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I bought my 81 J model Mooney in New Mexico in 1998. It had been inactive for several years and the logs could not be found. A couple of days ago (22 years and 2,400 hours later) I received a call from a gentleman from a small town in NM. He said that his father had operated a one man aircraft repair shop for many years prior to his death about 5 years ago. While cleaning out the contents of his father's hangar recently he found my logs which he kindly agreed to send me. He refused any compensation--even the cost if sending the logs. We had a nice visit and he seemed like a really nice guy. He is getting a huge Honey Baked ham which I hope his family will enjoy. Like the title says, aviation people are the best.

Hello @Mooniacs, this is my first post, so a quick introduction first - I am 50 years old, live in Munich, Germany and just bought a N-reg Mooney Ovation 2GX here in Germany a few months ago. Got my PPL license about a year ago and was mostly flying banged up rental 172s so far. The Mooney is my first own plane, I am having so much fun with my bird. Best buying decision ever... Being able to read all the stories, tips and experiences here on Mooneyspace.com really helped me a great lot already. I am glad that I have joined here! *** One of the things missing since day one in my Ovation was a CO Monitor. I looked at a few options and finally decided on a little, properly priced and (in my opinion) nice looking solution. I have bought a SENKO SP2nd CO Monitor and gave it a good spot in my cockpit -> The utterly ugly TELEX hand microphone had to go - it now lives in the side pocket. Took me just a little time to CAD-design a connector that can be directly screwed on to the TELEX mounting place using the original screws. Also there is a little back-plate that gets screwed on to the CO Monitor, it just clicks onto the connector. Was easy to print in just a few minutes on my 3D Printer in PLA. I got the SENKO CO Monitor here in Germany for about 200 USD (180 EUR). The battery and the sensor lasts for about 2 years (manufacturer claim). It is small, 2 different alarms can be set at adjustable thresholds - I have set it to 30 ppm and 60 ppm. At 60 ppm there is a very loud alarm going off, it is shaking and rattling with LEDs flashing, so it cannot be overlooked nor overheard - I can hear it while wearing my A20 headset. So far I am very happy with it. Sometimes during the run-up I am getting a few ppms on the display, obviously a lot more if the storm window is open. During cruise it is always reporting 0ppm even with the heater on - quite happy about that Just gives me that little extra of security feeling I was looking for. I am happy to share the 3D connector model should someone be interested. Or if you are coming to my neck of the woods, stop by the house and I'll print you one. Happy landings! Greetings from Munich, Germany TC

GoPro camera mounts are an exact match for the clip on the back of the Sensorcons.

So just a few days ago I start the airplane. What is that beeping? Oh, it’s the CO2 monitor. Never seen that before, readings around 50. That’s not good. Then I recall that the wind is a direct tailwind, 10G20. And the window is open. Maybe that’s it. I taxi into the lane and turn 90 degrees to the wind. Reading drops to 0. Relief. I decide the airplane is fine and depart but keep an extra sharp eye on the monitor. All good, it was the tailwind. First time for that experience in probably 800 Mooney hours with a monitor.

Kinda wish I had the GFC700 instead of the STEC. It's just better. I don't miss WAAS. Nonprecision GPS approaches get me as close to the ground as I ever want to be in IMC. Love my Ovation2 GX and don't care about the resale value. Gonna fly it till (maybe just before) the wings fall off.

I give the guy credit for posting the details. He showed it was unlatched before he took off but he just missed it. He clearly didn't have to do that, so kudos to him for helping reinforce checking those kinds of details.

After reading the original post, and taking a Motrin for my headache, I realize I do not know jack squat about the electrics in an airplane.

Greetings back from Fulda, Germany :-) And welcome here! (I have bought a 1995 M20J aboout one year ago, and used to fly club aircraft for ~20 years before that)

Thanks for sharing this video. I've spoken to the CEO of Pipistrell and I plan to fly the Panthera. They've done a remarkable job with this plane, but until you actually fly a plane, you just don't know it it lives up to the hype. What I know about the Mooney is that its efficiency comes in a solid frame that has a slow roll rate making it really stable platform for IFR . All I can say is that we are looking at all these models and evaluating.

Needs more attitude indicators.

So as most may know, my engine is scattered all over the country. My boss asked me to fly my plane out to buy off this motion system we are buying for a government project. Because he didn’t want to expose his employees to the COVID on an airliner. So @ragedracer1977 was gracious enough to offer me the use of his new ride. What an awesome airplane! Everything about it is awesome (till you get to the gas pumps) Here are some pictures from my trip from KDVT to KAGC. ( you locals can check it out, it is at Corporate Air for the next couple of days )

You’re gonna win the day with your post. Such an excellent story of humanity. Thank you for sharing.

If it weren't for covid we could have calibrated it this past weekend at the Summit. I have calibration gas that I was intending to bring to Airventure. Too bad we didn't think of it when Scott flew here a few months ago. If you really need it done you can send it to me or back to Sensorcon. Otherwise you can wait until the next time we cross paths, Airventure, Summit, stop in KONA, etc.. Cheers, Dan

He did say he filed a NASA report, so I doubt the video will work against him in any way. He ain't no Jerry. I'm with Mr. Steingar on this one, I try to learn from others' mistakes if I can force myself to. I did start locking the baggage door after RedSky's adventure. Of course, to each one's own.

This is the fuel and rationale behind many startups, unfortunately, to create something that can be passed off to a VC at a profit. Making a useful product or sustainable business seems to be not even part of the thinking in many cases, because it is often not that difficult to find a VC that doesn't look too deep into the details. I did technical due diligence for careful VCs in the wireless comm space for many years, and the number of bad ideas, bad science, or just con jobs out there was staggering. And then there are the guys with genuinely good technology and ideas that aren't good business people and get passed up because they're "not investible". It's amazing as much useful stuff makes it to market as actually does.

Showing your mistakes isn't a bad thing. Showing why they happen and how to deal with them can help other pilots. What other Youtubers need to learn is editing and how to make content smooth. Most Youtube videos are too long by far, and get quite boring. He makes his interesting and entertaining. In the end run that's what's really important. Folks are more likely to watch entertaining things than long boring ones.

I don't really have an answer for you... I have the same KFC150, KAS297B, IFD540. I also have GPSS through my Aspen PFD. The KFC150 has FD ALT HDG and APR all illuminated. In that situation it should fly on the ALT hold until it intercepts the GS and then pitch down to follow it down.

Similar situation, and a good video.

I think the two are different in the sense that an annual answers the regulatory question, "is it airworthy?" while a PPI is designed to answer the question, "should I buy it?" Sometimes the two questions overlap. Sometimes, they don't.

This is not correct regarding annual inspections. FAR 43 Appendix D specifically addresses the scope and detail of items to be included in annual inspections, as a legal requirement. Other lists can be used, but items in Appendix D cannot be omitted. Prebuy inspections are not regulated and can be anything arranged by the relevant parties, including no inspection at all.

That is what I’m shooting for. My forever plane. I feel the ovation will be just that

@Hank consider Archer Watches in St. Thomas, Ontario Canada for servicing your Omega's. He does excellent work and even makes a DVD-ROM documenting the servicing of your timepiece with a ton of hi-res photos. His prices were at least 50% cheaper than what Omega wanted. I'll be sending my back again in two-years for servicing. http://www.archerwatches.ca/service.html

The Omega was my daily wear for over 24 years, including over 5 years as a hands-on Tooling Engineer, taking apart 10-15 ton plastic injection molds, repairing them, making new pieces, etc. It held up well. Notice the sapphire crystal has no scratches. When Omega quoted 1.2 AMU to fix and overhaul it, I bought the Tag instead. It's not near the watch, but I couldn't justify nearly 3 AMU for another Omega. Maybe I should have . . . . It's 6-7 years old, and I'm thinking about it's replacement. There are some mighty fancy Mouse timepieces shown above, but when I hear "Mickey Mouse watch," this is what comes to mind. It was Dad's. This is my alarm system. Defense was taught being raised by a career Marine officer, photo not required.

The Bendix switch in my M20C had 6500 hours plus when I sold the plane. Not long ago I read about a fatal accident. The pilot turned the mags off and took the key out. A few moments later he turned the propeller slightly. The engine stared and ran for about two blades. It was enough to kill the pilot. The FAA investigation found the ignition switch worn enough that the key could be removed without the mag being grounded. This is a very scary, even if rare, possibility. It makes the dual switch set up attractive.

Hey JT! I wanted to thank you for your kind note and words of encouragement. In fact, I located this post on my own a while back and meant to respond but as you can imagine it was easy to get sidetracked. So please accept my apology for the long delay. To your point, I think it's important that the Mooney Community have access to the company. As a Mooney owner I never felt a connection to the company even though I relied on the engineers, metal workers, electricians and other artisans every time I turned the key in my 201 or Acclaim. I'd like to change that dynamic and as you've probably gleaned from my interviews, reconnecting to the Mooney Community is a priority. In the coming weeks we'll be building out a new website and it will allow me to communicate with Mooney owners and advocates more directly. Eventually, the site will also invite participation from the Mooney Community so everyone can have more of a seat at the table so to speak. As you correctly pointed out, we're working to get over this "first hill." I'd be dishonest if I told you it was easy. There is a reason Mooney finds itself in the position it's in and it will take an awful lot of work to undo some of that and get us going in the right direction. But the one thing I am confident of is that Mooney is still the best single engine piston out there and always will be. "Like flying a Ferrari in the sky" I like to say. That reputation still has some gas in the tank and I promise to do my best so that Mooney can rise again. In the meantime, we'll keep the parts going and look to offer improvements to the fleet. I probably won't have time to respond to all the questions and suggestions I expect will be posted, but I promise, I will read each and every one. Thanks again, JT Best, Jonny Pollack

Well, we left N252AD in Smithville, TX in the capable hands of JD and Laura Casteel at SWTA. It's time for the big one. Her engine made it to 1830 hours on the original cylinders and turbo. But she's definitely tired. Only one cylinder was able to make compression over about 50. And her belly is just one long oil slick all the way to the tail skid. The governor is leaking oil as well, and the vacuum pump can't seem to muster enough power to deploy the speed brakes anymore. This year's annual will include an engine overhaul and Encore conversion. The engine, turbo, waste gate, governor, and fuel pump will all go to Jewell Aviation for overhaul and conversion from an MB to an SB engine. All of the other Encore parts are laid out and organized by Laura, ready for installation. This includes new double puck brakes and all the associated parts and pieces. New control surface counter weights, instrument remapping, and the engine stuff. We will also swap the vacuum speed brakes for electric and remove the remainder of the vacuum system. And finally swap the dangling compass for a panel mounted version. We're looking forward to a horse power increase and useful load in the 1100 lb range when it's all said and done. To say nothing of a clean belly. A big thanks to @Denver98 for picking us up in Smithville and giving us a ride back to Denver in a Cessna 421. A very nice ride.

The best part is that your plane is now worth $1,000,000 more with a complete set of logs.

Some king APs are capable of intercepting from above as well... But... If you don’t like the wild ride as the AP tries to intercept now! and points to the sky... It probably will be hated for doing the same thing while pointing towards middle earth... Too many ways to make a simple mistake that can end disastrously... PP thoughts only... Best regards, -a-

PS, the King AP's are supposed to catch the glideslope from below, just not inside the FAF. Anthony's post reminded me of a few things. I don't think you will find the information to switch to APPR mode outside the FAF, in the AP manual. It might be there, but my recollection is I learned that from some of Richard Collins brilliant writing. Second, if you have a GPSS and you load and activate the approach, the whole approach goes into the flight plan. The GPSS and the HSI are wired so that the HSI is "fooled" into thinking the instructions it is receiving are HDG bug instructions, which of course are the horizontal part of that flight plan only. So if you are in GPSS mode and have not put the AP in APPR mode the GPSS will cause the aircraft to fly the horizontal course perfectly, but the AP will be receiving no vertical information, not through the GPSS it doesn't. When you switch to APPR inside the FAF it will all of a sudden believe it is on the approach course and glideslope and will do whatever it needs to, to stay on the slope. Outside the FAF if you make the switch, I think you will find it does not do that, the King AP knows to wait until it flies into the GS from below to capture it, which will be nice and smooth. Third, and as I have recently discovered (only after about 10 years of flying this combination), you need to wait until the aircraft is on the horizontal approach course (and outside the FAF), to put the AP in APPR mode. If you are horizontally too far from the final approach course the HSI, and accordingly the AP, will just get very confused when you make the switch. So bottom line, make the switch once you are on the horizontal final approach course and are still outside the FAF. Try that VFR and see if it works for you. Unfortunately, I don't think there is a manual for all this because King was not thinking of GPSSs and GPSs when it wrote the manual for the KFC. Good on you that you were right on the problem when it happened, it can be a little disconcerting. Don Kaye is pretty good on this stuff, Richard Collins bless him, is not with us anymore.

But that's not part of the U.S. Navy uniform . . . Anyway, I'm removing the tassel because having it on only one looks wrong. Mixing chrome and brass is bad enough!

It does look like Dynon is going to be the go-to solution for folks looking for an alternative to Garmin. The more I think about it the more I'm leaning toward just putting in their glass system once their autopilot comes out.

Mr Pollack, thank you for connecting with the reprobates that frequent this site. I truly hope you and your team are able to turn Mooney around.

The biggest lesson I took from his video is: "Don't post videos on the internet that show you forgetting to latch the baggage door during your preflight inspection". No, I don't buy his excuse that it must've come unlatched by itself.

I've seen a couple of this guy's videos. He works in the movie industry and it shows.

NO, Timmy is NOT coming back! I've seen the corpse, but not the hole in the woods that it was dumped in . . . . .

My pre-buy was done at Maxwell's and there were a couple of items where Don said, essentially, "I wouldn't pass this if it were an annual." I thought that was a good way to put it. They also do a very good job of generally characterizing airworthiness issues or optional issues, etc., and then make it easy to decide what work you want done or not. I had already gone over the airplane myself a couple of times and the pre-buy was still very valuable.

That makes sense. That last thing you want is a list of discrepancies from a mechanic you didn't hire. The flipside for the buyer is, don't rely on the seller's "fresh annual" as a reason to forego a PPI.

I mangled my baggage door link at Kitty Hawk last month. Technically, my wife did it but at my direction, so I claim credit for the kill. It bent over so the door wouldn’t open or close, and collapsed on itself covering the screw head I needed access to for removing the thing. Nothing like standing at the birthplace of aviation, with a giant rain cloud about to bust open, and me wrestling the thing loose with a pair of vise grips and a screwdriver. And of course, folks were hanging on the fence to see the flurry of activity on the ramp! Aircraft ownership is so glamorous. If the other sources don’t work out, you might also try Alan Fox. I thought mine was a lost cause but an afternoon with a hammer, an anvil, and a hydraulic press rescued my support and it lives to fly another day.

Sorry...missing this quote... Utilizing my "if it ain't broke, don't mess with it" philosophy, I'm going to check the torque on the bolt and leave it otherwise unmolested.

+1 for the probability of the M20R being used as A forever plane... -a-

I get it....I was just at the Bass Pro Shop yesterday in Springfield....lots of cool and $$$$ guns in their vintage/museum section......

The usual phrasing for when self-locking fasteners are allowed is that they must be "not subject to rotation". As long as the spherical bearing in the rod end is free to move, e.g., isn't seized, the bolt won't be rotated in the joint. I guess this is just Yet Another reason to keep the rod ends lubed.

It's a pretty uniform thickness, maybe tapered a little bit at the front. But I didn't go to the airport today; memory says it's fairly thin. Maybe 1/4"? Here's a picture with it off at annual, sure does make it easy to clean the belly!

I agree with the above. No reason to redo a panel and end up with round holes in it. If you want to up the HP to 310 just move the timer/clock to the right side and replace it with a EI tach set for 2700. If anything fails on the Moritz rip out the right side unit (keeping the left side vac gauge) and replace it with a 900 mounted vertically, move the backup AI to the TC position (with a slip indicator), and move the cdi down. It will be a hack job but sooner or later you’ll be putting in a large flat panel...

I'll play, as I'm fascinated by mechanical time pieces and have no desire to buy a smartwatch. My watch collection is fairly utilitarian: The Timex is el-cheapo but I use when sporting of any kind (water, golf etc.) because it's reliable and cheap to replace. The Tag Heuer was my first splurge, and I love it but it does require a battery so I need to get that fixed. The Hamilton is nothing too fancy, but it was the nicest thing my first wife ever bought me so I keep it (although I don't wear it for obvious reasons!). And the Breitling is my everyday watch, part of that AOPA promotion that happened a few years ago. I love it but can't really see the E6B numbers anymore even with glasses! But my real pride and joy is a bit too big for the cockpit: Not sure why I can't get this to rotate correctly, but this is a 1903 Frank Herschede grandfather clock that has been in my family for three generations now. I have this tuned so that it maintains time within 4 seconds of my cellphone clock every week. I think the engineering in that level of mechanical precision is pretty cool!

Get an engine monitor. It may pay for itself just on this problem.

Jonny, I thought I would chime in as well. I am glad to hear of the new hands-on leadership at Mooney and certainly wish you and your team the best. Mooney has always been a great airplane with a loyal following of owners who understand its design strengths. My airplane is the first plane I have owned. With the encouragement of Russell Stallings and my hands-on attitude, I bought a 1968 F model that had been stored in a Dallas hangar for 26 years, in pieces. I bought it as a project airplane and did some homework about the company beforehand. A crucial part of my decision to go forward with the project was that several airplane vendors and mechanics told me that Mooney has always supported its older aircraft with parts and service. When I was in the throws of the project, I could always count on reaching out to Bill Wheat for answers. I stripped the F model down to a bare hull, reskinned much of the airplane, updated its structure and proceeded to make the airframe to be as close to a modern Mooney as an F model could be. with multiple mods and 337's. It was an award winner at Oshkosh 2 years running with a Lindy Award in 2019. I know my airplane, literally inside and out and appreciate the value in the design. The project was completed with a DER, DAR, two IA's and several A&P's, one was a sheet metal specialist from Gulfstream. It only shows its F model heritage by its Johnson Bar and hydraulic flaps. The and upgraded Vintage Mooneys have an efficiency and simplicity that lends themselves well to become a satisfying forever plane. I have attached some pics of my bird. My perspective as an owner is somewhat different given my history of rebuilding the F. If I can be of any assistance to you or the factory feel free to contact me. John Breda

I repaired the panels on the backside with aircraft structural epoxy (like Aero poxy) and 7781 cloth. Both from aircraft spruce. Two layers of glass. Sand the panel with 80 grit for good stick. You can even re-form it with a hair dryer for heat.

Not sure I would want gasoline fumes being sucked into a spinning electric motor

You should never use a compressor to pressurize a Mooney tank. The skin surfaces are to thin and may stretch causing oil canning. Best safest way to pressurize is by blowing air by mouth. It only takes a couple of blows and insure that your lungs will stretch before the skin. Typical by mouth pressure is less than 1 psi that is more than enough to detect air bubbles on the outside. SD-20 cleaner is very good for checking for bubbles. Unlike fuel stains that may show up far away from the actual leak point, bubbles are much closer to the leak point. José José