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Recently, last November in fact if I remember rightly, I was delighted to finally join the esteemed fraternity of Mooney owners, with the purchase of my first Mooney, a sweet little 1964 M20C Mark 21. I was, and still am, extremely happy with the purchase. She was drinking a little too much, (oil), so I was aware that some work would need to be done in the fairly short order, but I didn't give a shit, because as far as I was concerned, a Mooney in need of some repair was way better than no Mooney. initially I had been a little disappointed with the climb performance and airspeeds I was getting, but wasn't sure if this was the planes fault or my own, or even over expectation. So I thought screw it, dropped the keys with my L.A.M.E. with the instruction to "fix everything". That work has now been done, basically a top end rebuild for the engine, and may I say, I am even more enamoured with the Mooney brand than ever. Performance is now pretty much as advertised, and she goes like I had always thought a Mooney SHOULD go! I am absolutely a stone cold devotee for life, and I'd like to suggest that Al Mooney be rightly made a saint.

Back to the issue at hand. My thoughts are as follows: 1) This aircraft likely isn't going to sell as is for $14.5K. 2) $10,000 to make the fuel tanks airworthy seems excessive. 3) Aircraft ownership is going to cost you one way or the other...in the wallet or in the form of sweat equity. Sorry for the "tough love", but if your dream is to own and operate this Mooney, then you need to stop with the sob story and get to work. You have stated that you can't afford to just pay to have it fixed, so that leaves only one other option...sweat equity. Talk to your mechanic, if he won't work with you find one that will. The are several airports within 25 miles of you, which means there are several IAs. No offense intended, but anyone maintaining a certified aircraft needs to be prepared to write a $10,000 (or more) check at anytime or be capable with tools and have a predefined relationship with an IA (having both options is best). If you have neither, you need to find a creative way to make up for it. A sob story isn't going to get you anywhere. There are many folks who've conquered worse. You need some inspiration; you should watch the movie "The Edge" There's a lot I like about the film. In particular there are two quotes from the movie that are applicable here. "Never feel sorry for a man who owns a plane" "What one man can do, another can do" There is a way out of this FlyHigh603, but your current mindset is way too negative. You're currently heavy on devastation and light on gumption; you need the inverse to make this work.

I can get you the LS6 at or below cost, benefits of working as Parts Director (soon to be Controller) for three GM Dealerships... I'd be happy to do that in exchange for a ride in it after you've built and tested it.

You're driving a roadster and you'll feel the road more than in a Mercedes limo. But you might be sure the tires are not seriously over inflated...

I've had my first customers airplane now for a couple weeks for the cowling modification. I'm waiting on FAA field approval before I physically start the mod on the aircraft. I have all the parts in house and just have a little more to finish on the baffling then I'm ready to go. My backup plan is using DER's if for some reason the FAA turns down the field approval. Once I get started, I'll post the before, in progress and finished photos in this thread. Thanks, David

Here's some footage I took after a flight: looks like we gonna change the mag gasket and see if that fixes the issue.

Hi, Wanted to provide everyone who gave such great advice a quick update. I've seen some sad Mooney's, had some close calls on some great planes and missed out. Tomorrow I'm hopeful that she'll be the one I fly home. Yes the avionics are a bit on the older side and the panel could use a small amount of configuration, but she's been the pride and joy of an owner and seems to be very well maintained and the price allows me to get into an M20F at a decent price point and do some flying before I go for my instrument rating. During the negotiation, preparing for the pre buy and the final inspection I've had the benefit of this groups help and I just wanted to say thanks. If this isn't the plane I'll keep looking until I find the right one but I know all of the things to look for and the cost to resolve certain issues. I'll update the group on the outcome.

Ditto, except once gear is extended the Ovation can be flown at 165 KIAS. Wind noise is drowned out by passengers' screams.

Might as well take the time to repaint the gear parts. Bead blast. Passivate. Epoxy prime. Urethane paint. Reassemble. It'll look like a million bucks for about 200$ and a couple days time

After a week of work on our new Florida home, all three of our kids arrived in the last day for a week of family time. The oldest with her husband and our only two grand kids. All but one son ( flew into Sanford this afternoon) drove down in one van nonstop from Green Bay, WI.......argh. Anyway, met another Mooney Spacer (Steve) from Canada and saw this really beautiful airplane on the ramp last night. When we went out for the "Friday Night Air Show" there was a young couple getting their picture taken professionally with the plane as the background. They OBVIOUSLY have taste!!! Tom

Well gang, here we are…the week before Sun N Fun and things are still looking great! Sorry I didn’t get any updates out last week, just too much going on. Last Wednesday we flew our 172 up to KC to do a familiarization flight with the FAA. This flight is one of the next steps in getting the full system approval. We walked them through all of the autopilot modes and operation of the system. Discussed lots of installation design details and things like that. Later this week, we will receive the full report with any recommendations, but the briefing that we got after was very positive. There were a few small recommendations, which we were actually already planning to implement prior to releasing the next version of software. No surprises and even very positive comments on how well the system flew the aircraft (it was quite turbulent and the altitude hold was keeping things within 20 feet of the selected altitude) We WILL for sure have our STC in hand by the show. It is looking like it might actually happen midweek this week. I know that you are all wanting some more information, and I have been giving out little bits here and there. I promise I will have lots of great information for you midweek. Think Wednesday. Put all of your positive thinking energy in that direction :-) I will say this. We are officially allowing people to place orders for the 172 and 177 installation kits. Purchasing an install kit will do several things for you. First of all, it will put you on the list for receiving your complete autopilot system this summer. Second, you will get all of the installation brackets, AN hardware and stuff like that. Third, for the early bird folks, it will include a free wiring harness. OH, you want to know the price for the install kit. We will be selling the install kits for $1000. Yes, you can pick up 172 and 177 kits at SnF. Yes, we can drop ship kits from the factory. Yes, when you order your kit, your name goes on the OFFICIAL order list for full system delivery. We are taking about 25 of the 172 (F – R model) kits and about 15 of the 177 (all models) kits with us to SnF. We will have additional kits back at the factory that can be drop shipped, as we know that some won’t want to carry them home from Florida, or won’t be in attendance. I have had several folks ask about sharing these emails on group sites and message boards. Yes, that is certainly fine with me. Also, forward to any friends you have that might want to be on the list! Below is a link to the list that you are all on. PLEASE DON’T ADD YOURSELF AGAIN! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdj-PF1UNoTkoLSN-XpodyNJ8MNvNnc8XKM7aX-Ut4vl-hY3w/viewform?c=0&w=1 That is all I have for this moment in time. Come see us at Sun N Fun! I am the “goofing looking blonde haired hippy in the cowboy hat” as the folks here at TruTrak call me. Our 172 will be in the EAA boothLD-007 and we will be at our indoor booth A-93. See you soon! Andrew Barker President / CEO TruTrak Flight Systems Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

I don't know what else to say but to offer every cent I have. You guys decide for yourselves.

I don't know about the short vs long term issues with these engines, but for the price of it, you could put in a factory new LS engine every 500 hours for less than the cost of the upkeep/overhaul of a proper aviation engine. Just a thought.

Yes. PLA=polylactic acid. Not much odor, at least, not at printing temperatures. I will try a few tricks to make them better, such as using smaller diameter nozzles, and printing four in 90 degree rotations to see if/which is best.

Time to disassemble.

Mixing Corvettes and Aircraft, not a good idea... https://www.craigslist.org/about/best/cha/5270430991.html

Yes, we have an approved fix and are working through it. The DER prescribed a doubler to cover the spot after the corrosion was all cleaned out. The doubler is only about 4" long. It's taking awhile with all the approvals and inspections, but I think we'll be done in another week.

Thanks for the replies. Bob, Yes, I double checked . It's 49 PSI. Good call though. Andrew, after watching your video I feel better. I guess that's the way they are supposed to ride on the ground. I thought the ride would be more cushioned because there is always talk of how worn out pucks will contribute to fuel tank leaks. Nice video by the way. What a gorgeous Mooney! The steering horn made a huge difference. Highly recommend to anyone with shimmy or sloppy steering.

It makes sense to me. Kind of how a car has a softer ride when the shocks are bad. I did the steering horn swap, and boy was I glad to get rid of the shimmy.

She's a beauty!!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Dunno, but if that's the case you should pimp it out further. I'm picturing purple metallic paint and spinners on the wheels. Maybe a giant subwoofer in the baggage compartment. The Mooneys do ride low I had my original pucks replaced after prebuy so have nothing to compare to. But the nose does oscillate a bit after hitting even a small bump.

Unfortunately the only way to answer that question is to start flying and see if it fits your needs. As we all know there is no such thing as a free lunch. Even if you don't solve all your business travel requirements you may solve some of them and guess what worst case you find out you love to fly and have just discovered a new passion in your life.

What we did on mine is apply the vinyl which are individual letters and than clearcoat over it. The entire aircraft is clearcoated. So on mine, the clearcoat over the vinyl is invisible. If we did it on a non-clearcoated aircraft, we would have to mask around it and you would see the clearcoat if you looked close. Or we make a vinyl reverse mask and spray on the placards. It just depends... I looked through my photos but I couldn't find anything except this pic. The "205 SE" silver is actually a silver vinyl that was clearcoated. Everything else is paint. I can shoot a pic tomorrow of the no step or the fuel placard, etc.

Vg is best glide. Note it varies with weight. Thanks for the other numbers. The 3 speeds that increased would be nice to have. Vne - red line, Vno - bottom of the yellow, and Vf - max flap. As it is I often cruise in the yellow, descend at red line, and cannot use flaps until into base leg.

As much as I played with my cowl flaps in the past 100 hours of flight time, I haven't noticed a lick of difference in speed or CHTs (albeit I only have the factory probe on the #3 for the Garwin cluster)

I inherited Champion plugs when I bought this plane. They performed and tested terribly and I switched to Tempest fine wires asap. I had to buy a Gill battery in an emergency. Performance was marginal and I got rid of it 7 months later in favor of a Concorde RG 35 AXC.

I bet if Sam Walton was late for a meeting, no one would give him s**t... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I will stick to a Continental , or a Lycoming , or Jacobs , or P&W .......... . Leave the car engine where they belong : on the ground .

I vote right mag. And a note with video. Find your shot. Hold steady, count to 5. Then move. Repeat.

Like you, I love my C! She's just dandy, gets me where I want to go, does so quickly and in fine style.

At this point, it's just a dream. I haven't through about exactly which model I will go with but I know it will be a lancair. I also agree with you re the engine choice. I have read a lot of negative stuff about car to plane transitions and I def don't want to pick from the two choices you listed. I'm hopeful that we will have a good turbine solution by that point as that would make for the ultimate fast plane.

That plan seems kinda slow given how pointy-fast it looks. it looks like a fighter jet but powered like a bonanza. although it is aerobatic capable. it reminds me of one of those kit car conversions where you can make a Volkswagen bug look like say a Ferrari / so it looks great but won't perform like a Ferrari - but maybe looks good is good enough- as riccardo montelban character on snl years ago said, "it's not how you feel - it's how you look... and look marvelous!"

Lycoming TIO540AF1A or TIO540AF1B (Bravo) uses the HB (3/4") plugs. The 5/8" (EB) won't even screw into the spark plug hole. The guy selling them has an A36 Bonanza which has the Continental and they won't fit his engine.

30 mains and 49 on the nose. I wonder why the difference? It would seem the weight would be the same up front.

You building a Lancair or planning to build one? Which model? I would stick with an aviation engine when you get to that point. Way too many have gone down the automotive engine path with pretty poor results, the best being a financial disaster and the worst being fatal. I had that same desire, being a muscle car owner and drag racer, but was convinced over time that's a match that just doesn't work. Tom

Just learned something interesting today. If you plug your Ipad into a charger, the cord must first be plugged into the charger first then into the Ipad or it will not charge. Whether in the house car or in the plane. I had the problem the other day where my Ipad would not charge in the plane and I thought that it was a bad plug, I switched out to another plug and it worked, but I had also unplugged from the Ipad. Long story short, another pilot comes into the office today while we are having a Bravo Sierra session, and said that he had this same problem and was about to get a new Ipad when his IT guy said that there is a switch in the Ipad that will only allow the charger to be plugged in one way. For what its worth. Pritch

Bob, That is a great explanation. I learned or re-learned something new tonight... Flat cylinder engines run the electrons differently from center to the outside, or the outside to the center, depending on their location... The most of the erosion occurs depending on the direction of the electrons flow... Go EAA for explaining real life plugs and magnetos for me..! Best regards, -a-

I tried sticking my 25" mtn bike in the Mooney and it would need the tires off seat removed. The cross bike is a 69cm I think it would also fit.

As Ben Franklin once said: "Never go to an old barber, a young doctor or an inexperienced Mooney mechanic."

Well, happy to report I went for 2 flights today. Both times it worked perfectly. Maybe it is a vacuum issue. I do have an elec vacuum so I'll do some more testing.

I have a G model and the cowl flaps are fixed and not adjustable.

I feel like I'm going to need some lube when David finally posts some more pictures.

I love my F model, but there are 3-4 months out of the year when it's only useable 2-3 days per month. I understand the limitations on small airplanes and icing and don't intend to cruise in it. Around here, I could fly all winter if I could climb/descend through a 2-3000' layer with light to moderate ice. Cruise would be in the clear. The weather isn't really low, but low enough to stop you from going anywhere vfr below the clouds - especially with the mountains around. Lots of SR22s around flying all winter safely...although I prefer Mooney.

Search is your friend here.... there are more than a few threads that run for hundreds of posts on this very topic. BTW... you want the manual gear.

I agree with the others here, wash the engine off very good with mineral spirits and a parts washer then add some UV dye to the engine. Run it a few minutes and then go over it with a black light that stuff is great

Agree - tweaking for better cooling should be done. By flipping this piece all it did was actually double the area on the bottom. I need to do another test flight but I'm pretty happy with it as is 340-350 on all cylinders. Think with some more gap sealing I should be able to drop 5-10 more degrees with rtv.

I'm keeping quiet for the most part about Mooney "experts" because I know a few guys that work on a bunch of Mooney's that I wouldn't trust to wax mine. I got to say though, no problem with a good honest mechanic if he knows what he is getting into (he knows he will have to learn) and doesn't charge you for his learning curve. There are many times where I bill 1 hour for every 3 I work because I have to educate myself of a specific problem. If I think that the knowledge I gain will pay dividends on future work, I have no problem taking the time hit if the owner is willing to let me do it. That is how experience is gained. Same reason I pay my apprentices $15/hr and charge the customer $75, because I can only bill for one out of every 4 hours they work