Back from the dead.

[Lois]

OK ladies and gentleman, N56GD is about to emerge from a 4 year nap. I am looking for recommendations of how to effectively break in a TSIO520NB, function check all new avionics. GTN750, G3X, GI275……..

I appreciate the help. 

[Lois]

Recommended checklist or procedures (FCF profiles) would’ve great. 

[PeteMc]

For the electronics....  If you haven't, download the Garmin Aviation Trainers to practice with the GTN750 (avai. for iPad or PC).  Also watch a lot of the videos available from Garmin as well as a number of other sources for all of your new avionics.  

Next, when it comes time to fly, have a CFI **That Knows Your Equipment** with you.  They're going to be more comfortable about talking to you as well as looking out the window.  There is NO question that your head will be buried inside the plane with a lot of "...now how do you do that  again..." even if you did do a lot of studying before hand.

After a flight or two with the  CFI and you're a little more comfortable, then consider flying with another pilot.  You're still going to have your head buried inside for a while.

 

Edited July 23, 2023 by PeteMc

[Lois]

Will do. 

[natdm]

Going to need a pic of the new beautiful panel when you're good for it. 

[Pinecone]

With new avionics, Garmin gives a coupon good for free access to their online training videos.

Also there are Garmin You Tube videos on various systems.

I suggest a second pilot when you do the avionics stuff, so you can concentrate on the avionics.

Also, TRIPLE check that the controls are rigged the proper direction.  Too  many stores of major/extended work and controls hooked up backwards.

[midlifeflyer]

I agree with @Pinecone about the Garmin videos and the use of a safety pilot when practicing.

Based on experience, I will add that transitions to modern glass involves a learning curve. It's steeper for some than for others and it's the rare bird who can be self-taught.  You will benefit enormously by getting instruction from a CFI who knows your equipment.  Actually, if someone came to me having bought their first Mooney (with glass) after flying a steam gauge 172, I'd expect to spend far more time teaching the avionics than the airframe,

[201Mooniac]

9 hours ago, Pinecone said:

Also, TRIPLE check that the controls are rigged the proper direction.  Too  many stores of major/extended work and controls hooked up backwards.

I never checked this but I was told by an AP that the controls in a Mooney can't be rigged backwards like they can in a Cessna with cables.  Anyone know if this is true?

[Fly Boomer]

23 hours ago, Lois said:

OK ladies and gentleman, N56GD is about to emerge from a 4 year nap. I am looking for recommendations of how to effectively break in a TSIO520NB, function check all new avionics. GTN750, G3X, GI275……..

I appreciate the help. 

I would worry about the avionics after I had flown it a few times.  Here are some suggestions from Mike Busch:

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2019/march/pilot/savvy-aviator-powerplant-resurrection

[PaulM]

1 hour ago, 201Mooniac said:

I never checked this but I was told by an AP that the controls in a Mooney can't be rigged backwards like they can in a Cessna with cables.  Anyone know if this is true?

This is essentially true.  The control system in a Mooney is all pushrods, torque tubes and bell-cranks. The geometry of how the pieces connect are welded and set in the original jigs.   It is the cable control system of the Cessnas and other aircraft that allow the possibility of mis-rigging  as there are two connections between the controls and the flight surfaces, one to pull in one direction, the other cable to pull opposite.  In the Mooney there is only a single connection for each flight surface, as the pushrods and torque tubes can provide force in both directions 

[Pinecone]

1 hour ago, M20Doc said:

Generally, no they can’t be.  But with enough skill and persistence anything is possible I suppose.

Murphy's Law Corollary - Nothing is foolproof because fools are so ingenious.

 

 

[Andy95W]

1 hour ago, M20Doc said:

Generally, no they can’t be.  But with enough skill and persistence anything is possible I suppose.

The trim system can be significantly out of rig, to the extent it can kill you.  And even if it is rigged within non-lethal limits, the indicator can still be significantly off.

[RoundTwo]

2 hours ago, M20Doc said:

Generally, no they can’t be.  But with enough skill and persistence anything is possible I suppose.

Nothing is foolproof for a sufficiently talented fool.

[Lois]

We went with overhauled cylinders, rebuilt turbo and exhaust. The supply chain issues combined with labor shortages have really made this painfully   I appreciate all the advice. 

[hubcap]

17 hours ago, Andy95W said:

The trim system can be significantly out of rig, to the extent it can kill you.  And even if it is rigged within non-lethal limits, the indicator can still be significantly off.

^^^^This^^^^
 

This happened to me on the first flight after my avionics upgrade. Thanks to Mooneyspace, I was prepared for it to be off …. And it was. Made a lap around the pattern and landed. Mine was off enough that if I hadn’t been prepared, I would have had my hands full…at the very least.

[Rick Junkin]

On 7/23/2023 at 6:40 PM, Lois said:

Recommended checklist or procedures (FCF profiles) would’ve great. 

@Lois Send me your email address, mine’s rickjunkin@yahoo.com, and I’ll send you the Excel FCF checklist I developed for my avionics upgrade, due to complete in the next couple of weeks. Similar to yours, G3X, GTN650xi, G5. The checklist is formatted to 5.5” x 8” to fit on a knee board. It’s still a draft but mostly complete.

I suggest spending some quality time on external ground power to do cockpit familiarization with the new avionics and switch locations/operations. I have a checklist for that, included in the FCF Excel file. You can put the GTN 750xi in Demo Mode (hold Direct To button while powering up) and it will allow you to ‘fly” through a simulated flight, just like the iPad and PC apps, and I THINK it will also provide output to the G3X so you can see the interaction between the two. Not sure about that, though. This can help build the muscle memory and hand-eye coordination of where to look and what to turn and touch for each phase of flight. Flows are a great thing.

Does anyone know for sure if the GTN Demo Mode provides simulated output to the other avionics?

EDIT: Disregard, according to Galah on Garmin chat support the Demo Mode does NOT output any data from the GTNs. Bummer. However the stand alone G3X Demo Mode will let you practice the switchology. As far as I know that is one of the only ways to practice with the G3X. There are some aircraft profiles in x-plane that have the G3X but I haven’t seen any of them myself.

Cheers,
Junkman

[A64Pilot]

23 hours ago, M20Doc said:

Definitely can be mis-rigged, but I don’t think it can be reversed.

I bet someone has hooked the wires up backward before

[gevertex]

2 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

I bet someone has hooked the wires up backward before

This happened to me. Trim switch on the yoke was backward after my avionics install. Luckily I recognized it was backward with just a few seconds of trim input once airborne. My mistake was checking the trim on the ground but not checking the direction. Lesson learned.

[KSMooniac]

I would spend as much time as possible on ground power to make sure your panel is functioning well enough to fly VFR safely... namely the pitot-static system!  There are lots of opportunities for leaks, so hopefully renewing the IFR cert has been part of the process to verify integrity.  Check the EIS to the extent possible... are all of the temp probes indicating ambient closely?  Do the radios work properly?  Verify your engine setup with full travels of the engine control cables, turbo check valves in the right orientation, v-band clamp security, safety wire and cotter keys where they're supposed to be, exhaust and intake nuts secured with lock washers, etc.  You might want to test for induction leaks too.

I would suggest breaking in your new engine is the first priority, not fiddling with the new screens.  I recommend reading threads on break-in over at Beechtalk or perhaps here, and/or GAMI.  In a nutshell, you want high power and lots of cooling air, with no extended ground ops, pattern trips, low-power loitering, etc. for several hours. When I broke my overhaul in (NA IO-360) I did a quick ground run to verify no leaks with the cowl off, preflighted extensively including normal run-up checks like flight controls, trim, cowl flaps, etc. so I could takeoff as quickly as possible, and then did it.  I flew a high pattern for ~30 minutes at max power, landed for another leak check, and then on the next few flights did high-power XC at low altitude, LOP, cowl flaps open.  Your turbo means you can break-in up high, though.  If you have no XC on your agenda, then you might fly laps with various airports along the legs in case you need to land quickly.  My first break-in after cylinder IRAN, I flew ~4 hours to Indy for lunch with some Mooney folks, and then back.  Break-in was complete on that day.

GAMI/Tornado Alley Turbo/Advanced Pilot Seminar guidance will recommend high power LOP break in if your engine can handle it.  The lower peak pressure and longer duration of the combustion event will keep the rings in contact with the cylinder walls longer, as well as keep the cylinders cooler than a ROP setting.  That is a good thing for break-in.  Your TSIO 520 might not run LOP well out of the box, though, so make sure you keep it rich enough to stay out of the red box, especially during break-in.  I would focus on your EIS during this phase and not fiddle with the G3X, autopilot, etc until you have a couple hours behind you.

I also donned PPE during this phase for my first couple of flights...surplus USAF flight suit and gloves in case of fire.  I did not wear that outfit out in public, or especially to a fly-in.   

Good luck!  I'm sure you'll enjoy the upgrades immensely.

EDIT to add power settings... I ran WOT and full RPM, but varied it now and then between 2600 and 2700, with mixture setting ~60-70 LOP at ~80% power as that is all I could generate in my area.  You could probably break-in easily running 85% power so long as you're rich enough or lean enough to keep the CHT's down and TIT within limits.  

[Lois]

Thanks KSM. I took all your advice to heart and thank you Rick for you help. Well here she is. 

[Fly Boomer]

1 hour ago, Lois said:

Thanks KSM. I took all your advice to heart and thank you Rick for you help. Well here she is. 

She's gorgeous!  Is the spinner that goes with that prop composite?

[Lois]

Yes sir composite and weighs about a much as a nickel 

[Lois]

Thanks it is a labor of love 

[Fly Boomer]

Just now, Lois said:

Yes sir composite and weighs about a much as a nickel 

I need one of those.  With that prop, did you stick with the 2650 redline, or did you go higher?  Not sure how Rocket came up with the 2650, but I assume it walks in lockstep with the 305 hp.  Not sure why they settled on either of those.

[Lois]

Yes limited to the original Rocket limits. But it accelerates when the turbo kicks in like a T-38 when the blowers light off. OK almost like it. MT wasn’t inventing anything new to the STC.