Flyler Posted Monday at 01:33 AM Report Posted Monday at 01:33 AM TL;DR: the plane flies straight. I'm sure many of you know Flight Enhancements as the maker of the electric step conversion, and some other nifty items. I have flown in the owners plane with the "Auto Lean" and it is amazing. This is a review of Rob as an A&P, and particularly his skills at rigging my 79 J model. This man knows his Mooneys. I took delivery of a beautiful 201 and while it flew straight enough, it didn't *look straight*. The left side flap was hanging a bit low, and both ailerons were "drooping" down quite a bit. We looked in the manual and it states between 0 and 2 degrees downward is the appropriate range. Rob helped to adjust the ailerons and flaps so they looked proper, and followed the book properly as well. We took it up for a flight. A slight pull to the left. We made another adjustment. Now a very very slight pull to the left and required a little rudder correction. We landed and Rob said, while my face was glowing with happiness about my new plane, "you might want to hop into the FBO for a minute" and he pulled out a pair of pliers and custom made tool. "Oh my god, no" I said and ran away. The final tweaks require slight bending of the trailing edge of the control surfaces and I couldn't watch. I just bought this plane! He finished up, and the sun went down. Next time we went up for a flight, I had almost forgotten about the rigging. Why? Because the plane flew perfectly straight and called no attention to it! Best part is, he didn't have to take the dreadful pliers to the plane again The straight facts are: Rob Takacs is honest, intelligent, well-skilled and a real Mooney pro. He is a true mentor when it comes to his CFI duties but that is a post for another day. And probably too sappy. 1
Hank Posted Monday at 01:38 AM Report Posted Monday at 01:38 AM You neglected to mention the location, so that the rest of us can enjoy straight-flying Mooneys . . . .
LANCECASPER Posted Monday at 01:41 AM Report Posted Monday at 01:41 AM 8 minutes ago, Flyler said: TL;DR: the plane flies straight. I'm sure many of you know Flight Enhancements as the maker of the electric step conversion, and some other nifty items. I have flown in the owners plane with the "Auto Lean" and it is amazing. This is a review of Rob as an A&P, and particularly his skills at rigging my 79 J model. This man knows his Mooneys. I took delivery of a beautiful 201 and while it flew straight enough, it didn't *look straight*. The left side flap was hanging a bit low, and both ailerons were "drooping" down quite a bit. We looked in the manual and it states between 0 and 2 degrees downward is the appropriate range. Rob helped to adjust the ailerons and flaps so they looked proper, and followed the book properly as well. We took it up for a flight. A slight pull to the left. We made another adjustment. Now a very very slight pull to the left and required a little rudder correction. We landed and Rob said, while my face was glowing with happiness about my new plane, "you might want to hop into the FBO for a minute" and he pulled out a pair of pliers and custom made tool. "Oh my god, no" I said and ran away. The final tweaks require slight bending of the trailing edge of the control surfaces and I couldn't watch. I just bought this plane! He finished up, and the sun went down. Next time we went up for a flight, I had almost forgotten about the rigging. Why? Because the plane flew perfectly straight and called no attention to it! Best part is, he didn't have to take the dreadful pliers to the plane again The straight facts are: Rob Takacs is honest, intelligent, well-skilled and a real Mooney pro. He is a true mentor when it comes to his CFI duties but that is a post for another day. And probably too sappy. Hmm . . that sounds like @takair
Flyler Posted Monday at 02:02 AM Author Report Posted Monday at 02:02 AM He is local to KOXC and it is indeed takair.
Hank Posted Monday at 02:13 AM Report Posted Monday at 02:13 AM 10 minutes ago, Flyler said: He is local to KOXC and it is indeed takair. Ah, so New England.
PT20J Posted Monday at 02:13 AM Report Posted Monday at 02:13 AM That's exactly how it's supposed to be done. Too many start bending metal as a quick fix. But the SMM is clear; set it up according to the manual and then tweak the aileron trailing edges as a final adjustment if necessary. It doesn't take much. These airplanes all flew straight when they left the factory. It's people messing with them without knowing what the are doing that get them all messed up.
takair Posted Monday at 03:13 AM Report Posted Monday at 03:13 AM Thanks much @Flyler Tyler for the compliments! It’s a pleasure working and flying with you. @Hank….we had dinner at KHFD many, many moons ago….if I remember correctly.
Thedude Posted Monday at 03:36 AM Report Posted Monday at 03:36 AM I need this, my J needs left rudder while cruising to stay coordinated, but then banks left pretty quickly, but I'm on the west coast...
Hank Posted Monday at 04:23 AM Report Posted Monday at 04:23 AM 1 hour ago, takair said: Thanks much @Flyler Tyler for the compliments! It’s a pleasure working and flying with you. @Hank….we had dinner at KHFD many, many moons ago….if I remember correctly. Yes, we did. I'm still in Alabama. That was while working on an ultimately successful project from hell, but we got into production on time, and the launch was very successful. Us C owners have to stick together!
jamesyql Posted Monday at 02:49 PM Report Posted Monday at 02:49 PM I had some issues with my J (wing drop) when I first bought it, but I fixed them with flight control rigging as per the maintenance manual. The Mooney Flyer and Knr-Inc websites have great resources that make the process easier and clearer. My mechanic is very conscientious and follows the maintenance manual. He got my plane flying straight. While it’s nice to bring your Mooney to an expert, if you trust your local mechanic, they should be able to fix it without the hassle of travel. Your plane should also now fly faster and stall safer.https://themooneyflyer.com/issues/2017-OctTMF.pdfhttps://knr-inc.com/shoptalk-articles.html?view=article&id=75&catid=25https://knr-inc.com/shoptalk-articles.html?view=article&id=106&catid=25 1 1
Pinecone Posted Monday at 06:28 PM Report Posted Monday at 06:28 PM What does something like this cost? 1
Flyler Posted yesterday at 12:39 AM Author Report Posted yesterday at 12:39 AM 6 hours ago, Pinecone said: What does something like this cost? I would suggest reaching out to Mr. Takair to chat. We did a bit of owner assist, and some other work on the plane so I don't have an exact cost for the rigging. I'm sure it depends how much adjustment is needed as well. Looks like you are nearby, maybe it would be a good connection for you! P.S, I'm still a novice but perhaps week could do a CT Mooney meetup one day. 1
jamesyql Posted yesterday at 01:09 AM Report Posted yesterday at 01:09 AM What does something like this cost?I would say it’s more of an hourly until they get it right. Mine took 8 hours but would be variable depending on what needs to be done. 1
takair Posted yesterday at 02:36 AM Report Posted yesterday at 02:36 AM Depends how far out of rig it is. If nobody messed with it and the ball is just out of center, it might be less than 30 minutes and a test flight. If someone tried to get it right the wrong way it might require correcting the basic rigging and then a few flights with adjustments between. The hardest part is gaining access to some adjustments and being patient with making small adjustments. One wrong adjustment can get you chasing your tail…. You might actually get it to fly hands off but then have severe wing drop in a stall because all the controls are cockeyed. Also, an out of rig Mooney costs a lot of speed…. A well rigged, clean plane might actually hit book numbers. Feel free to PM me if I can be of help or provide advice on a specific issue. 4
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