Ovation armrest help needed

[Comobowz]

I’m really hopeful this is an easy fix.  New owner of 98 Ovation.  Something that we didn’t catch in the pre-buy was that the armrest stop doesn’t seem to work, so the armrest just freewheels/falls down.  I don’t yet have a maintenance manual and sorry, forgot to take pictures while at the hangar yesterday.  If needed, I will take pics next weekend.

Hopefully others are familiar with the issue and can make a recommendation to try.

 

[PT20J]

There’s a stop pin that rides in a slot. If the arm rest pivot bolt is loose, the pin might not stay in the slot. I’d see if tightening the nut helps. If not, you’ll have to take it off and see what’s wrong. This picture is from a J but it should be the same as yours.

[Comobowz]

That’s helpful, should I be able to tighten from the armrest side or will I need to go into the seat back?

[Comobowz]

I’ll answer my own question there, looks like it should just be through the armrest.  Thanks again for the assistance.

[kmyfm20s]

Pop off the cover on the side of the arm rest and tighten the nut. It comes loose with use and you will need to retighten every couple of years.

[StevenL757]

1 hour ago, PT20J said:

There’s a stop pin that rides in a slot. If the arm rest pivot bolt is loose, the pin might not stay in the slot. I’d see if tightening the nut helps. If not, you’ll have to take it off and see what’s wrong. This picture is from a J but it should be the same as yours.

 

55 minutes ago, kmyfm20s said:

Pop off the cover on the side of the arm rest and tighten the nut. It comes loose with use and you will need to retighten every couple of years.

Exactly right to both.  Attaching the Ovation section of the manual below for clarity, but is about 95% similar to the "J" as Skip points out.

[LANCECASPER]

4 hours ago, Comobowz said:

I’m really hopeful this is an easy fix.  New owner of 98 Ovation.  Something that we didn’t catch in the pre-buy was that the armrest stop doesn’t seem to work, so the armrest just freewheels/falls down.  I don’t yet have a maintenance manual and sorry, forgot to take pictures while at the hangar yesterday.  If needed, I will take pics next weekend.

Hopefully others are familiar with the issue and can make a recommendation to try.

 

Don't feel bad about not catching that in the pre-buy. Pre-buys are for catching airworthy items or the items that are thousands of dollars to remedy. You're always going to be dealing with the little stuff as long as you own an airplane.

[carusoam]

bummer, how disappointing... 

Welcome aboard Como.

Expect some hazing to occur.... on the way to getting the answer that you need...

1) it’s Too late to look back.

2) PPIs have no standard.  They are not required.

3) As a bare minimum, they cover all airworthiness items similar to an annual... but they are not an annual either...

4) This item when compared to buying a house.... the house is perfect, but the armrest is falling off a chair in the living room...

 

5) Now... you bought the nicest pre-owned house in the neighborhood...

6) Do you want to tell everyone that somebody else didn’t do your homework...?

7) Don’t feel bad... Expect that you’re pre-flown plane was priced as...  it isn’t factory new... there will be some wear and tear.

8) Sure, you probably could have hassled the old owner for another dollar... or had him fix it...

9) If he said the price includes all the wear and tear, would you have walked?

10) For most people... the arm rest gets put away to ease entrance, and probably never gets used again...

11) It probably got broken, because it’s in the way...

 

12) If anyone actually gets use out of it... their arms are perfect for the one set design location for this funky item...

 

I assume... you went flying in the plane prior to purchase...?

Did you not know it had an armrest?

 

Some cars have armrests too... mostly Sport utes... mine are folded back, out of the way...

 

Hmmmmmm....

When fixing the chair arm... with whatever nuts and bolts and broken piece it requires... have it weighed.

Then decide for yourself... would losing the extra weight make the UL even better...?

 

If you need a Mooney specific part... we have Mooney recyclers around here... if you want new parts, the factory is open and supplying parts...

If you would like the chairs completely re-freshened we have resources for that too...

If you need a parts manual... or a POH... the factory is pretty good a that too...

Your friendly local mechanic can probably have this fixed faster than we can type this thread...

Got any tough questions... 

hazing over...

Seriously, if you need help with the parts... it’s all here.   Start with posting a pic.

Best regards,

-a-

[KLudwick]

@carusoam I was the one that found the broken arm rest after delivering it to Como from central California, and I wish it was working after 8+ hours enroute... But, we'll get it fixed this weekend during the checkout flight.  

[carusoam]

Wow..

KL, where is that pic from?

Looks similar to the Martian landscape from the new rover...

See if you can get good pics of what failed... it might be as simple as stripped screw threads... (iirc)

Best regards,

-a-

[KLudwick]

5 hours ago, carusoam said:

Wow..

KL, where is that pic from?

Looks similar to the Martian landscape from the new rover...

See if you can get good pics of what failed... it might be as simple as stripped screw threads... (iirc)

Best regards,

-a-

I took it near Joshua Tree National Park!  Gorgeous day to fly.

[Harry Wightman]

On 3/1/2021 at 12:49 AM, Comobowz said:

Something that we didn’t catch in the pre-buy was that the armrest stop doesn’t seem to work, so the armrest just freewheels/falls down

I've had that problem (armrest able to move a full 360 degrees) a couple of times when passengers have used the armrest for support on their way out. Getting access to the dislodged small pin that limits travel of the armrest up & down is easy & you will find the pin loose inside the armrest. I've used bearing retaining compound to good effect for normal armrest use until another passenger did the same thing.

Major seat disassembly is required to get the circular plate off the seat should you wish to resecure the pin by welding it on.

[Comobowz]

That's great info Harry!  I'll keep an eye out for the pin when I work on it this weekend.  Thank you!

[Awful_Charlie]

I've got a '98 Bravo, and suffered the same problem.

1st attempt. Cleaned up the pin with crocus paper and used a hollow punch to drive it back in. That lasted a couple of flights
2nd attempt. Cleaned it up again, and drove it in after putting some epoxy glue on the mating surfaces. Lasted a couple of months
3rd attempt. Removed the backplate from the seat (that requires either semi-removing the seat covering, or 15" long double jointed fingers), cleaned up again, a 1 second touch with a mig welder & re-paint and them re-assembly. Lasted for a few years so far.

1 & 2 I did in the aircraft, 3 was a seats out job (can't easily get the left seat out without removing the right).

Tip: If you can't easily get a new correct crimp nut, use a torque wrench to get the desired friction level, and then remove and replace using a non-permanent threadlock. I guess a nyloc would have an equal effect, but that is not what is in the IPC!

One of those "oh so simple" jobs that takes a totally disproportionate time to fix, but sometimes simple things can bring a disproportionate pleasure too!

[carusoam]

Perfect for those long trans-Atlantic flights... 

Some MSers have crossed the country on their long X-countries...

Best regards,

-a-

[Awful_Charlie]

7 hours ago, carusoam said:

Perfect for those long trans-Atlantic flights... 

Good for long trans-Arabian flights too!