TKS stall strips

[James McDiarmid]

Hi All,

A TKS stall strip fell off my aircraft a couple of months ago.

I’m looking for a replacement - does anyone know of a salvage yard that might have used ones in stock?

Thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KSMooniac]

You might check with Beegles/BAS in CO... they have parted out one or more long bodies with TKS in the past and might have them.  Make sure to be sitting down if you find one and get the price.  

[Fritz1]

get part # from IPC and google part #, they are quite pricy new, think in the range of $2-$3k, make sure to mount at the exact spot, residual glue is good indicator, use CS3204 tank sealant to attach new one, clean panel thoroughly with appropriate solvent, alcohol works well, you also need some triangular filler foam to distribute fluid in stall strip, CAV aerospace has that foam

[LANCECASPER]

6 hours ago, James McDiarmid said:

Hi All,

A TKS stall strip fell off my aircraft a couple of months ago.

I’m looking for a replacement - does anyone know of a salvage yard that might have used ones in stock?

Thanks

Here's the Service Bulletin: https://mooney.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/SBM20-322.pdf

BAS and the other salvage places know that these are very valuable. You'll probably have to bite the bullet and just order a new one. As it mentions, the airplane is grounded until the stall strip is replaced

[Geoff]

Suggest adding this to preflight activity.  A little nudge on the strip will give you an indication if the glue is letting go.  

[dkkim73]

These were re-bonded at Mooney last year on my plane. Seem solid since. How long do they last before one tends to have to worry?

[Fly Boomer]

40 minutes ago, dkkim73 said:

These were re-bonded at Mooney last year on my plane. Seem solid since. How long do they last before one tends to have to worry?

If they were glued on correctly, I would think they would be fine for a decade.  That said, there is one way to do it correctly, and a hundred ways to screw it up.  A little wiggle during preflight could save you thousands of dollars.

[aviatoreb]

Oh what a pain.  I lost one in flight a decade ago - I was without one for like 6 months since there were none in the supply chain at any price and I forgot how much it was but it was very very expensive.  I kept browsing eBay for like 2 years after I had replaced it and managed to get an extra at an excellent price from a salvage plane which was not necessarily selling that part.  But I made an offer and they sent it.

[dkkim73]

5 hours ago, aviatoreb said:

Oh what a pain.  I lost one in flight a decade ago

Erik,

Did you notice any difference in flight characteristics during normal ops? I'm assuming you didn't push it close to the stall break.

David

 

[exM20K]

10 hours ago, Geoff said:

Suggest adding this to preflight activity.  A little nudge on the strip will give you an indication if the glue is letting go.  

Yes, that is a good policy. So is carrying a roll of speed tape should you find one a little loose away from home.

-dan

[aviatoreb]

9 hours ago, dkkim73 said:

Erik,

Did you notice any difference in flight characteristics during normal ops? I'm assuming you didn't push it close to the stall break.

David

 

Exactly - we shouldnt fly without it - but no - no difference in normal opps but be aware it is there to shape the stall characteristics and that is unbalanced.

[Fritz1]

when reapplied correctly with CS3204 should last "forever", think the factory used some greenish epoxi and that stuff tends to get brittle after about 20 years, and absolutely a little wiggle during preflight or at least at every oil change can't hurt

[mike_elliott]

@CAV Ice will have them. Thanks again Andy for sponsoring the upcoming Mooney Summit with a 55 gal drum and shipping to the winner of this item in the Silent auction

 

[NickG]

UGH! Wind blew my cover off the top of the Ovation and it snagged on a loose stall strip and pulled it almost all the way off. Anyone have an idea what this repair should cost? Plane is AOG until I can get it fixed.

[Bolter]

10 minutes ago, NickG said:

UGH! Wind blew my cover off the top of the Ovation and it snagged on a loose stall strip and pulled it almost all the way off. Anyone have an idea what this repair should cost? Plane is AOG until I can get it fixed.

 

At least you have the strip, and clear indications of the proper location.  As I understand it, replace the internal foam if required, clean the surface well, apply the adhesive.  I think the SB someone attached in this thread had the required steps.  Put some speed tape on it now, to keep it from getting torn off more and overloading the fluid connection.

[Fly Boomer]

11 hours ago, NickG said:

Anyone have an idea what this repair should cost?

Whoever does it needs to understand that the stall strip must be reinstalled precisely where it was.  I doubt that a test pilot determined the location when the TKS was originally added, so that was the first opportunity to change your stall characteristics.  Every time they are replaced, it's likely they don't get put back exactly where the Mooney test pilot put the originals.  One way to memorialize the location is using tape well aft of the leading edge to indicate the lateral edge location, and more tape inboard and outboard to mark the vertical position.  These tape markers must be in place before the old sealant is removed.  The danger is that you end up on your back during a stall if the stall strips are misplaced.

[mike_elliott]

12 hours ago, NickG said:

UGH! Wind blew my cover off the top of the Ovation and it snagged on a loose stall strip and pulled it almost all the way off. Anyone have an idea what this repair should cost? Plane is AOG until I can get it fixed.

shouldnt take an A$P more than an hr or 2 to fix. Your lucky, the hose didnt break off in the wing. As Dan said, tape that sucker up now, find an A&P who has done it before, it will go smooth. Enjoy a long lunch while glue sets up, and place another bet in vegas as this is your lucky day as the stall strip is not laying somewhere in the desert.

Seems like Andy at CAV systems said at SNF they are $1500 new and they have a few but are "flying" off the shelve now.

[Geoff]

The adhesive should be allowed to set for 6 hours before flight.

[NickG]

On 4/18/2025 at 7:58 AM, mike_elliott said:

shouldnt take an A$P more than an hr or 2 to fix. Your lucky, the hose didnt break off in the wing. As Dan said, tape that sucker up now, find an A&P who has done it before, it will go smooth. Enjoy a long lunch while glue sets up, and place another bet in vegas as this is your lucky day as the stall strip is not laying somewhere in the desert.

Seems like Andy at CAV systems said at SNF they are $1500 new and they have a few but are "flying" off the shelve now.

Mike - I called Lone Mountain here in Henderson. They work on a lot of TKS systems apparently as they a very large Cirrus Center (and former MSC). They knew exactly what to do, including taping the area off so the strip can go back in exactly the same space, cleaning and bonding. They estimated 2 hours of work and recommended 8 hours of cure for the bonding until I fly it again. I have an appointment next Tuesday. $200/hr but I figured they know what they're doing so all good.

[dkkim73]

47 minutes ago, NickG said:

Mike - I called Lone Mountain here in Henderson. They work on a lot of TKS systems apparently as they a very large Cirrus Center (and former MSC). They knew exactly what to do, including taping the area off so the strip can go back in exactly the same space, cleaning and bonding. They estimated 2 hours of work and recommended 8 hours of cure for the bonding until I fly it again. I have an appointment next Tuesday. $200/hr but I figured they know what they're doing so all good.

That sounds like a good outcome. Much less expensive than the other pages in the choose-your-own-adventure. 

[Ed de C.]

I've recently joined the club of stall strips departing the airplane.  I noticed on a preflight away from home that "crap, it's gone.  When did that happen?"  I immediately suspected line boy abuse (since the plane had been moved) and gently asked the FBO if anyone had found a foot-long piece of triangular metal lying on the tarmac.  No joy. I knew it was going to hurt.  

One thing I did not worry about was aerodynamics.  That stall strip is there to induce a buffet that the tail feels before the wing tips stall, so that we have some warning through the yoke on incipient stall.  One strip missing out of 4 isn't going to going to change anything in the normal flight regime, and hasn't changed anything on my landings (before I noticed it was missing...)  In fact, my best landing ever was a squeaker that could not be felt (blind squirrels and all that) possibly with the missing strip.  

CAV has quoted me a $1,700 price to get a new one in a few weeks.  They try to keep them in stock and if not, it's 2 to 4 weeks to get one.  Mine will be probably 3 weeks to arrive.  Then a few hours of A/P work. The CAV guys have been responsive and helpful.  My concern is that the feed tube to that stall strip is now exposed (about 2 inches) and does not flow TKS fluid during ground test.  Critical is that the tube does not break off close to the panel or you have to pull the entire panel to fix.  We'll see how this repair goes.

In retrospect, I'm surprised CAV didn't simply screw these things into the underlying panels and negate the reliance on adhesive.

Ed

[LANCECASPER]

15 hours ago, Ed de C. said:

One strip missing out of 4 isn't going to going to change anything in the normal flight regime

Especially since it grounds the airplane . . lol. In taxiing it shouldn't affect it much 

Mooney has a Service Bulletin that allows you to install a non-FIKI strip, if the FIKI strip is not immediately available.

https://mooney.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/SBM20-322.pdf

[dkkim73]

6 hours ago, Ed de C. said:

In retrospect, I'm surprised CAV didn't simply screw these things into the underlying panels and negate the reliance on adhesive.

Your comment makes me wonder if it might be possible to design a curved bracket or something to increase retention. Something "fence like" and thin that would be affixed further aft along the wing. Might look a bit busy. Might be simpler to periodically re bond. Just thinking out loud. 

[Fly Boomer]

12 hours ago, dkkim73 said:

Your comment makes me wonder if it might be possible to design a curved bracket or something to increase retention. Something "fence like" and thin that would be affixed further aft along the wing. Might look a bit busy. Might be simpler to periodically re bond. Just thinking out loud. 

What little experience I have suggests that, if they were attached with tank sealant, they don’t come off suddenly.  Preflight check is probably adequate.

[NickG]

10 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

What little experience I have suggests that, if they were attached with tank sealant, they don’t come off suddenly.  Preflight check is probably adequate.

I just got my bird back from Lone Mountain (now All In) and they did a spectacular job of fixing the strip. They are also sticklers for the book. Apparently Mooney requires a 24 hours cure period on the adhesive and a test flight with stall  (which I can do as Part 92 - just need to note in the book that it was completed satisfactorily). Took them 2.7 hours to complete the repair.