Mooney Annual at the paint shop

[Mechpilot89]

Hello Folks,

I am an A&P here in Pennsylvania working on a M20E. I work at a paint shop and we took this job on to do a full strip and paint as well as install some STC's primarily Lasar's 201 window Mod. Well the guy asked us to do a annual on it as well. My boss said we could do that.  Working with my IA we performed the annual and found that several of the bearings in control torque tubes were quiet worn and need replaced. Needing to replace these we are looking for travel boards to check the travel. Normally we rent boards from the local MSC but they have changed there policy. Would anyone know of a person or business willing to rent these tools in Pennsylvania or the surrounding states. I know this is a shot in the dark, but buying a set of travel boards for one maybe 2 jobs for us is not in the cards. If you could give advice that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

[BrianWilkins]

12 minutes ago, Mechpilot89 said:

Hello Folks,

I am an A&P here in Pennsylvania working on a M20E. I work at a paint shop and we took this job on to do a full strip and paint as well as install some STC's primarily Lasar's 201 window Mod. Well the guy asked us to do a annual on it as well. My boss said we could do that.  Working with my IA we performed the annual and found that several of the bearings in control torque tubes were quiet worn and need replaced. Needing to replace these we are looking for travel boards to check the travel. Normally we rent boards from the local MSC but they have changed there policy. Would anyone know of a person or business willing to rent these tools in Pennsylvania or the surrounding states. I know this is a shot in the dark, but buying a set of travel boards for one maybe 2 jobs for us is not in the cards. If you could give advice that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

I'm pretty sure LASAR rents travel boards.  Give them a call.

[Hank]

52 minutes ago, Mechpilot89 said:

Hello Folks,

I am an A&P here in Pennsylvania working on a M20E. I work at a paint shop and we took this job on to do a full strip and paint as well as install some STC's primarily Lasar's 201 window Mod. Well the guy asked us to do a annual on it as well. My boss said we could do that.  Working with my IA we performed the annual and found that several of the bearings in control torque tubes were quiet worn and need replaced. Needing to replace these we are looking for travel boards to check the travel. Normally we rent boards from the local MSC but they have changed there policy. Would anyone know of a person or business willing to rent these tools in Pennsylvania or the surrounding states. I know this is a shot in the dark, but buying a set of travel boards for one maybe 2 jobs for us is not in the cards. If you could give advice that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Congratulations for doing this the right way, mech!!

My first annual after my IA retired, the "new IA" found this on my C. I asked if he had travel boards, he said No; I said, "Don't replace the rod ends without travel boards. I'll have it done at a nearby Mooney shop." ["Nearby" is just under one hour flight time, or I'd have had them do the annual.] He did it anyway . . . Had to get get re-rigged; the Mooney IA asked how interesting my takeoff was, as the elevator only went 15º Up and off the scale for Down. The spec is 20º ± 2º . . . .

Also, don't adjust the gear doors because they look funny. The Mooney IA said that not only was my nose gear very bumpy going down and making the yoke twitch after "new IA" adjusted the doors, but that I was lucky it didn't hang up on the obstructions it was hitting.

I'm now finishing Annual #2 with "Newest IA," and the last guy will hopefully never come within a nautical mile of my Mooney.

[Marauder]

54 minutes ago, BrianWilkins said:

I'm pretty sure LASAR rents travel boards.  Give them a call.

Where are you in PA? PM if you want and I can provide you a couple of possible sources.

[A64Pilot]

Other than the rudder, what travel board is needed, can’t you measure flaps, ailerons and elevator with a prop protractor, or good level?

[47U]

6 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

Other than the rudder, what travel board is needed, can’t you measure flaps, ailerons and elevator with a prop protractor, or good level?

Sounds logical, but I think the ‘0 degree’ reference on the flap/aileron and elevator boards is reference to the 0 degree wing / horizontal stabilizer airfoil chord.  What say the experts?

[Prior owner]

7 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

Other than the rudder, what travel board is needed, can’t you measure flaps, ailerons and elevator with a prop protractor, or good level?

I haven’t seen any factory data that would allow you to use a prop protractor and get the same result as using the travel boards. If someone had travel boards, a protractor, and the inclination, they could certainly create the necessary data to use only a protractor.

Edited March 24, 2021 by PilotCoyote

[Prior owner]

15 minutes ago, 47U said:

Sounds logical, but I think the ‘0 degree’ reference on the flap/aileron and elevator boards is reference to the 0 degree wing / horizontal stabilizer airfoil chord.  What say the experts?

I think you are probably right about that. Not that I’m an expert!

Edited March 24, 2021 by PilotCoyote

[bradp]

You can do it using a digital inclinometer but you need to be able to get the reference chord correct. I’m not sure how easy this would be.  

[cliffy]

You have several factors (3) working when you set the elevator working angles  With the ailerons you can get reasonably close with fairing the the counter weight to the tip and matching the flap trailing edge to the aileron trailing edge Close but no cigar especially with flight loads

With the elevator you have a stabilizer movement angle to set, then an elevator deflection angle to set THEN you have the ELEVATOR TRIM ASSIST spring angle to set

Basically you have to level the airplane and then do all the monkey motions to get them correctly set. 

Then you move to the rudder 

And with all this you are working sometimes with 1/2 degree settings. 

With the pitch controls you gotta know what you are doing. Its not as simple as one would think on a Mooney

Go read the MM and see what you think

 

[carusoam]

All that, then a test flight or two... for fine tuning...

Too bad there isn’t an alignment rack where you drive up, check the settings, make some adjustments and drive off an hour later...

-a-

[StevenL757]

21 hours ago, Mechpilot89 said:

Hello Folks,

I am an A&P here in Pennsylvania working on a M20E. I work at a paint shop and we took this job on to do a full strip and paint as well as install some STC's primarily Lasar's 201 window Mod. Well the guy asked us to do a annual on it as well. My boss said we could do that.  Working with my IA we performed the annual and found that several of the bearings in control torque tubes were quiet worn and need replaced. Needing to replace these we are looking for travel boards to check the travel. Normally we rent boards from the local MSC but they have changed there policy. Would anyone know of a person or business willing to rent these tools in Pennsylvania or the surrounding states. I know this is a shot in the dark, but buying a set of travel boards for one maybe 2 jobs for us is not in the cards. If you could give advice that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Speak with Dave Mathiesen or his wife Lisa (runs the back office) here:  https://www.airmodsflightcenter.com

MSC with a great reputation, and probably not too far away, depending on where in PA you’re located.

Steve

[Mechpilot89]

Thanks, everyone for your replies back. Sadly everyone you have suggested has come up with no luck. Both Weber here in Lancaster and Lasar in California both do not rent out travel boards anymore. I getting more into where I wish I had got on here before I started the work. If any of you would have anymore suggestions to make on where I could rent some travel boards I would be appreciative. Dave over at air-mods did suggested Allen Fox if anyone had his contact info or let him know there is a guy on here looking for help.

Thanks,

Mechpilot.

[hammdo]

@Alan Fox, request for you...

 

-Don

[cliffy]

Has anyone ever tried to make a paper copy by tracing the exterior of the boards and making their own?

Granted maybe not EXACT copy but close enough for government work. One can interpolate to one degree. 

[EricJ]

This is why doing it with a digital level, inclinometer, or protractor is useful.   The travel boards may not ever be available.

 

[Marauder]

2 hours ago, Mechpilot89 said:

Thanks, everyone for your replies back. Sadly everyone you have suggested has come up with no luck. Both Weber here in Lancaster and Lasar in California both do not rent out travel boards anymore. I getting more into where I wish I had got on here before I started the work. If any of you would have anymore suggestions to make on where I could rent some travel boards I would be appreciative. Dave over at air-mods did suggested Allen Fox if anyone had his contact info or let him know there is a guy on here looking for help.

Thanks,

Mechpilot.

When you sent me your personal information, Allan was one of the guys I reached out to. He is in Florida and I will ping him and the other guy again. Unfortunately, these travel boards are like gold bars. No one wants to let them out of their site, let alone their sight.