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I realized this morning that visiting Mooneyspace is like having my twice a month morning breakfast meeting with my retired airline captain friends, except MS is daily [if I wish!]. At our pilots breakfast, we talk about all kinds of things. And since one of my friends is a retired United 747 captain and long time Mooney owner/pilot, the conversations can quickly turn to stuff about our Mooney airplanes [we do have a Cirrus owner amongst us, so that's always fun!]. As with any passion, and the particular organizations of which we choose to partake, whether its airplanes, boating, sports cars, motorcycles, music, etc., it is the people that make it truly special. Admittedly a slow learner in some areas, it wasn't until my first visit to AirVenture in 2008 that I finally realized this. It was the like mindedness, the camaraderie, the respect, and the passion of it all from the people there that made AirVenture so very special to me. Just like my pilots breakfast friends and just like Mooneyspace ! As I continued to read the Vintage Mooney thread on the door handle replacement topic, and all the associated input from so many on how to skin that cat, it came to me again, just how valuable, fun and exciting our Mooneyspace really is..........such knowledge, information and creativity from everyone! So, it's the daily "pilots breakfast" for me in the morning, at noontime, during the evenings, late at night, or just whenever....... here on Mooneyspace. It is the people and I do love Mooneyspace !

Just a PIREP... I thought I would share some pictures of the Aspen PFD MFD Max upgrades. I also have a G5 so a pretty good comparison of color and clarity side by side.

I hate Mooneyspace. All the guys posting about their projects makes me feel fat, lazy, and stupid.

Something like ANT-1?

Ah, yes. My C and E both had that “100LL cabin air freshener” feature.

I simply explain to my right seat passenger to hold the door strap, leaving the door a jar for ventilation as we taxi to them run up area. I let them know door closure is unique and that I will secure the door prior to departure. So far, so good .

It's amazing that you tell someone how the door works and they slam the crap out of it 2 or 3 times before they finally here you saying " I just told you not to slam my fricken door"....... I can say that the #8 machine screws that hold the strap are hell for stout

I have them on my 2000 O2 and feel more confident knowing that I have a few extra kts of protection when slow. I have nothing to compare to as they came with my plane when purchased. Being able to confidently land at 68 kts with total control and no float makes them priceless to me. Once I realized that keeping speeds lower (except when gusting) was the key to great landings, they were a no brainer. BTW I have no problem doing 175-180 kts in cruise.

Hi there, I would be interested in collecting 3D models of Mooney-related parts of all kind. As a starter, attached is the Sketchup model, STL print file and photo of a cover I have designed and printed. It is not a Mooney standard part. Its purpose is to cover the emergency gear handle between the front seats so passengers do not accidentally step on and unlock the mechanism. On the top, there is an inlay showing a wheel. On the sides, the old Mooney logo. It fits nicely. Of course, I have painted and finished be part - but since I am really bad with paint, I'm not showing the result :-) Best regards, Fry Emergency Gear Handle Cover.skp Emergency Gear Handle Cover.stl

Everything that goes up on the internet stays forever. Don't want that associated with my name. I really shouldn't do this at all.

Fred - (I hope you don’t mind me using your first name). I personally don’t think using the Beechtalk model will change things much. I’m sure they still bounce people out for being a jerk. Most of us who have been on the site for a while, know each other not only from MooneySpace but from real live interactions. I think what helped foster this environment were the local Mooney fly-ins, the Summit, the PPPs, Oshkosh gathering, etc. You will notice the people who come onto MooneySpace fall into a category. They may be doing a drive-by (where can I find this part?find a mechanic?) - only never to be seen again. Or maybe a wannabes (I just got my PPL and I have never sat in a Mooney) and the B breakers (where has Peter Garmin been lately?). Those who remain for some time are people who share a mutual interest in this addiction. And all of them I call friends, Andy, Jerry, Alan, Mike, Hunter, Terry, Josh, Dan, Anthony are just a small portion of the MooneySpacers I have met here and then in real life. Heck, I even consider Peter Garmin a friend. Besides, the anonymous nature of the site makes it a little easier for those of us at work sneak in a few minutes on MooneySpace. [emoji1787] I do agree the search capabilities of MooneySpace leaves a lot to be desired. My ADS-B Resource thread is only one of a few of stickies. We see a lot of the same questions over and over again. It would be nice if they were grouped or at least improve the search engine to find stuff. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Thanks for the info. I didn’t know that. I think the statute of limitations has reduced my exposure.

I have them on a Bravo - I haven't taken a trip since they were installed, but even if I lose a 3-5 knots on cruise, for the difference in low speed I feel it's worth it. The airplane feels much more controllable at 65-70 knots than before.

You’re a funny guy Bob. [emoji1787] I wish my new ASI made my plane 6 knots faster as well. You may want to check with some avionics shops and Mike Studley at Aspen if they are seeing some start up issues with the new Max platform. My bet is on the calibration. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

FYI An A&P is not authorized to repair a compass. It is a job for the hangar elves shh..,.

They add more wetted surface area, which probably negates most of the gains. At FL280 in a 252 it may actually be a little bit of benefit there because you’re using the added wing area in the corner of the flight envelope where you need it.

If your “whiskey compass” is still leaking it needs repair. Under A&P supervision I fixed my M20E compass by buying the Kit and spending an hour disassembling, cleaning and repairing it. A bonus — with decades of filmy “stuff” cleaned from the glass it was easier to read the compass markings. And liquid no longer dripped onto my right pant leg.

Looks like a piece of vinyl (Tygon) tubing on the drain tube... If you change it, think of getting something to last another 50 years... a rubber oil hose something with a slightly better quality... PVC gets hard over time and may not stay connected... or it may break... PP thoughts only, best regards, -a-

I poked my $40 Amazon iPad borescope bough one of the manifold outlets to help me see the wire while I was threading it through the little clamp fitting... Made it go a lot faster, as I couldn’t see what I was doing otherwise. Pop the cap off the side of the box and you can access the wire clamp.p with a long screwdriver.

Two of the Mooney mites I own we’re rebuilt by my late grandfather. We found them both and bought them back. E W King was his name and he had the only M-19 in his garage for many years until he passes away around 1988. The three we own are as follows M-18 L N123C SN82 M-18 C N4123 SN291 M-18 C55 N4180 SN345

No taxes on American steel or aluminum. It will be much better In the long run. We have been getting screwed by the Chinese for way too long.

Wait a minute!!!!!!! Was that a compliment? I don't deserve that!!!! LOL, we are all in this together and we need to bring back that community feel to OUR industry.

The cost of parts is far more than the time and materials. It's the cost of the entire factory, divided by the volume of parts out the door. If Mooney spends $1 million annually to keep the lights on, and sells one part, that part would cost $1 million. Unfortunate, but true. That's why many companies contract their parts out to vendors, who can't charge their whole overhead to one part. Low volume, highly specialized parts for 30 to 50 year old planes will always be expensive. And without them, the planes will be grounded. I'm amazed that they can continue building parts and grateful that they do.

Richard Collins often observed that the cost of maintaining an airplane is more related to the cost of a new airplane than the airplane's value. Cost to maintain is the killer of "cheap" complex aircraft. Ever notice how cheap light twins are to buy? It could be worse, you could have a V-tail Bonanza with a damaged magnesium ruddervator. Skip

I know an Acclaim is 800,000 but my plane is not worth it. We can’t justify parts prices based on the price of a new airplane. How about the cost to produce Plus fair margin, not 10 times the cost to produce. At the Mooney homecoming a few years ago we talked to the lady who builds ailerons on a flat table. It takes her and part time help about a day or so to build almost 2 ailerons. These things cost like $4000 apiece and that was the price a few years ago. No wonder so many Mooneys at Oshkosh have hail damaged ailerons, the cost to replace them is just unreasonable. No for the most part, I think the Mooney Parts prices have been fairly reasonable. We paid them plenty of times. But they should take a look at their cost per unit plus number of units shipped they’ll realize that they can get gouge insurance companies for gear doors for example but other people are going to find different ways

Agree 100% Until a way around the "certified" aspect of the Type Certificate can be found we are stuck in an abyss As you say, "its all in the regulations"

I just serviced mine this morning. Removing them is very easy (I have the electric type). I removed all of the top screws and then the bottom screws. Once the bottom inspection plate is off there are two small screws on a bracket that need to be removed. Then the electric plug needs to be unplugged and the entire unit will come out of the bottom. My right speed brake is original and has never been serviced by Precise Flight. It was getting slow and very noisy. No wonder - there was no grease on the gear and worm drive. After generously applying Aeroshell 22 grease I put it on a stool under the airplane (with the master on and the speed brake switch on). Every time I plugged in the connection it would activate. After a few cycles it was noticeably quieter and faster to deploy. The left one was serviced almost 20 years ago and was doing well even though there was very little grease left. I re-greased it and went through a few cycles with both. The right one is now deploying just as fast as the left and both are considerably quieter. It took about 45 minutes total and was very easy. I'll be doing it every year from this point on.

It's really worth to keep a vintage model up to date... - where ever I go, nobody wants to believe that my Green Lady went airborne in November 1966...

I have been flying only vintage Mooneys for 25 years and I am used to the Throttle Mixture Prop order. But you are correct on needing to replace all three of them.

It may be highly refined, but in a small space it stinks like all get out. I just left the doors open snd it did eventually go away.

back to the door seal!!!! Who is having good luck and what are you using. I bought knot2u door seal and Im not impressed with the sealing capabilities, my door is noisy.

Mine was a pain to replace, but not all that difficult. Mainly just frustrating. I had airflow before I started the project, but after getting into it and taping closed all the seams on the plenum, I now have huge airflow and it makes a big difference. If you ever decide to drop the headliner make sure you tap up those gaps. Makes the summer all that more bearable.

It’s amazing how much control authority you have at low speeds. Easier crosswind landings was an unexpected benefit to adding the VGs.

But...did your wife know she was making something for your mistress?

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A competent A&P can do it no problem! Build the harness yourself and it will be cheaper and better quality, most likely. We just finished one for @Bob R and mounted the GAD and GMU in the rear accessory area above the panel. Be sure to isolate the Whelen box if you have one and run the ground to the Whelen box to the negative battery terminal. It will help. Also use Airframe ground for the GMU and GAD grounds. One last thing, use ONLY Stainless or Non-Magnetic fasteners within about 12" of the GMU.

@Gerard0183, there is a section further down the home page dedicated to Mite Owners. You may get more responses there. Another option is to become a supporter ($10/year) and post it in the For Sale section. Sorry to hear about your father.

McFarlane does a great job. The total for all 3 cables will run about $1000. (McFarlane recommends that the cables should be at replaced about 2000 hours - TBO for engines. We see a lot of panel pics here with what appears to be original, 50 year old cables. IMO that's asking for trouble.) It is not necessary to send them the old cables. Remove them from the plane to be able to measure a few critical dimensions to fill out their order form. Email them the forms and save several days of downtime while the cables are traveling to McFarlane. https://www.mcfarlaneaviation.com/section/services/custom-engine-controls/

Concur. I did the same thing in my J with the overhead light by the cabin door. Hit it with my head reaching for something in the back. Came back to a dead battery. Light is so anemic you can't see it in the daytime. Brian

I tell people if they ever see me running, try to keep up! There's either something behind me they also don't want to be around, or something ahead of me that I may want some help with.

Easiest approval method would probably be an STC.

Finally got some wind beneath my wings today. This photo is after the flight, with my two gorgeous mechanical babes in the same shot. Fun fact: Vne on the E is 189 and the top speed of the 911 is 179. So, I get in, get ready to start and my checklist booklet is missing. I hoofed it. BTW, thanks guys for the insurance thread, I was EXTRA CAREFUL with the gear. Headed down the RWY, no ASI. Too late, Mooney loves to fly and takes off on her own so I hoofed it until I realized about 10 minutes out from the airport that maybe, just maybe, pitot heat might get it back. It did. The engine ran like it was in the Arctic (that's a good thing in Southeast Texas). I started to close the roof vent scoop and then thought better of it--better to fly with a cold draft than no draft come summer should the cable break Got back and had the tower say, "Sir, you look like you are on line with 16 (I was CTL for 12)". Normally, some controllers are just very respectful or they are former military, but this "Sir" read out as: Hey you old fart, you're heading towards the wrong RWY. <sigh> Still a great flight and she put the step down!

When Jacques Esculier was CEO, he got the factory ISO 9000 certified and then aggressively sought contracts with Boeing and others aerospace companies to manufacture components at competitive prices (due largely to low West Texas labor rates), and that got the company through one dry spell in airplane sales. I don't know if Mooney still does that or not, but I thought it was a pretty good idea back when.

While you have it open... Have you considered the large J style side windows? Had to help spend the OPM... Best regards, -a-

Flight to North Myrtle Beach* *actual flight not pictured

the blades need to be checked for excess shake, by grabbing the tips and trying to shake them forward and aft, and side to side. This will detect loose bearings. Attempt to rotate the blades from high to low pitch. This checks the pitch control forks in the hub. If you find less than 1/8" of shake, or less than 1/16" of rotation play, the prop is OK.

Another possible option Larry......my last upholstery project..... I purchased welting cord alone and had an auto upholstery shop sew my material onto the cord, thereby matching my door welting exactly with my seat material color/ texture. Funny photo content, but visible is the door welting/windlace.

I’ve never used proper piloting technique before. Why should I start now?!

No realistic comparison. I've flown and taught in all of them extensively. The fact that I have chosen Bravo ownership for the past 23 years says what I think of the Bravo. The 252 is efficient but small and underpowered (spelled too slow) for my tastes. The Rocket is small, but does have great climb performance due to its power to weight ratio. Due to the heavy weight of the engine it is susceptible to prop strikes even while taxiing. The 28K certification is just a problem in my opinion. It is just not a good environment for the human body unpressurized and could present some definite issues for useful consciousness after an oxygen system failure. It's got a terrible CG envelope providing for only 2 people at maximum gross weight. Legally it's pretty difficult to get 3 people in at a reduction in gross weight and forget about 4 people. Couple that with the fact that they are giving away Bravos at ridiculously low prices, the Bravo is the best airplane for the price.