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My final flight today, December 31, 2020. Traveling along our beautiful Pacific Ocean shoreline...... magnificent!!

Closing out 2020 with some shots of my flight yesterday. They include proof that it does snow in SOCAL and its hard to beat the sunsets here... Enjoy! San Vicente reservoir on my way to Gillespie Field (KSEE) in El Cajon, CA... Taking off from KSEE... Lake Henshaw to the left, Julian, CA to the right and Warner Springs directly ahead. Snow... Had to turn back for the sunset... My Favorite... but it was blinding... Snow on Palomar and San Gabriel mountain ranges. Base to French Valley - F70... Final, 18, French Valley (F70), full stop. Colors in the sky were truly distracting. I have a video crafted for my Mom and the sky was so amazing I over flew base to final--good thing the pictures don't show it. Wishing Y'all a Happy New Year!!!

.....or maybe I just made the same mistake myself, including the hours of troubleshooting. But don’t tell anyone on Mooneyspace. Let’s go with the genius thing! And Happy New Year!

Florida to California (KSEE) to Houston (KSGR) and back. Great trip! 200D13C3-D35B-4BAD-BA8C-64BF8282C051.MOV

Just a quick note to say Happy New Year and to say a BIG thank you to the folks on the board that have recommended me and our business over the years and those that we have sold Mooneys TO and FOR. You guys are great and I appreciate the referrals you guys post. While I know it is impossible to have a completely painless transaction every time (with the experience of the 1,000 Mooneys we have sold I can't tell you how many little things can go wrong on and plane and or its sale), I do work hard to make each transaction a smooth one and the support from the Mooney community is greatly appreciated. We closed the books on 2020 with 67 Mooneys sales closed (72 total sales including a few stragglers I sold for friends), which is by far our best year ever. 25 of those Mooney sales never hit the Controller site and were sold to our 'New Inventory' email blast list. I remember a guy on the forum early in 2020 that said he was waiting for the prices to plummet before he purchased a plane and I pointed out to him that I did not expect that to happen, that my phone volume and discussion with others in the industry told me something different. As it turned out, 2020 and the challenges that we have faced as a country and a planet did not seem to befall the small GA market. My contacts in the title, banking and insurance business have told me that they have never been busier. Prices are holding and in some cases have risen in the last 12 months. I have a theory on it, but just suffice it to say, at this time, I don't see the same issues in this market that I saw in the previous three market corrections since I started in 1995 (Tech Bubble Burst, 9/11 and Real Estate Bubble/Recession). I could be wrong, but it just feels different. So again, Happy New Year to all the MSers and here is wishing everyone a safe and healthy 2021 and beyond! If you are every in the area, let me know and I will buy you a Dr. Pepper. Jimmy

Us plebes with t-hangars are in a lower league.

I mounted my O2D2 box to the ceiling. I don't have built in O2 but I use bottles that I keep behind the front seats. Tubes go up to the O2D2 and then back down to the pilot. Much less prone to tangles. And at the ready to use. I just got a piece of velcro tape and put a hole in it and put one of the screws that's already there through the hole and then wrapped the velcro around the O2D2 box. Its a very convenient location.

Go to overhead switches if you have no other panel options. It may make you feel like Roger Ramjet to throw some switches on the overhead but they are a PIA. I hate having to look up as I taxi clear to adjust my lights. There is a reason why transport jets have panel annunciations of overheads and dark panel concepts. Sure they put light switches on the overhead but much more forward and lower than the Mooney switches. An easier and more efficient way to gain panel real estate is to go to a glass panel. Keep as much as you can forward of you.

Did I tell you my other plane is an SR-71. I only use it when I really need to get there quick.

I made the mistake of starting up the plane in front of the hangar with the doors open, just to check for leaks after an oil change... Lesson learned.

There are current two "live" Mooney US registered trademarks. The word "Mooney", which shows as having been used as a trademark since 1930, was registered in 1972. The newer Eagle-M emblem was registered in 2015. The current registered owner of the marks is Mooney International Corporation, which was assigned the word mark in 2013 and registered the logo. I have read that the new "owners" bought Mooney International Corporation but have not attempted to confirm it. The next required maintenance activity is on the logo. There's a certificate of continued use which us due between years 5 and 6. It's due by May 2021. Even if not currently representing the corp, the lawyer who handled the registration knows about it.

Thank you to those that took the time to share flights and other stories for the year 2020. A year that many would like to get a Muligan and perhaps a free drop with no penalty. Even with all the restrictions many were able to get some great flying done. Hopefully next year will be better for all. We shall see said the zen master. See you on the flip side. Bonal

Hi folks, Thanks for your input all! I took the plane to LAC Avionics at SJC today and they found the problem almost immediately. There were two loose bolts that were touching a bus. You can see one of them in the first picture: The two loose bolts actually fused together. And you can see the black burnt areas, that's probably where the metal comes from that flew out in the form of sparks. Obviously they weren't always arcing, but they were close to a ground connector and probably depending on the acceleration in the airplane they would occasionally touch. As to where they came from, my strong suspicion is that they were dropped while installing the EDC for the CGR30P/C install. Here's a picture of the EDC, note that there are identical bolts there. The CGR was installed by LASAR. I'm going to make a separate post about the whole experience with this install, but tl;dr: it took 6 weeks after they quoted me 1.5 weeks, and now this. I am having LAC do an inspection of the CGR install to make sure there are no other problems hiding. But this is very concerning. Adi

Spruce has them with a slightly longer grip length for $0.14 https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/hapages/avexblindriv.php

Took a Sunday afternoon flight with my oldest son and let him do a bunch of the flying. https://intothesky.us/2020/12/27/a-sunday-afternoon/

I caught some nice headwinds at FL230 on the way from GGG to FXE on Saturday. It was a nice 4:00 flight which probably beat commercial by about 4:00 door to door if I had to change planes in Dallas. The last pic is me getting passed by Delta on the FORTL7 arrival to FXE. They always insist I fly the arrival when coming in from a higher altitude but usually approve my request to go direct destination when I’m halfway down. It must have been a rookie controller because he denied my request even when at 6k feet. When I saw the delta jet coming up on my 6 less than 2k above me and descending on the same arrival I told him I didn’t feel like flying through their wake. I heard a voice in the background say “tell him to turn 20 to the left!” I finally was able to get direct.

Yesterday, taking advantage of some nice weather on both ends and following up on something I've wanted to do all year, but haven't because of COVID, weather, extended annual inspection, weather again, etc., I flew to the Outer Banks. Cutting back on speed in favor of endurance, I made a 6.9 hour round trip to Ocracoke Island. Nearly seven hours of flying for a two-hour walk on the beach sounds like it might not be worth it, but hey, it's 2020! My parents used to take us to Ocracoke every year for summer vacation. I have so many great memories of the place. I didn't have enough time to get into town because I left later than I intended, but the beach walk was worth it. Here's to getting back to more normal times, hopefully soon!

Cylinder #3 on my TSIO-360-LB constantly runs 20-30 degrees hotter CHTs than any other cylinder. It limits my ability to run nice power settings by creeping up near 400 degrees while the rest are nicely 370 degrees or below. Any ideas on a culprit or do I just need to work on the baffling. It’s right below the oil filler door, and I suspect that may have something to do with it. Happy New Year!

This is not specifically on point, but I am in the Boston area and there are some great locations for a day or weekend fly-in. Nantucket, MA, Martha's Vinyard, MA, Block Island, RI, East Hampton, NY, other NE airports along the coast, Rockport, ME, Chatham, MA etc... Once the Covid thing passes, it would be good to arrange something. John Breda

Our gaggle gathering with our first flight of 2021 at Paso Robles (PRB). Thank you @MikeOH , Hilda and@TGreen Happy new year everyone!!

Southwest Texas Aviation or Don Maxwell only.

I don't know, I am sure I am not alone in feeling there are already to many sections here as it is and most of the these well meaning sections are more often miss-used. For example, very few Bravo post are actually Bravo specific; especially when they are about the airframe. Beechtalk does a section on Engine Talk - that seems like a better approach to me.

Happy New Year and thanks for all I've learned from you! Skip

So...if I could issue a retraction of my earlier posts, I’ll take a mulligan there. Wasn’t aware the install costs were that high, and the work to get there is that extensive over the 500. I hadn’t thought about the mode controller (or lack of) either. Sounds like an affordable upgrade path doesn’t really exist from the 500 to the 600. I should shut up, be thankful that I’m saving a ton of money, be grateful that my 500 install will be complete soon, enjoy the heck out of it, and rest easier knowing I have one of the best autopilots available out there at a fair price.

I retrofitted an Ovation interior into my F model. I have attached some pictures. The center ceiling panel that has the switches is held in the ceiling with only two screws in the center portion of the long panel. I would not buy the factory electroluminescent panel as it is too expensive and is made with a plastic backing. You can use the factory switches and mounting box. I made an aluminum backplate and sent it out to make a more durable electroluminescent panel which is a functional copy of the Mooney panel (I'll send a picture of this new panel). The switches only need to be rocker switches approved for aircraft use (used in any certified aircraft). Wentworth aircraft or other salvage yards could be a good source. The center ceiling console can be gotten from Mooney, from a salvage yard, or you can do a hand lay-up with fiberglass which would be cheaper and can be custom fitted to your ceiling. I have the right and left Ovation fiberglass roof panels which I would be willing to sell. I purchased them from Mooney, and started to fit them into my F. (I then ended up with two sets as I obtained a full Ovation interior from a salvage yard.) They can be retrofitted to your aircraft in a similar manner as what I did. John Breda

There were six other Mooney registrations which the company (whatever it was at the time) allowed to expire ("abandoned"). Most likely it was just improper maintenance. Two involve this version of the logo. Especially in the past, it was not uncommon for a small private company to lose a registration for poor basic maintenance. It's similar to setting up an LLC, forgetting about process, not filing annual reports, and finding out at some point it was administratively dissolved (I helped clean up a messy aircraft title involving that this past year). But, in terms of the vintage logos, a bit of Trademark 101: Unlike some other countries, US Registration does not create trademarks. Using a a word, phrase, or symbol creates a trademark. Technically, the US allows registration of trademarks which already exist. Try to register something as a trademark without showing that you are using it in commerce , and registration will be rejected. Registration definitely does have some benefits which include public notice it is being used, broader geographic protection for expansion, and some procedural advantages, but it's the use of the name and logo to on aircraft to indicate it came from the Mooney company which would allow the Mooney company to protect it from infringement.

Happy New Year, Doc! (You're a great Mooney specialist, right?) Let's all see hiw much better we can make this year than the last one was . . . . Everyone fly often, and fly safe!

OTOH I would be very surprised if the current principals of Mooney International Corp, the current owner of the Mooney aircraft trademarks, lacked a rudimentary licensing structure for the brand, even if they were not aggressively going after every Tom, Dick, and Harry who might infringe.

Yep, just got the P337 a few months ago. I never planned to keep it long term and a friend wants it so I'm selling it to him.

I went with them because they actually manufacture new parts. They are also the supplier of remanufactured mags available frome places like Aircraft Spruce. After conversations with them I was convinced that they were the best bet to track down my issues.

That's always been what I've been told as well, if you don't enforce it, it could be considered abandoned and you could lose rights to it. OTOH, US trademark and copyright laws do not apply outside the US and IP laws are very different in different parts of the world. Importation might create a problem, but otherwise the dude may be perfectly legit to sell things anywhere a trademark isn't registered or enforced.

Hoping to join you. Still negotiating with the family.

It's not a fast-on. What appears to be there is a spade (or fork) terminal, like this: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/te-connectivity-amp/8-34541-1/2259022 instead of a ring terminal, like this: https://www.newark.com/amp-te-connectivity/34148/terminal-ring-8-stud-crimp-red/dp/66H7042 A fork terminal can be pulled away or fall away from the stud if the stud fastener comes loose. Fast-on connectors at least require connect/disconnect force (when not damaged) that makes them fairly common. While it is true that very little about electrical details are actually regulatory, AC 43.13 does say that ring terminals are "preferred", I can also tell you that you will likely fail the written and practical examinations on this for an A&P if you don't recognize the use of a ring terminal with the proper wire and stud hole size. At least our DMEs were always hammering on us about this. It is a nit, but an unpicked nit grows into a louse, and this is an easy fix. I can't tell what circuit that wire is for, but it would be easy to put a ring terminal on there and ditch the fork.

They’re non-structural - won’t any brand of aluminum pop rivet do?

I just wanted to say I think it is a real service to keep this thread going. Frankly, the thing mostly likely to prevent gear ups is not alerts, or technology, or even checklists and flows, it is having a deathly fear of ever gearing up so you never take gear deployment for granted. Having this thread around reminds us constantly, which is needed.

I have done quite a few Angel Flights. I did 16 missions this year and I think I am up around 40 something in total since I started several years ago. In my experience most of the patients are difficult cases. Cancer patients are the most common, and AF passengers often live in rural areas where there is no immediate access to commercial flights. An unsung saga at Angel Flight Central is that they arrange quite a few donated flights with Southwest Airlines. Out of the forty missions I can only think of one where I felt that the passenger probably did not need the help. Most of the patients we fly do not have the means. Honestly, Angel Flight flying can be a little difficult. I don’t mean the flying, or the passengers, or any of that. Many of the cancer patients are flying every week or every other week for chemo. After you flown someone to their chemo several times, and coordinated with other pilots who are doing the same thing, or have found flights for them when you cannot take the flight, and then you see the progression of their disease and the toll it takes on them and their families, well, you have to put your big boy pants on and be professional. Our job is to help and get them to the doctor. We can’t do our jobs if we get too tied up in the emotional part of it. The kids with glioblastoma are the hardest part. All of the patients I have flown have been profusely grateful.

Standard bulbs are used - not at all hard for a mechanic or Avionics tech to replace. I forget the bulb part no but I am sure it's in the IPC. A couple screws allow removal of the face plate after it's out of the plane. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don't file IFR unless you don't have a choice and if you do have to file IFR, don't go. Fly as high as possible. I got the crap beat out of me in March/April one year coming home to Tucson from ABQ at 16,500 ft. Go a bit south into PHX to avoid the airspaces and allow yourself time to get down. Unless you MUST go into SDL, go into CHD, FFZ or DVT. They are orders of magnitude cheaper and easier.

A simple way to ensure correct routing (assuming it is correct as currently installed) is to fasten a 50# monofilament fishing line, or an electricians pull line to the old unit prior to removal. Then use this line to pull the new one back in.

Well, thank you for your inputs. Extremely helpful! After a long troubleshooting process, the problem seems to be the cable that goes to the servo. I painted the plane recently and it must have been damaged somehow. But once you connect the servo directly it works. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Going a bit further off topic, the Johnson bar got its name from a big steel lever arm used in steam locomotives to turn the main steam pressure valve. You can speculate about where the name "Johnson" came from. Ok, back to the depressing discussion about GU landings.

JQF to LNA to hang with the folks for a few days. think this was on the way back though.

Well not a Mooney flight but a great flight nonetheless. Flew in a Grob G109. Motor Glider or powered glider. So the flight was "officially hands off controls...." for me, unofficially/officially it was pretty awesome. Demonstrated some maneuvers flew over the practice areas and got quite the look at the greater Tokyo area. Was pretty clear could see the base of Mt Fuji, Skytree and Tokyo out in the distance. Flying is a different experience in Japan. So I went for a flight previously at a different airfield down the street from this one it was kind of a bigger business that wasn't all I'd hoped it would be but fun also. I spent some time chatting with the chief instructor then came time to fly. The instructor/PIC and I had a quick brief then off we went. Off the ground in about 400ft and climb out at 60knts 600FPM. Got up to altitude and got to turn off the engine and just soar for a bit work on airspeed/ maneuvers. Pretty cool and calm day almost no wind and no thermals. Started the engine did a semi low pass/ go around then climbed back up a few more maneuvers, then a power off landing come in high slight slip throw out some spoilers/ air brakes. After hanging out for a bit longer and swapping stories I was invited back tomorrow to go check out the shop and "factory" 2 separate places. Should be a good time. Both instructors said they had Mooney time and conversation flowed. I got to admit it was pretty cool with the engine off, but I told the PIC " this is about the only engine out situation Id like to be in." Didn't do very well in the picture/video taking but got a few. If I get the video(s) to upload will update post.

In addition to having some of the cheapest avgas around at $3.25/gal., Arthur Field (M95) in Fayette, Alabama, also has a large Christmas lights display set up in the park right next to the runway. My co-pilot and I flew up there yesterday evening for her birthday, and enjoyed it. Sorry, no good photos were taken. But- if you are in the area it is worth seeing. Best to land just before dark so you can see any deer on the runway.

IFR flight to Shelton ( KSHN) for cheap (relatively) fuel $4.25 Victoria, BC, Port Angeles harbor, Olympic mountains

Go Freedom Tower! Fantastic colors and shiny glass! Looks like you caught The Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden, and Central Park too! Also, while looking North... Govenor’s Island, and the Brooklyn Bridge... Across the Hudson is Jersey City and the Goldman Sack’s building... Go NYC! Best regards, -a-

Good news, passed my checkride yesterday. Look forward to meeting up everyone

You may be able to revive them by trying the following: DISKPART (Windows) Start a command prompt, and start the DISKPART console. List all of your disks by typing LIST DISK, then select the proper disk with SELECT DISK # (where # is the SD card). You can then type CLEAN to clear the partition table on the card, effectively blanking it. MAKE SURE YOU SELECTED THE PROPER DISK BEFORE RUNNING THE CLEAN COMMAND! To create a primary partition to reuse the space on the card, type CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY. This will then reallocate the previously "cleaned" space. To format, type FORMAT FS=FAT32 QUICK, and finally, to reassign a drive letter, type ASSIGN. If you're unable to determine the proper disk, remove the SD card, run DISKPART and LIST DISK, and then re-run it with the SD card inserted. The SD card is just the disk that has been added. Note that the above commands are not case sensitive; I used caps to match the convention DISKPART displays. FDISK / CFDISK (Linux/Mac) In a terminal, start fdisk /dev/sdx where /dev/sdx is your SD card device (may depend on the Linux distro you're using, see below). You can then delete all existing partitions on the device by typing d, and then adding a single new partition & format it. You an also just type n to create a new partition table, and start laying everything out. cfdisk is also another viable tool, which is basically fdisk with a greatly improved user interface. In both cases, once the drive is formatted, you will lastly need to mount it. If you're unable to determine the proper device, remove the SD card, run fdisk -l, and then re-run it with the SD card inserted. The SD card is just the device that has been added.