New Owner Advice

[JeremyHall]

Hi everyone!

 

As of 3 days ago, I’m the proud new owner of a 1963 M20C. I absolutely love the airplane, but I’m feeing overwhelmed with the responsibilities of ownership, as this is my first aircraft. I have a lot of learning to do with regards to maintenance schedules and proper care. Does anyone have any advice on areas to pay special attention to as a new owner? Any info helps!

 

thanks a lot everyone.

 

Jeremy Hall

London ON. Canada

[N201MKTurbo]

Oil Changes

Required inspections

• Annual
• Transponder
• Pitot Static

AD compliance

• Magnetos
• Propeller
• Electric actuator

Just make a list of your required and periotic maintenance tasks

[N201MKTurbo]

Never hesitate to clean and lubricate anything at any time.

Learn how to take the cowl off your engine and look it over, clean it up and make sure everything looks OK, if it doesn't ask a mechanic.

[smwash02]

5 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Oil Changes

Required inspections

• Annual
• Transponder
• Pitot Static

AD compliance

• Magnetos
• Propeller
• Electric actuator

Just make a list of your required and periotic maintenance tasks

Great list here. With a '63 C he won't have an electric actuator, but the J bar -- but still under AD compliance is probably diepen test on the yokes.

You mention you're in Canada, so I'm not familiar with your registration, but in the US we have to renew it every 3 years.

Plan your annuals in advance, mechanics get busy.

Don't forget to renew your insurance

Search the internet for a copy of the service manual, but I attached the per hour lubrication list from mine with the 'translated' products I use, which will have significant overlap with yours. There's another thread with this that has more discussion.

Check your landing gear pucks -- both age and condition.

Oil changes, another topic of debate, 25-35 hours or 3 months is what I most commonly read here

If you fly under 50 hours a year most items will be handled at annual and there won't be much to worry about outside of things that come up throughout the year, even at 100 there's not much.

Welcome aboard and congrats on the purchase! I had a '66C for a while and it was great.

M20K Lubrication.pdf

[MMsuper21]

Find a good mechanic and buy him a beer.  Where are you located? (NVM its in your signature, not in your profile)

I am a recently minted airplane owner too. The best thing you can do is find a good mechanic shop, the flying community so far has been extremely friendly and helpful. 

I spend lots of time on Mooneyspace, read Fly the Engine, currently working through Mike Bush on Engines. As much as I learn and have a background working on cars, my mechanic always points out things I did not think of. And he has the Mike Bush mentality don't fix if it ain't broke, but keep an eye on it. 

Most people at the local airport mechanics, pilots, etc love what they do and talk about it approach them and make some friends. 

Edited November 23, 2021 by MMsuper21

[JeremyHall]

Thank you all so much for your advice. I’m going to go through all of the logs and make myself as familiar as I can. I’m located in London Ont., and a member named Deb has recommended a mechanic near me, in Kitchener who sounds like a Mooney specialist. To my dismay, I’ve been unable to find hangar space near me. I’m thinking of buying a full set of covers (engine, canopy, wings and horizontal stab.) from Bruce covers in the meantime, hoping that will be enough to keep it safely outside. Does anyone have experience with that company? Also, I went to fly this morning, only to discover that I had no intercom, and pretty much no radio function. I could hear faint mumbles from ground frequency, at full volume on the radio. Neither comm 1 or 2 would work. The radios worked when I flew last night, but were iffy with reception and at one point the transponder turned itself off for 3 minutes, before coming back on and working. Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be with the radios? They worked fine at the pre buy inspection and when I picked her up. 

 

[spistora]

I use this spreadsheet: https://themooneyflyer.com/Excel/AircraftStatusSheet.xlsx

 

[DXB]

3 minutes ago, spistora said:

I use this spreadsheet: https://themooneyflyer.com/Excel/AircraftStatusSheet.xlsx

 

@JeremyHall This is definitely the way to go. Look at the spreadsheet and update it every time you do your oil change, or you're bound to drop the ball on something or other. If you want to PM me your email, I'm happy to send the spreadsheets I developed as a starting template.

First sit down and go through every line of your logs:

1.  Airframe: Take note of when every component that wears out or has a mandatory replacement time and is currently on the airplane was changed.  Make a spreadsheet and note tach time for each item. Boost pump, donuts, ELT battery, nose gear steering horn, engine control cables, spray corrosion treatment, backup batteries on avionics, ship's battery, exhaust system, oil and fuel hoses, Transponder and pitot/static cert, everything single thing you can come up with. 

2. Engine:   Same but can start at the last overhaul/reman/new replacement. Note what items were overhauled vs. replaced at that time (e.g. cylinders).   Note age of spark plugs, last mag IRAN, prop governor, carb, other accessories. 

3. Prop: not much to do here - document age of prop, last overhaul, IRAN work, etc. 

 For stuff that has to be done at a particular interval, note the tach and/or calendar time when it's due.  Make a spreadsheet for all this stuff. Also get a handle on all the recurring ADs for your plane and when they're due next on the spreadsheet. Use the same spreadsheet to keep track of when your next IPC, BFR, medical, etc. are due.  

 

[Guest]

4 hours ago, JeremyHall said:

Thank you all so much for your advice. I’m going to go through all of the logs and make myself as familiar as I can. I’m located in London Ont., and a member named Deb has recommended a mechanic near me, in Kitchener who sounds like a Mooney specialist. To my dismay, I’ve been unable to find hangar space near me. I’m thinking of buying a full set of covers (engine, canopy, wings and horizontal stab.) from Bruce covers in the meantime, hoping that will be enough to keep it safely outside. Does anyone have experience with that company? Also, I went to fly this morning, only to discover that I had no intercom, and pretty much no radio function. I could hear faint mumbles from ground frequency, at full volume on the radio. Neither comm 1 or 2 would work. The radios worked when I flew last night, but were iffy with reception and at one point the transponder turned itself off for 3 minutes, before coming back on and working. Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be with the radios? They worked fine at the pre buy inspection and when I picked her up. 

 

Hi Jeremy,

I think I know that maintainer!  I look forward to meeting soon.

Clarence

[ohdub]

6 hours ago, JeremyHall said:

Thank you all so much for your advice. I’m going to go through all of the logs and make myself as familiar as I can. I’m located in London Ont., and a member named Deb has recommended a mechanic near me, in Kitchener who sounds like a Mooney specialist. 

I'll second the recommendation to use Tri-City Aero in Kitchener. I've been taking my J there for almost 7 years now, they do great work. You'll find the owner, Clarence ( @M20Doc ) , is very active in this forum, in fact he recently replied to your post.

As for your radios, I don't know if there is an avionics shop in London, but I always go to Brant Aero in Brantford for avionics work, they are excellent too.

Steve

[JeremyHall]

Hey everyone, thanks a ton for all of the advice. I’m going to to exactly as you all recommend and use that spreadsheet. Sorry for the inactivity, I have some updates about the plane. So the radio issue was just a problem with the pax side headset jack that was interfering with the whole system, so that is fixed. I also had transponder issues, but managed to get a new one for cheap. I also had the pleasure of speaking with the legendary @M20Doc and I look forward to meeting him soon. Unfortunately I discovered a new problem when I tried to fly this morning. When I hit the starter, I can hear it running but theres no engagement of the engine whatsoever, like the starter is disconnected and just spinning on it’s own. I can hear it running so I know it was on. I flew 3 days ago and it started fine, so I suspect the cold has had something to do with it. I’ve ordered a solid set of covers that are coming shortly, but the past week I’ve only had a canopy cover on it. Maybe the oil was too cold and the starter couldn’t turn over the engine and broke? But I didn’t hear anything break, just the starter whirring away. As disappointing as this was, I’m glad to have discovered a weak point in the plane that I can have repaired well. I know there will be teething issues while I get used to the plane. If anyone knows what could have broken the starter connection, I’d love to hear it.

 

thanks again for all of your advice everyone! 
 

Jeremy

[201Steve]

Starter bendix. Spraying some tri flow on it ought to loosen it up, for a bit. However, don’t do like me and let it drag out too long or it’ll get stuck for good while your away from home. 
 

I believe the only real way to resolve it is to overhaul or replace the starter. I changed mine to a lightweight Skytec. 
 

not a mechanic

[Guest]

2 hours ago, JeremyHall said:

Hey everyone, thanks a ton for all of the advice. I’m going to to exactly as you all recommend and use that spreadsheet. Sorry for the inactivity, I have some updates about the plane. So the radio issue was just a problem with the pax side headset jack that was interfering with the whole system, so that is fixed. I also had transponder issues, but managed to get a new one for cheap. I also had the pleasure of speaking with the legendary @M20Doc and I look forward to meeting him soon. Unfortunately I discovered a new problem when I tried to fly this morning. When I hit the starter, I can hear it running but theres no engagement of the engine whatsoever, like the starter is disconnected and just spinning on it’s own. I can hear it running so I know it was on. I flew 3 days ago and it started fine, so I suspect the cold has had something to do with it. I’ve ordered a solid set of covers that are coming shortly, but the past week I’ve only had a canopy cover on it. Maybe the oil was too cold and the starter couldn’t turn over the engine and broke? But I didn’t hear anything break, just the starter whirring away. As disappointing as this was, I’m glad to have discovered a weak point in the plane that I can have repaired well. I know there will be teething issues while I get used to the plane. If anyone knows what could have broken the starter connection, I’d love to hear it.

 

thanks again for all of your advice everyone! 
 

Jeremy

That sounds like a dry and sticking Bendix drive in your starter.  They can be lubricated or replaced.  Looking at Spruce they are $775, plus labour to install, before spending that much I’d look at newer lighter starters.  Give me a shout tomorrow morning and I’ll help you get it going.

Clarence

[Ned Gravel]

On 11/23/2021 at 1:43 PM, JeremyHall said:

Thank you all so much for your advice. I’m going to go through all of the logs and make myself as familiar as I can. I’m located in London Ont., and a member named Deb has recommended a mechanic near me, in Kitchener who sounds like a Mooney specialist. To my dismay, I’ve been unable to find hangar space near me. I’m thinking of buying a full set of covers (engine, canopy, wings and horizontal stab.) from Bruce covers in the meantime, hoping that will be enough to keep it safely outside. Does anyone have experience with that company? Also, I went to fly this morning, only to discover that I had no intercom, and pretty much no radio function. I could hear faint mumbles from ground frequency, at full volume on the radio. Neither comm 1 or 2 would work. The radios worked when I flew last night, but were iffy with reception and at one point the transponder turned itself off for 3 minutes, before coming back on and working. Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be with the radios? They worked fine at the pre buy inspection and when I picked her up. 

 

Jeremy:  that was the first Mooney I looked at in 2004.  She was in Brockville at the time.  Your best bet for aircraft covers are the folks at Aero Covers at Barry regional airport, about 30 Mooney minutes away from London.  They do most of the covers for those of us outside here in Rockcliffe. 

[Utah20Gflyer]

8 hours ago, JeremyHall said:

Hey everyone, thanks a ton for all of the advice. I’m going to to exactly as you all recommend and use that spreadsheet. Sorry for the inactivity, I have some updates about the plane. So the radio issue was just a problem with the pax side headset jack that was interfering with the whole system, so that is fixed. I also had transponder issues, but managed to get a new one for cheap. I also had the pleasure of speaking with the legendary @M20Doc and I look forward to meeting him soon. Unfortunately I discovered a new problem when I tried to fly this morning. When I hit the starter, I can hear it running but theres no engagement of the engine whatsoever, like the starter is disconnected and just spinning on it’s own. I can hear it running so I know it was on. I flew 3 days ago and it started fine, so I suspect the cold has had something to do with it. I’ve ordered a solid set of covers that are coming shortly, but the past week I’ve only had a canopy cover on it. Maybe the oil was too cold and the starter couldn’t turn over the engine and broke? But I didn’t hear anything break, just the starter whirring away. As disappointing as this was, I’m glad to have discovered a weak point in the plane that I can have repaired well. I know there will be teething issues while I get used to the plane. If anyone knows what could have broken the starter connection, I’d love to hear it.

 

thanks again for all of your advice everyone! 
 

Jeremy

I recently had the same issue although it would generally finally crank over after a couple tries.  I'm currently in the process of replacing it with the skytec starter.  Like others said it is the bendix gear.  

Bruces covers are excellent, I have a fuselage cover and a tail cover so far and are very happy with them. Might be buying a cowling cover soon for the winter. 

 

[Guest]

Aero Covers which Ned mentioned make a great product as well.

https://aerocovers.ca

Clarence

[skykrawler]

Regarding the radios......if you were running the heat it can build up under then panel with bad affect.  Verify the avionics cooling blower is running - it can usually be heard with the avionics master on and the engine off.

 

[carusoam]

Congrats on buying the best aircraft available…

Congrats on making contact with as many Mooney owners available…

Congrats on becoming familiar with your aircraft…

Congrats on seeking out the best maintenance for your aircraft…

 

Going forwards…

1) Do as much reading as you can…

2) There are a few books people often recommend around here…

3) Read your log books, take notes on what was done, when…

4) Become part of the local Mooney community… attend a Mooney fly-in…

5) Learn the best way to change your own oil, filter, screen, and safety wire… to best decide if this is best for somebody else to do…

6) Fly with other MSers when able… lots to learn.

7) Train in your own aircraft… because you can…

8) Got an IR?

9) How about Commercial?

10) got those ratings? How about honing your skills… MAPA training?

 

Expect the first year of ownership to come with some bumps in the flyway…

Learn the best way to identify the bumps, before flying directly into them…

Fly early and often…

Ask a lot of questions…

Use the search function, this will help tune your questions to make them interesting…

Go MS!

Best regards,

-a-

[Warren Dunes]

On 11/28/2021 at 9:14 AM, carusoam said:

Congrats on buying the best aircraft available…

Congrats on making contact with as many Mooney owners available…

Congrats on becoming familiar with your aircraft…

Congrats on seeking out the best maintenance for your aircraft…

^^^ This

[Mufflerbearing]

There are many iterations of the quote, I'm too poor to buy cheap things.  You purchased an incredible plane and it deserves to be well taken care of.  Spend the money you need to keep it in good shape.  That will pay dividends in the long run. 

I am a little jealous that you get to work with the Doc.  He has great insights and is willing to share his experience.