Leaderboard

Retired in April 2002 after selling my Adelaide (South Australia) based Engineering business I'd established in 1982 Employed 30 people when sold in 2002, Bought it back September 2013 with then 6 employees for less than 2 cents in the dollar, Built it back up to ~25 employees by Feb 2014 Retired (again) just last week - this time my son is running it. Treating myself to a trip to Oshkosh 2015 in Seat 1A as a retirement gift to myself.

Isn't there a long thread about your adventures with the FAA on an aircraft that had been through multiple annuals and maintained by a well respected MSC?

I bought my C last July as a 72 hour private pilot and paid 1700 and change for 30k hull damage and high liability limits. I haven't finished instrument training yet but am now paying just over 1000 for the same coverage. Very happy about this. That will pay for my annual.

I generally get favorable comments on my fairly recent vintage paint scheme.

I don't want beech talks sloppy seconds.

I wonder if it was the guy from the other thread with the high oil consumption. That would be weird... and profound.

Here's someone who went to trouble of repainting in the '68 original paint scheme, decals and all. I don't love the color, but updated version could be very nice: But I think the scheme on this '66E might be the sharpest retro one I've seen:

Spend the night before in Big Bear! No Marine layer and it'll be a downhill flight. 500' over the lake, pull power back at the damn, turn left and glide down the canyon...

And we won't even mention what I can haul [emoji15]

Do you think he was influenced by the presence of the parachute?

Hello from Oklahoma. I'm new to this forum and have been lurking, trying to learn as much as I can. I don't own a Mooney yet but have been looking, just have not found the right one yet. My son and I will be attending and camping at Oshkosh for the first time. I hope to meet some of you folks and see your aircraft. Thank you for opportunity to learn from your experiences. Regards, Tony

Two videos of our flyaway with some friends in April this year. The first one is from inside of the cockpit and doesn't show much of the outside. It has radio work, etc. https://youtu.be/VacC9aNIFW4 The second one is a low level flight to a fuel stop en-route on the second day: https://youtu.be/vGYeEpag2Mo Please hit LIKE if you like them Sorry about the quality. I thought I had figured out this gopro to youtube stuff, etc but I guess not Tony

Sorry, yes on the outside. It's definitely plastic of some kind, about 1/8" thick. I'll get better pics.

Did you mean "go down"?....

Stereotypical B.S. See Above... I just completed my flight review with a Cirrus owner. He picked up a beautiful SR22 for what I paid for my Vintage Mooney. He stole it...He is a class act, just like his plane. I would trade him in a heartbeat. The remarks like you made reflect poorly on you...not on Cirrus Pilot/Owners.

This thread just took a weird turn. Seriously, Do you think tht Cirrus pilot did not know that there was "something" Cirrusly wrong with his engine? He disregarded the dire warning that the engine was sending him. End of story. At the end of pilot training you don't know how to obtain and do a calculation for weight/balance and fuel? Come on. Do you think that a nitwit that is willing to disregard his and others safety is going to listen to your rational talk? You might make your conscience feel better...By all means say something, but your odds are a lot better at the roulette wheel.

Asking a bunch of people that have never seen or looked at this plane or the logs is pointless.... It could be great , it could be crap.....Take a look at it , look at the logs , and if warranted get an experienced IA to do a prebuy......Any other advice or info from someone that has not seen or touched or smelled this plane is sheer idiacy....... Except Jose' stating not to buy it cause its older than him.....That is a valid reason.....

Looking forward to it. We are going to climb a couple 14'ers and ride the Monarch Crest mtn bike trail. It's supposed to be a hoot.

That's too bad, they're fine airplanes, really.

Dunno if it's just Mooneys, but half the airplanes I've looked at online were hangar queens, and a couple more nearly qualified. Just don't understand why anybody'd let their investment sit and depreciate like that.

There are different ways of handling this and it depends on the particular surface you are dealing with and the runway itself. One way is to pull the plane to a spot with as few stones as possible and then brush as many loose and small stones away from under the prop as you can. Start up and wait for the engine to warm and do your checks and run-ups in the same spot and then taxi for takeoff. The other way requires a lot of concentration and is risky. Start up and taxi continuously, up and down the runway, until your engine is warm and do your checks and run-ups while taxiing. You need to have the runway to yourself to do this and you need to keep your wits about you with respect to staying on the runway. It helps if you have a passenger as a second set of eyes to avoid disaster. Another question you can ask is what does a gravel runway do to your flaps . . . . and which causes more damage, landing or taking off?

I feel obligated to refer you to the sentence immediately following that one. Maybe I should have also included the old <sarcasm> tags on that part of that sentence as well.

Just like fltplan.com, FlightAware.com, and ForeFlight will give you suggested or previously approved/flown routes between airports. I find that FlightAware usually gives me the best/accurate list. And if you open FlightAware on the same iPad where you have ForeFlight, there will be a button in FlightAware to send the route to ForeFlight automatically. It's all too easy.

Since the key will kill the engine both mags must be grounded successfully by the switch and harness. That suggests the switch has failed in the L position but works OK in OFF, BOTH and R positions.

Odd things I added to the PPI... Fill the tanks looking for leaks at the top of the tanks... Fly a X-country using all the navcomms and approach mode of the GPS & ILS. Result: fixed leaky rivets in tank tops. Replaced a couple of radio display lights. More systems, more hours to complete longer list of things. Better to find the things not working before you own it. Best regards, -a-

I agree...if you see me doing something stupid, please come talk to me. It is a license to learn!

If you can't find any previously assigned ATC routes between your two airports because they are lesser known places... and there aren't any larger airports in the proximity that you could check, then there is really no surefire way to ensure you get an 'as-filed' clearance. Airspace on the east coast can be pretty crazy, and sometimes you just have to get that pen and paper ready! Just for fun, I chose two random airports you mentioned for an example using fltplan.com. If I were to fly KHTW - KMLJ, it's telling me that the last planned ATC route between the two was DIRECT. So it's reasonable to say if I file DIRECT between the two, then I would likely get DIRECT. No promises, as airspace is constantly evolving - but that's your best bet. If nothing showed up between those two airports, I'd try plugging in a larger airport close by to MLJ or HTW and see if any routings show up for those, and I would use that. In my experience, if you are flying between podunk airport A and podunk airport B, and there isn't any complex airspace along the route, you can usually count on DIRECT. People in the middle part of the country are really spoiled! Just play with fltplan.com a little bit. It's a really un-user friendly interface, imo, but it is what I have always used and it works well once you get it down. One other thing I forgot to mention, is that fltplan.com has a feature where if you check your filed flight plan about 30mins prior to departure on their website, they will actually show you what your expected ATC route is! That way you can at least be prepared. I've also found this feature to be pretty accurate.

Yup and I plan another four hours of break in flying tomorrow. Today's departure was planned to ensure no developing CBs enroute and before the front got to Waterloo. It turns out that I had a 60 minute window to make that happen. Relatively easy IFR all the way home with only a few ACC along the way. I had to turn down the original routing which took me north of Toronto into the system shown in the picture below. Instead they sent me out over the lake to stay out of the way of the heavy iron using Toronto Pearson. Ned Gravel Lucky steward of C-FSWR, a '65 E model at Rockcliffe, Ontario, (CYRO) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My workplace: https://www.google.com/search?sa=G&q=gravedigger+job&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSiAEahQELEKjU2AQaAAwLELCMpwgaYApeCAMSKMQWwRbAFsYWxRbCFs8LnR6-Fpwe8DfVN9Up0SnWN9YpljjUKZA_10z4aMBcT-ta2djGNMcg6GsutwVHrgrMQSmW7LXunia7sbh3oKC8SMYS0qw9TQoTUhE_1WPAwLEI6u_1ggaCgoICAESBDOxWEAM&ei=JI2cVdCHDcj3sAXGsr3ACA&ved=0CBoQwg4oAA No appointment required, walk-in are welcome.

~$1k+ plus agreed too repairs.

Was this a stealth C150 that the military could not detect?. After all these billions spent on stealth technology a $20K C150 can do the job? José

If someone is available and accepts the ride you know instantly. If not you also know right away. Not only that, if they accept your ride request you can see on a moving map exactly where they are in relation to you. That's more reliable than any cab I've ever called for. Your post comes off as kind of dig at a service you obviously don't understand. Maybe you should educate yourself before commenting more, you might actually enjoy the service.

I'm a tower controller, so I do a fair amount of issuing clearances. It really depends on where you are specifically in the country. My airport, for example, has three different sectors of Oakland Center directly overhead and terrain in all directions. So around here, the center assigns an "adapted departure routing" which is essentially the route change that you get when you are issued something different from what you filed. Since we have 3 sectors above us, the probability of getting this alternate routing is pretty high. It's simply the antiquated computer system assigning you a route. The trick is knowing what these computer assigned routes are. I've found the most reliable method to be filing with fltplan.com (or equivalent) and take a look at the 10 most recently assigned ATC routes between your two airports. File that, and 95% of the time you will get "as filed" because you have already chosen exactly what the center computer was going to give you! Easy!

I don't remember if they're here or not. The business was sold within the last couple of years and they changed the name, but I think they changed it back. I believe many of the same folks are still there. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

F is the way to go... Late 60's vintage in particular. Get a good clean airframe with Johnson bar. All else is replaceable or upgrade able. Mine has 1047 lbs useful.. More than enough for a small family of 4.

Think bird on a wire

I am a respiratory therapist since about 1984. I teach this field in a small career college. I 've own a 1967 Mooney M20 E for 7 months now . It is awesome . carl

mention all you want, but for the love of God, please don't post any pics.

If you are worried about an emergency backup , but don't want to spend , The Stratus2 AHARS is a nice thing to have....About as legal as the Ilevel , and has the benefit of weather , TFRs , obstacles traffic etc etc..... Its a great box to have.....All in about 1200 including the Ipad...

This is what he really thinks of Garmin!

I do mine myself at annual. It is best to be done when all the inspection covers are removed you can make sure all the little spots are covered. I guess the higher price is removing more covers than the lower price but then you never know. The corrosion X sprayer is pricy but I put together a device that works it still needs some deign engineering but it does works. Have it done at annual I think is best and be there when they do it just to make sure they get it everywhere.

Back in the 90's there was a big push to replace the A-10s with the F-16s. The local AF reserve unit that happened. I also heard that the A-10 performed so well during Desert Storm that the USAF reversed their decision supposedly the A-10 even had an air to air kill. However, history repeats itself and they may be on that kick again. The F-16 is a very capable ship but it is not a ground support aircraft. The A-10 while not the prettiest plane in the fleet is the best ground support aircraft built even with its issues but any plane has them. If I'm on the ground and need air support I'd much rather see a group of A-10s coming in over any other except for maybe puff. I know the A-10s will be down low ans slow doing what I need. I think the USAF should have 3 or 4 squadrons of A-10s freshened up with new avionics and slightly more powerful engines and or totally new airframes.

"Large load logistics mover" Interesting! That explains it and really clears it up for me!

I'm a large load logistics mover... In my previous careers I have done a little bit of everything; regional sales management, general manager, blah, blah, blah... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I was just responding to an AOA posting yesterday when the system was updated. Apparently a weeks worth of postings were lost when the update failed. That included the AOA thread. So for whoever did that post here was my response: I'll weigh in on this. I had over 10,000 hours (about 8,300 in Mooneys at the time along with about 5,600 hours of instructing) when I decided to buy one to see if it would be of any value. I had done a lot of reading and one of the best articles is this one Wind Tunnel Test of Angle of Attack Probe - NAR Associates In the past I always made a rough calculation of landing weight and adjusted my approach speed accordingly. That speed could vary by 5 to as much as 15 knots depending on weight. The AOA has made that calculation unnecessary. I have been using it now for over 6 months and feel it was a very good investment. Proper use would be to slow to the donut when on approach, note that speed, then fly that speed. I have become so comfortable with the AOA that I noticed that I unconsciously flew the AOA to the flare point recently. I have surprised myself by being able to reduce my approach speed 5-6 knots comfortably. The donut does indicate different speeds at different weights. In my opinion they work well, and I would encourage their purchase and use. I have the Alpha Systems Eagle with the Valkyrie HUD.

I feel the same way....there are so many pilots in the world who should not have a license. When innocent passengers are involved you should say something..... Even if it is just the pilot you should say something if you see an unsafe condition or decision. My copilots have saved me many times...... How would you feel if the pilot killed himself or his passengers or flew into a house full of people.....how would you feel if a first responder died while trying to rescue the guy that was clearly overloaded.... I would not sleep well that night or many nights afterward..... If anyone sees me doing something stupid (besides flying in a single engine airplane) I will gladly take a delay for your concerns......

What you said was just about right. - Once long ago I saw a brand new pilot greatly overload a Cherokee 140. He was fueling it up and I stopped him. I told him the plane might very well not get off the ground and not to put any more fuel in it. Two giggly young girls and a strong looking guy all got in with the pilot. I had told the pilot not to turn the plane if climbing became difficult. Several of us watched the plane try to take off and the stress was killing me. That Cherokee flew between the tops of a few trees and we never saw the plane make the left turn he needed to get to its destination. He was just too low. It was a rented plane and those kids had no clue. If I have a "next time" I'm going to say more because I don't care what they say to me.

Turbulence with the GTNs? Com Side: Enter the frequency with the knob. then push and hold the knob to flip it. Nav side: Push the knob to move the cursor to the NAV side. Enter the frequency, then push and hold the knob to flip it. Push the knob to return to the Comm side or wait 15 seconds for it to automatically return to the Com side. A piece of cake. Never had a problem with turbulence with the GTNs. Regarding the product to buy: Cadillac or Ford (Garmin vs Avidyne) or Edsel (BK). I loved the Silver Crown series and my KLN 90B. Then came the KFD 840 that didn't make it and was shelved. How could it not interface with its own autopilots or have preselect? So failure with it and those who bought them left blowing in the wind. Then the KSN-770, years in design and ultimately partnered with Aspen. If not enough of them are sold, it will go the way of the KFD 840. As much as I liked Bendix King, I would be afraid to buy a product from them now.

As I wait for the actual new cowling pieces, I'm working on the new baffling and getting it to a stopping point. Here's a few photos of the baffle work in progress. David