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13 points
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Okey Dokey. The front seats are done. I think they turned out well. Copy of an Audi seat…..maybe Porsche….can’t remember. All leather. I used the old Mooney Logo as that’s what was on the yokes. And i like it better. The foam is the three layer memory stuff from Spruce. Stripped then repainted the baffles in high temp/ hot rod red before reattaching the silicone. The new IO-550 is in.12 points
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I want to share my experience with Bevan Aviation, specifically with Jake. Long story short: I was having issues with my AP (KFC 150) altitulde hold and alt preselect. It was randomly failing. This has been a long standing issue, dating back to the previous owner who try to fix this several times, with no success. I did some diagnostic myself, trying to narrow down when the issue was happening. All this troubleshooting was done with the selfless help of Jake. Who at some poitn suggested me to send the flight computer to a shop near my location. So, up to this point, already amazing service. A ton of help, without any commercial interest. As I could never get a hold of the the shop he recommended, I asked Jake if I could ship my flight computer to him to take a look. He was not only able to reproduce the issue, but also fix it. I flew a couple of times after getting back the KC 192 and the AP is working to perfection. I cannot say enough good things about Jake and Bevan: He helped me troubleshoot the issue without any intention on selling me any service. He was able to fix an issue that many other shop tried and couldn´t. Communicaiton was super easy, he kept me updated through the repair process. I would 100% recommend them!9 points
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Thank you guys for all the kind words, I greatly appreciate them. If you or a friend need any help in the future just let me know. Also, I will say that Mooneyspace is an amazing community that is very helpful and responsive. I truly enjoy being able to add to it with autopilot help.9 points
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The benefit to be gained is the full picture of what took place. One cannot simply divorce the pilot from the outcome. Pilots are way more than just a few links in the accident chain that lead up to an incident. I don't need to know everything about every incident, but when it bears looking into, it bears looking into. Again, it is not out of malice. I also appreciate seeing how these airframes fair in all manner of crash scenarios. I deeply appreciate the many times I have seen a Mooney with bent and crumpled extremities surrounding a well intact steel cabin structure. Perhaps gear ups are different and there is nothing to learn from seeing them or probing a little deeper into the back story. I personally think that all public incidents are fair to examine, but not all are interesting enough to warrant it. As to your story with an instructor on board, there but by the grace of god go I... I have done some boneheaded things with instructors on board and I've seen high time pilots do dumb things when they are being critiqued. I was once riding shotgun with a 6000hr ATP in a Baron who was getting back into GA airplanes (I am not a CFI, just flying with a friend). There was ILS traffic that prompted tower to ask us to extend downwind, between that, talking to tower, talking to me and looking for traffic, he failed to drop the gear as he normally would. I waited until we were on about 2 mile final and then casually said "this looks like as good a place as any to drop the gear". He went white and mumbled some sort of excuse. He later owned it and thanked me catching it. I explained that he probably would have caught it before TD. I knew how he felt and described how I had once made it to short final with the gear still up. I think that the pilots who gear up feel personal shame after the incident. I think the pilots reading about it feel both empathy and sympathy. If they don't, it's likely they don't have enough flight time to have witnessed their own shortcomings.9 points
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+1 on the above. If I was selling I wouldn't allow that, especially on a high-ish time engine. I'll also suggest that if the purchase price is near your limit, if you don't have sufficient resources to do an overhaul or major work soon, you'll probably want to find something else.9 points
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Regarding pulling a cylinder. You are willing to purchase a plane with an at or near tbo engine. You already know there will be wear on the tappets and cam lobes and you already know you will be replacing and overhauling soon. You already have a discounted sales price for this I assume. If I were the owner I would not agree to this after fully disclosing all known engine conditions anyway. All kinds of new issues could be introduced for no reasons not previou$ly mitigated by price You need to focus on the quality of the airframe and corrosion condition. If acceptable go for it knowing your going to have to spend the big bucks on the engine soon. If the tanks haven't been resealed in 20 years, they will need it coming up. That sealant, like bladders, don't last forever Have someone who knows how to pre purchase inspect a Mooney do a proper pre buy, you will get your value there. The Internet opinions are for us old armchair quarterbacks to enjoy reading9 points
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8 points
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8 points
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I’m about to board a MAX9 without a parachute. It was nice knowing you all.8 points
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Option one will never happen. Your lender will insist on being paid in full if the airplane is a total loss. They sell loans in a package and couldn't sell that one without adequate coverage. Also if you disclose that you fly it for business your rates will be much higher than you were quoted. If you don't disclose that you may not be covered. People who fly single engine airplanes who have to be somewhere on schedule tend to become victims of got-to-get-there-itis and fly in situations where they shouldn't. The accident records bear that out. I would really re-think option two. The reason insurance rates are so high for new pilots and those new in-type is not some random reason. These categories of pilots bend up and total the airplane at an exponentially higher rate. That's just the hull portion of the policy. If your company has any sense they will demand that you carry enough liability to protect them. In addition to that you are exposing your survivors to your estate being sued and having no insurance company to defend those suits. What if you just lose an engine, land it in a field and walk away without a scratch? Without hull coverage, it will still cost you perhaps $50,000 to take it apart and get it out of someone else's property and hauled to a shop. Plus any damage to their property. Any guess what a field of corn is worth? You will then be paying out of pocket to repair the airplane and then still be paying off your HELOC. Or worst case you total it and still owe $200,000 on the HELOC. Not a good situation. We all should have coverage not only for ourselves for innocent victims who fly with us or those on the ground. You would be at the very top of that list that needs coverage. I wouldn't let reimbursement factor into your decision even 1%. What if next week they decide you don't need to travel or they have downsized and eliminated your position. If you are in a position to purchase, hangar, maintain, upgrade and insure an airplane without any reimbursement then get your Private license and work on your IFR rating while considering it.8 points
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She is under heavy medication after her stem cell transplant to prevent the new immune system from rejecting my wife. Also she has to take prophylactic chemo therapy to prevent the cancer from coming back. And so on. I am happy that she is alive and still with me[emoji1317]. It’s complicated and a different life than before but that’s okay… Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk8 points
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My opinion is that it is unreasonable to ask for an invasive inspection when an aircraft is in service with a reasonable useage history. Especially in the case of an engine at 1850hrs. It should be priced as run out. If it runs longer (and it likely will), great. The only time I think it is reasonably to ask for a cylinder removal is under very special circumstances where both parties are very engaged but have reached an impasse. For instance a low time engine that is not in service and has not been for an extended period. Even in that situation it’s reasonable for the seller to refuse. It also reasonable for the buyer to pass.8 points
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My son and I just started the journey of updating the panel on my 1970 C! I'm super excited to do this with him as he has been working for the last 18 months at my local airport as an apprentice to gain his A&P cert. We're both going to learn a lot. His boss, the local IA, has agreed to oversee, and sign off on the project. Going in: Dual G5's GNC255A GMA345 GI106A (backup-only for Nav2) JPI900 Cies fuel senders Aera 760 Going Out: Vac system Century HSI Intercom Original Engine gauges KI214 KX175B The KX165, the STEC30 and the GNX375 will stay. The pics will give you all an idea of where the panel was, where it's at, and where it's headed. This is the progress we made just this past weekend. Best, Tcal7 points
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7 points
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One thing not mentioned, or may have been but was embedded within a reply, is that aircraft owners need to have the stomach for unforeseen, expensive repairs. Just last year, my 83 J needed the landing gear relay replaced, both tanks resealed and exhaust valves lapped. All told, the repairs came out to $23k. While this was not a "typical" year, there have been other unexpected, expensive repairs along the way. So if you don't have the ability to tolerate these unforeseen (but inevitable) situations, then I recommend that you stay away or take on partners. Other than that, aircraft ownership is a great privilege and experience. Just my 2¢7 points
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Helicopter flight: "A bunch of spare parts flying in close formation." "Anything that screws its way into the sky flies according to unnatural principals." You never want to sneak up behind an old high-time helicopter pilot and clap your hands. He will instantly dive for cover and most likely whimper...then get up and smack the crap out of you. There are no old helicopters laying around airports like you see old airplanes. There is a reason for this. Come to think of it, there are not many old high-time helicopter pilots hanging around airports either so the first issue is mute. You can always tell a helicopter pilot in anything moving: a train, an airplane, a car or a boat. They never smile, they are always listening to the machine and they always hear something they think is not right. Helicopter pilots fly in a mode of intensity, actually more like "spring loaded" while waiting for pieces of their ship to fall off. Flying a helicopter at any altitude over 500 feet is considered reckless and should be avoided. Flying a helicopter at any altitude or condition that precludes a landing in less than 20 seconds is considered outright foolhardy. Remember in a helicopter you have about one second to lower the collective in an engine failure before the craft becomes unrecoverable. Once you've failed this maneuver the machine flies about as well as a 2 ton meat locker. Even a perfectly executed autorotation only gives you a glide ratio slightly better than that of a brick. A corollary to this: H-53 Pilots are taught autorotation procedures so that they will have something to do with their hands and feet while they plummet to the death. When your wings are leading, lagging, flapping, precessing and moving faster than your fuselage there's something unnatural going on. Is this the way men were meant to fly? While hovering, if you start to sink a bit, you pull up on the collective while twisting the throttle, push with your left foot (more torque) and move the stick left (more translating tendency) to hold your spot. If you now need to stop rising, you do the opposite in that order. Sometimes in wind you do this many times each second. Great fun is letting a fighter pilot go for a ride and try this. Yes it is! For Helicopters: You never want to feel a sinking feeling in your gut (low "g" pushover) while flying a two bladed under slung teetering rotor system. You are about to do a snap-roll to the right and crash. For that matter, any remotely aerobatic maneuver should be avoided in a Huey. Don't push your luck. It will run out soon enough anyway. If everything is working fine on your helicopter consider yourself temporarily lucky. Something is about to break. There are two types of helicopter pilots: Those that have crashed, and those that are going to. Harry Reasoner once wrote the following about helicopter pilots: "The thing is, helicopters are different from planes. An airplane by its nature wants to fly, and if not interfered with too strongly by unusual events or by an incompetent pilot, it will fly. A helicopter does not want to fly. It is maintained in the air by a variety of forces and controls working in opposition to each other, and if there is any disturbance in this delicate balance the helicopter stops flying; immediately and disastrously. There is no such thing as a gliding helicopter. This is why being a helicopter pilot is so different from being an airplane pilot, and why in generality, airplane pilots are open, clear-eyed, buoyant extroverts and helicopter pilots are brooding introspective anticipators of trouble. They know if something bad has not happened it is about to." Having said all this, I must admit that flying in a helicopter is one of the most satisfying and exhilarating experiences I have ever enjoyed: skimming over the tops of trees at 100 knots is something we should all be able to do at least once.7 points
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I think most of us try to avoid writing anything down OP's chart is mildly terrifying, not because of the numbers but because they're all in one place. We have to compartmentalize to keep this hobby.7 points
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7 points
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One must be able to understand labor, overhead, and business financials.7 points
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Thank you for your feedback and concern. It's worth noting that the original design for the E/F models does not incorporate any wire in the ribs. To address potential concerns about the induction coupler collapsing, I've conducted a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study and subsequent Finite Element Analysis (FEA) at twice the expected volumetric flow rate. This allowed me to estimate the aerodynamic loads and predict a maximum deflection of approximately 1 mm for the chosen material. Additionally, in the event of inadvertent flight into icing conditions, the air filter bypass valve is designed to automatically open, preventing engine starvation. I also plan to monitor the part's deflection during ground operations, particularly during full power run-ups, to ensure structural integrity.6 points
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I've made some progress, and the urethane part is slightly stiffer than the original using a shore 90A material. I am considering switching to shore 80A as might be a closer match. Currently I'm using amber urethane to spot air bubbles. Once bubble elimination method is sorted, transitioning to black. Seeking feedback on this progress.6 points
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6 points
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6 points
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Don’t confuse the Steep Spiral with the Emergency Descent. They are different Tasks in the ACS.6 points
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6 points
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Back to the OP's question. The two or three times I got myself in *big* trouble (things that could have ended up really bad) over the ~1200 hours I have flown were every single one of them at the end of a long day, under pressure to get home. Think wanting to get home for Thanksgiving dinner, after a day working somewhere 400 miles away, and taking off in freezing rain over one of the Great Lakes, hoping to get ahead of a snowstorm. Or, after a full day of skiing, landing to refuel with what I discovered were 2 gallons of fuel on board. At that time I was thinking I have over one hour's worth of fuel, and was debating whether to proceed to my home airport without refueling, 15 minutes away. This one at night over hilly terrain. The more you fly the more cautious you get. I live in the Midwest just like you, and as a 1200 hours private pilot who has had an instrument rating for close to 20 years I would be very hesitant to think of using my plane for regular commuting the way you want to. Even with an IR, the weather in the Midwest will be trouble frequently -- thunderstorms in the summer and icing in the winter. My job is reasonably flexible, and nevertheless probably one out of every three or four trips I took for work with my plane ended up with me returning by commercial flight and having to go back to fetch the plane later. Not fun. When I was younger and much more gung-ho I used to think of my plane as a mode of transportation. I still think of it that way when I plan a vacation where nothing happens if I have to wait somewhere for a day or two. But work is a completely different animal. You tell yourself that you'll book a commercial flight three days in advance if the weather does not look good. What will actually happen is that the weather will look ok-ish three days out (or look that way to you because you want to fly yourself, and boy are we good at deceiving ourselves). When the weather looks marginal on the day of your flight the go/no-go decision will be much much less clear cut than you think, and it only takes one time to get in trouble. Just my two cents.6 points
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I’m thinking vacuum pumps and gyros will come back into style. That’s why I’m holding out.6 points
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Yes it does. As soon as I get more photo storage, I’ll post some more pictures (donation sent to Craig) This is incredible to see such an early Mooney M20 after all the newer ones I’ve worked on. The history of the build is neat to see first hand. David6 points
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Who are the idiots to which you are referring? This site is full of individuals with differing opinions. I’ve come across a lot of statements with which I staunchly disagree, but I’ve encountered very few idiots here. It’s not a term I use lightly. The vast majority of the forum members base their opinions on publications they’ve read, the data in the publication used to support the statements made and the ability to reproduce similar outcomes in the field. Trust in an institution is built or destroyed incrementally over time. Lycoming has not always put their best foot forward. I’m old enough to remember Lycoming’s “experts are everywhere memo” that used to be located at the address below on Lycoming’s website (the link below is long since dead): https://www.lycoming.com/support/troubleshooting/resources/SSP700A.pdf It did not name names, but was an obvious direct shot at GAMI, APS and other heretics in the industry. I was actually embarrassed for the author as I read it. Given that it was likely written by an engineer at Lycoming, I rationalized what I was reading by imagining that the legal department held a gun to his head while he was typing. It was indeed idiotic to anyone with an understanding of how mixture works. I think it’s important to take a manufacture’s recommendations seriously. I also understand that in a small, highly regulated and highly litigious market there is very little incentive to course correct on past statements. Given how slow the manufactures are to move, there has been sort of a small cottage industry of companies that have helped take GA into more modern and data driven operations. Lycoming facetiously called them “experts”. Those small companies and their executives have dramatically changed how much information and understanding the general pilot population has about combustion science and applied power plant operations, among other accomplishments. What is mostly mainstream now was controversial at Lycoming in the early aughts which is why the memo was released. At some point Lycoming realized how bad it had aged as it was removed. The Part number SSP700A is no longer available on the website. George Brawly having a sense of humor posed for the attached pic in front of a Lycoming trade show booth. I’ve updated it just for you. Back to shock cooling or sudden cooling or whatever you want to call it. Perhaps it is real, but no one with the ability to do so has been able to generate data to support its detrimental effects. The “Idiots” that have stated that shock cooling is or probably is a myth include but are not limited to: George Braly John Deakin (RIP) Walter Atkinson (RIP) Rick Durden Mike Busch and many others…6 points
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6 points
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The whole shock cooling was debunked when someone actually instrumented an engine. The highest cooling rate comes when you shut the engine down. And the heating rate is highest on engine start.6 points
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I could be wrong, but I don’t think the mesh in the original part adds any rigidity. As far as I can tell, it’s cotton or a similar material. It certainly adds shear and tensile reinforcement. I think those that are focusing on the mesh as a component of rigidity that prevents collapse have not fully examined a failed boot in a while. They tend to tear from the shear stresses that come with start up and shut down. They tend to fail in same place and the resulting tear tends to look like rubber coated denim that has a hole in it with frayed and soft fabric at the edge of the tear.5 points
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Here's my technique for a positive visual check that the mag switches are off. These are simple white labels I made with my label maker and trimmed to fit the top of each switch. When the mag is ON the labels disappear into the switch housing. It works really well with my visual post-shutdown flow check. I can easily see them from outside the pilot's side window, and I check them every time before I approach the prop. I can reach through the IFR window (assuming I remembered to leave it open) to turn them off from the outside if necessary. Cheers, Junkman5 points
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One of the first things I do when I buy an airplane is buy new stainless screws for the inspection panels. On some of the old screws (with paint on) the heads strip out easily and have to be removed with an ez-out. After the first annual I have all new screws so taking off the inspection panels for the next annual goes much easier. In years after that, if a screw head looks questionable I never put it back in - it'll look worse by the time I get it out the next year. Also I never "remove" the panel for the annual. I leave one screw on the end of the panel and loosen it so I can pivot it out of the way for the inspection. No lost panels during the annual.5 points
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Whilst upgrading the Rocket to led lights, I decided that paying $260 for a piece of plastic was not smart. Instead, I made my own retainers for each wing. They turned out pretty nice. 1/16 abs vacuum formed goodness. Made them a little longer than stock one to cover up the wiring on the back side. Optional recog lights only take a little trimming. I'm $25 all in and very happy.5 points
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So I built something myself for about $200 in parts. I may have to drop the tire down or make a handle extension to get the geometry right, I'll find out when I try it tomorrow. The little C seems to gain weight every time I push it back into the hangar. Plus, it's hard to steer and get enough momentum to get over the lip. Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk5 points
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5 points
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I disagree. I (and I think many others) would continue to pay the relatively small amount of dues to get any additional source of information about Mooneys and Mooney people. The only reason I don't "belong" to MAPA is that when I tried to renew, they were no longer around to take my money. I think that is a good thing financially, as there has been virtually no benefit from MAPA for quite some time. As others have stated, the magazine turned almost worthless quite some time ago. When the annual MAPA get-togethers ceased, I think we were all very fortunate that the Maxwells stepped forward with MooneyMax. Also thank goodness for the Mooney Summit, Mooneyspace and the Mooney Flyer.5 points
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Flew to Duxford museum in UK, Which fast aircraft don’t have trim tab and whole tail rotates? Blackbird and Mooney they had an interesting pink Spitfire, she is gorgeous or he is handsome (I checked under the pants, I know what I saw and I won’t disclose any gender) While pink painting is “à la mode” these days, these Spitfires were actually pink in 1940, they flew at dawns and dusks, like pink USS Winslow, Pink Panther and Pink Sherman (not obvious from Black/White WW2 pictures) https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/why-this-world-war-ii-british-fighter-was-painted-pink/5 points
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Just do it as described in the Airplane Flying Handbook - that’s what the examiner expects. Idle power, best glide speed, steep bank not to exceed 60 deg. You won’t need gear or flaps.5 points
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The reason that the GFC 500 does not go into NAV mode when TOGA is activated is that it has no idea what your missed approach clearance is. In a radar environment, it is common to get missed approach instructions from ATC which differ from the published procedure. Also, missed approach procedures that are based on ground based navaids will have an alternate procedure designed for the case where a ground based navaid is OTS and these alternate procedures are not in the navigator database. https://aerospace.honeywell.com/us/en/about-us/news/2023/05/alternate-missed-approach-procedures#:~:text=If a navaid used on,primary navaid is still available.5 points
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Some may disagree, but I think there are benefits to learning in a clapped out rental 152. They can safely perform spins, aggressive departure stalls, accelerated stalls, cross controlled accelerated stalls, full forward slips, full side slips, slips to landing...and more with little propensity to bite the student. Clapped out trainers are designed to tolerate the abuse from both the overly confident and the overly timid...And if one destroys one, it's not a huge loss to the fleet. I do not understand the desire to prolong primary flight training by doing it in a high performance aircraft. I took my intro lesson in a 1966 C150F on July 29, 1998, I soloed on August 12th, 1998 with 12.5hrs. (we had to break for three days to change a cracked cylinder). My next flight after solo was on the same day. I did 2.1hrs alone with the aircraft with 16 landings. The following day I did 1.4 and 5 landings before lunch and 1.4 and 6 landings after lunch…all solo. I came back and finished up the following summer break, taking my ride on August 8th, 1999 with just under 46hrs TT, 22 of which were solo. The point is, a lot of learning and skill honing takes place when it's just student and machine. Training in a complex aircraft robs the student of the opportunity to get that first license to learn early in their training. Everyone is different I suppose, but I felt like having a plane that was simple enough to solo early on really accelerated my confidence and skill acquisition. When I returned to college after getting my ticket, I met a guy who was training at a local flight school. He was training in C172s. He had 20hrs more flight time than me but it was spread out over long period. He had yet to solo because his training was so spread out that each additional lesson was half review. Soloing is as much a license to learn as getting the ticket, if not more so. If one is aggressive in their training, one could have a PPL finished faster than one could find and buy the right Mooney. If you have the time and money to shop for a Mooney, you have the time and money to devote to primary training. There is little practical reason to complete training in an HP/complex aircraft other than bragging rights. Which to use an archaic fighter pilot phrase, strikes me as "all balls, >ick and no forehead"...5 points
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First year you are catching up on deferred maintenance. Anything less than $10,000 would be a pleasant surprise the first year of ownership. If K model Mooneys were sold new today they would be at least $800,000, probably more. So if it was new it would be maintaining a nearly million dollar piece of equipment. Add to the equation that the last K was made 26 years ago (Encore) and the oldest 252 was made almost 40 years ago. Now you're maintaining a roughly 30+ year old piece of equipment whose replacement parts are very expensive and sometimes hard to find. It can be challenging. If the mission means that dispatch reliability is the highest priority, getting an airplane that's still in production might make the most sense (Cessna 182, Cirrus, etc)5 points
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Or, always popular on the old Mooney mailing list, get a hangar wench. -dan5 points
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Is there one that sits negative 6” off the ground? Because that’s the one I want under my Mooney.5 points
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Interesting problem and a bunch of us have the same problem. Unless you are near Texas, cloud cover forecasts the day before will likely cause the candidate airports to shift. Thoughts: Pick an airport with a runway too short for jets- cut down on the competition for parking. Fly in with enough fuel that you don't have to buy any before leaving to save time and avoid the worry about broken pumps. Someplace with plenty of parking on the grass. Fly in the day before and camp? From me (west-central Alabama) the closest places to see totality are Arkansas or Missouri. Could go to TX. We watched the last one in 2017 near Paducah, but that was before we discovered the magic of Al Mooney's creation. We flew to Chile (not by Mooney) in 2019 to watch a total eclipse on the beach!5 points
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I found the docket with the pilot report and ferry permit using your link and the tail number. In the pilot report under Fuel & Services Information it says that the engine did not run well on the morning of 10/30/2023 and that he replaced the engine driven fuel pump which ran well after that. That is the same day of the 4-5 hour accident flight to Colorado. There is no mention of a test flight after changing the fuel pump. Continental engines require the SID-97 fuel system test and adjustment after fuel pump replacement otherwise anything could be off. The performance and fuel parameters he saw on the prior days and legs could be meaningless. And ther ferry permit says he could only fly in daylight. Does anyone know how long it takes to change the engine driven fuel pump on a Continental in a K? That is one crazy long day racing against sunset. A leak from working on it or just the new pump could have caused this besides not leaning.5 points
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I wouldn’t take apart an engine with 1850 hours on it that was running well. There is nothing to be gained. Your concern with the cam is unfounded. The cam in a runout engine has little value unless you are expecting to regrind it. The value in a runout engine is in the crank, case and gears. Everything else gets replaced. Pulling two cylinders will not let you inspect anything of value. My suggestion with a high time engine is to just keep an eye on the filter and screens and if it stares to make metal, pull the trigger and get it overhauled. Otherwise, enjoy the engine until its performance suffers or its oil consumption gets to be a PITA.5 points
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5 points