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Went to Los Angeles area yesterday to pick up a friend who dropped off his Bonanza. It was busy as usual but ATC was professional, efficient and friendly. There was a Mooney pilot at KPOC that couldn’t figure out the ODP and the ground controller patiently talked him through it, reviewed all the altitudes and headings and even told him where he could find the written version-all with patience and not a hint of frustration. As we were flying home I commented to my friend how impressed I was with the controllers and he said “It’s even more impressive when you consider the fact they’re not getting paid!” Ran across this article today and I guess it’s true (although I’m not sure how it works for contract controllers). Not trying to get into politics here, but I just wanted to say kudos to our aviation colleagues who show up every day, do their job and act like true professionals, even in the face of personal hardship. I wish more people acted that way... https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/11/politics/shutdown-paycheck-what-it-looks-like-trnd/index.html

We are feeling very lucky to fly this weekend. Airplanes certainly open up things that would not otherwise be possible. After work Thursday, I flew a friend to KPHL from Erie (KERI) to visit some of her friends. After a fun night, I flew up to Boston (KBED) to pick up my 13 yo daughter from school. We turned around and went back to KPHL to catch a 76er’s game. We have the rest of the weekend to relax. Then on Sunday, KPHL to KBED to drop off my daughter and then back to KERI. The first photo is on the ground at PHL on Thursday. That smile says it all! Bradb 2006 Meridian N951TB Former Acclaim

Sure, how about we call that section "the rest of the internet" and keep mooneyspace about mooneys and aviation?

Ha. Yes.

Took my Commercial Multi w/ Instrument check ride this morning. Flew to the test airport site and landed at 11 degrees F at 7:30am. Winds were whipping too. This picture, from a week ago, shows (in the background) the twin Mooney that I trained in and used for the exam.

Tampa, 3500, Ovation Ultra

Not at all. They asked that I send both in to them, even though the other was working fine. $1.4 AMU total for both of them back to my door. Both look completely new with all new wiring and internal components. New harness wires, springs, clutches, and drain tubes.

Good to see all the lapsed student pilots back at it!

This is great news for all pilots: https://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=89a77e59-3554-4a9c-873d-d9854f8a468f

KLRDMD - N7979K. What a great Baron. I had the pleasure of owning her from 1996 thru 2001. Building time in this fine machine throughout the US and Caribbean enabled me to advance my aviation career to a Corporate Pilot. I can see by the pictures posted the upgrades of avionics and interior over the past years. I hope you enjoy her as much as I did. I would love to have the opportunity to fly her again. Regards, R. Rico ATP/COMM /iNSTRUMENT/SEL/MEL LAND.

I received a call yesterday from Jake at Bevan. My equipment (pitch servo, mode selector, and computer) are fixed. The total cost was about half of the estimate from the other shop. They received it on Monday and it was fixed by Friday. I am very satisfied and highly recommend this shop.

I haven't been on much lately, as I didn't fly the Mooney much last year (only 37 hours). We bought it for my son to get his Commercial. Anyway, he's knocking it out, and last night I went with him as he got the last of the required night patterns. This is the sunset over Kennesaw Mountain, Ga, as we wait for actual night to start.

I have not been very active in promoting the sale of my old exhaust, and now it is a few years later and I am moving to Washington State. I don't want to haul this large box around. Final offer is FREE to anyone who wants to meet up somewhere near me in the Fullerton, CA general area. Otherwise it is going to the trash in February. PM me if you want to coordinate a pickup. thanks, -dan

I concur with Jim... I'm not sure that juice is worth the squeeze. One could deduce that if the Acclaim S doesn't have them, then it is for a reason. And I'm saying that as an uber-drag-reducing nerd that has thought about it myself too! Sent from my LG-US996 using Tapatalk

Like many above stated I don’t keep close track of my costs nor do I keep a fund for long term expected maintenance items such as new engine etc. being an accountant I’ve become anti-numerical outside of work, if I can keep making the expenses I’ll keep flying if not I’ll sit in the corner and wither away. Having a pristine Bravo at least mechanically which is expensive to maintain I’d rather not keep track. Some years I’d guess on the low side of $30000+ on the high side like last year $60,000+ many of us are on our final plane just hoping for another year of flying. My wife mentioned yesterday to start planning for our flying season, last year was the best flying year we’ve had flying over 120 hours of long cross country ie vacationing...was awesome. Onward to 2019. Have fun keep flying in you can, the years fly by.

Not sure what model you have, but the Gen2 will be easier than the older Mooney with all the screws. Ram air is deleted as there wasn’t enough gain from it after moving the air filter inside the cowling and the cost to keep it was too high. I have a couple of Gen1 parts sets still on the shelf and they could still be installed. The Gen2 looks much better and fits more airplanes. There’s quite a bit more labor involved on the Gen1 and especially so if there’s been previous nose cowl damage as I found on both Bob’s E and Matt’s F. Lots of hours to make this cowlings right and thankfully I had other cowlings to use for parts. All in, I believe the Gen2 will be more cost effective and the aesthetics are certainly much better. David

In these divided times, I too think that I'd like to think of ya'll as friends who love aviation as much as I do and that is what we have in common. To see non-aviation subjects lines in the "Recent Posts" section when I log into MS would be counter to one of the things that I like about hanging out here! I suspect many others would feel the same way.

I forgot to take pictures... Yesterday I flew my son to KPBG - 2 hr drive but a 20 min flight over the hills (Adirondack mountains) and through the woods. 12,000 ft Cold War runway. I was dropping him off to pick up a commercial flight back to school in the Deep South - Duke. It was right at sunrise, and -9F in the am. Otherwise still air and clear skies. We call that a "crisp" here in the North Country. I have a great pre-heater (turbo plus incl oil and cylinder heaters) and a great full wrap cowl blanket (Bruces) so even at -9F the oil is 85F before I even turn the key. And I preheat the cabin with a ceramic space heater so the instruments are happy. But...my darned EZ-tug won't start at those kinds of temps. I will be being a preheater solution for that soon... Luckily yesterday my son was there to help me push the old bird out of the hangar - and I have an electric winch to get it back in later as backup. Tug has chains and good thing because on an icy tarmac... I may well be able to pull the airplane around with some straining by hand in the summer - but there just isn't the foot traction to do so in the winter. Not really even with the spike-shoe covers I also have in the hangar. Ahhhh....winter ops.

Early morning flight from Iron Mountain, MI (U.P.) to Milwaukee. Landed before the sun came up. Looking east at Sheboygan, WI and Lake Michigan. Tom

Mooney 3JJ you have slow moving traffic at your 9 o’clock, opposite direction In sight, no factor.

Good morning, I am soon to be a new vintage Mooney owner! 1976 Ranger currently in its annual/pre buy. Although this is not the first aircraft I have owned, it is my first Mooney. I am coming from a ‘46 Swift. My questions have to do with what is going to be really new to me, based at an airport with no maintenance on the field. For many of you that is a fact of life but for me...I got spoiled. For the past six aircraft I have owned, I have always been at the same airport down South with an excellent shop only a two minute walk away. Whenever I had even a minor issue, the shop owner, who is a friend, always set aside time to get me on my way. Service! If the annual goes well, it looks like I will be based at Bolton airfield south side of Columbus Ohio. Super friendly folks, bbq on the airport, but no mx. Especially for you owners in the Columbus area, what has been your experience with local mechanics, anybody willing to travel if the airplane is stuck? Any special advice for a new owner in this situation? I’ve done owner assisted annuals in the past to keep the cost down, but not sure how that would work if having to fly to another shop. Appreciate any info and thank you for all the great posts about keeping Mooney’s going on this site. It has been an ongoing help and pleasure to peruse as I get closer to the big day.

A Snap On BK8000

A lead deposit. The old Texan IA I learned from used to call them "clinkers", no ida why.

those exhaust valve pictures look really good. What is in the bottom of the spark plug between the ceramic and the outside wall? About 11:00 in the images.

FWIW, I have flown 3 times in the past week since we installed the larger air inlets. Yesterday with Nancy along I purposely climbed to 7500' at 90 kias and full power to see how warm the engine would get. CHTs were 330-360 at the top of the climb and settled out at 310-340 when level at 75% with cowl flaps closed. Oil temp hit 200 max in the climb and settled in below 190. This is a great improvement - our work here is done!

I have a few people who definitely want the new cowling and I’ve kept their info in my file to touch base with once it’s almost ready for prime time. I think that’s the best way for now until the project is much closer to being certified. I’ll post updates on Mooneyspace and will need to rely on someone to post on Facebook as I no longer do social media. Thanks, David

Flew wed. No place to go but putter around the county.

I suggest to call Precise support. They were very friendly and helpful with finding the root cause when I had issues with mine. https://www.preciseflight.com/ I had to send in mine in for overhaul. Be prepared to send in the control box as well. As mentioned above: Removing and installing the brakes and control box is an easy job. It took 3 hrs or so. They work perfectly now ... and hopefully for the next 10 years.

After you see what it cost to replace, consider the option of having it repaired. A firm in New York, Consolidated ..., has the capability to overhaul most 24v Mooney alternators. Call them with your verified part no and they can confirm. I could give you more contact info but traveling - living the Mooney dream out of country [emoji846] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I replaced my starter-adaptor last year due to slipping. Perhaps it was due to the Exxon Elite. The head of maintenance with Henry Weber Aircraft in Lancaster, PA (MSC) advised against using Exxon Elite because he said it was too slippery of an oil and other more technical reasons that I cannot remember now. I believe that was one of the MSC's that did not stock that brand of oil. Dorn Clare from Henry Weber also advised me years ago, that he rarely sees that brand of oil in use. Dorn has retired now. He was like an encyclopedia of aviation maintenance knowledge. He and his shop were definitely one of the best.

Seems the advantages are there. Question remains whether you need these advantages front and center or the iPad app suffices aside from the nav/com/redundancy points. Seems like baron pilot over on the YouTube’s does the iPad method. To each his own.

Wow, way to go Lance! Best regards, -a-

You really do not understand Catalina. AVX is a private airport open to the public that is owned and managed by a non-profit private land trust called the Catalina Island Conservancy. The $25 landing fee is charged and collected by the conservancy. You can also receive unlimited landings with an annual $125 conservancy membership. We can criticize how the Conservancy uses or doesn't use that money, but it's not a fee imposed by any city or the State of California.

I did see the thread. I didn't make it out to California until the very end of 2002, after the heyday of the My Dog Spot commercials.

I’m at KDLZ and lucky enough to have a partner that’s a mechanic. I also a member of a flying club based at KOSU, I don’t know much but I’ve been less than impressed with the osu maintenance, it’s expensive and leaves a lot to be desired. And that’s on a 172. We really should do a an Ohio Mooney lunch/breakfast or meetup. Lawrence

after you have made a couple thousand approaches, one is as good as the other. I don't think its worth debating. Eventually, the ILS system will go the way of the NDB and VOR. That said, I still like the ol ILS in case Skynet takes over and blows up all our satellites and terminators show up.

Just for kicks and grins, last night I added up all of my expenses and divided by the number of hours I've flown. In the end $142 per hour (actual expenses, no reserves). The Warrior I was renting was $120 per hour, so I could have rented for less on an hourly basis. However, I usually don't fly for an hour and put the plane away, I go somewhere... and I get there faster with the Mooney. When you factor in how far each plane flies in an hour, it came out to about $.98 per mile owning and $1.14 per mile renting. Do you fly by the hour or from point A to B? The biggest difference though, the year before buying the plane I flew 25.9 hours. Not enough to remain proficient. The year after buying the plane, I flew 116.6 hrs. As for scheduling the rental, YMMV. I never had any problems and was only requested to put 1 hour on per day I had the plane. No problem with taking the plane on a 3.5 hour trip, staying there a week, and coming home. Typically, there were only one or two other renters ever flying it and their schedules rarely conflicted with mine.

In a brief search I can't find a spec on Mouse Milk. I note it is sold as a "penetrating oil" that is effective as a cutting oil. I did see a comment that it is "unaffected by temperature". Whether it has a long lasting anti seize properties is not clear to me. I suppose it might be the right stuff for a slip joint that was seized due to lack of prophylactic lubrication.

@autopatch and I were at KSGH and we use Dave Holden @ KMRT - SkyVista Aviation- he’s a Mooney owner and specializes in them. I believe he’s on this board but I am not sure. He was there for us when we needed him! Excellent guy!

Spoke to Paul Odum this afternoon with the stc group... he was very helpful in explaining the process and installation of the pro pilot. Paul was here briefly with a couple posts to explore the possibility of producing an autopilot for our ships. He mentioned that much of the design was already done. I think he was somewhat disappointed after one or two of us weighed in. I told him don’t let a few outweigh the many. I for one, really like what they have in the way of a cost effective digital autopilot... and hope they know there are a lot of Mooney touring aircraft here and around the country, seen and unseen, that can benefit from all their hard work. Also I would like them to know that I for one, really appreciate the stc group helping General Aviation... it’s a huge contribution. let em know they are appreciated

If I didn’t “buy much F” with a GNS430W, STEC-30 w/alt hold, GPSS, slaved StrikeFinder, G3 Insight monitor, 201 windshield, PowerFlow exhaust, Ney nozzles, SkyTec starter, aileron, flap, elevator gap seals, cowl closure, dorsal fin mod, one piece belly, and speed brakes then please explain what I’m suppose to spend the $100K on, please?

There's no luck involved. Fine wire plugs provide 1-2 percent better fuel economy, so they pay for themselves well before they wear out in 2000-2500 hours. RAM Aircraft published findings on the topic. In which time you will have had to buy 3 or more sets of massive plugs, and pay for gapping and cleaning that fine wires don't need.

There is a master list out there. My airport is slated for December 2019. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

I don't think it would work any better here than the old "Spin Zone" did for POA. Note that it disappeared well prior to the 2016 election, which the losers have still not gotten over . . . That's all I have to say about a non-aviation section, and the end of my politics.

I agree, this site is for aviation topics, more specific Mooney related topics and we should not dilute or pollute it. Brian

There are many other online groups for non-aviation related discussions. They don't belong here.

Looked normal for this type of flight to me too. Nothing cringeworthy. The most "difficult to watch" part (other than being a little mundane) was, head-cams make me dizzy.

@201er we saw the same video, it's funny how quick some are to judge/criticize

Likely the total cost of living in this Missouri town is not the same as Chicago suburbs. Likely people are just as happy living in a two story home built in the 1930’s with a detached garage. Likely they don’t have multiple new cars with payments. Likely they have one rifle, one shotgun and one pistol and ONE wife. Likely they are happier than a lot of other “big city” dwellers... Likely they feel just as “Rich”. There was a reason five of my family retired in North East Arkansas. It wasn’t because of the golf...

In my "E" I found over-length pan screws on a belly access hatch that contacted the elevator pushrod & added friction.