Leaderboard

I am sure the veterans of MS have seen more new guys than they can count. Add me to the list. Brief vitals: Started flying 1987 - US Army, flew Blackhawks, maintence test pilot until 1996. SEL training in early 90's but never flew alot as military duties were demanding. Stopped flying in 1996 until 2004 - got current and flew about 30 hours until had an eye issue. Christmas 2020, announced my intentions to my family, they gave me a Honeywell Alpha & Bravo set plus X-Plane. I logged 90 hours of training - ok, maybe 5 hours was just goofing around, but I did a lot of IFR enroute practice 2021 - BUSY YEAR: eye doc said issue resolved, decided to get active again, ME gave me a thumbs up on a 3rd class medical, CFI got me current, FAA said not so fast - 3 months later got a special issuance. I spent over a year thinking and researching what plane to buy and picked up a M20J yesterday. My A&P/IA/CFII and I flew 300NM in a C172 for pre-buy and pick up. I flew the 172 back, my first cross country solo in 17 years and here I am.... glad to be here let the advice roll in

I was just offered a ride. Nice looking couple came into the steak house and they were both wearing polo shirts that had TexJets on them. I asked them what TexJets was, and he said it is an FBO at Meachum airport up near Fort Worth, Texas. I then asked what he flew and he said an L-39. I looked at him and said "the Russian trainer jet? An Albatross?" He obviously was very surprised I knew his plane. Long story short, after talking with him/them enough, he offerm me a ride!!!!! It is hangared here at KERV.

There simply aren't enough airplanes to make it work. While there are 200,000 GA aircraft in the US, there are 286 million cars. So there are economies of scale to allow car dealers to have large networks. And commonality of electronics with CANBUS now. Even so, you're paying $120-150 an hour these days, but they have high efficiency due to standardized products and training to service them. If you tried to do it with GA, you'd expect to pay $200+ for shop rates. The 200,000 planes have very little commonality fleetwide. It's more comparable to setting up a network to service exotic cars.

When My IA started crapping out , I replaced it with a G5 and never looked back. After a year or so that single G5 turned into a G5 HSI, Garmin 530W, Stratus transponer,ADSB,SL30, PMA 8000b, GFC500 AP, and a new panel to fit it all in, electric step from takair(memeber here), and removal of the vac system . Did i think that single G5 would lead into all that? No. Would I do it again? Yes.

I've been very happy with Savvy. They are more than willing to analyze my engine data, and help with troubleshooting. Not to mention, if I'm ever stranded they are available 24/7. In the scheme of aviation costs, their annual fee is a pittance. (I have no connection with Savvy, so this is an honest, unbiased, opinion)

Those rides usually come with a gas bill, OUCH! If you have gas money, jet warbird rides are easy to come by.

Regardless of scientific data, dB analysis, ANR research or any other auditory study.... I wear QT Halo's, my co-pilot wears the ANR. I have tried both. The ANRs a nice, the QT Halos are better. I can hear the controller clearer and never miss a call with the QT Halos. not so much if I wear the ANRs. it seems to me that the first word is clipped in the active noise cancelling and I can set the volume lower when wearing the Halos. Just my real world observations. No science involved.

I think Alex hit it on the head. There actually are facilities like that, most of the big FBOs have regional maintenance facilities associated with them, but most of us can’t afford them for our aircraft since they have to charge jet rates to try to retain the mechanics. Even then, many mechanics/technicians can make more in other endeavors. I think it would be great if someone could figure out a model that works, but right now, what little money comes in is hard to split up further…. Savvy may be the closest to having something that is outside of the OEM and presents some level of consistency….but even they are not for everybody.

I'll take a stab at this one: Owners are accustomed to paying rates that are too low for an astute entrepreneur to carve out a profit sufficient to go though the expense, risk and effort to standardize processes and manage multiple locations. Skill sets needed are too varied from one aircraft type to another and numbers of those flying too low in many cases to realize a benefit from internal training methods beyond the A&P or IA certification Military contractors and the majors will always have an advantage because they can leverage the very factors lacking for GA as listed above. Alex

Keep in mind that purchase price is going to be a small part of multi-year ownership...I'm a little over four years into ownership and I've already spent more operating than I paid to buy my plane

It’s possible your cockpit was cleaner than mine…. We got a whole bunch of new PIC procedures after that one… lots of paper charts and things were popular back in the day… I’ve only seen an iPad go flying once… Best regards, -a-

Welcome aboard…….. everyone on here was a “New Guy” at some point….. MS is the most active forum I’ve ever been involved with and the most informative…….. I’ll warn you, better post a pix of your bird or we’ll never believe you….lol

OOOOH - I WANT that. I NEED that.

When I first got into airplane ownership, I could get an attitude gyro overhauled for $250, Now it is closer to $900. Unless you are going electronic, I would get yours overhauled. If you buy used, there is no guarantee it isn't a few hours from going out. They always make it 15 years or so.

It has probably gotten an air bubble in it that tries to expand at higher cabin altitude, so that's when they drip. +1 on the repair kit, but they're kinda hard to get right, i.e., no bubbles, unless you reassemble it submerged in the compass juice (compass fluid). Also, it is not actually legal for even an A&P or IA to do this, it *should* only be done at a properly authorized instrument shop repair station. However, this is a job very often done by hangar fairies and some are quite experienced at it.

that’s great to read. We’ve saved a lot of cylinders with the ring flush cocktail and made a lot of folks happy. It’s not always just one cylinder either. But it doesn’t always work and sometimes the solvent needs to sit in the cylinder over night to get some particularly caked rings unstuck. But when it works everyone’s happy. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not really impressed with Mr. Mojo’s in-depth understanding of Mooneys. First, there’s a good bit of difference between the speeds, space, and performance of the various models of Mooney M20. (A through U?) Second, he started off talking about the manual gear, then showed us the electric-gear one. Third, he told us how cramped they are, without differentiating between the short bodies, the long-bodies, the ones with articulating seats, or pointing out the sports-car low seating with legs stretched out front. We had plenty of room for four adults in our K model, and even more leg room in our Screaming Eagle. Seems like he could have spent a little more time on his “preflight” before taking to the air.

I have the 406 ELT in the plane ready to flip the switch in an emergency, it’s wired to my GTN for WAAS position source. I also have the portable 406 ELT if i need it on the ground and aren’t incapacitated. Lastly I can communicate my actual needs to SAR via my Garmin inReach via text messages. There is also a portable radio, plus a survival pack with water, food, first aid kit, shelter material and signaling devices including strobe, mirror and marine flares. Each annual it gets re-packed. Don’t count on flight following to get you aide faster since most lost aircraft don’t communicate or don’t have time too. Filing a VFR flight plan gives SAR folks much needed information to find you fastest. But always leave your cell on since the first thing SAR folks do these days is have your mobile carrier ping your cell phone for a location. But if you don’t have a 406 to activate, nor able to get a radio call out like most, it could be many hours before anyone starts looking for you. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have a lot of Dentists in my family, and of course your correct. Not too long ago it was normal for a young girl to have ALL her teeth removed, often before marriage because of course they could get caries (tooth decay) https://boldfeed.io/en/removing-your-teeth-was-a-perfect-wedding-gift/ There are a few problems, first off as a licensed mechanic I am accountable and liable for my work. The FAA requires any work to done to approved data, or at least acceptable data. I can’t for instance pour Risolene in your oil, which is advertised to free stuck rings in Auto’s and may work for all I know. Now if Risolene said FAA approved, then I could use it. I have to have some kind of data that supports what I’m doing. I can’t just cook up something and do it. Secondly it’s logical to assume that a ring flush won’t fix whatever it was that caused the rings to stick to begin with. In an instance like this I believe some troubleshooting should be done to determine and correct the cause of the stuck rings. Flushing them is treating the symptom without determining what’s wrong to start with.

For a portable solution the sidewinder is still the one to beat based on my recent due diligence. All most all pilot reports are positive. Only limitation appears to be snow but by the time yours and mine arrives with their 6-8 week backorder status, hopefully spring will have arrived. Its pricey, but from experience, generally if you go with the best product initially you will save money in the long-term and be happier. Take care k

I've wondered why there aren't any nationwide aircraft maintenance companies that service GA. Sure their are authorized service centers, but why aren't their national or regional maintenance companies? I've seen more and more shops closing over the past few years. Many in part because the owner, while a good mechanic, isn't a good business person. Or, they get older and haven't trained up a new owner, so they shutter the doors. At the same time I've seen the remaining shows get insanely busy and in some cases their quality decline. A national or regional provider could standardize quality and training. Moreover they could offer more stable employment and career paths. Of course it doesn't provide some of the benefits of owning your own business for the A&P, but then again not everyone wants to be a business owner. Seems like an opportunity to start something, or start rolling up some of the good shops that are out there.

Just to be clear, this particular radiosonde observation showed that the static air temperature at ~8,000 feet was +2°C. And then cooling to 0°C at ~9,000 feet. This observation was approximately 100 nm northeast of the accident site. Near the accident site, the temperatures were warmer such that the freezing level was nearly 12,000 feet. So any aircraft taking off and climbing in this environment would have not accreted or expect to accrete any airframe ice. Eventually as the flight headed west toward Denver, the freezing level was trending lower and would have been below freezing upon reaching the KC area...even so, the amount of moisture at 8,000 feet was negligible in the KC region. It's not until the last third of of the flight where icing conditions would have been problematic as can be seen by this G-AIRMET valid at 03Z.

You don’t know what you’re missing then. I have over 600 hours in my Mooney and no other training I’ve had has honed my stick and rudder skills like formation flying. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

With the 429 adaptor box

My GI-275 and GTN750xi will fly a ILS glide slope as well as GPS full approaches with procedure turns, DME Arcs etc and Glideslopes. I would assume it do the same with a King HSI but not sure. In this image the KAP150 AP is flying the GPS glide slope in Approach Mode in HYW. It does not fly descents from say one way point to another as far as i can tell like the Garmin AP will,

Got it ... pics are a priority. That one will have to do for now, we got 8" of snow last night.

That statement only applies to a configuration where the GI-275 is a backup to a G500 or other EFIS.

My AP is a KAP150, does not have a Go around feature(as far as i know anyway)

Feel free to stop in here at MYR(my base) or CRE on your way back, i'll can meet you at airport and if time for lunch we can go for lunch,. Or anytime you want to just fly down, looks like a pretty short hop. - King M.

Let's put a different perspective on this- WAAS vs Non-WAAS The only difference is landing minimums allowed. What is the mission going to be in the end ? If you are not IFR rated now and want to do it in your own airplane you can still get your ticket without a WAAS navigator. You'll just be doing GPS NON precision approaches and still have the ability of ILS precision approaches with the non WAAS 430.. Granted not as many as LPVs but still useful. Secondly- what is the mission after the ticket? General fun flying ? If so how many times are you going to actually WANT to go into 200/ 1/2 weather vs 700' OVC 1 mile vis? You'll need to set your own Personal Minimums and as a new IFR rated pilot higher personal minimums for the first year or 2 are highly recommended. How comfortable are you flying over weather that is right down on the ground where you will need LPV capability? Do you really want to fly over low overcast conditions in a S/E airplane? Your choice, only you can make that evaluation. It all comes down to how often are you really going to need to do LPV approaches in the kind of flying you are going to do? WAAS is nice to have but are YOU really going to use its capability? I doubt that many owners here who fly less than 100 hrs per year actually do more than 2 or 3 below 600/1 approaches a year. My choice was after almost 60 years in all kinds of weather all over the world as a (now) private pilot in reality, my IFR flying didn't keep me sharp enough even at 100-125 hrs a year to feel competent IFR anymore. Hence my decision to go VFR only in my new Dynon panel. I could easily just add a 430 WAAS for full IFR but I wouldn't use it enough to stay competent or justify the cost. Again only you can determine if you will use WAAS enough to justify the expense? To those who may disagree- please post your annual flying time and how many IMC approaches you did last year that were ACTUALLY below non-precision ceilings Lets take a poll and see just how much everyone ACTUALLY uses the WAAS capability. Who knows how to post a poll? I don't

Congrats 503! Way to get started! Best regards, -a-

Mine came pretty quickly, so I'm tagging @OSUAV8TER.

Do you fly a lot of hard IFR? if so then maybe a new one is best. In my limited experience these electronic instruments end up costing more than you think, and it seems that their compatibility with other electronics goes obsolete in awhile. Me personally I’m very leased with my 1980’s panel, it’s what I trained on back then, I’m familiar with it and it works today just as well as it did back then, and won’t actually be obsolete until after I’m gone. I’ve had good luck myself with used avionics, but surely anything 40 years old isn’t going to be as reliable as new? A lot of what drives me is money, I know that to truly modernize my panel would cost maybe $50K? And it will be considered obsolete equipment in 10 years. My airplane is 40 years old and works today as well as it did then too. I guess if you follow the modernization thing to it’s ultimate end, then only a new Cirrus will suffice?

Patey figured it out. E/AB.

My hangar isn't anything special but I do have one of these in it: https://smile.amazon.com/MIDEA-MAD30C1YWS-Portable-Dehumidifier-basements/dp/B07NRDBBH5/ref=sxin_14?asc_contentid=amzn1.osa.ad4c9e4e-d868-4f3d-b9f0-8addc39b845f.ATVPDKIKX0DER.en_US&asc_contenttype=article&ascsubtag=amzn1.osa.ad4c9e4e-d868-4f3d-b9f0-8addc39b845f.ATVPDKIKX0DER.en_US&creativeASIN=B07NRDBBH5&crid=12NS0AH5UT874&cv_ct_cx=portable+dehumidifier&cv_ct_id=amzn1.osa.ad4c9e4e-d868-4f3d-b9f0-8addc39b845f.ATVPDKIKX0DER.en_US&cv_ct_pg=search&cv_ct_we=asin&cv_ct_wn=osp-single-source-earns-comm&keywords=portable+dehumidifier&linkCode=oas&pd_rd_i=B07NRDBBH5&pd_rd_r=3b84667e-66a0-4bb9-a723-ac93f4ffc9b6&pd_rd_w=RRyuC&pd_rd_wg=wqLBO&pf_rd_p=5846ecd6-3f37-4a28-8efc-9c817c03dbe9&pf_rd_r=KHPACRDJ3JEX7Q5QQWD6&qid=1642202820&sprefix=portable+dehum%2Caps%2C134&sr=1-1-64f3a41a-73ca-403a-923c-8152c45485fe&tag=21oak-20 It was recommended by someone on the forum a year or two ago and I was initially skeptical that it would do much. It actually works really well. After a rain when water runs across the hangar floor, it will dry the concrete in about a hour. According to the display it maintains about 40-50% humidity in the hangar when it 80-90% outside.

My hanger elves (fairies is not PC these days) have told me the best way to fill a compass is to fill it with compass fluid, till there is a meniscus of fluid above the fill port, put your finger over the fill port and turn it upside down and gently shake it to get all the bubbles out from under the compass card. Then slowly turn it right side up and work the bubbles back to the fill port. Use a coffee stirrer to add the last bit of fluid until there is a meniscus of fluid above the fill port. carefully bring the plug into the fluid and screw it in. Rotate the compass every which way and make sure there are no bubbles inside. If you find any repeat the above procedure until there are no bubbles.

I've heard this, also. I don't think it is correct and it doesn't match what is said in the document @Ragsf15e posted just before your post. An incomplete annual inspection would seem to render the airplane unairworthy only if the part of the inspection completed turned up an unairworthy discrepancy.

It's likely between age or vibration that a seal is wore out. They sell refurb kits for the old school compasses but be careful to to not screw down the case down too much or you'll crack the glass (which is $40 btw, ask me how I know....) BTW, what's a "standby compass"? Do you mean your primary (or only) magnetic compass or do you have two magnetic compasses in your aircraft? I ended up after much flailing with my old compass in which I replace the seals, fluid, glass, and mount -- installing "SIRS Compass" Bruce P.S. If you're anywhere near the SO CAL area and can get to L00 (Rosamond Skypark). I'll happily give you what I have in regards to the Airpath Compass if that's what you have. I may have the refurb kit, fluid and some parts still laying around.

Welcome to the Mooney ownership club. My Tonapah photo.

Just took Concorde’s IA renewal class online this morning. The number 1 engine maintenance induced failure is incorrectly torqued cylinders, Having said that all it says is there are a lot of sloppy mechanics out there, not pulling a cylinder that’s in trouble makes as much sense to me as not adjusting timing when it’s out, because some have left the mags incorrectly torqued. Does Lycoming recommend a “ring flush”? Is it in their manual? If not, then how do you explain to an inspector why you did the procedure? Whats that logbook entry look like? or is this one of those put in on sticky and not in the book?

I completely understand this am agree on all points, my questions with the dynon system were if it was a need for the system to operate or a want for better capabilities I could do a waas gps and the dynon system or the G5’s and gfc 500 ap so one way gets me a waas gps and glass panel with synthetic vision and the other gets me a AP coupled to non waas gps for long xc IFR flying

I tend to agree, it used to not be a problem, but since then fuel has changed, and I believe Crane Cams was Lycoming’s supplier, and did they go under? I am not sure Crane made their cams, so maybe, maybe not. So far as dry starts, pre-lubers we’re in fashion in the 70’s, were supposed to greatly extend the lives of many engines that accumulated a lot of use like OTR trucks etc. But unfortunately they didn’t, one can only assume “dry” starts aren’t as harmful as many say. I think calendar time is more harmful than we realize

Add to that, field elevation 3,048 feet, temperature 27 celsius and a 25 kts tailwind (plus downdraft from the hills)... impossible to climb 5,000 in 9 miles in a M20C with full tanks. So my mistake, I should have never accepted the SID. But I did... so ATC complained rightfully to me, but luckily I was VFR so they basically said ok... go ahead. I had done that flight before and they had given me a different SID, so I did not prepare myself for another SID. Lesson learned: do you homework, you are the PIC and if it does not work, then just say: unable.

I saw this one at ROA just yesterday N7816V If you don't take it, I will

I've used Arapahoe Aero at KAPA (Denver, CO) - closest Mooney Service Center - for oil changes, and am scheduled for annual with them later this month. I've also used Advanced Aerotech at KGXY (Greeley, CO) for avionics/oil change/fuel senders; one of the owners has a Mooney. Another well known MSC is KNR / Kerry McIntyre at KEVW (Evanston, WY). Not sure what the availability and time frame for any of these shops are. I'd imagine all of these options are close enough to SBS that you could have them take aircraft there for prebuy. Good luck!

It starts getting into more preference based than function based when you're discussing Dynon v. Garmin. It's kind of like the Apple vs. Android debate. Both are capable units that can do most of the same things as each other, but their UI and UX are completely different, as is support & stability, so it comes down to your preference between the two. Personally, I think Garmin's equivalent to the HDX in the G3X is a lot more user intuitive, cleaner and more polished. Everything looks better and easier to read. But this is just my opinion and my preference, both are offering you the same capabilities in the cockpit. See below for screenshot comparisons between the two.

When we were going to pick up the plane the transition instructor took a look at me and said "you know you bought a mooney right?" When we were flying back he looked over at me and said "Looks like you fit"

The perfect day came with LIFR ceilings at Brunswick GA (KBQK) and IFR at FHB for me to go "play in the clouds" and see how low I could go at KBQK. Could I get down below DA without actually seeing the runway? As it turns out I could have landed but opted to do the missed approach at KBQK and fly back to KFHB after one turn at the hold. Had to do an RNAV into KFHB. Great IFR day!!! Chris Koppel

You don't need to fly both, a simple paper exercise is all you need to compare the two... When I did the exercise, Mooney seemed like a niche plane. I was concerned that if I couldn't afford to fly over the long term, could I possibly sell it again without losing my shirt. I performed a PPI on the Arrow, lucky for me, it failed. So I bought what I really wanted an M20C... 15 years later the factory was back in business and then out again. Somebody invented the Internet. M20Cs are common and are easy to buy and sell. MooneySpace was created and revised. Interest rates are at an all time low. Support from the factory is alive. Support from the community is tremendous. Support from the engine manufacturers is excellent. Who wouldn't want to buy a Mooney and hangout here? Best regards, -a-