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Hello MS'ers, Wanted to take this time to commemorate the 1 year anniversary of my first flight in my Mooney. Picked up N231CK from the shop a year ago, after some post purchase work and upgrades, and have been flying every chance I get. I logged 276 hours with 160 landings in those 12 months and have enjoyed the heck out of it. I've learned that I don't like flying at night; it is really dark out there and any off airport landing will likely hit something very hard. And my night landings are usually my worst..but hey, I can usually get my night currency in one trip down the runway (3 bounces count, right?). Conversely, I got my IFR and really enjoy flying in IMC and the utility that it brings. It is still nerve racking and exciting. But, my actual IMC has all been departures and en route with no approaches yet. This past year, I traveled to Denver (~20x), Chicago Area (2x), Kansas (3x), Nebraska (2x), Arizona (3x), Nevada (4x), Texas (3x), and Utah (2x), as well as a host of other places across NM and CO too numerous to mention. I've scrubbed a couple flights, delayed a couple, but have benefited from a remarkably good dispatch record, considering. These Mooney's are travelling machines for sure. I have an opportunity to fly to Orlando (~1,400NM) for a conference in 2 weeks, but after my last trip back from Chicago where I was bucking headwinds the whole way, I'm rethinking that potential 10 hour (probably 2 day) return trip from Orlando. While I'd love to say I did it, I may sit in the back and have a drink for that trip. I've benefited tremendously from the knowledge and resources provided by the community here at MS and for that, I am very thankful. I hope to be able to collect enough in the experience bucket to be able to contribute meaningfully some day. Thanks again for everything! Vance ps. Attaching a photo of the panel and of the family. The family trip was last September on the way to Salt Lake City for labor day. My wife hates flying, but she was a trooper and the trip up was super smooth. Not so on the way back and it was the last time she's been in the plane. Glad a took a photo as proof.

What a handsome family. Spoiler alert, the kids are going to grow and get heavier.

What’s a vacuum pump? [emoji23] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

When it dies. Nice thing about STEC autopilots is they don’t need no stinking vacuum to keep the wings level and to hold altitude.

Had a couple die at less than 100 hours and one go 1200 hours. All the rest failed around 600 hours. Only one gave notice of impending death, low pressure for a couple hours on a trip. Next start it worked normally (ordered pump, VFR weather) but failed on a four hour trip home. Once on the ILS into Little Rock, my wife elbowed me, tore half the cover off an NOS book, handed it to me to put over the AH. Now that's a co-pilot!

I am an A&P IA and my hobby is resurrecting forgotten planes. The most difficult thing I come across is not mechanical but psychological. When I go to sell a plane that had previously sat (one Mooney 10 yrs, one Piper Warrior 15) its almost impossible to convince buyers that the engine wont disintegrate and the wings won't fall off. I agree with several of the other post that the biggest issue with Lycomings sitting is the high position of the cam shaft. If you pull all cylinders and they look good, cam looks good, it's probably good. I always overhaul or replace all engine accessories and flush the entire fuel system. All hoses need to be changed as well. Just assume if the climate is dry enough to protect the engine, it will rot any rubber on the plane. I am usually shocked to find the avionics working after all that time! I also agree that if you have to pay someone else to do most of the grunt work not to mention the liability of sighing off an engine when the manufacture suggest a calendar overhaul date (be sure to check all AD's engine and airframe and mandatory SB's), it may not be worth it. It's not rocket science but common sense is needed. Good luck!

276 hours is very impressive. I'm happy in the years I hit 100.

That is an outstanding effort Vance and congrats from me as well. You have a nice panel and beautiful family including maybe two future Mooney pilots behind you. My 17th Mooneyversary happens on October 26th. I hope you enjoy every hour of flight as I have.

Departing 29 out of Petaluma there’s a soccer field on the centerline just past the street visible at the lower edge of the image. It’s often densely packed with kids and parents. I resolved that, if the engine quit on departure below turn-back altitude, I’d turn right about 20 degrees & go into the golf course rather than endanger all those people. (I never liked golf that much anyway) In 20 years of flying out of that airport I never had to test my reaction for real. Perhaps he turned to avoid a crowd of kids.

In my last M20E, I had 2 vacuum pump failures in 23 years (about 2200 hours) of ownership, both in VFR conditions. Also had the Precise standby vac system. During the first failure, I decreased manifold pressure to enable the Precise standby to generate vacuum. Then I realized that my sTec worked independent of vacuum, and decided to return to normal cruise speed and fly using the autopilot and compass. Our current M20C vacuum pump is well over 500 hours. We carry a spare pump in the luggage compartment.

And they should really be called uni-odes!

There really isn't any such thing as "an aircraft type electrician". There are A&Ps that are good at wiring and there are A&Ps that aren't. Its really pretty simple: your buzzer is getting power and ground at times when it shouldn't. Using the schematics, trace from the ground backwards through the circuit until you get to a voltage source. On the diodes, current only flows in one direction, so the electrons will flow from the ground through the diode in the direction that the triangle points. Check each piece of wire and switch until you find your culprit. My guess is that if it isn't a diode, then you have a chafed wire that is making its own ground.

Have no need for one. Replaced with Standby B&C alternator wth added Aspen and standby electric A/H.

Here’s a crazy story: I was sitting in my airplane in the hangar with my hangar and airplane door open, showing my friend my Sensorcon detector. Another airplane taxied from right to left in front of my hangar, about 30-40 feet away. My CO detector started to register CO within seconds, rising to over 30, beeping and flashing!

Generally hiring summer interns is a good thing. Shows the company isn’t completely out of money. They are hiring them to complement engineers, not to replace engineers. It’s also a good recruitment tool if every now and then you can convience one to come to work for you after they graduate. We usually keep 10 per semester in our engineering department and offer the good ones full time positions 3-6 months before they graduate. For a few offers have been extended up to 12 months out.

It's the thing only my speedbrakes need.....

(Totally kidding there, btw) Its not THAT bad. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

You pretty much nailed it Bob. Our goal is to provide the very best Subject matter experts to better the breed of Mooney pilots. We helped Jolie and Jan kickoff their fantastic RSR course a few years ago when they presented at the Mooney Summit II, but since then they have not returned to present as their business model wouldn't work without receiving an honorarium, and ours wouldn't work if we started this practice. We do not pay our fantastic SME's, (or board members or officers or anyone else) although the likes of Max Gurgew, Bob Kromer, Karl Ludolph, Dan Bass etc all deserve well more than the gratitude of our 170 registered attendees give them and the tax break they get for their expenses. They are delighted to do it to help each of us become a better steward of general aviation, Mooney aircraft, and help us fund the Bill Gilliland foundation so that we may provide assistance when one of us or our families really need it. A huge thank you to them and the generosity of our sponsors, presidents club members and attendee who donate that allow us to put the event on in a first class manner and allow us to do our charitable work

A longtime 201 owner with a wealth of Mooney knowledge, Yoda mentored many of us fortunate enough to call him a friend. I still wear the “West Coast Mooneys to OSH” t-shirts he would hand out in the North 40. This tragedy reminds us of the fragility of life, and underscores why we should appreciate every moment.

I’m looking forward to having my TruTrak AP installed and am more than happy with altitude hold, heading and gpss.

https://www.flyingmag.com/california-pilot-makes-simple-aviation-marketplace-wingswap

I received the following email from Dave Piehler when communicating with him about Richard and Sue. I encourage everyone to consider making a small contribution in Richard's honor. Excess funds will go to a charity of the family's choice. Godspeed Richard, Sue. I am honored to have known you both. Mike Elliott Friends, We are all grief stricken by the news Ernie conveyed. As tangible expressions of our esteem for Richard and Sue, we'd like to do two things: 1. The Mooney Caravan organization will take up a collection and fund a plaque at the EAA Memorial Wall in Richard's memory. The cost is $350. We'll ask for the old school method of contributing. Please send your check in any amount, payable to the Mooney Caravan, with a memo "Richard Bristow Memorial" to Robert A. Davis CPA, Inc. 7475 N. First Street, Suite 102 Fresno, CA 93720 We'll also be accepting donations at Caravan registration in July, but those of you who won't be joining us this year can contribute by mail, as can anyone else who wants to help jump start the process. 2. If you have memories of Richard or Sue to share -- text, photos, videos -- send them to me and we'll try to figure out a way to collate them into a coherent whole to share with the family. Dave "Raptor" Piehler Dave

Maybe the 2 was really an 8 that was worn just right and looks like a 2

Thanks everyone! The hours did add up much more quickly than I expected and frankly, the utility of flying surprised me. The freedom of not worrying about missing a flight or what the security lines will be like, or unexpected delays, is huge! I know I'm preaching to the choir. In my mind, I expected some of that, but it surprised me nonetheless. I love when people ask 'what time is your flight' and I think, 'whenever I get there'. Of course, I usually give some time that works with the schedule as to not get into it. People's reactions and perceptions are funny, so sometimes it is best to keep my little hobby among family and friends. @carusoam - I'll work on the wife and see if she would do something like that. I'd say not too likely, but worth a try. Thanks again everyone, what a great community! Vance

I love the title

Like Andy said, Looks like the horn is grounded along 3 different paths (21LC14F20, 21LC25F20, and 21WE15G20), with no switch on ground Looking at this Diagram, I dont see the switches on the + legs (must be on another page - find them please?) but here is what i think is going on: 21WE31D22 and 21WE14D22 are both capable of energizing the horn if + voltage is applied to the other end. 31D22 looks like it is intended to be used with an AC supply to give a half-wave rectification, which would be adequate to drive a buzzer. 21WE16D22 appears to be set up so that it can ground out the + terminal to kill the buzzer - the way that diode is oriented, applying + voltage to that lead will not energize the horn. Without seeing where the other end of those 3 leads go, it's hard to say for certain, but if my guess is correct, the switch logic should look like this: (21WE31D22 OR 21WE14D22 closed) AND (21WE16D22 open) == Buzzer ON (21WE31D22 AND 21WE14D22 OPEN) OR (21WE16D22 CLOSED) == Buzzer OFF If you can provide the portions of the wiring diagram showing where those leads go after passing through the connector at the lower right, we can confirm if this is correct, and I can tell you what the circuit is doing.

check out mailgun.com for email delivery - I've had good luck with them and their site explains what your issues could be. To be clear, I'm suggesting you offer these brokers additional listings but not try to change their exiting practices - eg, stop useing controller or trade a plane any more. Until you've built some momentum that won't happen. You just need content - so ask them - Would you mind if i copied your listings to my site at no cost to you? You'll get the emails/contacts for all of the leads I generate for free - who can say no to that.

I have a 68 F model and I only see about a 1/2 clearance between the firewall and the nut. Cant wait to see the video. Thank You.

Great Pirep, Vance! Knowledge is power... some people are uncomfortable with flying because they don’t know enough about how a plane works... We have a special program for those people... it is called ‘right seat ready’ If interested... Jolie / @mooneygirlmight be able to fill you in on some details.... Thanks for sharing... Best regards, -a-

Make sure it’s now wired backwards. Aka me how I know. :-)

That you need to leave behind to be under MTOW!

Does it not have the center OFF as shown here?

Still waiting on my confirmation e-mail. Not in spam. I like the "newer" GUI versus controller. I'm excited to help build the momentum.

John, your kindness does not go unnoticed. With this kind of support, I'm about to order a set of finewires myself.

I'd apply for job number 9 if it paid enough...

John and Stephen I’ll be staying in GB if you all need a ride.

Machine learning, specifically "Deep learning" (DL) algorithms and GPU/FPGA chips working large data sets ... thats what I help companies do at accessgpu.com. DL can do some pretty crazy things with anything from complex pattern recognition/prediction, visualization processing, natural language processing, anomaly detection etc. It is re-writing the rules for everything from physical & IT security, marketing (your experience), medicine, weather prediction, financial (actuarial, market & origination prediction).

I prefer fine wire plugs. They perform much better - resisting fouling, more consistent resistance - require less maintenance (cleaning between annuals, unlikely to require gapping) and cost less per operating hour based on average life.

Does the airplane speed up, too? There's an interference path between something transmit related and the MP measuring system. Does it happen with both coms? Does it happen if the co-pilot PTT is keyed instead of the pilot? Short-term fix would be just never say anything to anybody.

I say buy it right, fix it up, enjoy the process, expect it to take time and money, and don’t over analize it. I just got my ‘66 M20E home. Before I bought it, the last annual was 2001, I paid a fair price, spent some $, some effort, and have a great Mooney quick build kit. It will still be cheaper than an RV, or a new Mooney. Plus you will know it better, and meet tons of good people along the way. You are on the right track, if you like it, it suits your mission, you can afford it, and aren’t ignoring reality, do it. Good luck.

Why do double duty with ADS-B? Spend the extra money now on the GTX 345 and use it when you do your upgrade later.

That would certainly solve our problem of keeping the non flying spouse entertained