grami-air

U42 south of SLC. I've made a dozen trips into Reno and Carson City but not into Tahoe. I wouldn't see that as being a problem. I would think Jackson would be easy enough to do in good VFR, but I wouldn't even think about it in IFR without some kind of deicing equipment.

I fly out of Phoenix and made the trip in my M20F about 2 dozen times during summer and winter over the last 15 years. The highest I needed to be at was 10,500 to cross the Grand Canyon. My 2 biggest concerns were icing and T'Storms. Fortunately I never encountered icing but had to divert on several occasions for storms. All trips were uneventful and a lot of fun.

I've been a Mooney owner for over 19 years, ( F model for 16 years and a K model for 3), and instrumented rated for over 27 years. The hard part is staying current out here in Phoenix, so needless to say I get very little actual. I've taken my Mooney (F model) 4-5 times back to Wisconsin, once to Indiana, Texas and San Francisco, at least a dozen trips to Reno, 2 dozen trips to Salt Lake City in summer and winter and about 3 dozen trips or so to San Diego. The IR really pays for itself on the west coast dealing with marine layers. I've found the Mooney to really be a transportation machine, especially my K, it has so much capability. But for the sheer pleasure of flying within 100 NM of the local airport, I would invest in a nice C150. Just my $.02 worth.

2 1/2 years ago I bought a M20K that was based out of Montgomery Field in San Diego, and all the work on the plane for the past 20+ years was performed at Crown Air, a Authorized Mooney Service Center. Just thought I would mention it as an option. Good luck. Don

Just curious. What does the OEM CHT gauge show when your JPI CHT is indicating a low CHT? That is unless the #5 OEM CHT probe was removed and the cluster gauge marked "INOP"

I had the same problem as you described, once in cruise, the cowl flaps would always open to the trail position. I tried mounting the "L" bracket in different positions and nothing seemed to fix the problem. Ordered a new spring from LASAR and that did not resolve the problem. Upon close inspection, I noticed there was another screw hole in close proximity to where the existing "L" bracket. I removed the screw from that hole, and moved the "L" bracket over, and problem resolved. Cowl flaps now remain closed in flight and I can open/close them in all flight regimes and airspeeds. Send me a personal message if you need more info.

I would take the plane to a Mooney Service Center and perform a very thorough pre-buy. The MSC will provide you a complete list of squawks that you might be able to use in the negotiation process. I would also ask the seller for the name and phone number of the mechanic(s) or service centers who serviced this particular J within the last 10 years; service centers and aircraft shops all maintain records. Any hesitation to provide this info should raise a flag. If the seller says he did all the oil changes but did not log them, I would ask for an immediate oil change with an oil analysis. I went through this very same issue when buying my '79K. If you would like to learn more of what I went thru including locating all the 337 forms and how I resolved these issues send me a personal message.

When we bought our 231, it had a great glareshield light, far superior to any OEM glareshield I have ever flown previously, only problem there was no logbook entry, no 337 form, absolutely no documentation to support its installation. So at annual, we had to remove it, repair the glareshield, replace with new bulbs and installed a Max Dimmer Control available from Aircraft Spruce. The Max Dimmer is FAA STC PMA'd approved.

Yes, the #5 cylinder does run hot and I have new EGT & CHT probes installed on the #5 cylinder. My mechanic says that the majority of the cooling (baffling) comes from the top of the cowl and not directly from the front of the engine which explains why the plate has a bend in it over the front top which appears to deflect the air down and over the #5 cylinder. Was wondering why the #6 cylinder does not have a plate as well?

I never paid much attention to this before, but I noticed on the #5 cylinder (front right cyl) there is a plate that covers about 50% of the cylinder, but on the #6 cylinder (front left cyl) there is no plate. We bought the plane 1 year ago, and it has a reman engine that was installed in 1991. Can anybody explain what the purpose of this plate is and why doesn't the #6 cylinder have one.

Had a similar experience in my F model several years ago, turned out to be a worn "O" ring that would bind in the OFF position when switching tanks. Nothing gets your attention more than switching tanks and have it jam in the OFF position.

During our last annual we replaced all the oil and fuel lines. Varga Enterprises down here in Chandler, AZ did the work. Give them a call and see if they can help you. vargaair.com Phone: (480) 963-6936.

For what it's worth, if you have the same annunciator panel as in my '79K, I had a flashing low voltage light (bus voltage read 13.8-14.2 volts) and just decided to send the annunciator panel to International Avionics Inc, down in Addison TX. They completely refurbished the unit, replacing a transistor, several diodes, several resistors and a switch. I guess after 36 years, even electronic components will age and eventually fail. Total bill was $475 including tax and they provided excellent turnaround. Seeing you are in Europe, not sure what shipping will cost. The good news is I now have a perfectly good unit whose indications I know I can trust.

I know a guy who previously contribued on this forum but has since sold his M20K. I remember him saying he had all the work done at Air-Craftsman in Prescott. I have heard good things about Air-Craftsman and they do all my avionics work. PRC is about 35 NM WSW from SEZ, so fairly close to home. At least worth a phone call ...