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Good evening, Once in a while I view Mooneyspace and just read the threads mostly about speedbrakes ......I was the founder of Precise Flight along with W. D. Thompson and Later partner F. P. Thomas (both passed away). I did most of the original speedbrake concept development and certification testing as well as experimental flight tests also. I sold my share of Precise Flight years ago, but once in a while I look into the general aviation fleets to just see how some of my old projects have aged. At the start of the speedbrake retrofit concept it was really tough sledding for a long time .........it was a lot of effort for little reward. Adding a whole new aero-control system to an existing aircraft was not a task for a sane person so being somewhat insane I had the gift needed to plod through a process that the FAA had zero protocol to guide them. Over the years I have come to fly less and less and feel fine letting the young folks enjoy flying safe as that was the main goal of the speedbrake concepts. While I know much of the early Precise Flight history, please do not try to obtain any current information on Precise products from me. Please contact Precise Flight directly. Enjoy your Mooney's ......I enjoyed a lot of them. Cheers, Mike McDaniel

On Thursday at 1030 am I loaded up the ski equipment and flew about 180 miles to mount poconos...picked up an Uber ride to camelback mountain resort...purchased a season pass for over 65, and skied non stop for 2 1/2 hours and caught an Uber back to the airport so I could fly back during twilight....”flew my Lear jet to Nova Scotia..to photograph a total eclipse of the sun” mooney freedom!

And free bonuses offered by the site include the pointed critiques of weaknesses of the aircraft and the asking price from people not looking to buy

Did the same thing on the 9th. San Diego to Mammoth mountain. I call it my 5 to 5’s, leave the house at 5am and back in the house at 5pm. Nothing better than weekday skiing!

I watched a guy build a P51 wing from scratch once. He spent almost as much time on the jig as the wing. The Jig will be a good 4 feet longer than the wing. You should move all the furniture into the garage and build the wing in the house.

Hi Mooneyspace, happy Saturday morning (afternoon etc for those not in the US). It snowed in Hannibal, MO this morning. The weather radar looked like this: Not nearly the "lets get out and show our Mooney's some love" picture that I posted a week ago... If we are going to show the Mooney some love this weekend, for most of us non-FIKI flyers, that probably should mean we plan on doing it in the hangar, also it will probably would be a great idea to bring a jacket and gloves. So, I started reading news and the more I ready about politics and world events, the more I decided that I really am a big fan of humor. I don't think life would be worth living without a regular laugh. Well timed and appropriate levity seems to help to deflate and right-size situations. If there is a short list of things that helps us not to take ourselves, others, situations and frustrations too seriously, a good laugh is on the very short part of that short list. Whether you have just walked outside and found the dogs had their way with your garbage, maybe you had a completely crappy day at work...or perhaps found metal in your IO360 filter , or maybe you jut got bad news that very import to you has a serious medical condition, a well timed laugh can help us all get up, "rub some endorphins" on it and become constructive. Keeping that in mind, I thought it may be a great idea for us to have a continuous drip of humor thread to blend in with the fix, buy, debate, sell, what should I do and other such threads. I don't know about you, but as I browse MS, if I see that the "Mooney Humor Continuous Thread" (Craig, possible dedicated section or sticky?) has a new posting, I'm hitting that thing first. So, with that, here is my first installment...

Couple of things: - FAA DC SFRA course - seems everyone already told you about that. Takes about 45 min. You need to print the certificate at the end, but don't have to have it on you. However, you're able to print a small credit card sized version that should be easy enough to throw in your flight bag/wallet/grocery bag. There's also a super convenient kneeboard page with a summary of what you need to know: https://www.faasafety.gov/files/gslac/courses/content/405/1310/170301 Kneeboard - DC SFRA Checklist.pdf - If you know in advance you're going to go through or land inside the SFRA, the best thing to do is to file a DC SFRA flight plan in advance. If you use Foreflight, there's a specific format (DC SFRA), if you file on 1800wxbrief, then you need to file as IFR (even if you're flying VFR) and then in the Altitude field, you put VFR/XX (XX being the altitude you're requesting in hundreds of feet). Then you need to put in the gate you're entering through (if you're coming from the East, probably the PALEO gate) as your departure point, and the airport you intend to land on as destination. When you're close enough to the SFRA ring (like over the chesapeake bay), call Potomac Approach on the radio and tell them where you are and that you have an SFRA flight plan on file - they'll find you in the system and give you a squawk code - THAT'S YOUR CLEARANCE. They won't say anything else, like "you're cleared into the SFRA" or anything. They'll just give you a squawk code and, if they're in a good mood, tell you to stay clear of the Bravo - sometimes they just expect you to know that. You have to enter through the gate you filed as departure - and you're supposed to go straight to your destination (following whatever route you filed). If you deviate too much or start flying around (taking pictures of your house or whatever) they'll call you and ask you what you're doing - There's a special DC area VFR Flyway chart that's VERY helpful, with suggested altitudes etc. Most people stick to those recommendations. - If you didn't file a flight plan in advance, you can do it in the air. There are special frequencies (coming from the East, it's 132.77) that you call and tell them what you want to do - "I want to file an SFRA flight plan" and then entry gate, destination, altitude, type of plane etc. just like filing with FSS. Then they'll give you a squawk code and send you over to approach. No sweat - it's standard procedure and that's all they do on that frequency -You don't need to close the SFRA flight plan. It closes automatically when you land (even in non-towered airports - it's like magic). Unless you're doing pattern work - but that's a whole different topic. - If you're taking off from within the SFRA, then same procedure - file the SFRA flight plan with airport as departure and GATE as destination. They don't care where you go after you leave the SFRA - they just want to know where you're exiting it. So again, if going East, PALEO gate is your destination. VERY IMPORTANT: you need to call potomac approach and get a squawk code and frequency BEFORE TAKING OFF, on the ground. You can call them on the phone or on the radio, it doesn't matter - but you need that squawk code before going anywhere. It's like getting an IFR clearance, but all you're getting is a frequency and the squawk code. If you want to get flight following after leaving the SFRA, let them know when you call them on the ground. Sometimes it works and they'll give you a different code and hand you over, often they'll drop you anyway and you have to call approach again. Just don't tell them on the same call when they drop you - you'll get a scolding (not sure why - but it happens) - Never squawk 1200 within the SFRA - they'll yell at you on multiple frequencies, then send the Coast Guard orange chopper, then the F-16s - Watch out for the bravo shelves - it's a mess. Between Dulles, DCA, and BWI, plus the FRZ, it's all very tight and narrow. And the floor of the bravo keeps changing in every direction - easy to miss - if you're flying into Leesburg coming from the West/Northwest, then it's a lot simpler - squawk 1226 and call 10nm ahead (to tower or CTAF depending on the time). That's it. But it doesn't seem like that's what you're going to do I think that's it. But as many people pointed out - if you can, file IFR and all of that goes away. Hope this is helpful.

Good morning,, Not much to say about my life so far except have been fortunate to meet some nice people and not have too much time with the less nice folks. As far as aviation ......at a early age I wanted to fly so I went to work at a carburetor rebuild factory where on a given night after high school classes I would tear down and chemical-dip clean a few hundred carbs.....later taking engineering and machinist classes I saved enough money ($450) to buy a TG-3A WWII training glider and it was a hoot to learn to fly sorta.......it was HEAVY and ponderous and later in life it was a great trainer for a flying Old airliner with failed hydraulics. It took a couple years of savings but I finally bought a powered aircraft.....sorta.....a 1947 Stinson with a runout Franklin that I nursed along gently until it finally was just too tired to fly.....it was a easy airplane to fly but having a tail wheel the only instructor I could find was a WWII grumpy duster pilot that gave me 42 minutes of......."grouchy-instruction" and then he soloed me saying...."kid you seem inclined to kill yourself in this old wreck of a Stinson so I am just let you wreck without me". i would guess that he was close to right about my flying but so far I have yet to wreck a aircraft and have a bit over 13,00o hrs and some a couple of lines added to my pilots license. I did a fair amount of experimental test flying in a lot of normal and some insane not normal flying things and with all the skill AND luck somehow have survived. There was a time in my past I thought I was a pretty red hot pilot with a few ratings but looking back at some pretty famous pilots I have flown with I come to know that I was likely a just a fair pilot most days and better than I really was for a few minutes when the chips were down. i have been involved in a lot of aviation projects some worked out ok others were ........learning a learning experience to put it mildly. i have taken a lot of risks flying and some were not well considered and that maybe ok on a personal level but it is not ok to let other folks follow a dangerous path just because I got lucky. i have a great son inlaw and a couple years ago he informed me that he wanted to get his pilots license. They live in Seattle. He ask me if I would help him get started flying.........I told him that Seattle is not a great location for a VFR private pilot and even a inst. rating would not be good without the time and money to stay current. He had the flying bug bad so...........I found him a insanely expensive school to attend that would take forever to solo. This may seem mean but I really don't want to watch them at risk simply my flying life experiences make flying look easy and safe......it is not. Eventually aviation started to become a job and at times like having to pick through wrecks and funerals and court hearings the aircraft game started to lose its luster. Obviously I have descended into a bit of a geezer ramble here so enough is enough. If I have a wish for you Mooney folks it would be.........be safe and enjoy your aircraft.......for the most part I did. Fly sane and safe.....

Are you sure we're not related somehow?

Honestly, you’ve described a couple of perfect missions for an M20C. And at the price you’ve mentioned, as well.

I calibrated my dip stick today. It was not difficult, but time-consuming. The details of the process are too lengthy to post here, but I will be glad to share any details any one is interested in.

Brad, I have a C model based at West Memphis. I would be happy to show it to you. Send me a PM and we’ll find a convenient time. Russ Savory

So, there is always this option...

Sorry. It's 14-7 at the half, Navy. --Son of retired Marine P.S.--I'm not sure which stat is most surprising, that Navy is 9-2 or that they are ranked! (#23) P.P.S.--my Father in law retired from the Army . . .

I think price wise a 201 model would have to be close to a C182 or Arrow IV. But wait, Piper doesn't make a SE retract anymore.

I really appreciate my speed brakes, no way would I remove them. They were certainly a desire when I upgraded from my J which does not have them to my K which does. When flying an instrument approach at my home airport ATC often needs us GA types to keep our speed up to play nicely with the jets. Without speed brakes I could not do this and get down to gear speed without leveling out and going above the glideslope. Then there is the slam dunk approach or descending into an airport in a mountain valley. For my trips these are all pretty common. If you went to the electric AI you could remove the standby vac system and save your 12 lb.

I landed at the Starbuck airport (D32) in Minnesota once. Their grass was clumps of weeds. It was horrible! And the restaurant across the street was closed!

The horror is when you have to clean out all the crud from the wheel wells and such ;-)

I guess this "vector departure" thing is just one of those you don't know about until you run into it like I did, or read about someone who did. Maybe everyone else reads their GTN users guide closer than I would if I had a GTN.

My eyeballs have gotten pretty good over the years - I don't use that for "fuel decisions", still use a stick please, but I can tell whether I have 25, 20 or 15 gallons in a tank within a couple of gallons. If I don't have fuel at the bottom of the tank I have about 10 gallons on that side. Caveat is that plane needs to be level, etc.

Want to give a quick shout out to AGL Aviation in Morganton, NC. Based on comments posted here, I flew my ‘76 Ranger down and back to them yesterday for rigging issues. I can easily add my recommendation and positive experience to the list. Lynn had my Mooney flying straight by lunchtime and I enjoyed meeting him and his family as well as the kind folks at the Foothills Airport. I definitely hope to bring the plane back to him next year for “goodies” as funds allow. Flew to AGL from Columbus, Ohio. 200+ ground speeds and smooth air at 9.5k. Wow, descent between 6.5 and 1.5k on the lee side of the hills was about the worst turbulence in a small plane I have ever experienced as I went through the rotors. Coming back, I climbed first to cruise before heading back over the hills. I won’t post return ground speeds. Suffice to say, it took a little longer. Thanks again to Lynn for the help. And there are surprisingly good coffee shops in the town of Morganton.

I want to let everyone know, I had a terrific experience with Dave at Air Mods. Bought a Mooney M20C from him, and had a terrific experience. I also want to give a huge thanks to Brian at Orion Flight for the pre-buy. Both were class acts and I would send anyone over to do business with them. Dave took time to show us every aspect of the plane, including a check list of items he hand wrote about it and wanted us to know. The flight was from N87 to KLWB to KEET went off rather smooth. The plane was as advertised, great running, great airplane. Even watched a beautiful sunset over the mountains of West Virginia. I wanted to give kudos where needed, and I feel Dave and Brian both deserve it. It was a pleasure. Now time to enjoy the new Mooney, and enjoying my first Mooney purchase. Thank you everyone for all your help!

The dog cannot be safety pilot if he's on Basic Med.

I think almost every modern automobile engine today is aluminum (block & pistons)to save weight and improve fuel mileage, even trucks and diesels use aluminum. I’m wondering if this isn’t more urban mythology. I’m not talking severe cold ( less than 20°F) and as I said, been recently flown. Tom

I made my fuel stick over multiple fill-ups. I think this method came from @gsxrpilot. First, I ran a tank dry and filled it to the brim... 33.2 gallons. Then, every time I fill up, I stick the tank before I start pumping fuel and mark that line on the stick. Once the tank is full, I then subtract how much is on the pump from 32 gallons and label the line (I'm keeping that extra 1.2 gallons as usable reserve). Over the last two years, I have created a fuel stick with a lot of random lines on it it, each noting the gallons of fuel remaining to the nearest 1/10th of a gallon. The game I like to play now is to guess how much fuel it will take to fill the tank. I can't remember the last time my guess was off by more than 1/2 gallon. If I can stick the tank and know within 1/2 gallon how much fuel I have on board... I'm happy.

Tom, someone should have told you this during your pilot training, it shouldn't be left up to a nimrod like me. Our airplane engines are a mix of aluminum and steel. Makes them lighter. Problem is aluminum and steel change shape differently as they cool. As a result, at a low enough temperature things don't fit as well as they might. Try and start cold enough you can potentially start breaking things. Car engines haven't got a lot of aluminum in them because it's expensive. No differential cooling, so things still fit in the cold. There are other issues like oil viscosity, but you can't break a car engine starting it in the cold. I keep my engine warm since i'm not a fan of breaking it, nor am I a fan of long cranking sessions where I can break things. Problem where live is clear VFR days are usually really cold. So I keep the engine warm.

I have been routed over the top of ATL VFR at about 5500' if memory is right many times going into KRYY. Maybe its because of having ads-b out, Hank

Is that a missing piece of Bondo forward of the crack? Are there any logbook entries for an elevator repair? I'm not an A&P either, but I am an engineer and I would be concerned about this. Flight control surfaces are critical. I would dig deeper into this issue.

From what I have read, the "piston to cylinder clearance" problem is much worse on an air cooled engine than a water cooled. Thus the need for preheat. Maybe someone else can elucidate.

It was only disconcerting to me because of my ignorance of their existence. Next time I am given a departure that is not listed in my 430 database, I will assume it is this type and look on FlyQ for it. I will check later to confirm that FlyQ has the same information as Foreflight.

The guy shows up looking for a hangar. MooneySpace has recommended him for remedial taxi training with a CFI and is compiling a squawk list for the local A&P. Now that is service above and beyond.

Just a note on P-51 racing. Back in the LA Air Racing days (mid 60s) at Fox Field there was a purple P-51 that I was a crew member on and we had the Bardahl race team (race boats, hydroplanes) mechanics work on the 51. In those days 90 inches of mercury was about all the engines would take before hand grenading. The Bardahl boys took a hand drill (on the ramp at Fox) and drilled a hole into the engine blower case between the pilots legs and screwed in an AN fitting. A hose ran from there to a standard water gate valve by the pilots leg and then to an old 28V fuel pump and a big tank behind the pilot seat. Bardahl put in what they called "bug juice" and told the pilot to go to 90 inches, turn on the pump and open the gate valve until the engine shook and turn it down enough to take away the shake and then go to 95 inches. It worked. BTW, I was just the grunt on the crew. Basically the wax and polish, clean up guy, young and impressionable. No fancy computers or data sheets, knock sensors or multiport injectors, just eyeball engineering and a pressure carb and a big a&* engine. BTW, my Dad used to wrench on race cars in Los Angeles when they had banked wooden board tracks. Look that one up.

I do the same, it’s so easy to do why wouldn’t you? I also note interesting things I did or saw along the way, who I met and the names of passengers I took flying. When I can’t fly anymore I’ll enjoy remembering this time in my life and the experience

These departures are available in the ForeFlight airport information page under, ah, Departures. The listed departures can’t be overlaid on the map page nor sent to the panel as part of a route. The databases for the panel nav box don’t list all procedures, just the ones it is certified to fly, so when I get an unexpected (unexpected by me, that is) procedure I check ForeFlight first.

I guess I'm the odd one out. If I'm alone in the plane I log it as PIC and Solo, if I have someone with me I just log it as PIC. I use myflightbook.com and you can record all kinds of different fields and if you need an 8710 form you just click on it and it has all the totals for you.

After the plane will sit the rest of the year for the annual I made use of my ADS-B today. Merry Christmas & Happy Landings! (anybody else in for a drawing challenge?) Hendrik

Safety wire or a test lead clipped to a long extension or a jack handle which is inserted into the gas can. Other end to the plane

I agree that is a very good system. My airport shut down their self serve pump, and I am reluctant to fly somewhere else and tie up their pump for the length of time necessary for me to play my game. I also agree that one gallon increments is over-kill, but now I think I am likely to do 2 gallons at a time. And my tanks are 37 or 38 gallons each. Still a bit of time.

Changing the nose tire is easy and safe by getting a guy, preferably 2, to push down the rear of the fuselage long enough for the mechanic to slip off the wheel and place a block under the nose wheel axle. (Chock the mains, and/or set parking brakes first.) Once the new tire has been mounted reverse process. FWIW, I’m with Clarence for securely jacking the whole plane. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Just add water when you get there.

A and Brent, Apologies for being offline for a while... Been deployed, but back again now..hopefully for good. As for the lens, I don't have any made right now but could get out the mold and make a few up. My reg email is rfirebaugh@gmail.com or my number is 916-301-3485. I'll be more reachable on those most likely.

Sounds Awesome! Have fun Bucko. If you have never attended Bucko is a very experienced formation flyer and I highly recommenced people sign up and learn through this experience. He and his team will teach you new skills even if its just to learn, get to know other pilots, and not fly into Oshkosh. I likely won't be there, but if I'm somehow close by I'll stop in to say hello (likely I won't be in Texas). Sign up! -Seth

When Bruce Jaeger redid my interior side panels with his panels, I was a bit skeptical about the loop and hook fasteners he used. They are actually pretty stout and from what Bruce told me, it is a method air carrier manufacturers use to attach interior panels. No screws! Let me know if you are interested in a picture of the stuff he used. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

In the hours before signing the papers today, I did a few little housekeeping fixes I'd been putting off for (cough, cough) many years. Installed two new fuel gauges in the wing indicators. Those things are cheap, and LASAR was only too willing to sell me a new pair. Installed a new landing light circuit breaker switch, and cleaned out the pitot static system. Couple of bugs decided to try and defeat me with their pitot-static nest building skills.

Thanks @Bob - S50. That makes sense. I like my manual trim and think I prefer what feels like a finer resolution of control that the trim wheel turn method seems like it would provide over a switch. So I should be happy without the electric trim. I assume that a Skyview 2 axis AP will still maintain a given altitude by simply adjusting the pitch instead of using a pitch trim, even as I manually adjust trim for the best aerodynamic flow over the emennage? Once set for a given altitude, It would stay pinned there as I adjust trim, right? Is there anything more to this trim topic, or am I missing something. -Sia

No, not the Mustang. The original Mark 22. In 1958 Al Mooney designed the only two-engined Mooney, which he based on the Mark 20. Called the Mark 22, it never entered production and the prototype was eventually scrapped. In 1966, Mooney reused the M22 designation for their pressurized aircraft called the "Mustang" of which only 30 were built. It looks like it was based on the Rangers fuselage.

I flew a Navy quadrasaurus two tours..... I got an L-188 type rating, whatever that is.... A B-727 can do 350 Kts at sea level. The P-3 is barber-poled at 407 indicated at sea level. At 200' it seemed pretty fast.

Navy- 1997-2011 USAF (ANG) 2011-present Go Navy, Beat Army!

I added them to my F model 4 years ago. There is no STC to do this. It is a Mooney supplied upgrade kit that is already part of the type cert and just.requires a log book entry. I was able to find used parts for around $400. At the time a new kit was unavailable, but the cost was around $3K when available. They are a little time consuming to install, bending and routing all the lines. If you want to see the drawings and what is involved I have an electronic copy I can email to you.