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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...

The Mooney Summit VIII will be October 16-18, 2020 and will be held at a new Venue! We have simply outgrown the space available at Panama City Beach and we cannot continue to turn away people who want to better the breed and attend the Mooney Summit. Tampa Airport authority sent a delegation to the Mooney Summit this year to put "eyes on" the event and have come up with a package that makes relocating the venue viable to Peter O'Knight airport. The Tampa/Clearwater area is stunningly beautiful and a fantastic place (I guess thats why I chose to live close by) with unlimited choices of activities for the whole family. Our processes and policies may change as a result, but we will always keep a first class experience as our priority. Stay tuned for more as we develop the program!

I never wore the uniform but I did teach as a civilian asst professor of mathematics for two years at West Point (Go Army! Beat Navy!) then followed immediately by 5 years as asst professor then associate professor with tenure at the Naval Academy in Annapolis (Go Navy! Beat Army!). Who do I root for? You can call me fickle when it comes to football. But I’m not fickle... Go USA!

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 . . .

Pack up a day earlier and fly to Colorado for some real snow! https://www.steamboat.com/the-mountain/live-cams/christie-cam

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!

One interesting thing about the photo we have all these Mooneys on a grass ramp probably landing and taking off on a grass runway. The Horror!!

Even Mooney left spare wires in. There are 6 more in the engine bay that may get wacked.

Careful, it’s not just required around class B. It’s anywhere a transponder is currently, like above 10,000’, class C, etc. It also greatly improves the traffic picture you will receive on a stratus type device. At this point, it’s relatively cheap to install a skybeacon so it wouldn’t make or break a purchase, but you’re going to need/want it asap.

Autopilot to me is very important, I would take a loaded panel with GPSS Autopilot that does NOT do altitude hold. At least in my Mooney it is very easy to keep level, although I have not done hard IFR where altitude hold becomes a blessing which you do not realize is a gift from god until you have been able to utilize it.

@bradhescock, your mission sounds much like mine was initially. I bought my C with 62 hours, and commuted regularly from Furthest WV to see family in NC and GA. Never had a problem with terrain getting in the way, just hold 7500 msl or greater. Now I'm back in God's country, but still travel at 7500-10,000 msl. The C is an incredibly capable and versatile machine, as long as you don't carry lots of large items with you. My wife and I still run out of space before useful load or CG, although after 12 years she has learned to pack a little lighter.

You should be able to find it on MS... Along with all the other fun one-off Mooney designs... the Mooney twin a pair of Mooney Air Force trainer designs The next step Mooney 301 For cover... The pressurized Mooney also used the M22 name a pair of 150hp engines sounded good... a single 310hp engine is better... Enjoy the hunt... Best regards, -a-

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.

Initial paperwork is in the hands of the FAA, but they are not known for their speed especially around the holidays. I appreciate the patience as we all wait on the FAA. Cheers, Steve

I had been having a similar issue with my KFC 200. It had been happening ever more frequently over the past three years. Sometimes it would fail (flashing trim failure annunciation) immediately after disconnecting the AP, sometimes it would immediately fail immediately after startup, but then work later in the flight if I recycled the AP breaker + trim rocker switch. It was very frustrating as there wasn't a clear pattern of failure. Over this period we pulled the trim servo, which tested fine, cleaned connections, switches etc., but the problem would continue. After again bringing it up with my avionics shop a month ago, they suggested that we try replacing the trim interrupt switch (the big red one). When they pulled it, they found it failed intermittently when bench tested. Since replacement I have had no issues. FWIW the trim interrupt switch turned out to be a bit more sophisticated than I thought. As I understand it, in the normal (not pressed) state, trim current is directly routed via this switch to the trim motor. When depressed it opens the circuit to the trim motor to stop motor operation, and simultaneously closes a circuit to the KFC 200 signaling it to disconnect the AP+FD. When released the reverse happens, so in either state the switch must be functioning properly to avoid a trim failure.

Picking up my newly equip'd E this Sunday, give me till ~June for a 100hr report. Will report on my flight from KMRN to KEDN shortly though.

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.

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.

I agree, when putting it into myflightbook I just click the boxes to cross fill the data. It doesn't take much more time to log the extra information, like whether the takeoff/landings were at towered or non-towered airports, full stop landings or not, etc... I put in the route flown as well as it will calculate approximate total miles flown. I like the airports visited and number of visits at them too. Even if it isn't necessary it's fun to look at the different stats from my flying.

Why not just fly to someplace with self serve gasoline? Fill it up 5 gallons at a time until full. Mark down the level of this stick, and at the end figure out amounts. Seems simpler.

Didn’t you get in on the frenzy buy when we bought these? I carry it with me when I’m traveling around in the tundra. It’s a great little generator. Not very heavy and can handle the Reiff Turbo version pre-heater. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

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.

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

"Pure" Radar vector SIDs are quite common. remember, a SID and a STAR are nothing more than canned clearances common to an area. Anything which can be the subject of ATC instructions for departure or arrival can be the content,

The Denver1 is a radar vector SID (as opposed to an RNAV SID), they are typically fly heading xxx for radar vectors, climb and maintain x,000' + comm failure instructions. They are not contained in the GPS database as there are no waypoints and therefore nothing for the GPS to navigate. And yes, they are common

You left out 2 parts of my statement. I actually said, " Around the pattern I’ll confirm it once down/up, then it’s the thumbnail and green light check only." The up/down verifies that the latch did its job. The thumbnail check ensures it didn't pop back out because I hit the thumb lever by accident. But yes, the green light doesn't confirm that the gear is down and locked. It only confirms that the top of the Johnson Bar is seated in the latch assembly.

I just got done with recurrent training on the jet I fly at work. Our jets are well equipped with very accurate AOAs which continuously display precise AOA information and drive the stall warnings and stick pushers. Our AOA receive inputs from various sources, not just an AOA vane. The system actually is, to a degree, predictive using accelerometer input to sense approaching load factor increase/decrease during maneuvering. After explaining all this, you would think that we would fly our approaches using AOA. We don't. We fly just like the airlines (and mostvMooney owners)....indicated airspeed. Most of us rarely even look at the AOA display. It just isn't necessary, or even useful 99.9% of the time. The training I just completed emphasized the AOA data, but it was during maneuvers to explore the flight envelope, to smooth recovery from unusual attitudes and upsets at FL450. AOA is a great tool, no doubt about it, but really not all that useful for those of us who try to avoid exploring the envelope when we fly our Mooneys. Really, the most useful AOA is the one already on our planes...the stall warning system. I have no plans to equip my plane with a dedicated AOA.

I know production costs are similar, but do you think it would be realistic to get a J into the mid 500s? That might attract some buyers who don't need all the capabilities of the ovation/acclaim.

I don't know that we'll ever get to all 400 but we're trending that way! Last night after dinner we rode out to the airport to enjoy the night sky... and to take pictures. Quote of the day from Amy: "If I ever have second thoughts about us deciding to not have children, I'll just recall the time you spent an hour taking pictures of the airplane."

The hair on the back of my neck is standing up

Oh wait. I forgot to share this gem: How about a shot from 1980 when Chris picked it up from the previous owners?

In other business, I did crawl under the panel and swap the landing light switch today. It'd morphed from a circuit breaker switch into a 45-second-timer in its (grumble grumble fifteen years more than my age) since original installation. Now, my friend Chris picked this bird up a year before I was born. He put a TON Of his time into making it into his traveling machine, but there were more than a few shortcuts he took in the process. He was an ATP, not an A&P, so there will be plenty of chances for me to improve upon the work he put into this bird. I ain't saying the main circuit breaker bus scared me, but it dang sure wouldn't impress any mechanic who saw the handiwork of an airline pilot armed with a screwdriver and whatever was in the spares bin at the Navy Flying Club.

Brian is a top notch guy. He has gone out of his way to help me on more than one occasion

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.

You know, if they did it again with a modern J (or newer) fuselage, I bet a twin Mooney would look pretty sweet.