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So, today, I was the last man (for the fourth time in five work sessions) finishing up number 5 of five concrete pours on our chapter hangar. A 75’ x 70’ EAA Chapter hangar, broken down into 5 manageable pours for a total of 125 yards of cement, I actually finished the day in under 14 hours of time (pour #4 was an 18 hour day). Thank god my wife is understanding, as her honey do list was pushed off for this late fall project. Dedicated old men shouldn’t be messed with!!! Tom

After making purchase on 8/1 on our “new to us” Missile Conversion I thought I would communicate my initial impressions of the Mid-Body Missile to my short-body M20E. Pushing in and pulling out of hanger. I have a longer “break-down” tow bar with the Missile/J. I feel it gives me more ability to push/pull. I find the effort to move the Missile to be on par with the E even though it is a significantly heavier airframe. That was a NICE surprise. Seating position. I really like the seats in our plane. I feel as though I am higher in relation to the E Model. This may be do to the padding, but the panel although appearing taller visually does NOT give that effect when looking out of the plane. Start-up. The Continental IO550 in the Missile is VERY easy to start. The engine fires quickly and has a nice throaty sound. The vibration at idle was negligible. Run-up. The Continental seems smoother to add power/run-up. The six vs. the four I guess? Regardless the plane feels great. Take off/Ground run. I was told that the canting of the engine to offset the P-Effect works well and the Missile is not a handful on the ground roll. Agree. I used take off flaps and trimmed for take-off and uneventful. Didn’t feel like a significant difference from the E. When power is in it is ready to fly. Loved my J Bar, but love the auto-trim more. The manual trim on the Missile rolls easier than my E. I like the detents/ribs on the trim wheel vs. the round E trim wheel. I prefer the hydraulic flaps vs. the electric. Just more precise, but I will get used to it. Climb: E and Missile are Great initial climbers. Low ceilings kept my at 3500 feet, but both of these airframes (both with three blade props) really have nice initial climb with cool temps. (It was 41 degrees today in Iowa). I look forward to a nice cruise climb up to 8500 in the Missile. The E is over a thousand fpm up to 3500, but then drops to 700ish (when cool). I have read that the Missile will carry 1,000fpm easily up to 8500. Cruise and handling. I loved my E, but the Missile seems smoother on control input/response. I was doing East/West and turns in Class C for ADSB cert flight and just loved how the plane flew. I was burning 12.8GPH down low and there was a BIG wind at 310 that saw ground speeds of 178knots going East and 135 going west. Landing. I found VERY LITTLE DIFFERENCE between my E and the Missile. I am about maxed nose up trim with full flaps in the E and same with the Missile. Into a strong wind (just about down the runway) there was plenty of energy for flare. Not a greaser, but landings were adequate. I REALLY look forward to flying this plane. A LOT!

I remember when we moved to AZ when I was 18. My grandparents came to visit, my grandpa would have been 81, and had worked hard his whole life. (Was still driving to the farm up in the mountains at age 90 to take his water turn with the irrigation) Anyway, we had to dig huge holes for the citrus trees going in (mature trees in boxes). I was worn out, taking a break, and there was grandpa still digging away. One of the greatest men I've ever known, along with the sons he raised, one of whom I'm lucky to call my dad.

It’s a freakin number. 6 months ago, before me third hand surgery, I was running 30 miles a week at 63 years old. I have two employees in my dealership 15 years younger than me that couldn’t stay with me for 1/4 mile. I still officiate high level soccer (center referee) and run for 90 minutes in a normal match. A lot of guys 20 years younger than me could never keep up with me. I LOVE HEARING STORIES of people staying active as they age. I find it inspirational!!! Tom

I conducted another mercy flight Thursday afternoon. I didn't get out until later in the afternoon (was working on the hangar project I posted about last night). Picked up the patient in RST (Mayo Clinic) and brought her back to Houghton. There was a solid overcast (with icing, argh) so put my deicing system back to work. It was pretty much dark when I left Houghton but as soon as I busted through the tops I got an amazing view of the sunset. Tom

The problem with many mechanics is they lack a robust electronics background and are not great at troubleshooting to the component level. Add in poor documentation. Yes, we have schematics. But they are hard to follow and lack a “theory of operation” paragraph. I spent a few hours redrawing the flap circuit until I could 100% understand it. The result is throwing parts at the problem until fixed.

We all HOPE to get there someday . I suppose your question is based on ones individual situation. My friend, Captain Harry Moyer, a WWII P40 fighter pilot, recently passed his 3rd class medical and regularly flies his 64’ M20E. Harry does not make the long trips alone these days. His son does sit in the right seat for those trips to Mexico...... Harry is currently 98 years of age. Go Harry, go !!!

I don't know how old is too old to fly, but surely health has more to do with it than the number. Ask this guy. Frenchman Robert Marchand broke the cycling world age group hour record on track (velodrome) at 100 years old a few years back. When he did so, there had never been an attempt in that age group, so he is in fact the only centenarian to have ridden a bicycle for an hour, nonstop, on a velodrome. So all he needed to do was to complete the distance. So then at that time I declared he is my hero and I told all my friends that I plan to take that world record some day! Well - what do you know - 5 years later, he came out and broke the age group hour record on track (velodrome) at 105 years. So now he holds the hour record for 100-104 year olds and the 105-? record too. Is that for 105 and up? Or is that 105-109? I don't know. Write this down and mark my words Mr Marchand, Je viens pour votre dossier monsieur. Dans 52 ans, je prends ce disc pour moi! https://www.velonews.com/2017/01/news/105-year-old-frenchman-sets-hour-record_427263 Oh yeah - I have no problem if Mr Marchand wants to take flying lessons and get his PPL. Today he is 107. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Marchand_(cyclist) He returned to cycling in 1978[4] and continued training after his 100th birthday. In February 2012, he set a world record in one-hour track cycling in the over-100 age group at 24.250 kilometres (15.068 mi). He improved this record to 26.927 kilometres (16.732 mi) in January 2014.[6][7] On 4 January 2017, he set a world record in one-hour track cycling in the over-105 age group, covering 22.547 kilometres (14.010 mi) in one hour, and the 105 years old centenarian declared: "I could have done better, if I had seen the 10-minute warning card, otherwise I would have pedalled slightly faster" OK Mooneyspacers - raise your hand if you can ride 16.732 miles in one hour today the same as he did when he was 102 years old. My hand is up - I can do that - easy - today at least I can easy. Mais je viens pour votre dossier monsieur dans 52 ans!

There is a guy at my home airport who is in his 90's and flys almost everyday.....also a trip up and down the east coast once or twice a year....he has an RV4 or something like that...

Nice to get plane in our hanger and ADSB testing/first orientation flight completed.

somewhat an apples to oranges comparison. There are at least 3 entirely different levels of servicing/repairing a cylinder with escalating prices: 1) IRAN - just fix what's broken 2) Overhaul - required replacement parts including new piston, but not to new limits but serviceable limits 3) Overhaul to New limits - with a first time run cylinder should be as good as new and some will argue better than new since a good overhauler will pay more attention to detail in valve lapping and symmetry. The price goes up just like between a G5 to a Aspen to a G500 does. Also OEM new assemblies typically don't include the rocker arms and shafts that have to be added to the cost of a complete cylinder. In some cases you can't even get a NiC cylinder without going the "Overhaul to new limits" route since they are unavailable new.

I've had the opportunity to use the Savvy Breakdown Service twice, and I'm very happy with the results. Think of it as sort of AAA for your airplane - you have a problem, call the Savvy toll free number and talk to a dispatcher, and within minutes you get a call back from a knowledgable technician who helps diagnose your issue and gives you a recommended course of action. If service is required to get you back in the air, the technician will refer you to a reputable shop on or near the field you're at. No guess work or looking for local recommendations. That's the real benefit of the service from my perspective; you get a referral to a reputable service provider in Savvy's network and get to provide feedback on your experience. You can also make the initial contact online if you want - I did that on one occasion and provided the technician pictures of the oil leak I had to help with his diagnosis. They follow up with you to make sure you get your airplane airworthy again and also to make sure you got home ok. Worked great, and I highly recommend it! By the way, my insurance provider doesn't include the Savvy service, and I pay the full price for coverage through Savvy. Worth every penny to me. Cheers, Rick

My dad flies his T-210 a lot, but he flies IFR less now. He finally bought a powered tow bar to push it into the hangar, even though he is only 88.

My understanding is that the sawtooth EGT pattern, as well as the asymmetric pattern on the exhaust valve when looking via a borescope, is due to an exhaust valve that's leaking due to erosion after uneven heating, rather than one that's sticking. I haven't seen any pattern in the EGT data to suggest that uneven heating is the issue. That said, borescoping is what I've requested as the next step to see if there's anything wonky with the valve or if it's just a matter of reaming the valve guide, and to see if the cylinder walls show any signs of ring problems.

When I was doing my rebuild I used Bill Wheat as my go to person. I asked him what voltage regulator to buy and he gave me one choice, Zeftronics. I have had no problems with it at all. John Breda

lol, I did a 3’x5’ slab on the side of my hangar for the man door and it took 4hrs....in my defense or excuse that did include loading the material, forming and hand mixing the concrete

And just for the record , none of the younger refs I crew with run as much as me either !!!! Tom

Check to see if your blades are Snug(not tight). If they feel good or like other Props on your ramp you should be fine. I would say it’s probably not going to be your propeller. A propeller that out of balance will shake at all RPMs with a change in Frequency, an the amplitude will fall slightly with RPM. Calendar TBO should not apply to Part: 91 in my opinion. 5/6 Year TBO on a propeller with a 2000hr TBO. Most fly in the 100hr a Year range. So 600hrs an it time to O/H?... Head Scratcher!!! If you just wanna do something to your propeller. Re-Seal it. The Orings are what will go bad first, while the propeller is apart the Repairstation will be looking for any Safety of Flight issues. You will get more of your propeller back that way. My 2 cents

Him and Fred should meet. I aspire to be like Fred. https://www.wacotrib.com/news/at-schmid-remains-a-pillar-of-waco-cycling/article_0ff668eb-16cb-5d0d-8eef-89d878627adc.html my DPE was 92 when he qualed me.

People are so different. I live in a community where the average age of death is 97. I play tennis with a guy who is 88 and he is a very good player.

Contintental's SB03-3 has very detailed guidance about compression tests on their engines. If the compression test reads below their leakage threshold, boroscope the cylinder, and if all looks normal then fly at 75% power for at least 45 minutes before testing compression again. Lycoming's guidance is much less detailed.

With the top loading baggage compartment, I can only fit this small amount of stuff in my baggage compartment and back seat of my C model for 10-days at Oshkosh with my wife! Of course I only have the smaller 48 gallon fuel tanks.

I HAVE had a corrosion issue with my airplane but it was in a location that seems unlikely to be related to tks, which is in the fuel tank area. And I had not been using, or even been aware of, the anti-corrosion misting agents - but I am now! But - not doing TKS because of worrying about corrosion, is worrying about a chronic problem vs an acute problem. Sort of like deciding not to get an x-ray to examine your broken arm because you are worried about the possibility of the cancer causing properties of x-rays. If you find yourself in a situation wanting-needing-wishing for tks, because of an inadvertent (or fiki) ice encounter, I promise you, if you flick that tks on switch, you will not be thinking about corrosion at that moment.

Maybe you guys should try one of these: https://www.classicnation.com/list-of-the-most-popular-classic-car-forums/ I’m still trying to find the best option for replacing door seals.

Well, all I will say is there is a reason why I am not a fan of Garmin, LOL. Aside from that, it seems like you may have had a ground issue or maybe a bus issue. Now, IF there was a "surge" would it be evident in everything that has power to it? Mags, Lights, switches, CBs, etc....is everything working now? Was it mainly things on the Avionics Bus and nothing on the battery bus? Those are the anomalies that need answered and explained to go any further. Did anything else "burn up? Were all of thiose units hooked to the same grounding point and there is an issue there? Inquiring minds want to know!!!!!

See if this is the same thing... plate says ‘1949’ I snapped the pic while cruising up to Bar Harbor. The airport and the harbor are pretty close together... Snapped spline shaft sounds like a Mooney landing gear motor challenge... it is important to select the right materials, and finish the process, to avoid getting the stress magnifiers... in ‘49 less was known about stress magnification. Machining wasn’t nearly as finished as it is today. It is easy to leave rough surfaces that can initiate a crack... PP aviation thoughts, stretched a bit... Best regards, -a-

Congrats on your new plane. Enjoy and fly safe! Fly Safe, Safety Forum Mod

"Whether you think you can or think you can't you are right." --Henry Ford A smart pilot will know when it's time, and it should have much more to do with health, than with age....and nothing to do with false pride (ego).

Point of fact....when I first bought my plane avionics were old and engine tired....insured hull at 65k...insurance was 2,600....installed new avionics, installed Lycomming rebuilt engine and raised my hull value to $135k....almost double...cost was under $400 a year extra. Last June rate for same hull value was $1950. It will be interesting to see where rates go when I apply next year with my new minted IR

Knock offs should be safety wired...

The fuel capacity increase is documented in the STC... Please see attached. I did not drill a hole since I rarely need that much fuel and you can pump it slowly to 95 gallons. This STC also covers switching the engine to IO-550-N

One cannot [or should not] argue with experience ! Excellent job gentlemen !!!

The extra click is wearing me down. Lol.

The international power of MS is awesome! Go MS! Best regards, -a-

Bob Minnis... is THE man! I couldn't write notes fast enough to keep up with all the tremendous experience he was laying down... If he gave a presentation at Mooney Summit... I would sit through that one twice... (idea for @mike_elliott) It would also be interesting to IO360drivers because many of the same topics of operation apply to both engines... Lycoming didn’t put half of the details into their manuals... The power available from an IO550 at full tilt... is awesome! At 310hp it is pretty tame... even though it feels incredibly Corvette powerful. An experimental IO550 with a pair of snails has got to be extra cool... Best regards, -a-

I am sure like a lot of government agencies, the TSA is an easy target and I must say there are times I am less than pleased. To large extent but not entirely, there is security theatre, but that is layered upon some conduct of real value. One day I was PIC of a flight that resulted in a new regulation, that was the removal of O2 generators from lavatories. I can tell you that very good people from TSA were of great assistance. When you actually have had a "probe mission" ran against your aircraft by enemies of the United States the purpose, mission and efficiency of TSA becomes very apparent. The real reason for "non real id" DL is political mostly having to do with immigration policy.

Congrats Bob! Your bird is under valued by at least 20%! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This just happened this weekend. Wife surprised me with a private flight with the crew of FIFI after the Wings Over Dallas airshow for my birthday. One of the most incredible experiences of my life. Crawling through the crew tube over the bomb bay to get to the rear guns was sombering. Can't image those guys trying to deliver payloads on target while getting peppered by flak and torn through by enemy fighters. Helped clean off the gallons of oil that leak from each engine after the flight as well.

Spot on! Add a sensorcon and go. If I didn't have my K stuck in my hanger burning a hole in my pocket I would be buying this airplane. Jason and I were in the same element into OSH with the 2018 Caravan. This airplane is really, really clean and Jason is the kind of owner you want to be the previous owner of your airplane. As far as panel upgrades. It doesn't need anything, but I would consider adding a G5 HSI. Then a JPI900 in the location of the CDI that the G5 replaced. Then I would just stash away money and wait for good reason to spend it. Cheers, Dan

You didn't ask me but I love Avionics shopping I would leave it for about 50 hrs, fly the plane and see what you like. My last Mooney had a similar panel with a 480 I would wait till it broke or I just got tired of it but be careful the more you use the 480 the more you will like it. Then I would install an Avidyne 540 and JPI EDM900, rearrange the avionics a little to make it look nice and fly the hell out of that beautiful J!

Honestly couldn't have said it better myself. I have found the GNS-480 paired with the STEC-55x to be incredibly functional and reliable. Shortly after takeoff I can engage GPSS steering, dial in a vertical speed until I hit and select my cruising altitude... and then not touch the controls until the DH, all within .02 NM of course centerline. It still amazes me every time.

David, This panel would benefit from moving it to TX, and flying it regularly... Helps both the plane and the pilot... Is that what you have in mind? Best regards, -a-

Interesting video that may help keep pilots safer. Stall prevention is key. But, when an imminent stall happens low to the ground, or worse yet on takeoff with engine loss, we have to be preprogrammed to immediately lower the nose as discussed in the video- although I don’t believe we need to really go into negative Gs. Many pilots who have successfully dealt with engine loss shortly after takeoff will tell you that the immediate pitch down site picture staring at the ground can be alarming, but necessary when close to stall speed. This is why I like a little speed buffer at and immediately after rotation. In piston twins, it’s at least Vmc + 5 knots for rotation because speed decays quickly with engine loss on takeoff. Briefing every takeoff with the expectation of an engine failure is a great idea. Even better is to have a preset plan for what you’re going to do with an engine failure at various altitudes and positions on takeoff and climb out. Glider pilots are immediately taught to call out 200 or 300 feet AGL as a decision point for turning back or landing straight ahead in the event of a rope break or towplane engine failure. I Know the engine out landing options at the ends of each runway at familiar local airports, but I could definitely do a better job at studying my options at unfamiliar airports some of which require choosing the best of lousy choices for an off field landing. Flying in the Rockies, I try to frequently play the what if I lost an engine here? where would I go? game. Being ready for the unexpected may make all the difference some day.

Am I the only one that does not think this video is the “epiphany” that the CFI is claiming? Maneuvering speed (VA ) has a definition. GA pilots don’t “think” it’s a maximum...it is a maximum. I’m not going to define it here because it’s easy to find and we all were taught about maneuvering speed in PPL training. It’s based on design load, not flying in the pattern. If one wants to have a minimum pattern speed, by all means, but it has nothing to do with maneuvering speed. Furthermore, flying delta wing, transport category aircraft is a completely different type of flying. Transport category aircraft have speed brakes, spoilers, lift dump devices, thrust reversers, etc. etc. they are not maneuverable, they are no closer to GA flying than an ocean liner is to a small pleasure craft. I guess I’m a curmudgeon or a dinosaur or whatever, but I don’t think stall/recovery training is killing pilots. Complacency and or sensory overload kills pilots. If you don’t know you’re approaching critical AOA, you don’t know you’re approaching critical AOA. If you don’t know you’re slow, you don’t know you’re slow...I don’t think having an extra piece of tape on the ASI is going to help you if you’re so distracted you’ve lost situational awareness. Has anyone here ever actually been surprised by the stall when practicing stall/recovery? I have not. The horn gives a lot of notice, the plane can be flown with the horn blaring while holding altitude and turning, the plane will buffet gently before breaking giving another cue of what’s in store. What does surprise people? A secondary stall during an over aggressive recovery. Why is it surprising? Because it’s accelerated, it’s almost immediate and it’s caused by an aggressive control input that blows right through any usable AOA to critical AOA and an aggressive secondary break. I don’t think the stall/spin accident scenario is some daft pilot getting slow in the pattern. It’s likely an accelerated event caused by an aggressive control input that gives little to no warning as the aircraft departs controlled flight with stall horn coming to the party to tell you what you already know... I think familiarizing yourself with your airplane’s stall characteristics and all of the cues associated with stall so that a stall can be avoided is a far better strategy than trying to redefine maneuvering speed or putting a little yellow strip of tape on your ASI.

They have McBeer in Germany.

This may help. FWIW, I owned at '78 and enjoyed it. Now I own a '94. The later model is a little slower and a little heavier, but I enjoy the numerous small refinements. But, it's largely the same airplane. 201hist.xls

There’s a huge thread on BeechTalk about the magnesium ruddervator skins and the ABS is not working on it, and Beech is not working on it. Basically there is no solution at this point nor is one for the forseeable future. If you have good skins, great.. if you don’t I don’t know what to say

To add more “data” to this qualitative analysis thread: Any C model Mooney is way cheaper to operate than any King Air. I did a lot of my instrument training in a Beech Sierra. It was not supersonic but has lots more room in the cabin than a MiG 21. A few hours dual in a Pitts S2C convinced me it will roll somewhat faster than an Ovation. A short body vintage Mooney is quite a different airplane than the later long fuselage planes. Flying is a very good thing.

530 - $4.5k 530w - $8.5k 540 - $11.5k I personally think the 540 is the best value in gps/nav/com’s right now. Especially considering the slide in capability in the old 530 slot. However, with new gps/com units coming out like the Garmin 355 its hard to know what values will do in the future.