Leaderboard

If you get a J, you get to hang out in the modern mooney section. If you get an F, you're relegated to the vintage section with us common folk where the J people look down at you.

Relegated? I prefer the term "fortunate" to be in the vintage category. There is just something about a well maintained vintage anything that always gets my attention.

Please don't post any pictures of Valerie.

Paul, Glad I didn't take that advice last year at Oshkosh, I wouldn't have been there and gotten my award. I shut down on black top and we hand pushed my Lancair to the parking spot (as did every other Lancair in the show area). I don't see any Rocket owners disagreeing with @FloridaMan . Hum, must be a reason. I had a prop strike on MY Rocket on blacktop. Talked with Darwin at Rocket Engineering after that incident and was given many tips to avoid it again, and I've shared that info many time on this forum to new Rocket owners. You've got over 100 pounds extra on the nose of the plane, with some of it extended out past the nose wheel. It's a wonderfully fast airplane, and some of the newer Mooney models, with more engine HP and speed, were developed as a result of Mooney losing sales to Rocket Engineering upgrading existing air frames. But taxiing this plane needs to be done very carefully. Asking to be parked where he did was not his idea, it was one given to him by other attendees. His second trip in he did with his "F" model. Sure doesn't seem to me he was being ignorant. And some of the comments being made by posters with no Rocket knowledge.....wow. Maybe it's time for this ex-Mooney guy to move on......... Tom

Looks like it had chicken feet.

Coming home to Tucson from Santa Fe this morning, from 10,500 ft. The first photo is about half way home, the second photo of a copper mine is as I'm beginning my descent.

Yeah, the Vintage (pre-J) Mooneys are downright ugly.

86° in Austin today and 90° tomorrow. We're loading the truck on Wed and will be in Denver by the weekend.

Correct. There are a lot of things in books we ignore on the basis of updated knowledge. I am no expert, Cody is so interested in knowing the thoughts.

The OP was asking about late model F's so it should be electric gear on both. The older airframes typically have more ADs. So, the minor maintenance on things like gear doors vs the cost of AD compliance is probably so close that it's almost impossible to calculate due to a large variability in what people pay for the various tasks. One thing I've noticed on these discussions of J's versus F's is that in one post someone will say that a late F is so close to a J that it doesn't make a difference and then in another post someone will talk about manual gear. If we are talking about manual gear F's then there are other differences such as non-standard instrument layouts and older style yokes.

About a dozen years ago, I had a prop strike in my then Diamond DA40, during exactly such a taxi at a pancake fly-in event. Expensive pancakes, eh? I was marshaled off the pavement at what turned out to be a rather not so smooth transition from pavement to grass with enough drop that it gave a big bounce, and zing. Subtle enough that I wasn't 100% sure it touched, but I shut down and got out and looked at the prop which had a tiny ding at the tip. Ugh! Two months, tear down inspection, and I was on my way.... I am VERY sensitive to your caution. BTW a major concern when I got my new prop for my rocket, my 4 blade, is that it is significantly shorter than that massive 3 blade that comes with the usual rocket, that McCauley that was designed for the Cessna 340/414. Plus it is a lot lighter so a bit less stress on the front shock.

Mine looks similar albeit without the much nicer paint scheme. I can see where the shoulder injury would preclude a johnson bar.

Here are the photos of the mold, the vac formed part and the part trimmed:

N6XM (may she rest in peace) was a legitimate 153 - 155 knot TAS M20C. I often wondered what it would have been like with an IO360 under the cowl. I do like my turbo, but when I'm done with it, I think I'd like to build an E like @Bob_Belville. And see if one could be built that would out run the J's.

Yeah, I crossed that mental line last year. I came to realize that the C model works for my wife and me, and it will probably be my plane for a long time.

Some cool new features I found out this weekend. Autopilot off and try a stall. GFC 500 kicks on and puts in movements to recover. You can just hold down the AP yoke disconnect switch and over ride it or turn it off all together before u practice. Of course in a runaway trim situation u can over power the servo. The best part of the GFC500 is the Yaw damper. Makes all approach intercepts very smooth on autopilot. But a neat thing is u can keep the YD active all the time. The YD can be active when hand flying. The rudder trim is not needed anymore. If I want to hand fly a climb out I just engage the YD and it takes care of the rudder. I prefer to hand fly and only engaged the YD. I tried a steep turn with YD engaged and it did a great job. The safety features work good. Did some unusual attitudes and let the wife push the LVL button. Made her happy. The plane returns to level flight. So far favorite thing about the GFC 500 besides the smooth intercepts and the YD use with out autopilot. Very simple autopilot. Wife can get learn to use it easy. Super user friendly.

Yep, you can always pull the foggles off if needed. I’ve also heard if you get nervous during actual IMC to put the foggles on to keep you from looking up and seeing the soup

In that case I guess I need to drive my old truck that I bought new 42 years ago and recently restored to Mooney Max this time so you can have a look....... nah, I’d rather show off my Mooney.

A buddy of mine had an E with just one mod, the hunk of aluminum that goes inside the front cowl. He outran J's with ease. I wanted an E, I really did. but at my price point I could get a crappy E or a nice C. I went for the C. I doubt my trip time is more than 5 or ten minutes longer because of it. And if I ever have to replace cylinders I'll pay half as much.

The point is well taken. But please don't go anywhere. You've still got more Mooney knowledge than most of us.

Newer airplanes are sometimes cheaper to insure per $ insured. Lower Hull Value airplanes are normally more expensive to insure per $ insured. same pilot might insure a $150K M20R for 1% of Hull Value whereas a $50K M20E might be 1.5% of Hull.

Most of us would rather think of them as talons. You know, like the hawk or eagle where our birds fly. Chicken feet probably are pretty common on Pipers. [emoji1787] Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

John Breda’s ( @M20F-1968 ) highly modified F model is another example of just how stunning the end result can look. You can see a lot of blood, sweat, patience and tears at times went into it. Those of you who have the drive, passion and knowledge to do this then put it into practice , I salute you.

This weekend was supposed to be a Friday flight to St George to see my wife's dad, then Saturday to Salt Lake to visit family, and a Sunday return flight to SoCal. Left mag check on run-up showed a dead #2 cylinder. Short version (if you don't feel like reading the blog post) is initial check was a loose plug wire. Sure is nice having an engine monitor to tell you things. Snugged that back up and did another run-up, #2 still dead so back to the hangar and pulled the plug, it had buildup on a ground electrode shorting it out to the center electrode. Saturday I replaced that plug, pulled all the rest to clean and gap them, and then took a nice short flight with the engine running smoother than it has for awhile. Bummer is that after landing tower said that at about 1 mile final they lost my transponder. Putting in a call to the local guy Monday morning to take a look at it. Note: Bought a spare plug to keep in the small tool box I keep in the plane... Your Flight Has Been Delayed - Mechanical Reasons

As someone who has taken the class in Ada, OK, I'd say you can be forgiven for not knowing anything about what you speak.

Not that you are going to drop it off the jacks, but if you turn the prop horizontal it will 40K less if you do.

If the Tail number weren’t visible would you be able to tell if she is an F or a J?

You've got two great responses there. There really isn't anything else to add.

It is confirmed the account of a member seems to have been hacked and someone using IPs from all over (likely a VPN) was making the scam post. My logs on this end show many attempts to login to the account with wrong passwords resulting in the account being locked many times and finally the hacker used the password reset tool to change the password. This indicates that the hacker also has access to the victims email account.

this Dardono"s flight

Had a good time bugged out yesterday WX in new Orleans didn't look good for today. KLAL still IFR this morning getting out would be a pain. Found this cute girl hanging out by sunset grill with her human.

Yup last time I told tower at RDU I needed 2 min behind a 737 departure, they got pissed at me and told me wake turn sep is not required (for them). I told them it is for me and I’d happily go to the naughty corner until there was a break in departures.

I have experience with Ethiopian Airlines going back to 1976 and my family has ties to Ethiopian Airlines going back to when it was still on the drawing board in the 1940's.* I've flown Ethiopian Airlines several times every year for the last few years. On a recent flight I was seated next to the Boeing VP from Seattle who covers Africa. He said they were Boeing's best customer in Africa and second place wasn't even close. They also fly one of the most modern fleets anywhere in the world. I've flown lots of airlines around the world and around Africa. And Ethiopian Airlines is the premier Airline in Africa and actually a very nice airline to fly anywhere in the world. They are almost a 100% Boeing fleet, and is the largest airline in Africa. I've also done quite a bit of business with their Parent Corp, Ethiopia Group, which includes their training arm. While GA is virtually non-existent in this and many parts of the world, Ethiopian runs a very large and well respected Aviation Academy. I would not believe the reports you're seeing in the media of low hours and low experience. When I visited their training academy, I was shocked at how modern and extensive it was. They have huge classes that start every year and most are weeded out early leaving only the best and most talented. They also train pilots from all over Africa as well as Asia. There are also a very large number of female pilots flying for Ethiopian Airlines. Notably on the first Dreamliner flight from Addis (the capital) to Riyadh (capital of Saudi Arabia), Ethiopian Airlines sent it with an entire female crew. Captain, FO, Purser, and all flight attendants were female, just to make a point. Classes at the aviation academy are almost 50% female. It's still Africa, but Ethiopian Airlines is not some third world operation. But rather a proper modern airline with standards that would be considered rigorous anywhere in the world. *My grandfather, Dr. Claude Steen Jr. an American missionary, was the very first Chief Medical Officer and Flight Surgeon for Ethiopian Airlines and the first AME in Ethiopia. In 1945, Emperor Haile Selassie sent my Grandfather back to the US to interview HH Holloway to be the first GM of Ethiopian Airlines. --and now you know the rest of the story.

Ahhhh, you’re right. Make that Irony Man. and thanks for the welcome.

There is a scammer selling a Garmin Sl 40 on this site He has taken the identity of a BEECHTALK member, and it would seem he has done the same to one of your members. Please be careful.

We just returned from Staniel Cay in the Exumas! Beautiful little island with lots to see nearby! Definitely hire a local boat captain to take you to Thunderball grotto, pig beach, iguana beach, and Compass Cay! Runway at MYES is in great condition but strong cross winds prevail!

Yes, you can Mix #5 an #6. For the small Hartzell on the Mooney’s, you would be doing yourself a favor by lubricating with #5. It sticks to steel parts better an dose not break down. However it’s not a good idea on Propellers that are Certified into known Ice. In most cases that would be a long range high flying Turbo Prop. The way the Manuel reads is #6 must be used in a propeller that is capable of operating at -40C. If #5 is put in that propeller the dash has to be placarded for no flight colder than -39C So, If you don’t plan to operate colder than -39 your good to go. Personally an professionally speaking, #5 is a far more superior grease than #6. #6 is the “do-all” grease, you can put it in any propeller without worry. That’s why it comes in every propeller out of the factory. That was the way of thinking till the new formulation hit the Market an started separating. Now I put #5 in everything I can. For the Propellers that have to have #6, I have been fortunate enough to secure a large quantity of the older formulation of #6 that doesn’t separate an leak.

At least there’s still 100LL gasoline available to run our piston aircraft engines. Perhaps when the leaded avgas supply ends the incentive for FADEC retrofits using automobile gasoline will be enough to drive completion.

If it were grease from being over filled... it would come out more like small globs and show up looking more like yellowish grease on the blades and top of cowl... So trying to eliminate other possibilities... Thanks to Cody, for sharing the pro insight! Best regards, -a-

Mini 5 with Apple Pencil works awesome. Now accepting bids for my Mini 4...

That technology is not that far off, the new experimental sling uses a fadec system and seeing all this garmin , beindix and true track all the shift in Avionics’s to more affordable to upgrades and installs it hopefully won’t be long before we see a certify version. I am in aviation as a career in the commercial side and the difference that a property working fadec system provides is mind blowing, can you imagen not running the risk to cook any cylinders like ever under almost any condition, having turbos last maybe twice as long as they do now because they are not over work or work more efficiently, engines last even longer with less wear and tear. You as the pilot fly the plane and engines computer will protect the engine and help alert of anything you might miss, the amount of money a system like this would safe in the long run out weight almost any charge it would cost to instal. For one I can’t wait to see a certify fadec system in not just a Mooney but in general aviation, it would become the new first upgrade before anything else, because having a nice avionics package means nothing if you unwillingly kill or damage the engine and most importantly there would no more guessing of what’s the right way or wrong way, it would all be preset by the people who know and design the engines but that is just my 2 cents. here is the link to the sling and how it performed over at big bear.

This probably won’t be a popular comment... The red box and the other concepts that are taught by Advanced Pilot seminars are taught by John Deakin: a 747 captain George Braly: a practicing lawyer Walter Atkinson: a dentist Not a one has any engine development experience, only George has an aeronautical engineering degree ( a curriculum that has only 1 class on propulsion systems and teaches about turbines and rockets, not piston combustion engines). I would want to go to a class taught by engineers who have developed combustion engines. I would not take what they “teach” as gospel. Maybe better than what you would learn in an AP/IA school, and then again maybe not. Tom

My gut says thats since all are about ten points lower that would point to the person testing it vs the engine changing that much. That being said, if you try you can certainly burn up the engine but my bet is on the tester being different.

has anyone converted their prop to a 4 or 5 blade to get extra clearance? There was a pretty cool 5 blade on display at SnF. for big bore engines.

Kevin, I have a cad file for the 231 and can lay out a nice panel for you and supply some hardware like an edm900. I’ve done a few Mooney panels, and my favourite layout is moving the flight instruments up and centred on the control column. Looking forward to doing a G3x. I also do matching G5 flush mounts for one stop service. I’m in Vancouver BC, and also can ship from WA state. I need input from you and your IA to qualify as an owner mfg part. I see no reason to shock mount the panel anymore, the new electronic displays are designed to be mounted in solid panels. Then you can combine the little LHS key switch panel into the main panel? The Garmin STC,s give enough information to allow remaking a panel. Personally, I think the odds of getting it right the first time yourself are remote. There’s too much of a learning curve with MFG drawing errors, paint clearances, interference behind the panel etc. AND, it is not an easy task to get the bottom formed with a 1/2” radius. I have a guy with a 120t press and a nice dye. I’ve posted a few panel pictures in my albums. I’ll be doing my own 252 shortly. Aerodon supercub180@gmail.com

To me, hard IFR means being in the soup for continuous stretches and/or shooting approaches in IMC beyond the FAF. It is WAY WAY different in the clouds than under the foggles! The brain is very efficient at latching on to subtle visual references under the foggles to discern the correct spatial orientation in collaboration with the inner ear balance organs. In true absence of any visual reference in the clouds, signals from the balance system are radically misinterpreted by the brain. The two should never be equated.

Before i bought the aerostar (aka the mooney twin, aka the finest twin ever built), I took a ride in a rocket for sale. The retired airline pilot coached my landing instructed: "no more than a standard rate turn in the pattern." That safeguard has stuck with me for over 10 years and counting.. Another 90+ yo wwII veteran c310 twin flyer told my on my final goodbye to him, may he rip, at the airfield, Fresno airpark, "Don't do a hollywood takeoff john...." I don't know why these rules aren't carved in stone like Yahweh's 10 chapters given to us through Moses, or the three gun safety rules (and all mooney owners, having proven ourselves by our aircraft choice, are undoubtedly packing), but they should be. Here's three cheers to none of us stalling on the turn to final, or the yank and bank on takeoff, agreed?

Green is slower. Red is fast.