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Pretty excited to join the Mooney club. I’ve been looking for a while now and found a ‘71 m20c to call my own. Yay Aerostar!

If you look just past my cheeky grin you may see the pointy bit;)

Plz call me Kevin Westbrook 539-292-0474 I worked at Brittain lcan trouble shoot and repair your system....I don't think it's a servo it's the servo control valve ty

It’s the test engineer in me that appreciated being able to pull 6” exactly and hold it. Why make it easy when you can nuke it. Would have needed an extension tube anyway to reach the back of the turn coordinator with my organic sucker. It was a lot easier than building a test rig with a vacuum gage to mimic the Brittain test procedures which I think requires holding a vacuum for an extended period. And I like tools … and data.

Back to the hotel after my first day ever. I was prepared for the sun and the walking, but no one warned me about the whiplash. Between all the pretty planes and scenery, my neck got a real workout - especially during the jet fighter demos. Hear the boom of afterburners and immediately whip around to see where they are. What an awesome show! P.S. I was really impressed with the Snowbirds. I’d never seen them live before. A very graceful performance.

I'm shocked, I tell you, just shocked!

As of today I have owned at least one Mooney continuously for 40 years!

Well let's think about that. If you hold it on the runway it will wheelbarrow. If you hold 5lbs back pressure it will take off maybe around 65 knots. This implies that there is enough elevator control to keep the weight distributed between all three wheels as the airplane accelerates. Since it sits at a positive angle of attack, it will eventually lift off, but it should be possible to hold it on the ground well above normal takeoff speed. Thought experiment: How fast was Bob Hoover flying when he did successive one wheel landings with a climb and roll between touchdowns?

I thought this thing was great. Easy to work with and see laying under the panel. You can pull 6" vacuum and hold it to check for slow leaks; then it has an easy relief valve trigger. A bit of a luxury but it made the job easier especially if you're working by yourself. https://www.harborfreight.com/mityvac-vacuum-pump-39522.html

Kevin is a great resource. I would definitely call him. He will be able to diagnose your problem and get things back in order for a reasonable price.

Since 1987, I have been married to the same wonderful woman and we have owned the same house. I have owned the same Mooney since 1993. I am afraid to change anything!

If the airplane turns right but not left, the possible vacuum leak is in the green (right wing) side. The servo pulls the aileron down. My system recently and suddenly started doing the same thing. I found the tape sealing the servo boot was dry and coming off. I wrapped a new piece of black electrical tape around the lip of the boot and I was back in business.

They are having a naming contest for it at Osh this year. They said the performance characteristics are very similar to the current model, but since this one is composite, it will be field-repairable. Also that it removes the operating limitation the current one has. They state this stc is the next in their pipeline and it is expected to happen in Q4 this year.

This year’s contest is pretty “meh” compared to last year. For 2024, they had a picture of an Icon A5, and if you won, you had your choice of an Icon, a Tecnam, or a pile of cash. Their communication and messaging was abysmal, but apparently they named the winner at Sun N Fun. Anyway - for 2025, the grand prize is $100k toward the purchase of an aircraft listed in the Flying airplane classifieds. So you pick any plane they have listed for sale, and they give you $100k towards that purchase. They also have a $50k cash option, in addition to smaller monthly prizes. I was excited about winning my Icon A5, and spent some time daydreaming about that win. It’s harder to daydream about winning a discount on a used aircraft purchase. https://www.flyingmag.com/news/flying-magazine-announces-2025-ultimate-flying-giveaway/ https://www.flyingmag.com/2025-ultimate-flying-giveaway-official-rules/

That’s a sure winner!

I voted for Proppy McProp Face.

I have a female battery tending line in baggage that I plug into tender while in hanger.

I think you are exactly right. If I use 5 lbs of pull my airplane takes off at about 65 KIAS. If I add enough elevator pressure to keep the nose wheel on without letting the mains get so light that it wheelbarrows it will take off flat at some higher speed. Probably less than 90 KIAS. I'm betting on about 75 but I'll have to try it someday. This is all with the flaps up. It will definitely wheelbarrow with takeoff flaps because of the effective angle of attack is higher.

Good question. 25 years ago, on a 8,000 ft Towered runway, my original Mooney instructor had me touch the mains down on the numbers holding the nose off and then gently adding a little power and pulling it off into ground effect. Then followed by pulling power/bleeding energy, landing again, touching the mains down with the nose held up followed by a little power and back up into ground effect. I "landed" consecutively four (4) times, touching the mains, adding power, pulling up into ground effect with the last a full power take off. The Tower was not amused.

By rolling that dropped one main gear lower than the nose wheel. I could do that in a mooney too. Notice he didn’t do both main gear wheels at the same time. There is just too much excess energy. By the time you are up to 90 kts your mains are either off the ground with the nose wheel still touching or you are flying away from the ground as mooney is already at a positive angle of attack when sitting on all three wheels. Airlines sit at a negative angle of attack that we have to rotate through before liftoff so we can in case of windsheer threat past v1 delay our rotation speed to a faster speed without having the plane takeoff as it sits at a negative aoa thus forcing the wing and body to stay on the ground above flying speed.

I helped a friend put one of the Hartzell composites on an experimental, and it's a nice prop! This was the same prop that goes on a Piper Malibu. It's been working great for him. They're not wood, so not subject to some of the same issues as the wooden composites.

@Will.iam Might be a little overkill but sounds like a good excuse for a gantry crane.

Yeah I definitely wanted it I entered 11 times, and spent a lot of the year wondering whether I would be able to fit the Icon in the back of my hangar with the wings folded.

I wish someone woukd make a 2 blade composite for the M20K’s one of the main reason i haven’t gone to a three blade like MT-prop is that getting the cowl on and off for oil changes by myself is hard enough with 2 blades, no sure how 3 blade owners accomplish this solo. Guess i need to go see one of my neighbors do theirs at their next oil change.

The external jumers cables are not part of your aircraft. They are ground support equipment.

I would take it in to a Garmin dealer and let them sort it out.

I use fltplan go as it’s free and the only other app besides FF and garmin pilot that will interface with my garmin 345 via bluetooth to show traffic and weather info on fltplan go charts in the app.

Call BAS salvage

On the Mooney G1000 airplanes there's no GDL90 installed that's why there's a red X over it. Your ADS-B out comes from your transponder. I think it's your GMU44 magnetometer. Once you lose your heading you lose your traffic.

my .02, which is worth about that, is there is absolutely no need for that or anything mechanical or anything that costs money. pull tube off, suck on it. doesn't get any easier. I was worried about how much suckage it would take. not much at all.

That looks like a very nice panel. I would not mess with it. What you need right in front of you is your IFR “T”, which you have. You will get used to your annunciator panel. Just go enjoy your airplane and save your money for real issues. Congratulations and may you enjoy your airplane for many years!!

Very happy for you! I’m jealous!!

I went to their booth this morning and asked. They had no news.

I was parked just north of the end of RWY 09 last time I was there. There was a shower trailer about 100 yards east of me. That was 2013. I guess I should go back some time.

It occurred Wednesday, July 24 at 12:45 PM. Also earlier on Wednesday, at 8:21 AM, a Cirrus SR22T wingtip struck the front of a Lancair LC-40-550 (actually built as an early Cessna model) while taxiing in the same general area at KATW. Using map and GPS satellite scale, some of those taxiways might only be 38-40 ft wide. From your picture I can see how a Cirrus with 38 ft wingspan might drift off centerline to one side if the pilot is not vigilant or is trying to avoid something on the other side. It is harder to understand how a 35 ft wingspan Mooney could hit planes on both sides with both wings unless it over reacted/ over corrected after striking the first rather than stopping. Sounds like speed might be a factor. Still the parking density is inviting trouble.

My last colonoscopy I told the Sawbones before I went under “doc be gentle with my balloon knot “. he said “ I’ll treat it like it was my very own “ not sure I liked the sound of that

A motorcycle inner tube, some rubber cement and some creative cutting and folding.

My method for wrapping servos with tape. Get yourself a steel rod, about 1/8 inch in diameter and about 8 inches long. Wrap one end with electrical tape till it is about 7/16 in diameter. Use this tape dispenser to tape up the servos. It will get into tight places and you can put good tension on the tape. You cannot do that with a roll of tape.

Maybe put vacuum to the system before tearing into servos. It could be the head unit, which is likely serviceable by https://www.porterstrait.com @Kevin Westbrook

The problem is, what paint was used. If you are talking a classic car, it was lacquer or enamel, and restoring oils may work. Modern planes (and cars) are painted with catalyzed paints that cross link and are a whole different animal.

+1 to Consolidated, great shop. Used them myself, prompt repairs and expedited shipping because I asked.

Vaporware is often attractively priced.

It doesn't seem like it would be much of an engineering challenge to build one. I think getting approved for a dual installation is the first step. Once the world gets comfortable with that, I don't think much would stand in the way. I wonder how big the market is?

Laughlin and Vegas are the same right now. And you are 4 F hotter then we are....

It's not quite that simple. Level attitude at what speed, weight, flap setting and CG? Even with the flaps fully deployed and the change in effective wing chord (straight line from trailing edge to leading edge), at reasonable approach speeds the level flight (not level pitch) attitude will still be positive enough to touch down mains first (but not by a lot while in ground effect). With the flaps up, nose up attitude will be even greater. Go do some level, slow flight with the gear down at 80kias or less and note the plane's pitch attitude. It will be significantly higher than level pitch attitude. Adding flaps will lower the pitch attitude at a given speed due to both increased lift, shift in center of pressure (aft) and effective chord change which changes the effective angle of incidence. There is a lot more going on in flight compared to simply observing the airplane on jacks. Bottom line - use the appropriate speed for the weight and configuration. It is indeed possible to fly the mains on well above stall in all configurations, but the slower the better. Nevertheless, while it is possible to fly the mains on with adequate energy to lift off again it is not best practice under most situations with the exception of formation landings were it is SOP.

I would spend a few thousand on touchup and buffing and call it a day. I wouldn't trade an autopilot that works flawlessly at this time for one that may or may not porpoise like some of the GFC500 installations do. Garmin will get it figured out eventually. The previous owner spent a lot of extra money on the G500 TXi (and probably the GAD43e) to work with the King Autopilot - I would give it some time before you tear the panel apart again.

We (and I include the FAA in "we") have the ability in our hands to have one of the greatest SAFETY DEVICES ever installed in small GA airplanes. It can prevent many instances every year of accidents and deaths and yet because of bureaucracy people are dying every year The new small-AFFORDABLE autopilots with the "One Button Push to Level" feature can be and is that Safety Feature I speak of. How many "Inadvertent flight into IMC conditions" do we see every year? How many deaths come from that every year? How many lives could be saved every year with this feature? Yet we fiddle while Rome burns! Its ludicrous! We are faced with an entire fleet of aging GA airplanes all of them equipped with half century old avionics and instruments WITH PERFECTLY USABLE ALTERNATIVES in the form of "non-certified" instruments and radios that can be just as reliable and usable (as proven in experimental airplanes) and yet they are out of limits for simple small airframes. Most of GA (MOST!) by a wide margin, does not fly in IMC conditions The risk factor is small to use these A/Ps in these airframes for VFR conditions AND they could be used as a safety valve for inadvertent IMC encounters. Saving lives. Similarly (with the above limitations in mind) flight instruments could be done the same way, Affordable replacements to half century old flight instruments to further enhance safety with NO risk to safety. Yet again we fiddle while Rome burns! There is no valid reason why we couldn't have CERTIFIED airframes MAINTAINED to certified rules and regs and yet allow NON-certified electronics to be installed in VFR airplanes with a cautionary placard much like experimental airplanes do today. "THIS AIRPLANE USES NON-CERTIFIED INSTRUMENTS AND RADIOS" Where is the safety detriment? The airframe is still maintained to the certified standards and only the reporting of those items normally read on the panel is different. There is the added benefit (life saving strategy) of straight and level flight if inadvertent IMC or Loss of Control is encountered. Yes we do have "APPROVED" autopilots and glass panels but the certification process is so broken that the price of entry is way beyond the ability of most small GA airplane owners. Safety for the masses is available at a price they can afford yet we bar entry through bureaucracy. We have our entire segment of aviation (small GA) at risk of disappearing due to lack of ability to safely modernize the fleet to keep it active. Our segment is going away slowly and we can't do anything about it because of bureaucracy! I watched a webinar about the "fantastic VARMA system" now available. What a joke! We wait for MASAIC- from all I see it too will be a joke in the areas we need- trying to keep the fleet alive! Sorry to be pessimistic but if we don't solve the affordable electronics questions our segment of aviation will die and go away. Last comment- I saw a question asked just the other day- What will happen when the G1000s are no longer supported by Garmin? Do we just crush those Mooneys so equipped because they can't be modified? The problems are not limited to just the G1000 airframes.

I very much like the look of that. .Reminds me of my old man’s 78 XJ6L. Just needs a few flakey Smith’s gauges and you’re there.

Also with regard to the magnetometer or "flux gate" I found out something while replacing the screws on the cover over the unit. I had a seized nut plate and the parts manual lists incorrect nut plates. It list MS21049L08K. These are incorrect for G1000 airplanes as they are steel. The installed ones are correctly aluminum. I had a hard time finding aluminum but found them finally at nutplates.com. I also replaced all the screws on that panel with brass. MS24693bb2. I then placarded the panel "Flux Gate Non Magnetic fasteners and tools only".