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I'm getting kind of obsessed with making these GoPro videos! I was able to get a quick flight in today between storms that have been hitting the west coast this week. Overall, I'd say I'm pretty happy with my 1st landing of 2016!

1963 to 1966 I worked across the street from SJC airport at FMC Corporation on Coleman Ave. I was in a flying club with a Cessna 170B, and the Mooney operation was pretty busy. FMC had their own hanger next door to the Mooney outfit, and operated a Lockheed Lodestar for executive travel. There was also an active Mooney dealership at Hayward that had a small office and I recall an open-air shelter with a MOONEY sign on it next door. I doubt of either of them lasted beyond the early 1970's. I became a Mooney pilot with a 1964 M20C around 1975, flew it for 10 years and now have 1965 M20E I've been flying for 16 years. Aeromancfi.

I'm happy to report the ammeter fluctuation is no more! Condition cured! Battery is good and so is alternator and master connections. What I did was remove the left most panel piece that the ammeter is on along with clock and ignition switch. My goal was to check the connections to the ammeter, clean them and tighten them. There are two boots that cover and protect the connections behind the ammeter. One had slid off exposing the connector so I secured it. The other was in place. That seems to have solved the fluctuation.

well folks, I'm back after a hiatus of 3-4 weeks. I started a thread on looking for a Bravo to commute to republic airfield on long Island from Burlington VT. Got much good advice and am just updating in case anybody cares:). After sitting in a long body mooney and an A36 I have signed a pre purchase agreement for the beechcraft. I flew the A36 and loved it. I never flew the mooney but am sure I would have loved it also. However, I have 3 teenage girls and someday a girlfriend (maybe ) so the space of the A36 compared to the mooney was the deciding vote. I just wanted to thank everybody on this site, and Beechtalk, and COPA, for all the valuable insight! As I get familiar with my new to me airplane I will return the favor. As I mentioned I am a member of ABS, MAPA, and COPA and the minimal fees associated with them are minimal compared to the the wealth of information available. Once again, thanks for all the help, I close on Wednesday! I will continue to lurk here, still love the mooney lines! v/r Bob

I'm back in. Got word this morning that they will finish up the repairs this afternoon and I'll get the keys back. Yea..... Still +2 for me. Cheers, Brian

Tail looks a lot like a lancair 360 tail with the Mooney signature design. The 360 suffered from poor rudder authority until they came out with a modified design. I like the large spinner. It looks like they incorporated CAFE foundation M20E spinner almost. (Not to drift too far but does anyone know what happened to that CAFE m20E and how they got an experimental certificate for a production aircraft?... I'll start a new topic for that one). On paper the Pipstrel Panthera is hard to beat. Missing for the world market is a turbo diesel variant, however. But man that is a hot ride. Good looking, super efficient (they claim 198ktas on 10gph at least with the IO-390), trailing link gear, and better useful load than my M20J by almost 200lbs. Plus that CAPS thing. I'd love to fly one of those things as it takes the idea that we all like about our efficient Moonies and brings it into the 21st century. For most of us, I think we'd be most interested in a true 4-place rather than a half hearted 5-place or an expanded 3-place trainer. We all want something that goes fast, sips gas... and looks good.

I will elaborate: The M10 is BEAUTIFUL Because: 1. I like Big Spinners and minimal frontal area. 2. I like the swept windscreen. 3. I Like the BIG side Windows. What a GREAT VIEW! 4. I like the upswept win tips and SMOOTH wing. 5. I like the antenna streamlined BACK not UP. 6. I like the Mooney vertical tail. 7. I like the Modern interior, but WANT steam gauge option for cost. 8. I like the idea of a Jet A powered engine. 9. I like the idea of a fast 3 seat airplane. 10. I like that Mooney is building a plane to grow the Chinese market and succeed/keep the doors open.

The full-scale mock-up that Mooney had on display at Oshkosh last July looked pretty sleek. I told the representatives I'd buy the M10J version at (my price redacted), if it really becomes a 10gph JetA burning 160knot 3 seater.

Well, we were at the airport before dawn and I took off just after daybreak. I did a pretty aggressive climb and was able to stay within 10 miles of the airport up to 10K to get a good 15 minute test flight in. After landing, we detected no oil leaks, oil level exactly where it was at after last night's run up, and flight test parameters were very normal. I installed my oil cooler "winter block off", a piece of rubber mud flap cut to fit exactly over 1/2 of my oil cooler in a nice recess (have used it every winter since 2001) to keep oil temps up where they need to be. I had gotten 190 degrees in the aggressive climb, but started dropping down quickly once level. Other than that, we felt safe flying it home (well, I did anyway). http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N1017L (ignore the filed speed, some anomaly filing with my Iphone. My file speed at FL180 is 200 knots) Flew home at FL180 over the lake, and everything seemed great until I started over the lake. I just thought I detected a slight roughness until I was almost completely over it, and then once I started concentrating on the ILS into my home drome, never noticed anything unusual again during the flight. Pretty sure it was the "over water jitters" with a recently worked on engine. I think the last time I watched my gauges that closely during a flight was during break in of my Lycoming Factory Reman IO301A1A in the "F" model back in the 90's. Anyway, when I landed, while everything was still hot, I pulled the oil filter and cut it open; totally clean. The oil was exactly on the same spot on the stick (10.5 qts) as when we finished the ground run yesterday, and looked clean as it did when I poured it in the engine. I also did a compression test and all cylinders were within a couple pounds of my February 2015 annual readings. I might borescope as long as the plugs are out, but thinking I probably will be good for a while on this engine yet. Reflecting back on my last annual, I am wondering if I might have detected some play in the turbo back in February had I been diligent enough to check it. When the air filter is removed on the Rocket, the intake impeller is within view though the back of the housing. There is a 1/4" mesh at the back of the filter housing which would prevent any decent sized tool to grip the impeller, but I checked with a small magnet on the end of the shaft during reassembly and I think if that could be squeezed through one of the mesh openings. It appears to grip the impeller shaft sufficiently to check for play in the shaft. It's something I will do going forward, and just thought this tip might be of value for others with turbos. This scenario is not one I would like to repeat, nor wish to hear from another turbo owner. Having it happen in the flight levels near airports is a lot easier to deal with than over mountains or during night operations. I'll put this thread (and issue) to bed. The last couple of posts were purely intended as informational. I fully intend to lurk again for a while and let you guys tell me about the exciting stuff.

At a minimum you should expect that no insurance company ever wrote the airplane off as a total loss. At a maximum, the airplane just came out of the factory. Any aircraft with more than 100 tach hours has damage, even if it is only a prop nick. Everything in between is subjective. I realize this isn't helpful. Good luck.

I have a 8000BT and really like it. The nice thing is the options it offers. If I don't want music as I pilot the plane, I still enjoy the benefit for the passengers. Give them music and wake them on long final. You can direct the music just to them while you have it off for you. Most the time I like music, only since the auto mute settings allow you to not mute, only mute music during radio transmissions, or mute while using radio or when someone talks or coughs. Not sure of the 6000 vs the 8000, but here is the manual for the 6000 http://www.ps-engineering.com/docs/PMA6000B_IM.pdf Also a note for the installation. My avionics guy wired the sound alert for traffic thru the ADF button and relabeled it. It is a nice feature to hit one button and turn the traffic voice off if you are tired of hearing it while in the pattern for example.

The new King and PSE are made by PSE. The old Kings were made by King. Garmin has always made their own. I don't use Bluetooth for musc either, but it is very useful with foreflight alerts and for phone usage just before takeoff. I have Bluetooth headsets so all the Foreflight alerts come over my headsets. There are also some Bluetooth dongles you can plug into the music jack to give you the same connectivity.

I was officially their first customer on 1/4/16. JD and Laura did an oil change on my C. Great folks to work with.

Matt -- I'm having a hard time following you on this. I know there is a connection between the gear condition lights and the Nav lights. When you have the Nav lights on, they dim the condition lights. What you wrote indicates that if you have a problem in the Nav light circuitry, you may not be able to use the gear. Did I read that right? I spent weeks troublingshooting my gear breaker popping issue back in the 90s and don't recall any actual relationship between the gear motor mechanism and the condition lighting condition. Can you explain more? Also, you indicated you had a gear issue that it wouldn't retract all the way. Did you get the "gear unsafe" warning and no movement of the gear (as indicated by the floor indicator) or did it partially retract and then stopped? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I personally love having the Bluetooth capability built into the unit. It is able to handle multiple connections and is great for streaming music or picking up clearances through landlines. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

It then follows that a damaged Mooney is like a hot porno star. Can't take your eyes off of her but "damaged" goods!!

Extra sets of eyes are always helpful for fly-ins. Plan on being early. It is really cool to get to see all the landings. Slow to pattern altitude and speeds way in advance. Helps in energy management going into a crowded environment. Communicate a lot. Plenty of position reports. Not everyone has traffic alert systems. Don't be afraid to talk. Thoughts of a private pilot, not a flight instructor. Welcome to MS perilous, -a-

I have had the Nulites for 5 years and like them. I've never had a problem with any of them. Each one has 2 bulbs in it. I may still have a couple of extras if anyone is interested in them.

I don't think so. Pornography is much closer to wine. I like some and can't stand others. Damage on the other hand means something has happen to the plane which requires repair. And the problem with repaired damage is the lack of consistent quality. When a plane comes from the factory, its been hand built. There is however an expectation of quality, based on previous examples built by the factory. When a third party repairs the damage, a future buyer doesn't have a clue if the plane has been returned to factory quality. Now effort needs to be expended to determine if the plane has been returned to factory quality, and if not, is it acceptable quality. --That said, one may find the repair exceeds the factory quality. (think one piece belly after a gear up). And in a similar way, this is what makes buying an experimental plane much harder than a certified plane.

Actually a fellow named Kyle owns it he was working at LASAR for a time and the CAFE was parked out on the ramp. He and the Mooney have since moved on but it was flying from 1o2 last year.

Notar, I installed Nu-Lites in my previous planes. I really liked them and had not problems with them. The big difference between the Fiberlight and Nu-Lite systems is that Fiberlight has 1 light source that is distributed via a fiber optic connection to each instrument. The Nu-Lites have a light source at each instrument and and electrical connection to each instrument. The difference being if you loose the light source on the Fiberlight you loose lighting to all instruments. If you loose a light source on the Nu-Lites you still have lights on the other instruments.

The Mooney might need a black and red stripe!

The simple reality is that the notion of a certified aircraft was created to protect life and property. You cannot separate the notion of a certified aircraft from that of a licensed pilot. As technology advanced, the idea of an idiot taking a ton or more of metal into the air and then having it come down at high speed pretty much anywhere is not an idea that I subscribe to. At some point, they realized that the rules had to be partitioned to accommodate different aviation uses. Always understand that the they is us. Non-aviators did not write the rules (they influenced them, yes). As Pogo famously said: we have met the enemy and he is us. Since this is federally managed, nothing moves quickly. Just ask a physician about the FDA, or a telecom engineer about the FCC. Don't bother asking an attorney about the law in general, they will take a long time in responding and then bill you for their opinion. The fact that attorneys dominate the regulatory space in general is predominantly why the problem exists. Can we do without them? Regrettably, no. We realized, as Americans, that we did not want to stifle ingenuity and personal invention. That is what the homebuilt space is for. If you want to play in that space, go there. Lastly, we still ask incredulously: Why can't we just stick a better, cheaper product in our <certified> plane? The answer lies with the way the bureaucratic machine works. There is a concept at work here called rule and context regression. It affects how one rule change can have a devastating impact on other rules. Not unlike the so-called Butterfly Effect. It is too complex to go into here, just suffice it to say that one way around it is just do what you want to do and take your chances. Myler's law of insignificance comes into play and states that the more incredulously ridiculous and penny-ante the law is applied to your situation, the more likely you are to get away with infracting it.

But we'll keep trying!

All I can say is "We can't save them all." [emoji38] Good luck with the Beech. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

They are a way of bugging altitudes for instrument approaches. Green tab points to 500' above DH or MDA, yellow tab points from 200' to 100' above minimums and red tab is placed at DH or MDA. http://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/altitude-alert-indicator-2-7-8-in-dia.html

I was gonna mention this one. I believe they only rent it for instruction with their instructors though. It hardly ever leaves the tie down compared to the rest of their fleet. Only time I ever see it in the air is doing pattern work with people doing transition training or getting a complex endorsement. Also note the $189/hr quoted in the other post is the "academy rate" for people who keep money on file with the school, and not the normal hourly rate.

I'm still liking mine. I did the 530 trade in at 9a5 Lafayette Ga. The deal was so good that I really had no choice and I was even non WAAS on the 530. It's getting the Lynx 9000 transponder right now and I hope I'm done for a while $!$!$!

First, try loosening the radio in the tray and gently slide it on and off the contacts a few times. Often, that is all that is needed to scrape the oxidation off the contacts. If that isn't enough, you'll need to buy some good contact cleaner. I prefer the LPS No-Flash type, but don't get the cheapest thing out there. Remove the radio and spray the contacts at the back of the radio and at the back of the mounting tray (power off, of course). To do more, I get a Starbucks stirring stick and rubber band a piece of paper towel to it. Spray some contact cleaner on the paper towel and run it over the contacts. The paper towel is slightly abrasive and the contact cleaner will remove almost everything except corrosion. The stirring stick is wood and a good addition to any toolbox.

Wow Lance - that's scary! I change my oil every 25 hours and each time pressurize the exhaust system and look for cracks with soapy water. I haven't found any cracks or leaks yet. I hope I would find one long before it get's that bad.

Brian Kendrick noticed it during maintenance.

Anthony, you raise interesting points. I was an economics major in college and still find this kind of stuff fascinating. The more widgets you have of like kind the easier it is to determine a market price. With these planes, as you point out, the number of units is small, especially when you factor in the differences between the same model and year aircraft, i.e. hours, avionics and other pedigree. On the demand side, I hate to say it but I think the market continues to narrow and our planes appeal to us old farts more than the younger aviators who seem to like the cirrus type aircraft with joysticks and cockpits that look more like a BMW than what we came up with. Regards, Frank

I had this problem a year or two ago. I noticed it mainly on landings. Jim (bluehighwayflyer) pointed me in the right direction. He told me to call LASAR and do an exchange. You can get an idea by grabbing your rudder and seeing how much side to side play it has. I think mine was 1.5-2 inches before replacing the steering horn. Afterwards it was about 3/4".

11. Two means of entry/egress!

I've been watching this thread since it started - interesting problem. If an issue moves randomly from one cylinder to another with the same symptoms, from my troubleshooting experience, you need to back up to the last common potential source of that issue. I don't see the mags/harness/plugs as a potential because each mag drives one plug in each cylinder (cold cylinder means neither plug in a cylinder is firing). Having both plugs or high tension wires or mags randomly fail at the same time in different cylinders is statistically highly improbable (though not impossible). I think it's the spider and FOD either moving from one port to another (I don't know what these things look like inside) or small pieces of FOD are breaking off upstream of it and lodging somewhere to block fuel flow to different cylinders. This is just my $0.02 but it will be interesting to see what finally resolves the issue, that is if they find a smoking gun.

we'll see how it performs. I'll fly alladin's rug if it performs well enough...

Yeah, seriously. It looks like a Mooney fucked a Cirrus and out pops Rumer Willis.

Sounds like a simple re-rack and contact cleaner. Please keep us posted, Ryan, and good luck.

I am very pleased with John Sanders, the mechanic in Elizabeth City, NC. He is thorough and very pleasant, his shop is clean, he welcomes owner-assistance. He found a number of issues with my 231, but they were going to have to get fixed eventually anyway. He did tell me this needs done now, that needs done at the next annual, and the other is purely up to you. I like that, and his clear explanations. A natural teacher. One of the few who doesn't whine about Mooneys, and has the book open as he goes through things.

I didn't count the number of flights, but 355.6 hours in 2015. Got my instrument, commercial and multi commercial ratings.

Wow... This thread doesn't need a how to land video, it needs a how to return to planet earth video.

I upgraded my G-model's panel after purchasing it in mid-2015. Upgrades included adding a GMA-340 audio panel and GNS-430W (with 106A indicator). Not quite as glamorous as some of the other major upgrades I see on here, but in my mind it was a very affordable way to add a lot of capability to by '68. The GMA-340 was a major upgrade because the aircraft did not already have an installed 4-place intercom. So the interior needed to be pulled out, back seat jacks installed, the whole works. We took advantage of having the interior out to wire the aircraft for ADS-B out, but I won't be purchasing the transceiver until 2020 gets closer. When all was said and done, the airplane was in the shop for two weeks and the total install cost almost exactly $16,500, inclusive of all parts and labor. About $11,500 of that was the GNS-430W installation, and the remaining $5,000 was for the GMA-340 (majority of that being labor). I was going to simply install a KMA-24 audio panel and Sigtronics intercom, but my avionics technician talked me out if it and I'm glad that he did. Because the majority of the audio panel installation cost is labor, I would have saved less than $700 on the total installation. The GMA-340 is an amazing piece of equipment, and my passengers love the ability to listen to music on their own channel. I also like the fact that an extra $700 got me a brand-new piece of equipment instead of something that's been obsolete for 20 years. Jeff Landon of High Desert Avionics (based at WJF) did the installation, and I'd highly recommend him. This is the second installation I've had him do (the first one being on a club airplane) and I've been very satisfied. I'd be happy to go into any details if anyone is looking to do a similar upgrade

I purchased N94MR in the late spring. It's a 1994 M20R. Panel had GTN 650 and EDM 900. I added the Aspens and PMA 450 PS engineering audio panel. We were able to get rid of the vacuum system and a bunch of old wiring. Substantial increase in useful load. What do you guys think?

Without Foreflight, Garmin would have never developed Garmin Pilot. They were forced to due to loss of market share. They would still be selling us their $1500 handheld devices and charging us to update each of the 3 databases on them. Until Foreflight gives me a serious reason to look elsewhere I'll stick with Foreflight.

I am really trying to be honest with myself about keeping the plane or upgrading, No doubt, repairing what I have is the least $$ out of pocket, but if i decide this is plane to keep, then Aspen is the way to go value for the $$$. I know this is blaspheme, but I do have my eye on an experimental that my F (Riley) might get traded in for. I am watching the development closely. Right now, I am leaning toward simply having the KG102A overhauled to the tune of about $1800. Chris, I don't have a WAAS GPS. I fly with it at work and I agree, RNP (GPSS) approaches are awesome! I have no doubt they will replace all ground-based navigation within 20 years. For now, I am excited about getting the EDM-700 installed at annual! It is a shame that the experimental avionics are not available to us. The certified solutions just put you into a commitment level that, unless you plan on keeping the plane for a while, are hard to justify. My role model is Bob Belville. He is living my retirement dream! I have him set up on FlightAware and his trips during my workday help me get through another Excel laden, email infested day at the cube farm. I've learned that whatever steed you are riding, it is important to enjoy the ride that so many others never get to. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Did you get hailed on? "Naw, it was just my hot girlfriend in stiletto heels dancing on my wings"

Taking the Advanced Pilot Seminar course and installing a modern engine monitor (if not already equipped) would pay massive dividends when operating any piston engine plane, and especially a turbo.

Oh, I did it a long time ago. I think I did put up pictures. It just took me a long time to actually get around to selling the old stuff off. Here's some before and afters-

It's the Alpha Systems Legacy Kit! Previous owner had it installed. The placement in the panel allows me to have it in my line of sight on approach to landing. It's great as another aid to situational awareness!