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Lolitta - N7432V has a new look!

My co-pilot and I have gotten to know our 1967 M20C well since we acquired her last October. With the help and supervision of our A&P plus a good instrument shop, we took a tired example of a Mooney M20C and brought her panel up to modernity thanks in no small part to some advice given by MS members. She now has an 8-pack panel layout, JPI900 EDM, GNS430W, and Appareo transponder with ADS-B in/out. To celebrate we took her out on a "victory lap" around the Rockies in August, covering 2838 nm in 26.2 h flight time. We really spread her wings with max. cruise at 12,500, and 208 mph g.s. at top of descent approaching Amarillo thanks to some ridiculous winds. We faced headwinds more often than not, even on some eastbound legs! The haze from the numerous forest fires out west severely limited visibility particularly in the northern portion of our trip into Colorado front range and into southern Wyoming. We visited friends and family, plus toured Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park, Cedar Breaks, Nat.'l Mon., drove down the Moki Dugway and across Monument Valley, overflew the Grand Canyon N-S via the "Tuckup" VFR corridor at 10,500 ft., and orbited meteor crater near Winslow, AZ. "Little Sister" as we call her performed admirably.

I select the tank I plan on using before start up and do not touch the fuel selector again until I'm at altitude and in cruise flight this is generally an hour or 10 gallons which ever comes first. This way the run up and all taxing is done on one tank and to the best of my ability proven that it will continue to provide fuel to the engine during takeoff.

Maybe you should have them do it on the ground first, just in case they’re bad at math. [emoji2]

Just to let everyone know that the sponsors have all cleared their due so I just remitted the $276 USD to Mooneyspace as described in my previous message. Yves

Hi All, I am new to this forum and so I want to introduce myself and also share my excitement over becoming a proud Bravo owner! My wife, Denise and I close the purchase tomorrow (I hope this post does not prove to be premature) and we are picking her up on Friday in San Antonio. I already have Bob Cabe lined up for a day of familiarization training. I also received the Foreflight Mooney checklist from @Junkman, thanks again! I have been flying literally all of my life, first sharing the experience with my dad (still the best pilot I know) then earning my certificate in 1989. As for Mooneys, I have owned a J model, an Ovation and an Acclaim until 2008. I had a long period of self imposed hibernation until just three months ago. Two very generous friends allowed me to earn my BFR and IPC in their Ovations. Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, I am grateful this forum exists as I have already learned a lot reading previous posts and I hope to contribute some positive content going forward. Alex

Coming into DVT yesterday from HII (Lake Havasu) I requested 25L as its closer to parking. The pattern was empty, except for one guy on a practice instrument approach. Controller asked me to keep my speed up so I could beat that guy in and get the runway I wanted. I was cooking on downwind. Nearly 180MPH GS. I pulled power completely out before turning base, started slowing, had gear down before I turned final, and dropped it in right on the numbers. I didn’t think you could slow a Mooney down that quickly, but you sure can. I like a challenge now and then, and it was a fun one.

Hah! i have 45 min of eurcouope time in my logbook. I think all of it was climbing to pattern altitude.

The engine quit on take off could be due to water displaced toward the fuel tank pickup screen at the rear of tank. Even if the fuel was drained before flight water may be in the tanks due to the fuel drain adapter hole clogged. To insure of no water remove the drain valve and check for water residue. I switched to the drain valve F-391-72 which has the drain holes just above the adapter to overcome this problem. I first experience the engine quitting on take off at KFLL. I landed straight ahead on the runway and with the momentum taxi out. At the ramp removed the drain valve and water was pouring out even though I drained the tanks before through the drain valve. José

I don't know where you get your information. Don, and I, and many others on Mooneyspace are "MAPA guys", and I have not heard anyone from MAPA saying they were being undercut.

day after i got my license i flew an ercoupe to 13,000 ft to get on top. took 2.5 hours to get up there. to make it mooney specific i was going to Lebanon Tn to look at a mooney for sale.

Whut yuo meen? I feal fin heer at 2,000 foot dunsity alltutude.

Seriously look at the avidyne/L3 lynx/aspen combo.... I LOVE my Lynx and have considered the other two, especially now with the update from aspen. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I didn't know that was the spar cap, but I saw those big AN4 rivets next to it and figured it wasn't good... Is that a Peanuts reference?

Make sure you stop here: https://m.facebook.com/BBQ23/ Great food!

Have her wear boots mine wears a Parka.

Well done @Fred_2O Who says you need a turbo to fly west! Very nice of you to let the little girl stretch her legs. That's what she was made to do.

Nor are we! It won't be long, when people will wish they had DMax, at his worst, rather than the local shade tree guy. He spends so much time on the phone, helping guys without charging them, that his time supervising is impacted. He has IA help for that....and we all know how easy it is to find and hold onto good help. The King, and a treasure...for sure!

I had an aunt that did the same thing. She died never knowing what it felt like to sit on fabric...but that cheap couch was in great shape when it got donated....!

OP here. I wanted to follow up with closure on this. YEAH!!! A/P working once again. Despite having crawled under the panel and finding the D-sub connector not fully seated, removing said connector and lookingfor bent pins....that's EXACTLY what the problem was; I just needed to pull the TC/RC out of the panel in order to see that two pins were shorted together due to one of them being bent. Pretty clearly done by the shop that had my panel torn apart to find the static system leak. A/P had been working just fine until then. Anyway, hat's off to Al, and Barry, at STEC (Genesis). VERY helpful and friendly advice. Based on the symptoms and measurements I made at Al's direction we thought that the unit needed to be sent back to the factory for repair; that's why I was pulling it out of tha panel. Al was originally betting it was a bent pin...and he was right!

I personally am a complete idiot at 25K in the altitude chamber, unable to add simple numbers. I would hate to be even near that cabin altitude without O2 trying to make simple decisions. Climb that mooney but bring some O2 with ya My .02

Let’s consider for a moment... the wing is carrying a fair amount of ice on it... it’s stall speed and associated AOA is no longer known... you have a stall warning device that is heated... And an AOAi that is heated and still 100% operational... You have become a test pilot by your own hand... You will be able to make judgements about your change of AOA, as you increase the AOA in the most controlled fashion... If you start to feel the buffet, Lower the nose while you note the IAS and the last seen data from the AOAi.... you have accidently defined the current edge of the new flight envelope, a place to not go back to until 3’ above the longest runway... Ice is a serious matter. The limiting AOA with an iced wing is going to be different. But it would be much better to be very informed about how things are going even when you don’t know where the limits are... making small adjustments is better when you know how small the adjustments are... add small control inputs + note the change on the instruments... a two pronged approach... As far as parts go... Mooney supplies a heated stall indicator for The FIkI systems... so it’s Mooney parts to be sought... Even if I didn’t have a full fiki system, a partial system would have benefits... like a heated prop. when gathering ice you have several challenges building at the same time... 1) Loss of lift... air flow separation caused by the change of the wing shape (get them de-iced) 2) Loss Of instrumentation... frozen pitot, Static, stall warning, and/or AOAi... (get them heated) 3) increased weight needed to be supported... ice is heavy as it attaches all over the plane... (get out of dodge quickly) 4) Loss of thrust, as ice disturbs the shape of the prop airfoil... hard to maintain level flight with out lots of power... (chemical sprayed or heated) a second problem occurs with uneven loss of ice from the prop... that causes huge vibrations and probably a need to pull the power... Discussing ice in the middle of the summer is a whole lot more comfortable... PP thoughts only, only have a minimal anti-ice system on my plane... not a CFI. Best regards, -a-

I'd have to find my notes but the airplane trued our around 130 knots (maybe a bit more). Would have to work backwards to find the IAS but probably 100mph +/-. The controls would not be any different than 100mph at low altitude. The lack of excess power though could lead a pilot to think things feel mushy, but in a different sense. In that regard, I think any airplane has a different feel when you are at the upper edge of its envelope. If you 'lose your spot' due to turbulence, wave, etc, or slow down and get behind the power curve, the recovery will be long and cost a bunch of altitude....same thing in a big transport jet.

My guess is that you have been flying sideways too much. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Just an update. The baffle was trimmed but the oil line was not replaced. It did have some wear but luckily it wasn’t to deep. Ordered a new oil line just to be safe. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've never quite understood the desire to use a cover to protect upholstery. I pay a bunch of money to get new seats on a chair at home, my car, or my plane so that I can look at and enjoy using them. I accept that by using them it will wear them out; just the way it works. I remember growing up my aunt and uncle put in new carpet in their home...then put these gawd awful 'clear' plastic runners over the carpet so it didn't get dirty and worn out!! Looked like total shit; especially after it got dirty and yellow. But, they damn well protected their carpet!

Finally got back in the air...(Oh what a feeling!). Was just kissing 80º at the airport and the tires were visibly low. Air Hawk put about a pound in the nose and then died. By that time the fuel truck had arrived and after fueling I asked if the compressor was working--it wasn't and in 9 years at KBPT it never has . The lineguy offered to bring the firetruck back and since he seemed more anxious than me to go fetch it, I said sure. It has to be the most expensive compressor on the planet, but after a few minutes all three tires were happy again. By then it was getting steamy so I got in the air about 9 AM. Super hazy, but a great flight nonetheless. A squeaker landing so she put the step down for me!

Yep, I agree. I've never heard that from anyone at MAPA and I'm a member there as well. DMax did tell me once when I asked him, that he prefers the old school email list format of the MAPA list. He doesn't like the forum where he has to go read through various threads and topics. He gets email, and if interested, he just hits reply. #oldDognewTrick

Now you gone off and did it. You hurt Big Betty’s feelings. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Is that thing for sale? Is the owner representing that area as a gasket? Owner shouldn't sell for anything less than scrap value in good conscious. A donor wing is needed. You may be wise to post the N number on the site. I would not want anyone to buy and fly that thing.

Little Sister's coming of age....

FWIW I spoke to the owner of the Rocket I was flying. Sometime between the first low speed fuel flow adjustment and when it started working properly, the fuel pump was replaced.

They are shoes made by Vibram called Five Fingers.

That was all thanks to@M20doc Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What is this an Abbot and Costello routine??? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What about my grandmother's plastic slipcovers on the sofa? I think I left layers of skin on it over the decades, but I will say this.. even though the sofa was 30 years old, it looked brand new under the plastic.

I went out to the hanger early this morning to swap out some Brittain servos in my wings. After everything I had read I was expecting it to be a painful experience. Turned out to be a pretty easy task once I started on it. Finished up the job and paperwork signed off I decided to head up to a local Fly in and car show at Franklin Co. VT. Taxied out to the run up area and what do you know there was another Mooney on the ramp. Neat we don't get many Mooneys in Rutland. Off into the wild blue clear sky to Franklin. Uneventful trip up enjoying the lake to the west and the spine of the Green Mountains on the east. Everything was going so well, until landing. I got it off the runway and onto the taxiway since there were other incoming aircraft. I asked the woman who was marshaling if she could see my front tire. She said "Yup it's very flat". She said just shutdown right there and someone would be over to see me. A minute later a few guys come up in a golf cart and say no problem you picked a good day for that to happen. One goes off to get a dolly and another heads to his hanger to grab a spare tire he had sitting around just in case. Turns out the mechanic on the field is Dan Marcotte (air show pilot) and he just happens to be there for the fly in. I spent some time talking to Dan while he swapped out the tire and he had one of these sitting in his hanger. 15 minutes later we are back out the door and putting the tire back on. Dan wouldn't take a dime for his time or tire and tube. What a great community pilots are! Everyone couldn't wait to pitch in and just be helpful. I enjoyed some vintage aircraft and decided that I had enough excitement for one day and headed back to Rutland. What started out as so well with the servos but ended up even better because what could have been a real PITA for me was a non event thanks to all of the kind souls. My faith in humanity is restored. (at least for the day or until I turn on the news)

Heresy! How did this guy get to be on MS? He is goring a sacred ox! Next thing he'll be telling us is that the 5 minutes a pilot saves by choosing a quicker runway is the same as 5 minutes saved in the air. And only 450Kts? That's barely .80.

It seems to me that a Garmin G5, Aspen or other PFDs already has all the information necessary to generate these alerts. Except for gross weight. It could give the alerts at max weight and give you a little cushion if you didn’t enter it. It would just be software and government red tape. While its at it it could adjust the V speeds for you different airspeed arcs. A side benefit would be forcing us all to actually do a W/B on every flight.

....and Messina's restaurant in that old terminal is very good.

Because this place is the Band of Brothers. No spouses to be found anywhere. What is said on MooneySpace stays on MooneySpace. Unless you’re one of those fools who made the fatal mistake of sharing the URL. Then you deserve what you got. [emoji25] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Vinyl wrap for now, maybe paint in the new few years. I only had a few pics on this computer of the old, but as you can imagine how the rest of the interior was. The seats, carpet and trim was well worn. The last picture is the finished painted and placarded panel. All in all pleased with the outcome on a slim budget. Going all of it in a non air conditioned hanger in July in Tennessee was not so much fun, but it does feel like a different plane. The paint needs a good buff to bring the old shine back, but that's for later in the season with cooler temps. -Tom

Really nothing more to add.

There were a ton of witnesses. It was a great event! Caught up with a lot of Mooney owners and pilots and finally connected with others. But no, I didn't take a picture. Yves - new position for next year, have someone volunteer to take pics of the Mooney Space social! I will try very hard to be there again. GREAT event. -Seth

With work in Chicago on Thursday morning and tickets to the Cubs game in the afternoon, I elected to leave OSH on Wed before the storm came in. It was a pretty uneventful departure. But unusual in that I never stopped moving once I started up in the North 40. It was a straight taxi all the way to the pavement, then turn on Alpha, and OSH Tower immediately clearing "the Mooney on Alpha" for takeoff runway 27. The next day was an excellent Cubs game followed by early Friday morning departure for Texas and home. @"Chocks", Wade, and I took the VFR corridor down the lake shore before turning south. It's a spectacular view of Chicago and don't miss it if you get the opportunity. @"Chocks" and Wade climbing away over Soldier Field. After a lunch stop in Conway, AR with @Bryan, it was IMC most of the way home to Smithville, TX This caps off an epic month of July with the Mooney. We flew 7725 miles and I put 48:01 in the log book. She's now headed to annual with JD at SWTA and I'm heading back to work so I can pay for another month like that next year. I'm feeling very fortunate and thankful to have such a good airplane and the time and means to use it.

Trying to catch up on things, a bunch of flights to get to but this one was just last Saturday. We went back to Big Bear and had breakfast at the Barnstorm Restaurant on the field. Great views of the runway and the food was good, although the portions were about half the size of Thelma's up the street and the same price. Big Bear Again

It wasn't today... or me at the controls but it was fun to vacation on the outer banks in North Carolina for the past two weeks! Flying around the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills and KFFA is a must do!

Don's loyalty is to Trey Hughes, the MAPA employee, so he spends his time on the MAPA list vs. here. He told me between phone calls and spending time answering emails and on the MAPA list, he is spread too thin to be on another forum. That said, Your contributions here are second to none, Clarence! You are the Don of the North for sure! Your only issue is your infatuation with those darned clorox bottles and Cherokees If you were here in the colonies, I certainly would have my plane worked on by you, Clarence, and I am a picky guy. Thanks for your selfless contributions here.

There is a fitting on the back of the gauge where the fuel line connects. This fitting has an orifice in it that sometimes gets clogged. If you take the fitting off the gauge and clean it in an ultrasonic cleaner or some carb cleaner, it should work.