TWinter Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Hello all, Fairly new to the forum. Just transitioned from my Cherokee into my 74' M20E. Life is great! Does anybody know of a conversion kit to go from manual trim to electric trim? My A&P said he was not aware of a simple conversion without going full blown auto-pilot change over. Any help is appreciated. Getting my hand down between the seats is a small PIA, but it's worth the change from my Cherokee to the Mooney Thanks in advance. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSMooniac Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Tom, welcome to the wonderful world of Mooneys! I learned to fly Mooneys in an M20F that had no autopilot, but it did have electric trim. It was great since the trim speed coincided with the flap deployment speed. Fast-forward many years until I bought my J without electric trim. I thought I would try to add electric trim since you have to trim Mooneys quite a bit for configuration changes, but I waited and quickly got over my desire to add it. As an owner, it is another expensive motor that you need to worry about and overhaul eventually, and it eats into your useful load. I'd recommend you just try flying it for a while longer and think again if you really need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parker_Woodruff Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Keep as few motors in the plane as you can. So don't get electric trim unless your autopilot requires one. I have to worry about electric motors for cowl flaps, landing gear, trim, and wing flaps. None of those can possibly be cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seth Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Hello Tom and congratulations on your Mooney! I concur with Scott and Parker - try flying with the manual trim for a while. Though I do have electric trim in my current Mooney, my first Mooney, a 1967 M20F, had no autopilot and not electric trim. I hand flew it everywhere but it was easy to trim. Unless you are dead set on electric trim, only add it if a newly installed autopilot requires it (for the reasons stated by Tom and Parker). Again, congrats on your purchase, and welcome to Mooneyspace. -Seth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Tom, I added the (Aero Trim) electric elevator trim to my 1970 C over 10 years ago, Didn't cost much $600-$700 still works great and never a issue. I don't know if they still sell them since Norm past away but I'd give them a call maybe they have one sitting around. 786-326-8801. Www.aerotriminc.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 I am with Parker on this one. I have an STEC autopilot but manual trim. The autopilot tells me if it needs any help so I do not feel the need for another motor. I like the manual trim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar Avalle Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 I am with Jim and Parker on this one. I considered installing electrical trim, but it is really not necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmdunn123 Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Hello all, Fairly new to the forum. Just transitioned from my Cherokee into my 74' M20E. Life is great! Does anybody know of a conversion kit to go from manual trim to electric trim? My A&P said he was not aware of a simple conversion without going full blown auto-pilot change over. Any help is appreciated. Getting my hand down between the seats is a small PIA, but it's worth the change from my Cherokee to the Mooney Thanks in advance. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmdunn123 Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 I searched for quite some time and found aero trim to be the only one other than an autopilot add on. After contacting them I discovered that they only make the rudder and aileron trim and no longer make the elevator trim. I bit the bullet and got the stec add on to my stec 30. This was almost 5k but definitely worth the money. The electric trim is invaluable in a go around scenario. I am a large pilot and my butt fills up the seat and trimming with the wheel in ths situation is cumbersome and slow. Stec inlet allows for authorized shops to install this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottfromiowa Posted April 30, 2013 Report Share Posted April 30, 2013 Simple is as simple does... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWinter Posted May 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2013 I searched for quite some time and found aero trim to be the only one other than an autopilot add on. After contacting them I discovered that they only make the rudder and aileron trim and no longer make the elevator trim. I bit the bullet and got the stec add on to my stec 30. This was almost 5k but definitely worth the money. The electric trim is invaluable in a go around scenario. I am a large pilot and my butt fills up the seat and trimming with the wheel in ths situation is cumbersome and slow. Stec inlet allows for authorized shops to install this. Thanks for the update..I'll check it out. About a year has come and gone since I originally posted this. I am pretty comfortable with the trim wheel now, but I will check out what you have mentioned. I'm like you with respect to filling my left seat, at 5'11" and 265 lb. I fill my front seat pretty well. Once I get belted in I'm ready for the race with not much wiggle room to spare. The electric trim would be nice, but so would a armrest on the right side..LOL. Thanks and good luck. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob_Belville Posted May 5, 2013 Report Share Posted May 5, 2013 I have an STEC Model ST-155. Installed in my '66 E in 1997. Works fine. I even use it now and then. But the manual trim wheel is perfectly adequate. (When I'm using the yoke switches I'm apt to have my right hand fingers lightly on the trim wheel for reassurance that the trim is moving. (My first '66 E did not have electric so the 2500 hours in it may be a factor in my SOP.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OR75 Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 unless you have an altitude hold autopilot and/glide intercept, the electric is an expensive proposition vs. what you really get if you install or have an autopilot, autotrim is a nice add in 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmigOne Posted May 7, 2013 Report Share Posted May 7, 2013 I don't know how much effort other guys need to operate the trim wheel, mine is a bit stiff only but going through certain portions of the travel. In my next annual I will ask the shop to make sure nothing is binding. The other problem is that the wheel is too close to the seat and it makes harder to grab. Having said this, the aircraft requires very little trim in flight until you deploy the flaps. I can live with that, one less thing to break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Fox Posted May 7, 2013 Report Share Posted May 7, 2013 I don't know how much effort other guys need to operate the trim wheel, mine is a bit stiff only but going through certain portions of the travel. In my next annual I will ask the shop to make sure nothing is binding. The other problem is that the wheel is too close to the seat and it makes harder to grab. Having said this, the aircraft requires very little trim in flight until you deploy the flaps. I can live with that, one less thing to break. The binding is usually the universal joints in the trim shaft , there are two up near the wheel that will bind over the years , a little penetrating oil and some sweat equity will free them up..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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