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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All

Well played, Foreflight.

You don't have to tell the NTSB anything. FAA either.

The value and safety of touch-and-goes . . . How long after rotation to raise the gear.

Mooney Christmas to all and to all a good flight.

Yeah. And even if we didn't already own our E or F I'm not sure the decision is much different. Since no existing Js, Es, or Fs have the $50k avionics we want to fly with I'm not so sure adding that $50k to an $50,000 E or F is likely to cost us more at resale time than adding the same $50k to a $75,000 J. I am guessing that buyers will come to realize that the M20 and Lycoming technology is over 50 years old and we can't change it much... except for the avionics.

I debated real hard with myself whether to sell my F before I upgraded the panel. I looked at a number of Js and the price jump wasn't worth it. Most had close to original panels or just a 430 in it. For me, the difference was selling a known airframe that I spent decades working out the bugs, to one that was a complete unknown. And with the speed mods I have, the extra 5 knots on the older Js wasn't worth the cost.

Honestly, If your mission is flying for fun w/in 300 nm and less than 100 hrs a year then just by a nice M20J for less than $100K and use the remainder to buy a vacation home or a second and third airplane! Sorry, couldn't help myself!

According to my imperfect memory, the three top most contentious subjects are now: 1. LOP v ROP 2. Bladders v Reseal 3. Flaps or No Flaps on take-off

Two separate planes, two different states, two different mechanics. I called mechanic who stated preloads were within limits. I flew for 4 hours over three trips after my annual this month. I meticulously check jbar on landing after the first plane issue. I called buddy who has mooney in annual and told to have nose gear replaced! What are the odds I'd have this happen? I taxied after landing and parked plane. Two days later I taxi for takeoff and nose collapses just like first plane!!! I am still in disbelief. This has been a solid plane so far with great handling and good instruments. I hope insurance repairs plane and doesn't salvage it. I've got a fresh annual on this plane, fresh ifr cert so I don't want to lose the plane! Now I get to tell the ntsb that this has happened again. Insert really angry words.

"how much is such and such plane worth?"

I'd find an experienced Mooney mechanic. Sorry to hear bout your misfortune. I manage maintenance activities for utility contractor. We have many mechanics and I can assure you all mechanics are not created equal.

You are right, they are whole different animals, but I think both are better than a 900 SMOH engine that hasnt been apart and looked at. The IRAN engine wont add much value, but it has been reassembled with a lot of new parts, bearings, rings, etc. Its a real plus when it gets a new cam and lifters.

Look at the airplane after its done. One has 900 SMOH, one is Zero SMOH or 900 SMOH and zero since IRAN. I know which one I would buy. All the damaged parts have been replaced. The insurance compnay's term for this is "betterment". Especially after seeing the condition of midtime engines at prop strike teardown. Most have serious issues with cam/lifter spalling.

Hi Cliff Y, I wouldn't call it debunk but rather question the all knowing authoritative tone the majority of your posts contain. If this is your idea of teaching owners about maintenance, I'd suggest a new approach. David

Oh, almost forgot. Merry Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year!

I hope he gets an enema first

Google is your friend. I just searched on "iPad aviation apps Europe" and this popped up: http://ipadpilotnews.com/2012/02/skydemon-brings-full-ipad-aviation-app-to-european-pilots/ It is a year old link so I don't know if the app is still around, but could be worth checking out.

Bob, what you have done with your panel is amazing...awesome! I love your plane, but I don't see 1966-1967 M20E's selling for over $75k regardless of what they have. The J has what our E's have (speed) and the addition of more back seat and baggage...So many 1977-78 J's out there and on the market...The short bodied Mooney's have a ceiling...Your plane is a beauty, but finding a buyer that will say "yes" over a J is a tough one...I think it is also a tough market for early J's as a nice 1978 is competing with J's that are newer and have removeable back seat and less age...$20k is a good price point between a good E and a "good J". You can buy E's for 40-50k all day...same as when I bought my plane...but you could not buy a J for under $70k. That has changed as some J's are getting well under that in the current market. I was in the $50k area when I bought my plane...I would NOT sell my plane for $70k. I am sure you would not either. I love my plane, but I would love a J....more.

Bought a c150 4 yrs ago to train. I tie down 100yds from lake aero styling. Well those guys are great. You can only imagine all the Mooney's I see. My wife said "we need a faster plane" how cool is that. Started looking on line for an upgrade and ended up with a converted m20d. I knew a mooney would be a good choice for our mission since I was lucky enough to go on many ferry flights to pick up various Mooney's for service. After some issues the best thing I heard from the Lake aero guys was "you got a fast one" Looking forward to many years of mooney fun.

I plan to go to a meeting and seeing people, but I plan to enjoy the sights, too.

I believe it was a couple more than that, but granted, some were very cursory and didn't take long to review. There were a number of very good planes in the mix. 4 stood out as exceptional. Offers were made on 2, a deal was struck on one, and one we were too late on with an offer on the table. One of them was picked up by another Mooney space member. There were a couple I really liked, but they also didn't fit Joe's mission. I spent way more time on it than I originally thought I would, as I began to really take this personally, to find the best one available at the time. It worked out to about 10/hr

Welcome Bonal! Lucky you living in Lakeport, or near by. I have a recommendation of where to take your Mooney for annual... I'm wondering if you are one of the two pilots that gave me a ride to and from LASAR this year?

I just uploaded an article from MAPA magazine comparing flight profiles from the J to the K. You can find it here: http://mooneyspace.com/files/file/29-j-vs-k-article/ I hope this sheds some light on your decision.

Thanks for your information. I made the deal on this plane today.

You might decide you want another plane some day (although a Mooney M20D is awesome), but I would sure hang on to that wife.

Tough choice. Read this about the KFC 225: http://www.peter2000.co.uk/aviation/kfc225/ I don't know the guy, nor do I have any experience with that autopilot, but it is enough to give me a bit of worry about owning one. The GFC700 is supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread, but I'm also wary of getting any G1000 system, especially a Mooney without WAAS, due to the monopolistic upgrade path at GREAT expense. I think it might be cheaper for those rare birds that already have the GFC700 vs. the STEC 55x, but you might call the factory to see what the latest quote is. If it were me, I'd rather have a non-G1000 bird with an STEC 55x since it has an upgrade path with the new DFC90 autopilot from Avidyne, and of course many WAAS and glass PFD upgrade choices as well.

My C takes off the same way with flaps up; I only use them on short fields (like 2000' grass) and when loaded near gross. Here's hoping for productive discussions in 2014!

Major thread creep warning: Having had nothing but Doberman Pinschers since 1990 I would comment that, in general, if you do not feed them for a day or two, they will welcome the first person into your house as a long lost friend and show them where the food is kept. (If they haven't figured out how to open it already.) Now, maybe you have a fully trained Schutzhund certified (or similar) dobie. If I had spent the time and $$$ to train one it would probably be going with me. By the way - what happens when a small girl gets into the dobies area? See attached... Apologies, but I love this breed and get a bit sensitive when their "Hollywood" side is mentioned. Back to the thread at hand.

I think insurance is likely to be your limiting factor. I would talk to an insurance broker and see what kind of coverage you can get while you are learning.

As much as I grouse about Jeppesen pricing for updates to the GTN and Aera units, I used to pay even more for the old Bendix/King KNS 80 and LORAN updates, plus spending a small fortune for Jeppesen plates (Q) series.and charts. A flight from CA To the Caribbean could use 4 or 5 heavy Jepp binders. Not the "good ole days". Easy to forget what a pain they were. A big thank you to ForeFlight for so much functionality for so little cost.

I don't think there is any worth it advantage adding another light in the cowling. However there maybe for some adding landing wing tip lights. This would help on taxiways cluttered with cars, planes, trees, lightpoles, etc. This could be on the form of small laser beams LEDs that illuminate obstacles ahead. Nothing more disgusting than finding out that your hangar taxiway is cluttered with improperly parked cars or even boats. José