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Hello all. TonyK here from Vermont. I joined the forum a few weeks back to gain some insight and knowledge. I am now ready to announce that as of today I have welcomed a new member into our family. Ladies and Gentleman I would like to introduce Victoria.

I'd rather have an elk, but I don't think those antlers would fit either. I'm a once removed vegetarian, I eat things that eat vegetables.

They can probably regionalize the ads as well. Let's see, a Stationair full of Maine lobsters, a Stationair full of blue craps from Maryland, a Stationair full of Salmon from Alaska, a Stationair full of shrimp from Louisiana, a Stationair full of Longhorns from Texas, a Stationair full of grits from South Carolina, a Stationair full of oranges from Florida, the list goes on and on... Now! Let's not have any of you starting turning this into a political discussion! Like a Stationair full of liberals or a Stationair full of conservatives. Personally, I know what a Stationair was designed for. Getting Bertha to her next meal.

My wife has been down this road before with me and airplanes. She was actually the one who gave it a name but it was Vicky said with a petulant sneer on her face. I thought that sounded a bit tawdry and went with Victoria but who am I kidding. It is a 1974 and is in pretty good shape. The engine is low time, the interior is about a 6 and the paint is around a 7. It has several speed mods on it. nose fairing, gap seals, wing roots, single piece belly. The avionics are a bit dated but I am ok with steam gauges so I can work with what I have for a while. We plan on using it as a launch platform for further adventure and as a way to get warmer in one tank of fuel during the winter months and cooler in the summers. I am going to just fly it for the first year or so until I get past the early ownership spend that always seems to happen.

Welcome and congrats! I too am a new owner. Bought and paid for but yet to be delivered. Wednesday hopefully. I too would like to hear more about "Vicki."

I greatly prefer to reinstall my own fuel caps anytime I take on fuel, but sometimes it's just not feasible to be on-site during the filling process. If I return to the plane and find this (see below) I first document it with a picture and then bring it to the attention of the FBO management. Not to be a dick but I've had to pry the locking lever up more than once and the repairs can get expensive. If a line-person breaks my cap I expect the FBO (or their insurance) to pay for the damages.

I thought I’d share an interesting experience from my latest trip into southern Colorado from my home base near the Texas Gulf Coast. For anyone flying over mountainous terrain this will demonstrate the awesome effects of wind over a mountain ridge and the resulting mountain wave effect. The phenomenon may extend many thousand feet above ground and may affect those flying turbo’d planes as well as normally-aspirated. FYI, on this flight I was in my normally-aspirated M20-J. Departing Durango, CO (KDRO) on an IFR flight plan I climbed to my requested altitude of 15,000’ to top an overcast sky containing light snow with temps just below 0C. Icing was a possibility but pireps were positive so I kept a vigilant watch for any accumulation as I climbed briskly through the clouds. I broke out around 14,000’ without any trace of ice and was given a clearance for Direct-to the Albuquerque VOR (ABQ) shortly after leveling off at 15K. The winds along this route of flight were quartering from my rear at around 50 knots and the ride was fairly smooth. I experienced a few noticeable airspeed changes as my autopilot (altitude hold) eased up or down to hold the assigned altitude. After several minutes on course I requested and received a clearance for Direct-to CNX (the Corona VOR) southeast of Albuquerque. As I approached the Sandia Mountain ridge that borders Albuquerque on the east I recognized a modest updraft as my airspeed increased nearly 20 knots while maintaining altitude (see photo Wave1). At this point I was at ~9,800’ AGL and on course to pass a few miles north of the highest peak (10,678’ MSL). Less than two minutes later I was again in straight-and-level flight a bit above 15,100 MSL with a typical cruise airspeed of 150 knots TAS (see photo Wave2). Then, over the next minute-and-a-half my airspeed slowly eroded as the autopilot gradually pitched up more and more in an attempt to maintain the assigned altitude (see photo Wave3). At 18:47:35 Zulu I was still at 15,032’ MSL but experiencing a descent rate of over 450 fpm. My plane was climbing through the air-mass between Vx and Vy airspeed yet starting to lose actual altitude. I was nearly 7,300’ AGL and was not in any imminent danger but at that point I disconnected the altitude-hold and contacted ATC requesting a “block” of altitude due to the mountain wave. After a very-brief “stand-by” ATC returned with a block clearance of 15,000’ down to 13,000’. As my altitude crossed below 15,000’ four seconds later (see photo Wave4) my rate of descent was passing 500 fpm. It wasn’t turbulent and I simply pitched to maintain airspeed. With still more than 7,000’ between me and the ground it was nothing to get excited about but was instead an event of great interest to me. Had I crossed the ridge at only 1,000’-2,000’ AGL it would have certainly been a bit more hair-raising. Twenty-one seconds later my altitude had decayed another 128’ while my rate of descent was passing 750 fpm; I was obviously just “along for the ride” (see photo Wave5). Thirty-seven seconds later my rate of descent reached a maximum of 868 fpm, all while in a full-power climb at 85 knots IAS (see photo Wave6). Just over one minute later my flight path bottomed out as the descent stopped approximately 1,000’ below my original altitude. The entire ride lasted approximately three minutes and 45 seconds. A few minutes later ATC requested a Pirep which I gladly provided and upon reaching 15,000’ again I cancelled the “altitude block” request. I experienced some less pervasive wave activity over the next half-hour, none of which exceeded the performance capabilities of the plane. My lesson learned in this was that adequate ground clearance (altitude) over the mountain ridge made this essentially a non-event. But with winds aloft of nearly 50 knots at my cruising altitude I would not have wanted to cross the ridge at only 2,000’ AGL or lower. Even at 3,000’-5,000’ AGL I believe the ride would have been alarming.

Not what you think! Mooney I Like to Fly!

Thanks everyone. Both Aerospace Welding in MN and Aero Engine Mount in NY quoted $650 to clean, inspect, install gussets and repaint. Since our overhaul is being done in NY we went with Aero Engine Mount since the shipping will be less. I will let you know how it turned out.

Welcome Tony! She is a babe! (I refer to my Mooney not as a member of the family but as the woman outside the house...the milf! I have also trained the wife and she's ok with her and they get along!) You are on the right track!

Took a friend flying last Saturday. After a little flightseeing (@Hank, if that word makes it into Webster's Dictionary you should get credit for inventing it) tour of Big Bear I let him take us around the practice area a few times. He told me that is the second time in his life that he has been at the controls of an aircraft, both times were Mooneys. (He has great taste ) http://intothesky.us/2017/02/25/flightseeing/ Took the family to Lake Havasu for lunch yesterday, just need to get the pictures sorted out and write about it. There will be a post coming up this week on the trip.

Welcome from a fellow F owner!

I am the new owner of N763RC. I will be flying it home later this week. I have been frantically reading everything I can find on the internet. I have a lot of experience flying really high (commercial airline pilot, 23 years) and a lot flying really low (Army helicopter pilot 12 years) Hanging out in the low FL's with a couple close friends sounds fun. I think I am just as excited about this airplane as I was about my nickel ride on active duty (first helicopter solo flight). N763RC comes with 1660 TT 1100 SMOH TKS I bought it from Jim Carter in Jonesborough TN. If anyone out there has any knowledge of this tail number, I'd love to hear your stories. Otherwise, as I get use to her, I'm sure I'll have lots of question. I promise to research questions prior to throwing out the same old ones that seem to go round and round. First question is; Thoughts on using Savvy Mx for the books? Mooney mx near SLC Utah, no service centers for miles away? I have gone over the POH a few times, seems straight forward. Thank you in advance for all your thoughts and Guidence. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For anyone who thinks the FAA doesn't have a sense of humor, Comic-Con is being held in San Diego this year and... http://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1703/00373comix.pdf#search=KSAN

Just wanted to announce that the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association will be our Convention and Tradeshow in Kelowna, B.C. this June 23-24. This is my hometown now and as a new Mooney owner I'd love to see a whole flock of Mooney's show up. It should be a great time. A first for me. Kelowna is semi arid and I situated relatively close to the Excited States border. It's on a 100 mile lake and is known as the Napa Valley of the North by some. It is a great destination to consider.

Not referencing any particular MSer or thread, but my life would be marginally easier if everyone said Dallas (RBD), rather than just RBD. I read most all the posts on MS, and spend some time flipping over the Airnav to check to see where Kxxx is.

I'm with you brother! I scrubbed my flight into the area on Thursday the 23rd as the winds were already 50 knots across the ridges and 70 knots at 12,000' near Albuquerque. At safe altitudes I'd have been bucking 100+ knot headwinds and it still would have been a VERY rough ride. One day later on the 24th I only took about 25 knots on the nose for the duration of the 850 nm flight as I was able to stay lower. Sometimes the best move is to simply not fly.

Yep, when you're making 168 knots true airspeed at 15,000' in a J showing ~0 fpm on the VSI (as I was doing on approach to the ridge) it's a pretty good sign that you're in "glider heaven" and are about to be in "single-engine hell" once you cross the ridge.

This was always my fave Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Congratulations on the new (to you) Bravo! Feel free to contact CAV Ice Protection if you have any questions about TKS. Technical Support can be reached at 913-738-5397. Best regards, Joel

I can get you a great deal on a load of blue craps from Baltimore.

Old memories are still good. What I had for lunch today is more of a challenge... Best regards, -a-

carusoam, Skates, Thanks and Skates remember when you get close to my neck of the woods let me know and I'll do the same when I get to SoCal. Cheers Alan

Awesome! Just in time for some spring travelling. Congrats on the purchase.

Welcome to Victoria and you.

Seriously , and no offense to the OP , but 2600 + hours , is grounds for immediate overhaul......

That's only because very few motors get to 2600 hrs, so we have no data. I would not tear it down just because of hours but I would assume it's a runout if I was a buyer.

Someone that has installed one may know. But personally, a seat belt wrapped around the yoke with the seat forward does just the job very well. Just never found the need for something better; especially when it needs to be permanently attached to the airplane.

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Made the breakfast run up to KCHA this morning to go to Tupelo Honey. Beautiful clear morning for Mooneys. Heard three others in the sky talking to ATL just in the 35 minutes I was with them. But it was cold for us down here in Alabama. So cold there were icicles hanging off of the engine monitor!

Ok, I guess I owe it to new northeastern Mooney Pilots to post about the NJ Mooney Pilots Group. Although the name has NJ in it, it's open to all surrounding areas and we fly to NJ, NY, and PA. Basically we're just based in the vicinity of NJ as opposed to eastern PA or northern NY. We meet for lunch at fly-ins about once or twice a month. Fly ins are scheduled on a weather/mood/turn-out basis ad hoc usually the day before. I used to have a website for the group when we first started until I lost it to a server crash. Haven't been able to recover it so this is your only chance to find out. We have over 80 members on our roster and typically 5-10 showing up at fly-ins. We had 6 Mooneys and 10 participants today for example. So, if you fly a Mooney out of or in the vicinity of NJ, you are welcome to join our group. PM me here on Mooneyspace with the following: Full Name Email Phone Home Base Model N-Number Remarks I will add you to our database of pilots and to our email list. Be sure to follow the yahoo-groups invitation email to get signed up for our email list. You won't get any emails for a while but then on a Thursday or Friday when there are good prospects for the weekend, you might see the list light up with restaurant suggestions. Feel free to chime in where you'd like to go and then the chosen location will be emailed to everyone on that list. So if you would like to join or know a Mooney pilot in the area that wants to join, get in touch with me here on Mooneyspace or by email to Mike and the domain NJMooney with a com on the end.

Hi Folks, I ran across this video the other day...it's truly, sidesplittingly funny! He has other satire videos that he's done, all related to Cirrus aircraft, so if you see them listed on YouTube I would encourage you to watch. Enjoy!

Only if you believe the NTSB report.

I cancelled a flight into the Rockies from KS 3 weeks ago due to 50+ knot winds aloft. I wanted no part of that crossing the big rocks going into Eagle or Rifle, so we stopped in Denver and drove the rest of the way. Mtn wave is something to be respected! Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

The panel is actually lexan and lights the instruments and switches like the fibre optic ones do now just back in 1980 something.

Time for an LED. No burn-outs and very little movement of the ammeter. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

"take statics, several decades ago..." And you still remember all that? Impressive I say!

You can watch and hear Bill Wheat's actual story on his flights with different sized empennage bolts, which were progressively installed in smaller increments and then test flown, by watching Boots On The Ground DVD. That particular segment of the video is worth the price of the DVD alone! During filming of the Boots Mooney documentary, many questions were asked of Bill, and others, regarding specific Mooney points of interest. These questions were asked with the specific purpose of getting accurate answers on film, directly from the horses mouth, so to speak. I apologize as this is not meant to derail this thread. It's only inserted to add information to Don Muncy's post.

Welcome! Have they shown you the secret handshake yet? :-)

There is no oxygen in the fuel tanks, it would be hard to light it. Here is the hot ticket: http://www.oasisscientific.com/vividia-va-400-rigid-usb-articulating-borescope-videoscope-inspection-camera.html im not sure how well it will tolerate fuel, but it should be fine on an almost empty tank. I wouldn't worry about the piece of metal too much. My boss dropped a piece of his fuel sampler into the tank of his A36 and we found it with the above borescope.

The fuel pickup has a screen covering the tube. I'll see if I can find a picture for you. The part might be hiding in the corner under the pickup.

I knew before I looked at the first 252, that they were all UL challenged. And while UL is important to me as I take up more than my share of it in the left seat, it's also the reality of the 252. So as I was shopping for one, I was comparing the UL on each one to the installed equipment. The one I bought, has a middle of the road UL, but has had equipment added over the last 20 years and nothing ever removed. So I figure that by removing the out dated and obsolete equipment from the plane, freshening up the panel, and possibly even removing the vacuum system, I could add a few pounds to the UL. And then, with an Encore upgrade, I should be in a very respectable 1050 to 1150 UL range. At that point, I'm still in a 252, and still only filling two seats on most flights. Now I can fill the tanks, climb into the flight levels and really go places, quite economically.

Easyjet flight EZY2157 Sunday 5th March to Amsterdam Booked. Train to Seppe booked. Hotel for the night booked. Flight case, headsets etc packed. G-OBAL is coming home next week. YAYAYAYAYAYAY

Everyone should do an ASR or PAR at least once before they really have to so you know what to expect!! Very cool and real team work with the controller.

Except it varies by model and year. My (electric) gear speed is 120 mph, and flap speed is 125 mph; most Jbars and hydraulic flaps are significantly lower. I like to enter an approach slowing towards 105 mph (90 knots) with ~16"/2300, and drop Takeoff Flaps when able (add 2" to hold speed). Then at FAF, or 1-1/2 dots high on the glideslope, I drop the gear, touch nothing and down the glideslope I come. No, I'm not high on the glideslope, the needle is a dot and a half high, glideslope is better intercepted from below for improved safety.

Exchange of anti-collision lights, position lights and landing & taxi lights by LED type lights is covered by EASA CS-STAN CS-SC031a. If your new installation complies with CS-SC031a, there is no need of minor change or STC. You should tell your mechanic that EASA CS-STAN has been in force for more than a year... I installed a LED landing light PAR46 on the M20J based on CS-STAN last year.