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King is keeping us happy? By disallowing repair shops? By providing lousy and or vapor ware products? By pricing the replacement way above similar products? Don't get me wrong I love the king autopilot. Just done with gyros. And heaven forbid it breaks... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I pretty much nailed the coffin closed on this deal today. I saw a different airplane, and hey- it had a current annual! It had gobs of great things about it. Copious, well documented and organized, complete logbooks... A CFII owner and former mechanic, etc, who had a genuine love of the airplane. And hey- he put his money where his mouth is and took me up in it to show me it actually flew... and then agreed to have the local MSC look at the airplane for a PPI. I made him an offer (conditional to the PPI) on the spot and he accepted. Tomorrow I start paperwork, PPI prep, and nailing down the final financing issues. Signed for my hangar today, too. "PERHAPS TODAY *IS* A GOOD DAY TO FLY!"

https://youtu.be/3At7psTzlyA

My hangar elf tells me it is not hard to figure out.

They're setting up their business to benefit themselves. If I were Garmin I would do exactly the same thing. I would rather have a G5 will an attitude reference for the king autopilot too, but if that means I would need to charge $6K instead of $3K for the AI, then it's a fairly simple exercise to look at the cost/benefit. Who knows the relative cost of providing the G5 with a King output vs the GFC500, but I suspect that the Garmin strategy is to do the GFC 500 regardless. At that point, how many incremental G5s will Garmin sell if the output the AI to the king autopilot? How much value is there to Garmin if they lock an airplane into the Garmin ecosystem- the G5 requires Garmin navigators and the Garmin autopilot? Let's not forget that the KI300 is significantly more expensive than either the SAI340 or the G5. For me, it makes more sense to rip out the King system and go with Garmin compared to the KI300 and a G5 HSI. Garmin is IBM- there are a lot of people who will pay more for Garmin because it's Garmin, and that's okay. However, looking at the KI300 + G5, it makes more sense to me to go Dynon. It's going to be fascinating to watch how everything shakes out.

Hi Jesse, First off, I love the t-shirts! I wore both of the ones I bought at Oshkosh this year, keep up the good work! I was in a similar boat to you and @Raptor05121 when I bought my airplane, a 68 m20C, I was 22 when I bought it. Mine was about 2 years out of annual and was owned by a older WW2 vet who had bought it back in the early 70's and could no longer fly it. It had an engine right at TBO, okay paint, and a not so great but livable interior, and a so so panel. I paid $13,500 with a fresh annual (which later turned out to be a joke) and flew it from Oakland, CA to Vegas where I lived at the time. Since that time I have put more than 30k into it including rebuilding the engine (make sure you look for cracks in the case!), getting rid of the shotgun panel, WAAS GPS plus ADS-B, and freshening up the interior. I am an IA so that does not include labor... If you can get this for 18k or less, it may be worth it, but as Alex is saying ,this thing will eat you out of house and home very quickly. Even if you can afford the initial 40k you might have to sink into it to get it going, its all the reoccurring costs that will start to eat you alive. Hangar, insurance, repairs&annuals, upgrades....the list is never ending. I just purchased a home with my girlfriend and now find it more difficult than ever to afford the airplane, I sold a 1/2 share to a partner about a year ago which has made a huge difference in costs but it still adds up. Take a big step back and look at your financial situation and make sure you can make it work in the long run. If you can swing it for a few years and get it airworthy, then you can get a few partners or buy something cheaper to maintain. If you are serious and intend to move forward with an offer, get a set price in your head and don't offer any more than that. Appealing to the family that you're a young guy and you will fix it and fly it again will go a long way! Make a list of all the repairs the will be needed to get it back in the air and present that, and explain to them that if they don't sell it to you, it might end up in the scrap heap...or worse with @Alan Fox! Good luck and keep us updated! Do your research and don't give up! Here is a picture of me at KCCR with the original owner the day we took it home for some inspiration (he was a P-51 pilot, pretty cool!)

It may be pretty mundane to many of you but I used my Mooney to do my work commute for the first time this week. I have been working a contract in Boston, MA but live near Rutland, VT. My Tuesday morning commute starts off around 4:00am to be in for early meetings. That got cut down to 38 minutes air time and another 30 minutes from KOWD into the customer site. Amazing to get into the meetings and not be exhausted from the drive and in a pretty lousy mood from the BOS traffic. The way out today was a bit more interesting since they were calling for heavy thunderstorms. I hit a wall of rain as soon as the gear was up in the wells and my strike finder earned it's keep most of the way home. The return trip was 58 minutes from KOWD to KRUT due to the dancing between the dots I was having to do. Not as cool as going someplace interesting but huge for me. Yea Mooney!

As everyone else said above, that guy is crazy. Your C will make an excellent IFR airplane. I flew IFR all over the county in mine, loved every min of it. Congrats on the hanger. I live exactly 2 min from my hanger, unless there is a train. Then it takes about 4.5min to go the extra 1/2 mile to the bridge. Living at an air-park would be the only thing better. Cheers, Dan

Dual NavComms aren't required for IFR, nor is glideslope. Remember the pnemonic GRABCARD? Generator or alternator Rate of turn indicator (turn coordinator or turn & bank indicator) Altimeter, sensitive (Kollsman window) Ball (inclinometer, the ‘level’ component of a turn coordinator or turn & bank indicator) Clock (digital display or sweep second hand) Attitude indicator Radios as required for navigation and communication Directional gyro or heading indicator

I didn't think the inner ring was that difficult to replace. Make note of what order nuts/washers go in as the shaft is taken apart and put it back together the same way. Adjust the nut as necessary prior to putting the cotter pin back in.

Sounds like an ignorant pilot. Most any airplane can be IFR capable, the minimum requirements are actually very few... There are plenty of C models out there that are flown in IFR all the time. Sounds like your current panel is a good start, the 430W is incredible in what it can do.

Garmin will put many planes in the GFC500 bucket, and fairly quickly. Otherwise they'll cede a large market to Trio and TruTrak. Sent from my LG-US996 using Tapatalk

Yep, there are less expensive options, but you wont't get any benefit from going another route. If you WAAS the 430 you will get LPV approaches and a much faster processor. The 330 ES upgrade will make you ADS-out compliant plus you will get traffic on the 430.

But this is first recorded instance that Peter has publicly mentioned disappointment in Garmin, so I couldn't resist pointing it out, but we still love him.

We have 160 registered people and 13 Presidents club members! At the present time, we have to limit registrations to standby status because of physical space limitations, but will add everyone in the order they signed up as cancellations are received. The Summit's agenda is posted at www.mooneysummit.com. Once again, we will have a silent auction and raffle for some fantastic items courtesy of our great sponsors. Thanks to everyone for making this successful beyond my wildest expectations!

I don't think Michael Baraz is active here, PM me if you would like his email address. I am sure he would be happy to give you a ride. If you were a dog, he would be all over it

Phil Jimenez is in Avon Park, and he has an excellent reputation as a Mooney Mechanic. I am told is reasonably priced. He has many recommendations on this site if you do a search for him. I think his company is PJ Aircraft.

Jesse, Read most of the posts on this thread. Lots of great advice. Awesome story to boot! Super ironic to because here is my story: I am 25 now. I currently own a Cherokee 140/160 that I bought 2 years ago for time building in order to qualify for the ATP, before the regs changed. That mission has since come and gone. 100kts is too slow for me. My main job is flying a Lear 45 for a company part 91 and I am at 1800 hrs of TT. (Go get those certificates and ratings dude!) I stumbled upon a hangar this past May and saw a Mooney sitting inside. Tracked down the owner only to find out he is on his death bed due to cancer. I got the hangar key from his wife ad let myself into the hanger. In front of me was a beautiful 1977 M20J that hasn't flown for 10 years. 950 hrs TTAF & original engine. Complete logs. 2007 was the last annual and also when the tanks were drained & resealed (still drained now). Brand new interior that has never been flown in. Garmin 530W and the list goes on. The exterior paint was waxed and left to dry on to preserve the paint. Spider webs and 3 flat tires gave it the only negative appeal as it sat in the corner of the hanger. Present time: The owner has passed away and the wife doesn't want a hangar bill every month so, I made an offer on it. Waiting to hear back on it now. A lot of risk involved here, I know. I cannot wait until we settle on an offer so I can get a pre-buy done and find out what I am going up against. If the price is right and I dont need a engine for it (we will see what the pre-buys says) Im going to sell the Cherokee and go for it. We both are in a very similar boat it seems. Best of luck to you.

@M20FanJesse, are you paying attention? I may have to get one of these myself . . . . .

Honestly if it is under 5k and talks to our kap150 it's worth it.

A testament that over 60 is not the limit. Congratulations and thank you for sharing your amazing voyage. José

Thanks, I think my favorite is flying over OSH with the show in the background. Of course I was following Lead so I didn't get to look out at all.

Googling the registration looks like the tail number has been taken by another airplane? Second, I know the concern of the group will be that the family gets a fair price and isn't taken advantage of in their possible ignorance. That said if it has sat that long that does indeed devalue it quite a bit as it may need a lot of work. Personally I think it should be flying again, and maybe the family feels the same way and wants you to be the one to make it happen... be honest with them and maybe approach it this way.... I'm willing to buy the airplane for x, as there is probably a lot of work to make it flyable again. I can save you all the time of marketing it or a possible brokers fee and you'll make a young man very happy who will treasure and appreciate it and make it fly again. I can't promise that you might not make more from someone else, but I think mine is a fair offer. And make a fair offer... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

KFPR is $426 for a T, pretty sure you would have to get on a waiting list. If you want cheaper I think you have to get away from the coast and populated areas.

That P-51 pilot looks in great shape. I didn't realize you liked wearing those golf hats. [emoji23] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Everything I've heard about Phil Jiminez is great. His email is: swiftss559@gmail.com (This may be his cell number 352-222-9135, but for sure that's his e-mail address.)

A Long Body + P51 = The length of the cowl really makes the difference. Al must have had a great day when he penned the scaled version of the P51... Best regards, -a-

...and counting....

Any chance she will make the Summit in Sept/Oct? I may be a bit biased, but Mooney restoration projects are cool as hell and I could look/talk about them 10x longer than the newest Acclaim.

Thanks, Alex. You really should make the trip. It's a long way from Florida, but you can get to Fargo on the first day and be on the Alaska Highway by the second. If you do fly the highway, the bible is the Alaska Airmen's Logbook, which is unfortunately out of print. You're right about the Pioneer Air Museum. I should have gone back.

Sarasota Avionics is a MSC. Their Mooney shop is located at KVNC. I had them perform my annual this year, have had avionics work/upgrades performed, mechanical issues fixed, and autopilot repairs done there. I have been very impressed with everyone I have encountered at their facility. They are very easy to work with. Their Director of Maintenance (D.G.) is very knowledgeable and thorough. Hope this helps.

1) Rumors of sketchy things that you heard probably won't Be much help... 2) JC at Daytona rebuilt a 201 to better than new status and demonstrated some of the skills his shop has. That is a thread worth reading... 3) Not sure when an avionics shop makes sense for a PPI. It would be good if you were buying an expensive I-panel... 4) Why do you need a PPI? Best regards, -a-

That is the air intake for the engine, intended to take advantage of positive pressure to increase Manifold pressure. We would have to ask a Missile owner if it works.

Same here. I tooled around inside the DTW Mode C veil for a while and got my check. No rhyme or reason to what I did other than to make sure I stayed above about 1500 AGL the whole time. The most structured thing I did was go to the bank. Cha-Ching!

I ran mine to 2500 and the engine shop said it looked great...could have easily gone to 3k.

Here is a picture of it on an F I found online. Its a good thing because the sonalert gear horn is fairly unreliable in my experience vs the stall horn. -Robert

You'll love it. We left home with 1500psi on a 74cu ft tank and flew to Cali, or, ut, and back and used like 500psi for 2 people.

FC3 is twice almost twice as much as Air Hawk. Will it last twice as long?

I know Hannah, she's a hard working and good person. I hadn't seen her in a while and didn't know she was doing this, I'll have to make fun of her and/or see if I can buy a set for myself!

Brian Lloyd with Spirit on the apron at Oakland California airport 31JULY2017

Wow, just watched 16 Right The Romance of Flying on DVD last week for the first time. Yeah, I recognize that airport. Great documentary that I suspect almost every pilot has watched. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Follow the eclipse . . . Which will be moving in the neighborhood of 2000 mph (faster in oregon, slower in SC). It won't make a second's difference. Best viewing will be on the ground, where you aren't distracted by having to fly the durn airplane. You airborne people with paper glasses, be careful!

That jackshaft is a Motherfucker to replace , You have to pull the interior , the brakes , the pedals....... Hate that one....

Jesse, What a cool find! This experience alone is a once in a lifetime event. I was involved at a young age with a barn find, a 1967 big block Corvette convertible. A mentor of mine bought it and got it running and I was a part of that, I still cherish the memory of riding down the road listening to the side pipe exhaust and all the heads turining to look at this time capsule. As cool as it was to be a part of it, I didn't have the means or know how to bring that car to completion. Airplane ownership can be very costly. More so than classic cars or even houses. It can also be very rewarding, If my 24 year old son wanted to buy this Mooney, I would discourage him from doing so. Having owned a couple of planes, I know the hidden costs that abound. What I would do however is encourage him to buy a home, fix it up and rent it out. Use the cash flow from the rental, even if it is just a couple of hundred dollars a month, toward the airplane dream. Let someone else pay for your airplane and pay off your house. You are young, build your empire and then buy the airplane that you want. In the end it will be a much more satisfying experience. Thanks for sharing this experience. I look forward to finding out what becomes of this beauty. Best, Steve

So are you say'n since Mooney is in Texas and I am told that everything is bigger in Texas. would that mean that someone from Texas needs to put a Rolls Royce Merlin in a Mooney?

Pretty sure that was used in WWII. and pretty sure in my mind that M20 F is just a P51 in disguise.

Looks like a winner.Any idea what the price tag will be??

I don't agree. If you did annuals on the truck and overhauled the engine, and fixed everything wrong with it, it would last just as long as a mooney.

That is correct with regard to "plain" silicone O-rings, which are not recommended for use with hydrocarbon fuels - or silicone grease. However, this is not the case when using Fluorosilicone O-rings which are not adversely affected by hydrocarbon fuels, silicone grease, or petroleum grease. bumper