Carbon cowl for the M20J

[Hank]

3 hours ago, Hyett6420 said:

Depends on the OAT tbh Anthony.  In my J if the oat is in the 30s then you need to trail a little bit of cowl just to keep the cht down in the acceptable range.  

I think he was talking about the fiberglass cowl on his Ovation, similar to the J but with some noted improvements.

[carusoam]

When you see how much effort sabremech put into selecting the hole sizes for the inlet on his Mooney cowl...

Internally he also has aerodynamics to smooth the flow...

The air goes through an S pattern more than a Z pattern... all the smooth curves help guide the air down the cylinder fins.... evenly...

The J cowling is light years ahead of the dog house... but, it can probably benefit from the latest technology that is supporting the IO550... which is 25 years old already...

The LoPresti cowl rocks! every now and then we get some pireps by the various owners...

We have a Speed Merchant around here.... 

PP thoughts only, not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

[PT20J]

On 10/31/2020 at 6:19 PM, mooneyflyfast said:

On 10/31/2020 at 12:08 PM, PT20J said:

I hope they fix it so it doesn't ride up and tilt back out of alignment with the spinner like the original.

Lasar makes a kit for that.  Works well

 

I asked LASAR about the cowling mod and here is the response

It’s not a true mod we have, but the gist of it was that the “cowl fix” our old owner used to do was replace every other floating cam receptacle where the cowling attaches to the firewall with fixed ones. Takes 8 ea of part number 214-16. They have them at Spruce. 

My J has all fixed receptacles. Looking at the IPC, it appears that Mooney used floating receptacles (244-16) on serial numbers 24-001 thru 24-1685, 24-3000 thru 24-3153 and then switched to fixed receptacles (214-16) for serial numbers 24-1686 thru 24-2999, 24-3154 thru 24-3410 and then switched back to floating receptacles for 24-3411 thru 24-TBA.

At any rate, my cowl shifts upward and rearward and has the fixed receptacles.

Skip

 

[mooneyflyfast]

12 hours ago, PT20J said:

I asked LASAR about the cowling mod and here is the response

It’s not a true mod we have, but the gist of it was that the “cowl fix” our old owner used to do was replace every other floating cam receptacle where the cowling attaches to the firewall with fixed ones. Takes 8 ea of part number 214-16. They have them at Spruce. 

My J has all fixed receptacles. Looking at the IPC, it appears that Mooney used floating receptacles (244-16) on serial numbers 24-001 thru 24-1685, 24-3000 thru 24-3153 and then switched to fixed receptacles (214-16) for serial numbers 24-1686 thru 24-2999, 24-3154 thru 24-3410 and then switched back to floating receptacles for 24-3411 thru 24-TBA.

At any rate, my cowl shifts upward and rearward and has the fixed receptacles.

Skip

 

Hi Skip,

 

That's not the one I was referring to.  As I recall, there is an angle or something installed inside the lower boot cowl.  It has a nutplate.  A new machine screw goes through the lower cowl to anchor the cowl to the boot cowl.  Mine was installed by Dugosh many years ago.  I will see if I can find the log entry.

[philiplane]

Carbon fiber is only 15% lighter than fiberglass, although it is 25% more rigid. Fixing the flex issues with the current fiberglass cowl means adding another layer, or honeycomb, in some areas. If you optimize the cowl inlets and outlets, that weight savings will be eaten up by reinforcing the sides and top. So I still don't expect any weight savings with the cowl alone. Focusing on cooling, aerodynamics, and durability are the important factors. If any weight savings is realized, that will be a bonus.

[blaine beaven]

Any update on this? Looked at the Mooney website and couldn’t find anything…

[Mcstealth]

I believe all of this has taken a backseat to the UL development upgrade.

 

[Mcstealth]

44 minutes ago, 1980Mooney said:

And what is the update on that?

All quiet on The Western Front I am sorry to say. Nothing to report. I can say with factually that every other month or so, Mooney orders from my Popeyes a large lunch for the crew. That knowledge and a $5 bill will get you a cup of coffee at your favorite bistro. 

[EricJ]

43 minutes ago, Mcstealth said:

All quiet on The Western Front I am sorry to say. Nothing to report. I can say with factually that every other month or so, Mooney orders from my Popeyes a large lunch for the crew. That knowledge and a $5 bill will get you a cup of coffee at your favorite bistro. 

How big is the order?  Has it been getting larger or smaller?

Industrial espionage can be fun. 

 

[Mcstealth]

3 hours ago, EricJ said:

How big is the order?  Has it been getting larger or smaller?

Industrial espionage can be fun. 

 

Funny you say that. I don't know how to find my espionage thread. Maybe @carusoamcan help find it?

I got a C&D letter from Mooney once. 

[carusoam]

1 hour ago, Mcstealth said:

Funny you say that. I don't know how to find my espionage thread. Maybe @carusoamcan help find it?

I got a C&D letter from Mooney once. 

Best to let sleeping dogs lie….

The thread is memorable enough that even I can remember it…

 

Then again… that was the old regime, not the new…

Fast moving companies don’t usually slow down to hassle their favorite restauranteur. 
 

As far as aviation and secrecy goes…  SpaceX has a continuous team of outside people videotaping every hour, of every day, from all angles… editing and posting YT videos daily… with enough definition to read part numbers of their part labels…

Some of the greatest free advertising ever!  
 

Sure, Mooney isn’t SpaceX… and they are not fast moving… yet…

Would be nice to hear from them every now and then…

PP thoughts only…

Best regards,

-a-

[A64Pilot]

As a manufacturer getting anything done is done at the speed the ACO / MIDO moves, and as I’m no longer in manufacturing I can’t speak to that, but I am dealing with Orlando’s FSDO now and can tell you that things that used to be accomplished in a few minutes with an Appointment, now takes weeks.

To get an application that you and the inspector signs, now goes like this, you fill it out and send a .pdf to the inspector, they take a few days to review it and send comments back, you change things, send another .pdf, they take a few days and then tell you the application is fine, and you start the process over on documentation of recency of experience, suitability fo FBO, access to AD’s etc, but each one at a time, not give me this list of items.

A couple of back and forths with days in between and finally everything is done, so they will mail you the application and your supposed to do a zoom meeting with them so they can witness the signature, then you mail it back to them, they sign it and mail it back to you.

This is all because if they come into the office, and allow appointments, they will catch Covid and die.

So what used to take a few minutes in a face to face meeting, now takes weeks.  

What Mooney is going through is far more complicated, so just as a guess, things taking so long may not be their fault. 

[jlunseth]

On 11/2/2020 at 2:58 PM, gsxrpilot said:

I wish there was one in the works for the 252.

You and me both. That would allow 231’s to be converted to the MB engine. Not a big deal if you can find a cowling.

I have a 337 in, or rather Lasar does for me, for the addition of a backup alternator, and it is going on a year with no response from the FSDO.