Mooney M20 Preflight and Cowl

Do you take the cowl off a 172 when you pre-flight it? I have never and
was never taught to do that. Besides the gaping hole in the m20c cowl
should allow you to peek at just about everything.


Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL-IA
Student Mooney Owner
'79 M20J @ TYQ

Michael Adams wrote:
I have been reading about the Mooney M20C, E, F series planes, and it has
been mentioned that there are so many screws holding the cowl on, that many
pilots do not do a full preflight. Is this the case? That seems like a
safety problem.

Michael

On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 21:52:35 -0800, "Michael Adams"
wrote:

I have been reading about the Mooney M20C, E, F series planes, and it has
been mentioned that there are so many screws holding the cowl on, that many
pilots do not do a full preflight. Is this the case? That seems like a
safety problem.

Michael


I do not remove the cowl on my M20E for a routine preflight.

Preflight includes peering into the opening in the front to ensure no bird
nests, loose oil line to the prop hub, ensure adequate tension and
condition of the alternator belt; and peering into the oil filler opening
at the few items that are visible that way. You can also check the exhaust
for security.

You certainly cannot see as much as you can with some other a/c where you
can undo about six fasteners and open the entire cowl.

I also have a multiprobe engine analyzer for inflight and preflight (runup)
checks.

So far as being a safety issue, are you aware of any data to indicate
problems that would have been caught with an uncowling, in those models of
Mooney? I am not, and I've not heard of that being an issue at the various
Mooney Safety seminars that I've attended.


Ron (EPM) (N5843Q, Mooney M20E) (CP, ASEL, ASES, IA)

I own an M20C and a share of a PA32. Top cowl on Mooney has a lot of
screws. There are side "cheeks" with cam locks that are quickly and
easily removed. You can inspect most of the engine via the front and
the cheeks w/o removing the top cowl (carb, exhaust, muffler, bottom
plugs, alternator, etc.). The PA32 has latches, but it is kind of a
PITA. Overall the difference is not that great.

Bob

"Michael Adams" wrote in message ...
I have been reading about the Mooney M20C, E, F series planes, and it has
been mentioned that there are so many screws holding the cowl on, that many
pilots do not do a full preflight. Is this the case? That seems like a
safety problem.

Michael

And you don't take the cowl off a PA32 if it is windy...at least not if you want to put it back on when
you are done. I open mine up once every 10-15 hours or so to check the exhaust for leaks, security of
everything, oil leaks etc.

Bob Miller wrote:

I own an M20C and a share of a PA32. Top cowl on Mooney has a lot of
screws. There are side "cheeks" with cam locks that are quickly and
easily removed. You can inspect most of the engine via the front and
the cheeks w/o removing the top cowl (carb, exhaust, muffler, bottom
plugs, alternator, etc.). The PA32 has latches, but it is kind of a
PITA. Overall the difference is not that great.

Bob

"Michael Adams" wrote in message ...
I have been reading about the Mooney M20C, E, F series planes, and it has
been mentioned that there are so many screws holding the cowl on, that many
pilots do not do a full preflight. Is this the case? That seems like a
safety problem.

Michael

--
--Ray Andraka, P.E.
President, the Andraka Consulting Group, Inc.
401/884-7930 Fax 401/884-7950
email
http://www.andraka.com

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temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
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