The Making of N252Q

2010 N252Q Pics

2010-08-08T22:01:00.001-05:00

Hi gang, it's been awhile since I posted anything to the blog. Thought I'd check in and let you all know that N252Q is doing very well. I thought I'd upload some recent pics that I snapped in the hangar today. My new camera does a better job showing off the ChromAlusion paint. You can see the color transition better in these pics than the ones I've posted previously.

Tejas AeroServices

2009-12-18T21:17:00.002-06:00

I was browsing through the Mooney Owners and Pilots Association (MAPA) magazine the other day and came across a Tejas AeroServices ad featuring N252Q. I thought I'd share it with you.

Thank you Tejas for featuring N252Q. She's still as beautiful as the day I picked her up.

2008 Annual

2008-11-23T09:25:00.017-06:00

I've gone to Midwest Mooney for the past several years for 252Q's annual. I figured it's always good to get a second opinion. This time around I decided to go to Northwest Flyer's in Schaumburg, IL, which is located in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. Northwest Flyer's is the closest Mooney Service Center to Chicago.

The Schaumburg Airport (06C) is very nice. It is well maintained and has an excellent restaurant on the field called Pilot Pete's. The only issue with 06C is that it is located just outside of the inner circle of O'Hare airport (ORD). You have to approach below 1900 feet and there are a number of large antennas in the area. This is a VFR airport (MVFR if you know the area). They don't have a control tower or any IFR approaches into the field.

I was fortunate that the weather was good on October 31, which was the last day of the month before my annual expired.

NOTE: I like doing annuals as close to the last day of the month as possible, so the annual is signed off in the following month.

After leaving GYY I did some simulated practice approaches into Lansing Municipal Airport (IGQ) with my wife Lisa as the safety pilot. Lansing, Illinois is an excellent airport that is only a few miles Southwest of GYY where I'm based. They have GPS approaches to every runway, the traffic is light and it is easy to get in several approaches to holds.

06C is a busy airport because it is so close to the city and we arrived around lunchtime. Lots of jet traffic, light planes and helicopters were flying into the field. There was a bit of confusion with the line crew when I arrived. It took a bit for them to realize I was there for maintenance not lunch, but when they did they taxied me right up to the maintenance hangar door. The drop off was quick and easy. I handed them the logbooks and they moved 252Q into the hangar. We had lunch at Pilot Pete's and then took the Chicago Metra Train back into the city to work.

The Findings
Pretty much nothing! Gene, the IA that runs the Maintenance Facility, said "252Q was the nicest Mooney he's seen in his 30+ year career." He did not find one drop of oil in the engine or anywhere! The compressions were good, the rigging of the gear, flight controls, etc. were perfect. All they had to do was change the oil, clean the fuel injectors, service the O2 tank and install a new ELT battery. It was nice to get out of an annual without spending thousands of dollars.

The Pickup
Lisa and I went out to pickup the plane Saturday, November 23. The annual took less than a week to complete, but the weather in Chicago has been horrendous. Saturday was the first VFR day since dropping it off.

I did careful preflight of the plane. Oil was good, inspection panels were installed properly, etc. I also updated the GPS and MFD databases. All was good form a visual inspection perspective. 252Q started up and I slowly taxed out to the Runway. The run-up was good, but the Mag check failed. The drop was good when running on the Right mag, but it would not drop when running on the Left. I did a static run-up and confirmed that both mags were functioning. The plane had so much power it was dragging the plane forward while the tires were locked! Fortunately, I've seen this issue before. The P-Lead on the mag had to be disconnected!

NOTE: The P-Lead grounds a mag so it will not fire when shut off. This is not a big deal from a flight perspective, but it is very dangerous on the ground. Turning the prop could actually cause the engine to attempt to start!

Unfortunately the maintenance shop was closed on Saturday, so I had to remove the top cowling and reconnect the P-Lead. After getting things back together the run-up was good. We flew back to Chicago and did a few more simulated approaches into IGQ. I then flew the VOR RW 2 approach into GYY with a circle to land on RW20. That was a challenge since Lisa would not let me look out the window until we were right on top of the field. Never the less, I nailed the approach and landing!

Night Currency
I dropped Lisa off at the Southshore Train and went back to the airport to prep the hangar and plane for winter. By the time I was finished it was about 6pm and dark outside. I haven't flown at night in awhile, so I figured I'd do my night currency and test the lights on 252Q. She started up instantly and all of the exterior lights were working. 252Q looks like a Christmas tree at night. I only noticed a couple of lights out inside that I need to fix, but they were on instruments I didn't need and could see with overhead lighting.

I slowly taxied to RW12 at GYY and carefully tested everything. All worked, so I departed. 252Q flew perfectly. She hit a 1500 ft/min climb seconds after breaking ground. I had to back power off quickly or I would have departed the airspace. She was running like a top. I did the first landing to a full stop like I've been doing them every day. The tower controller let me back taxi the runway and I took off again. This time the tower turned on the center line lighting. That looks so cool on final! I back taxied again and then did my final landing. This time I rolled down the runway and turned off onto a taxiway closer to my hangar.

I almost forgot how beautiful Chicago is at night from the sky. The flight was outstanding! The city was awesome, the lake looked like a the abyss with light fog building and the sky was pretty much mine. I can't wait to do it again.

$100 Hamburger - Mansfield OH (KMFD)

2008-10-20T19:05:00.004-05:00

Hey gang, it has been awhile since I've posted. I haven't dropped off of the earth, just been busy with work. My wife and I flew up to Mansfield, Ohio (KMFD) over the weekend for a $100 Hamburger. It is a great stop. The airport is towered with tons of approaches, yet we were the only airplane on the ramp.

The restaurant was clean, the people were friendly and the food was good. It seems that they get a good business form the local community. They had a large group playing cards when we were there.

Here's a pic of the bar. They may even sell adult beverages. The gals at the counter are quite friendly and the service is fast.

N252Q Video

2008-08-09T19:39:00.004-05:00

The following is a video segment of N252Q's new paint scheme. Static pictures do not do it justice. Enjoy...

N252Q Paint Refurb Project.

Vimeo versus YouTube

2008-08-05T06:46:00.008-05:00

You may have noticed that the videos I've been posting in this blog are hosted on vimeo and not the more common YouTube. YouTube no doubt has a larger audience, but I've found their video quality and streaming is not quite as good as vimeo.

NOTE: Click on the image below to see the difference. The image of the Harrier is sharper than YouTube. The video source file was exactly the same.

YouTube also limits the length of the video you can upload. Vimeo does not have a limitation on duration, but has a weekly limit on upload size (500 MB). It is nice not to have to contend with a length limit when pulling together a video story or home movie you want to share with family or friends. vimeo also supports high definition file uploads. You can upload a 16:9 format 1080i video (wide screen) and anyone can play it back in HD quality over the web. YouTube only supports 14:3 (standard definition) video.

I was initially concerned that 500 MB would be a limiting factor since video -- especially HD video -- creates huge files. However, I've found that I can compress video using QuickTime and achieve exceptional quality while significantly reducing the size of the file. This week I've uploaded several high-quality Oshkosh videos on vimeo and still have plenty of space available for more.

NOTE: The post just prior to this one, Harrier Jet Demonstration, has the exact same video uploaded to both sites. A good test is to run both videos at the same time and do your own comparison. Just turn down the volume on your computer -- Harrier Jet's are loud!

Harrier Jet Demonstration

2008-08-04T22:21:00.010-05:00

The Harrier has been around for a long time, but everyone, including me, loves to watch it do its thing. It is fun to see this huge airplane stop in mid air.

I captured this footage at the 2008 EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The pilot departed the runway normally, did a high-speed pass, hovered and a vertical landing/take-off.

Harrier Jet Demo at EAA AirVenture 2008 on vimeo

Harrier Jet Demo at EAA AirVenture 2008 on YouTube

Martin Jetpack Demonstration

2008-08-02T15:15:00.004-05:00

Tuesday at EAA AirVenture they unveiled the Martin Jetpack in Aeroshell Square. It was an unprecedented turnout for an early in the morning event. I was fortunate enough to be a few rows back and was able to capture this video. This was the first ever public flight of the Martin Jetpack.

Martin Jetpack Introduction & Demonstration.

Paul Poberezney at Warbirds in Review

2008-08-02T08:50:00.006-05:00

I recorded this segment at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008. A few years back they started Warbirds in Review, which is a forum that lets AirVenture guests get to meet the Men and Women that made our world what it is today.

This segment features Paul Poberezney. Paul is the founder of the Experimental Aircraft Association and Chairman of the Board. His son Tom is the President of the association. Paul is discussing the beginning of EAA AirVenture, his humble upbringing and some short stories about his P51 Mustang - Paul I.

Paul Poberezney at Warbirds in Review.

EAA AirVenture 2008 Airshow

2008-08-01T20:56:00.017-05:00

This year I thought it would be fun to take the camcorder to Oshkosh and grab some video of our experiences. Let me know if you like video blogging. I'd be happy to incorporate more into the blog if you are interested...

EAA AirVenture Airshow
No trip to Oshkosh would be complete without seeing the Air Show. Only the best of the best are invited to perform at AirVenture. This year was spectacular. Sean Tucker is awesome as usual and his aerobatics team "The Collaborators" put on a great show. Patty Wagstaff is another one that brings the house down.

One of the coolest acts this year was performed by Pilot Chuck Aaron in the Red Bull Aerobatic Helicopter. Red Bull has the world's first certified Acrobatic Helicopter and Mr. Aaron is only pilot licensed in the United States to fly aerobatics in a helicopter! It is unbelievable what they can get this chopper to do...

EAA AirVenture 2008 Airshow.

Introducing the Cirrus Vision SJ50

2008-07-30T22:33:00.016-05:00

The Cirrus Design Vision SJ50 (aka Cirrus Jet) made its world debut at Oshkosh today. We were fortunate enough to see it make a low pass along the flightline and land. From my vantage point it looked stable, beautiful and fast. They might have a winner with this one.

I love EAA AirVenture. The Cirrus Vision has only been flying for three weeks and they brought it from Duluth to the show. Cirrus is a company that understands marketing. They know it is critical to get this airplane in front of the largest group of pilots in the world.

The SJ50 will be parked at the Cirrus Design booth for the rest of the show. If you are here, it will be worth a look. Last time they announced something like this it was the SR20, which pretty much single-handily changed the face of General Aviation.

The personal jet is a rapidly emerging market. They have only been talking about personal jets (aka Very Light Jets) for about 3 years. Many companies have entered the race...

Eclipse Personal Jet

PiperJet

Introducing the Martin Jetpack

2008-07-29T13:35:00.003-05:00

The Martin Jetpack flew around 9:30 am today at Oshkosh in front of a huge crowd, but sadly it was not Buck Rogers as I hoped. The unit isn't really a jetpack, it has a 200 HP, 2-stroke, Piston Engine that drives two large ducted fans that are enclosed in a carbon fiber shroud.

The company claims that the Jetpack will fly up to 8,000 feet, burn 10.5 GPH, fly at a max of 61 MPH and has a 31.5 mile range although they have only had it 6 feet off of the ground. They were taking orders for the Jetpack at Oshkosh. They said they are pursuing FAA Light Sport Aircraft Certification and are selling it for $100,000. Personally I'd rather have a Cessna Skycatcher :)

Here's a video produced by Airnav that shows the flight at Oshkosh and some video of other test flights performed by the company.

Introducing WhiteKnightTwo

2008-07-29T09:53:00.000-05:00

Here's a video produced by AVweb that has some shots of the unavailing of WhiteKnightTwo at Scaled Composites in Mojave on Monday. Burt Rutan, Sir Richard Branson, and Will Whitehorn left for Oshkosh after the unavailing and presented to a standing room only crowd at AirVenture yesterday afternoon.

Rutan said he expects that within his lifetime, tourists will not only be routinely flying into space, they will also be visiting orbiting resort hotels and taking a loop around the moon. Whitehorn said that he plans to fly space trips from many venues besides the New Mexico spaceport now under construction, and he hopes that the first place they will launch from will be Oshkosh -- and Rutan added that he hopes to sell $5 raffle tickets to fill those six seats.

Are you ready for Oshkosh?

2008-07-26T18:37:00.009-05:00

I know, I know, it has been a long time since I have posted anything. I've been thinking about flying every day, but doing just about everything else :( Well today I'm shifting back into full-blown aviation mode! My wife and are gathering our gear and heading to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. We'll be there most of the week.

It should be a good time this year. There are going to be a number of first. One I'm really looking forward to see is "Rocket Man." We've all dreamed of the day when we could be Buck Rogers and strap a rocket-pack on our back and fly away. Yep, that's right. This dream may be a reality. They will be demoing the "Martin Jetpack" on Tuesday at 9:30 am. What is cool about this one is that it will fly for 30 minutes and has a 1000 hour TBO. How cool is that?

The Boeing Dreamlifter will be arriving Monday at 5pm for a 24-hour stop. This colossal modified 747-400 aircraft and is one of only three in the world! The Dreamlifter features a significantly enlarged fuselage allowing it to carry more cargo by volume than any airplane.
Can't wait to see it!

The V-22 ‘Osprey’ Tiltrotor Aircraft will be Coming to EAA AirVenture for the First Time Ever. The Osprey is the worlds first production Tiltrotar airplane.

The F-22 Raptor will be there on Thursday

The Goodyear Blimp will be there again this year flying every day over the field!

Suffice of to say, it is going to be a great time. Hope to see you there.

Isle Royale National Park

2008-06-22T10:39:00.023-05:00

Spring/Summer is a busy time in my world. The hard Chicago winter builds up a pretty big to-do list that has to be completed before I can get back to flying. I try to keep this blog focused on aviation, but I haven't been doing a lot of it lately. In fact, I've done all but fly... I put a new roof on our house & garage, built a second floor deck out of composite material (pretty cool stuff), planted trees in the yard and even had to weld our spiral exterior fire escape!

I won't boar you with my honey-do list, but thought you may be interested in reading about my recent scuba diving vacation to Isle Royale National Park...

Isle Royale
Isle Royale is North American National Park that is located in Lake Superior a few miles South of Thunder Bay, Canada. The park is actually an island in the state of Michigan, but it significantly closer to Minnesota and Canada. Isle Royale is the largest island in Lake Superior. It is over 45 miles in length and 9 miles wide at its widest point. The park is made of Isle Royale itself and multiple smaller islands, along with any submerged lands within 4.5 miles of the surrounding islands.

Isle Royale National Park was established on April 3, 1940, was designated as a Wilderness Area in 1976, and was made an International Biosphere Reserve in 1980. It is a relatively small national park at 894 square miles, with only 209 square miles above water. At the U.S.-Canada border, it will meet the borders of the future Canadian Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area.

Shipwrecks
Outside of pristine nature that takes you back to the beginning of time, Isle Royale is known for shipwrecks. Lake Superior maintains a variety of shipwrecks in outstanding condition. The sunken vessels are protected by the National Park Service as cultural treasures, which keeps them in near original condition. It is remarkable to see how well preserved these vessels are. There are wrecks in the area that date back to 1800's wooden schooners to steam powered 500 + ft steel freight haulers.

The Journey Begins
My trip started in Grand Portage, Minnesota. This is a small American Indian reservation about 10 miles south of the Canadian border and has the closest North American port to the island. I was fortunate enough to travel with one of the foremost dive shops in the country -- Elmer's Water Sports -- and we chartered the RLT Diver III, which is a spectacular 36 ft. wooden ship that has been taking divers out to Isle Royale wrecks since 1966.

Itinerary
The trip started off at the Grand Portage Marina on Monday and we ended the trip on Friday. The trek from Grand Portage to the Isle Royale takes about 2 hours and throughout the week we circled the island spending most of our time on the North and North East section of the island where the majority of the wrecks reside.

The Diving
Scuba diving shipwrecks in Lake Superior is not anything like diving in the Caribbean. The surface of the water was averaging 38 degrees and at depth we were in the mid to low 30's. The weather in Lake Superior is also quite volatile. It can be clear with the temperatures in the 60's and in a matter of minutes switch to rain, fog and 40 degrees.

There are quite a few certified scuba divers in the world; however, only a small handful have ever experience this type of diving. The primary reason is because it takes a ton of specialized cold water gear and lots of training. In fact, the majority of the must-see wrecks are below 100 ft, which is well below where most recreational divers spend their time.

My Gear
I have what many would consider some of the best gear one can buy. Everything I have is specially designed for cold water. This equipment requires a substantial investment, but well worth every penny when you are inside of a wreck at 140 ft in the pitch black freezing cold water!

Outside of breathing, the most important piece of gear is the drysuit that is designed to protect a diver from the elements. What keeps me dry is a Divers Unlimited International (DUI) Custom CLX450 drysuit. My CLX 450 is a fully water tight diving suit that is made of a patented trilaminate Cordura® material that is resistant to punctures from protruding pointy objects. The US Navy Seals and many commercial/professional divers use DUI because these suits are virtually indestructible and backed by a 10 year unconditional warranty.

I use Argon to pressurize the drysuit. Pressurizing the suit with Argon provides three key benefits... 1) Argon does not compress like air so it provides an additional layer of insulation between my thermal undergarments and the exterior of the suit. 2) a separate Argon tank fills the suit from a redundant air source instead of using breathable air (don't want to waste life support air at 140 ft!). 3) adding air to the suit helps neutralize buoyancy at depth (helps you hover so you don't sink or float).

Some other gear I used on the dive include a Scubapro UWATEC air integrated Dive Ccomputer that you can see on my right wrist in the photo above, a Scubapro S600/MK25 regulator specially rated for cold water diving and depths down to 650 ft and a Salvo Rebel 21 Watt HID can light used to see in rooms that have zero ambient light. I also carry a Staging bottle that contains redundant air and has a separate regulator in case my main tank and/or regulator is damaged. A compass, a Slate to take noes on, titanium knives, diving goggles, air tight gloves, thermal underwear, fins, underwater camera, 2 redundant lights, etc. In total, this stuff easily weighs over 100 LBS!

The shipwrecks
I was able to get in 10 dives on 6 different ships:

Henry Chisholm: is a 256' wooden steamer that launched on August 28, 1880 and wrecked on October 21, 1898. This ship is in two major sections with the engine resting completely in tact and connected to its prop in 140 ft. of water.

Cumberland: is a 204' wooden side-wheel steamer that launched on August 9, 1871 and wrecked on July 23, 1877.

The America: is a 183' steel-hulled passenger steamer that launched on April 2, 1898 and wrecked on June 7, 1928.

Chester A Congdon: is a 532' steel freighter that launched on August 29, 1907 and wrecked November 6, 1918.

Emporer: is a 525' steel bulk freight steamer that launched on December 17, 1910 and wrecked June 4, 1947. The Emporer is the most impressive wreck out there. It is in pristine condition. We dove it 5 times and didn't even come close to seeing it all.

The Monarch: is a 240' wooden passenger and freight steamer that launched sometime in 1890 and wrecked December 6, 1906.

My Photos
I took too many photos to include them all in this blog, so I've uploaded them to Flicker. If you would like to see them follow this link.

Way too busy!

2008-05-19T21:35:00.004-05:00

It has been a busy time in my life since I brought 252Q home. Every day the weather has been horrendous or something surfaced that has kept me form the airport (and updating the blog). I did get a chance to get out to the airport on Sunday. I flew 252Q around the patch a few times while the wind was gusting to 23 knots. The Micro Aerodynamics VG's have made a huge difference in handling characteristics. Crosswind landings are much easier now than before. I was also able to slow up and maintain solid control even with the unpredictable gusts. I was landing and making the first turnoff no problem.

As soon as I get time, I will do a full flight test and detailed review of the VG's. So far, however, I am impressed. I have seen a marked improvement in handling and I have not noticed any degradation in speed.

Owner Maintenance, Who Can Do What?

2008-04-27T08:14:00.016-05:00

I subscribe to several email distribution lists that discuss maintenance and aircraft ownership. I've noticed that there are many people out there that don't fully understand the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR's) in regards to maintenance. In particular, there is a lot of confusion on what an owner can legally do to their airplanes. I thought I'd write a bit on the subject.

Federal Aviation Regulations
The FAR's that govern maintenance and returning an aircraft to service are referenced in FAR PART 43—MAINTENANCE, PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE, REBUILDING, AND ALTERATION. This is where the feds specify who can do what to USA certificated (N-Numbered) airplanes.

FAR PART 43.3 describes who can do what:

(a) Except as provided in this section and §43.17, no person may maintain, rebuild, alter, or perform preventive maintenance on an aircraft, airframe, aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, or component part to which this part applies. Those items, the performance of which is a major alteration, a major repair, or preventive maintenance, are listed in appendix A.
(b) The holder of a mechanic certificate may perform maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alterations as provided in Part 65 of this chapter.
(c) The holder of a repairman certificate may perform maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alterations as provided in part 65 of this chapter.
(d) A person working under the supervision of a holder of a mechanic or repairman certificate may perform the maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alterations that his supervisor is authorized to perform, if the supervisor personally observes the work being done to the extent necessary to ensure that it is being done properly and if the supervisor is readily available, in person, for consultation. However, this paragraph does not authorize the performance of any inspection required by Part 91 or Part 125 of this chapter or any inspection performed after a major repair or alteration.
(e) The holder of a repair station certificate may perform maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alterations as provided in Part 145 of this chapter.
(f) The holder of an air carrier operating certificate or an operating certificate issued under Part 121 or 135, may perform maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alterations as provided in Part 121 or 135.
(g) Except for holders of a sport pilot certificate, the holder of a pilot certificate issued under part 61 may perform preventive maintenance on any aircraft owned or operated by that pilot which is not used under part 121, 129, or 135 of this chapter. The holder of a sport pilot certificate may perform preventive maintenance on an aircraft owned or operated by that pilot and issued a special airworthiness certificate in the light-sport category.

Most owners that are not licensed mechanics fall into subsection (d) and (g). So what does this mean exactly? In a nutshell, it means an aircraft owner can do anything that a licensed mechanic can do as long as they follow the rules governing this maintenance. If it falls into section g (preventative maintenance) they can do the work on their own and legally return the aircraft to service on their own. An owner can also do anything a licensed mechanic can do as long as a mechanic that can legally do the maintenance being performed is supervising their work. Yep, an owner could even change out an engine or recover a fabric airplane if a licensed mechanic is supervising them.

NOTE: One thing to note about supervised maintenance is that the mechanic supervising the work does not need to hover over you. It is up to the mechanic to decide how much oversight you need and when they need to inspect what you've done. It is best to work this out up front before starting anything so there is no confusion.

Preventative Maintenance
Ok, we all know we can change the oil, but what else can an owner legally do on their own without being supervised by a mechanic? FAR Part 43 Appendix A is where we find the answer to that question:

(c) Preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance is limited to the following work, provided it does not involve complex assembly operations:

(1) Removal, installation, and repair of landing gear tires.
(2) Replacing elastic shock absorber cords on landing gear.
(3) Servicing landing gear shock struts by adding oil, air, or both.
(4) Servicing landing gear wheel bearings, such as cleaning and greasing.
(5) Replacing defective safety wiring or cotter keys.
(6) Lubrication not requiring disassembly other than removal of nonstructural items such as cover plates, cowlings, and fairings.
(7) Making simple fabric patches not requiring rib stitching or the removal of structural parts or control surfaces. In the case of balloons, the making of small fabric repairs to envelopes (as defined in, and in accordance with, the balloon manufacturers’ instructions) not requiring load tape repair or replacement.
(8) Replenishing hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic reservoir.
(9) Refinishing decorative coating of fuselage, balloon baskets, wings tail group surfaces (excluding balanced control surfaces), fairings, cowlings, landing gear, cabin, or cockpit interior when removal or disassembly of any primary structure or operating system is not required.
(10) Applying preservative or protective material to components where no disassembly of any primary structure or operating system is involved and where such coating is not prohibited or is not contrary to good practices.
(11) Repairing upholstery and decorative furnishings of the cabin, cockpit, or balloon basket interior when the repairing does not require disassembly of any primary structure or operating system or interfere with an operating system or affect the primary structure of the aircraft.
(12) Making small simple repairs to fairings, nonstructural cover plates, cowlings, and small patches and reinforcements not changing the contour so as to interfere with proper air flow.
(13) Replacing side windows where that work does not interfere with the structure or any operating system such as controls, electrical equipment, etc.
(14) Replacing safety belts.
(15) Replacing seats or seat parts with replacement parts approved for the aircraft, not involving disassembly of any primary structure or operating system.
(16) Trouble shooting and repairing broken circuits in landing light wiring circuits.
(17) Replacing bulbs, reflectors, and lenses of position and landing lights.
(18) Replacing wheels and skis where no weight and balance computation is involved.
(19) Replacing any cowling not requiring removal of the propeller or disconnection of flight controls.
(20) Replacing or cleaning spark plugs and setting of spark plug gap clearance.
(21) Replacing any hose connection except hydraulic connections.
(22) Replacing prefabricated fuel lines.
(23) Cleaning or replacing fuel and oil strainers or filter elements.
(24) Replacing and servicing batteries.
(25) Cleaning of balloon burner pilot and main nozzles in accordance with the balloon manufacturer’s instructions.
(26) Replacement or adjustment of nonstructural standard fasteners incidental to operations.
(27) The interchange of balloon baskets and burners on envelopes when the basket or burner is designated as interchangeable in the balloon type certificate data and the baskets and burners are specifically designed for quick removal and installation.
(28) The installations of anti-misfueling devices to reduce the diameter of fuel tank filler openings provided the specific device has been made a part of the aircraft type certificiate data by the aircraft manufacturer, the aircraft manufacturer has provided FAA-approved instructions for installation of the specific device, and installation does not involve the disassembly of the existing tank filler opening.
(29) Removing, checking, and replacing magnetic chip detectors.
(30) The inspection and maintenance tasks prescribed and specifically identified as preventive maintenance in a primary category aircraft type certificate or supplemental type certificate holder’s approved special inspection and preventive maintenance program when accomplished on a primary category aircraft provided:

(i) They are performed by the holder of at least a private pilot certificate issued under part 61 who is the registered owner (including co-owners) of the affected aircraft and who holds a certificate of competency for the affected aircraft (1) issued by a school approved under §147.21(e) of this chapter; (2) issued by the holder of the production certificate for that primary category aircraft that has a special training program approved under §21.24 of this subchapter; or (3) issued by another entity that has a course approved by the Administrator; and
(ii) The inspections and maintenance tasks are performed in accordance with instructions contained by the special inspection and preventive maintenance program approved as part of the aircraft’s type design or supplemental type design.

(31) Removing and replacing self-contained, front instrument panel-mounted navigation and communication devices that employ tray-mounted connectors that connect the unit when the unit is installed into the instrument panel, (excluding automatic flight control systems, transponders, and microwave frequency distance measuring equipment (DME)). The approved unit must be designed to be readily and repeatedly removed and replaced, and pertinent instructions must be provided. Prior to the unit’s intended use, and operational check must be performed in accordance with the applicable sections of part 91 of this chapter.
(32) Updating self-contained, front instrument panel-mounted Air Traffic Control (ATC) navigational software data bases (excluding those of automatic flight control systems, transponders, and microwave frequency distance measuring equipment (DME)) provided no disassembly of the unit is required and pertinent instructions are provided. Prior to the unit’s intended use, an operational check must be performed in accordance with applicable sections of part 91 of this chapter.

Many owners are surprised at how many things they can legally do. It is indeed quite a list. Where this can really pay off is in interior refurbishment. An owner can replace their seats, carpet, etc. inside the cabin as long as major structural/complex disassembly is not required. They can even replace the side windows.

NOTE: I am referencing Owner performed maintenance here. Sub-section 30 (i) above specifically states only an owner or co-owner can do preventative maintenance. A private pilot, for example, cannot perform preventative maintenance if they are not listed as an owner of the airplane in FAA records or are a shareholder of the corporation the aircraft title is held in. This limitation holds true even if the private pilot is the only person flying the aircraft in question (e.g. Son changing oil on Dad's plane).

Parts Suppliers Geared Toward Owners
There are many places to buy parts online. I've found that Aircraft Spruce is one of the best for general parts needed such as tires, breaks, oil lines, etc. They have an easy website to use, their prices are competitive and they have thousands of parts in stock that are shipped form two huge distribution warehouses.

AirTex Aircraft Interiors has established a darn good business out of selling easy to install replacement interior panels and parts. These inexpensive kits can turn an out-dated cabin into one that looks like new. They sell seat belts, hardware and everything needed to do a professional install.

Vantage Plane Plastics sells replacement plastic interior parts for many airplanes. This is the place to go if you have a specialized plastic part that is cracked and you want to replace it.

LP Aero Plastics sells side windows and other Lucite parts. They manufacturer high quality components and can often build specialized parts to order if you can send them a part to replicate.

Logbook Entries
The key to performing maintenance on an aircraft, however, is that all work done to an airplane MUST have a logbook entry and be performed in accordance with some applicable data. This is where many owners fall short. They are afraid to put their name in the logbook or are not sure how to do it. If they don't, the aircraft is not legally airworthy even if the work performed was legit. Further, a pilot caught flying an airplane without proper records would likely loose their license. Insurance could also refuse to pay a claim if an airplane is deemed not airworthy.

FAR 43.9 describes what is legally required to be included in a logbook entry:

(a) Maintenance record entries. Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, each person who maintains, performs preventive maintenance, rebuilds, or alters an aircraft, airframe, aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, or component part shall make an entry in the maintenance record of that equipment containing the following information:

(1) A description (or reference to data acceptable to the Administrator) of work performed.
(2) The date of completion of the work performed.
(3) The name of the person performing the work if other than the person specified in paragraph (a)(4) of this section.
(4) If the work performed on the aircraft, airframe, aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, or component part has been performed satisfactorily, the signature, certificate number, and kind of certificate held by the person approving the work. The signature constitutes the approval for return to service only for the work performed.

A logbook entry for carpet replacement would look something like this.

"Date, total Time. Removed aircraft cabin carpet from floor and sidewalls. Installed Airtex Navy Blue Nylon carpet part number xxx in accordance with AC 43-13-1B, Section 4. Materials used exceeds FAR 23.853(a) specifications. Burn tests results described in FAR part 23 Appendix F have been included in the aircraft records. Your signature, your pilots license number, your certification level (e.g. private pilot) ."

There are two key logbook requirements that owners tend to omit.

The first is referencing the applicable data that is "acceptable by the administrator." No one can perform work on an airplane unless they have something that tells them how to do it. Routine maintenance procedures like changing carpet or fixing broken wires are not generally referenced in an aircraft maintenance manual, so we need other applicable data to reference in order to make the installation legal. The FAA has published an Advisory Circular 43.13 that covers standard aircraft maintenance practices and procedures. Part 1B section 4 describes interior standards and requirements. You cannot be too specific when referencing applicable data. Many mechanics reference the exact paragraphs they used as well.

The second section that many owners omit when replacing fabrics and materials is references to FAR 23. Technically if you do the work IAW with AC43.13 then you would have done so using materials that meet the burn tests; however, IA's and mechanics tend want to have it specifically spelled out in the logbook entry. NOTE: This covers them from a legal perspective since they are signing off the airworthiness of the airplane for annuals and 100 hour inspections.

Another thing to note in my sample entry above is that I stated the FAR 23 Appendix F test results are included with the aircraft records. These documents will provide you with all of the information you need to prove you legally installed the materials. Skip this step and rest assured a mechanic some day will question the work. NOTE: AirTex has these documents, but they do not send them automatically. You must specifically request the test results of the materials that they are using when you place an order.

If you are being supervised by a licensed mechanic they will help you with creating the logbook entry. In general, however, to legally return an aircraft to service after supervised maintenance is by actually creating two logbook entires. The person (e.g. owner) performing the work would sign it off similar to my sample above. Then directly under that entry, the mechanic would sign indicating that they supervised the work, that it was done in accordance with whatever and the aircraft is ok to return to service. If the mechanic supervising did not actually perform the work, it is NOT legal for them to create a logbook entry stating they did the work. Many do, but this falls into FAR Part 43.12 -- Maintenance records: Falsification, reproduction, or alteration. A mechanic and pilot would likely loose their licenses if an overzealous fed caught them falsifying records like this.

Mooney Construction versus the Competition

2008-04-24T19:46:00.062-05:00

I find it interesting that Cirrus is building plastic (err. composite) planes with life-limited airframes and then they try to convince the public that their product is superior to a Mooney. Yes, that’s right; the Cirrus and some other composite airplanes have a 10,000 hour or finite life limit of some-sort on the airframe/wings. When you reach the time limit on the airframe it is grounded forever. The sales reps say 10,000 hours is practically forever, so it isn’t a big deal. In reality they are probably right. Composite airframes simply will not hold up in the sun, weather, etc. as well as the tried and true metal airplane. They will likely be long gone before they ever see 10,000 hours.

I’m sure my first paragraph will not bode well with our composite friends, but the truth of the matter is they have spent good money on an airplane that will not withstand the test of time. There are many Mooney’s out there with thousands of hours and are going strong at 50+ years old. A metal airframe will pretty much last forever if it is given reasonable care.

As a previous Cirrus SR22 owner, I’m willing to bet that there will not be many Cirrus, Diamond, etc. airplanes that make it to 50+ years old. Certainly not as many as there are Mooney, Beech and Cessna's. There are two primary reasons I make this claim: 1) Composite materials cannot easily be refurbished and they break down under stress; 2) mechanics in the field do not have the skills or equipment to properly inspect these structures or access to the facilities required to repair them. Sadly, many of these planes will likely be scrapped over time and the owners will suffer through huge depreciation losses as savvy buyers start to figure this out.

Accordingly, the fit and finish isn't there either. Simple parts like $1200 nose gear fairings that crack after one somewhat hard landing; $1500 cabin door pins that bend in seconds if someone closes the door wrong preventing the door from latching; technological upgrades are very difficult, if not impossible, due to the way they formed the instrument panels; you can't refurbish a composite airframe like metal, so nicks and dings will be a fact of life for these owners...

I'm sure there will be owners like me who are meticulous, but I'm talking about the masses. I've seen Mooney's that sit on a ramp their entire life and even have suspect maintenance, yet they are still airworthy and going strong. This will not be the case with the plastic planes. Of course, the NewCo's know this. They don't want them to last forever. They want to sell new planes, not maintain old ones. In the auto industry they call this planned obsolescence.

The Composite Airframe
Before the critics start throwing stones at me…No I am not making this up. The FAA test data supports this fact. The Cirrus Type Certificate is an excellent example. Not only do they avoid spin certification by using a parachute that if used will kill the airplane, they also can’t paint their planes! Or I should more accurately say they can only paint 20% of their plane. 80% of the bird is legally required to be white. Why? Because heat is not the friend of composites. They need to be painted with highly reflective paint to keep the surface as cool as possible or it will start to cure again and weaken the structure. So much for parking on the ramp!

Can't do this paint job on a plastic plane!

Mooney Construction
I recently visited the Mooney factory in Kerrville, Texas. I can honestly say I walked away with more respect for these birds than I had before I arrived. Composites are simple quick builds, which is cheaper and faster to construct. Mooney’s are not quick builds. The labor that goes into creating these planes is remarkable. Every airplane is literally custom built from the ground up out of aluminum sheets and steel tubes.

The core of all Mooney's is the safety/passenger cage. This is a steel tube constructed roll cage that completely surrounds the passengers. This structure not only makes the plane safe, it also makes the plane strong. Very Strong!

Take note of the triangle shapes built into the cage. A triangle creates the strongest possible man made structure. This cage is why there are very few fatalities in Mooney accidents. The NTSB reports clearly show that if you land somewhat under control in a Mooney, the chances are you will walk away.

The next key structural component of a Mooney is the wing and spar. Unlike the plastic airplanes that have a plastic laminated spar, the Mooney has the strongest spar in the industry. This is why there are very few, if any, in flight breakups of Mooney's. In fact, I've heard stories of pilots that have flown into severe T-Storms and back out the other side with virtually no damage to their airplanes. I don't recommend flying into a T-Storm, but if you did so in a Mooney you'd probably survive and be darn glad you weren't flying a plane with a plastic spar!

Now that's a wing!

I challenge you to look very close at the above pictures and give serious thought to how strong and safe the Mooney is. Then think about how much stronger it all is when it is held together with rivets and aluminum.

And if strength or safety is not your thing, speed may be. The Acclaim S is hands down the fastest GA airplane out there at a 237 Knots cruise speed! Or if speed is not your thing, maybe it's efficiency. You can go farther on less fuel than any other comparable GA airplane out there... Oh yeah, insurance and maintenance is also less expensive...

We Mooney drivers are very fortunate to have such an incredible and capable airplane. We are so passionate about our birds that we even have a name -- Mooniacs. We all honor and respect Al Mooney because he put his heart and soul into designing this incredible M20 airframe. And we are all benefiting form the fact that he engineered them to last forever. And they often do. 252Q has already outlived one of its owners and she's well on her way to outliving me!

$100 Hamburger - Madison Airport, WI (KMSN)

2008-04-20T19:14:00.020-05:00

The weather is finally getting better in the Midwest, so my wife and I decided it would be a good day to find ourselves a $100 dollar hamburger. We wanted to go somewhere new, so I turned to my secret weapon -- The Adventure Pilot website -- to help me find a place to go. I found Dane County Regional Airport-Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin (KMSN), which is about 128 miles form Chicago.

It was a bit hazy out today, but the winds were calm and there were less potholes in the sky than on the road driving to the airport. The flight to KMSN was spectacular!

The Airport
I was pleasantly surprised when taxing onto the Ramp at Madison. Wisconsin Aviation has excellent line crew. They were out in force directing arriving and departing aircraft. They have ample ramp space for virtually any sized bird and were quite accommodating. It is clear they are use to transient traffic and quick turns.

The FBO - Wisconsin Aviation
The inside of the FBO was clean and looked new. The lobby was spacious. They also have very comfy seats that all have a great view of the ramp and runway via the floor to ceiling windows.

The FBO has Aviation History theme throughout the building. They have an area dedicated to Black History in Aviation, a nice photo wall documenting 100 years of Aviation and they even have an old typewriter and an original teletype machine.

The Restaurant
After my experience on the ramp and with the FBO, the restaurant had some big shoes to fill. I'm happy to report they lived up to those expectations. They have a large seating area that includes numerous seats at the counter. They, like the FBO, also have an impressive view of the ramp and runway.

The Food
Last time I broke the tradition and had a club sandwich. This time held firm a had the Hamburger. The Wisconsin folks create what they call a butter burger. They actually cook the burger in butter -- YUM! Of course being in the home of Dairy products, they use the best cheese you'll have anywhere. Suffice of to say, the food was awesome and the service was fast!

By the way, they also appear to have a killer breakfast. I'm putting this place on my list for the $100 omelet next time!

$100 Hamburger - Fredericksburg Airport, TX (T82)

2008-04-14T19:56:00.018-05:00

Now that I have my wings back, I had to find an airport with a diner! My blogging buddy David from Kerrville TX recommended that I visit the Gillespie County Airport (T82) in Fredericksburg, Texas. He said the food was good and it was a fun place to visit. I figured I'd give it a try.

The Airport
First impression is impressive. The moment you walk up the ramp at T82 you know you are in for something different.

Yes, that's right. Not only do they have a restaurant, they also have a hotel on, not close to, the field! You can literally taxi up and park directly in front of the hotel.

They have done a great job of making you feel like you are stepping back in the times of WWII. The nostalgia is everywhere.

They also host period events. Here's a couple of photo's of a wedding reception being setup in the banquet hall.

The Restaurant
The restaurant has a feel of the 40's with modern accommodations. They have period music playing in the background and the wait staff is dressed in fun clothing. The gal's shirts say Diner Doll on the back. The guy's day Diner Guy.

The Food
Not only was the place fun, the food was good too. The hamburgers looked great, but the waitress told me that they are known for two things. The Hamburger and Club Sandwich. She suggested that I try something different, so I went with the club. And she was right -- it was awesome!

If you ever find yourself in the Hill Country of Texas, you can't go wrong with Gillespie County Airport. This is by far the best airport diner I have visited to date.

Introducing, N252Q

2008-04-11T20:57:00.019-05:00

The time we've been waiting for is finally here. I picked up 252Q today! Words cannot describe how pleased I am with the results. So without further adieu, here she is...

Here are the folks that created this one of a kind Masterpiece. The Tejas AeroServices team is second to no one. The quality of their work is truly remarkable.

And here's the guy who brought it all together -- Chris Wells. Chris is the genius that was able to take the complex 2-d design and transform it onto the 3-d aluminum canvas. Everyone claims they are the best, but anyone that sees N252Q will no doubt know Chris Wells is the one has earned that title. He is quite literally the best of the best.

If you need your plane painted and want the best, Tejas AeroServices is the place to go -- period. No one can touch these guys. No one is even close.

The Transformation...

2008-04-09T17:26:00.016-05:00

To appreciate where we are today, I thought it would be fun to browse through some pics of the transformation from what N5236G looked like when I dropped her off at Tejas AeroServices to what the final design looks like moments after the masking was removed.

I was told that everyone was breathless as they started pulling off the paper and tape. If you recall from my previous postings, the paint process is done in reverse order (base to top). Not even the painters have seen the outcome of their work until today.

Yes, you have to scroll to the bottom of this post to see it!

Let the drum roll begin...

The Tejas Team is cleaning her up, assembling the flight controls and replacing all of the hardware with stainless steel. 252Q should be ready to fly by Friday!

Paint Step 4: Chromallusion Pure Fire - Step III, IV, V...

2008-04-07T18:40:00.013-05:00

Today's the day... Chromallusion Pure Fire paint was actually applied to N252Q! Our Extreme Exterior Makeover is nearing completion.

The Chromallusion process is quite complex. It takes several applications of paint in a very specific order to get the color shifting effect.

The first step in the process is to apply the DuPont gray primer. This is applied after the entire area is completely sanded and perfectly cleaned.

After the gray coat is baked and dried, the next step is to apply gloss black. This color is what gives CI its depth. The illusion is somewhat like looking into infinity.

The next step is to apply the $1000/pint Chromallusion paint. This is a step you do not want to mess up. The slightest imperfection will require everything to be stripped and painted again.

The final step in the process is to apply the clear coat, which brings out the deep color shifting high-gloss effect of the paint.

Pay particular attention to the colors the camera picked up. This is the same paint that is applied on all of the colored surfaces below, but depending on how the light hits it you see a different color/effect. Pure Fire paint shifts form a deep red/maroon color through to gold.

Paint Step 4: Chromallusion Pure Fire - Step II

2008-03-31T18:53:00.016-05:00

The Tejas AeroServices team is getting close to taking 252Q into the paint booth to apply the Chromallusion paint as well as the various required placards (e.g. no step, no push, Mooney logo, etc).

NOTE: The CI paint will be applied between the bright blue taped lines.

The white squares are paint masking stencils. We are not using stick on decals like most planes have. The placards are all painted on. Painting required placards is a laborious process, but the end result is awesome. The fine details are what make a good paint job a superior one. Attention detail is clearly the hallmark of Tejas. Nothing gets by these guys.

Paint Step 4: Chromallusion Pure Fire - Step I

2008-03-27T15:52:00.007-05:00

The Chromallusion Pure Fire ribbon masking tape has been laid down and we are getting close to applying the paint.

Current State

2008-03-19T09:48:00.003-05:00

Few more photos of the right wing...

Paint Step 3: Ming Blue

2008-03-14T11:13:00.009-05:00

The Tejas AeroServices team applied Ming Blue to 252Q last night. Here are some photos of where we are today...

The next step in the process is to apply the color altering paint called Chromallusion by DuPont. The CL process is quite involved. Here are some photos of the different materials that will be applied to 252Q in a very specific order to get the color altering effect. Any glitch in the application of CL will require a complete strip and repaint, which is why only a couple of shops in the country are capable of applying Chromallusion paint to an airplane.

Masking for Blue Complete

2008-03-12T21:40:00.006-05:00

The Tejas team was working hard today covering areas that are not suppose to be painted and doing the final prep for blue.

Here are some photos of todays progress...

It sure is nice seeing the new 252Q N-Number being masked and prepped to be painted.

We're close, but no cigar

2008-03-11T20:55:00.011-05:00

I'm happy to report that I visited with 252Q last week, but sad to say she's not quite ready to come home. The drawback with creating a highly customized scheme is it is difficult to gage how long it will take to complete. The saying that "All good things come to those that wait" come to mind as I left 252Q and flew back home to Chicago :(

Thought you'd like to see some more photos of Chris Wells laying out 252Q's scheme. His attention to the small details is quite impressive. I also quizzed him on every aspect of the paint scheme I could think of and he was able to answer most questions form the top of his head or turn directly to the page referencing what I was asking about. He was not only able to do this with my plane, but he was able to describe in detail what every airplane I pointed to in the shop was going to look like when painted.

I also spent quite a bit of time with lots of people that work at Tejas. I met mechanics, painters, general laborers, etc. Everyone I met seems to like what they do, they take pride in their work and are clearly experts in their fields. This is the first time that I've been out on a floor of a maintenance facility and didn't hear people griping about their jobs, counting down the time to leave, etc. The Tejas team rocks!

Can you pick out 252Q?
Even though this isn't the final product, she certainly isn't looking like the typical airplane you'd find on a ramp. If all goes well tomorrow they will be applying the next color -- Blue.

Paint Step 2: Medium Silver

2008-03-05T18:24:00.012-06:00

Here are some photos of the Tejas team applying Gray. The design is slowly starting to revel itself. It will really pop when they apply the next color -- Blue.

These guys are serious about their work. They wear a space suit whenever they are in the paint booth in order to keep particle contamination to a minimum. The slightest bit of dust in the paint will ruin an otherwise perfect paint job.

NOTE: Check out the Filters above the hangar door. The air is micron filtered and the entire booth is positively pressurized with air. The Tejas paint facility is engineered to push all unwanted dust and particles away form the airplane. They also raise the temp considerably in the room in order to reduce humidity and cure the paint.

The finish on the wing is spectacular!

We are running a bit tight on schedule, but we are getting very close to the finish line. The project should be finalized next week.

Size Does Indeed Matter...

2008-03-01T15:32:00.015-06:00

We hit a bit of unexpected snag this week. When Chris at Tejas was laying out the lines on the wings everything was going along very well. Abet too well... When he moved to the Fuselage he was thrown for a loop. The measurements in the schematics did not align according to the detail view drawings.

It common to have some sizing issues when taking a two dimensional drawing to a 3D airplane; however, what Chris was finding was not what he expected. He knew something wasn't right, so he went the extra mile to get to the bottom of what was going on. He literally dimensioned the entire airplane and compared it to the drawing scale. His diligence reveled that the Scheme Designer drawings were 18" longer than the actual size of 252Q!

NOTE: if you recall in my last blog posting I commented on the fact that it was clear that Chris had been carefully reviewing the design docs because the pages were warn. This attention to detail is how the error was found. Many shops would have likely followed the layout as specified and painted it. When painting you lay one color down at a time. The error probably wouldn't have been found until the entire aircraft had been painted! Chalk one more up for Tejas.

We contacted Scheme Designers and they quickly spring into action. They dropped everything they were working on to help us make things right. They asked Chris to take digital photos from a specified distance. Then they overlaid their drawings on top of it. Tejas and Scheme Designers worked via a remote web conference to completely digitize the entire fuselage including windows, panels, doors, etc. Wow!

One may think that digitizing the fuselage would be the hard part, but actually it wasn't. After they got the fuselage digitized, Scheme Designers had to modify a larger design to fit a smaller airplane. It looks about the same to the naked eye, but in actuality the lines are shorter, the curves are slightly different and the width of the lines are smaller. This process was similar to taking a design off of an A36 Bonanza and applying it to an F33 Bonanza. Suffice of to say, it was a heck of a lot of work and they did it all in less than 24 hours!

Here's a screen shot of what the process looked like:

Second Color Layout -- Medium Silver
The master design document was resubmitted to us and it was passed off to Tejas to start laying down the next color. We lost a bit of time because of our unexpected fire drill, but we are swinging back on target. Here are a couple of photos with the second color stripping ready to be painted. If we don't hit any more snags, they will be done next week.

Now the fun begins...

2008-02-25T11:11:00.049-06:00

My mama always said, "the proof is in the pud'en." What she meant by this is the outcome of what we do define us. I have written for weeks about the quality of Tejas's work, but at the end of the day it is the last bit of detail that will ultimately determine the outcome of the entire project. It is what people see that makes a top-notch paint job stand heads and shoulders above the rest.

The Devil's in the Details
The guy in this photo is Chris Wells. He is the Senior Design Engineer and Master Painter that is charged with applying our complex design to 252Q. Pay particular attention to how he is focusing in on what he's doing. He is taking his time to get the tape in just the right location. Also check out the design book laying on the wing to his left. The pages are worn and clearly have been examined many times. This careful attention to detail is what separates a true professional form everyone else.

NOTE: This was not a staged photo. It's the real deal...

The Final Countdown
At the time of this writing we are 57 days into the project and about 2 weeks from delivery. The Sherwin Williams Acry Glo Titanium has been applied and now they are laying the stripes out by hand (we have a total of 5 colors plus clear coat).

Tejas does not use stencils or decals like many shops do either. They believe the only way to get the stripes perfect with a clearly defined edge is to lay them out by hand. They have to account for rivets, walkway, fuel caps, access panels, vortex generators, etc., which is virtually impossible to get right on a computer since every airplane is slightly different. Suffice of to say, it is no easy task to take a 2-dimensional design and apply it to a 3-dimensional flying machine.

You may have noticed on the above photos of the tail that the Titanium is not applied over the entire surface like the wings. The reason for this is that the elevator and rudder have to be precisely balanced. This is where Tejas's Mooney experience comes into play. They have to apply three different colors to the tail on the top/bottom left/right sides. They have to paint each color individually, stack them one beside the other and then apply exactly the same amount of paint on both sides to get the controls to balance!

I'm sure they are loving me & Scheme Designers right now ;)

Changing An Aircraft N-Number

2008-02-22T19:33:00.023-06:00

If you regularly read this blog you may have noticed that N252Q is also referred to as N5236G. When I bought 252Q she was named N5236G. We are changing the N-Number as part of the Exterior Restoration Project. Changing an aircraft registration number is not difficult, but there are several steps that have to be completed. Some of my frequent blog readers are considering a number change, so I thought I would write a bit about the process.

Background
There are many reasons why owners want to change their registration number. Most of the time it is simply to change it to something that means something to them like a personalized license plate on their car. Personally I didn't have a problem with 5236G, but when I speak with others over the radio they often transposed the numbers. 5236G is simply too many numbers that does not flow easily when being regurgitated back over the airways. It is irritating to me and the controllers to constantly repeat ourselves, so one of the first decisions I made when deciding to upgrade 36G was to change the N-number to something easier to say and read back.

How to Find a Number
The FAA has a nice search site that will let you search a range of numbers with the same ending letters. This is easy to use. You type in the first box the letter(s) you would like the number to end with, then a starting number range in the second and an ending number range in the third. For example, I entered JK as the letters, the starting number of 100 and ending number of 199 and got the following numbers that are available:

110JK	113JK	116JK	119JK	120JK	122JK	128JK	132JK	134JK	135JK
136JK	138JK	139JK	141JK	142JK	143JK	144JK	146JK	151JK	152JK
154JK	155JK	156JK	157JK	158JK	160JK	161JK	163JK	164JK	166JK
168JK	169JK	175JK	176JK	178JK	181JK	183JK	184JK	189JK	194JK
195JK	196JK	197JK	198JK	199JK

Many people like their numbers ending in the same letters and this search site makes it quick and simple to find one. However, since my Mooney is the coveted 252, I thought it would be nice to use 252 as the base numbers and then add one or worse case two letters at the end. In other words, I wanted to keep the numbers and change the ending letters. I was not able to find an automated way to do this on the FAA website, so I had to do it by trial and error...

I'm sure there is an easier way, but what I did was go to the main FAA N-Number inquiry site and started searching for 252a, 252b, 252c, 252d, etc. until I found a few that were available. This is a tedious process, but only took a few minutes to blast through the alphabet. All you have to do is search for the first number, click the back button on your browser, change to the next letter and submit the query again...

There were only four 252 N-Numbers available:
252H - 252Q - 252W - 252Y

We decided to use N252Q because Quebec is unique, clear and easy to say.

two-five-two-quebec

By the way, as of this writing the other numbers are available. If you are a 252 driver thinking of changing your N-Number you may want to reserve one of these. When the numbers are used they are typically gone forever.

Reserving Your New N-Number
After finding an N-Number, the next thing to do is reserve it by using the FAA N-Number Registration Site. Currently the cost to do this is $10.00 per year, but there are talks of increasing the fee to help the FAA raise funds from other sources besides the Federal Government. AOPA has many articles on the subject of user fees...

NOTE: The FAA will send a reminder via postal mail every year about a month before the reservation expires. You will have to pay this fee every year until it is transferred to an actual airplane. If you miss the annual renewal they will release the number back into circulation.

When you reserve your new number on the site above it is important to register it using the name and address that appears on your aircraft registration. It can slow the transfer process down considerably if it isn't clear to the Registry Office who owns what. If they are in different names (e.g. personal name on one company name on the other), you will have to prove ownership of both the airplane and the new N-Number before the Feds will process the paperwork. If the names and addresses are the same a simple letter is all it takes to get the transfer process started.

How to transfer your number to your airplane?
It is very simple to find a number and to reserve it online. However, the FAA will only accept transfer requests in writing that are signed by the registered owner (or officer if a company). The FAA site is clear that you need to send the request to them in writing, but they aren't clear on where to send the letter or what to say. Here's what you need to do.

The correspondence address for all Registry inquiries is:

ATTN: Aircraft Registration
Federal Aviation Administration
PO BOX 25504
Oklahoma City OK 73125

The Aircraft Registration Office phone number is not that easy to find on the website. Here's the number if you have questions about the process or want to check the status of your paperwork:

(866) 704-4715

I was not able to find a canned letter on the FAA website and they were not clear on what you need to say. I did a bit of research and found out that they will accept just about anything as long as it is legible and includes the Make, Model, Serial Number, current N-Number, what you want to do (e.g. transfer a N-Number) and it is signed in ink.

Here's a copy of the letter I wrote. Feel free to use it as a guideline:
No, we're not done yet!
Sending the above letter will get the process started, but we're not done yet. The letter is only the first step in the transfer process.

NOTE: At this point you are NOT authorized to change your N-Number or remove your old one. Doing so is a Federal Crime!

You may have noticed in the letter above that I requested FAA Form 8050-64, Assignment of Special Registration Numbers. Form 8050-64 is the form that the registration office sends back to you that authorizes the Number change process to begin.

Nope, we're not ready yet!
After receiving form 8050-64 you are now authorized to move froward with the N-Number change. You may remove the old number and paint the new one on the airplane. At this point, however, the plane is grounded. You have 5-days after removing the old N-Number to change your Airworthiness Certificate to one that reflects the new number.

NOTE: The Airworthiness Certificate is often an overlooked piece of paper in the back of the plane, but it is actually one of the most important documents in an aircraft. Getting a certificate replaced if lost is a monumental task. Trust me, You do not want to loose this certificate! A plane is grounded until it is replace and it could take months!

The FAA realizes the Airworthiness Certificate is a critical piece of paper, so they require that you visit a local FAA Field Office (FISDO) to exchange it for a new one. You will need to bring a copy of the form 8050-64 with you. The field office will keep your old certificate and you will get a brand new certificate with the new N-Number.

We're almost done!
There is one last step in the process. You now need to change your aircraft registration to reflect the new N-Number. To do this you simply sign and date the Form 8050-64 and mail it back to the Registry Office within 5-days after painting the new number on the plane. The aircraft may be flown after the Airworthiness Certificate is swapped, but you must also have a copy of form 8050-64 in the aircraft along with the original registration. The Feds will send the new registration paperwork to the address where the aircraft is registered.

Why Vortex Generators?

2008-02-12T19:08:00.032-06:00

N252Q's project has gotten quite a bit of attention while she's been at Tejas. Folks from Mooney Corp. have taken some pictures of her, some of my blogging friends have visited her and she's even created quite a buzz on the field & in the shop. Of course, I suspected that she would get some attention. 252Q is being transformed into one of the best, if not the best, 252's in the world after all.

However, I was not expecting this... 252Q's Makeover has caught the eye of Flying Magazine. Not because of her fabulous paint scheme or Technically Advanced Avionics, but the Vortex generators we recently installed. It turns out that Flying Mag has been looking for a good example of a Mooney that has had Vortex generators retrofitted for quite some time. They want to test fly one and write about their experience. If all goes as planned, 252Q's maiden voyage may actually be by the editor of Flying Magazine! How cool is that?

After speaking with the folks prepping for the article, I was surprised to hear that not many Mooney owners have installed VG's. I thought it would be good write a bit about the benefits of vortex generators and walk you thought the process I went through when I decided to install them on 252Q.

What is a Vortex Generator?
NOTE: Portions of the following description and photos were taken from the Micro Aerodynamics website:

Vortex generators are small metal blades placed in a spanwise line aft of the leading edge of the wing and oftentimes the horizontal and vertical stabilizers. They are designed to control airflow over the surface of the airfoil by creating vortices (spinning air) that energize the boundary layer (area between the airfoil surface and moving air). This results in improved performance and control authority at low airspeeds and high angles of attack.

When several of these small "wings" are applied to an airfoil in a very specific pattern and location they create tiny vortices in the airstream that are spun downward toward the surface of the airfoil. These vortex energize the normally stagnant boundary layer of air on the wing's surface. An energized (active) boundary layer is more resistant to flow separation than a stagnant boundary layer. The result is that airflow "sticks" to the wing better, permitting flight at lower airspeeds with improved control authority.

Why do people install Vortex Generators?
There are two camps of people that install VG's. One camp is the bush pilot or someone that needs to greatly improve performance so they can get in and out of short fields (STOL). The second group are the ones that want to enhance safety by enhancing the aircraft handling characteristics.

In more specific terms, the key reasons someone would install VG's are to:

Decrease Lift Off Speed,
** You can get out of a much shorter runway at max gross weight if you can takeoff sooner.
Lower Stall Speeds,
** You can slow down and fit in behind a 152 on a long slow final without having to go around.
Improve Controllability at all airspeeds,
** A VG equipped airplane will handle the same, or better, at slow speeds as they do in cruse.
Improve Handling Characteristics,
** It takes less control input to counteract P-Factor and crosswinds.
And, VG's Improve Safety,
** You can still control roll and direction even if the airplane is in a stall.

Why don't more Mooney's fly with VG's?
My guesstimate is that some of the reluctance to install VG's stem from being nostalgic and thinking that if Al Mooney didn't install them then I don't need them! They did everything they could to improve performance afterall! That was certainly true when our beloved Mooney's were built, but lots of things have changed since then. I also suspect that owners have heard that VG's may slow them down or they are reluctant to invest in something that others haven't.

Here are some additional facts that may make naysayers reconsider...

1) It is a proven fact that aircraft with VG's are safer and have fewer accidents. In fact, it is rare that you would ever get into a corporate jet, airliner or modern high-performance airplane that doesn't have VG's as standard equipment.

2) I sincerely believe the VG's will provide the best dollar per dollar benefit of anything I've done to 252Q thus far. There are not many mods you can do to an airframe that has virtually zero impact on performance while systematically enhancing safety. They improve low speed handling characteristics, reduce stall speed, shorten takeoff distance, improve climb performance and materially improve wing efficiency in cruise.

3) VG's greatly improve landing safety margins. The #1 cause of accidents in the M20 are takeoffs and landings. It is all too common to read about Mooney pilots that land too fast and overrun the end of the runway or they takeoff on a short field a bit too heavy and run off the end of the runway! In fact, I did a quick analysis of the NTSB Aircraft Accident/Incident database. What I found was that there have been 2509 Accidents/Incidents reported on M20 Aircraft and 692 of them were due to a landing incident of some-sort. In other words, 27.6% of the NTSB M20 incidents were landing related! If you read them you will find that the vast majority are not from gear up, but form landing too fast, trying to force the plane onto the ground and ultimately overrunning the runway. VG's permit you land slower without sacrificing control!

4) NASA spent millions researching and developing VG's. If they can build an international space station, I think they may know a thing or two about aerodynamics ;)

5) They are dirt cheap! Installed I paid a whopping $1400!

Need I say more...?

Conclusion
I sincerely hope that I've got you thinking about installing VG's on your Mooney, or any airplane that doesn't have them. Do your own research and I bet you will be as convinced as I am. I also bet that when Flying Mag does their research they will come up with similar findings.

What Makes a Good Aircraft Paint Job?

2008-02-06T06:21:00.000-06:00

A couple months back I wrote about picking the right paint shop and referenced the Aviation Consumer article on the subject. What I found interesting about the article was that even a top Aviation product research company can get a suboptimal paint job. These guys are trained to look for things that others may not notice and were even writing a comprehensive article on the subject. Clearly anyone painting a plane, including someone that is "in the know" like Aviation Consumer, can pick the wrong shop. I'm waiting on the next round of photos form Tejas, so I thought I'd write a bit more on what to look for in a quality Aircraft paint job.

The Aviation Consumer Experience
Back in September Aviation Consumer had their Mooney M20K 231 (N40CC) painted and wrote a bit about their experience in the article. A 231 airframe is nearly identical to the 252, which made this article even more reliant to 252Q's Extreme Makeover. They are both M20K's. The only noticeable difference between the two is the cowling air intake and the windows are squared off on the 231.

Aviation Consumer had their plane painted by National Flight Services in Lakeland Florida. I'm sure National is a fine shop, but in my opinion the quality of the work they did for Aviation Consumer's Mooney is questionable.

Video Background
The video below does a good job of detailing key things to look for after an aircraft has been painted. If you are thinking of painting a plane or are buying one that has been painted it is worth watching. Aviation Consumer asked Craig Barnett, CEO of Scheme Designers, to review their paint job. If you recall, Scheme Designers is who I selected to design 252Q's paint scheme. Craig is well known in the industry and is the go-to guy on the subject of painting aircraft.

Going into the video production, I doubt they were aware of some of the things that Craig found. However, what I like about Aviation Consumer is they are unbiased and tell it like it is. The video is an honest assessment of the quality of the paint job without being over critical of the shop that did the work. Some of the findings, however, concern me. For example, the right horizontal elevator has way too much paint on it. No way it was properly balanced. This could cause an in-flight catastrophe or at the very least cause abnormal wear on the bushings and other important things that hold the tail of the plane. And some of the findings were downright unacceptable. For example, they painted the N-number the wrong direction on the Right side of the plane!

The following photos and comments are directly from the Aviation Consumer article...

"Barnett squawked drips on the elevator,
top, and Wyatt touched up a bare spot,
lower photo."

"Oops...Craig Barnett points out N-number
shadows on the wrong side of the
numerals. The shop agreed to fix it."

I've certainly seen worse paint jobs, but considering this one was being done for a company that has the voice of the press, it make me wonder what they would do for the average owner. The shop also did "all of the right things" including striping, Alodine, etc. However, in the end it comes down to the skills of the people laying out the stripes and applying the paint. They have paint blow-by around some of the stripes they didn't clean up, they applied too much paint in many areas, they painted the N-Number in the wrong direction and they even have rivet heads that are bubbling up...

NOTE: in the video they referenced that the shop is going to ask the paint manufacturer what happened around the rivets. I can tell you what happened... 1) they didn't have the surface properly cleaned before they painted it. 2) they didn't have the paint thinned properly and applied it way to thick. This also adds unnecessary weight to the plane...

What I found ironic was that Aviation Consumer didn't pick a shop from their own list of top shops. National didn't appear in their top 20 shops or the expanded list...

In the article here's what they said about why they picked National over other shops:

"Why National Flight Services? Proximity, mainly. We have always advised that in buying major upgrades such as engines, avionics and paint, it’s better have the work done as close to home as practical. It’s true that these services are priced and provided on a national market basis, but they’re dispersed well enough that finding one within easy driving range—200 miles or less—is practical."

I agree that it is certainly nice to work with a local shop when you can; however, anyone can install an engine. Not many are qualified to paint a plane properly. I would not recommend limiting a search for a paint shop to a confined 200 miles radius. When you pick a shop, you need to pick one based on the quality of their work -- period! As I have said previously, an inadequate paint job can introduce corrosion and other serious issues that are virtually impossible to find until the damage is done. Painting an airplane is a major ordeal and expense. It's worth traveling a bit to get it done right.

Conclusion
Painting an aircraft requires a level of skill that takes years to master. There are very few shops that spend the money to employ qualified people. In fact, many hire painters form the automotive industry because they are cheaper and easier to find. Painting a car is nowhere near as complex as painting an airplane. How many people paint the under body of a car...? Of course, skilled people come with a high salary that you ultimately pay for. It costs a shop a lot of money to hire people with appropriate skills and they have to continue to pay them even if business is slow. Paint shops are not in business to do work for free. That said, however, my research reveled that the cost difference between a top shop like Tejas and a mediocre shop like National is very close. Do your homework before turning over your airplane to someone that isn't properly equipped to do the job right!

Primer has been applied!

2008-02-01T10:04:00.000-06:00

252Q's exterior referb project is coming along quite well. The Zinc Chromate primer has been applied to all surfaces and the temp was brought up in the paint room to keep humidity down and to let the parts cure it overnight. We are getting very close to applying the base coat, which will be Sherwin Williams Acry Glo Titanium Metallic Urethane.

It is remarkable how talented the Tejas team is. I could not be more impressed with the quality of the work they produce. These guys are good, very good...

Pay particular attention to the photo below. Take note of how the primer covers all ends and pieces parts. This is a textbook perfect example of how to apply primer. Not many do it right.

When we owners design a scheme and get our planes painted, we often forget the reason why we paint planes in the first place. Sure it is nice that it makes them look new, but we actually paint planes to protect the aluminum surfaces. Aluminum is a very strong, light and malleable metal, but it is highly susceptible to corrosion if it isn't prepped properly. I cannot stress enough how important it is spend the money and paint a plane the right way. Metal airplanes can literally last forever, but corrosion can turn a perfectly good flying machine into scrap metal in a matter of months. Aircraft bone yards are full of planes that were taken by corrosion.

If you are buying a plane that has been painted, it is important to carefully read the logbook entry. It should spell out everything they did including removing the parts, applying Alodine, Zinch Chromate, etc. They should also specifically document that the flight controls were balanced. If they don't list these items out, then it is very likely it was not done or done improperly. Balancing flight controls is required by the FAR's. Doing the job right is required by how big your wallet is. It goes without saying that replacing flight controls or parts due to corrosion is costly and labor intensive project. A few buck spent up front can not only increase the value of a plane, it can literally make it immortal.

Let the painting begin!

2008-01-31T12:49:00.000-06:00

The time we've been waiting for is upon us. N252Q is in Tejas's quarter-million dollar paint booth and eagerly awaiting the painting process to begin...

To bring you to speed, several steps have been completed so far. She's been stripped, patched, sand coat primered and they just completed the Alodine application. The next steps are the fun ones. The paint booth is where the project really starts taking shape.

NOTE: The rusty looking coat on the surface of everything is Alodine. Alodine is a chemical treatment process used to prep aluminum. It provides corrosion protection in addition to creating a superior bonding surface for paint. It is the primer's primer so to speak. Many shops skip this step because it is costly; however, it is critical that Alodine is applied to all surfaces. An airplane painted without Alodine will easily develop corrosion under the surface of the paint. It is nearly impossible to detect corrosion under paint until it breaks through, which basically destroys the part. Not good when the part is a flight control or wing!

The photo above is of the bottom cowling. Take a close look at the quality of the finish. It looks brand new... The skills they have in the fiberglass shop is one of the many reasons why Tejas was selected to do our project. These guys remove all fiberglass parts and strip them completely down to the fiber. They then build every part back up to new, many times better than new, tolerances. There are not many shops that have in-house facilities or skills to do this type of work.

Interior Shop Survey

2008-01-28T17:16:00.000-06:00

I received an email today from Aviation Consumer. They are doing research on Aircraft Interior Shops and are looking for people to share their experience with them. This is good timing since next major project on the list for 252Q is an interior update.

If you have experience with Aircraft Interior Shops, please share your insight with the Aviation Consumer community. The more people that provide them data the better their research will be.

Here's the link:
Aviation Consumer’s Interior Shop Survey

Primer coat being applied

2008-01-23T21:49:00.000-06:00

252Q's Extreme Makeover is well on its way now. The airframe has been cleaned and prepped, Alodine as been applied to all surfaces and today they started applying the base primer coat.

NOTE: Pay particular attention to how smooth the wing finish is... And this is just the primer!

By the way, here's a photo of a brand new $650K Mooney Acclaim that was being painted when I dropped off my Mooney...

And 252Q form about the same angle:

Not much difference is there?

252Q is looking as good as a brand new plane that costs 3x the price, yet she's almost as fast, she's Technically Advanced, she burns 1/2 the fuel, and her maintenance is less expensive...

Prepping N252Q for Paint

2008-01-20T13:08:00.002-06:00

252Q is coming along well. The vortex generators are installed and the Tejas AeroServices team is almost done with prepping the aluminum for acid etching and paint. The shop foreman told me last week that they were very impressed with my plane. He said they have been inside of everything and were unable to find a spot of corrosion anywhere. He continued to say that this is not typical for a 20 year old bird. Apparently most used planes coming through their shop have something hidden under the paint. In fact, he told me a story of one plane had nearly all of its rivet heads sanded off by the previous paint shop and another had a 10" long cut completely through from the top of the tail to the bottom and was covered over with Bondo! Not N252Q. She's as clean as a whistle!

We did have a bit of a fire drill last week. Tejas contacted their supplier to purchase the Chromallusion paint we will be using for some accent stripping and they initially refused to sell it to them.

NOTE: Chromallusion is a highly specialized paint that changes color depending on the angle you are looking from. It is hard to find a photo that adequately shows what this looks like in person, but here's one I found on the web that does a pretty good job:

Chromallusion is a solid color paint that is applied in several layers. The layering of the paint causes it to shift color depending on how the light reflects off of the surface and the angle you are viewing it from. Two people looking at the same time would see a different effect.

We will be using a red/gold paint on 252Q called Pure Fire. Of course, like everything else we are doing, Chromallusion is very expensive ($700 a pint) and complex to paint. In fact, it is so complex that DuPont rarely sells it for aircraft applications because most shops that paint airplanes are not qualified to apply it. The warranty repair on an airplane is astronomical and DuPont has had to pay out some hefty repaint fees because of shop application errors. The Tejas team is one of only a few aircraft paint facilities in the world that has the technical skill to apply this paint on an airplane properly. Fortunately I picked the right shop and they were able to substantiate that they are indeed qualified to apply Chromallusion and have successfully applied this paint to other aircraft without issues. Mark another one up for Tejas...these guys Rock!

A Naked 252Q...

2008-01-15T14:09:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted much lately because N252Q is going through her Extreme Paint Makeover. I just got this photo form Tejas, so I thought I'd share it with you. This was taken earlier today...

They are not completely finished with the striping, but are very close. They manually strip all areas that have seams that could leak chemical striper into the interior. Those areas are taped off and then striped by hand. The cone section of the tail is also manually striped because it has plastic components and chemical could easily get into the air induction tube.

In case you are wondering, the guys are installing the Micro Aerodynamics Vortex Generators. I will write more about these later, but they greatly help the low-speed handling characteristics of the airplane while improving lift and efficiency of the wing. Outside of speed brakes, vortex generators are one of the best performance/safety systems you can add to a high-performance machine like 252Q.

Mooney...are they really the best?

2008-01-01T09:14:00.001-06:00

At the end of every year I reconcile my aviation expenses, which always gets me thinking. I've spent some cash on 36G this year and will be investing quite a bit more in paint and interior in 2008. Like every aircraft owner, writing a check is a big reality check (pun intended).

The New Year got me thinking about other comparable airplanes. How does 36G stack up to other popular birds? Am I accurate in my statements throughout this blog that asserts that the Mooney is the best airplane out there? I suppose everyone wants to claim that their plane is the best, so I wanted to take emotions out of the equation and base my statements on facts. I figured it would be a worthwhile exercise to put my money where my mouth is and do the research.

Background
To tackle this project I needed to find a few airplanes to compare to the Mooney. There are three planes that are similar to the Mooney M20K 252...The F33 Bonanza, The SR22 Cirrus and the Diamond DA40. The only other ones I could think of is the now Cessna Columbia 350 and the turbo SR22, but I don't have access to the performance data for those planes to do a comparison. I was able to obtain the performance numbers for the SR22, F33 & DA40 from Windy City Flyer's, which is a reputable flying club in the Chicago area. I also use to own a SR22, so I am very familiar with the Cirrus.

To normalize the data, I used the typical cruise power settings (@75% power) and optimal cruise altitudes (@6000-8000 ft. for 36G's competition). 36G's competition is normally aspirated and can't make it much higher than 8K while maintaining 75% power. I used 12,000 ft for 36G, which is actually lower than I typically fly. I wanted to be fair. 36G is very efficient at high altitude and her service ceiling is 28,000 ft, which is higher than any other non-pressurized plane I am aware of. I can easily hit true airspeeds well over 190 knots at higher altitudes.

Acquisition Cost
I didn't do a full-blown research project on acquisition cost of the airplanes, but I did do some research on the web. I reviewed the postings in Trade A Plane, Controller and other for sale sites. I also validated my data using the Aircraft VRef guide on AOPA. I took the average used price of the airplanes that were for sale that were comparable to 36G. In the F33 case I narrowed the research to the 1985-1989 range. I looked at the early 2000 SR22's. Diamond wasn't around until the mid to late 2000's and there aren't a lot for sale. I took the lowest sale price I could find for Diamond.

UPDATE: a reader submitted a comment to me saying a DA40 could be had as low as $220 or a very good one for $290. I updated the chart with the $290 since I could not find one at $220; however, even at the lower number the results are basically the same.

No question I have more money in 36G than they are selling for, but I am investing in a plane I intend on keeping for a long, long time. For you readers out there, it is a buyers market...you can easily acquire a very good M20K 252 for $175K. The 252 performance is about the same as an Ovation and not too far behind the Acclaim, which sells for $600K! The F33 averaged out around $200K. The rest were in the $300K range.

I chalk up a win for the Mooney here. I sincerely believe the cost is well below what they are worth. I'm not going into this in this posting, but maintenance costs, annuals, parts, etc. are also significantly less expensive than the others. In fact, most of the parts on 36G are still in production and being installed on new Mooney's. The main wings, spars, gear, flight controls, etc. are exactly the same.

Payload
The Mooney has a reputation of not having much of a payload. Is that reputation warranted? The short answer is YES. Clearly the Mooney was not a designed for carrying full fuel and people. My personal mission is two people and bags, so this wasn't a concern for me. In fact, I'm not convinced this is really an issue for most aircraft owners. The vast majority of planes I see flying around typically only have one or two people in them -- counting the big 6 seater's.

How does 36G Compare to her competition?

Every airplane has an Achilles Heal. No question the Mooney's is payload, which is calculated by filling up the fuel tanks and what's left is what you can carry in people and baggage. Not surprisingly, all of 36G's competition won in the Payload category. The F33 can carry 348LBS more, the SR22 can carry 266LBS more and the Diamond can carry 156LBS more. If you need to put someone in every seat and top-off the tanks you want a Cirrus or Bonanza. Those guys can certainly carry the load.

Endurance
It is easy for marketing people to do the math and give Mooney a black eye in the payload category. In all reality, however, you certainly don't have to fill the tanks to the top every time you land. Biz jets and the airlines certainly don't. If you ask any commercial operator they will tell you they rarely fill the tanks. It is simple physics. The more weight you carry the less efficient an airplane is because you need a greater wing angle of attack that increases drag to carry the weight. The more weight you carry increases take off distance, adds time to climb to altitude and slows down the plane in cruse.

Again, if you must carry full fuel and fill all 4 seats then the simple answer is to buy a Bonanza or Cirrus. I've only had someone in the back seat once or twice in 3 years, so carrying 4 people was not a concern for me. However, is Payload a real limitation? To answer this question you need to calculate endurance. What is your personal mission? How many people/weight do you typically need to carry and how far do you need to carry it.

To make math easy, I just calculated raw Endurance and did not take into account for fuel burn such as taxi time, climb time or reserves. I wanted to see what the absolute range of each plane would be. Here's what I found:

With full fuel the Mooney can fly nearly an hour longer than the Bonanza (5.7 hours versus 4.9). The Mooney and Bonanza blows away Diamond and Cirrus in the endurance category. The Cirrus has a max endurance of 4.2 hours and the Diamond has 4.4 hours. The Cirrus and Diamond don't hold a candle to the tired and true Mooney and Bonanza.

Assuming we are not carrying 4 people, the Mooney clearly beats the others in the Endurance category.

Range
5.7 hours of flying time is impressive, but to measure the significance of this, we need to know how far can we can actually travel. 5+ hours at 120 knots certainly won't get you as far as 5 hours at 200 knots. Speed is where the Mooney really comes out ahead. It's fast! How fast...?

The Bonanza cruises at a respectable 165 Knots, the Cirrus cruises at 170 (based on personal experience this is not a real world number) and the Diamond is putting around at 145. All while 36G is trucking along at 175! Like I said earlier, however, the higher you go the faster 36G is. I can easily hit 200 knots in the low 20's. And before you ask...Yes I can realistically get that high. 36G will sustain a 1200 ft per minute climb all the way up no problem. Getting to 20,000 feet takes less than 20 minutes and not only makes me go fast, it also gets me above nearly all weather!

After you know the speed, it is easy to calculate the range. You simply take the cruise speed times the max flying time...

36G can travel 998 nautical miles in 5.7 hours! The Bonanza is also impressive. The F33 can travel 809 miles. However, the Cirrus and Diamond didn't do so well. The Cirrus can only do 714 miles while the Diamond can only cover 638. 36G could easily do a coast to coast trip in a day or two where the others could not. The Turbo enables 36G to climb over the mountains that the others could only dream of doing and she can go further without stopping. The 187 mile difference between the Mooney and Bonanza doesn't sound like a lot, but every time you stop you loose at least an hour. Staying in the air longer makes a big difference. This extra range enables the Mooney to do super endurance trips like traveling the Northern routes to Europe, traveling through Africa where 100LL fuel is scarce or going on an Alaskan vacation!

36G clearly wins in the range category. However, the Bonanza is a close second. If you need to regularly carry 4 people long distances then the Bonanza is likely the right choice. I would not even consider the Cirrus or Diamond if you regularly travel 500 miles or more. Time is money and stopping every few hundred miles is inefficient.

Cost
No matter how you cut it -- it is expensive to own an airplane. However, there is a clear difference between operating a Mooney versus the others.

I thought it would be fun to take the used market costs above and put a cost to them. My first calculation is the cost per knot, which is taking the average used Market Acquisition cost and dividing it by the cruise airspeed:

It is hard to justify spending near $300K+ for an airplane, but spending this much money on a slow airplane really takes the cake. I was a bit surprised when I did the math. The DA40 works out to $2,000/knot whereas the Mooney is about $1000/knot. In other words, the Diamond is 2x the cost of the Mooney form a speed perspective. You are paying a whole lot more for a lot slower plane. Sure the Diamond has the G1000, but if you recall...36G is also a technically advanced airplane. She doesn't have a PFD, but she does have the same capabilities as the Diamond or Cirrus (XM weather/Moving Map/WAAS GPS/Traffic/etc). The Mooney wins hands down in the speed and cost per knot perspective. The Bonanza again is a close second.

The next area I thought would be interesting to look at is the direct fuel operating cost.

Fuel cost per hour is where the Diamond stands out. Efficient fuel consumption is likely why so many DA40's are used for training. The DA40 burns 9 gallons an hour compared to the Mooney 13, the Bonanza 15 and the Cirrus 19. In other words, the Diamond gets 16 miles per gallon of fuel; the Mooney gets 13 MPG; the Bonanza gets 11 MPG and the Cirrus gets a dismal 8 MPG. The Diamond wins the MPG category, but the Mooney and Bonanza aren't far behind.

NOTE: the MPG figures above are nautical miles per gallon not statute miles per gallon you would get in a car. Here's the conversion to Statute MPG: Diamond: 18 SMPG; Mooney 15 SMPG; Bonanza 13 SMPG; Cirrus: 9 SMPG. On paper, airplanes are basically in the same category as an SUV; however, you can cover a lot more area if you go over instead of around everything. For example, a trip to Port Columbus Airport (CMH) in Columbus, Ohio from Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) is 364 statute miles (316 nautical) and takes about 6 hours in a car. Flying the same trip is 291 statute miles (245 nautical) and takes an hour and twenty-seven minutes in 36G. Time is money. Airplanes can easily pay for themselves if you travel regularly.

The final calculation I performed was the cost versus payload.

What this chart shows is how much it costs to carry the payload. This calculation takes the used market acquisition cost and divides it by the payload available after filling the tanks. The Bonanza comes out on top here. The used cost of the Bonanza compared to its carrying capacity is very impressive. The used Cirrus and Mooney are about the same, but the Diamond with updated numbers is still high.

The Results
Every plane has its strengths and weaknesses. Picking the right plane depends on your personal mission. However, in this blog I wanted to find out which one is the overall best airplane. To be objective, I took the above data and compiled it into a table to make it easier to read:

To rank the planes I established a simple scoring system that weights each of the above categories from best to worst. Since there are 4 planes I used a 4 point scoring system. A score of 4 is the best in category and a score of 1 is the lowest:

Based on my scoring system, the Mooney came out as the overall winner because it leads in several categories (Acquisition cost, Endurance, Speed, Range and Cost per Knot). The F33 Bonanza, however, is a close second. The Bonanza only led in two categories (Cost/Payload and overall Payload), but it was a solid number two in most other areas. The Cirrus and Diamond fell well behind the tried and true Mooney and Bonanza in every category except for fuel cost per hour. the DA40 was a clear leader from a direct operating cost per hour perspective, but fell at the bottom of the list in every other category. It is slow, expensive and underpowered.

Conclusion
Going into this I expected that the Mooney would come out on top, which is why I bought it in the first place. However, I did not skew these results. The data is the data. Sure we could add more data points, but I would expect that in most cases the Mooney would still be the leader or darn close to it.

The M20K 252 is an awesome machine no matter how you slice and dice it. Maintenance costs alone make the Mooney a better bird. Ask any Bonanza owner to tell you the cost of their last annual. Just sit down when they do. A Mooney averages around $2.5K whereas the Bonanza's typically go for $5K+. Cirrus and Diamond are also very expensive when they go out of warranty as well. It is also much more difficult to find parts for the new guys. Many components are specialized and it is impossible for them to keep parts in inventory because they are used on the production line. Insurance is another killer. Mooney's have one of the safest track records of any GA airplane, which dramatically decreases insurance cost.

NOTE: I am a current IFR pilot with over 2000 hours total time and 1500 hours in multi-engine/complex aircraft. I am classified in a low risk category by insurance companies. When I owned the Cirrus I paid $9,000/year for insurance. I pay about $3000/year for the Mooney with greater limits of liability and no per seat limitation even though the Mooney is faster and has retractable gear! The Bonanza pilots aren't as fortunate. They have more accidents per 100,000 hours than Mooney, which drives up risk and their insurance cost.

Bottom line, the Mooney is an inexpensive, safe, reliable and fast airplane. Even if you can't afford the high-end M20K/252, the others in the line are also very good. You can literally buy a well maintained Mooney for $35K that will blow away the $220-290K Diamond and most new planes. Don't fall for the marketing hype or sit on the ramp because you can't afford a plane. Do your research and I bet you will discover what me and many other Mooniacs have found. A Mooney is something you don't simply fly...you fall in love with her because she will take you places that your land-based friends and most other GA pilots can only dream of.

Exterior Referb - Part 4

2007-12-30T20:22:00.000-06:00

It's time to make my way to San Marcos airport (HYI) where Tejas AeroService is based -- the shop that will be refinishing the exterior of 36G. San Marcos is about 30 miles or so south of Austin, Texas (AUS), which is an easy flight from Chicago. However, since I'm heading down at the end of the year I had a ton of vacation time to burn. I figured I'd make a mini vacation out of the deal. I decided to go to Austin by way of Florida. Why take a straight line when you have a super fast and efficient Mooney?

Leg 1, Moultrie (MGR) Airport
Moultrie, Georgia
I departed out of Gary/Chicago Airport (GYY) where 36G is based on December 20 (Winter in Chicago dictates when you leave). The weather was clear, so I hit the sky and started my trek to Charlotte County Airport (PGD) in Punta Gorda, Florida. The trip from Chicago to Punta Gorda is about 900 miles, which is outside of the range of 36G. The first leg of my trip was to Moultrie Muni (MGR), which is south of Atlanta. I picked this airport because it was outside of the Atlanta (KATL) Class-B airspace and they had very good references on the web.

The trip to Moultrie was a bit daunting. There was a major cold front moving from the east toward my path and it covered the entire state of Georgia. There was no way I could go around or over it, but fortunately 36G is fast and I was able to stay ahead of it.

The landing at MGR was a piece of cake. The airport is not very busy, but had a very capable staff. The service at the airport was awesome. They fueled me up quickly, had weather, free cookies and very nice facilities. I was out of there in less than 45 minutes.

Leg 2, Charlotte County Airport (PGD)
Punta Gorda, Flordia
I departed out of MGR and was on the road to PGD well ahead of the weather. The flight to PGD was spectacular. I flew down the west coast of Florida and had awesome views of the Gulf of Mexico.

The PGD airport was also very nice. I was even able to rent a private T-Hangar while I was there.

I won't bore you with too many details of the ground portion of my trip to Florida, but suffice of to say there were a lot of Beaches, boats and Food involved...

Leg 3, Lakefront Airport (NEW)
New Orleans, Louisiana
It was an enjoyable trip to Florida, which made it very difficult for me to leave. I needed a bit of motivation, so I decided I would stop somewhere in between Florida and Texas for a bit more R&R. Humm, what is between FL & TX that's fun? New Orleans of course ;)

Similar to the flight down form Chicago, I had to fight a low pressure system that just would not leave. This one had a ton of heavy precipitation in it. In fact, I had to delay my departure by a couple of days because there was absolutely no way around it (darn ;). The airlines were even having problems with this one. It was drawing moisture all the way up to Boston!

Shortly after I departed, I was fortunate enough to get a good controller. He let me fly over water, but stay close enough to land in case I had problems. This put me south of the severe weather, but right in the middle of a ton of restricted airspace.

NOTE: I love flying IFR. This segment of my flight would have been impossible if I didn't have my instrument ticket. I was in solid IMC much of the time, yet I stayed completely out of the bad stuff thanks to XM WX on board and a cooperative controller. In fact, I would have never attempted this trip without some sort of on-board weather. No way you want to stumble into this stuff. And it is very easy to do when storms are embedded like this one. Clouds look pretty much the same from the inside where I was flying much of the time.

The New Orleans Lakefront Airport (NEW) is 5 miles form downtown New Orleans, which makes it an excellent stop. The airport had significant damage after Katrina, so they are in the middle of a rebuilding effort. The FBO is operating out of a trailer and they are using old WWII hangars that are a bit beat up to park planes. They have a nice hangar, but can't use it because FEMA is holding up funding for the roof repairs. Although the FBO and airport has gone through some hard times, the service was impeccable. Everyone was friendly and helpful. I highly recommend the Flightline First FBO. They are the small local guys. Millionaire is the only other open FBO at Lakefront, but they tend cater more toward the big jets. Flightline also had $1/gallon lower fuel prices. You can't go wrong with Flightline.

Again, I won't bore you with the details of my New Orleans trip except to say there was a lot of music, food and fun involved :)

Leg 4, San Marcos Airport (HYI)
San Marcos, Texas
The flight out of New Orleans was, what else?...IFR! I delayed my departure about an hour to let some heavy stuff pass, but I made it out no problem. The trip to HYI was uneventful after I got away form Louisiana. A nice High pressure system surrounded Texas and it was nice, very nice to see something beside the inside of a cloud.

I made it to HYI with no problems. The trip was spectacular. I was also quite impressed with the Tejas AeroService operations. I will write more about my initial impressions of the Tejas facilities in my next posting...

Until next time, rest assured that 36G was safely put away in a huge hangar and is eagerly awaiting her her Extreme Exterior Makeover!

Exterior Referb - Part 3

2007-12-25T19:54:00.000-06:00

Now that we have the paint scheme designed, it is time to turn our attention to finding someone that can transfer the 2D computer rendering onto a 3D airplane. I quickly discovered that finding a qualified paint shop is not as easy as I expected. Every paint shop out there wants the business and often says all of the right things; however, when pressed they rarely put their claims in writing.

When searching around I found a surprising number shops that will paint an airplane, but when I started probing about their warranty, turnaround time, issue resolution, quality, references, etc., many started backpedaling quickly or charging extra for the "custom" services. I felt like I was buying a used car when calling some of these shops. These guys are experts in trying to talk you into something they can do quickly in order to maximize their return.

I also found many shops that specialize in the 'cheap' and quick paint job, but the old adage that you get what you pay for couldn't be more accurate in this case. The discount shops will get over spray on windows, wont clean up their lines properly, have poor quality control, use automobile paint, etc. Stay away form them. They can often cause more problems, add unnecessary weight, and materially decrease the value of the plane.

Where to start
Aviation consumer had a good article about painting an airplane in their December 2006 magazine. It is a good read if you subscribe to them. What I like about Aviation Consumer is that they throughly do their research and then provide unbiased results. To prep for the December Article, they surveyed their subscribers and compiled a list of the top-20 shops as well as others that were rated highly. The shops that didn't make the top-20 were not necessarily bad. They may be new or didn't have as many votes as the well established businesses. No one made these lists that had any material complaint reported against them.

You do not need to narrow your search to top-20 list. The other shops are also reputable. I would, however, be cautious of a shop that didn't make one of these two lists. The Aviation Consumer subscribers are savvy. If a shop didn't make the list then chances are a number of complaints were filed against them. I would not contract with anyone not on these lists unless they have impeccable references from people you personally know and trust.

Aviation Consumer also ended 2007 by ranking the Best of the Best of the year. They rated two paint shops as the best of the best: Dial Eastern States and KD Aviation/Reese. No question these shops will do a top-notch paint job. I've personally seen work from both shops and their work is impeccable. However, these guys also have a long waiting list and tend to be much more expensive than others that may do equally, and sometimes even a better, job. The key is to do your research and give your business to someone that produces the quality you want.

Where to go with 36G?
When I started thinking about 36G's exterior referb project, I was fully expecting to go to Dial Eastern in Cadiz, Ohio. Like I said above, I have personally seen their work and many people I respect, including AOPA and Scheme Designers, are impressed with their quality. However, when I approached them with my project they were slow to respond and seemed a bit reluctant to take it on. They like the easy quick-turn projects. Ones that maximize their returns and minimize shop time. The scheme I ended up with for 36G is far from a quick-turn project. When complete, 36G will have 5 different colors and the entire plane is metallic. It will take multiple paint sessions and likely tie up a paint booth for a week or more.

Dial Eastern also balked about clear-coating the entire plane even though Imron Metallic paint requires it (the chemical composition of modern metallic paint will not gloss properly unless it is clear coated). They were also dismissive when pressed about the fine details of our project like using ChromaiLusion accents, replacing the CAMLOC fasteners, painting removable pieces (e.g. gear doors, cowling, belly panel, etc.) off of the plane and other fine details I wanted. They eventually quoted the project, but they did not quote everything requested. Here's a portion of their response to me:

First we use only DuPont Imron paint.
Second, we won't clear coat an airplane (except for over Chromailusion). You will find shops that do and shops that won't. We are in the "won't" category... Clearcoating also takes an enormous amount of sanding and coating to be done right on an airplane so the cost of painting your plane will go up quite a bit.
Third, Chromalusion is a very expensive and adds to the cost of the scheme. There is a base value color that goes down first, then the product then the clear coat. Its just a time intense process.

I sincerely believe these guys do a solid job for standard paint schemes, but I got the since that their plan is to nickel and dime you after you are there. What concerned me the most was their repeated comments about the time it takes to do something. They stated this several times throughout the quote and phone conversations. There is no question in my mind that anything out of the ordinary will generate significant up charges that could add thousands of dollars to the quote. Suffice of to say, my experience with Dial Eastern was not what I expected.

My unexpected experience with Dial Eastern set me off on a quest that took several months of research to complete. I spoke with everyone I know that has painted their plane, I called many of the Aviation Consumer shops listed above and explored the field at Oshkosh looking for owners of planes that had spectacular paint jobs.

My research kept bringing me to a small shop just outside of Austin Texas called Tejas Aero Services. Their owner, Mike Van Sicklen, retired from a lucrative career in the North and he acquired this shop a few years back. He seems to love aviation and got into the aircraft painting business for more than simply making a few bucks. I met Mike and his shop foreman, Donnie McKee, at the Mooney MAPA convention in San Antonio Texas earlier this year. It was instantly clear to me that these guys know the airplane painting business inside and out. I was very impressed their knowledge, their attention to detail and their facilities. Here's a quote off of their website that says it better than I can:

"We only know one way to paint your aircraft. We aim for perfection, and strive to give you a flawless airplane under the paint. We do not offer cheap or even “basic” paint jobs, and would never allow a project reflecting less than our best efforts to leave our shop. You may find cheaper or more expensive paint jobs, but we feel safe in saying that you will not find a better paint job."

Of course anyone can say they do good work, but do they stand behind it? The only way to find out if what a shop claims is true is to check references and the reputation of the people referencing them. Here are a few that speak highly of Tejas Aero:

Mooney Airplane Company – Kerrville, TX
Tom Canavera 830-792-2906
Tejas Aero Services completes at least three production Mooney's per month.
Integrity Aero – San Antonio, TX
David Welch, President 210-375-2500
Tejas performs the paint and interior refurbishment for the “Integrity Edition” Cessna 414A aircraft.
Ram Aircraft – Waco, TX
David Seesing, Sales Manager 254-752-8381
Ram Aircraft is the leading engine replacement company in the US. Tejas is Ram’s recommended shop.
Premier Aviation - Sanford, FL
Frank Norman, Owner 407-585-3548
Tejas AeroServices has been selected to refurbish their Cessna 414As.

Yes, that's right...Mooney Aircraft sends three production Mooney's to them every month! They would send all of them if Tejas had the time to do the work. In fact, Tejas paints all of Mooney's show planes. Here are some examples of their Mooney workmanship. To view more planes they've painted click here:

Another thing that I like about Tejas is they were honest with their quotes. They submit a fixed bid for their services. You can have one color or 10 and it is the same base price. ChromaiLusion paint was the only thing that was outside of the ordinary and added $1K to the price. They also include 8 hours of prep work and will only exceed these prices if significant metal damage is found when they strip the plane. All parts that are removable are painted off of the airplane, all hardware is replaced and they fully guarantee their work.

Key considerations
Painting a plane is a complex project to undertake. It takes a lot of time and skill to do it right. There are many components that go into a top quality paint job, but here are a few key considerations to keep in mind.

First, an aircraft should be completely stripped down to bare metal. It is very important to get down to the surface and inspect it for corrosion and undocumented damage. Paint can hide things that could kill you or destroy your perfectly good airplane! Do not skip this step!

It is also important that the metal is properly etched and Alodined within 24 hours after the striping to protect it properly. Discount shops often skip this step because it is costly. Don't even think about it. If you don't Alodine an airplane quickly, the metal will start corroding. Paint will cover up damage that will continue to deteriorate the metal from the inside out. Also be cautious of buying a plane that has been painted that doesn't specifically indicate they Alodined and Etched the metal prior to painting in the logbook entry.

Second, the prep work needs to be done right. It is illegal to put body filler on control surfaces or to cover up significant metal damage. Body filler should only be used sparingly to take out small imperfections. Any areas requiring heavy body filler should be repaired by a skilled airframe craftsman.

Third, the shop needs to have someone that is experienced laying out complex design schemes. Proper layout work is critical to a successful project:

Fourth, a good shop will spend several days cleaning up the fine details that include using new stainless steel airframe hardware, removing tape marks and cleaning up the lines:

Finally, the end result should be worthy of a press release:

Conclusion
I've completed the design process, I've picked the paint shop, now it's time to ferry 36G to Austin for her Extreme Makeover and name change to N252Q!

Exterior Referb - Part 2

2007-12-24T21:37:00.000-06:00

Creating a unique paint scheme is one of the most rewarding aircraft reiteration steps you can take. A good design can instantly transform a non-descript airplane into the center of attention every time you go anywhere. Nailing down a one-of-a-kind masterpiece you are proud of, however, takes time and commitment up front to get it right.

Creating the design is not something that you want to rush. The planning should start months before the aircraft is scheduled to be painted. In fact, 36G's design sessions with Scheme Designers started in May 2007 and the first renderings were posted on June 20, 2007. We finalized the design early December, which worked out to 7 months of daily/weekly phone calls & emails to complete.

N252Q Design Process
The secret of a good design is to do your homework and be prepared to spend time reviewing each rendering carefully. If you want something truly unique you have to guide the design team through the process. The more time you spend with them the better the outcome. I chose to use Scheme Designers because they have the industry expertise and know what works and what doesn't; however, it was up to me to guide them through creating what I wanted. If they are good, they are busy. They will not spend a lot of time on your project unless you stay on top of them.

It took about a month of emails and a couple of conference calls to convey my ideas about 36G to the design team. They then created the initial renderings and posted them on their website:

The first batch of designs are intended to gage what you are going for. They are typically radically different approaches. We reviewed the first designs and I liked some of the colors and concepts, but the flow wasn't quite right. We then combined elements from each rendering that I liked in order to generate the next series:

As you can see form the above photos, the lines started to flow, the Mooney logo was incorporated into the design, the tail became more dominant, etc., but it still wasn't quite right. The logo was too big and didn't fit properly on the tail. The lines didn't balance well from front to back...

Keeping it Simple
The design process can be daunting -- especially if you haven't done this before. What I found helpful is to initially look at the renderings as a whole form a distance and answer some basic questions. Does it look right? If not, then what doesn't? Do you like the colors? Does the design seem to balance? Does the N-Number placement fit into the design? etc...

NOTE: What I do is print the designs on a large-format printer and hang them on a wall in my office. I also pick the rendering I like the most and set it as my computer wallpaper. Looking at these every day guarantees that I spend quality time with each design without having to intentionally stop everything to review them.

After you get things balancing from a distance then zero in on each section ignoring everything else. On 36G, I started from the tail and worked in small sections until getting to the nose.During each iteration, I jotted down my thoughts and sent a bulleted list to the Scheme Designers team. I then scheduled a phone call so I could guide them through my list. Graphic artist tend to be more visual, so a follow-up phone call typically makes the process smoother. All you do is repeat these steps until the side is done. Then roll to the top of the fuselage and finally the prop, belly, placards, etc. Be careful about making a lot of changes at once. I've found that small precise changes are more effective.

Design Examples
The following links are good examples of completed Scheme Designer aircraft designs. Stepping through from top to bottom will give you a good idea of how a design comes together. Pay particular attention to how some designs have many iterations and others are fairly simple. It is clearly up to the owner to drive the process.

Conclusion
This is just a sample of all we went through. The entire design process took 7 months. You will have to stay tuned to see the final version after 36G is painted. I don't want to spoil the final reveal.

Next time, I will discuss the process of selecting a paint shop and key things to take into consideration before signing on the dotted line.

Exterior Referb - Part 1

2007-12-20T20:05:00.000-06:00

People are superficial! No matter how good your maintenance is or how great your piloting skills are, you are graded on what the plane looks like and your landings! If you read this blog, you'll know that 36G's maintenance is impeccable; however, when someone walks up to her she looks like most other planes. Base white, two colors and two stripes...

36G is a very fine looking plane and I get a lot of comments about how nice the paint looks, but I want her to be unique. It is hard to be unique when it is impossible to differentiate 36G from virtually every other Mooney that was built in the mid-80's...

These are all fine looking 252's that many people would love to own; however, it isn't worthy of 36G's Extreme Makeover project, which is intended to take a very good mid-80's plane and incorporate up to date technology to make it as good, or better, than a new $600K+ plane. One that has Technically Advanced Avionics, one that has a comfortable and modern interior and one that has a state-of-the art paint scheme.

Avionics are fairly straightforward. You basically buy the latest and greatest Garmin and install it! There are some tricks that we will get into later on how to make a comfortable and modern interior, but they are all pretty much the same (leather). The paint scheme, however, is an entirely different story...

What is in a Paint Scheme
Designing a paint scheme is not as easy as it sounds. There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration. First is the airframe. Something that looks good on a King Air isn't necessarily going to look good on a Mooney. The second is designing something on a computer doesn't mean that a paint shop can actually do it. Whatever you come up with has to be do'able in the filed. Finally, the scheme has to be unique and balance from all angles as if the manufacturer did it. The scheme should be unique and flow from end to end without any awkward interruption. Everything including the placards and N-number needs to be included in the design. I couldn't tell you the planes I've seen that have a beautiful paint scheme and the N-number was clearly placed on it later as an afterthought.

Preliminary Thoughts & Background
I have been thinking about a paint design since I conceived the idea of buying a Mooney. I've seen tens-of-thousands of planes in my day. However, when you step back and think about actually designing something it is harder than it sounds. It was very clear that I needed an expert to help compile my ideas into something that can reproduced and will work on a Mooney.

When I started looking at aircraft that had truly unique aircraft designs, it was remarkable at how many of them were created by one shop -- Scheme Designers. And one person, Craig Barnett, their CEO. Craig has been creating aircraft paint scheme designs forever. He has created most of the modern Mooney schemes as well as many other manufacturers.

Craig's work is known throughout the world. If you've ever been to an airport or read virtually any aviation magazine then you have seen one of his designs. He's created practically every unique design I could find. In fact, all of the AOPA giveaway planes are Scheme Designer original designs including this year's AOPA Catch-a-Cardinal.

The process
Selecting the designer to guide me through the process was a "no brainer," but we still have to come up with the design. Craig has some canned designs you can choose form on AircraftColor.com, but I want 36G to be unique. A canned design is not worthy of our Extreme Makeover!

Unlike a typical artist, Craig does not design the scheme for you. He told me that everyone has different tastes and requirements, which make it impossible for him to simply say "here ya go." For those that want to pick a design and go...he created AircraftColor.com, which is a site that has over 5000 aircraft designs they have created. If you pay for the custom service, however, you get a truly customized service that starts with a blank sheet of paper...

Craig basically acts as a Muse and guides you through the process. He gets out of you what you want quite effectively. The process is involved, but basically starts out with a phone interview. He records things you like and dislike and then he goes to work building the initial design elements that you tweak as many times as you want until you get what you are going after. They work on a fixed bid and have worked on some designs for years. The speed and quality of the process is ultimately up to you.

Research
Crating a new design is a daunting task. I started by doing research on websites, reviewing air show photos, cutting out advertisements in flying magazines and browsing aircraft for sale sites such as Trade-A-Plane and Controller. The key was to find planes with elements that I like and then explain to Craig what I liked about them. The more photos I sent the better he was able to get a since of what I was going for. It took about a month of emailing and phone conversations before the first designs were presented to me.

Here's a list of some sites I reviewed:

Airliners.net
Airport-Data.com
Mooney Aircraft Member's Blog
Trade-A-Plane
Controller
My old Oshkosh & Air Show Photos
The New Aircraft Manufacturers (e.g. Cirrus, Lancair, Hawker/Beechcraft, etc).

My research created quite a directory of photos of airplanes with comments about what I liked and didn't like as well as some basic design guidelines:

I want a design that uses shading and lines to make the plane look long, wide and fast. I have a short body Mooney with small side windows. I want long flowing lines that give the since of speed and scale.
I like the use of shading and flowing stripes and ribbons instead of hard straight lines.
I like the use of color on the top of the cowl & wing tips, not on the bottom like most.
I want to keep the main base colors of the bird (Blue & Maroon), but want to use something other than white as the base coat.
The tail of the Mooney is what makes a Mooney a Mooney. I want to highlight it; however, I do not want the standard swoop that everyone is doing now days (the half circle from bottom to top). This looked nice at first, but it is a design too easy to replicate and everyone is doing it.
I would like to incorporate the Mooney Logo (old eagle not new one). I also want to incorporate the Turbo 252 TSE" name into the scheme.
Whatever we do needs to be unique, but something that mainstream buyers would appreciate if we sell some day.

After sharing my comments with Craig, the Scheme Designers Team went to work on the design. Next time I'll show you some of the initial designs and more details on how we tweaked them to get it to the final product.

I haven't forgotten about you...

2007-12-18T22:16:00.000-06:00

Sorry folks for not posting in awhile. Fourth quarter is very hectic for me. However, I have many more in-depth articles to come. I have completed the final paint design for our Extreme Makeover and will be flying 36G to the paint shop in the next few days. After I get back I will document the design process and include detailed photos of the exterior restoration. Like all of my projects...this one will be intense. You won't want to miss it!

I have also had many requests about using technology in the cockpit. I will be writing some in-depth articles on my experiences with pretty much every cockpit system and technology ever used in GA. The good, the bad and the ugly. In the meantime, here's my top pick:

Check out Seattle Avionics for their EFB software. This is bar none the best out there. I will get into the features and capabilities later, but these guys know what they are doing. The software is highly-capable, is easy to use in the cockpit and they are constantly improving it. The next version 4.x will utilize the 3D directx video drivers on the computer and will enable gaming speed map rendering. It is awesome! If you are looking for reliable cockpit technology, check out Seattle Avionics. They also have a free version online. I would suggest downloading the software and trying it out. Can't beat the price ;)

You will need a reliable computer to run whatever software you decide to use. My top pick is the Motion Computing LE800 SST Laptop. The SST stands for Solid-State hard drive. These drives work at altitudes above 10,000 ft and use much less power. The systems are costly, but worth every penny. They are rock solid and readable in direct sunlight. If you are going to put your trust in a computer in an airplane...buy a good one. Get a Motion Computing laptop. Nothing else out there compares to it.

Happy Holidays!

Maintaining Currency

2007-11-24T18:27:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the first good day we've had in Chicago for about a month. The weather has been horrendous around here. Low ceilings, 3/4 mile viability and ICE! Between my work and the weather, I've had keep 36G parked for the last 45 days or so.

Time sails by quickly and before I know it my currency gets close to lapsing. It is very easy to mis a key date. Most pilots would argue that it doesn't happen to them; however, I'd bet that most pilots have flown at some point without being current with something and didn't realize it. Of course, currency isn't a wall. You don't forget how to fly because a medial expired, but it is the law. If you get ramp checked and you or the airplane is not current with something, you can pretty much say goodbye to your pilot certificate for awhile -- and you'll pay higher insurance rates when you get it back!

I am very conscious of the fact that I am human and it is likely that I will not remember every date for everything that has to be current (GPS updates, VOT checks, Annuals, Static/Transponder checks, medical, etc.) To help me remember these critical dates, I use Logbook Pro in addition to my paper logbook.

NOTE: Logbook Pro is one of the best aviation software packages out there. Many professional pilots use it. The software lets you build rules and notifications for key events. I use the notifications to warn me of IFR, VFR, Airplane Annuals and other key currencies. Logbook Pro makes it simple to keep track of everything. In fact, it will automatically compute the number of approaches, landings, etc. you have done to let you know if you are current or not. It will also create just about any ad-hoc report you can think of. It is a big pain to put all of the data into a program, but after it is there you can do anything with it.

Based on my Logbook Pro currency report, I have about 30-days before my 90-day takeoff and landing during the Day expires and my IFR currency has about 30-days before it runs out as well. I've been keeping a close eye on the weather, so I can get up and get current. We finally caught a break yesterday.

I spent much of the day Friday prepping 36G. I tested all systems on the ground and made sure she was ready for winter. I took 36G up for a 30-minute flight to validate that all systems were a.o.k. And I did my required 3 takeoffs and landings to get my day VFR currency as well. We both checked out fine.

IFR Currency Requirements
An instrument rated pilot must fly a minimum of 6 approaches, 1 hold and perform enroute navigation every 6 months. This means that you have to do at least one approach every month, navigate somewhere and do a hold. I was within 30-days of having 6 total approaches. My currency report showed I needed 2 approaches and a hold to maintain currency. My dilemma is that in the winter I don't fly often enough to do an approach every month, so I called a friend of mine that is also a flight instructor and he flew safety pilot with me so I could fly under the hood (simulate not seeing out of the windows). In other words, I want to do everything at once so my 6-month clock would restart.

6 approaches doesn't sound like a lot, but it actually is. Most GA flights do not terminate with an IFR approach, which makes getting 6 approaches via a typical flight quite difficult. I file IFR on every cross-country flight, so I try to work an approach into every trip. Much of the time, however, the controllers don't want to set you up for an approach in VFR conditions.

NOTE: Setting up an IFR flight for a controller is a lot of work for them and requires that they adhere to strict separation minimums. This is quite difficult when there are a ton of VFR planes are flying around or lots of planes heading toward the same runway.

Approaches are certainly difficult to keep current, but I find that holding currency is even more difficult to maintain. In fact, I can't think of any non-training IFR flight I've been on in 20+ years of flying where I had to fly a hold. It is quite rare. Even when flying below minimums and doing a mis you rarely get a hold. ATC typically routes you back or to another destination well before you do a published hold.

IFR Currency -- the Flying
Doing everything at once is a daunting task -- especially when you are based inside of busy airspace. It took me 2.4 hours to do it. To get 6 different approaches in, I had to fly into 4 different airports that were all adjacent to or inside of the Chicago Class B airspace. This kept the controllers and me very busy ;-)

A picture is worth more than 1000 words, so here's a portion of my track log from Flight Explorer that says it better than I can:
This is the log captured by FlightAware.com:
Funny that these logs looks like I was drinking and flying, but it was a legit IFR flight nonetheless. I even got a bit of actual!

The currency trip started off at KGYY and we headed toward Aurora (KARR) airport. I did the ILS 33 approach. This is a brand new ILS system and it was the first time I've flown it. I did the missed, then the RNAV GPS 9 approach. The GPS 9 approach into Aurora is an LPV approach, which means I can fly down to ILS minimums solely by using the GPS. Very cool!

NOTE: Prior to WAAS GPS's, one could only use them for lateral (left/right) navigation. Vertical navigation wasn't accurate enough to safely get you close to the ground. WAAS capable GPS's are as accurate, if not more accurate, than ground based equipment. Many airports are installing vertical navigation GPS approaches, which is opening remote airports to all weather flying more than ever. In my opinion, the single best technology ever created for Aviation is the GPS. And every day it is getting better and better.

I departed Aurora and headed over to to DuPage (KDPA) airport and did the ILS 2 L (Two Left) approach. This one was crazy. It was right under the approach path of O'hare and the controllers were very busy. They turned me directly onto the approach over the Final Approach Fix. The FAF is where you start the decent, so this was certainly not a typical approach. Controllers generally set you up 3-5 miles prior to the FAF to give you time to setup before heading toward the ground. Normally I would not accept an approach like this, but they were busy and I was intentionally stressing myself out. Go figure...I nailed it! The controllers were even impressed with my flying skills on this one.

I departed DuPage and went to Lake in the Hills (3CK) airport. This is a very small airport just west of Chicago. First off I did the RNAV GPS RW 8 approach. This one has an initial hold at the beginning of the course, so I flew a couple of laps to complete my hold requirements. After the GPS approach, I departed toward the DPA VOR and did the VOR-A (alpha) back to 3CK. I nailed this one as well, but would rarely do an approach like this for real now days. Most airports with VOR approaches that are off of the field have, or are getting, GPS approaches. The FAA is rolling out GPS approaches in record numbers. In fact, the FAA is trying to phase out VOR's all together. They are very costly to maintain.

NOTE: The VOR-A is one of those odd-ball approaches where the VOR radial intersects the middle, not the end, of the runway. All approaches qualify as a circle to land, so the minimums are very high since the airspace will be protected for 10 miles form the airport. Most airports, including 3CK, that have these types of approaches are rapidly replacing them with RNAV GPS approaches.

Heading Home
It was time to fly back home to Gary/Chicago airport. The winds were strong and favoring RW 20, so we picked the RNAV GPS 20 approach back into the airport. I have never done this approach because it puts you low and slow over the lake; however, it was clear, the winds favored this approach and 36G was running well. RNAV GPS 20 also gets you very close to the power plants that are between the airport and the lake. It is unsettling if you are not use to it. In fact, my safety pilot was freaking out a bit as we passed over the smoke stacks. We were close, but were right on track. The next obstacles are a major highway, tall fence and then the runway that has an upward slope in it. This is a fun one!

The KGYY RNAV GPS 20 approach is a good one to fly in VFR conditions. It is remarkable to see how close you actually are to everything. If we were in the soup we would have never seen any of this stuff; however, if we were low and a bit off of course we'd be dead meat. This approach truly underscores the importance of not deviating even the slightest when flying an IFR approach. You never know what is around you.

I was quite pleased with my flying today, but this wasn't because I'm a super pilot. I practice regularly using Elite Flight Simulator at home in order to keep my skills sharp when I don't have time to fly. I, like everyone, need to practice and a sim allows me to do much more in less time. No question that today was proof of the value I get from the flight sim. I was a bit rusty, but I stayed well within IFR rules and would have easily passed a FAA check ride. I can also do things in the sim that I'd never do on purpose in a real plane. However, outside of a full motion simulator, nothing simulates getting into a real plane and flying real approaches. The wind, busy controllers, airplane noise, other aircraft, etc. greatly add to the experience. And unless you have a certified PCATD and a flight instructor with you...you cannot log flight sim time for currency. Bottom line...fly often, but when you can't fly a simulator and stay current!

Making of the Airbus A340

2007-11-22T08:39:00.000-06:00

I came across this video of the construction of the Airbus A340 on YouTube. The engineering and manufacturing process that goes into a heavy jet is quite impressive.

This video compresses weeks into 2 minutes; however, it certainly gets the point across. Clearly it is no easy task to construct a state-of-the-art commercial aircraft.

2007 Annual Inspection

2007-10-31T21:48:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe that a year has past since the "Dreaded Annual" we completed last September. This year's annual was scheduled for the first week in October, which is why I haven't posted much to the blog lately. 36G's been in annual and I've been traveling via the airlines for work.

NOTE: I like waiting until close to the last day of the month to drop off the plane, so the sign-off is in the following month. Annuals are due at the end of the month, so this trick is a way to gain an extra few weeks out of the deal.

The Agenda
The plan this year is to keep pushing the bar toward 36G's extreme makeover. What I'm trying to do is to pick off all of the airframe projects, so we can get her into the paint shop -- hopefully this winter.

My Squawk list this year was mostly maintenance items that I haven't had time or facilities to complete such as changing the cam-loc fasters on the cowl, replacing the magneto/spark plug harness, replacing the air induction tube boot, etc. However, I also have a big one on the list...pulling the landing gear and power coating it.

Removing the landing gear?
If a Mooney hasn't been maintained by a Mooney Service Center throughout its life, then it is very likely that at some point the gear was not rigged correctly. Mechanics that don't rig Mooney gear regularly should never touch it -- PERIOD! It is a complex and tricky setup that only qualified mechanics with recent experience (no less than 4 Mooney Annuals a month) should rig.

36G was owned by a bank president before me and had been maintained well; however, the maintenance was not performed by a Service Center. Not by choice...the previous owner simply did not have a Mooney Service Center close to Kansas City where 36G was based.

I've always had concerns in the back of my mind about 36G's gear. Nothing specific. Just something that has kept eating at me every time I move the gear lever. I've personally inspected the gear and numerous qualified IA's before me have as well. We could never find anything wrong, but I've learned early in my career that not finding anything doesn't mean there isn't anything to find. I've also learned over time that my instincts are generally accurate. If I have a concern about something, I need to turn over every stone until I unearth it or rule it out.

I suppose most people would have been happy with not finding anything wrong, but I'm not most people. I want 36G to be perfect and quite probably the best Mooney anywhere. 36G can't be the best if she isn't the best from the inside out. So this year I decided to replace all of the landing gear bushings, hardware and strip, inspect and powder coat the gear.

I know this may be a bit extreme for most owners -- especially considering this is typically a 10,000 hour maintenance item and virtually unheard of on a 700 hour airplane! However, my perspective on this is that it is like buying gear up landing insurance. I want the peace of mind to know that the gear is rigged right. And I most certainly don't want to go through the cost and downtime of a high-end paint job only to have it destroyed by a gear collapse some day.

The findings
To all of our surprise, we found a torsion bar that was slightly bent. It was hardly noticeable until it was rolled over a flat surface, but it was deformed enough to potentially cause a gear collapse in a high speed left turn. WOW!

NOTE: Let's not forget that the gear worked fine, the tensions all checked perfectly and there were no obvious issues, yet one of the primary tension bars were bent! Preventative maintenance is the key. We would have never found this if it weren't for pulling everything apart and inspecting each component individually.

By the way, our speculation on what happened to the torque bar is that a previous mechanic put too much tension on it when adjusting the gear. This is a typical mistake because the gear is a pain to rig. Mechanics often think a bit more tension is better than not enough. Not so with the Mooney. It must be exactly right and there are a number of NTSB reports that substantiate this claim.

The moral of this story is take your Mooney to someone that knows what they are doing!

Conclusion
As Coy Jacob says, To put a fine point on it...The Mooney is a steel and aluminum airplane that can literally live well beyond mere mortals like us. However, it will only live a long life if it is maintained properly. What does maintained properly mean? Know your plane and stay on top of every little thing. Fix it as you go and don't let anything slide that may bug you. If it isn't right or you have concerns, fix it! Your life, your family's life and countless people on the ground are depending on you to make the right choice. And if that is not good enough...do it for your wallet. Well maintained airplanes command top dollar on the resale market and unscheduled maintenance costs are considerably less for owners that perform routine preventative maintenance. If you choose to own a plane, then make the choice to make it immortal and valuable to others -- maintain it properly!

2007 Mooney Airplane Pilots Association Convention

2007-10-01T18:41:00.000-05:00

The Mooney Airplane and Pilots Association (MAPA) Convention is the annual Mooney owners mecca. It is a virtual who's who of Mooney. Every vendor that sells Mooney stuff, many service centers and of course tons of Mooney staff including their CEO, Dennis Ferguson, the Director of Sales, Rick Neely were there.

This year's event was in San Antonio Texas, which is about 100 miles from where every Mooney Airplane was built -- Kerrville Texas. The airport that hosted the event this year was Stinson Municipal (KSSF). Stinson is a stones throw south of San Antonio International Airport (KSAT).

There were over a hundred Mooney's from all over the world on the field at Stinson. I can honestly say that I've never seen so many Mooney's in one location. I go to Oshkosh every year and as many aviation events as I can, but I've never seen so many M20's in one spot. The COM frequencies were literally jammed with Mooney's flying into the the filed. The controllers were going crazy trying to keep track of us. We probably set a record for flights into KSST.

The Convention
The convention was jammed packed full of information. From the get-go they had comprehensive technical sessions that focused on answering the difficult questions that stumps mechanics in the field. Some as complicated as why the Century 2000 autopilots would for no good reason start a bank and never recover (not good if you're in IMC). Turns out to be a simple fix -- replace the cheap connectors the manufacturer forced Mooney to use...

I was very excited to meet Bill Wheat. Bill started working day 1 at Mooney. He was one of their first employees and the (yes THE) test pilot that gathered the data needed for certification of nearly every production model M20 for years.

Bill is an amazing guy that knows everything there is to know about the Mooney product line. The audience had question after question for him and he answered every one without hesitation. I sincerely hope that Mooney has hired someone to document his knowledge. The company has gone through a lot of changes over the years. If he were to leave his unique knowledge would be lost forever.

The Alamo
No trip to San Antonio would be complete without a visit to The Alamo. This place is full of history -- And Texans are very proud of their history. The Alamo is a beautifully maintained historically significant place to visit. The solders held the Alamo for days and gave their lives for our freedom. It is most certainly worth a visit.

The River Walk
There are two key things to see in San Antonio -- The Alamo and The River Walk. The River Walk is a man made canal that flows below the streets of San Antonio. They have created stunning architecture that incorporates influences from around the world that you can spend days enjoying. They also have remarkable species of plants that are not found anywhere else in the USA. Let's not forget the food -- they have lots and lots of great places to eat! Fresh seafood, fresh meat, fresh everything...YUM!

The flight
The flight down to San Antonio gave 36G and me a workout. There were T-Storms everywhere that I had to avoid, but the XM weather, MFD and GPS worked fantastic. I was able to divert around the T-Storms, rain and clouds without a problem. The Avionics Upgrade clearly paid for itself on this trip.

$100 Hamburger - Springdale Airport, AR (KASG)

2007-09-22T19:33:00.000-05:00

The Springdale Airport (KASG) is very nice. They have a tower, ILS, VOR and GPS LPV approaches, well maintained runway, and a recently paved ramp. The FBO runs a good business with lots of transient traffic including mid-sized jets, turboprops and high-performance pistons. The tower crew was friendly and are use to working aircraft not familiar with the area.

Pnnacle Air FBO
The FBO staff is eager and helpful. They will assist with anything you might need, but they do tend to get a bit overwhelmed if they are busy. The fuelers and ramp personal are young collage kids; however, they seem to hire people that want a future in aviation not just a summer job.

The staff was excited to see our Mooney and asked a lot of questions about it. They were also very careful fueling the plane. They followed proper procedures, they used a bonding cable, they covered the wing with a scratch mat without being asked, etc.

Springdale Airport Cafe
Springdale Airport Cafe is clean and has a good view of the ramp as long as you sit at a window that isn't fogged over. They have a nice outdoor sitting area as well. The food was ok, but the water is horrendous. Stay away from the ICE tea, coffee or water.

The restaurant also runs in their own time. They often close without notice. I highly recommend calling ahead (479-756-3339) before planning a $100 Hamburger trip; however, there is still no guarantee they will be open when you arrive. They appear to serve more breakfast than lunch. The chances of getting served are probably better in the mornings than afternoon.

Recommendation -- 3 Stars
I rated the overall experience at KASG 3 out of 5 stars. If it were not for the top service at the FBO and the excellent facilities, they would have been rated a 1 or 2. The downward rating is primarily due to our experience with the restaurant, which was the primary reason we chose Springdale as a stop in the first place. Here's what happened...

On our way out to the MAPA convention in San Antonio we stopped on Wed about 1:30 pm. They were open and only a couple of tables were occupied. The service wasn't overly friendly, but we got our food fast and it was decent. However, when we returned on Sat we arrived about 1 pm and they were closed! They locked the door and would not let anyone in. Turns out the son of the owner broke his glasses, so she closed the entire restaurant -- even though we called ahead and they knew we were coming! The owner was very rude when I asked to get something quick. She said, "she is the owner and can close the restaurant anytime she wanted to."

Conclusion
The Springdale Municipal Airport is an excellent quick stop. However, if you are traveling cross country with hungry passengers I would not count on the restaurant being open when you get there. Calling ahead certainly helps, but the owner clearly does not subscribe to the "customer is always right" philosophy. Unlike the FBO, the restaurant seems to cater more to the local drive-in than transient fly-in customer.

Baffled About Baffling

2007-09-05T06:08:00.000-05:00

The Mooney is a fast airplane because every component was carefully optimized for speed and efficiency. The engine cowling, like most airplanes, is the one area that generates more drag than any other part of the airframe. The Kerrville engineers, which was led by Roy LoPresti at the time, did everything they could to design the 252 cowl with a low drag coefficient while continuing to supply ample cooling air to the engine.

The LoPresti Team did a great job with the 252. It is well known for being one of the coolest running turbos ever. However, it is critical that ram air flows through the front of cowl and over the cylinders properly in order to adequately cool the engine. If the air does not flow over the cylinders as designed they will eventually over-temp, which will lead to cracked heads, burnt exhaust valves, and an increased risk of catastrophic in-flight failure!

Care must be taken to keep the cylinders cool at all times, which is why I installed a JPI EDM-700 engine scanner right after getting 36G. The original factory temp probe is a joke. It is only connected to one cylinder (#4 in 36G's case) and not very accurate. The JPI is connected to each cylinder and records into memory what was going on with the CHT and EGT whenever the unit is powered up. Even if the pilot does not notice the high temps, the EDM-700 will. The data is easy to download to a PC that can be analyzed later. As far as I'm concerned, no high-performance airplane should be flying without one of these -- especially a Turbo!

I was noticing on the last flight that the #1 cylinder was running hotter than the rest and I had to open the cowl flap a bit to keep the CHT temp below 400 degrees. The outside temperature was not outrageous, so this was concerning to me. When you see CHT temps climbing in normal cruse, you need to pay attention to it.

Inspection
It didn't take long to identify the root cause of the heat problem...

As you can see in the photo, the metal baffle seals are solid without cracks, but the black rubber is deteriorating. Properly functioning baffles need to form a tight seal against the cowling in order to force air to flow over the cylinders. If the baffling is not sealed properly, the air will take the path of least resistance and flow through the openings instead of around the cylinders. Inadequate baffling will also increase drag by allowing more air to flow into the engine compartment than needed.

Baffles are often overlooked. They are on every air cooled airplane, but you generally can't even see them until after the cowl is removed. Typically most owners never remove the entire cowl -- except for annual engine inspection. When the cowling is disassembled, mechanics and owners alike often focus more on doing whatever it is that motivated them to open the clamshell instead of looking at the baffles -- this is especially true of a Mooney since it can take an hour plus to strip a cowling. The end result is that there are many airplanes flying with inadequate cooling to some, or all, of their cylinders.

How to Test Baffles
The only effective test is to check the seals while the cowl is on the plane. It isn't easy to test airflow, but most everyone has a portable light. What I do is put a bright light into the bottom of the cowl (usually through an exhaust opening) and look through the front opening (where the air comes in) in a dark hangar. Properly installed baffles should entirely block the light around the edges of the seals. If you can see any light, they are not sealed properly.

36G failed the light test, so going in I knew I was going to have to replace the seals. I also knew that like many other near 20-year old rubber parts, they were simply past their lifetime and needed replaced. The decision was clear, I had to replace the baffles.

What Baffles Should I Use?
Baffles are generally custom fitted to the cowl and they are one of those strange category of parts that are on the engine, but considered an airframe not a powerplant component. Mooney doesn't sell them since they custom made them during assembly, Continental doesn't sell them since they are not an engine part, you can't find used ones, etc.

In most cases, a mechanic will buy a roll of baffle seal and trim it to fit. I don't like the generic rolled baffle seal because it deteriorates after a few years. It is also very difficult to cut the seals and come out with a good fit and finish. Most replacement baffles look like they were made in a garage. This is unacceptable for 36G's extreme makeover. I only want the very best. There had to be another option...

I noticed at Oshkosh this year that the Lanceair, Mooney and Cirrus use a top of the line rubber seal that has fabric woven into it. The big engines they mount on those guys need to stay cool, so they use a very efficient cooling system that is designed to handle the high heat and stress of the big boar engine. This material is perfect for 36G; however, the little 210 HP TSIO-360 does not have the same cowl configuration as a Cirrus! My goal was to find a supplier that sells the material so I can customize it for 36G.

It took some poking around, but I found it! A company called Sacramento Sky Ranch sells the material by the sheet. You can buy it, use the old seals as a template and cut away! This was a good find; however, as I was looking around I found a company called Gee-Bee Aero Products that is run by a Guy Ginbey. They are a small shop, but what they do is take the raw material and laser cut it to specs. Guy has traced a ton of engine baffles and has the templates already in a computer. This is a perfect fit for our 36G makeover.

Guy at Gee Bee is a super nice fellow, but they don't have a website. You have to call him or email. They can be reached at 800-556-3160 or via email at n77gb@msn.com. Guy isn't always around to answer the phone, but he is generally very responsive if you leave him a voicemail or send an email.

Installing Baffles
The first step in the process is to remove the old baffles. This can often be easier said than done. In 36G's case, the baffles were stapled onto the metal heat shields. The key here is to slowly and carefully remove the staples. Start working from the back to open them up and then work them out from the font.

An alternative to prying staples out with a screwdriver is to cut them with a heavy duty wire cutter or tin snip. I don't like doing it this way because it is very easy for one of the small pieces to get somewhere it shouldn't. If care is taken, however, cutting the staples saves a ton of time.

Care should be taken not to destroy the old baffles. You may need to use them as a template. I also mark them in 1, 2, 3, etc. order so I know where they were mounted. This makes the task of laying out the new baffles a breeze.

After removing the old staples and baffle material, the area should be throughly cleaned and checked for cracks. Any cracks should be stop drilled, welded or the piece replaced.

Then the new baffles need to be laid out to make sure that they will fit properly...

After verifying that all will fit, it is time to install them. You cannot be too careful here. This is a measure 10 times drill once ordeal. When the baffles start going on there is zero room for error. You can't make them longer and they are custom cut to fit with no spare parts.

Mounting the seals is an easy process. You simply secure them with pop rivets and metal washers. Care must be taken at this step to not drill into something you shouldn't!

After they are all mounted, the next step to to seal the joints with a high-temperature RTV sealant. Any locations not sealed correctly will leak, so I use a good RTV and clamps to hold the pieces in place until they dry.

The final product is significantly better than the original factory seals. It is easy to care for, durable and will likely last for another 20+ years.

How to Change the Oil in a Mooney

2007-09-01T20:24:00.000-05:00

Changing the oil is not the most exciting of topics to write about; however, I've learned a few tricks over the years that may help someone...

Mooney's designed their cowls to be tight. There is basically no way to change the oil without completely removing the top and the bottom cowl clam shells. It takes about 30-45 minutes to remove the cowl from a Mooney! This is a pain, so when I do it...I do everything I can while I'm in there.

Changing the Oil
The first step is fairly obvious....you drain the oil. 36G has a quick drain plug, which makes oil draining a snap. You simply hook up a hose to the connector and open it. A trick to this is to run the engine before draining the oil. I typically fly the plane somewhere and then I drain the oil when I get back. The oil will drain much faster if it is warm. Another trick is to let it drain overnight. The more old oil that drains out of the engine the better. Don't rush this step. Let it drain completely.

After the oil is drained, the next step is to cut the safety wire and then remove the filter. Care must be taken when removing the filter. They are made out of thin metal. I highly recommend using the proper tools to remove the filter. You do not want to crush it by turning it by hand or a standard wrench. They can be nearly impossible to get off if they start to tare. It will also make a huge mess.

I have two different types of filter wrenches. The one above can be turned by hand and attached to a socket set. It works well for most conditions. I also have a special filter ratchet wrench for difficult ones. These tools are available just about anywhere that sells aviation parts.

Removing the filter always makes a huge mess. You need to be prepared for this so oil doesn't soak your tire. I wedge some old towels over the tire and other things I don't want oil soaked, then hold a bucket under the filter when I start removing it. Another trick I've used in the past is to use a old milk jug. You can cut the bottom out of it and leave the cap on. A milk jug is easy to cut and can be trimmed to fit around the filter catching the oil as it spills out. The filter can spin off and drop right into the jug. Take it to your drain bucket and open the cap. The oil will drain out without a drop getting on the floor.

After the oil is drained and the old filter is removed, the next step is to install the new filter and safety wire it. Care must be taken to safety wire this properly. You do not want it to spin off in flight. The safety wire should be pulling toward the tightening direction. So if the filter tries to spin off, the safety wire will stop it. A leak at the filter can quickly dump your oil overboard. Do not forget this step!

The final step in the safety process is to turn the end of the wire toward the can. It is very easy to cut your hands on safety wire, but if you turn the sharp edge in this will not happen.

The next step in the process is to make sure your oil drain is closed and to start filling the sump. A old mechanic trick is to pile all of the oil you intend on using on top of the engine. It is very easy to get diverted and forget how many cans of oil have been put into the sump. The oil filter, hoses and other components hold oil after the engine is run, so the dipstick is not reliable at this point. It will actually read higher until you run the engine (e.g. stick will indicate 7 quarts when it's actually 6).

After the oil is installed, the final step is to run-up the engine and then carefully inspect it for leaks. You will likely smell some burning oil when the engine gets hot. This is normal. Residual oil gets on the exhaust and other areas, but it will burn off in a few minutes. This step, again, is very critical. Oil changes seem simple, but people make mistakes. You need to check, and recheck to make sure that you are not leaking oil before returning the airplane to service. An engine can seize in a matter of minutes if a material leak develops.

Oil Analysis
Changing the oil is a good insurance policy. Aircraft oil is designed to hold and carry contaminants in suspension. The more particles the oil holds, however, the more abrasive the oil becomes. Dirt, Rust, water, etc. in the oil will slowly sand the inner parts of the engine and can also block oil coolers and other key components.

I highly recommend sending an oil sample at least once per year to a lab for processing. Labs use advanced equipment to detect very fine debris in the oil and identify them. For example, a high silica level would indicate that dirt is getting past your air filter. High iron, indicates that the metal parts in the engine have been sitting around without oil on them and rusting.

There are several labs that do this type of work. I have recently been using Blackstone Labs in Fort Wayne IN. They were a top pick by Aviation Consumer, so I thought I'd give them a try. What I like about Blackstone is they not only send you a report, but they write a personal note describing their findings. They will tell you if the iron or other components are high and what component in the engine is likely generating it. They will also show your engine sample and compare it to other like engines. I like this because I can see how I'm doing. Are we better or worse than other TSIO-36o's? Blackstone will let you know.

Open the Oil Filter
Lab analysis is very important, but equally important is opening up the oil filter and see what it has caught. An oil analysis will not tell you that a gear tooth chipped and fell into the engine, but the oil filter will probably catch it.

Opening a filter is a bit easier said than done. You can't just cut it with a hacksaw. You will generate metal from the filter itself, thereby contaminating your sample.

The first thing you need is an oil filter cutter. there are several on the market, but they are expensive. I like the AirWolf Filter Cutter pictured above. It isn't cheap, but it is high-quality and works well.

The oil filter cutter works about the same way as a plumbers pipe cutter. You slowly turn the filter cutter around the filter and then turn a blade knife a bit at a time. This causes pressure on the filter outer hull and will make a clean cut.

After the filter is apart, you want to first visually inspect the filter for large objects. Then you need to run a magnet around the filter and in the oil that spilled out looking for metal. You may find some hard pieces in the oil that are normal carbon buildup, but you should not find any metal. Metal large enough to be caught in the filter means something major is coming apart in the engine. Do not ever fly a plane if you find metal in the filter!

Installing an AirWolf Wet Pump

2007-08-28T21:41:00.000-05:00

As I discussed in the previous posting, there is no question that the safe VAC pump is a wet VAC pump. I fly IFR and need to know that every component in 36G is the best of the best and it is worthy of our Extreme Makeover. That said, however, I do have to give credit where credit is due...

The Kerrville engineers who designed 36G were on their game. They thought of everything including VAC system failures when they engineered the M20K 252. 36G came out of the factory with a standby Electric VAC pump mounted in the AFT battery compartment as well as they replaced the standard VAC driven Directional Gyro (DG) that is installed in most single-engine prop planes with a much more expensive Electric Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI). HSI's are much better than a simple DG since they help pilots orientate themselves visually to the course they are trying to intercept. The system is also Electric, so it doesn't depend on a VAC system to operate. They also have a huge Gyro instead of the small one mounted in the DG. The bigger gyro is more reliable, sealed from the outside atmosphere and mounted in a more stable location in the rear of the plane. HSI's were generally only installed in turbine airplanes in 1988. Adding one to a Mooney was a major step forward from a safety perspective. The combination of an electric HSI and also having a standby VAC pump has greatly reduced the likelihood that 36G or her Mooney cousins will enter the dreaded graveyard spiral. The years of flying Mooney's have clearly proven that the extra expense has saved lives...

Mooney's are notorious for their reliability, speed and safety because serious thought went into every detail. Not many prop planes have both an HSI and a standby VAC pump even in 2007, which is likely why Mooney's have significantly less IFR accidents than any other single-engine airplane! Based on the AOPA Mooney Safety Review, Mooney's that are flown by IFR pilots have an average of 1.89 IMC accidents per 100,000 hours flown compared to 4.97 of similar aircraft. This is a significantly relevant difference, which I personally credit to the fact that a VAC failure is less likely to kill you in a Mooney than most any other comparable airplane. Way to go Mooney!

It is true enough that I could certainly get away with installing a dry pump and waiting until it fails to install another one, but why take the chance? I have the resources, I have ample evidence that dry pumps are failure-prone, and I am not the type of person to take unnecessary risks -- Period! The decision is clear in my mind, I hope it is in yours. Let's install a Wet pump...

Preparing for a Wet Pump Installation
Installing a wet pump is not all without some disadvantages. The most notable is the fact that a small amount of engine oil is used to lubricate and seal the camber so it will produce a vacuum. What happens is that the discharge side of the pump sprays a very fine mist of oil into the engine compartment. This is certainly safe, but annoying if you are trying to keep the engine compartment clean. It is not a lot of oil, but even a small drop can spread everywhere. This single limitation is why the Dry VAC pump was created in the first place, but overcoming this problem is simple.

There is certainly no harm in a bit of oil spray on the engine, but there are options to keep your engine clean as well as greatly reduce engine oil consumption.

AirWolf, of course, has a product named the "AirSeps" that they licensed years ago from a company called Walker Engineering. Walker created the AirSeps years ago for general aviation aircraft that was the standard Oil/Air separator commonly used in aircraft with a Wet VAC pump. When Wet pumps were being replaced with dry, Walker got out of the aircraft business and focused on diesel and large equipment that uses similar, but much larger, versions of the AirSep. AirWolf bought the rights to license the AirStep and has sold it directly to owners for years.

The AirWolf AirSeps is not only used for Wet Pumps, it turns out to be superior at catching crankcase blow-by and pushing it back into the engine. They take the overflow output of the VAC pump to pressurize the AirSeps, which overcomes engine crankcase pressure. This forces overflow oil back into the engine. It also greatly reduces water vapor that develops in the engine helping mitigate against rust.

We installed an AirSeps at the last annual in preparation for the Wet pump and to help keep the engine in tip-top shape. There are other Air/Oil separators on the market including the M20 that is commonly seen in most aviation magazines. In my personal opinion, the M20 is too small and uses gravety to push oil back into the engine. The AirSeps has a material advantage since the VAC pressure overcomes the crankcase pressure. This forces the oil back into the engine instead onto the belly of the plane. It also has quite a bit larger cannister so it can hold a lot more oil before overflowing.

I recommend if you are going to install a Wet pump, install an AirSeps while you are at it. The systems only cost a few hundred dollars and it will easily pay for itself when you don't have to spend hours under the plane cleaning oil off of the belly.

Wet Pump Installation
The installation of a Wet pump is basically exactly the same as a dry pump. Virtually every engine ever made to be installed in an airplane is already feeding oil to the pump location. The dry pumps just cover the hole while the wet pumps let the oil flow into its chaise.

The first task is to inspect the installation of the current VAC pump. It is important to take note of inlet and outlet lines and how it mounts onto the plane.

After the hoses are labeled, carefully remove the hoses and then the 4 nuts holding the pump to the engine.

After removing the pump, take an inspection mirror and carefully inspect the engine mount. AirWolf also recommends removing the top plugs form the engine and then crank it over a few times. If the oil is feeding properly, you will see it spit out of the oil feed hole. You can see the oil feed hole and residue after the test in this picture at the bottom right.

The next step in the process is to carefully clean the engine VAC PUMP mounting plate. This is not something to be taken casually. the oil pump will leak like a sieve if it is not properly cleaned. It is also important to inspect the rubber gasket around the shaft for leaks. If you detect any, replace it.

The next step in the process is to fill the center gear connection to the pump with a quality Aviation Grade grease. This will squeeze between the new pump and the gear to mitigate against rust and keep the gears from binding.

The one final step that I do is to make sure the oil feed hole is clean of any debris before installing the pump. The easiest way to do this is to use some safety wire and carefully clean the hole. You do not want to force this. Slow and careful is the trick.

The final step is to mount the pump onto the engine. First install the gasket, then using the 4-8 sided nuts provided with the pump kit mount the unit on the engine. The nuts that come with the AirWolf Wet pump are not the standard lock nut. The unit is larger and has a very tight tolerance around the mounting holes. A standard wrench will work as long as you have one with the 8 positions. You will also need a torque wrench adapter to do the final torque. Craftsman, Snap-on, etc. sell these attachments.

After mounting the unit, you need to connect the hoses. I recommend replacing them. They are a standard 5/8" tube that you can get from Aircraft Spruce. Just make sure that whatever you buy is certified for a vacuum system. You don't want a hose that will collapse.

Speaking of replacing hoses, you also want to replace the vacuum system filters. I like the clear-view filter above. You can actually see the filter and compare it with the cart on the outside. This turns the annual filter replacement into an on-condition replacement. This filter gives you an instant reading of the cleanness of your VAC system. It is OEM equipment on Monney's now, but they have STC's available for many airplanes. This is also available from Aircraft Spruce.

Wrap up
All that is left is to do a through run-up of the engine. It needs to be brought up to temperature and validate that the pump is pumping properly. If you get zero reading on your VAC gage, you probably have the hoses reversed or the inline air filter installed in the wrong direction.

I would also suggest that you fly around a few VFR hours to make sure that everything is working properly. If you see fluctuations on the VAC gage, you see excessive oil in the cowl, etc., then there is a problem somewhere. The AirWolf manual has a very good step-by-step procedure on troubleshooting if you run into any problems. They also offer free technical assistance.

This concludes the Wet Pump installation. It is a very easy, few hour job. It does not take a lot of skill or any specialized tooling. This is, however, not an item that an owner can do without supervision. An A&P will have to sign this work off before a certificated airplane can be returned to service.

Wet VAC Pump Versus a Dry Pump

2007-08-27T20:23:00.000-05:00

An airplane is made of a series of systems that come together to form a reliable, redundant and safe mode of transportation. There are, however, some systems that don't seem to get much thought until they fail. The aircraft vacuum system is one of these areas. It is one of the least thought about systems, yet is one that will kill you in a second if you are not on your game in Instrument Meteorological Conditions.

Flying in instrument conditions, which is commonly called IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) or IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions), is when one is navigating an aircraft without outside visual reference of the ground or horizon. Flying IFR requires that the pilot is able to visualize where they are at all times while simultaneously maintaining control of the craft by sole reference of the on board instruments.

Most modern airplanes (non-PFD fitted aircraft) have what is commonly referred to as the T (sometimes called Basic-T) configuration. This is referring to the setup of pilot's instrument panel. The standard T Configuration was developed by the military so that a pilot could transition from plane to plane and instantly be comfortable with primary flight instruments. This standard carried forward to most aircraft built after 1953.

The top of the T contains the airspeed indicator (Airspeed), the attitude indicator (AI) and the altimeter (ALT). The bottom of the T consists of the Directional Gyro (DG) that is sometimes called the Heading Indicator. The secondary instruments are generally placed to the left and right of the DG where the Turn Coordinator (TC) is on the left side and the Vertical Speed Indicator (VSI) is on the right.

System Redundancy
Flight instruments are designed for one to be a primary and the others to cross-check and validate that the primary is accurate. For example, the Attitude Indicator displays a virtual horizon and a stationary line that looks like an airplane will show if you are in a climb, decent or are turning. To validate if you are in a climb/decent, the pilot can look at the vertical speed indicator and altimeter. If they show you going up or down and the attitude indicator agrees, then you are in fact changing altitude. To validate if you are in a bank, the attitude indicator would be cross-referenced with the turn coordinator and the Directional Gyro. If they all three show you are turning, then you are turning. In level flight all of the instruments stay neutral.

The systems are designed to be redundant from how they are powered as well in order to minimize the chance that if one fails you will have others to reference. The turn coordinator, for example, is generally electric whereas the attitude indicator and the Directional Gyro's are generally vacuum. This is where it gets interesting...

The primary source for bank is the Directional Gyro and it is also powered by the same system that powers the attitude indicator. If a vacuum system fails, then chances are the pilot may not realize it until it is too late. It can be quite confusing when two of the key instruments fail. They also don't simply stop. They gradually slow down and become unreliable. The DG and AI will fail at the same rate and pilots often attempt to follow them. This causes what is known as a graveyard spiral where they fight to keep they gyros neutral when they are actually banking and climbing/diving at an increasing rate. There are many cases where a pilot does this until they enter a spin and drive out of control into the ground.

Scary as this is, this type of accident is more common than most pilots would like to acknowledge. And most pilots do not practice partial panel often enough to detect this type of failure. In fact, the ones that do train for it are expecting the failure. VAC failures can happen at any time without warning, which is what makes this particular type of failure deadly. If an electrical, engine or any other failure happens it is generally instantly obvious to a pilot since many other critical components are impacted as well.

Knowing that VAC failures are one of the top reasons why qualified, high-time pilots crash in IMC got me thinking about VAC systems. As I started researching why VAC pumps were so unreliable, I discovered that back in the early days this was not the case. In fact, from about 1937 when engine driven VAC pumps were invented to 1970 when dry pumps were introduced, VAC failures were nearly never a cause of an accident. When I dug a bit deeper I found some interesting information...

Changing Paradigm
Back in the 1970's a marketing campaign came out pioneered by Airborne that convinced pilots and new aircraft manufacturers that there was a newer and better VAC pump available. The new design was what they called a "dry pump. " A dry pump is virtually identical to a wet pump except they use a fine carbon fiber spinning ring that touches the outside metal housing of the pump to generate a vacuum. Since the carbon touches the outer ring it is able to seal without the need for engine oil.

The Airborne FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) campaign was based on the fact that the old wet pumps were in use since the late 30's therefor they were obsolete. Their spiel was that the dry pumps were cleaner, lasted longer and cheaper without providing any supporting information to substantiate this claim. Turns out that,

the cheaper part was true if you didn't count having to buy 4+ dry pumps over the same lifespan as one wet pump.
they are somewhat cleaner from an oil mist perspective but they throw out carbon dust that will destroy vacuum gyros.
the longer lasting claim quickly proved not to be the case, but this was after most wet pump companies went out of business.

Where are we today?
A typical dry VAC pump will last 250-500 hours, which on the surface isn't too bad if you include the VAC pump into a preventative maintenance program. However, the core problem is that when they fail they fail instantly. There is generally no warning of a system on the verge of failure until it fails. From a preventative maintenance perspective, some VAC pump manufacturers have an inspection hole that can be used to check the quality of the carbon wheel. This is a plus at annual time, but it isn't practical to open the cowl and check the pump during preflight. Accordingly, turning the prop backwards with a dry pump installed can destroy the fine carbon veins. This is a common occurrence since line staff and others that have access to the airplane. The prop is often moved without the pilots knowledge. For example, simply hooking up a tow bar often requires the prop to be moved.

The only effective maintenance program on a dry pump is to regularly change the pump. Replacing the pump is easy enough, but when? Every 200 hours, every 500 hours, after the system fails, etc? Waiting until a failure isn't wise since they throw out carbon powder that will likely destroy the gyros in VAC instruments. The cycle that many owners complain about is that the pump fails and is replaced. Then the VAC instruments fail sometime later for no apparent reason and are replaced. Then the VAC pump, then the instrument, etc. When a VAC pump goes, the entire system should be disassembled and cleaned, but no one ever does this because of the cost and time involved. The end result is paying thousands of dollars in order to save a few bucks while simultaneously taking a chance with the safety of the soles on board and countless people on the ground.

Reintroduction of Wet Pumps
For the past 25 years or so, wet pumps have not been manufactured by anyone. They have been available, but only as a rebuild. Many of the dry VAC pump companies have also gone by the wayside primarily due to litigation. Even Airborne that started all of this doesn't make dry pumps anymore.

Parker, a well known Dry VAC pump manufacturer has even authored an FAA Aviation Safety Publication titled "The Silent Emergency, Pneumatic System Malfunction." The publication downplays the severity of the issue by saying only two planes a year crash out of control due to VAC failures; however, they clearly recommend not flying in IFR conditions unless you have a backup VAC system on-board. The first section of the publication tells the tell, "All too often a pnumatic system failure leads to a situation where a pilot is forced into "partial panel" instrument flying that he or she may not be fully prepared to handle. A number of these accidents occurred to instrument rated pilots who recognized the pneumatic system failure, flew on partial panel in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) for some period of time, and then lost control during high task-loads, such as during an instrument approach."

When manufacturers put out flight safety publications warning against the use of their products, the NTSB data clearly shows that many IMC accidents are caused by VAC failures, it is common amongst pilots and mechanics that VAC systems are unreliable, etc., I think the jury is in -- Dry pumps have more than proven themselves not to be something you want to bet your life on, yet they are being installed by unknowing pilot/owners every day! Fortunately, now their is an option...

AirWolf Corporation has been in business since 1963. They have seen the wet pumps come and go and the dry pumps fail time after time. They decided a few years ago to reintroduce the wet pump to the marketplace. They did so by acquiring Pesco, which was a former wet pump company and then retooling the factory with more modern equipment. The wet pumps of today are computer machined to 0.0002 tolerance out of a solid billet of 6061 aluminum. This manufacturing process is well beyond what was possible in the 40's. This tight tolerance coupled with a pump made out of a solid aluminum billet makes the new AirWolf Wet Pump virtually bullet proof. In fact, AirWolf is so confident in the design they offer a 10-year 2000 hour warranty!

I love the quote form the President of AirWolf that was printed in Aviation Consumer. "Our specialty is not inventing something from scratch, "Kochy told us, "but making something better."

Aviation Consumer Says it Best
Quote from Aviation Consumer Magazine, August 2007
"We have no reservation in saying that a wet vacuum pump is right for every airplane—it’s just better technology than the dry pump. But it’s not right for every owner, chiefly because of cost. We think an owner who flies a Cessna 172 or a Piper 180 50 hours a year and never ventures into IMC is better off retaining a dry pump and replacing it as necessary with an overhauled Rapco pump, the value leader in dry pumps.

But for hardcore IFR pilots or those who worry about dry pump failures—and it’s a question of when, not if, a dry pump will fail—a wet pump is as close to a lifetime component as any of us are likely to get. Backing up instruments is always a risk tradeoff. The belt-and -suspender approach is costly and not always necessary for owners on a budget. We think wet pumps are reliable enough to install in lieu of any other kind of backup, such as electric gyros or electrically driven backup vacuum pumps. "

Wet Versus Dry
I agree with Aviation Consumer and I agree with the proven Wet pump in the field. There is no question in my mind that a wet pump is the best bang for the buck. Sure it costs more, but can you really put a price tag on the safety of you, your passengers and the countless people on the ground? Why take the chance? When your VAC pump fails, and it will, replace it with a wet pump. PERIOD!

Clearly the decision to move to a Wet pump is a "no brainier." I've got to change the oil and do some preventative maintenance anyway. Next posting I'll discuss the ins and outs of installing an AirWolf Wet pump in 36G...

$100 Hamburger - Janesville Airport, WI (JVL)

2007-07-29T21:42:00.000-05:00

A week has past and I'm ready for another Hamburger. I went to Michigan last time, so this time I want to go somewhere else. Using Adventure Pilot, I found CAVU Cafe at the Janesville WI airport (JVL). They have good reviews and have a panoramic view of the airport. They are 95 miles from GYY, which will be an easy flight. Figure we can go and check them out.

The Flight
A direct flight to JVL from GYY would require that we overfly Midway and O'Hare Airports. Not likely to be approved. I filed IFR to JVL, so I can have the ORD controllers keep an eye on us (see FlightAware Log). The Class B airspace is quite busy. My route of flight was direct to the Chicago Heights VOR (CGT) and then direct to JVL. This kept us mostly out of the ORD airspace, but it did add about 30 miles or so to the trip.

The flight was uneventful and we made it to JVL averaging about 195 Miles Per Hour Ground Speed in cruise, which wasn't too bad considering I was only at 4000 ft. The efficiency of the Turbo kicks in over 10,000 ft, but it isn't practical to climb that high for a 100 mile journey.

The Airport
The JVL airport was very quiet. The ramp was nearly empty. This is probably because EAA AirVenture Oshkosh also started that weekend. We went later in the week to OSH. I will write about our EAA experience next time.

The CAVU Cafe Restaurant
The CAVU Cafe is in the JVL terminal, which was very clean. It is somewhat like going back in time. They have pictures and other items that have been around for a long, long time.

They weren't very busy, but the service was slow. I'm not sure if that is typical or just because we are there during OSH. The staff seemed to spend most of the time in the kitchen BS'ing. It was like pulling teeth to get them to refill a drink or take the order. The kitchen isn't very modern either. It is setup more like a collage dorm room with small plug-in appliances instead of what one would expect in a restaurant.

The menu was sparse, but they have what they call "The one-hundred dollar hamburger." I wasn't sure if it was actually the price of the burger or referencing the flying experience. I say that because every item added to the bread and meet was ala carte. They charged 10 cents for lettuce, 20 cents for a tomato, etc. This is the first time I've ever been to a restaurant where they charged for lettuce, pickles, etc. The bread, however, was included in the base price ;)

I ordered a burger with cheese and the whole 9-yards. I was hungry and a burger sounded good. Suffice it to say, it took 30+ minutes to get the order in and the food delivered to the table. I was a bit worried about what we'd receive considering that the service, kitchen, etc. wasn't the greatest. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the burger delivered was awesome. It was truly worthy of the 100 Dollar Hamburger title.

All in all the CAVU Cafe in JVL is worth a visit. The food was good, the airport is nice and there is plenty of parking on the ramp. When you go, just don't be in a hurry. They will get there eventually. Maybe the slow service was due to OSH or hitting them in between busy times. They just seemed to run at their own pace. Allocate plenty of time to hang around the airport and order the $100 Hamburger. It was worth the trip.

$100 Hamburger - Jackson County, MI (JXN)

2007-07-22T21:51:00.000-05:00

I've owned an airplane for the past 15 years or so. During this time I've done about all you can do in an airplane except wreck one (I plan on keeping it that way ;). The newness wears off after awhile and doing touch and gos (landing practice) doesn't excite me anymore. When I fly, I like going new places and experiencing something that life has to offer that most ground-based mortals will never achieve.

Fortunately for me, 36G loves to travel as well. You don't buy a Mooney for touch and gos. You buy one to get far - fast. In cruise, 36G travels 3+ Nautical Miles a minute. When you have a plane like this you want to use it. However, it is not always easy to find new places to go.

The where to go question is one that pilots struggle with their entire flying life. This question often is answered with something that we all have in common besides flying -- we love to eat! Combine flying with eating and you have achieved pilot perfection! This is where the term the $100 Hamburger came from. The burger may be $6, but it costs $94 to fly somewhere and back to get one.

Where to Fly & Eat?
When I fly, I like operating the plane for no less than 30-minutes in flight so the oil and heat throughly soaks the engine before I shut down. In other words, I need to fly a minimum of 90 nautical miles to make the startup do more good than harm. I keep this rule of thumb in my mind when I plan any trip. If I fly a shorter flight, I generally do air-work, approaches, etc. before arriving at my destination.

A good there and back flight for 36G is one that is in the 100 to 150 NM range. There are numerous airports within 150 miles of Gary/Chicago (GYY) where we are based, but not all airports have restaurants. At least not restaurants on the filed. Deciding where to go can sometimes be a challenge.

There is a website called 100dollarhamburger.com that use to be very popular. Many pilots used and contributed to the site and the database was impeccable. Unfortunately, the 100 Dollar hamburger guys decided to transition their business model from a free to use site making money from advertising to charging a subscription fee to its users. In my opinion, this has deteriorated the quality of their database since they lost the majority of the content contributors.

I am the last person to throw a stone at making money on the web, but content is king. When you need your customers to contribute to the database to build the product that drives others to the site, it isn't prudent to charge them to do it. You can make money on the web and provide free content. As this blog, gmail, Google Earth, etc. will confirm, it is most certainly possible to make money by giving things away for free. Google has made billions providing good free services to its customers and many others have as well.

Since I don't patronize the 100 dollar hamburger site anymore, I had to find another source of information. During my quest to find a better database, I discovered a website called Adventure Pilot that provides free data to users that includes restaurants, air shows, museums, etc. and sorts by distance from any airport. They make their money the smart way -- selling advertising targeting pilots. Smart guys, great site...

Using AdventurePilot.com, I quickly narrowed the search to airports with restaurants on the field that were 150 miles from GYY and found 19 airports. Airport Restaurant & Spirits at Jackson County Regional Airport (JXN) surfaced as a good possibility. They are 137 miles form GYY, the restaurant had decent reviews and they are located on the airport with a great view of the runways/ramp. I haven't been to JXN before, so let's give it a go!

Flying to JXN
The flight to Jackson County could not have been better. I filed IFR (FlightAware Log), but I certainly didn't have to. The weather was superb.

The above photo is flying over the South East corner of Lake Michigan shortly after departing GYY. We were about 5000 feet MSL.

You may notice the Garmin GPS10 in the window and wonder what it's for. I also fly with a Motion LS800 laptop with a solid state drive that I have configured as an Electronic Flight Bag. I use it in addition to the on-board avionics. This provides me with redundancy and data that simply isn't available with on-board avionics. I'll write more on this in a future posting...

The above picture is of the Michigan lake shore. Beautiful! Might be a good place for a summer home. We flew over for awhile and the beaches are spectacular!

The avionics also performed perfectly! The MFD in the top right corner clearly shows us over the lake approaching the shore. The resolution and capability of the MFD is priceless. It can display Weather, Terrain, Traffic, XM Radio stations, etc.

JXN Airport
The Jackson County Airport is very nice and tower controlled. It was an easy landing and taxi to the ramp. The tower controllers were very nice, cooperative and professional. Once on the ramp there was ample parking.

The Restaurant
JXN's Airport Restaurant & Spirits lived up to the reviews. It was not fancy, but they had a good menu selection and decent service. They had a full house, but room for two more with a window seat! The food was also very good.

Flight Home
36G flew like a champ on the way back. We had a few more clouds, but the the view could not be beat.

This is truly what flying is all about. Great food, great weather, great flying and an awesome airplane. Wow, what a trip!

IFR Currency

2007-06-30T21:34:00.000-05:00

IFR Currency is something that is critical to maintain -- especially when you fly an airplane as capable as 36G. It is fun to fly VFR and look out the windows, but staying VFR throughout the range of a Mooney is darn difficult when you are based in the Midwest. It seems that every day we have some sort-of weather related problem.

NOTE: IFR stands for Instrument Flight Rules, which means that you are navigating by only referencing the instruments in the plane. VFR is Visual Flight Rules, which means you may use instruments, but you are primarily navigating by looking out the window. In other words, when you are flying in IFR conditions you cannot see the horizon or the ground.

36G is IFR ready, but unfortunately I'm not. To maintain IFR currency, a pilot must do a minimum of 6 instrument approaches, 1 hold, and intercept and track a course every 6 months. If this isn't maintained, you have 6 more months to get current by flying with another licensed pilot and/or flight instructor before you have to do an Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC).

All in all, it had been over a year for me. First we had the major airframe upgrades and then the avionics. I simply did not have an aircraft to fly in order to maintain currency. I could have rented a plane, but my spare time was spent upgrading 36G. Nevertheless, I now had to do a full instrument competency test. The video below by Sporty's Pilot shop gives a general overview of the IPC process.

Where should I get my IPC?
The Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) are very specific about IFR proficiency and I am at the point where I need to do a full IPC checkout. I have the option of hiring an Instructor and flying 36G on the checkout or going to a flight training school that has the equipment to simulate flying a plane without actually being in one.

I decided that it would be best to go to a training center that specializes in complex aircraft checkouts and IPC checks. They do it day in and day out. If I pass the course, then there is no question that I am qualified to fly in Instrument Conditions (IMC). Flight instructors are self-governed, but flight training schools have specific guidelines that their instructors must follow. If their syllabus is not followed to the letter the school could loose their license and the instructor would loose their job. Consistent, focused training is the key to being successful in this type of business.

There are several advantages of training in a simulator:

They are cost efficient since you don't have to fuel them or fly out of busy airspace to train.
They are efficient since and instructor can put you nearly anywhere in the world in any flight condition in seconds.
If you screw up you don't kill yourself.

There are a lot of flight training schools in Chicago, but generally they employ instructors that are building time. I wanted to get training from someone that has dedicated their career to teaching. To find a location like this you pretty much have to go to a school that does nothing but teach flying in a simulator. There is only one of these types of schools in Illinois and it is at the Champaign/Urbana, IL (CMI) airport - Recurrent Training Center (RTC).

Training
The RTC training is comprehensive and price competitive. They don't have a Mooney simulator, but they have a Turbo Bonanza A36 sim. The Bonanza performance is similar to the Mooney, so it makes a good platform for training. This will have to do since I haven't been able to find anyone with a Mooney simulator as of yet.

Another advantage of the RTC A36 sim is that it has a GNS430 GPS, which will enable me to do advanced GPS training as well. I have quite a bit of time behind a 430 in a Cirrus SR22, but there are some things that simply are not safe to do in a real airplane that you can do in a sim.

The first day at RTC starts out with some paperwork and watching training videos that cover everything from weather planning, decision making and IFR pate review. The movies are not the best quality, but the information is superb. I was surprised how much I learned form the videos.

After doing a video session or two, the next step in the training process is to familiarize yourself with the simulator. The simulator is basically a cockpit of a real plane with real instruments that have been modified to be controlled by a computer. The RTC A36 simulator has a projector mounted above it that projects what is seen in front of the plane on a screen. The resolution isn't as good as it could be, but is more than sufficient to taxi, take-off and land. The rest of the time you are in the clouds.

"Simulators are meant to teach people how to fly airplanes, but airplanes are not meant to teach you how to fly simulators," said the instructor before we started. I thought to myself how hard can it be? Turns out it is pretty hard. The simulator is much more difficult to fly than a plane, which is actually a good thing. If your attention diverts away from flying it will get away from you in a second. There is no autopilot to help you either. You fly, you read charts, you do it all without any assistance.

The first couple of hours was learning how to fly the plane. We did steep turns, approaches, takeoffs and landings and a couple of missed approaches using the traditional non-GPS avionics. After about an hour of flying, I was getting comfortable in the sim and got use to its quarks.

The next flight was after lunch. This time it was the real deal. I did well the first go around, so they were going to administer the IPC. If I passed, the rest of the training will be focused on trying to kill me. We started off at CMI and departed IFR. Immediately after taking off, I had to turn back and do a full VOR approach back into the field. As I was doing the approach, they failed the vacuum system and I lost the attitude indicator. Of course, the field was below VOR approach minimums and I had to do the missed and an intersection hold without using the GPS! I then was vectored back for the ILS, broke out at minimums and landed without incident. I passed!

GPS Approaches
The next day was all about using the GPS. We flew enroute and had to divert due to an emergency -- one including a deer on the runway while I was flaring! A million holds, a couple of DME arch's using the GPS, etc. Amazingly enough, I nailed everything they put on me. No issues, never lost control, always knew where I was, etc.

The final flight I challenged the instructor to try to kill me. For the most part I was on my game, but he did screw with me a bit on a couple of approaches.

The first was a standard T-configuration GPS approach to a missed and ending up on a hold that is on top of the initial approach fix. After going around a couple of times, he cleared me for the approach. The catch with the GNS430 that I didn't know was that after I had done the full approach to the hold it will not sequence anymore. Even if I was on top of the IAF. I had to press procedure and activate vectors to final to get the approach to activate. Never did that before -- cool!

The second almost gotcha was doing the LOC Backcource into CMI using the GNS430 as the primary system. Those familiar with a BC approach knows that when you set them up you point the back end of the HSI OBS toward the runway heading. A BC approach senses opposite of everything else. This was no big deal, I've done it 1000 times. However, when heading to the approach I discovered something. The GPS doesn't fly backcourse's. It always senses normally. You have to push the OBS button on the GPS to tell it to follow the LOC frequency instead of the GPS signal. I was flying in and hadn't changed the GPS to the LOC mode and the needle was sensing the wrong way! This can be very, very confusing. The BC is backwards, but the needle was sensing normally? It took me a second and I remembered to press the OBS key! The needle quickly swung to the right side and I was good to go. That one could really do you in if you aren't on your game.

I passed my flight training, survived the instructor trying to kill me, I'm ready to fly!

Maiden Voyage

2007-06-16T06:28:00.000-05:00

N5236G is ready to fly! She's IFR current, all of the systems are functioning, the engine is strong... Now is the time to take her up on mid-range trip to see how she does.

The first flight away from home is the scary one. Not that the plane will fall out of the sky (hope not anyhow), but that if something were to happen we could be a long way from home. It is no fun being stuck in a small airport out in the middle of nowhere without tools, qualified maintenance facilities or transportation back home to Chicago.

My wife and I decided the best place to go is somewhere we are familiar with... We lived in Columbus, Ohio for several years, so we know the area very well. We also know of an excellent Fly-in BBQ at Bolton Field (TZR) called JP's Barbeque Ribs and Chicken. We only wanted a day trip, so a quick lunch would fit the bill. We also have a very good friend, and my blogging mentor, Dave Gamble that lives adjacent to the airport.

Dave is the kind-of guy that when he does something he does it well. Aviation to him is a quest for learning, fun and perfection. Dave owns a Van's RV-6, which is a fast, aerobatic, experimental (homebuilt) airplane. His blog, The PapaGolf Chronicles, details his experience owning and maintaining an experimental aircraft. Dave's blog has YouTube videos, fantastic pictures and it is very well written.

We know Columbus, Dave has the tools if we have a problem, and worse comes to worse there is a direct flight from Port Columbus Airport (CMH) to Chicago. This decision was made...we're heading to Bolton (TZR).

Preflight
Walking up to the hangar knowing that I will soon be flying 36G is exhilarating. Adrenalin fills the vanes and the excitement builds. Opening the door to the hangar is like seeing an old friend. It may have been a week since the last flight, but this one would be the real deal. 36G, my wife and I would be on our own.

The preflight took a bit longer than usual. I was very careful about checking the controls, under the panel, etc. to make sure that everything moved freely without any resistance or binding. Controls freezing in flight would not be fun ;)

We launched out of Gary/Chicago (GYY) where we are based without incident. 36G climbed 1200 ft per minute and it was no time that we were at cruising altitude. During the flight I tested all systems and everything worked perfectly.

The flight took about 1 hour 20 minutes, which isn't too bad considering we traveled over 220 Nautical Miles! By comparison, the drive in a car to Columbus form Chicago is 7+ hours. 36G is a traveling machine and I was holding her back. If we would have climbed into the 13,000 ft range we would have cut the time back to about 1 hour 5 minutes.

We made it to TZR and parked on the ramp without a problem. Not too long after we landed the King Air in the photo above pulled in. 36G is proudly sitting in the background. She isn't as roomy as the King Air, but from a performance, maintenance and cost perspective 36G will give the King Air a run for the money. The King Air can't get back to Chicago much faster than we can, yet they are paying over $1000/hour to operate. And 36G actually has better avionics! The Technically Advanced Avionics makeover we just completed blows the old King Air steam gages out of the water.

Experimental Flying
No trip to visit Dave and his beautiful RV-6 would be complete without actually flying in it. We were hungry, but doing aerobatics after eating a heavy meal is not prudent ;)

We waled up to Dave's new hangar and eagerly watched as he opened the door. His RV6 was ready to go and in impeccable condition. My wife got the first trip and then it was my turn!

We took off out of Bolton like a Rocket. Dave likes to lift-off and then level out to pick up as much speed as she can get. Then he pulls up and climbs out keeping the engine cool and the fun-level high.

We quickly passed over Dave's house just off the end of the field, wagged the wings to say hi and then we were off like a rocket. It has been awhile since I've intentionally done some aerobatics, so this was an excellent opportunity to see what she could do.

What a blast! We were out for awhile and I couldn't get enough. It was so much fun my next project may be building one...stay tuned..

Lunch
OK, the fun is over. Now back to why we are here...a $100 Hamburger, or actually famous BBQ! JP's has been at TZR for years. Their food and service is well known and worth a stop if you are looking for a good place to eat. JP's has a very nice picnic area in the front where you can sit and enjoy the airport as well.

Flight Home
Lunch was great. We had a good meal and we headed back home. The first part of the flight went wonderfully. The sky was clear and the ride was smooth. As we were spending idle time in the plane I was checking out, testing and learning the equipment. I was over about Fort Wayne (FWA) Indiana and started checking the weather at home in GYY.

To my dismay I started seeing a major storm develop on top of where we were going that was not forecast. Every 5 minutes the WX would update and I could see the storm on the MX20 developing out of thin air. Unfortunately when you live by the lake this is a common occurrence. The Chicago area has unique weather patterns. There is ample moisture in the air thanks to Lake Michigan and it enables one-off systems like this to build seemingly out of the blue.

I continued the trek toward home and started to plan for alternates. Thanks to our TAA update, I was able to keep a close eye on the weather. Having XM Weather in the cockpit provides detail that most GA planes simply do not have. I could make decisions based on information that was not available to 36G before. Every 5 minutes I could see what the weather was doing in relationship to where I was and where I was going.

I decided to divert south around the weather and fly in after it passed GYY. I could see that it was clear behind the small system and there were other airports that I could go to if necessary. It added about 20 minutes or so to the flight time, but I diverted south and flew around the weather staying 10 miles+ outside of what was depected. I approached GYY from the south instead of the east and landed without getting a drop of water on the plane! The tower commented that I had just missed the storm...

In 36G's past I would not have been able to tell what was going on in front of me. All would know is what I could see and what general information I could get from Flight Watch and/or ATC. The GYY ATIS wasn't even reporting the weather since it is only updated once per hour. Now that 36G is Technically Advanced, however, I had options that enabled me to see the weather and make better informed decisions.

No question the on-board weather saved the flight and enabled me to fly around the system. Prior to the avionics upgrade I would have landed and let the storm pass over me, which is a time consuming process that also risks the plane since it would likely be sitting on a ramp getting rained and/or hailed on. Not anymore. The first flight out of the gate and the avionics update saved the day!

Avionics Upgrade - Part 9

2007-06-09T19:47:00.000-05:00

36G's Extreme Avionics Makeover is nearly complete. The equipment has been installed and all appears to be working. The next step in the process is to do a complete checkout of the equipment with the engine and all electrical components operating. The key is to systematically test every function of every system in addition to following the test procedures in the install manuals. The manuals test the component, but do not necessarily test how they are integrated. You have to develop your own test plan to catch the interdependencies.

System Testing
The GNS-430 GPS has the most extensive checkout, so it makes sense to start with it. There are a number of tests that you are required to go through. One of the more confusing is the second radio transmission test. What Garmin requires is that you transmit on all COM radios installed in the aircraft (except the GPS itself) on several key frequencies while the GPS is locked onto the satellites and a direct-to is selected. The GNS430 is very sensitive and can lose the GPS signal if a transmission interferes with reception.

The transmit tests start with the second COM set to 121.150 and transmit for 20 seconds. Then switch to 121.200 and transmit for 20 seconds. You repeat the same process for frequencies 131.250, 131.275 and 131.300. These frequencies are the most likely to cause GPS interference. If you have interference while doing this test then you will need to install a 1.57542 GHz notch filter that is connected in the COM antenna line as close as possible to the COM causing the problem. A notch filter basically intercepts the erroneous signal and shunts it before sending it to the antenna. In most cases this will fix the issue. If not, it can be a bear to track down the problem. In most cases, however, the wires on the radio in question are probably not shielded/grounded properly. The COM antenna can also be faulty, the antenna may not be getting a good ground to the airframe or it is mounted too close to the GPS antenna. If you have any GPS glitches or any messages appear on the GPS during this test, it has failed and the aircraft cannot be returned to service.

The remaining tests are primarily functional. The Transponder has to send TIS data to the GPS, the XM weather has to send weather, the MFD has to receive flight plan changes from the GPS, etc. I also recommend doing these tests with high and low power settings and to taxi around the airport validating the signal is solid at all angles. If you have a VOT or VOR on the field these systems should be checked as well.

Don't forget that you are not only testing the radios, you are testing the controls, pitot/static system and all aircraft systems. NOTE: we disconnected the static lines during the install. When a line is disconnected for any reason a static test must be performed even if is not due by date. A new transponder and blind encoder was installed as well and must be certified before they can be used in flight. Avionic upgrades are a major alteration and anything can happen. Test, test and retest before releasing the airplane into service.

36G passed all of her tests with flying colors. There were no significant discrepancies. She's ready to fly!

Oh yes, I need checkout as well!
Speaking of flying, however, there is the little thing called currency. Yeah, that's right. I have to actually do that 3 takeoff and landing thing every 90 days! This project took more than 90 days complete and my free time has been spent putting her back together. Doing touch and go's right out of the gate probably isn't a good idea ;) It also isn't a good idea to go it alone for the very first flight. If something happens the more hands and brains the better, so I contacted a flight instructor and asked him to fly jump seat and assist with the checkout.

Flight Test
I must admit that it is a bit unnerving to takeoff in a plane knowing the extent of the work that was just performed; however, I can also say that it is a joyous feeling as well. Seeing the fruits of your labor come together in this moment is something that words cannot describe. It is very rewarding to know the project I just completed put new life into 36G. She will be a viable airplane for many, many years to come. 36G is now a Technically Advanced Airplane! That will, by the way, blow the doors off of nearly every other brand new $500,000+ single and/or multi-engine airplane you can buy!

The flight test went as planned. 36G quickly came up to power and launched off of the runway. It was very nice to be flying her again. The only issue we had was figuring out how all of the stuff worked! Testing on the ground is not the same as actually using the systems in flight. Technically Advanced Airplanes are not the same. Every one is different. You can have 10,000 hours flying behind a GNS430 and be lost in an airplane you are not familiar with. I felt the same way in 36G. Flying her was the same as usual, but navigating her...That was a different story. She's fast and wants to travel. It took awhile before we felt comfortable with how the systems functioned, which was a juggling act since we had to also make sure we didn't end up 200+ miles from home base.

Suffice it to say, we made it back on the ground safely. The systems worked perfectly! Not a single discrepancy. Every system was thoroughly tested and retested. We did some GPS approaches to full stop, ILS approaches to full stop, enroute navigation, holds, stalls, slow flight, etc. We put 36G and my flying skills through the ringer and we both came out with flying colors!

This concludes 36G's Extreme Avionics Makeover series. I hope you have enjoyed it. Feel free to email me with questions if you have any. I am more than happy to help a fellow pilot.