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Lighten up a bit guys. Fly where you're comfortable, capable, and confident. Let's not chastise those who operate their aircraft in a regime that we'd deem 'unsafe' based on our own individual scenarios/ experiences. Remember the underlying decision making process is called Risk Managment (not risk elimination). Complete risk elimination involves selling the airplane and/or turning in your wings. Thankfully, as pilots, we're still free to manage our risks as we see fit. You're the PIC. Only YOU can decide your own minimums and go/no-go criteria (not something any of us web-spammers should attempt to do for you). We bet our life on each decision we make as PIC.

Many people who don't fly think we all have a death wish. People who fly twins think those who fly single engine are fool hardy. Instrument pilots think VFR pilots are dangerous. Turbine pilots think anybody would be a fool to fly behind a piston engine. People with glass cockpits think flying IFR with steam gauges is crazy. Personally, I think the most dangerous thing I do is ride my road bike in traffic...

I have found, on Mooneyspace as well as other sources, that the one consistent aspect extending engine longevity is consistent flying. Beyond TBO or not, I think a mechanic should look through the logbooks and analyze how many hours a plane flies per year. Then make a decision to sign it off for another year based, not only on condition and oil analysis, etc, but on how consistently it has flow over the years. TBO is a nebulous quantity and, per this article - and my experience and reading, healthy and frequently flown engines are by and large consistently less likely to fail. My plane has 1,630 hours on the bottom and 630 hours since the Bravo conversion (new cylinders). I'm planning to make it well past TBO on this engine (flying 100-150 hours per year) and need to make sure the mechanic that annual's it is willing to look at all the data - not just where I'm at in relation to TBO.

IO360? More than 20 years old? Major it, if it is giving you problems. Mike Bush's analysis is pretty basic stuff everyone should know. Things is...it's a sub par analysis. It supposes many of these well known criteria are a path to flying until something breaks, rather than taking them as warning signs. If you were a good little boy at 1500 TT, installed new cylinders, sent your fuel injection servo out for a bench test, serviced your lines and nozzles, R&R your mags and harness, checked all of your seals including intake tube o-rings, did a bore scope, you had ongoing oil analysis and you were willing to accept poor valuation and sales outcome ........then yeah.....fly it well past tbo. Here's the inverse logic of tbo. People stop putting money into their engines at.....let's say.........1450 SMOH, because they have a systemic belief they would be throwing good money after bad, given a 2000 tbo. If it was y-o-u-r engine for those 1450 HRS and you know it's background and care, then one should continue the investment. Top it and service it properly for another 800 hour run........... then step back. The bottom end on the 360's are good for 3500 TT, conservatively estimating.

A very long time ago, I would ride my bike to Fort Lauderdale Executive airport (FXE) .I would hang out with Harvey Hop and his copilot at Southeastern Jet sales. I did anything they said to do. go get me a coke, vacuum this out. I wanted to ride in a Learjet . Never did. But one day Lisa Marie was there and I was called upon to fill up a whiskey decanter and run it up to the jet. On board I was thanked and given a tour. The gold bathroom fixtures were amazing, the guy with sideburns, giving me the tour said "see that saying, TCB, you make that your own,and you'll be great" I didn't know who he was or what TCB meant until years later when I saw an Elvis documentary with the TCB , Taking Care of Business, emblem, then it all clicked. I think the fences that keep the kids out of airport are criminal. I also flew the Goodyear blimp But my highlight is my newly aquired Mooney 1967 20E Carl

Sounds like a wastegate problem to me. Better talk with the shop that installed it. Also, 50 ROP at 31" and 2500 RPM is a terrible power setting if you want your cylinders to last. I won't tell you why as there are lots of discussion here about power settings and there is no need to do it again.

Since your the host 2 coats of wax may be necessary..now I need to find a formation clinic on the eat coast u guys have my hunger up for joining in M's to Oshkosh..

Ok Erik now you've gone and done it.... I am going to leave work right now..... think I will go wax my Rocket! Cant have all these Mooneys show up in a couple days for the Formation Clinic and the host have an Un-Polished Mooney now can we? LOL! bonal hope you get in the air soon!

She always flies like a rocket. :-) Solo I can climb out at >2000fpm on a crisp morning. Darn - now I want to go fly right now....but I gotta work.

As someone else said, we don't know the denominator. What percentage of the engines in the fleet have that sort of time? If only 10% of the failures are between 1500 and 2000 hours, but only 2% of the engines have that amount of time, then there's an issue. Flight school engines last forever and suffer the most "abuse." I've seen several flight school engines with 5000+ hrs on them SMOH.

Go wax the airplane...that's what I do when weather forces me to be grounded.

Well I have choice to buy either a used Porsche or a used Mooney for same price. Mooney wins! Besides I already have a good fast car. Looking at a few with decent AP, IFR Garmin GPS now key is finding decent engine and airframe that will not a 50K replacement right away so I can put $ into engine fund.

Start with a CAD drawing to scale--hangar, doors, cabinets, planes. Print the building on one sheet, planes, cabinets, etc., on another. Cut out the movable pieces, set them on the building drawing and see what works. Obviously your Mooney belongs up front by the door! (That's where mine lived when sharing at different times with a 182, A36 and Champ/Bass Boat pair.

It's not the US that will break first... It's the Canadians... Very costly to get the bitumen extracted out of the oil sands...,

You do not need to be an A&P to have common sense and know how to compile data and conduct research. You can not compare an engine from the east coast with XXXX hours and one from the Midwest and west. There are to many factors, and as dead above, you can keep your plane in a climate controlled hangar and still not be immune. If you look at my last forum thread, my engine has sat a lot and still looks good.

I would install the the radio shack dimmer and also sign it off!

I just purchased fuel at my home airport and was pleasantly pleased to pay $4.09/gal. I'm part of a group that gets a nice home field discount.

I agree with you Ward. You are being melodramatic, not to mention offensive by suggesting those of us that disagree with your choices of when and where to fly are doing "stupid" things, and don't care for our families. Most all of us are responsible adults and can draw our own line at what is a risk and where or when we can fly. It has been my observation in over four decades of flying that it's the timid flyer who tries to always be ready for the myriad of obscure problems who is the first one to freeze up and become a statistic. You perceived cautious approach works for you, which is fine. However your holier than thou repeated preaching to others, is misplaced IMO. Fly safe, have fun and find peace.

I just checked Boston Logan on airnav - usually the high water mark for the East, and probably for the USA - they are holding Boston Strong - you can still get a gallon of 100LL there for $9.30 today. (plus a landing fee that will make your hair stand on end).

I am going to add a bit of color commentary to this discussion. It is one from a different perspective of managing risk -- a life perspective. Anthony (carusoam) and I are life event survivors (and I am sure there are others on this forum who can relate). I will let Anthony tell his story for it is one that resonated with me. Anthony and I are both active people. He is a runner and I am an avid cyclist and a former college athlete. We both knew how to manage our health risks and yet both of us were almost taken out permanently and unexpectedly. In my case, it was blood clots. How does a guy who just finished a 150 mile bike ride find himself in the hospital with no medical explanation of why it happened (trust me, I did a lot more to find the cause than what the FAA wanted). The reality is that life is a crap shoot. People, good people, die all the time doing things right. You can live your life and manage the risks or can live life afraid that your next trip to the shower will result in a fall and death. Ultimately, what this comes down to is managing the risks. Don't be afraid to live your life and enjoy it -- we're only on this Earth for a short time... But please, don't do something stupid...

Jim Peace, You have made it abundantly clear that you think its too dangerous to fly at night. We all get that's your view. I am sure that you are also of the view that touch and goes are too dangerous in a Mooney. Perhaps you are of the view that one should never be more than gliding distance from an airport. Since a great number of engine failures occur on take off, perhaps you are of the view that one should not take off. Since thousands of people die each year in car accidents, perhaps you also feel that its too dangerous to drive to the airport. Perhaps flying is simply too inherently risky for your someone of your sensibilities. There are alternatives -- stay at home and fly simulators. Just be careful when flying the simulator when there is a thunderstorm in the area, as there is a minute chance you could get electrocuted. On behalf of those of us that enjoy flying, or do it for work, including flying at night, and accept the risks associated with flying, thank you for staying home and out of the skies so that there is less traffic for us to have to see and avoid. "Peace" out

Luke is one of those lower time pilots with the airmanship skills of a 1500 hour pilot that flies 200 hours per year. And that Citatbria is largely to blame. Some other pilots could learn some basic stick and rudder from him...go get your CFI, Luke

I'm sure you have told people you bought an airplane, and they said why would do that, they are expensive, commercial is safer, and you can buy a nice car, the plane is old, etc You probably just roll your eyes and think "you don't understand, I can't explain it", guess what....

Not to be the naysayer here, but low 30's on a Lycoming engine which is no doubt pretty worn in doesn't sound like a problem to me. I say just follow standard starting procedure but yes, do keep RPMs down until the oil has warmed up.

I once was in a multi use hanger . I gave the line guy a case of beer to get my plane out. I did that once. From then on my plane was out and ready to go , it was like I gave him a million dollars. he said no one ever even thanked him before. now I found a private T hanger . I have to pull it out myself. what was I thinking?

With all the Go Pro mounts you might rig something on the bottom of the tail that can hold a container that can be opened by pulling a cord. As for me I would respectfully decline.

I tried the exhaust tailpipe method once and would prefer to not do it again. I ran a dryer vent hose from the tailpipe and up into the cowl flaps. Everything was soaked from the moisture. I couldn't tell how corrosive it was, but it just can't be that good for it. I thought I might take the battery out and keep it warm as a plan B, but ended up getting the plane to start. Don

I would suggest staying put and seeing how it all plays out. So much of the good/bad will depend on what kind of people you're dealing with. The longer you stay put, the better the chance another hangar may become available.

Sounds corrosive to me... certainly damp... CO...

And why was the liquor store one of the first places looted? Social protest, or free hooch?

and I can't recognize sarcasm. Add it to the list.

gsxrpilot, Trust me, it's far different when life and death decisions have be made in a fraction of a second..It's always easy to be the person judging what they think the cop should have done based on news reports while sitting in the easy chair the next day. I'm 5'10 and 250 in decent shape. If a 18 yr old 6'4" 290 lb man (not a unarmed teenager wearing his middle school cap and gown as the media likes to depict), toxicology results showed marijuana in his system and was known to have just committed a strong arm robbery just minutes prior. If this man is attempting to get my gun in a confrontational manner while I'm seated in my cruiser, a struggle ensues I can promise you I'm doing whatever it takes to go home that night. Sorry to open the wound up again and go off topic, but if you have not worn the badge and have never had to make those split second decisions please don't judge the actions. I have earned the right. I've been to more than one officer's funeral over the years. Sorry guys, but had to vent. Now back on topic..What about that refund on the food Mr. Mcstealth?

I am pretty conservative and when I started learning how to fly the single engine's left turning tendencies really bothered me...

I was a police officer before retiring and deciding to open my health club. After almost 20 yrs of police work I thought I had pretty much heard it all. I was so wrong, I had not seen it all..Our club membership dues are set-up on auto debit from customer accounts. The complaints, bitching, excuses and whining I've heard from people who can't keep money in their accounts on draft day is unreal..some of these are as little as 10 bucks a month. If they don't have the money in there and their dues draft bounces it's amazing how suddenly it becomes our fault, or the banks fault that they did not have the money in there. The draft dates are the same every month. We have about 2000 members...it's amazing how it always seems to be the same names who show up on the returns list. So many customers wanting something for nothing or ridiculous discounted pricing. I'm really thinking about 10 more years and the club will be up for sale and I'll move to the beach...I might get a job as the little guy that puts your umbrella up for you when you come down for vacation.lol As long as I make enough money to maintain my Mooney and do some flying life will be good

Since I fly predominantly in the SF Bay area, IMC is common. Without a WAAS GPS I wouldn't be flying into Half Moon Bay and several coastal airports until late afternoon in summer. I was OK with the 430 and I got familiar with it over several months, but the GTN series is far easier to use and program and re-route. The GDL-88 has saved me from mid-airs several times because of the crazily busy airspace in the Bay area. In combination with the GTN series it is a very powerful combination. I for one am not deferring engine maintenance or neglecting the plane to put in these avionics. The price is not that high when upgrading especially if the older avionics still have good value (such as the 430).

So, let me get this straight, you stick your pecker in what you consider to be a very powerful vacuum cleaner?