Bruce's covers question

[haymak3r]

Hey everybody! 

I am in the market to get a cover and most likely cowl plugs for my m20j due to the fact that my home airport is going to be closing access to where my hanger is for a month or two in June.

I have struck out at trying to find another hanger to put it in unfortunately, so will have to park it on the ramp. I was curious whether it would be worth it to get the more expensive fully lined cover or the lighter "travel" cover. Is the extra cost worth it, if I am only going to be using it for a month or 2, and then potentially if I go on a long trip somewhere? Also, what are some options on making sure the critters stay out of the engine area with regards to the cowl flaps? I am thinking more for like wasps/hornets, etc. Not sure if mice would be an issue there.

 

Thanks!

[1980Mooney]

1 hour ago, haymak3r said:

Hey everybody! 

I am in the market to get a cover and most likely cowl plugs for my m20j due to the fact that my home airport is going to be closing access to where my hanger is for a month or two in June.

I have struck out at trying to find another hanger to put it in unfortunately, so will have to park it on the ramp. I was curious whether it would be worth it to get the more expensive fully lined cover or the lighter "travel" cover. Is the extra cost worth it, if I am only going to be using it for a month or 2, and then potentially if I go on a long trip somewhere? Also, what are some options on making sure the critters stay out of the engine area with regards to the cowl flaps? I am thinking more for like wasps/hornets, etc. Not sure if mice would be an issue there.

 

Thanks!

I would get the lighter cover - it will help keep rain out of the cabin if you have any unknown leaks (esp around windows which an contribute to corrosion on the cabin steel frame).  And it will reduce the thermal and UV deterioration in the interior. It should last easily for a few months and you can always use it again.  Cowl plugs help reduce moisture blowing through the engine area while it sits outside (rain or condensation).  I never did anything about the cowl flaps.  But I would put a tennis ball in the exhaust if it were sitting for a while.  Some have said they put painters tape over the fuel cap to reduce water leaking in when sitting out in the rain.  Regardless be sure to rock the wings and sump the fuel tanks well before flight if you have it sitting out for a couple months. (and purge the gascolator unlike N2543L https://mooneyspace.com/topic/32909-n2953l-off-runway-at-fort-meade-md/?do=findComment&comment=791443) 

 

[pkellercfii]

+1 for a pair of cowl plugs for outside parking . I have a pair from Bruce’s Aircraft Covers which I’m happy with. I mostly bought them for winter preheating with an installed Reiff preheater, but they do do a good job of keeping critters out, too. If you’re not already using a pitot tube cover, I’d suggest that, too, even inside a hangar.

For the spring bird nesting season, you might consider a tail cone cover to keep birds out of the tail cone. Those are on Bruce’s list of covers they manufacture for Mooneys. At least where I am now in N. Carolina, for some reason, black birds LOVE to build their nests in the tail cones of Mooneys in spring. I cleaned one bird nest out of my Mooney tail while I was outside & on the waiting list for a hangar at my then-new base of KTTA last spring. I’ve also cleaned two or three bird nests out of the tails of my flying club’s J model Mooneys.

If your fuel caps are properly maintained and adjusted, water ingress into the fuel tanks shouldn’t be a problem. I had no water problems in ten months on the ramp at my now current home base of KTTA, even through several heavy SE USA rainstorms.

—Paul Keller

’89 K@KTTA

 

[haymak3r]

Thanks guys! Definitely ordering the cowl plugs, and I have the fuel cap silicone orings from gallagheraviation. And yes, I always sump all 3 spots

This may seem silly, but the previous owner had an old pan under the plane, and would clean the pan, and then sump the gascolator. I have continued that and check, clean the pan out during my normal walk-around.

 

This will be during the summer, so hopefully no rain, but June is sometimes weird. This will hopefully just be temporary. I was leaning towards the lighter cover which will help with travelling/weight. Thanks for the tip on the tailcone cover, I'll look in to that one as well. Also, I do have and use my pitot cover regularly.

[Ragsf15e]

If you want to be super thorough, put something over the fuel vents too.  Mud daubbers like it in there and that will ruin your day.  Use something bright enough that you see it during preflight, because leaving it on will also ruin your day.

[Pinecone]

A pipe cleaner will keep the bug out of the tank vents  And not block them if you forget.

I bought a bag of 100 extra long red ones from Amazon.

[haymak3r]

That sounds like an amazing idea lol. 1/4" I assume? Or maybe 3/16" huh. 

[haymak3r]

3 hours ago, Ragsf15e said:

If you want to be super thorough, put something over the fuel vents too.  Mud daubbers like it in there and that will ruin your day.  Use something bright enough that you see it during preflight, because leaving it on will also ruin your day.

Definitely a good idea. My preflight habit is to always physically touch the vents to make sure I look at them. But, getting the pipe cleaner idea should work.

[Will.iam]

14 hours ago, haymak3r said:

Definitely a good idea. My preflight habit is to always physically touch the vents to make sure I look at them. But, getting the pipe cleaner idea should work.

Or just use one of those blue shop paper towels. I roll up a corner and shove it in the vent hole with the rest of the towel hanging down. It looks like the remove before flight pitot cover and the vent on the right wing is next to the pitot so when i go to remove that the blue towel next to it reminds me to get the left side too if for some reason I didn’t see it or didn’t do a thorough preflight and forgot it the wind at flight speeds would pull the end of the towel out of the vent. 

[Pinecone]

5 hours ago, Will.iam said:

 forgot it the wind at flight speeds would pull the end of the towel out of the vent. 

Have you tested this?

[Will.iam]

3 hours ago, Pinecone said:

Have you tested this?

Haven’t forgot to remove on yet. Will let you know if i ever do. 

[Kelpro999]

On 3/22/2023 at 2:07 PM, haymak3r said:

Hey everybody! 

I am in the market to get a cover and most likely cowl plugs for my m20j due to the fact that my home airport is going to be closing access to where my hanger is for a month or two in June.

I have struck out at trying to find another hanger to put it in unfortunately, so will have to park it on the ramp. I was curious whether it would be worth it to get the more expensive fully lined cover or the lighter "travel" cover. Is the extra cost worth it, if I am only going to be using it for a month or 2, and then potentially if I go on a long trip somewhere? Also, what are some options on making sure the critters stay out of the engine area with regards to the cowl flaps? I am thinking more for like wasps/hornets, etc. Not sure if mice would be an issue there.

 

Thanks!

I’m outside 24/7 and use Macs covers. The more expensive sunbrella model at 340 or so seems to last better than six yrs in sunny SoCal. Windshield liner and light weight enough to take along. 

[haymak3r]

34 minutes ago, Kelpro999 said:

I’m outside 24/7 and use Macs covers. The more expensive sunbrella model at 340 or so seems to last better than six yrs in sunny SoCal. Windshield liner and light weight enough to take along. 

Interesting. Thanks for the tip. I am looking at those, and I see that there are different colors? Would the darker color such as red cause the cabin to heat up potentially more than white? Or does the material used breath good enough to not cause that, you think.

[Kelpro999]

1 hour ago, haymak3r said:

Interesting. Thanks for the tip. I am looking at those, and I see that there are different colors? Would the darker color such as red cause the cabin to heat up potentially more than white? Or does the material used breath good enough to not cause that, you think.

Not sure, I’ve only used tan ones so nothing to compare. Also leave window vent open that seems to limit  condensation with lower temp delta .