Magneto Installation And Timing Help Needed

[Kevin M]

Ladies and Gentleman,

    New M20C owner here.  Mags were sent out for rebuild and returned.  Unfortunately, the intended installer/Mechanic

Has had some unfortunate events occur in life that have precluded him from completing the task.  I am hoping one of you can recommend 

someone who can travel to KPSP and bolt them up and set proper timing.  The plane is in annual and this is the final step to (hopefully) safely

enjoying the plane.  Here is some basic info on what the installation may entail

Lyc O360A1D

DD Bendix 10-163045-3  (S4LN-204) serial #818264   Right magneto when viewed from front

RB Bendix 10-163005-2   (S4LN-200) serial #796659   Presumably the Left 
 

if any of you can please give any constructive input to help this thing to the finish line? I’d be greatly appreciative. 
the aircraft has been sitting in a hangar in Palm Springs since January and I simply cannot any longer for the previous mechanics health and situation to improve. I would prefer to find a local

(Los Angeles or San Diego) guy or gal that knows these engines and Magnetos to get the job done.  The intention is to fly the aircraft 

locally for a week or so to shakedown any squawks until it can make its way to its new home In St. Augustine Florida area. 
I thank you in advance for any input. 
Kevin
 

[A64Pilot]

Any A&P ought to be able to do it, if you haven’t gotten new Mag gaskets yet, get them. Many reuse the gaskets and get oil seeps, but they are cheap and easy.

Mag timing is something that needs to be as close as it can be.

There has to be someone on the field?

Did the Annual get signed off?

Edited April 27, 2022 by A64Pilot

[Kevin M]

Hello A64 pilot. 
   Thanks for the response.  The annual was indeed signed off in January .  I sent the mags off to get them inspected and one got some new parts. Other mag was fine.  New gaskets were ordered and ready to go.  Here’s the rub.  The guy working on it has had some health issues.  Before just asking anyone local to put a wrench to the aircraft?  I figured I’d reach out to the community for a reference.  I live on the other coast so geography has been a bit of a problem. 
Kevin

[carusoam]

Welcome aboard Kevin…

Expect the constructive criticism to sound harsh…

Answer as many questions as you can…

See if you can summarize what you need done…

1) Getting mags mounted is as easy as a general aviation airplane project can go… many people are going with some form of electronic mag option lately…

2) Were the mags recently OH’d, new in the box, repaired, what is their status…?

3) It is unusual to have a perfect plane, sitting, only waiting on mags…. What is the air worthiness status of the rest of the plane?

4) Installing mags in pairs comes with unique failure risks… and the usual timing drift adjustments early on….

5) Tell us about your M20C flight experience… any?

6) Any Transition Training in your plan?

7) Are you planning on flying cross country in a new 2U plane… without a ride along mechanic or flight instructor?

Tough questions…

Adrien did something similar and flew an M20E to Europe when he was done… he also had a lot of experience that was not well explained up front… 

the more details you fill in, the less curvy the discussion goes…

Best rgeards,

-a-

[Greg Ellis]

21 minutes ago, Kevin M said:

Hello A64 pilot. 
   Thanks for the response.  The annual was indeed signed off in January .  I sent the mags off to get them inspected and one got some new parts. Other mag was fine.  New gaskets were ordered and ready to go.  Here’s the rub.  The guy working on it has had some health issues.  Before just asking anyone local to put a wrench to the aircraft?  I figured I’d reach out to the community for a reference.  I live on the other coast so geography has been a bit of a problem. 
Kevin

This sort of situation begs for a subscription to Savvy Aviation Maintenance (I am not a spokesman or sales person for them and do not get paid to mention them).  I don't know if you would want to do this but they would be able to find you a mechanic that could do the work for you and help you get things done when you are a continent away from your airplane.

[Kevin M]

Hello Carusoam,

   I bought the plane in January.  Flew it around the local area a few times with the owner to acquaint myself with it. It is in Annual.  The mags were both sent out for Overhaul since it was due. The plane flew pretty well with some minor issues. The plan was to just get them done before a long trip. Spend some time doing local trips around the socal area to shake it down.  I’ve been flying a Cherokee 180 while on days off  in Florida to try and help with the sight picture. I usually fly a 767 for work so I had a tendency to flare a little (okay a lot high). 
I do indeed have a mechanic who will catch up with me in El Paso to accompany for the eventual flight east. I have zero intention of taking it into IMC or extended duration above inhospitable terrain.  This is my first Mooney and 5th personally owned aircraft after many years away from General aviation.   I’m hoping one of the members may know someone they trust to bolt these things up and sets timing properly. I’d like to avoid just calling local shops and randomly selecting someone.  I can fly a guy in to install at the end of May.  However, schedule constraints get difficult for that option.  I’d prefer to get it done by a local. Get confident it is up for the task and fly my guy in when it’s time to point it east.  
Kevin

[N201MKTurbo]

I will be flying to San Diego this weekend. I could stop by and put them on. Do you have tools, or would I need to bring everything?

[Kevin M]

Greg,

   Thanks for the tip with Savvy. I’ve been out of G/A for many years. The fellas I had wrench on my planes while I lived on the west coast have all passed away. So I’m in an unusual predicament for something seemingly so simple.  I know my way around a toolbox.  But, I’m unqualified to do this type of thing myself. Not to mention the moral and legal ramifications. 
Kevin 

[Kevin M]

201MK.  
   That would be amazing.  I can arrange to have basic tools available for you. 
And standing by at arms reach. I have no idea how one would time the,  so I cannot speak intelligently on that. 
Kevin. 
 

[Kevin M]

N201MKTurbo 

  I sent you a PM 

[carusoam]

Kevin,

Thanks for the additional details…

If you have the opportunity to work with Rich… he is well qualified for the task… (A&P IA)

You can check his picture book around here… he took nice photos while recently overhauling his Mooney M20J’s (TN’d)IO360!

Savvy makes a pretty good resource as well… and may make additional sense for that first trip across the country…  

Best regards,

-a-

[A64Pilot]

It’s really more of a formality, but have someone who is familiar with make/model take it around the patch before you set off, and be sure your insurence covers them too, most do I believe, but thankfully I don’t know much about insurence. They will know if she’s making good power etc and not down some.

People dp get into trouble with Mooney’s but it seems they usually have little experience and are not experienced with energy management, but I’m sure you will do fine, but while that experienced guy is taking it around the pattern, ride along and see how they shoot the approach, it’s simply that a Mooney doesn’t bleed energy as quickly as most is all, but I think you’ll find that being more normal than most

Edited April 28, 2022 by A64Pilot

[Kevin M]

Caruso and ag64 

  Thanks for the input guys, I know people are busy with life,business, family, etc etc.  I appreciate all of you taking the time to respond and help out a stranger.  201MKTurbo  is going to stop by and remedy my situation.  Had a nice phone conversation with him. 
also spoke with Chris who offered to both take me for a little air work in both his aircraft and mine. I have very little time in a Mooney with the bulk of it 20+ years ago.  And only 1.6 hrs In type in January.  Hardly makes me safe to embark on a long cross country regardless of recency, currency, and proficiency in wide body.  The two are apples and oranges.  I respect aviation too much to be so arrogant.  Can’t thank this community enough for its sober and thoughtful responses.  If anyone cares for an future update?  I’d be happy to pass along the experience moving forward. 

respectfully and Sincerely,

Kevin
 

[Kevin M]

Ag64. 
   Oh yes. You would have had a nice laugh at my first approach and landing in my C model.   Needless to say I was fast    But, at least I was high deboot.  Not to mention I carried power all the way to the flare.  It was Fugly. It eventually rolled on nicely. However, the amount of runway left behind was distressing.  Almost went around on an 8500 foot runway.  The previous owner (whom occupied the other seat) had a good laugh at my expense. They did get a little better after that. Needless to say I will be imposing personal minimum criteria with respect to runway length, density altitude, terrain, etc etc. until I’m proficient in the new (to me) aircraft. 
as previously mentioned. I appreciate all your guys’ input and concern. 
Kevin 

[carusoam]

5 hours ago, Kevin M said:

Caruso and ag64 

  Thanks for the input guys, I know people are busy with life,business, family, etc etc.  I appreciate all of you taking the time to respond and help out a stranger.  201MKTurbo  is going to stop by and remedy my situation.  Had a nice phone conversation with him. 
also spoke with Chris who offered to both take me for a little air work in both his aircraft and mine. I have very little time in a Mooney with the bulk of it 20+ years ago.  And only 1.6 hrs In type in January.  Hardly makes me safe to embark on a long cross country regardless of recency, currency, and proficiency in wide body.  The two are apples and oranges.  I respect aviation too much to be so arrogant.  Can’t thank this community enough for its sober and thoughtful responses.  If anyone cares for an future update?  I’d be happy to pass along the experience moving forward. 

respectfully and Sincerely,

Kevin
 

Pireps on your experience are always appreciated…

A newbie with less experience will be learning from your experience….

Interesting comparisons between your work plane and a Mooney are always interesting…

There are Some interesting work planes around here… 

 

Plan to hang out for a while… lots can be learned about Mooney ownership… including… ‘what does this do…’

Best regards,

-a-

[Guest]

Hopefully your magneto installation includes lock washers.  This is on a D3000 in the shop, missing lock washers, under torqued nuts and obsolete hold down clamps. It just installed after a 500 last year.

Clarence

Edited April 28, 2022 by M20Doc

[Hank]

The pilot-side magneto is hard to remove. I managed it once, after fighting a little over an hour. Then second time I had a helper and we removed the battery box from the firewall, then it was easy. Both times had an A&P reinstall and time it.

The other one is easy, there's soooomuch more space!

Hope yours goes well. Please update on the repair, and let us know how the flight home goes (with pictures!).

[Kevin M]

Clarence,

thank you for including the pic and the insight.  Your response was exactly what I was looking for. That’s the beauty of our little corner of the world. There is so much knowledge out there that can perhaps save lives. 
Hank, 

it’s my understanding the battery box has been removed for this installation. I passed that info on to 201Turbo for the install. I’m feeling pretty confident having an experienced Mooney owner with extensive knowledge and credentials to install correctly. I’ll keep you apprised.  
Carusoam,

   I do indeed plan to check in here often.  The Mooney culture has had a longstanding reputation which hasn’t proven wrong in this case. It’s refreshing to see genuine interest in helping out a fellow pilot navigate his/her challenges. I’ll try and remember to get some interesting pics and hook up a go pro somewhere.  
Kevin

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Kevin M said:

Clarence,

thank you for including the pic and the insight.  Your response was exactly what I was looking for. That’s the beauty of our little corner of the world. There is so much knowledge out there that can perhaps save lives. 
Hank, 

it’s my understanding the battery box has been removed for this installation. I passed that info on to 201Turbo for the install. I’m feeling pretty confident having an experienced Mooney owner with extensive knowledge and credentials to install correctly. I’ll keep you apprised.  
Carusoam,

   I do indeed plan to check in here often.  The Mooney culture has had a longstanding reputation which hasn’t proven wrong in this case. It’s refreshing to see genuine interest in helping out a fellow pilot navigate his/her challenges. I’ll try and remember to get some interesting pics and hook up a go pro somewhere.  
Kevin

You’re in good hands if Rich is installing your magneto.

Clarence

[A64Pilot]

Once you get used to it, you’ll be surprised at how good a short field airplane a Mooney is, not rough field, but it will get in and out if kept light pretty short.

[Kevin M]

AG64,

    I was surprised at the short field info on the C while doing my homework before choosing the Mooney.   In my ignorance I had assumed it liked a lengthy runway before sitting down and learning about the type.  As you are aware from previous posts The aircraft capabilities far surpass my current prowess in it.  I’ll take it slow and methodical to ensure I’m a good caretaker of the old girl. Nothing more sad to see then a bent up airplane. 
Kevin

[A64Pilot]

Only disadvantage for short field for a Mooney is if they have tall trees on the approach end, then to get a decent rate of descent it takes a full slip and even then they like to glide.

My J model is heavy I guess and doesn’t climb real strong either.

People have problems with Mooney’s because they try to fly them like a 172, once they learn to fly them like a Mooney they don’t have any problems.

I’ve heard rumors that someone is flying a C model into some of the Idaho back country strips, I’m sure he’s avoiding the rough ones but still you don’t expect to see a Mooney out there.

[Hank]

6 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

I’ve heard rumors that someone is flying a C model into some of the Idaho back country strips, I’m sure he’s avoiding the rough ones but still you don’t expect to see a Mooney out there.

It's my understanding that piperpainter sold his C model and bought a tailwheel. But you should check out his YouTube videos of back country flying his Mooney!

[Kevin M]

Update on the Mags.  Special thanks to Rich for all his input.   Chris was completely awesome.  What a selfless and patient man.  
plane is running great     Details to come shortly   The plane will remain in Cali until I get a few hoses replaced for peace of mind  

thanks for all the input guys!

Kevin

 

[Kevin M]