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We all rely on someone, here's an example of why my wife is a rockin' Mooney spouse...thanks for the gift, honey! Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

My first ever year f ownership I decided to total up all my costs. After seeing the results I assiduously vowed never to do such a thing again.

Happy Labor Day to me. So, Harbor Freight had a 25% off coupon... Here's take one. Threaded portion is a little longer, but that part is not the critical part. I have to say, I am very pleased with myself.

First rule of flight club... don’t talk about the cost of flight club.

I agree, if someone wants to get into General Aviation now is the time. About 2 1/2 years ago my wife and I were talking about some friends of ours at church and she mentioned that he was a pilot and had his own plane. My reaction was "What, how can he afford a plane?" I knew what he did for a living and while he did well, I didn't think it was well enough to have a plane. I was talking to him the next week and asked how long he had been flying. The answer, about 30 years. I asked what kind of plane he had and he told me a Mooney. I had to look up what it was because I had never heard of one before. I have wanted to fly as long as I have memories but always thought it was beyond my reach financially. After talking with my friend I started doing some real research on the costs and decided that it actually was financially possible. One ride in his Mooney and I was hooked on them. It is all a matter of priorities. People at work are amazed that I have my own plane, yet we have customers come in every day and buy vehicles that are $50-100k. Those same people that think owning a plane is extravagant don't think a thing about that person buying a Corvette or a Cadillac Escalade. Then again, I still have to pinch myself sometimes to remind me that this isn't a dream. I actually own a plane and can fly it, dreams do come true.

Not the most efficient of Mooney’s but burns less fuel than that three hole beast!!

Neither am I. Earlier this year while I was down for the Bravo conversion I did my fuel caps. I had what was on the placard engraved on the cap. BEFORE: AFTER:

I feel bad now that I got my instrument rating 15 years ago... Had 2 of the funny things with the lines that go left and right, one of them had the thing that went up and down and there was a third instrument had a pointy bit that just went in circles. It's a wonder I survived.

Someone bases a Baron at LGA? I fly for an airline flying C402s into BOS/ORD/STL etc, and Id be afraid to take my mooney in there. They really don’t want us there! I’d fly to FRG and Uber. Would be cheaper and lower stress... Sheltair at FRG is great. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If there is anyone that is just fine with everyone enjoying a piece of the Mooney pie (whether it be owner groups, forums, MSCs, or any number of things), it is Don Maxwell. He was nothing but supportive when JD was setting up his acquired shop at SWTA and has been nothing but positive toward VMG, Mooney Summit, MAPA, MooneySpace, etc. In fact, he's been critical about MAPA & stepped up where he sees MAPA has fallen short...

If you would like to experience the magic of DMax in person, please register for MooneyMAX at Longview TX October 10-14. We will have a huge variety of speakers, all day maintenance seminars, all day Right Seat Ready! companion safety seminar, door prizes, great food, vendors and more. The MooneyMAX Round-up Conference and Workshops will take place October 10-14, 2018 at East Texas Regional Airport, Longview, Texas. This event is an educational event for the enthusiastic Mooney community and dedicated to enhancing safety, maintaining aircraft, and love of flying. The newly built Hilton Garden Hotel and Conference Center will be the host hotel of the Round-up Conference and Workshop with over 8,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting and pre-function space. Exhibitors will be in the large 1,500 sq. ft. pre-function area, immediately outside all meeting rooms, and will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Oct 11th and 12th. To start off the conference you are cordially invited to the Opening Cocktail Party, Wednesday evening, October 10th. A full schedule of new exciting speakers with new educational topics is being lined up for Thursday, Oct. 11th and Friday, Oct. 12th. Buffet luncheon provided in the pre-function area for all participants. Workshops will be all day Friday, Oct. 12th and Saturday, Oct 13th: MooneyMAX Maintenance, Right Seat Ready©, and Mooney Caravan. Saturday will be a day of more aviation seminars, a tour of Mid America Flight Museum (all aircraft are currently flying aircraft). Saturday evening reception and dinner: Beautiful private Lake Cherokee, Cherokee Country Club. All workshops and seminars are included with registration: $250 per person. Special Saturday evening Keynote Speaker: Mr. Kenneth Bowersox, U.S. Naval Aviator (Ret.), Former NASA Astronaut and Shuttle Pilot Kenneth Bowersox served as the Interim Chair of the NASA Advisory Council from June 2016 to January 2017. He is a retired U.S. Naval Aviator, with over 19 years of experience at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Selected to the astronaut corps in 1987, he has flown five times on NASA’s Space Shuttle, serving as pilot, commander and mission specialist, and once on a Russian Soyuz, where he served as the flight engineer during descent. During his five orbital missions, Bowersox has logged over 211 days in space, including five and a half months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), where he was the mission commander of the 6th expedition. He was also a crew member for the first two Hubble Space Telescope repair flights and two United States Microgravity Laboratory flights. Subsequent to his mission aboard the ISS, Bowersox served as the director of the Johnson Space Center’s Flight Crew Operations Directorate, retiring from NASA and the U.S. Navy in December, 2006. After retirement, he remained involved with the U.S. space exploration program as a member of the standing review boards for ISS, Space Shuttle, and the Constellation Program. From 2009-2011, Bowersox was the Vice President of Astronaut Safety and Mission Assurance at SpaceX. Currently, Ken works as an independent technical consultant, advising clients on spacecraft design, proposal development, and providing independent assessment of technical programs. He joined the NASA Advisory Council in November 2013, and served as Chair of the Human Exploration and Operations Committee. HOST HOTEL 
Hilton Garden Inn and Event Center
 905 East Hawkins Parkway – Longview, TX 75605 Room Rate: $119.00 (includes cooked to order breakfast for two guests each day) For Online Reservations: Hilton Online Reservations For additional information related to the Hilton Garden Inn in Longview, TX: 903-212-3000 Register here, space is limited: http://donmaxwell.com/mooneymax-2018/

Shade tree guys are 100% accountable for their reputation and most of it is word of mouth. I tend to feel a bit more comfy with a 20 year pick up truck IA than I do with "John Doe" working under a repair station certificate.

I came into flying later in life and got my PPL at 49. Soloed at 13.7 hours but life got in the way and it took another year to finish. Got the IR a few years back and considering the CPL in 2019, depending on work and available time. I have to agree with many of the comments above: it is a matter of priorities and what you value spending your available funds on. It is also at what point in your life you find yourself, and what your (and your S.Os.) tolerance for risk is. I have dropped off some of the dangerous hobbies (cave/SAR diving, cafe racing, etc.) and focused on things such as flying, sport diving, and old car restoration. I also realize my version of safer, and priorities where I put my "fun" capital, are not the same as anyone else, but I do not look to denigrate their choices, and I hope to receive the same consideration from them. As I stare down the barrel at an ever quicker approaching retirement date, we are working to make sure we have the resources to continue our lifestyle - including the Mooney - with minimal pain. As was stated earlier, when your income greatly exceeds your outgo, there is not really a need to monitor it as closely as when they edge closer to each other. I think there are many ways for the next generation of pilots to get into flying, but sometimes they need some help to get started. Like @Jerry 5TJ, I have a friend who was ready to start lessons, but a Flight Discovery ride almost convinced him otherwise. A hot, bumpy day in the south with an instructor who wants to show you all the neat things he can do is not going to encourage student pilots. But taking him on a smooth 45 minute flight to get breakfast in another state and back works wonders. Ok, everyone knows I can ramble, but to sum it up, let's work on finding those interested in flying and doing what we can to fan their ember of passion into a flame. And don't forget to also encourage those who would prefer to keep their feet on the ground but work on airplanes. Probably as critical a shortage as pilots.

There's a different "reservation" required for VFR. "VFR RESERVATION INFO AVBL ON ATIS"

As far as projects go... The door window is the simplest. A single pane is pretty inexpensive. You can learn to clean out the old sealant, refresh the hardware, Consider getting a window with the pilot’s mini opening window in it. Select green to match the old windows, in case you only change one window. Skip going clear, unless you only fly at night. Think twice if going thick... lots of weight, lots of additional sound deadening insulating materials will be needed. Things you will learn... getting the roll pin out of the door handle challenge... a replacement may be needed. removal of the plastic door interior, screws and fancy washers might be desired. Clean and lubricate all the door hardware while you are in there. buy the drill and countersink from GLAP.... If you need to change the door plastic interior, the wheels fall off the wagon... and wether you have skill or don’t have skill becomes apparent.... Go ahead and try. You may have all the skillls you need... it is a memorable project. I did it to an M20C a decade ago, so they are not new memories... But they are lasting... Best regards, -a-

The best way to fly into LaGuardia is to Uber from White Plains (KHPN).

She is really pretty. Let me give you a couple of starting pointers to keep the engine intact while you are learning. 1. There is never, ever a reason to firewall the throttle below about 22,000 feet. If your instructor starts punching the throttle in, (“Let me show you how to do this,”) take control and get a different instructor. The 231 is different from every normally aspirated aircraft and most turbos in this regard. On takeoff, put in about 50-60 percent of the throttle stem and let the turbo kick in, you will feel it, then ease the throttle in to 36” MP for takeoff. 2. All full power ops such as takeoff and climb are always full rich. You do not lean to peak EGT or anything like that. The 360 needs 22.5-24 GPH for full power ops. Leaning it out while making full power is a good way to put your TIT over redline. 3. Don’t operate, or let an instructor convince you to operate, at any “squared” power setting. They all want to do that because it is what they learned, and it is wrong. That said, there are some approach speed settings in that vicinity, but you get the picture, squared power settings are low to very low in this engine. 4. Don’t operate at any cruise power setting where the fuel flow has a 12 in it (as in 12 something GPH). Fly rich of peak at first, to get used to your plane. Keep fuel flow up around 13.3 at cruise power settings. At low power settings, under 65% HP, you can fly leaner if you like as long as the engine is smooth, but not at power settings above that level. Have a great time.

@Fred_2O, as you noticed our search isn't the best. Its often better to use google and include Mooneyspace as a search term, maybe "mooneyspace side window replacement" for starters . . . Good luck with the job. Many people like the SC gray. Clear is nice, but can be very hot, and one green window with everything else gray will look mucho strange.

Agreed. I always wonder if the factory workers planned for their work to be around for the next 40-50 years.... or if Al thought of that in the plan.

I agree with you Jim but only if those of us in that situation allow it to happen to ourselves and it easily can. I fly for a living and in the past had work colleagues comment to me that because airline flying is so procedural and mundane, they wish they could fly a GA machine for fun again. Others have done something about it such as getting into aerobatics and acquiring their own. Others treat it as just a job. For me, I have owned my Mooney for 16 years and hope to keep doing so past retirement provided my medicals and financials allow me to do so. At this stage it is looking good. The freedom of going when and where I want (within reason), improvements to my Mooney (notwithstanding expenses), the friends I have made throughout the journey and being allowed to participate on these forums, which I intend to meet some of you at a future Summit, make it all worthwhile.

My Mooney is part of the retirement plan. It's how I will get about to visit the kids and grandkids. The first thing my wife looks at as we think of different places to retire is how far away is the airport and what is the flight time to where the kids live.

Hi All, If you happen to fly a Bravo and you use the Foreflight Bravo Performance Profiles, you may have noticed that the pre-configured profiles only allowed flight planning to 20K ft. I contacted Foreflight and within 24 hours, I received the following response: Hi Alex, Grant again - We've updated our data for the M20M. You should now be able to plan up to FL250. Thank you for being a ForeFlight customer. Let us know if we can be of any further assistance. We are always happy to help! Grant Pilot Support Team team@foreflight.com www.foreflight.com Kudos to them for such a quick response and fix! Alex

Dan - having spent a fair amount of time and money on upgrading an F, my first thought is just having you confirm that this IS the plane you plan on keeping for a while. Investing in any upgrade of a vintage Mooney, will be loser proposition unless you plan on getting some utility out of the plane. You’ll never get the money back out. All that said; If I knew the plane was a keeper I would map out what you want your final state to look like. If you are planning on going full glass, buying an STEC 30 probably doesn’t make sense. Buying a TruTrak, Dynon, STEC 3100 or Garmin AP, has the higher potential of being found in an integrated system. If I couldn’t swing the entire upgrade now, I would look at a building block approach. A G5 with the GFC 500 would be the cheapest “integrated” system. And if you go later with a Garmin G500 TXi, the G5 can serve as the backup to the G500. Same goes for a standalone STEC 3100 which can be integrated to an Aspen system. If you want to, post your panel configuration here, we can help you spend your money. Or you can PM people like me and we can help you with a more personal touch of money spending. I’m Marauder and I am a member of AA (Avionics Anonymous)

Call the local fire extinguisher people, most cities have them, they should be able to point you to someone who can service it if they can't. Then compare the quote to a replacement.

Dan My suggestions is to learn and get you IR with your existing equipment. Yes it will be harder but at the end of the day you will get a very good training and handling the plane. While you are getting the IR plan you new panel and gather up the $ to make it happen. Some of the lower cost AP alternatives maybe available then once you are done. Also work out with your instructor and your safety pilot to be your AP at certain times. Learning to deal with all the issues and control the plane without an AP is very valuable. Even if you had a functioning AP you should use it very sparingly while getting your IR. JMHO

Reading posts like this makes me really appreciate how well taken care of my bird was when I got it last year. I was just over at the previous owner's shop yesterday for some paperwork, and he had 3 other mooneys in the hangar for work ranging from an engine teardown to annual and panel upgrades. The shop is practically an unlisted MSC.

Lopresti cowled J model. I think there was more done then just looking in the engine bay and resecuring a wire. I wasn’t there and don’t know the scope of the work performed. Also, I’m am not rendering an opinion on the cause, just the cause of failure (hardware ingestion) as it is was explain to me. Recalling the story as told to me, the engine didn’t catastrophically fail, but was showing clear signs of a malfunction immediately after take off from KGGG. The pilot elected to make a precautionary landing in a field off the departure end of the runway (13 I think but not sure) rather than risk a complete power failure in the pattern while returning to land.

Good choice. I used to be based in New York. Flew the maddog shuttle runs for Delta. It would be entertaining to hear all the comments from atc while flying a Mooney there!!! Anything less than a small turboprop plane just gums up lga more than it normally is.

Pull the knob for test/squelch and see if you hear static. You may not hear voice, but you'll know if it has an audio output.

What did Don do? take the engine apart and reassemble incorrectly to fix an alternator wire?

It is a path many have went down, and like you, wished they had began transition with a Mooney specific instructor or an instructor who was intimately familiar with their model of Mooney. The same can be said of most planes, really. Your typical flight school instructor is very well versed in trainers and can teach proper ops in them far better than I could, I am sure. The principal of primacy comes into play here.

If you must GA to NYC area, there are many alternatives that MSers have discussed in the past. When I've GAed up for business in Manhattan, I've used KTEB. That's busy enough for me.

$1980 plus my old servo as core for a factory overhauled KS270C. Autopilots Central said the repair cost for my old servo would have been higher.

Awesome and Rockin Mooney Spouse for sure!

And people wonder why I don't like Garmin stuff

I have no idea. But I sure wouldn’t take my Mooney in there. Unless you’re an airline pilot and know what’s up. And even then.... just imho Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Actually parking is only $55 for each 8 hr period.

the CB in me spends 4 bucks....lol

The golden age of general aviation is right now gents. The costs are little more than yesteryear when adjusted for inflation (energy prices are very inexpensive at the moment) and there is a surfeit of airworthy airframes available for sale. One can have unparalleled situational awareness with inexpensive consumer electronics and something with which to bring in the ADSB signal. The dreaded 3rd class medical has been defanged, and all sorts of wonderful gadgets from the experimental world have made their was into our certificates airframes. Now you can have luxuries like a glass panel or a capable autopilot for a fraction of what these devices cost in the past. Flying has always been expensive. If someone recalls it as otherwise I suggest the March straight to their physician and seek treatment for their oncoming dementia.

I went with amsafe push button inertial reals. They work great and don't have to undo it to switch tanks.

The short version: Take the plastic off the door. Mark the plastic mounting tabs so they go back in the same place Remove all the hardware Gently pry the sheet metal away from the old window Remove old window Trim new window to fit Precisly drill pilot holes for countersink I do this on two opposite corners first with a helper holding the window in place A hinge drilling jig from the Home Depot works great for getting the holes centered in the dimple Countersink the holes to match the dimples Drill out the holes slightly larger than the screws Trial fit the window, fix any binding, mask the outside for easy sealant cleanup Apply too much sealant to both the sheet metal and the window, work it in with a brush or a gloved finger to get good adhesion Quickly reassemble all hardware Let it cure overnight, clean up sealant on the outside with your fingernail Enjoy your new widow

I tried that. Personally, I find the MS search functionality pretty limited in most cases. The reliance in boolean terms like "AND" in the search term is pretty old-school, and actually not properly implemented because it returns posts containing the word "and". Unless you are searching for a specific unique word like a brand name, or very narrow technical term like "Turbo Encabulator ", a search using the words "window", "replace" or "replacement" turns up a whole bunch of non-window related posts. The low signal-to-noise ratio of MS in some threads because of topic drift (e.g. this post) doesn't help with discovery either. A lot of the older info is stale due to turnover in the industry and MS membership. On topic and to the point, I'd still really like to learn from any MS members who have successfully had the door window replaced in their vintage Mooney in the past 12-18 months.

Hmmm, just happened to take a picture today and it looks like my typical cruise is around 70. 1000 rpm puts it at the top of the yellow. I think cold temp start up is near 80...but can’t quite recall....I know I always wait until the temp is green before TO and the pressure can get near top of the green on those colder days. What are your pressures?

Before and after. Dilemma solved!!!!

Because with the new "1200 hours" ruling, these 21-year-old CFIs are needing time to get to the airlines. Are they milking students? I don't think so, but I do think its a combination of the fact of larger airports = longer taxi times, holding for takeoff, the flight out to the training area before you've even begun maneuvers, and then all in reverse. 2.0 logged with less than 20 minutes doing basic maneuvers and combined with the fact these CFIs are not intent on training, they lack the passion. It seems students average 2-4 instructors before receiving their PPL, and there is an overlap when a new one takes over. 2015 I learned to fly in a 152 on a grass strip with my CFIs hangar about 150 yards from the runway. The plane was $65/hr dry, he charged me $40/hr. Plus gas the airplane was about $125/hr all-in. When I flew solo, I paid the $65/dry rate in cash and then tried to tanker to cheap fuel airports as much as possible with my credit card. I considered myself a quick learner and once all my required dual was complete I just flew. I loved cross country flying. Got up high, leaned that little O-235 out and just pounced from cheap gas stop to cheap gas stop (CFI pre-approved XCs, of course). During my oral, I think I had 6 total cross countries and my DPE was astounded with only 41 hours in my logbook. I guess my CFI should've seen it coming that I'd be a Mooniac. Started Jan 2015, licensed May 2015. Total cost $4,500.

The year was 1967. The price of a Cessna 150 wet for training was $8/hour. The instructor cost another $10/hour. My Commercial Checkride in 1969 was $35. I don't remember the Private Checkride charge. While times have changed, where there is a will there is a way. It's just up to your imagination. Much of my airplane maintenance has been paid for through flight instructing. What could be a better trade if you love flying? Recently I traded flight instruction for aircraft maintenance. I built time in the early days ferrying airplanes, got lots of real world weather experience, and got paid for it. Later I was introduced into the world of huge audience rock band tours by being the flight instructor of one of the lead band members. I even got to meet and train with Victor on the Mooney "Down Under Tour" in Australia a few years ago. What a trip that was! You never know exactly where life will take you, but putting yourself into the "stream of action" can lead to some pretty exciting places.

Yep, I agree. I've never heard that from anyone at MAPA and I'm a member there as well. DMax did tell me once when I asked him, that he prefers the old school email list format of the MAPA list. He doesn't like the forum where he has to go read through various threads and topics. He gets email, and if interested, he just hits reply. #oldDognewTrick

I don't know where you get your information. Don, and I, and many others on Mooneyspace are "MAPA guys", and I have not heard anyone from MAPA saying they were being undercut.

That's really not true anymore. I was talking about engine mounts with him this summer. In Don's own words, spoken directly to me: "Well, I don't do that anymore, I have guys who do it for me. But that is how I did it in the past." Don Maxwell is a great Mooney mechanic and a wonderful person who will gladly give his expertise to anyone who asks for it. How many people fit in that category? But even the best shop is only as good as its worst mechanic. And if you have a new mechanic, or an average one who has a bad day, then mistakes will happen and things can get overlooked. And with all that being said, I would still rank his shop as among the best in the country- probably top 3, definitely top 5.

I spoke with Dynon Tuesday and was told they expect to have the STC for M20s by the end of the year.