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121.5 let ‘em know to quit hitting pot holes and it’s time for a refill on my Diet Coke.

First, congratulations on what sounds like a great trip. On my trips I like to use mid-size regional airports. These airports have at least regional airline service, as well as FBO's, cars and reasonably priced fuel. For the hotel I have two sources, Airnav.com and the FBO itself. I've found that FBO's often have great local hotel rates and can hook you up with a local hotel that at least has an airport shuttle van. The person that knows this stuff however generally works M-F 8-5. So if you call late at night or on the weekend you just get a random line person answering who doesn't know anything. The FBO's are used to dealing with crews from the visiting jets so they are very used to doing this sort of service. Airnav.com has a hotels tab and they sort the hotels by distance from FBO. I've gotten some outstanding rates through them as well. Larry

To be honest the original paint didn't look that bad......I wish mine looked that good.

The "jumper" wire is a flyback diode to quench the EMF created when current is removed from the coil and the magnetic field collapses. It's polarity is important. Your description of the symptoms sounds more like a weak battery than a solenoid. Skip

I think we may be overthinking this. Here are the facts as I understand them from this thread. 1. The gear has been operating normally since the OP purchased the airplane recently. 2. After a bounced landing, the gear unsafe annunciator illuminated and the gear actuator breaker popped. 3. Upon inspection, it was found that the gear down limit switch mechanical actuator (paddle? Mooney calls it a lug) was loose. (It would be nice to have some pictures). 4. The floor indicator shows that the gear is fully extended. Given the above, a likely scenario is that the gear fully extended normally before the landing. Upon landing, the gear down limit switch lug moved (maybe it wasn't tightened properly?). This caused the motor to run until it hit the mechanical down stop (it won't turn far -- maybe not even a full revolution) and jammed which caused the breaker to trip. If the preloads were correct before the incident, they will still be correct, or maybe slightly higher because of the motor overrun. There is no reason to think that the gear is in an unsafe position, if all the above is true. Checking the nose gear preload requires partially retracting the gear, and since it is most probably safe now, it might be best not to mess with anything. Obviously, the best thing to do is jack it up and have a mechanic check the gear rigging and readjust the down limit switch. Skip

From Wednesday night 12/7 to Wednesday afternoon 12/14, I flew from the Bay Area to Jacksonville, ran a marathon, and flew back. Total nautical miles if I had flown direct between each airport: 4,177. Actual routing: 4,343. My routing, affected by where friends live, where weather was, fuel prices, and when I had to land to take work calls: SQL-RQE-BRG-TDW-AXS-HKS-CRG-VLD-EDN-GKY-TDW-PGA-SQL. One thing I found difficult in planning my route was doing searches for fields with someplace to stay within a walkable distance. Four of my flights ended in the middle of the night. So I'll share some info in hope that the community will pool its knowledge and help those taking future trips. Walkable hotels were in Window Rock (no fuel on field, but otherwise good overnight) with a five-minute walk to the Quality Inn; Arlington, Texas, a 15-minute walk to the Hampton Inn; Page, Arizona, a 15-minute walk to the Hyatt Place. I walked to the Hampton Inn in Altus, Oklahoma, but it wasn't a good move. The road from the airport to the hotel is a highway with no sidewalk. A sheriff pulled over with flashing lights to ask me what the hell I was doing. Fredericksburg (T82) would have been good if it had been closer to my route. Please share your favorite airport/walkable hotel pairings. By the way, the views from the Page airport are phenomenal, even though you're looking away from the Grand Canyon.

It was LONG. I scheduled painting in July for the end of August. I delivered the plane to them on Aug 20 and, as it turned out, they were in process of losing their shop manager and hiring another one, so plane was sitting in their shop for a good month. They actually started in the first decade of October and finished a month later. Total what I paid, including taxes, some OSHA hazard crap, vinyl cutouts, etc was around 25K. Plus, I paid around $1000 for the painting scheme to the third party. So, my conclusions were: 1. The actual job is about 1 month 2. Prepare to pay for the vinyl cutouts that will not be in the main quote 3. Hire someone to do the scheme. 4. Deliver plane to them on nearly empty tanks because they will drain all gas from the wings before painting and you will never see your unused gas again.

Rural airports with self-serve courtesy cars are the next best thing. Probably a list for those out there, too.

With a hat tip to @Deb for pointing this out, BeechTalk had this discussion six years ago. Here is a list they put together there, with my recent suggestions of hotels that are not on-field but still walkable added: State, City, Code, Name, Hotel, Latitude, Longitude, Distance, Restaurant, Turf AR, Lakeview, 3M0, Gastons Airport, Gaston's White River Resort, , , , , t AZ, Page, KPGA, Hyatt Place AZ, Sedona, KSEZ, Sedona Airport, Sky Ranch Lodge, 34.8485833, -111.7884444, , , AZ, Window Rock, KRQE, Quality Inn CA, Coalinga, 3O8, Harris Ranch Airport, Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant, 36.2481111, -120.2384722, , r, CA, Concord, KCCR, Buchanan Field Airport, Crowne Plaza, 37.9896667, -122.0568889, , , CA, Imperial, KIPL, Imperial County Airport, Rodeway Inn Imperial, 32.8342222, -115.57875, , , CA, Mojave, KMHV, Mojave Air and Space Port, , 35.0589444, -118.1506111, walking, , CA, Van Nuys, KVNY, Van Nuys Airport, Airtel Plaza, 34.2098056, -118.4899722, , , FL, Boca Raton, KBCT, Boca Raton Airport, Fairfield Inn & Suites, 26.3785, -80.1076944, , , FL, Fort Lauderdale, KFXE, Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, Courtyard Marriott, 26.1972794 / -80.1707063, , , , FL, Lakeland, KLAL, Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, Hilton Garden Inn, 27.9889167, -82.0185556, , , FL, Sebring, KSEF, Sebring Regional Airport, , 27.4563889, -81.3423889, , , GA, Brunswick, KSSI, McKinnon St Simons Island Airport, , 31.1519722, -81.3910556, , r, KS, Beaumont, 07S, Beaumont Hotel Airport, Beaumont Hotel, , , , , t KS, Wichita, KICT, Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower National Airport, , 37.6499444, -97.4330556, , , KY, Cadiz, 1M9, Lake Barkley State Park Airport, , 36.8178014, -87.9075167, state park, , KY, Gilbertsville, M34, Kentucky Dam State Park Airport, , 37.0096944, -88.2993333, state park, , LA, Alexandria, KAEX, Alexandria International Airport, , 31.3273717, -92.5485561, , , ME, Bangor, KBGR, Bangor International Airport, Four Points Sheraton, 44.8074444, -68.8281389, , , OK, Oklahoma City, KOKC, Will Rogers World Airport, , 35.393074, -97.6007617, , , OR, Albany, S12, Albany Municipal Airport, , 44.6378056, -123.0594444, , , PA, Farmington, PA88, Nemacolin Airport, Nemacolin Resort, 39.8056314, -79.54893, , , PA, Pittsburgh, KAGC, Allegheny County Airport, , 40.3544376, -79.9290467, , , TN, Knoxville, KTYS, Mc Ghee Tyson Airport, Hilton, 35.8093739, -83.9953214, , , TX, Arlington, KGKY, Hampton Inn TX, Austin, KAUS, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Hilton & Hyatt Place, 30.1945278, -97.6698889, , , TX, Fredricksburg, T82, Gillespie County Airport, Hanger Hotel, 30.24325, -98.9091944, , , TX, Lajitas, 89TE, Lajitas International Airport, , 29.2779167, -103.6876389, resort, , TX, Marble Falls, 86TA, Slaughter Ranch Airport, Horseshoe Bay Resort, , , , , t TX, Presidio, 3T9, Big Bend Ranch State Park Airport, bunkhouse, 29.4710833, -103.9364167, , tarantulas, TX, Taylor, T74, Taylor Municipal Airport, Best Western , 30.5726389, -97.4431944, , r, VA, Moneta, W91, Smith Mountain Lake Airport, Bedford Landings B&B, 37.1077222, -79.5924722, , , VA, Saluda, W75, Hummel Field, , 37.6022708, -76.4467292, , , VA, Tangier, KTGI, Tangier Island Airport, , 37.8258653, -75.9976625, , , VT, Vergennes, B06, Basin Harbor Airport, , , , , , t WA, Auburn, S50, Auburn Municipal Airport, , 47.3276844, -122.2266547, walking from S parking, , WA, Bellingham, KBLI, Bellingham International Airport, Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, 48.7926944, -122.5375278, , , WA, Roche Harbor, WA09, Roche Harbor Airport, , 48.6123217, -123.13852, , , WI, Green Bay, KGRB, Green Bay-Austin Straubel International Airport, Windgate by Wyndham, 44.4846389, -88.1297222, , , WI, Oshkosh, KOSH, Wittman Regional Airport, Hilton Garden Inn, 43.9844911, -88.5569349, , r, WV, Davis, WV62, Windwood Fly-In Resort Airport, Amelia's Motel, 39.0551086, -79.4314386, , r, WY, Alpine, 46U, Alpine Airport, VRBO, 43.1817736, -111.0385236, , , zNova Scotia, Fox Harbor, CFH4, Fox Harbour Airport, Fox Harb'r Resort, , , , ,

Sell it as a core. If I were looking to buy an engine, either as an experienced Mooney owner or a homebuilder, I would not pay much for a random field overhauled engine as I would much rather have it field overhauled under my supervision and specs. (That's what I did on my Mooney!) Maybe you could find a buyer in a bind that needs a running engine ASAP, but you would need to sell it for a price of core + overhaul cost, and you would not want to take a core back in exchange. To get maximum value out of it, you might want to find a test stand where you can run it and take a video, as well as provide some borescope pics inside each cylinder to show the walls and valves. My semi-local engine shop has a stand, so perhaps you could find one and pay a little money to get that done.

That's actually the town where the toothbrush was invented . . . had it been anywhere else it would have been called the teethbrush . . . lol

I use California Gold, the purple stuff. The green is for cleaning up if required, then follow with purple. It's so much better and easier than Mother's!

I like that extra swoosh in front of the numbers. Kinda different.

Ha! This picture was taken in 2016 when I bought the plane. Since then wings started peeling, hood lost some paint chunks as well. Since I am not young and I will see just one repainting of my Mooney in my lifetime, I decided to paint her now rather than wait for another 2-3 years as my mechanic suggested, because soon repainting job will be astronomically expensive, it is certainly headed that way...

https://www.printables.com/model/207825-mooney-m20-gats-jar-holder For those that are interested

Beautiful

Given the unknown and variable costs associated with overhauling an engine I would say sell it as a core. If you have to repair the case and buy a new crank that isn’t going to increase the value of the engine to a buyer but could put you upside down in the deal.

A Navajo has a Lycoming with a diaphragm pump. I've ran Navajos dry too and you're right. Watch for the flutter in FF and you can do it. A Continental has a vane type pump. The vane and the vane drive shaft are fuel lubricated. Lack of fuel will cause pump failure fairly quickly. By the time you see flutter in FF, the pump is starving for lubrication. So if you're of a mind to do this with a Continental, make sure your High Boost Electric pump is working, because you're going to need it eventually.

Several years ago, I was AOG in the Chicago area with a broken steering link. It was going to be a while before we could get the part, so I took a taxi to O’Hare for the ride back home. I had my flight bag with me with GPS, radio, survival kit, including matches, fishing hooks, a Leatherman with saw blade, etc. I just cruised on through TSA. In my rush to get through the airport, I forgot I had the naughty things in the bag. I think it helped that I had a very expensive ticket and there was a separate line for first class.

When I ferried aircraft I carried my portable avionics, radio, transponder, PLB, couple of handheld GPS’s etc. Only problem I ever had was the homeland security idiots clearing customs in ATL, never had an issue getting on. Of course you can’t turn it on when you can’t your cell phone etc. You CANNOT carry an O2 bottle, not even in checked baggage, they stole mine, were supposed to ship it but never did. You can carry it if the valve is removed, which is easy on a SCUBA tank as they are machine thread, but our O2 tanks are pipe thread and your not getting that valve out without some kind of big vise or something and a really big wrench. In their defense you could hide a really powerful bomb in an O2 bottle.

With Continental fuel injection you are being really hard on the mechanical fuel pump by running it dry. Not something you want to make a habit.

TSA probably doesn't have a clue!!! The Cockpit Crew might...

Go to a sign shop and have the cut out of vinyl, hangar neighbor does it all the time to get into Mexico (larger N# is required)

Same here. I have carried my flight bag with the hand held radio in the side pocket on a commercial flight and TSA had no issue with it at all. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

sorry it’s at night, so harder to see how everything fits. I liked your key, master and autopilot positions!

My M20J uses a Electroswitch SA1RV20 with a SW53AA2 button. Mouser had stock in 2021.

Checked for sure. I can't see why not for carry-on.

Easier to just post here for everyone — too much on the eBay ad ;o)… -Don

#10

If you're going to use a hoist, strap it through the engine mounts rather than the engine lift point or the prop. I think Maxwells do it this way.

Yep, and I need one. Calling in the morning.

Scottsdale has been evicting small airplanes to make room for jets and other turbines for several years. They probably made it impossible for these folks to sit on the airplane any more, so it's on the ramp with an ultimatum. Scottsdale is not very tolerant of derelicts, as there really aren't any places where you can leave things that aren't visible to the general public. So I'm guessing this just got forced out of wherever it had been kept and is now for sale since they don't have much choice. From that perspective, it's probably been in Scottsdale for a long time, so corrosion may be less of a concern than for other airplanes that have sat for a while. Southwest airplanes are good picks for restoration from that perspective. FWIW, CAP has a Scottsdale squadron, but they got evicted, too, and now keep their airplane at Falcon. They still have office space at Scottsdale, but the airplane got thrown out. It's an increasing trend in airports all over the country.

This is what I have been using.

Smart move. I lost a tks stall strip about four years ago and if I remember correctly the part cost about 3k.

Any temporary premium savings would probably be eaten up by the costs associated in at least three aircraft transactions (purchase of the beater, sale of the beater, purchase of his J). It may seem attractive to lower the premium on a short-term basis, but keep in mind it's not free to buy and sell airplanes, either, so he'll be paying the piper one way or another.

Quarter mile passes, no. But I have friends who spend the weekend at road courses, running pretty much wide open for hours at a time. In gas cars, of course, to avoid the endless hours of cooling the batteries, charging, and cooling the batteriesagain between short stints on the track.

After some searching, we ended up using GRANITIZE™ Aviation X20-18 AECI 3 Colorless Brightwork Aircraft Exterior Protector. Not cheap but apparently it's been approved by several aircraft manufacturers. A local aircraft detail shop uses it on corporate jets. Looks great. Will be interesting to see how long it lasts before the spinner needs a polish and re-coat. https://skygeek.com/granitize-x-20-18-xzilon-3-brightwork-16oz.html

If i was landing i would say it is not that important. If i was 10 gallons away from landing i would say yes! Our Ovation 2 POH states: FUEL LIMITATIONS –WARNING– Takeoff maneuvers when the selected tank contains less than 12 gallons of fuel have not been demonstrated. So we’d want more than 12 gallons in the selected tank for landing in case we needed to go around.

I will fly any Mooney anyone will let me! I have time in over 30 of them so far!

As a non “big bore” operator (my IO360 bore is a paltry 5.15 inches compared to the 5.25 inches of the TSIO550G), I’m curious if you’ve ever flown a lightweight four-cylinder Mooney? The Acclaim’s factory stated empty weight of 2380lbs (what’s yours weigh) is 700lbs heavier than the actual weight of my modest little F model. That’s a 40% delta. Fortunately the “Big Bores” come with 280hp up front (would you look at that, another 40% delta). That surplus in power makes all the difference in cruise. In terms of runway performance and initial climb, you’re right, a few hundred pounds isn’t really going to make a big difference for a “big bore”… It’s always going to take nearly twice as much distance to clear 50’ and nearly 1000’ more to get stopped.

If i was landing i would say it is not that important. If i was 10 gallons away from landing i would say yes!

I was going to say I've seen one recently, but it was this one! It's sitting on the ramp at Scottsdale, KSDL. I didn't go take a close look.

I had my airplane scheduled into my IA for an annual on 11-27. He called me on the 26th and advised me he was unable because he fell off a ladder and broke his leg in two spots. My annual expired on 11-30 so I had to scramble. Called Cole Aviation but Joe said he was slammed. So I went through the directory of Mooney Service centers and found Precision Air in Manning, SC. Not only was it an MSC it was a Part 145 station. I called them and told them my predicament, holiday travel schedule and that I needed the airplane back by 12-15. Fred Hilton, the shop manager said he could squeeze me in. I told him I needed to drop the airplane before 12-1 and they said no problem. Next problem was getting there. I needed a chase plane. Chuck (aka RoundTwo) very nicely offered his help to chase with his J model. I dropped the airplane off and was impressed by Fred and his shop. He seemed well tempered and knowledgeable. Yesterday, 3 days early no less, they called and said my airplane was ready. I found it parked on the ramp fully ready, even washed and vacuumed. Precision Air did a great job and came through for me when I really needed help. Ditto Chuck (RoundTwo) who made it a whole lot easier.

Your experience with Lucas Electrics was different from my Austin-Healy. Like many others, I referred to Lucas as the Prince of Darkness.

As a fairly recent owner of a 1970 E model, here are some things I've learned: -- Fuel injected (i.e., E or F versus C or G) is really nice; on top of the extra 20 hp, you don't need to worry about carb ice; hot starts were not an issue for me. -- My bird will do 150 kts if pushed hard, but more realistically it's around a 142 kts plane; with the fuel injection and a good engine monitor you can run LOP at around 8.5-9gph at altitude. -- The electric gear is ok, but many people swear by the manual one, which is lower maintenance. My plane had one gear up in the 90's because of a failed gear box for the electric gear mechanism (Dukes model). It was since replaced with a more reliable unit (Eaton). -- If you can get a plane with recently resealed fuel tanks or with bladders, it's really good. Otherwise prepare yourself for regular patching of the tanks. Mine has the bladders and I am really happy not to have to worry. -- A three-blade prop will slow you down 4-5 knots, lose you 15 lbs useful weight, and is a bit less smooth over a two blade. (Mine has the three blade.. I think many people consider it to look better, but I'd rather have the other advantages.) -- Check when the gear shock disks were replaced; they are good for about 15 years on a short body, not sure on a long body. Costs about $3000 to replace all. -- If your mission rarely involves 3 people in the plane (you + 2), then an E or a C is perfect; if you need to carry someone in the back frequently, I think an F or G is a must. Be wary of the useful load -- my E has a useful load of 897 lbs, which with full fuel means 3 people and no (or small) bags, or 2 people and plenty of baggage. -- For me engine and airframe health come way above fancy avionics. Many people will spend north of $40k on avionics; in my opinion this money is best spent on a solid airframe and a low-time engine from the factory or from a well-known shop. People have flown safely for 50+ years in these planes with steam gauges, I don't see why it should be a priority to change that. (Sure, it's nice to have the gizmos, but a 430W still seems perfectly adequate for my occasional IFR flight.) The only thing I do recommend is a solid autopilot, it can be very useful for long flights, and a life saver in IFR. Watching that AI for the slightest move for 3 hours in solid IFR is very trying. My plane has a good STEC 30 and I am grateful for it. If you plan to fly LOP a 4 cylinder engine monitor is also necessary. -- The one part that seems to be very hard to find if yours goes bad is the accordion adapter for the airbox. Mooney produces these in small batches of about 50-100 at a time, and these get sold almost immediately. If you are looking at a fuel injected Mooney inspect yours carefully before buying, as having a bad one seems to be a possible cause for grounding you for a while. Other people may want to comment more on this, as mine seems to be ok. -- It seems that after around 1968 there were some cost-cutting measures in producing these planes, which result in a 2-3 knot speed loss (more protruding screws and rivets instead of flush ones). So models before 1968 are better in this respect. But for every plane the biggest thing for me would be how well the plane was taken care of; being hangared most of its life, being flown regularly, being maintained by well-known shops or by a mechanic that shows care (these things can be seen from the log books) can make a huge difference in future maintenance costs, and this can trump almost anything else I wrote above. I would take a well-taken care of C model, at the same price, over a neglected F any day.

Hanging in the avionics shop Pipppen/York in Fredericksburg, Thought it was funny.

Probably a lot of audio panels can do what I'm about to say, but it surprised me at how easy it was to do on the fly with no previous experience trying to do it with the GMA35c. Shirley has a Bose A20. I'm late to the party, but I just found out that you can download Netflix movies to the iPad. The goal was 1. to have her play a movie; 2. me not hear it; 3. be able to communicate between us and have her hear ATC; 4. allow me to listen to XM radio without her hearing it. Solution: 1. Bluetooth the movie audio to her Bose; 2. Go to Music 1 and disable co-pilot can hear; 3. On the main audio page keep pilot and co-pilot connected. Simple, but effective. Smooth flight both directions to San Diego with a 40 knot tailwind going down. No different than going first class commercial without the airport hassles. After all these years, there's nothing like flying privately. There's always something new to learn.

Wow, what a great range of options you have! If I were in your position: I'd buy a couple of cheap KNS80s off eBay and use them as parts donors to keep one going. Disclosure: I'm a retired RF EE with knowledge & test gear to do so. Paying shop rates to do that would get expensive fast. Or you could mount an Aera 560 or 660 or 796 on the yoke and use it for enroute navigation, file /G (illegal but likely safe) and off you go. Or install a BNC connector so that if your unreliable comm radio flakes out you can connect your handheld VHF radio to an external antenna. That will work just fine. Or rip out everything now and put in one reliable GTN650 which will become your #2 unit sometime in the bright future. Who says you need dual Nav/com? That's 1960s era lore; the gear is far more reliable now. Should it happen to fail you can fly an approach just fine using your iPad / Foreflight in an emergency. (If you don't believe me hire a CFII and go try it) Or tell your kids they're going to inherit your fascinating log books (and perhaps little else) & put in a whole new panel. $100K would cover it. Ok, $125K. Have fun!

There are a lot of these (KNS80) in good shape for sale - it's an easy, cheap swap until you decide what you eventually want to do.