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As PIC you have every right to carry that responsibility all the way to your parking spot. The word “unable” is a complete sentence. Have a great time. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is one of the many reasons I landed at Zephyrhills (KZPH). The volunteers are hard working at these shows but if given just a little authority, they love to exercise it. Zephyrhills had Enterprise right at the FBO, parking was $25 total no matter how many days you parked. Gas was $4.10 and it was not a circus getting in or out of the field. I just don't wanna be part of the airshow.

I understand but where else can you see a Helicopter lead a formation flight of RV's and lots of other crazy stuff......

As a follow-up: Two months ago the grease seeping became worse. I crated the prop up and shipped it to Cody Stallings for an IRAN. Cody was great, keeping me advised by texts/pics. The cost to ship wasn't bad via Fedex ground - well worth it for good service.

Had an altercation with the ushers today. I flew the Rocket in. It had rained all morning and was raining when I landed. I was told beforehand by two separate individuals to request "Heavy Aircraft Parking." The usher saw my sign and shrugged and asked me to explain. I'm yelling out the window that the airplane has a larger prop and a heavier engine and I cannot park on grass. He doubles down and say "we have it, but not for a Mooney." I saluted him through the open window and followed the ATV to parking where they told me to park on grass. I shut down and refused. They take a few minutes, figure things out and found a paved spot for me. As I was walking back to my plane I stopped and spoke with some of the ushers and asked how I could prevent the disagreement arriving in the future. The old guy in his EAA hat argues with me about how it wouldn't happen in a Mooney and I wouldn't be at risk of a prop strike, so on and soforth. I dropped the discussion and figured I'd just fly the other plane out there if I came back.

It’s your plane and your engine. Probably best to err on the side of caution. However, I don’t think you should be surprised that ground personnel look at you sort of odd when you request heavy aircraft parking. You don’t have a heavy aircraft. It has the same nose gear and prop clearance that many factory six-cylinder Mooneys. I frequently land on grass and have no problems taxiing and parking on it. 9 inches is plenty of clearance until you hit a hole. If that’s something you’re concerned about, you should be concerned about it whether it’s wet or dry.

9 inches between the ground and $50,000. I think you chose well.

Well... the 10" that differentiates the C & E from the F & J is split between the back seat leg room and the baggage area. The front seat room of all those models are the same. Other than that little confusion, there's a lot a great comments above. @carusoam mentioned my retirement plane. I starting flying in a E model 50 years ago and owned another one for a long time when I was working - back in the '70s/'80s. Then I didn't fly for more than 20 years. At age 68 I bought another "Super 21" thinking I might be lucky enough to fly another 5 years. Now 76, I'm on a second 5 year plan and expect to log about 100 hours in '19. From NC we've done a MAPA PPP at Lakeland, Red Sox Spring Training in Ft. Myers, Sun 'n Fun in Lakeland as well as shorter trips to Edenton NC. etc. Still on the docket is MooneyMax in Longview, some Mooney Caravan formation flying before picking up a grandson in MA and sharing AirVenture with him. You will want to get that instrument ticket. The training will make you a much safer pilot even if your retirement status means you don't have to launch into serious weather. Great avionics are available for our old airframes... in fact a 10 or 15 year old plane probably will have a panel inferior to what's in my '66E and certainly won't compare to Don Kaye's M20M. Happy hunting!

The MFD 1000 is the only one that makes sense to me. It's the only one that allows for full reversion if the PFD fails. Therefore no other 6pack instruments are required as backups. But it's effectively adding another PFD. It's fully plumed and independent of the PFD.

you are adding a duplicate of the PFD. All the same connections are required on the MFD as on the PFD for the reversion.

MFD 100 or 500? A 1000 is really a second full install complete with RSM and all wiring to other radios.

I agree with you. This is one of the problems with folks who think that all MSCs are great and if you take your airplane there, you'll get a great Annual inspection. I would put more stock in Alex's Annual inspections ( @Raptor05121) than at a mediocre MSC that works on a lot of Mooneys. Alex's IA had him remove all the inspection panels and checked everything- and taught him along the way. The mediocre MSC uses the Mooney 100 hour checklist and looks at nothing additional- because the shop doesn't get paid until the airplane is pushed out the door. For a 2008 M20R, that's not a big deal. For a 1964 M20C, that's a huge disservice. Not all MSCs are created equal. Some are noted positively regularly- like DMax, LASAR, AGL, SWTA, Dugosh, Top Gun, @M20Doc's shop. Others- who knows? You pays your money, you takes your chance.

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THIS!! That said, assuming grass good shape AND marshaler competent to keep you away from chuckholes/threats, a Rocket is fine on grass. You’ll see plenty of Mooneys on the N40 at OSH. But your AC, your decision.

Chances are that you understand the limitations of your aircraft better than a marshal. If you did have a prop strike due to loss of prop clearance in saturated ground, the marshal would have said "Sorry, my mistake", but your insurance company would still be out a lot of money. PIC has the final say in the matter. Your were not wrong.

Putting anything other than 1090es on a turbo is a waste imo

I'm all in on this MAX upgrade and have also purchased an MFD to go with it. For about the first three days after Garmin announced the G3X, I was rethinking this plan and could have backed out and gone Garmin. But after talking with Garmin, sitting through their webinar, reading everything over on Beachtalk, I'm convinced the G3X would be a step back in real capability in exchange for a larger screen. And in my Mooney cockpit with the panel only 12" from my face, the large screen isn't an improvement. MAX Pros for me: Warrantee (I had bought a used PFD with no warrantee) No standby AI requirement (can remove all round gauges, clean panel) Upgrade pricing (I wanted to be early on the upgrade list and not wait for OSH 2020 for the next special pricing) I was able to buy a refurbished MFD and then apply the MAX upgrade. Along with my Barnstormers special PFD, the MAX upgrade effectively turns a used PFD/MFD combo of dubious origins into new equipment with new warrantees. The G3X route would have required a GFC500 autopilot to replicate what I have now. That's expensive and not even available as of today. I already have ADSB, and an IFD540, neither would have worked with the G3X.

I might be! I'm probably weird, but I still enjoy walking through airline terminals. I still look forward to going to work, particularly if I've had a week off. This is my 3rd career field, the first was great, the second one sucked. There are 2 adages I like better: "Do what you love and the money will follow." "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life."

You've got a lot of good flying years left. Buying and selling planes is not a whole lot of fun. Also. a plane becomes a part of the family, and the thought of letting it go, well..... I had about 425 hours when I saw the picture of the Mooney TLS on the front cover of Flying Magazine. I didn't even have an Instrument Rating at that time. I went out and got that rating. Within a month, I had found the perfect plane for me in Trade-A-Plane. It's almost 27 years of ownership and 11,000+ flight hours later. I got my CFI, CFII, and Single Engine ATP in mine. In 6,200+ hours of teaching in every model Mooney except the D and G (there aren't many of those out there) I think I have a little perspective on the Mooney. Buy the most Mooney model that you can afford. You never get tired of the speed. I've taught in Cessnas and Pipers and the Mooney handles better in turbulence than any of them. While any Mooney Model is a good Mooney, the long body offers quite a bit more overall room, especially if you remove the back seats. I have 2 weight and balances; 1 for 4 seats and 1 for 2 seats. They are easy to reinstall, but I don't remember when I have used the back seats. I could go on, but you get the point. You aren't getting any younger. Save yourself the hassle and get the most airplane you can afford now, while you're still young.

Has anyone installed a G3 X in their panel and if so can you share some photos of the layout.

I think Brad is suggesting that high heat and high pressure are a bad combination. His numbers are pretty conservative. Your numbers are not very conservative (75%@50ROP). In fact, that power setting is outside the factory recommendations for my airplane. I think your point is that the engine is under no eminent threat at that power setting. Inducing detonation in an NA injected Lycoming is nearly impossible at any setting. Nevertheless, some of them still need cylinder work at mid time. I don’t have any data to suggest that power settings have any bearing on mid time cylinder work, but I’d not begrudge someone setting conservative parameters. The thing is, those parameters keep shifting. 400 used to be the get your attention CHT then it was 380. if 380 is good, why not set the alarm for 370 if 370 is good why not...rinse and repeat enough times and people keep revising there parameters down to the point that they’re ultra conservative and proclaim anything outside their comfort zone as abusive. I am thrilled with the engine monitor tech we have today but it can get extreme. Folks managed to run engines to TBO long before we had decent monitors but you wouldn’t think that possible the way we talk today.

I've been trying to figure out whether the plane would be flyable while the PFD was out. I would have an ALT, ASI, AI... no VSI. No GPSS but the STEC50 would still have ALT, HDG, VLOC tracking... GTN and transponder should work... I would not be able to fly a GPS approach... I could remove and send the unit to Aspen then take the plane on a 30 minute flight to the avionics shop. I guess I can just turn off the Aspen and see if there are any surprises. Am I missing something?

Garmin at Sun N Fun appear to just rely on their reputation and think their units will sell themself. Eventually, some business will come along with a better product and better customer service and Garmin will loose their market share. They better get it together with customer service.

The wing doesn't move, see my more detailed note above. Another, perhaps more intuitive way to describe the change from the C/E to the F/J is to note that the rear seat=spar=wing=fulcrum remains the same and the engine/nose gear moves 5" forward while the empenagge=tail=hor. stab.=rudder=elevator moves 5" back.

And any of us who fly United know the 4” difference is huge between Economy and Economy Plus. When I am in economy, I am asking the flight attendant if I can stow my legs in the over head compartment. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

10” here... 10” there... 1) We can use some logic... from spinner to tail... 2) Using the short body as the standard.... everything else gets longer... 3) The short and mid body are near identical from the prop to the instrument panel.... O360 vs IO360... one spnner is a tad longer... 4) Where the pilot sits is the same for both the short and mid body... they pretty much select distance from the IP and rudder pedals the same way.... 5) Sure, Mooney May have drilled extra holes in the floor... slide the chair all the way forwards if you want... the yoke will poke you in the chest during the landing .... that will allow as much space as possible for the back seaters... 6) Many normal sized people will only have a couple of inches between the front seat and the bench seat... 7) Few people are concerned about a chair sliding off the back of the rails in a short body... the chair will stop within a few inches... it will still be a surprise... so make sure you use proper stops anyways... 8) The Other thing that didn’t change... the front of the bench seat... that is the main spar... 9) True: short and mid body have stretched 10” between them... it is clearly between the instrument panel and the main spar... 10) How you split that up depends on the PIC... the PIC selects where he is going to sit... everyone else gets to occupy the space that is left... 10.5) whoever said that 5” went to the front seats, and 5” went to the back seats was... ill advised.... the full 10” is right in front of the finance administrator... where are they sitting? (now you have THE rest of the story) 11) When doing Cg calculations ... the 0.0 location is the same... a bolt on the nose gear... odd choice. But it is what it is... 12) Every inch counts... when I bought my short body... the lowest cost mid body of the time.... cost an additional 10amu... 13) yeah that’s right... 1amu per inch of space... hence the location of the extra 10” is right in front of the FA... 14) Also true...88#s more empty weight...? About $110/LB... for aluminum... worth about 77 cents per pound today... spot price of aluminum.... 15) most important... define your mission first... 16) Bad: Getting too many things... like backseat length that doesn’t get used.... or fuel injection that may be hard to afford.... 17) Bad: Not getting enough things... It is really super expensive to add extra space or fuel injection later... 18) Good: Getting the seat space that you want/need, 20+ extra HP because you can, and a panel ful of waas powered color screens... 19) Ks have longer cowls... to house the extra set of cylinders.... 20) Long bodies get a cavernous extra 10” of space in the baggage area... Don’t do the math... don’t write it down... anywhere... the finance administrator will find it... and that won’t help anyone.... How was that for logic..? Best regards, -a-

This. Start off at the level on the flowmeter for your altitude and adjust for your pulse ox, I like to be 92-93%

That is just too cute. I love that puppet pilot stops in the middle of talking as a jet flies over and he says, there goes a southwest seven three seven. And the pilot mustache. Just every way, this puppet guy nails it.

I walked through there today around noon and the ground seemed to be in pretty good shape.

The official word has always been that the difference from the short to the long was 5" in the back seat and 5" in the baggage area. I'm sure that the 5" in the back seat floor area could accommodate longer front seat rails allowing for a bit more leg room in the front seat area as well.

I am lined up for a MAX upgrade to my pfd also. I will use the downtime to take care of my other avionics wants - install Garmin G5 backup, vac system out, add Wx500 stormscope. Am a little worried the MAX name for anything is cursed going forward - fortunately I have not heard anything about an MCAS feature.

I'm not worried about the other 150 to 200 airplanes. I'm only worried about mine So I went by the avionics shop today to verify that I've got a place in line for the MAX upgrade. Along with a place on the schedule at the avionics shop. Hopefully it will be a quick in and out.

And let’s not forget about the Tucker Torpedo! A man and his car ahead of their time. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

That is not correct, Navi. The TT will only fly rs232 gps data or arinc429 gps data. It will NOT fly arinc429 VOR/ILS data. The Avidyne ifd’s are eventually going to convert the VOR/ILS data to a gps format, but the 430 does not do this and never will. In response to the original question, the TruTrak will ONLY fly a gps data stream. Without that gps data it will only fly bank angle laterally and will still do altitude hold, vertical speed select and altitude preselected.

Was it just me or did I recall the original Aspen approach was to swap your old Aspen for a Max. I swear I remember that was the approach they were taking and somewhere along the way it became an upgrade of your existing product. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Nice...flew the family there last summer and walked to the local Italian restaurant for dinner. Got ice cream at the fun center across the street. Well done.

Ummmm….. Yes... Kinda not WHAT it tracks as HOW it tracks.. If you wish to read for a few... :) The TT has one ARINC 429 input and one RS232 input , both inputs use the same connections.. It listens to 232 data initially, but internally switches to ARINC if it is present. If the VOR is digital, the ILS is digital, your GPS is digital, the DG is digital, and your HSI is digital, - it will follow any of them as long as the ARINC 427 data sentence has the standard order. The TT (or any digital AP) does not know WHAT it is listening to, or cares, - it just points the aircraft where it is being told to.. Problem is, most of the above output steering instructions in our OLD aircraft are in the old ANALOGUE (++150Mv) format. Good in its time, but this format can send only ONE steering signal at a time. (Vertical or lateral) Any flags etc. have to have a separate wire for each flag or digit. (ARINC can send gobs of information in a single wire) So, if you have modern digital instruments outputting in ARINC data, the new breed of digital autopilots are happy. This is why some of us are excited about the coming TT integration with the Aspen and G5. With the aspen, it understands the "old" format, accepts (say your old analogue VOR) the signal, translates it to ARINC and sends it on to the TT which happily does what it is told. Your GPS Navigator outputs whatever you need by a menu selection. Mine will output the old format and several types of ARINC sentences. So the Aspen will accept this data in whatever format the instrument sends (even a radar altimeter) and acts as a "switch", selecting whatever instrument you want to follow, translates whatever information it is using, sends it on to the AP in ARINC format and everybody plays together. I suspect the Garmin G3X may do much the same thing. The Aspen will do this now. What we expect will happen (waiting game again, Aspen has some work to do, and this has to be approved by FAA) is you will be able to set the Baro , Alt, VS and heading on either equipment and it will synchronise to the other instrument. Most VFR functions will be set on the Aspen and the TT will follow along obediently. The TT head will be (mostly) relegated to an "On - Off" switch... Your GNS 430 will function as this source "switch" and enable the TT to follow your VOR and ILS or RNAV or whatever your 430 is tasked to do at the time. FWIW, I heard from one Cherokee driver who tested the 430WAAS and TT on an approach. It flew the aircraft through the entire approach, power changes, flap extensions (calling for trim) and it flew to the Rny centerline in a 7-10 knot crosswind until he "squeezed and flared" at 5 ft. alt. ("squeezing" refers to the CWS switch on the yoke, discoing the AP) Apologise for the long answer to a short question... but this may be helpful to some... :) Nav

Whenever I lean on the ground, I increase the throttle to 1200 RPM (what I typically use to start moving during taxi), and lean until it starts decreasing. That way, I know that if I forget the mixture during takeoff, the engine won't go past 1200 RPM. All that will happen is embarrassment

I appreciate all the feedback, I still haven't heard back from Mechanic. I am going to install a g2 as soon as I get plane back. Its 3.5 hours away by car. I fly over nasty terrain, would like to have cht and egt on all 4 cyl. I fly full throttle from takeoff to landing leaning above 5 or 6 k. At about 2550 RPM (I adjust to smoothest RPM above harmonic no go region).

Before i bought the aerostar (aka the mooney twin, aka the finest twin ever built), I took a ride in a rocket for sale. The retired airline pilot coached my landing instructed: "no more than a standard rate turn in the pattern." That safeguard has stuck with me for over 10 years and counting.. Another 90+ yo wwII veteran c310 twin flyer told my on my final goodbye to him, may he rip, at the airfield, Fresno airpark, "Don't do a hollywood takeoff john...." I don't know why these rules aren't carved in stone like Yahweh's 10 chapters given to us through Moses, or the three gun safety rules (and all mooney owners, having proven ourselves by our aircraft choice, are undoubtedly packing), but they should be. Here's three cheers to none of us stalling on the turn to final, or the yank and bank on takeoff, agreed?

Back from the dead. N6744U is doing great. I just surpassed 500 hours TT. IFR checkride is around the corner and really looking forward to starting my commercial. We did a compression check for this years annual and found two cylinders low. Diagnosis confirmed they were leaking via the exhaust valves. Cyl #4 had 2200SMOH @ 52/80psi and Cyl #3 was the newest at 450SMOH @ 35/80psi. I was a little ticked at something as new as Cyl 3 going junk so soon but then again, I did buy this plane for $16,000. I ordered two overhauled steel cylinder/piston assemblies from Don George Aircraft in Orlando for $850/ea. Also purchased new oil cooler lines and misc parts to comply with SB M20-110 for oil cooler line rerouting. Also ordered new spark plugs and wires. The actual act of removing the cylinder and putting them back on was NOT hard at all. I quite enjoyed working on the engine itself. The inside cam and crank were beautiful from what we could see. What I didn't like was the 8+ hours I spent on the doghouse. We did do QUITE a bit of patching to it, and it is tighter all around. I also ordered some ACF50 and resprayed the entire fuselage. Total cost for new cylinder assemblies, hoses, wires, annual inspection and labor: $3,150. My hourly labor: Approx 40-50 hours spread over two weeks. My mechanic really taught me a lot and I do think this was probably the most "fun" annual I've had in terms of learning new stuff. The break-in was fun. I think I got 2.5 hours of flying out of 40 gallons of gas with the power settings Lycoming recommended. Mineral oil out at 15 hours and sample sent off. Filter was clean.

Lots of things could have caused this, the least likely is that your cylinders are going bad. Cylinders rarely go bad all 4 at once; since yours are so comparable to each other, this just isn't likely. Some possible causes, in order of likelihood, IMO: - A&P technique (top vs. botttom spark plug holes make no difference, BTW) - cold vs. hot (cold cylinders often register lower than hot) - compression tester differences (or not calibrated) The bottom line is that if your engine seems to be making the same power that it was before, there is nothing to worry about. The limits for a compression test is 75% of pressure applied (60/80psi) and all cylinders within 10% of each other. (FYI- I've been an A&P for more than 20 years and done a lot of compression checks).

There are 2 types of valve stems short and long Just try finding the short ones- harder that heck, they just aren't available. The long ones will always interfere with the axle and they will always leak. Its been said by some that 800x6 tubes with 90 degree metal stems work perfect in 600x6 tires and last the life of the tire. New tubes always go with new tires due to stretch They will never work the second time around. They also get thinner as they get flexed in use, just look at the rubber particles in the tire when it comes apart. Rule #1 on changing a tire DEFLATE IT AND REMOVE THE VALVE STEM BEFORE YOU EVER LOOSEN A WHEEL NUT (should be done before you even loosen the axle nut, what if you have a broken wheel bolt? What's holding the wheel halves together? also been there-seen that)). IT CAN KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T- BEEN THERE SEEN THAT! THIS IS NO JOKE!

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-03-13/two-737-max-crashes-in-five-months-put-boeing-s-reputation-on-the-line "Following the latest crash, Boeing sent engineering leaders and sales executives around the globe to answer questions and explain a software upgrade they hope to roll out in coming weeks. The update, which takes about an hour to download, will make sure the MCAS compares data from two angle-of-attack vanes instead of relying on a single potentially faulty sensor. There will be limits to the number of times the system can nudge the nose down and to the amount of force it exerts. The redesign has been tested in multiple flight-simulator runs and flights, but it must also be certified by the FAA." I am flabbergasted that the inputs into this hidden system relied on a single sensor! I cannot imagine how this passed a rigorous review, FMEA, etc from any controls engineer, much less the FAA.