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True but Mooney International owns no buildings or land in Kerr County. They operate out of leased facilities (hangar, offices, manufacturing space) on long term lease from the City and County. Go look at the Kerr County Central Appraisal District property search. Their largest asset is inventory at $1.72 million. Next is their machinery and equipment valued at $1.53 million. They have made some leasehold improvements on the leased facilities which they have capitalized. If they downsize further and move manufacturing to a smaller facility, then those building improvement investments become worthless since they stay with the City and County facilities.

The same flush vent door as on my ‘63C. Screen repair… it looks like major surgery to remove the rivets and replace the screen in the same way the factory built it. It looks like there might be clearance to fabricate a frame out of some thin aluminum sheet that just fits inside the vent opening. Cut the new creen to size and install it with some #4 sheet metal screw into the old structure. Oh, remove the old screen first.

That’s what I thought.

In the grand scheme of things, this may well be the best possible outcome. mooney is apparently trying to let someone else manage the sales and distribution. this will likely save them money, and therefore cost us more, but it would seem that the the alternative would be nothing. I can agree the feeling of being taken advantage of is about the worst feeling you can have, and loathe it as well, but if the abuse is genuinely that bad, the purveyors won’t last.

While you are certainly entitled to your opinion, you have no more evidence their pricing is fair and that they are 'making a modest living' than what you accuse me of. Of course you completely ignored my point about LASAR having a MONOPOLY. You can tout the tired "that is capitalism" all you like, but there are good reasons for anti-trust laws. I guess you think the government should never have imposed any?

Most importantly, will we be able to buy Mooney branded clothing again?

Strobes are for use on the runway only. Day or night, you should not have them on while taxiing. Especially in a propeller driven aircraft, it’s incredibly obvious when the engine is operating. Turn them on as you cross the hold line, and off once you’re clear the active on landing.

I have dealt with Paul, Sherry and their staff on many occasions before their retirement. Great people who built a successful business not by ripping people off but by sharing their love for airplanes and flying with others. While they were never cheap, I never got the impression that I was being ripped off. I do not know much about the new LASAR, except that I was able to get some hard to find parts through them, albeit at premium pricing. Heather has been a great help and very responsive to questions even if some of her research did not result in a sale. I sincerely hope that LASAR will continue to support the fleet while being somewhat reasonable. There is nothing wrong with making profit, but there si also nothing wrong with being reasonable when running a business. It is a balance that many business owners struggle to find. You charge too littlle and the business will fail becasue you do not make enough to survive, you charge too much and the business will fail because your customers will leave you. Businesses with captive market have the short-term advantage of being able to charge whatever they see fit, but that may not last very long.

One big thing I learned from almost three decades' manufacturing medical devices: every body is different. (NOT "everybody," but each and every body reacts slightly differently to the same injury and to the same treatment.) So when it comes to oxygen saturation while flying, get a meter, see where you read and decide if you feel good at that level or if you want higher saturation. There's two ways to quickly raise your O2 sats--descend into thicker air, or get some extra oxygen from somewhere (O2 tank, a disposable bottle, a concentrator, somewhere), and see how much your reading changes and if you feel better; if not enough change, descend. Easy easy, and simple enough for anyone to do. Personally, my C struggles to get high enough for me to start feeling bad. What I used to think was low oxygen headaches after 2-3 hours at 7500-9500 msl went away when I got an in-ear headset . . . .

I'm saying that your quoted article saying that sensors are affected by skin tone, health status, and fingernail polish but doesn't say anything at all about accuracy at low saturation rates doesn't support your claim that popular sensors do less well at low saturation rates. As far as the flow rate goes, you can just turn it up until you reach it's maximum flow rate. 88% to 94% isn't a huge discrepancy. It's 91% +- 3%. These are perfectly adequate numbers for our purposes. It's not as you say a "HUGE" discrepancy. The differences between individuals' O2 concentrations at a given pure O2 flow rate are going to be relatively high compared to the measurement errors, so you don't really gain yourself anything by having measured and guaranteed flow rate but not a pulse oximeter. You are better off with an unknown flow rate and concentration plus a pulse oximeter. Also, any given person's response to a given O2 saturation is unique to that person and that situation and there is no good 'minimum' that is realistic for all people. Learn your symptoms at multiple measured saturations for a given measurement device and operate accordingly. Sure, you can say that 50% is bad for everyone. And you can say that 99% is good for everyone. But the saturations we care about are in between those two extremes. If the inogen is a good solution for 2 people above the altitude recommended by the manufacturer is a factor of oxygen saturation and personal symptoms and responses, not a factor of manufacturer's documentation. In your example, if you are not capable at 91% measured saturation, then turn the flow rate up and/or decrease altitude! It's that simple. I've found that I'm perfectly fine for many hours at that saturation, as measured by my oximeter. But you might be different.

My 64C

I think you are accusing people of things not in evidence. While the no-back springs were pricey, you have no idea what Lasar paid for them, what the manufacturer charged etc. In addition there is the fundamental value of money. If I spend 100K to buy a 1 year inventory, I want an ROI of at least 30% which means I have to make up that 100k to account for overhead (building, grounds, shipping, labor, insurance, taxes). IOW after all those expenses are paid, I want free and clear 30K otherwise there is no point in being in business. I don't see the folks at LASAR getting rich, in fact they seem to be making a modest living. As to charging whatever the market will bear, that is capitalism in a nutshell. Sorry to break it to you but this is how business works, not just LASAR but everyone. No one is in business so you can putt-putt around in your airplane. Sure they love airplanes just like you but their first responsibility is to those who put up the capital for the business. This is not a hobby, it is business.

I 3-D printed temporaries while I waited for replacements.

I'm out of town, but when I get back I'll look in my hangar. I might have one.

https://www.gallagheraviationllc.com/Whelen-Aerospace-Technologies-W1284G-Green-Position-Light-Lamp-Lens_p_231.html <-- here is a link to the clear lens https://www.gallagheraviationllc.com/WAT-14V-Chroma-CHROMA1G-Green-LED-Lamp_p_200.html <-- Green LED TSO certified position light bulb (approved position light) https://www.gallagheraviationllc.com/WAT-28V-Chroma-CHROMA2R-Red-LED-Lamp_p_41.html <-- Red LED TSO certified position light bulb (approved position light) You need a TSO approved LED position light if you want to fly at night. There are cheaper versions that are not TSO certified so it legally limits you from conducting night time operations. James

I can’t believe someone hasn’t snapped this thing up. OK, let’s go $2211.02, plus shipping. That’s 1000 bucks off current retail.

Honestly, this is what concerns me more than anything. I fly for enjoyment, not need. Yeah, it's expensive but has been worth the money to me....so far. I'm really not sure how I will handle a usurious price like $3,000 for a tiny one-way spring clutch (no back spring); that's NOT in any way a justifiable price, even for aviation, when based on actual costs. I don't care how low volume. That is simple greed to a market that has no choice. Sure, it's capitalism, but to act as if it is not avaricious is absurd. As my plane would be grounded, the decision would be whether to sell as-is, or spend the money and then sell. If that was the ONLY part being priced that way, then I might suck it up. But if LASAR is going to implement this kind of 'whatever the market will bear' strategy for all Mooney parts then people like me WILL sell. Sure, some of you will react with, "Can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" response. The question becomes, how many owners of 30-50 year old Mooneys fly for a real need and can just 'suck it up' as a hobby expense. You are correct; it will kill the entire fleet. There will be fewer and fewer buyers that will take on that kind of maintenance risk on an old aircraft. Prices will fall, and we will have a death-spiral. Well off owners will just 'trade-up' or, more likely, just purchase another brand. In other words, even the wealthy are NOT going to accept getting ripped off when parts prices rise to some exorbitant level, even if they can afford it. I don't believe LASAR of old (Paul and Sherry Lowen) would have implemented this strategy. It would seem the new owners are more interested in near-term maximum profits and don't really care if the fleet, and their part sales, are dead in future years. It's like the corporate raiders: go in, cut staff/expense, raise prices, drive the company under but make a killing doing so. I believe the new owners already had a going business, so this could just be a temporary way to extra, but short term, additional profit. Let's hope not.

I know of two kits sold. I got the 2500 dollar variety. One sits on my shelf, the other was installed in my friend's Mooney. That said, I recently purchased some Mooney parts through LASAR and found them quite reasonable. If you are worried about parts prices you could always look at our friends with Textron products, in particular Beechcraft and take comfort you own a Mooney.

Thanks everyone y’all are the best!! Looks like the clear lens are alot cheaper, am I able to upgrade to led bulbs with clears lenses? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Green is Whelen A1280-3. @OSUAV8TER probably has them.

If you are friendly with an MSC, you might want to ask if they have one around from an LED upgrade.

THAT is exactly the problem: Unsupported wire in a high-vibration environment; it's going to fatigue fail. Not if, but when.

I think it's a Whelen part.

You are saying my reference to a FDA article stating that cheap sensors are not accurate is not relevant to my comment that cheap sensors are not accurate? Also, when it comes to O2 saturation, 5% id s HUGE discrepancy. This conversation is about the Inogen, which do to limitations at altitude, you can't just "turn it up a bunch" In the example previously provided of lets say 91% at 20k or whatever it was, that means you don't know if you are 88% or 94% (based on what they say the mean error was) everything I'm reading says the average error makes the sensor read high, which suggests the lower number. Those are NOT good numbers, and suggest the Inogen is NOT a good option for 2 people above the altitudes recommended by the manufacturer

Weren’t they $3000 from Lasar?