Best way to repair this

[zehutiman]

This is the NACA intake on an Ovation.  Is this metal, composite, or fiberglass?  How would you fix it?  Cost?

 

[jetdriven]

Can you zoom out just a little ?

[Shadrach]

Looks like aluminum from the “smoke” and rivets.  Can’t say what’s going on under that red stripe.  Is the piLot side NACA duct at the rear of the cowl?

[KSMooniac]

How in the world did it get like that?  Was there a major impact inside the cabin?  It looks like corrosion bubbles under the paint too.  I wonder what the sequence of events might be that gave this result.  Could be stress cracking from the sheet metal bends that grew and linked-up to fail, or some discrete event inside the cabin?  

[N201MKTurbo]

Whatever is causing the stresses on that are still working. It would be good to figure that out. Luckily, that is non-structural at that point, everything forward of the tail cone is just a fairing over the steel tube structure. Unless you can get a new skin from Mooney, You will need to drill out a few rivets and put a doubler under that tear. I would have to look at that structure behind there to see how to get the doubler in there.

[A64Pilot]

Usually most NACA inlets are plastic, we made ours from rhino lite which is a brand name for some kind of thermoplastic, maybe ABS? I would try to replace it, is the damage just in the duct?

[zehutiman]

2 hours ago, Shadrach said:

Looks like aluminum from the “smoke” and rivets.  Can’t say what’s going on under that red stripe.  Is the piLot side NACA duct at the rear of the cowl?

Yes.  This damage is on a prospective purchase.  But, it looks like somebody tried to “drill stop” both cracks, but it’s not working.  What material does an Ovation use in the cowling?  Could the whole area be bondo’d?

[zehutiman]

7 minutes ago, A64Pilot said:

Usually most NACA inlets are plastic, we made ours from rhino lite which is a brand name for some kind of thermoplastic, maybe ABS? I would try to replace it, is the damage just in the duct?

Yes

[KSMooniac]

Is this a duct on the cowl, or the fresh air scoop on the cabin sidewall, under the instrument panel?

[zehutiman]

3 hours ago, jetdriven said:

Can you zoom out just a little ?

 

[Mark89114]

My NACA duct has a vertical crack right down the middle of it....dont know if there is some weird vibration going on?  But no cracks in the sheet metal.

[PT20J]

Doesn’t look hard to fix. Remove interior panel, drill out some rivets, clean up the corrosion, rivet in a doubler, body putty the cracks, prime. The hardest part will be painting it to look good. 2K single stage polyurethane doesn’t really blend well. You can try feathering the edge and buffing it, but all my paint experts tell me that the edge will show over time especially if it’s outside much. Paints have a minimum film thickness spec.

[A64Pilot]

I’d make the sell dependent on this being fixed hopefully prior to closing so if it looks like crap you have some leverage.

But it depends on how good the deal is I guess.

‘If that’s where I think it is it’s damage to the skin, not the NACA duct, does make one wonder what’s going on, has anyone inspected the tubes under the pilots window?

[Guest]

The side skin appears to be cracked, it is aluminum, the NACA duct inside is usually plastic.

[EricJ]

+1 that it likely just needs a doubler.   Since the area behind it isn't that tough to get at it's probably not a huge deal, but it does make one wonder why it was left to go that long, since somebody did bother to stop drill it twice rather than actually fixing it.

That "corrosion" might be left over adhesive or something from somebody trying to put something on there to stop or slow down the crack or just hide it.

It's definitely something that should be repaired, so it's an opportunity to either have the seller fix it or negotiate an allowance for the cost of repair.    As mentioned, refinishing the area might be tricky, so that would add "substantial" cost to the repair. 

[Bolter]

1 hour ago, PT20J said:

Doesn’t look hard to fix. Remove interior panel, drill out some rivets, clean up the corrosion, rivet in a doubler, body putty the cracks, prime. The hardest part will be painting it to look good. 2K single stage polyurethane doesn’t really blend well. You can try feathering the edge and buffing it, but all my paint experts tell me that the edge will show over time especially if it’s outside much. Paints have a minimum film thickness spec.

Primer, paint it white, then cover with a Mooney Logo sticker just the right size... :-) 

[PT20J]

Standard Mooney shop practice: Cut to size, beat to fit, rivet in place, paint to match. Extra points if you can use an adel clamp or two.

[Yetti]

It kind of looks like it has been bondo fixed before.   That way it is cracking looks like bondo.   I am gonna go with the plane was gear upped and smushed up that side of the plane.   Then some stalwart person fixed with bondo now the bondo has cracked.  It's just a theory, but it works for me.

[Fly Boomer]

7 hours ago, Yetti said:

It kind of looks like it has been bondo fixed before.   That way it is cracking looks like bondo.   I am gonna go with the plane was gear upped and smushed up that side of the plane.   Then some stalwart person fixed with bondo now the bondo has cracked.  It's just a theory, but it works for me.

Any tricks for getting that bondo off without destroying what is underneath?  I keep thinking there must be something that would soften it.  Paint remover possibly?

[Pinecone]

Bondo is filled polyester resin.  Basically a very think fiberglas resin.

Once cured, it is pretty solvent resistant.

It seems the two common recommendations are isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) or sulfuric acid.   If you can find some, the old methylene chloride paint remover may also work.

[N201MKTurbo]

3 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

Any tricks for getting that bondo off without destroying what is underneath?  I keep thinking there must be something that would soften it.  Paint remover possibly?

The only thing I’ve ever used to remove Bondo is sandpaper.

A quick search shows that a heat gun is effective for removing old Bondo.

[A64Pilot]

My opinion is the crack is of secondary importance, as this isn’t common in Mooney’s something is going on with this aircraft. I think it’s important to try to determine why it cracked to start with.

An improperly fitted skin when it was built is a possibility, you know maybe oil canning, but I think it should be investigated. As you need to do this anyway I’d want at least a good look at the tubes under the skin. Your going to look at those tubes anyway as it’s a common problem area, just look a little harder is all.

I removed the bondo on my 140 when I painted it, I believe by using the “Aircraft paint stripper” you buy at the auto store, you know the one that says not to be used on aircraft, and a pressure washer. It’s the stuff you dare not get on you, lest it strip your skin off

[Pinecone]

2 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

I removed the bondo on my 140 when I painted it, I believe by using the “Aircraft paint stripper” you buy at the auto store, you know the one that says not to be used on aircraft, and a pressure washer. It’s the stuff you dare not get on you, lest it strip your skin off

Probably methylene chloride based.  That stuff would remove just about anything.

[EricJ]

6 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

Any tricks for getting that bondo off without destroying what is underneath?  I keep thinking there must be something that would soften it.  Paint remover possibly?

Sandpaper, or if you're a modern man, the appropriate color of scotchbrite. 

[EricJ]

It looks like this airplane has an identical issue (and apparently several others).

From here:   

https://www.trade-a-plane.com/search?make=MOONEY&model_group=MOONEY+M20+SERIES&model=M20R+OVATION&listing_id=2412442&s-type=aircraft#