...

 

Mooney probably has a preferred supplier of thermoformed and flat, cast, acrylic parts... GLA does a nice job listing all the parts they make for Mooneys... and various Nominal thicknesses (Windows)...

having a CNC router would make making acrylic parts a whole lot easier... 

PP thoughts only, not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

[kortopates]

I created a pair of molds for trimming wingtip lenses. It a was a worthwhile investment that has greatly simplified the time required to trimming to fit to probably about a 1/2 hr complete with drilling the holes. It has also pretty much eliminated any chance of error. Given the high cost of wing tips, which aren't that difficult to damage, it was an easy choice for me. 

[PT20J]

53 minutes ago, kortopates said:

One of my first lenses was a Mooney lenses - it required the same trimming to fit. I wished I had put a micrometer to verify if identical thickness because I originally thought the Mooney one might be a bit thicker but I didn't discern a noticeable difference in thickness (but didn't measure exact thickness either). I've sourced from all 3 places over the years.

You know, I’m comparing a 25 year old original lens with the new LASAR lens. Who knows what Mooney is currently shipping??? Next time I see a newer plane on the ramp, I’m going to look at the wingtips 

 

[carusoam]

Some of the new ones have gone without the lens...

Just using a modern strobe light nav light combo with white on the back...

Not as fancy looking, and don’t have recog lights...

Check to see what you can see...

Best regards,

-a-

[FlyBoyM20J]

9 hours ago, carusoam said:

ouch!!!

That might benefit a call to your insurance guy...?

That strobe light may be difficult to source...

Lens, lights, install and paint... might be in the 1amu category to do it nicely...

 

Doing it the CB way... happens all the time... around here...

Check the health of all the parts you need  the black thermoformed part didn’t get away uninjured...

if you saved all the parts... epoxy may be the way to save the molded plastic pieces...

Local corvette shops are pretty good with the fiberglass piece if that got damaged...

How perfect do you want it to be?

Or just operational?

PP thoughts only, not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

I'm not sure I want to make an insurance call on something 1 AMU-ish like this. 

The strobe was fine and still mounted to the black thermoformed part after the initial impact...until I tried to unstick the plane myself with the tow bar (and crampons for traction).  The poor plane slid back against the hangar door over the ice and gently snapped the strobe off at the mounting points.  I think it can be remounted without issue.

Yes, some of the fiberglass looks chafed.  

I want it to be 100% solid and operational...and after that...as good as the rest of the paint job which is asking for attention.

If I could get it safely to a shop that would do the whole thing nicely, I'd go for that but I believe I'll need to get it operational and a lens in place just to fly anywhere.

Cliff

 

[ArtVandelay]

Did you install one of these? I’m curious how it compares to the LASAR part. Does it require trimming? Also, I found the radius at the extreme outboard  point where the lens meets up with the wingtip to be off just slightly on the left side LASAR part and it also isn’t as distortion free as the original. How’s the fit and finish of Great Lakes part. The LASAR part is fine unless you are a perfectionist, but maybe the Great Lakes part is better for the extra cost.
Skip

No, but I did install the wing landing light lenses in addition to the windows....ALL required trimming.


Tom

[FlyBoyM20J]

Update: I just got off the phone with LASAR and their cost for a single lens is $148.  They're shipping one to me right now...should have it before the end of the week.

Cliff

[rbridges]

16 minutes ago, FlyBoyM20J said:

Update: I just got off the phone with LASAR and their cost for a single lens is $148.  They're shipping one to me right now...should have it before the end of the week.

Cliff

sadly, that's less than I expected to hear.  I spoke with someone a few years ago about replacing the black plastic piece that the lights sit against, and it was stupid expensive for a thin piece of plastic. 

[FlyBoyM20J]

18 minutes ago, rbridges said:

sadly, that's less than I expected to hear.  I spoke with someone a few years ago about replacing the black plastic piece that the lights sit against, and it was stupid expensive for a thin piece of plastic. 

Not sure what you mean, but I see on my CC record for this that it's $163 including shipping. 

I can imagine the black thermoformed piece is one-of-a-kind much like the fiberglass fairing itself.  In my case, it looks like the broken parts were pushed inside the piece, so I think that repair is feasible.

[rbridges]

5 minutes ago, FlyBoyM20J said:

Not sure what you mean, but I see on my CC record for this that it's $163 including shipping. 

I can imagine the black thermoformed piece is one-of-a-kind much like the fiberglass fairing itself.  In my case, it looks like the broken parts were pushed inside the piece, so I think that repair is feasible.

I replaced my landing light lens in my cowl, and it was around $80ish.  The 163 seems about right for a wing tip lens.  The black piece on my wing was cracked and faded.  I guess years of heat made it brittle, so I simply repaired and repainted it.  Looks fine when looking at it through the lens.  I was wowed when I got a quote for its replacement.  

[Hank]

I don't have that black plastic piece, but then again I only have nav lights and not strobes. Must be a $trobe part?

[PT20J]

31 minutes ago, Hank said:

I don't have that black plastic piece, but then again I only have nav lights and not strobes. Must be a $trobe part?

The OP's M20J tip/lens was a factory installation on later Js. Your C tip is a retrofit -- different part.