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Took my longest flight yet in the Mooney - FXE to BLM 5:01. Pretty good flight and landed with 35 gallons to spare. What the Bravo was meant to do (Besides climb over peaks in the west).

Get there any way you can... I have three fisks, one caravan, and a couple of SnFs... inconveniently rejected on two of those... Winterhaven and Appleton make nice stop-overs... when too late to arrive. To improve one’s comfort level... 1) Bring a set of trained eyes to help look for other planes... 2) Bring your memory, full of way points, that are clearly depicted in the procedures... 3) Select the best times for a lower level of traffic... 4) Doing this solo, on your first time, would be a real challenge... 5) Is that the upside down wedding cake... where is the blue roof... (fuzzy memories of the other fly-in) 6) Caravan is a blast! 7) Formation flying... up close, appears to look similar to cars moving down the highway, intentionally staying in lanes, and maintaining spacing... only there are no lanes... and the speed is about 3X highway speeds... 8) Planning in advance is a huge detail... being familiar with KOSH procedure is one important part... the Caravan has a collection of additional pages to be familiar with... i tried to compare using electronic versions and paper versions... electronic requires strong memory to find the pages you are looking for... paper is easier to flip through when memory is at a premium... 9) Management... If you are familiar with project management (PM) you can have a great appreciation for all the work that goes into arranging a perfect flight of 62 planes... every detail is covered, with a plan B for every step of the project... a list of who is in charge of which activity or area... is as expected... Communication is everything at every level... be at each meeting... both large and small... when the caravan is aloft... the radios are very quiet while things are going well... a few hand signs, a couple of tail waggles... not much more... 10) Sh*t happened... the weather didn’t agree with our plans...Thunder storms arrived in time for our Caravan experience... Our day at the hotel turned into a second day... we departed for KOSH a day later than expected... 11) Behind the scenes... magic was really happening... one Caravan guy was on the phone between two Traffic control towers negotiating the departure and arrival of 62 Mooneys... then on the ground was another wow! moment...ATC sent a few Mooneys ahead to test the taxi capability of Mooneys on the softened surface... then the rest followed the uphill taxi-way to the highest ground in the N40... plan B was park on a paved surface... 12) Camp was set up, and the communing followed... 13) The Best night was a super cooperative event... The Caravan tent was the place, MS’s Yves’ organized the Pizza delivery, DMax/Jimmy, and Clarence are/were great supporters... hope somebody got good pics of their giant ad signs... (thank you!) 14) At the end of the first day, our 62 Mooneys were tightly nestled in place... the good times were rolling... 15) knowing a couple of the B2Osh guys, I stopped by over there... their management took some scheduled risks, the weather really set them back... their version of the Caravan was cancelled... Many of their members attempted to come as individuals... but were unable to park anywhere near each other... they had all the fixings for a big party, but not enough people arrived to use it all... And a Mooney was prominently parked in the first space next to their tent... 16) It was great having a period of excess... food, beverage, camaraderie, Mooneys, supporters, pilots, mechanics, family, and friends... 17) Caravaners, MSers, and ATC all working together... 18) Screen names, call signs, and real names mixing in the memory... now multiply that by about two... to get spouses, friends, and kids names sorted... 19) there is plenty of work to do to get closer to perfection... time will help sort through those things out... 20) where else can you meet people you have known for a decade...? 21) Overall, I reviewed how well things went and compared them to my expectations... then shared that with my co-pilot... I started a paragraph with... “This week was well beyond expectations...” Get to a Mooney Fly-in! Even If it takes driving the Chevy... Best regards, -a-

I frequently remind myself what a privilege it is to fly my own plane about the country. We’re our own 0.1% of the population: Whether we fly a Mooney C model or Citation X it is a rare gift available to a very, very few.

More than likely BK now controls all outside communications

New cylinders, overhauled fuel system, new or reman mags, overhauled exhaust, overhauled turbo/wg, new hoses, engine mounts, baffles, etc. I’d budget at least 40-45 and be prepared to reach deeper into the pockets while you’re in there. The engine overhaul process is no different from maintenance in general. Many decisions to make along the way. Make sure as you’re looking at used planes that the previous overhaul replaced/overhauled the required systems to even be considered one. (a number of them don’t...).

Hey, it's a heck of a lot better to just get the rating than being caught in the clouds and when ATC asks "are you instrument rated and equipped" answering, "I've got some instrument training so I think I can do this." It's better to spend some time flying IFR in the clear blue to get used to the system and punching through non-confining IMC like 3000 scattered/broken with tops at 4000 till you really get the hang of it. Nobody says that you can or should go flying in low IFR to minimums on every flight once you get your rating. But if you do take the crash course, you have to be extra aware of this and let the long term learning and practice catch up with you once you've got the ticket. It's not an award for brilliance and achievement. It's a ticket to begin the next phase of learning.

Just think about this for a second.... the USB plug + install costs the same amount as an iPad. The “aviation panel mount” USB plug in... the thing that they give away with an iPad... COSTS THE SAME AS AN IPAD! if that’s not an aviation mark up... I don’t know what is. ....and people in the other thread are wondering why a new mooney costs 800K and you can’t build a J for 200K anymore. This is why.

Although IA's may use whatever list they like, part 43.D specifies the minimum an annual checklist should contain: D)... (3) Internal engine—for cylinder compression and for metal particles or foreign matter on screens and sump drain plugs. If there is weak cylinder compression, for improper internal condition and improper internal tolerances. I believe Mooney's 100 hr/annual checklist also includes it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great article! Thanks! I think that being told not to slip at the time I was told that, was a good thing. It forced me not to rely on that slip card that was up my sleeve and forced me to fly it more like a high performance airplane should be flown. As it all turned out, my C served as a great plane to transition me into the Mooney world. I not only slipped it a lot, but also landed it with no flaps. I basically flew it like my Cessna and kicked the full flap landing can down the road. When I got the F I landed it with full flaps and it was quite a surprise. An old pilot on the field who has flown about anything with wings told me that full flaps was the way to fly any complex airplane. I had to get the message of lots of nose up trim along the way. Once I started trimming for 80 on final with full flaps, I started landing it in a way that was not embarrassing. Thanks for the article and comments.

Too many CSOB Mooney owners. At least for upselling to newer planes. Nothing wrong with being frugal, but it does make it harder to sell newer/better planes to that market. Some of the Acclaim or Ovation owners might move up though. Cirrus has marketed towards the "buy now and trade-in later for a newer/better model" crowd. No, not everyone does that, but many do. I seriously doubt there are many C/E/F/J owners that are planning on buying a new Mooney. Yes, it's more expensive, but a new Mooney offers a lot more capability. Unfortunately it's a lot more expensive than a 50 year old plane. While it may be the same brand, those two are in completely different market segments. It would be like wondering why the 3rd owner of a 2002 SR22 with a six-pack panel is not interested in buying a new SF50 Cirrus Jet. Mooney not dealing with the G1000 issues (WAAS, ADS-B) is a big problem though. Would you want to spend $800k+ on a plane from a vendor that has a history of not supporting their systems? Anyone dreaming of a brand new $300k M20J though can give up that dream. Even if Mooney were to build and sell it, a new M20J would be quite a bit more. The base model of the SR20 is $454,900. Now, that "base" model includes a lot, but Cirrus has plenty of options, so the price does go up from there. That's a fixed gear plane with an IO-390 claiming 155 knots in max cruise.

No one said sell legacy upgrades under cost. If their product is only new planes then yes this might not be the audience. If the want to expand the product line to upgrades like pull an F up to the factory that leaves with 300 hp and a new cowl for say 100K then people could get interested. The factory has the power of the certificates.

Over a 20+ year period I owned 3 different Mooney airplanes, each registered in my legal name. I was not hard to find, and clearly I liked the planes. However, the Mooney company never contacted me, not even once, to see if I’d like a new Mooney. Cirrus, by contrast, worked long and hard to sell me a new plane.

Let's see. So far there is a Non Mooney International person hosting the conversation. There are people providing feedback. Software companies hold user conferences that people go to. Software companies have Customer Advisor Boards. The users provide feedback into what the product should have. The Software companies find their niche and then market sell the heck out of it. Mooney's Niche is an up and coming company that is regionally based and the managers need to zip around to the field offices. Not many people are going to buy a $700K airplane to fly on the weekends to grab food. That is what the used fleet is for. Someone suggested making mods for the used fleet. There are lots of abandoned STCs that were good ideas that people would buy. For most on Mooneyspace the Mod market is you want to be talking. If there were a bunch of mods, that generates traffic to the factory. Factory traffic generates sales. Factory traffic generates upgrades. I am thinking of Ford SVT program here. Started with Engine Mods, then complete built engines, then car mods, then complete cars. See how that works. Can the factory slap a 300hp engine on a J and call it a Missile which I just read there are 25 or so of? Would that create excitement? I bet so. The factory is in a unique position with the FAA. They can slap a part number on it. update the manual and do some flight tests. This is way quicker than the STC route.

FWIW I had my TSIO 360 LB overhauled at Jewel about 100 hours ago and have been very pleased. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

$350 for a usb outlet! Hah! Plus install cost! “a fool and his money are soon to be parted” comes to mind.... just buy a PS engineering PMA450... that’s like getting a cutting edge audio panel for 500 bucks to go along with your usb plug!

I am not doing anything with the wiring just wanting a good wiring diagram for my records by consolidating a number of scraps of paper containing wiring hook up drawings. I wonder how much time is wasted by avionics techs trying to figure out how things are wired together in the absence of good documentation?

The Mooney paperwork has not been submitted yet. It is yet to be seen how things will all look once the dust settles, but hopefully there will be some added engineering manpower from BK to help get TT through the development process for new models. As has been said, the TT is an excellent product. I just flew from Florida to Oshkosh and most of the way back without hardly even touching the controls, with the TT handling everything. Flying cross country has become the good kind of boring in my 182. It will be the same way for your Mooney’s soon. We don’t know how soon, but I believe it will be worth the wait. As for Bk buying them, I think that is to get a value line of auto pilots to complement their higher-end and higher priced unit. Kind of like Stec line with basic and advanced options. I don’t pretend to know BK’s overall plans, but it wouldn’t make sense to buy TT to kill the competition. It’s too good a product with too big a market.

My theory is, that the ideal way to fly IFR after you get the rating is to start off flying when the ceilings are above 1000 feet at your departure, and 2000 at your destination. Then as you get more comfortable, accept 1000 feet at the destination. From there, slowly decrease that down to where your comfort level ends. It is A LOT DIFFERENT the first time your CFII is not with you. I always contend that flying on instruments while in clouds is easy. But there is a brief worry (panic?) when you first enter them after take-off. That quickly subsides. But then the real worry starts as the altimeter begins to unwind in the approach. The lower you get the more the worry until you break out. Maybe it is different for others, but that is the way I feel.

Switch to Phillips 100AW. It has the Lycoming anti-scuff additive that the Shell 100w doesn't, and is usually $55 for a real case of 12 quarts.

I suspect the change to 6 quart cases is due to UPS and other carriers. 12 is too heavy. A bag of mortar mix is now half the old bag weight. Suits me fine. 35 pounds feels like 70 did a few decades ago. Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

Love the daily updates - reminds me to stop - pray for these folk - sustenance and renewal - Peace only the Lord God - can provide - in Jesus name - amen Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Let’s focus on this sentence for a minute.... At one time this was possible... People got confused when the panel cost more than the plane... You could sell the panel, and it came with an attached plane... The disappointing part is even modern panels age poorly... 20year old digital boxes aren’t as well liked as new GTNs... Lets look briefly at a great retirement plane... An M20E... The Pilot flys IFR and has 50amu of electronics installed in his panel... I expect he will be flying it for two decades or more... especially if his grandson starts flying... Why does he have 50amu wrapped up in his panel... because he likes the situational awareness it provides... Somebody else will have to sell it when he is done... There was a time when nobody would put a GPS in a short body Mooney... because the plane didn’t cost enough... These economic statements make no sense. But, people made them anyways... You are not installing the devices for the plane to use... you are installing them, for you to use... Get what meets your mission... pay the lowest price for the total package... Know whatever you have gets old and surpassed over the decades... Good with that? You are approved to go forwards... Buyers are more knowledgeable now than ever... it will be the same when you are a seller... you may have to explain to the buyers what a GTN is... to get your asking price... PP thoughts on funky things I remember hearing while buying my first Mooney... Best regards, -a-

I’ve had three Mooney’s two new. My issue is not with the product offered but with the performance or non-performance of the company post purchase. The issues with us G1000 drivers literally begging the company for the better part of a decade for necessary upgrades some required to keep our planes flying, I’m referring to those of us that pushed the company to have an answer for ADSB, then came the debacle with WAAS for those of us that wanted to have current avionics, currently we can’t get imo upgraded software to render our planes at the forefront of the avionics world, where is connectivity with our avionics. I have friends who pilot planes 30+ years older than mine with much better more refined and updated equipment. I purchased a 2005 Bravo without the knowing an Acclaim was almost ready for the market place, it wasn’t long after I got my Bravo and the company in S Florida wanted to know if I wanted to upgrade to the Acclaim. The companies inability to provide innovation to the current G 1000 models have put a bad taste in me. I would and could have purchased a new Ultra but the way the company handled those of us who spent a half M on a plane 13 years ago say not again. I love the brand but lost trust in the company

I think the point that you missed and more so Mooney International is missing is that this whole "attitude" stems not from jealousy or lack of money but from Mooney failing to produce innovation that appeals to the Mooney community. Granted, if they are trying to market outside of the Mooney community, go for it. However, the failure to get many oos and aahs from the legacy community is on them. Let me explain. If I won the lottery, stock market, whatever and had the money to be in the market for a million dollar airplane, I would not be choosing the new Mooneys! There are other brands that can offer greater capabilities such as turbines, more seats, more speed, more engines, etc. Would a C owner love the opportunity to swap to an E? You bet. Would an F owner love the opportunity to swap to a J? You bet. Would a J owner love the opportunity to swap to a K? You bet. Would a K owner love the opportunity to swap to a M? Might depend what kind of K they have but in many cases, you bet. Would most Mooney owners want to swap to an acclaim or ovation? You bet. But when it comes to the ultras... they have little innovation to offer to get someone to look forward to. The avionics and interior aren't the main point because older Mooneys can be retrofitted with similar if that is what someone is interested in. The second door of course is indeed something that can only come on the new planes and is part and parcel of the Ultra only. And unfortunately that is one of the few real changes over the older airplanes. Not faster. Not safer. Not more useful load. We're already used to climbing in with one door so it's a hard sell on Mooney owners. Of course someone who trained in Cessna or Cirrus, might see the lack of a second door as a downgrade. The appearance of a second door is only an upgrade from a Cherokee trainer but unlikely to impress anyone who's already used to having two doors in what they learned. In the past, with every letter upgrade, Mooney was able to impress the Mooney and aviation community at large with the increased capabilities of their airplane. Those who couldn't afford, could only dream. However, I don't think it was difficult to appreciate and relish the innovation. Mooney owners are more so "value" conscious rather than dollar poor. It's probably one of the biggest draws to Mooney for many of us. We fly our Js at Bonanaza speeds with 20% less horsepower because of the value of the cleaner aerodynamics. The price increase of the new models greatly outweighs the value increase of the new features. There are definitely pilots in the Mooney community that could afford the newest model but I suspect they aren't seeing the value or innovation to draw them from the Mooneys they already own. So it's not an act of jealousy or lack of funds. The lack of funds might be the reason we aren't making a purchase right now. But the lack of innovation is the reason we aren't dreaming of making the purchase if or when we do! I think that if Mooney wants to leverage the Mooney community for marketing their current product as opposed to Mooney as a whole, they need to go back to their roots where they kept making the airplane the dream and aspiration of the owners of past models. I hope my input and input from other Mooney owners, rather than being seen as hostile or unfounded, could be helpful and driving. Just my four half pennies.

When we had the big fly-in at Paso Robles last year Richard Simile flew in N242KT for everyone to gawk over and sit in. He also spoke to the group for a bit and walked around handing out pens, and other stuff. I was impressed by him and the plane, and while I LOVE my plane, if I had the money I would own a M20V right alongside @mike_elliott.

Well, I’ve found the source of the problem - a defective ELT (121.5). The radios are back to normal - no static, no odd sounds - when the ELT battery is removed and become defective again when reinstalled. Now there remain some mysteries, such as if that ELT was activated (and I’m told the transmission from that antenna can bleed into the com radio antennas) why didn’t someone report hearing a signal over 1k miles of flight and how come the static varied with RPM? But I’ll take this victory and call it a day. Thought I should close the loop on this.

This is a very good point, I don’t know the average income/wealth demographics of someone buying a new cirrus, but I would contend that the shrinking of the top 2-9% makes the new airplane market stagnant if not smaller which means there’s much more competition for fewer buyers. The minimum income to be classified top 1% in 2018 was over $700k. The minimum for top 5% was 300k. I would imagine that the 300k-700k income ranges would be a very good market for new airplanes, especially when you look at the current financing market (20+ yr amortization at ~5% interest rates which means you can finance $500k at around $3.5k per month ). So the numbers would definitely support a shrinking applicable market. Yes, the top 1% is growing but by definition, that’s a smaller number of people and probably includes many who would spend more than $700k on a new aircraft.

This will be a very important data point. Could you please share the approximate cost and items replaced/overhauled.

Do CB's not use Eagle any more? Dang, I'm getting old or something. I asked my avionics installer for an "as built" drawing, and would even have accepted something hand-drawn. They looked at me like I had three heads. The installer said he'd give me his notes, since I asked him for them, but I never got them. So I have a pretty much undocumented installation. And I agree with Yetti that Visio is usually fine for block diagrams that show how things interconnect and is easy to use.

Don, you have my number, give me a call and let me know what you find out please and if you need a hand, I will gladly help out with the repair/solution for nothing just to get this right for you. I am not saying your support is not good, just wanting to help out the situation.

Two runways, 36R (two aircraft) and 36L (one aircraft). Each is aiming for (and landing past) the same spot on the runway and taxiing at high speed towards the exit. No worries that the guy in front of you lands short or decelerates, forcing you to go around (if you’re still airborne) or max brake (if you’re already touching down). Try both and decide which fits you best. I rented a house one year below the arrival, and sauntered into the pool with a cool one to watch airplanes with a nearby radio tuned to the controller freq. I left twenty minutes later shaken at the near-misses I saw and how many pilots appeared oblivious to the controllers and other aircraft. Not for me...but to each one’s own.

It is in the limitations section so it is required equipment. (Sec. 2-5) Electronics International has a tit/cdt gauge for around $600. Make sure they check the probe and wiring as that is the source of the majority of these issues.

also... be sure the quotes are apples:apples, especially with respect to accessories and turbo's/exhaust. Dunno about the TSIO360MB, but for the TSIO550G, the invoice includes new turbos and accessories, and it generally is priced very close to field overhaul when all that is taken into account. -dan

Although there are lots of good reasons to move slowly through the instrument training, a lot of people have taken accelerated courses and done well. The important part is what you do after you have the rating. And I hear you saying the correct things. Good luck and be careful.

Suppose you are TruTrak, you have this great product, and there is tremendous demand, that you may not be able to keep up with. Along comes Honeywell BendixKing and says "We think you have a great product. As a large enterprise, we can solve your capitalization/production problems if you let us acquire your company. In addition to the pile of cash we will push to your side of the table, you can rest assured that your autopilot will be manufactured and marketed in ways you would not be able to, and everyone who wants one will be able to get one in a timely manner". That is an appealing sales pitch, and TruTrak may have decided to be acquired with the best intentions in mind. I agree that, at a minimum, the STC timeline is likely to go out the window, as will production schedules. The cynic in me can't help but think back to when Garmin acquired the UPSAT CNX80 navigator. The UPSAT box was WAAS at a time when Garmin did not have one, and was, in the opinion of many, a much better navigator than the 430/530 series . Garmin effectively eliminated the competition by acquiring the CNX80. Unfortunately Garmin dropped the CNX80 (renamed GNS480) from production after they had WAAS upgrades for the 430/530 boxes and had the current batch of WAAS navigators in design. I hope that elimination of the competition is not the reason BK acquired TruTrak, and we will soon have AeroCruz 100 autopilots in our panels. Like many of the people posting here, I have been hand-flying for over a year waiting for a cost-effective digital autopilot.

THIS. ^^^^^^^^^^^

We have the Hartzell 3-blade on our C and actually took it to @Cody Stallings (in Arkansas, btw) for a dynamic balance. His testing indicated that it was already in balance. I have been flying it for over 6 years and haven't had a problem.

Finally, some very positive news.... Hi All, We received an upbeat message from Mark’s doctors today post surgery. 1) Confirmed they saw nothing concerning such as fungal after examining his entire body. 2) Covering his thighs with allografts went smoothly. 3) Because Mark’s arms have not much tissue layer and down to muscle, they covered his arms with cow placental allograft. We need to learn more about this process. Bottom line, it’s good to get Mark’s arms covered ASAP. 4) His left upper arm biopsy indicated no fungal so far, they will continue to monitor as it can take up to 2 weeks for fungal to grow and it’s been 9 days. The plan is to move forward with preparing Mark for skin grafting. Next Wednesday, in surgery they will set up a test patch for autografts on his body. Autographs are the prep layer grown from Mark’s skin that needs to be put on his body before they place his skin grafts on top of it. They want to test first to make sure it can “take” before they do more widespread prepping. Dr. MacGregor said we should celebrate the good news, as Mark has survived a critical leg in his marathon. If he gets any more bacterial infections, it can be a reset but it’s recoverable. Not typically so with fungal infections. Dearest God and all the love in the universe, thank you for another miracle - the gift of life for Mark.

A few of my thoughts from my experience; Take the test and pass it first. The weekend courses are fine, but what goes in fast goes out faster. I've found the Gleim Course to be good because it gives you the reason for the wrong answers as well as the right one. It does just prepare you for the test, not the practical reality of actual instrument flying. The big Jeppesen book is like a reference manual, but provides really good information. If you have a glass panel, the instrument rating is almost too easy; Holding patterns, glideslopes for flying approaches makes life easy. Of course you should get some "dive and drive" experience, but with the modern GPSs step down situational awareness is easy. Even flying VOR approaches is easy with a WAAS GPS since you can now fly the whole approach with GPS and just monitor the VOR during the final approach segment. Gone are the days of ADF approaches that were more difficult and very inaccurate. From my experience, younger is better for doing accelerated courses. I had one student do the whole rating (not including the knowledge test) in 8 days. We flew 2-3 sessions of 2.5 hours/session each day. He passed with flying colors. He was technically oriented as a software engineer and 26 years old. In California in the summer you get the marine layer many days. In the winter you many times get the fog layer in the Valley. I like a student to have at least 4 hours of actual IMC before taking the practical test.

I completely agree with you, tech moves incredibly fast and you're paying a very large premium for tech that will be outdated tomorrow. It's leaving these planes in the stone age. If you were buying a car and it had a 430 equivalent in it, you would probably laugh, but it appears to be the norm in aviation. The market is also hot ATM and it's driving initial acquisition cost up making it even more difficult to accomplish.

I have never had any issue with soft drinks or beer up to 12k but I generally don't go higher. I did have a bag of chips open up climbing though about 8k scared the $%^&** out of me I started looking around to see what happened. My son started laughing when we realized it was just the chips.

Dang! I met Charles..! I flew formation with 201er..! I ate pizza with Yves..! had no internet for a couple of days... Wish I could have met you there, Tom... I even spent time at the Lancair booth thinking about building a turbine IVPT... Next time, for sure... Best regards, -a-

Great ideas and agree. As to #8: MooneyMAX is a non-profit formed specifically for Mooney education. MooneyMAX 2020 will be a 3-day educational Conference for Mooney owners of all models the first of May. Returning and confirmed guest speakers are Mike Busch, Bob Minnis, Bob Kromer, Jimmy Garrison, and others. NO pilot knows EVERYTHING! Aviation education and knowledge of our Mooney’s should be a constant goal. Would love to hear ideas and suggestions of areas owners would like covered.

In fact, there is factory FITS based transition training by Mooney Pros, Inc. supplied with each new sale or with Kevin Kammer of Mooney. Additionally, there is a 10K training credit voucher issued with each sale. Parker and Tom Hague of Wings Insurance are well aware of the programs and typically can get clients insured very reasonably because of it. In fact, one new M20V owner doesnt have his PPL yet and is insured! Thats results! And I hear you, we all elect to earn more The trick is to figure out how.

Sadly, the Mooney product is obsolete and the market is speaking. 300+ SR20 Cirrus aircraft delivered per year for the most of the past decade. How’s many M20s? Why is that? Instead of spending money improving the M20 line, they blow 100m on the M10 failed project. Now, they have a carbon fiber cowl concept for the Ovation. The entire Cirrus is carbon.

would be nice if they just answered the phone..................

I agree with you, but I also think the Mooney brand needs to have a strategy to empower the Mooney community and work with us to foster that goodwill and brand evangelism. We are their greatest asset, but their marketing strategy is probably outdated and not community-empowering focused. It's definitely a tough challenge for any Community Manager as Mooney-owners probably aren't the easiest group of people to engage in a way that is strategic and in service to their company goals. If I was Mooney, I would consider these initiatives to build community: 1) have a social strategy that encourages legacy Mooney owners to show off their aircraft, awards free parts to best voted aircraft, with the message and branding being that "Mooney's last forever." 2) have a strategy to empower Mooney owners to host Mooney-specific fly-ins and fly in new aircraft for display for those flyins. 3) reassure Mooney owners that they love supporting the fleet with parts, etc. 4) listen and be transparent. we want to see the return of something like an M20J at a competitive price point, but there are probably real reasons why Mooney can't do that and remain profitable. it would be nice to have someone from Mooney address these concerns in a customer-facing way that protects their interest (obviously they can't be completely transparent and give us #'s and data), but at least be listening to the community and thinking about real ways to address the needs of them. 5) find a way to empower the Mooney community to grow the GA market as a whole. tell the stories of those Mooney owners whose lifestyle has been transformed thanks to their time machine. more time with family, friends, etc. 6) although the pilot population is mostly male and it makes sense that their marketing appeals mostly to men, I think rethinking that strategy and broadening the horizon as the industry is becoming more diverse and being a proponent for that diversity. 7) inviting some Mooney owners to give feedback, some form of beta-program to help develop better feedback loops and help people in the community feel included as a result. 8) put a program in place where MSCs can host Mooney-specific events/fly-ins/etc to increase education among Mooney maintenance among owners. they should have some leverage in order allow these repair stations to use the Mooney logo and be a "licensed repair station." Just some ideas from someone whose job it is to build communities around brands (not aviation field).

Spent today getting the new IR wet, man can't believe I actually get to do this flying thing.

Per @M20F-1968 the Ovation ones will work in a J Bar F model - quite possibly the coolest vintage Mooney in existence.