Wing tip fairing lens

[Hank]

1 hour ago, PT20J said:

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

Rob above me ( @rbridges) also has a C, and sounds like he has the pricey black piece, too. But not my C . . . . Thankfully!

[kortopates]

3 hours 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.

Actually it is, Mooney makes several different versions of the black plastic insert as the wing tip's evolved with changes in lighting. If you do have all the plastic pieces it is somewhat repairable with some additional plastic ground up and mixed with MEK to make a paste, then painted afterwards. Without the missing plastic you could try a bid of fiberglass cloth epoxied and then painted. If not satisfied with a repair, a new plastic part cost about the same as the wing tip lense or perhaps you could find a salvaged one.

[carusoam]

If you want to go salvage we have some resources around here...

Best regards,

-a-

[FlyBoyM20J]

6 hours ago, carusoam said:

If you want to go salvage we have some resources around here...

Best regards,

-a-

I'd like the option, yes, thanks.

Cliff

[carusoam]

Cliff,

Around here we have three go to resources for the used Mooney parts...

@Alan Fox aka The Reaper... also has a great collection of trade-in avionics... and a few Mooneys for sale...

@acpartswhse... Jerry has truckloads of Mooney parts...

@SheryLoewen... Paul has the Mooney Salvage business on the west coast...

Best regards,

-a-

[hypertech]

The GLAP lenses fit my M20R with little to no trimming.  I would not hesitate to buy them again.  I did have the drill the holes, but that was super easy.

 

[Alan Fox]

Wow , if you guys think this is expensive , wait until someone does this with a beacon installed ,  Tail , or wing ...

[FlyBoyM20J]

I'm now looking for one of these...mine was deformed from heat and worn out before it fractured so it's not really worth fixing and re-installing long-term.  I have enough of the missing pieces to make it structurally sound so it might go back in for the winter.  But it needs to be replaced.

[FlyBoyM20J]

The PN is 210385-002.  I found a MS thread on this when I Googled that part number.

If anyone has one and wants to sell, I'd appreciate it.  Otherwise, I guess now that Mooney is back at their phones, I'd better give them a call.

Cliff

 

[LANCECASPER]

2 hours ago, FlyBoyM20J said:

The PN is 210385-002.  I found a MS thread on this when I Googled that part number.

If anyone has one and wants to sell, I'd appreciate it.  Otherwise, I guess now that Mooney is back at their phones, I'd better give them a call.

Cliff

 

You'll have to buy it through a Mooney Service Center

[gsxrpilot]

I broke one of these a few years ago. I ordered one from Mooney via Dugosh who is on the field with the factory. I flew to Kerrville to pick it up and install it. I thought it would be a 10 minute job. But as @kortopates says, it required a lot of trimming. The part was at least an inch too large everywhere and is obviously designed to be cut to fit. Trimming and drilling took a few hours, trying to be very careful and get it right.

I don't remember the cost, but it wasn't cheap.

[Oscar Avalle]

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.

I checked with LASAR and they have them in stock. Price 145


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[FlyBoyM20J]

35 minutes ago, Oscar Avalle said:

I checked with LASAR and they have them in stock. Price 145


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Yep...I ordered one on Monday.  Priority Mail should have delivered it to my office today...no luck.  Hoping for tomorrow.

Any suggestions on how to get the plane in the air safely without this exact part in case it doesn't arrive?  I'd like to be able to fly home or to a shop as a fallback to waiting for parts to show up.

Cliff

[Hank]

2 hours ago, FlyBoyM20J said:

Yep...I ordered one on Monday.  Priority Mail should have delivered it to my office today...no luck.  Hoping for tomorrow.

Any suggestions on how to get the plane in the air safely without this exact part in case it doesn't arrive?  I'd like to be able to fly home or to a shop as a fallback to waiting for parts to show up.

Cliff

The plane still flies. Broken tip fairing doesn't generate enough extra drag to feel. I made a pitstop on a IPC flight, came out to find that 10 minutes on the ramp is enough to break the lens . . . Rest of the flight went well . . . Got signed off at the end, then ordered a new cover from LASAR.

You'll want a dremel with cutoff wheel, a hand file to smooth it up,  a good drill with sharp bits and a piece of wood to put under the plastic. Go slowly so it doesn't break. I've now done it three times . . . Oh, yeah, and a sharpie to draw lines and mark hole locations.

[PT20J]

Standard twist drill bits can catch and crack acrylic - it’s a bit of a crap shoot. You can minimize the risk by starting with a small bit and going up in increments. Or, you can buy special plastic drill bits that are ground at a steeper angle.

But  the safest and quickest way is to use a step drill bit.

Skip

[gsxrpilot]

4 hours ago, FlyBoyM20J said:

Yep...I ordered one on Monday.  Priority Mail should have delivered it to my office today...no luck.  Hoping for tomorrow.

Any suggestions on how to get the plane in the air safely without this exact part in case it doesn't arrive?  I'd like to be able to fly home or to a shop as a fallback to waiting for parts to show up.

Cliff

It will fly just fine. I flew mine to Kerrville to pick up the lens and then flew back home to put it on.

[ragedracer1977]

3 hours ago, PT20J said:

Standard twist drill bits can catch and crack acrylic - it’s a bit of a crap shoot. You can minimize the risk by starting with a small bit and going up in increments. Or, you can buy special plastic drill bits that are ground at a steeper angle.

But  the safest and quickest way is to use a step drill bit.

Skip

A regular bit will work, but you have to run it in reverse.  It will more melt through than cut through.  

[carusoam]

Rumor has it... a worn drill will cut the hole without catching the acrylic....

Knowing I couldn’t judge how worn out the drill bit needed to be...

I bought a specialized drill bit from the same place I bought the acrylic parts... GLAP?

Oddly enough, the bit wasn’t priced in AMUs...   

Best regards,

-a-

[DonMuncy]

Or grind off the sharp "corner" of the drill bit. It is very important to use a wood block behind the plastic. The plastic cracks as the drill exits the other side, not as it enters the plastic.

[FlyBoyM20J]

11 hours ago, DonMuncy said:

Or grind off the sharp "corner" of the drill bit. It is very important to use a wood block behind the plastic. The plastic cracks as the drill exits the other side, not as it enters the plastic.

I have a tried-and-true way of ensuring a new drill bit is dull.  Just grab one that was specified for wood/plastic and try drilling some steel for a few seconds.  I have a few of those in my drill case for purposes such as this...I promise I made them dull on purpose.

But I also read all the advice about using a step drill for this, so right now, my plan is to use a very small dulled bit for a pilot hole and a step drill for expanding and counter-sink...with a block of wood below.

Now...if USPS would only deliver the lens...

[skykrawler]

It's curious to me that in the '82 time frame the design is such that the position lights are not visible from the rear.   Later models added a small light at the trailing edge of the tip.

I think often that a good addition to the single cowl light would be some compact, high intensity LEDs mounted on the flat plate area on the front of the main gear.   This would provide good illumination forward  and of the taxiway edges for those narrow taxiways.

[Hank]

1 hour ago, skykrawler said:

I think often that a good addition to the single cowl light would be some compact, high intensity LEDs mounted on the flat plate area on the front of the main gear.   This would provide good illumination forward  and of the taxiway edges for those narrow taxiways.

That would be easy to do with LEDs. Then when someone said you were "lit up like an airliner," they'd be right!

[warren.huisman]

I don't mind paying $150 for a wingtip lens as much as I mind paying nearly $50 for shipping.  What was the shipping charge for you?

[Eight8Victor]

@FlyBoyM20J Were you able to find the black plastic insert that fits behind the nav and strobe light? If so, who has them?

Thanks in advance,

Steve

[PT20J]

17 hours ago, Eight8Victor said:

@FlyBoyM20J Were you able to find the black plastic insert that fits behind the nav and strobe light? If so, who has them?

Thanks in advance,

Steve

If Mooney doesn’t have them, Vantage Plane Plastics might.