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I appreciate the kind words! Glad to help! Keeping GA strong and safe is really important. Lending my voice (and my plane) to the cause is a privilege.

My painter hasn't had time to paint it so I got some vinyl and took her flying. She was smooth as silk, jumped off of the runway and climbed like I have never seen before. She was truly a joy to fly.

If you have the SWTA window conversion the STC calls for a specific sealent. Stay with the B2, it gives some extra time if things don't go as quickly as planned. Check the color of Flamemaster and PPG, most of the flamemaster I have saw is grey and the PPG is usually dark brown/black. The mixer adaptor for a drill is nice also if you need to mix several tubes, it's only $5 or so.

Thanks for the suggestions, I ended up using a very fine sand paper on the hinges once they were removed and they came out as good as new... I like the idea of painting them, but it will have to wait, I already installed them back...

Yves, When getting odd results from iPad apps, I usually do two things... 1) Double click the home button. Swipe away the offending app. Restart the app. (Swipe away any unused ones while you are in there) 2) Turn off the iPad by holding the off button. Then restart it. The pace of software updates and keeping up with operating systems is getting funky. A hard off and on cycle every now and then seems to be refreshing. Does this make any sense? I'm not a computer guy... Best regards, -a-

saw these two at Santa Catalina today.....it was the perfect day for this trip: In the last week I have been to NJ OH MO OK NM AZ CA

20,000 feet a month ago in my Rocket

I installed mine in the winter when it was cold. I used a 2x4 cut to length and wedged between the pan and floor to hold it in place, and an infrared heat lamp to keep it warm for 48 hours.

I drove my car once to 14k. No turbo either. Pikes Peak.

I had my M20F to 17500. I flew an IFR leg in it once at 17000. i have had my J to FL220. It was still climbing at 500ft/min.

Not sure but it caused higher blood pressure as screens are fuel screens are something on the Mooney Check list for Annuals. The last annual was before I owned it. lots of things were missed.

Starting the bidding with.... My C went to 14.5k' to take advantage of a nice westerly tailwind. Lesson 1: A lightly loaded Mooney can easily get to levels requiring O2. Lesson 2: Climb rate is related to excess HP/weight ratio. If you have a method of determining your %hp (chart or instrument) helps. Knowing... - how much hp is excess vs hp needed to maintain level flight for your weight is helpful. - MP (HP) is directly related to altitude for you NA engine. Lesson 3: Altitude is NOT your friend. It robs power the higher you go. Go turbo to fight this! Altitude is your friend. Thinner air lowers the actual drag. Go Mooney laminar wing and low CSA/flat plate. Altitude is your friend. Increased margin of safety for engine out ops. There is an optimum altitude, or compromise, for NA Mooneys for best speed at WOT. Somewhere around 7,500' (?). This is around where the power curve and drag curves cross on a chart... My preference: Highest altitude available without using an O2 system. Best regards, -a-

The STC for something like this will require the mechanic to attach a flight manual supplement to the existing manual or POH. It your not sure if the stc was properly filed with the faa you can order a copy of your aircraft records for $10. It only takes about a week to get. Then you can see how bad paperwork problem really is. Hopefully it's just some misplaced paperwork on your end by a previous owner. Your records should include: copy of the stc, copy of the 337, flight manual supplement, w&b, and logbook entry.

Well in my case, We used the Epoxy but also Aircraft Spruce 3M Aluminium tape rated to 300 F for the heat pads to secure it in place. I have flown about 10h since the install and all semms good and stay in place without any sign of burn or anything. My mecanic reassured me that this Aluminium tape is well suited for those spots because of it's heat rating.

A drum polisher will take those swirl marks out.

George your quite an asset to aviation and the Mooney family as well, keep up the quality work it is greatly appreciated.

http://www.flyscbc.com/ On facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/358949335134/ I keep saying to myself I'm going to fly into one of the northern SC events!

Chris my bet is Carper wants some sort of concession or inclusion of something unrelated to aviation, as most legislators from our state one thing comes from there mouth and another from another part of there anatomy. I've known Tom for yrs.and this doesn't surprise me, you were based at KILG so you know what I mean.

JB Weld #8265 per instruction. http://www.reiffpreheat.com/Instructions-HotStrip.pdf

http://www.sealpakcoinc.com/ SEALPAK CO INC (316) 942-6211 2614 S Hoover Rd Wichita, Kansas 672151299 , USA This web site doesn't seem to be working. I hope they are still in business, they were great to work with. I bought stuff from them about a year ago.

Thanks for the kind words! Evolution is required for a species to survive...Even Pilots. Its a privilege to be able to lend my voice to the cause and in a small way help make GA flying a healthy industry and a safe activity.

Chris, thanks for the flight! I think I had a huge smile the whole time. Your Mooney had great handling qualities. The hunt is on for my next ride.

we can do a fair amount with mixture by controlling the speed of the flame front. My IO360 reacts to Low Altitude, High Power LOP quite well.

I saw a triple-turbo Durarmax Diesel Mustang run inside of 8 seconds. Does that qualify? :)

Well I confirmed today that I do have a compass. I've been waiting for an opportunity to paint the center post. We're doing new windows so while the w'shield out I got it done. Had to remove the whiskey compass so I touched it up as well. Looks nice. Guess I ought to get it some fuzzy dice.

Done, thanks for the site Craig, it has saved my 6 many times, and the quality of it is members is what makes it great !

The thing is Carl, you'll never get your plane "on the step" at 25 squared, you need that extra bit of power to achieve the ideal AOA for...I'm just pulling your leg. The over square thing was taught for decades and probably a relic of the big super charged radials. Indeed if you could run 49" at 1800rpm, you might induce detonation in some engines. Remember though that when all these rules of thumb came out almost no one had a well instrumented engines. Old habits die hard and there are folks that still teach this method. Even the Mooney POH in 67 recommends 26" and 2600 as "climb power". There is no logical reason to do this. There's no logical reason to asphyxiate your engine unless you want less power from it. There are good reasons to reduce RPM, chief among them are noise, vibration and harshness. I don't get too hung up on the precise number as my tach is still on the far right. I ballpark it for 2500 in cruise. I am really looking for smoothness, not a number on the tach. You might want to read this: http://www.avweb.com/news/pelican/182179-1.html and the rest of the "Where should I run my engine" series. It will change how you view the engine controls and should add significantly to your confidence. I never touch the throttle after firewalling it for take off unless I want to slow down or go down.

Great Flyer. 1st time reading. read it cover to cover. Wish I was able to make that fly-in.

Very late to this party, but the difference in speed in becoming a very good instrument pilot is the difference between night and day when comparing learning with old legacy instruments versus those of the new technology. In my opinion you want the best situational awareness your money can buy, and old technology is a hindrance to that. Laptop iPads are a distraction and obviously have no autopilot interface, but in the worst case helps. $5,000 gets you practically nothing of value, so if it were me, I would get the rating with the old technology, fly simple IFR like climbing and descend through a cloud deck, absolutely no hard IFR, and save up the money to get the avionics that will bring you into the present and provide much less risk and a greater margin of safety. Even if you don't use the rating that much, the precision in flying gained through its achievement makes it a worthwhile goal in and of itself.

thanks. I always look forward to reading it.

Hello Alex, my thought on this were it me would be not to buy into a high time engine it's no gauranty that it's going to fail any more than a low time is going to run for a long time however an OH would likely cost more than the total value of that airplane. If the current owner would agree to some kind of percentage share of the new engine then that might make sense. Personally I like having total control over what happens with my airplane so partners are not for me. I understand the desire to find an airplane that is right there at your home field. Tale a step back and do some shopping there are lots of good C models that are selling for what an OH might cost you. Whatever you decide to do congrats on getting your license and best wishes for all your aviation endeavors.

A good friend of mine has a Cardinal RG. I fly a C. On a recent flight of 130nm, my C was 20kts faster on the same fuel burn. In other news, the next time we were to fly together, he had to scrub because of gear issues. This seems to be a recurring issue on the Cardinal. The manual gear on my C is bullet proof. Just an observation.

Welcome aboard Alex2, The partner thing sounds pretty good. Especially if he flies during the week and you fly weekends only. He supplies the plane, you supply the OH. Pre-purchase inspection, and legal agreements are probably still required for your protection. Not being mechanically inclined, usually makes a 2500hr SMOH engine an uncomfortable situation. Things like starters, generators and voltage controllers are not that complex but they die. I started with an ancient M20C and replaced many of these parts over a ten year period. Hank's C looks brand new compared to my old C. Read as much as you can here, ask some more questions. Buy a plane and train in it. Best regards, -a-

Welcome Alex, I also purchased a C model as my first plane, and I had about 160 total hours when I purchased it. I am the sole owner of my plane, and in the past 2.5 years I've added to that number quite a bit. It's been a great first plane (though it took a little bit to get used to-it goes a lot faster in the pattern than the 172s and Cherokees that I was flying). I don't know of a good pre-buy location near Buffalo, but I would make sure that you go through a reputable source. I am also not sure if the pre-buy process is any different for a partnership. That's the kind of thing that one of the old pros like Hank can answer. I have heard a number of stories, though, of pilots (of any type of aircraft) thinking they were getting a better operating machine than they actually did. Most folks on this site will recommend a Mooney Service Center. (You can find MSC locations on the Mooney Aircraft site under Support.) I agree with smwash02. If you keep your plane maintained well, it is an economical plane. I think 10K will get you quite a bit of use per year. I spent more than that on my first year, but have been significantly under in the past year and a half. I have a 2-blade prop. To be honest, I haven't been in a 3-blade C, but I know it makes the nose a little heavier. That shouldn't be a big deal, though. If you're looking to keep flying expenses under 10K, I think that a Mooney will help you do that better than a Cardinal RG. (I'm not biased, of course, at all.) You'll save quite a bit of money on just gas in the long run. Plus, a Mooney just looks better.

Make sure the person you are partnering with has the same ideas as you and you have a good clear system for expenses, upgrades, etc. Partnerships can be tricky things.

Welcome to the M20B club!!! We need more representation. Looks very clean!!

DXB, Here are some pics. "Less effective flaps" hummm that explains why the heck my landing as so crappy, Guess I'll have to fly more to get them dialed in.....darn.

It's on if we both start with 13 gallons of gas!

Yes - but I used a program called GIMP Thinking about that as well - also leaning towards some nose art...

Same cap as the PA24-250 piper. PMA approved for the Piper at 116.50 each from Aircraft Spruce.

The 3rd Class Medical is valid for the period of time one is sitting in the office of the AME. Walk out of that office, and all bets are off. There is absolutely no guarantee that you are anything but $125 poorer fifteen minutes later, having proved you are able to fog a mirror and read the little dotty numbers again this biennium. I called my Senators. Their aides nodded sagely and agreed they could see my point. It's just about like ATC saying in a dry voice, "We have your request." No commitment. Make your request of the next sector... kick that not-enough-votes-or-money-at-stake can down the electoral road. There is no real hope for change, so long as there is a huge OKC bureaucracy of make-work jobs to improve the employment statistics. So, I have jumped through the political hoops, signed the big, silly petition, spoken with politicians, and... will go get my absurd 3rd class medical again this year. And two years after that, and another two years after that, God willing. When I eventually have my heart attack and get cured of it, that will be the end of it. I don't have the deep pockets or the emotional stamina to jump through the stupid hoops. There will be a wonderful Mooney 231 for sale at that time. And y'all who love your cursory, expensive FAA physicals can breathe a sigh of relief that there'll be one more hazard to navigation out of the sky for good.

Rick I too share many of your frustrations esp with the pace of change when the FAA/DOT and Congress are involved. However I am not familiar with any solicitations for funds to support the effort, only a call for action asking our members to contact their elected federal officials in support of 3rd Class Medical Reform. Member dues fund the vast majority of AOPA's advocacy efforts. While the effort to reform the 3rd class medical is taking a very long time, there are no exorbitant expenses associated with the effort. So I would caution you to not assume just because the pace of change is slow it is somehow linked proportionately with cost...That is just not the case. AOPA has been able to build the largest Caucus in congress to support 3rd class medical reform and while slow we are making progress (see Congressman Rokita's video). Also I'll take issue with your characterization that AOPA is a "wealthy" non profit. As someone who sits in the budget meetings I can assure you every dollar is spent wisely in a way designed to do the most overall good for the GA community. To your last point, AOPA does many things for the benefit of the community. I'm happy to list a few 1. Over 300 Free safety and education products provided by the Air Safety Institute which has had a positive impact on GA safety for 39 years and counting. Last year was the safest year on record for general aviation 2. No user fee's in the federal budget. AOPA has fought and won every year since the current administration took office to keep user fees at bay. 3. A pilot's information center that fields over 300,000 calls annually from pilots with questions that cover the gamut. Providing members accurate information, helping pilots understand the complexities of various FARs and guiding them to solutions when no one else can help. 4. Provides a variety of free planning tools including WX, Airport directory, online flight planning and TFR alert emails to warn pilots of pop up TFR's in their area. 5. Responding to members with a more grass roots, customer service oriented approach as seen in our regional fly in campaign 6. Put an end to the illegal stops and searches by CBP 7. Award winning publications including AOPA Pilot, Flight Training Magazine, AOPA Live, AOPA ePilot, and CFI to CFI Newsletter 8. Leading the effort to push through Part 23 reform 9. The AOPA foundation provides grants to numerous aviation organizations so they can do their work. Additionally the AOPA's foundation funds a host of scholarships to help young aviation enthusiasts achieve their dreams. 10. Established the Flying Club initiative to help pilots connect and share the love (and costs) of flying. Rick, while it's easy to focus on areas of frustration I think it's important to also acknowledge areas of success. Is AOPA perfect, no. Has it made some blunders over the years...YES! Are the people there committed to achieving the very same things you are...ABSOLUTELY. If you'd like to lend your voice (and channel your frustration) to the fight for 3rd Class Medical Reform, please do engage with your elected officials, call the pilot information center, speak directly with a team member in Government Affairs department and ask what you can do to help. Thanks for voicing your concerns and I hope the information I've provided makes a compelling case that AOPA is committed to serving our members and making some much needed improvements within the GA community. George