Left Banking M20J and Rigging

[Ragsf15e]

13 hours ago, jamesyql said:

Winter got the better of my initial plans at a test flight and I had to scrub the flight. Finally got up today and pleased to report that after the static rigging issues were addressed with the travel boards my left bank/yaw is much less pronounced. Winds were strong and gusty today and I was working with my instructor on exercises so will need another flight or two before I decide to start tweaking trailing edge tabs. What a great community we have here. 

Excellent!  When you do check it on a smooth day, check it with the ball centered and different speeds/power settings.  The rudder required changes over the speeds and power, and even with the ball centered, I could see it making some roll difference if you’re looking for it.

[PT20J]

It's also a good idea to check that the ball centers when the airplane is level. You can put a level across the seat tracks and adjust air pressure in the mains to get the airplane level laterally and then check that the ball is centered.

[Ragsf15e]

2 minutes ago, PT20J said:

It's also a good idea to check that the ball centers when the airplane is level. You can put a level across the seat tracks and adjust air pressure in the mains to get the airplane level laterally and then check that the ball is centered.

God point. If i look very closely, my “bubble” ball and the g5 electric version are slightly off when sitting on the ground.  I would think installation would have to be almost perfectly aligned to make them extremely accurate.

[jamesyql]

It's also a good idea to check that the ball centers when the airplane is level. You can put a level across the seat tracks and adjust air pressure in the mains to get the airplane level laterally and then check that the ball is centered.

Thanks, yes this is great point. My mechanic levelled the plane on jacks and ensured the ball was centred as part of the rigging process.

[PT20J]

Probably obvious, but make sure the fuel tanks are balanced. To be sure, I’d start with full tanks.

[jamesyql]

Good news update.

Plane is flying appreciably straighter now that the flaps and rudder have been adjusted with the travel boards.

Slow flight and stalls have both been easier and more predictable. Cruise flight requires much less input.

Thanks for everyone’s input. Bottom line, if your Mooney is not flying straight or behaving well in a stall, it’s worth the hassle to source travel boards and get it done right. And for what it’s worth, my mechanic is not an MSC and was able to get this done in approximately a 9 hours of labour (first time doing Mooney rigging).

[DC_Brasil]

On 11/17/2024 at 10:52 PM, jamesyql said:

 

Nice googling!

So far I have come across:

https://knr-inc.com/shoptalk-articles.html?view=article&id=75&catid=25

https://knr-inc.com/shoptalk-articles.html?view=article&id=106&catid=25

https://themooneyflyer.com/issues/2017-OctTMF.pdf

https://www.themooneyflyer.com/issues/2012-JulTMF.pdf

 

Hello Everyone, 

I would like to ask my fellow Mooney lovers for some help with this one. My plane and I are in Brazil and regulations here, albeit based on the FAA, have a few differences. One key difference is that our A&Ps are more limited in what can be done by themselves if outside a part 145 repair station. Also, I don't know if that's the case in the US but, individual repair stations have to be certified for each individual make and model they need to work on, case in which they have to acquire maintenance manuals and all the tooling that may be required for a make/model. Consequently, there is an investment from repair stations to be able to work an a certain plane type and they need to figure the financial returns.

That being said: we have very few Mooneys registered in Brazil (less that 25) and perhaps a dozen or so with valid airworthiness certificates. Consequently, today there are a handful of repair stations certified for Mooneys in the country, and most of them have mechanics that will very seldom actually get to work on the planes.

So, last annual I ask the shop to do the flight control rigging as the plane had a very pronounced right bank tendency. They "corrected" the problem and now the plane flies straight...  or did they? Ahahahahah now it flies straight but with the right aileron up (yokes to the right in level flight) and the ball is also slightly right of center on the G3X. I have seen that there is a difference in alignment in the ailerons and also in the elevators -on the ground, I can see that the right elevator counterweight arm is about 0.2 inch above the horizontal stabilizer plane in comparison to the left side.

So I guess I am flying with a "speedbrake" on the right wing, and likely losing performance (see pictures below). 

I even printed and translated all the articles on rigging that @jamesyql shared above.

So, what I want to ask is: could someone provide me with images for the steps taken during the flight control rigging? I would like to be able to take them to my mechanic shop and walk them trough the process and try to get the rigging done right.

Thanks everyone!

 

[PT20J]

It sounds like the elevators are misaligned and the shop compensated by tweaking the aileron and/or flap rigging. I’d get the elevators right and then repeat the rigging procedure.

[MB65E]

Why doesn’t a J model have a trim tab on the rudder?  One really needs to bend the skin itself. Did the later F models have the trim tab?

-Matt

[PT20J]

1 hour ago, MB65E said:

Why doesn’t a J model have a trim tab on the rudder?  One really needs to bend the skin itself. Did the later F models have the trim tab?

-Matt

Bending the skins is only for fine tuning after all the rigging has been set correctly.