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Actually the D did not have a Johnson bar, at least not till the owners converted most of them to retractable gear.

When POTUS comes to France, he usually lands at the airport where I'm working as ATC. Vectoring AF1 is .

I'm a believer that it's just as if not more important to pre-buy the seller than pre-buy the plane. With Tom selling it I wouldn't have any reservations about buying it.

Price is way too high in my opinion. In my opinion, the plane is priced too high, even if it were in annual, and were flown recently. Non Waas is the first issue. toothpick 2 blade is the second. expect abysmal takeoff performance at gross. The sitting is bad for the plane, and I would guess is probably very bad for the weeping wing. From what I understand from other owners of TKS systems, It seems as if the system should be run every now and then, and for a plane that has been out of annual approaching 4 years, that can't be great for the TKS system. However I don't have TKS so that just happens to be speculation. For the 310hp conversion, expect about 20k give or take. You can get lucky with the engine, but it is a risk. If the engine isn't good, add another 60k for an overhaul plus R&R. A GNX375 can go in for give or take 10k, but going from a 530 to a 375 is a step backwards somewhat. Realistically you're looking at a GTN750XI and a GTX345. Add another 25ish K. And finally getting it back into annual. I bought a hangar queen that got 70 hours of flight time in 9 years. The first annual was approaching 20k. Tread lightly. There's a chance if you buy this, it's gonna come with a lot of nightmares that can realistically only be solved by a lot of money.

I'm really trying not to show my hand, but I'm so excited I can't see straight. And Tom is just really amazing. Like some next level awesome.

LHS installation in Europe Did the LHS installation during last week's annual. The work was done in parallel to an installation of a traffic awareness system which supports the multiple systems which are utilized throughout Europe as good as possible: Mode-S, Flarm (origin gliders), some ADB-B out. Unfortunately the GDL69 of my G1000 is of no use over here (well it acts as expensive Charly weight), so I had to find a good compromise. For those of you who are interested refer to this link AirAvionics AT-1. It is integrated with the G1000 maps via ARINC429 as well as audio call-outs and supports numerous tablet/smartphone applications via WIFI. For audio we utilized the ADF input (Automatic Draffic Finder, easy to remember). The LHS installation was done utilizing the small inspection panel between the LHS landing gear and the wing's root. If you don't like the quality of the cut out it's me who is to blame.. Installation and configuration of the LHS worked like a charm - no problems. For audio we utilized the DME input - to my understanding LHS is a kind of distance measurement (vertical short range, not slant range though..). Did only two landings yet, one on a first time airport for me (EDVE) with a much wider runway than I'm used to (EDKA). Was really helpful to do the round-out at the perfect height. Landings were very smooth! Regards, Matthias

Just a little color commentary (and BTW, I work around some serious electrical engineers ). I have no experience with the Avidyne products but did have start up issues with a Garmin 650. The Garmin replaced a MX-170B slide in replacement. My Garmin had a series of firmware updates in the first couple of years to do deal with open squelch issues. I also noted than the range of the Garmin was less than than both the MX-170B it replaced and even the Narco 12D+ that was in the panel. I suspect some of the range issues had to do with them jacking up the squelch starting point. I am not sure if there are manufacturing changes (ex. surface mount versus through hole components, quality of components, etc.) to the modern avionics that make them more suspect to interference issues, but it sure looked that way. I can personally acknowledge that my Garmin 650 certainly didn't like the JPI 900's remote indicator. Nor did my Vertex handheld. As for the installation of these units. Most shops will not replace the RG58 unless you specifically tell them to. RG400 is expensive and it is a pain to run new wiring. I found replacing all of my RG58 came with some benefits, the most notable was that it replaced damaged wiring! When I found the damage wire, I personally ran all new RG400 for both radios. I am not an expert on making the BNC connectors, so I let the avionics shop make them. After the new wire had their connectors added, the plane was returned to me. Guess what, I had an issue with one of the VORs not receiving at distance. Found a bad connector. When I did an SWR on the rest of them, I found one of the Com runs also had a bad connector. So, installation quality can certainly play a role, if not be the main culprit. I have learned that any avionic installation can and most likely will cause me angst. Something you think shouldn't happen when 5 digit checks are involved.

This reply sums you up perfectly.

I really like mine, and to follow up on the comment above, even I can easily go into setup mode and change the limits (I could make my CHT redline at 425 for example). Sorry for the low quality pic but this is a still shot from a video I took yesterday. I opted for the 7” MFD on the right and usually use it for the EIS. Adding the screen was cheaper than a 930 and you can use it for other things too.

Hardly cheating! You spend every minute of over TWO MONTHS with one other person inside a 172 and get back to me! Frankly, that is the aviation record to end all others. It's over 60 years old and I don't think it will ever be broken. No one alive today is that motivated (or crazy) It's been years since I saw it hanging at McCarran....anyone know if it's still there?

The market has continued to increase and rather markedly. I have been shopping for M20Es, M20Js and most recently an Ovation and in the close to 2 years I have seen Es go from 30s and 40s to 50s to 70s; J’s went from low 70s to 90s to 130s-150s and Ovations from 150 to 170s to over $200k. Of course TT, engine time, extras and overall condition affect price. There are still some deals to be had out there but there seem to be fewer and it seems like a sellers market. Best of luck. Stig

@LANCECASPER LOL! You wrote what I was thinking!

"Not liking the old wiring" must be a nice way of saying "I didn't follow the installation instructions".

If interested in a PPI I would contact Brian Kendrick. He travels and specializes in Ovations. He used to work for the Mooney factory in several capacities. He will find whatever is wrong with it. http://www.mooneysupport.com/

The coolest thing ATC ever did for me was over Palm Springs. They called 747 traffic 5 miles away and 4000 feet higher. it seemed weird that they would call out traffic that far away. I looked for the traffic and saw the space shuttle on top of a 747 flying by! I replied "Traffic in sight and thanks!" they said "I thought you would like that"

Something like that happened to me 5 or 6 years ago. Was flying a PALS (Patient Airlift Services) mission from Philadelphia to Rockland (Maine). IFR day and at 9000ft we were in and out of the clouds most of the way. It was a busy ATC day and the Bahsten controllers were talking even faster than usual. About 20nm W of Boston while NE bound I get vectored 30dg left, barely on the new heading I get a vector 60dg right....just level again and wondering what was going on and I get a call "...Compassion Flight 6PC traffic 1 o'clock, two ship 747 and an F22...." Nothing to see except ragged clouds so I reply "...negative contact in IMC..." Brief silence then "...Air Force One turn 30dg right..." The 75 yo cancer patient in the right seat and I turned towards each other with big grins....she may not have been a pilot but certainly realized the president just gave way to our lowly Mooney

Along the flight I had a Mooney cross over me, crossed the Columbia River and seen the beautiful Tri Cities valley of Washington. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This plane caught my eye out on the ramp.

There is the problem. If they are a named insured on your policy, and if their employee screws up in moving your aircraft, or you request that your aircraft be hangared because an approaching hail storm and their employee fails to do it, or their improperly maintained hangar damages your aircraft, you effectively have no recourse against them, because they would tender the claim to your own insurance carrier. You have no control over the hiring and training of their personnel and no way to protect yourself from their negligence, but you become the party responsible for it. If their conduct causes a claim, whose insurance do you think the carrier is going to want to terminate? See a lawyeror call AOPA, there needs to be an exclusion from coverage for them under your policy if damage is caused in whole or in part by their negligence, breach of contract, or other unlawful conduct. Local lawyer will know best what needs to go into the agreement, because it is a matter of local (state) law, may be different in every state. PS. They have their own insurance or they certainly better have it. They just want you to hold the bag.

I have a 1956 C172. It has a Continental O300 six cylinder engine. I’m pretty sure it would run just fine on mineral spirits.

The mooneyspace search function is terrible! Google works far better, just start with typing the following into Google search: oil adapter site:mooneyspace.com

Lifepo4 is extremely resistant to thermal runaway, but no battery is immune https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_iron_phosphate_battery However what’s different in any lithium chemistry and lead acid is that with Lithium once charged, you really need to discontinue charge to the battery, you can overcharge them, and that cuts into their life etc, Lead acid Ideally is charged with a three stage charger. Bulk and absorption voltage for a Lifeline AGM, which is nearly identical to our Concorde batteries is 14.3V, actually made by Concorde. Once acceptance rates reached .5% of the banks rated capacity in AH, the voltage should be dropped to float, which is 13.3 V for the Lifeline, ideally voltage is adjusted for bank temperature. But lead acid batteries are very tolerant of being fed 14V continuously regardless of the State of Charge, but Lithium isn’t. So Lead Acid can live with a simple alternator that outputs 14V all of the time, Lithium of any chemistry not so much, but a LIFE cell is more tolerant than any other I believe. We just came off of living full time on a Cruising sail boat, and the difference between camping on a boat and a luxurious lifestyle is your battery bank. Lithium is sort the holy grail for many reasons, but the technology just isn’t or wasn’t there to coddle them like is needed, for instance to disconnect the alternator from the battery bank so that you don’t overcharge the lithium is difficult to say the least, it has a tendency to cause the alternator to fail. So what’s needed in my opinion to bring Lithium on mainstream is a complete redesign of the charging system, specially for Lithium, automobiles with their ECU controlled alternators could do it without too much trouble, and they surely will eventually, I suspect they haven’t because lead acid is simply very reliable and cheap, sure they could go to a LIFE battery and lose weight and have a battery that last four or five times longer, but it’s not likely to help sell cars and isn’t cheaper, so why? Our Toyota Prius with its rather large traction battery bank, has a standard 12V automotive battery to initially boot up the cars computer and run the interior accessories etc. Why did Toyota use a regular lead acid battery for that? My guess is so that Jim Bob in his tow truck can jump start you if you run down the battery, where he can’t the big traction battery.

The 7 inch g3x is the perfect add on mfd, even for a pair of G5’s or an aspen. You get EIS capability, touch screen interface, maps, charts, remote com control, cheap adsb in (gdl 50r), etc for the same price as an aspen mfd display or a jpi 930.

Sounds like a rant... I can add it to the list... A) Gill batteries are terrible... (hey wait... did you just buy another Gill battery..? ) B ) Champion spark plugs are terrible... C) JPI customer service is terrible.... D) If you didn’t like the charges to reuse a technical AW related device... compare that to S-tec... 1) JPI is known for their customer service... we use Jeev who lives in their neighborhood... and knows the nice people at JPI... 2) Using professionals usually pays for itself when the job is done... correctly. 3) Getting a JPI primary instrument on the used market is a great idea... the negotiations take the re-programming into account...unless you knew exactly what you were buying... and got a JPI from a plane with the same exact engine... 4) Its a primary instrument, have your mechanic deliver the needed information to JPI... 5) JPI may require that you send it to them for the update... some serial numbers are better than others... 6) If you are going with Cies fuel level gauges, now would be a good time to let JPI know that too... 7) You can always sell this on CessnaSpace... and get an EI MVP.... 8) EI has really good customer service right here on MS... 9) Minimize your mistakes, so JPI can’t take advantage of your situation... 10) There is a lot to know when buying used equipment... some people are pretty good with this... ask Alan... Getting this done correctly is important for the health of that new engine... JPI needs to get paid as if they were selling a new device... kind of a cat and mouse game... PP thoughts only... Best regards, -a-

I suggested that and got jumped on for not being an approved method. I had pretty good success with pulling hail dings out of the alum Subuie

That’s where I’m headed. I started adding up all the money, down time and frustration I’ve had trying to keep a bunch of legacy avionics going the last 2-1/2 years and decided that the improved reliability and integration were worth the pain of one big swap out. Plus, I really miss having a flight director. So, I’m getting quotes on a G3X, GNS 650Xi, G5, GNC 255, GMA 342, GFC 500, and JPI 900. The only thing I’m keeping is the GTX 345 I installed a couple of years ago. Skip

Blake, it's annoying, but with municipalities there is no way around it. That said, municipalities are rarely, if ever, named in suits where an aircraft operator is negligent. Regarding @donkaye's comment above, they do want to know you have insurance and I guess this is one way to prove it. However, almost every standard policy form does not cover property damage to property you rent (the hangar). However, most carriers write back this coverage under terms such as Fire Legal Liability, Damage to Premises Rented, or Non-owned Hangar coverage. The worst offender right now is Signature Flight Support. They want to be afforded a waiver of subrogation if you lease hangar space from them and in one case I heard they require the aircraft owner to fix their hangar if they break it while moving the aircraft. Underwriters are finally pushing back on this and charging for it. You buy your insurance, Signature should buy theirs.

I’ll just add some notes to your general inquiry and hope it helps. Others on here are much smarter than I with specifics for the Ovations, and costs to operate. But, I think I can offer some good ideas for you generally. First I think you would be extremely happy in any Mooney choice. Just find one that’s easy to manage for you. So it doesn’t matter if it’s a short body, fuel injected E model all the way up to a long body turbo. It’s finding one that you can go do your work and play with and not feel stressed about mx, upgrades, repairs, etc. Wherever that level is for you. Next, I would recommend that you find some Mooney drivers and get them to take you flying in their different models. We’re everywhere! And I know most of us HATE empty front seats. So we’re begging for people to fly with us. The short body and mid body are very similar to me in the way they fly, and for the most part, the caretaking of them. The long bodies, i.e. the ovations and others are a different animal in a lot of respects. From high end avionics suites, to some mx pitfalls that can be annoying. But they are fekkin fast and amazing up high. Additionally while all Mooney’s are designed for cross country travel, I believe the short and mid bodies are much better across-the-board for time building, short flights, formation flying, tooling around, etc. - in addition to the cross country flying. And it sounds like you’re wanting to do both of those things equally, for now. But I think all of this will really start to get cohesive for you after you fly in a few. Get the feeling of the different models and see which one fits you the best, because I promise there is a Mooney model that will fit you and when you know, find one and buy it. I hope that helps a little bit. Good luck, and welcome!

Hi We have submitted two sets to two different members that are also AMO’s and they have been tested with good results. The only comment was that my rubbers were approx 2mm thinner than the originals. I have had the moldchanged to accomodate that and we are running tests on the new sets. I expect production to start within a month. best regards Gert

@201er already has 11 hours. And Jonathan Paul flew his Mooney non-stop from San Diego to Savannah, ~18 hours I think. Beat his record, either miles or hours, and I'll be impressed!

Do you really taxi that rich???

Exactly!!! Change of Subject. What kind of Fuel Burn you guys seeing Taxing 100F LOP with Phillips 100AW an Aero Led Landing Lights?

WOW!! I'm so honored to have a friend in Captain Harry Moyer.....................Harry just called letting me know................Guinness Book of Records 2021! Congratulations dear Harry!! https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/oldest-qualified-pilot

It was standard from 1962-1968. Electric gear was optional but after 68 they switched to electric. Its pretty robust. IIRC its the only certified gear system that the FAA didn't require a backup emergency extension system. The weak points are lack of proper maintenance.

Thank you for this fun information...... so glad you weren’t “tripped”up by any of this!!

I am an individual looking for a well maintained 252TSE. I live in Austin, Tx and have a home in the mountains requiring a turbo plane to get in and out of. If anyone out there is thinking about or know someone thinking about selling their plane, we can save a little money and bypass a dealer (and tire kickers and scammers) to each of our benefit. Please reach out to me directly at Ford McTee ford@mctee.net

Really solid info. Thanks. I think flying in a few is probably the best idea. Even if it was simply sitting in the pilot seat and feeling what a X model sight picture would look like or how much room is in the front or back, would be very helpful. And thank you @Mufflerbearing, @carusoamand @gsxrpilot as well as everyone else for the insightful info. I really do/did take it to heart to think about future decisions. If anyone is in the Norther VA or WMA area it'd be cool to reach out to you!

Maybe the electro air system is setup for a naturally aspirated engine and is advancing timing at altitude. it would make sense that the MAP sensor is seeing outside pressure and advancing the timing.

I would add the Air Wolf remote filter. I do think there is an advantage to having a filter, but it’s not overwhelming, I don’t have a filter on my C-85 in my C-140 for instance and probably won’t add one. But an IO-360 is a bit more money. ‘Air Wolf’s is well thought out and safe from what I can tell. some others not so much

The instructions say what is required for it to be a slide in replacement, otherwise its not. Its pretty clear. Mine required a new antenna for WAAS, thankfully the previous 430 installer used RG400 everywhere otherwise that would have been needed as well.

There has been an obvious increase in pricing, that's for sure. What I'd like to know is if this is the "new normal" or if there will be a future, downward adjustment? Personally, I believe the cheap financing and helicopter money is causing this. Takeaway: helicopter money is bad for airplane purchasing.

See if you can get a ride in a Screamin’ Eagle, or a Standing O, or an O3.... I got a ride in Cris’ Screamin’ .... a couple of months later I was needing an OH... I grabbed my performance meters and went for another ride with Cris... I thought my pants mounted accelerometers may have been lying... or my memory wasn’t that strong... To buy something that expensive, and not have solid data to work from... seemed nuts... Its easy to get emotionally involved during a buying process with no data, feelings, and a very fuzzy memory... Collecting data was easy... Confirming data was fun... Knowing Cris was a blast... Grab your portable WAAS source, iPad, and CloudAhoy App... and prove it to yourself... Or just use your seat of the pants... it is that obvious... It is Corvette HP, in a vehicle that weighs less than a Corvette... (comparing early 90s two seat cars and four seat planes) Produces maximum HP from the moment you push the throttle in... And you never have to lift... no gear change, no clutch, no gas pedal to lift.... you do raise the nose at the proper speed... as usual... Go O! PP musings to fit the thread... car comparisons specifically used for the Stig... Best regards, -a-

I can read my EDM 900 just fine

I’ve read on internet (so obviously must be true) that birds will see and avoid flashing lights.

FWIW my 440 slid right in and its radio is far better then the 430 it replaced. I have not had any issues with it at all since day one of the install. I did have a GS antenna connector that was disconnected, I reached out to support and they were pretty helpful in narrowing it down with me.

What about a Bravo? I'd sell mine at that price point. I need a reason to upgrade to a TKS plane myself.

Kind of like getting busted for not paying sales taxes to gov't when selling drugs.

Yeah. AND, it makes perfect sense why Avidyne kept telling him to, "Talk to your INSTALLER!"

I have done intermittent fasting regularly in the past. Actually flew an approach in IMC down to minimums whilst being 48 -60 hours into a 3 days fast, no problem. Putting on my physician hat and speaking as an aviation medical examiner: Low blood sugar is not an issue if you are adapted to a low carb diets and/or intermittent fasting, the issue comes in if you have high blood sugar and start fasting. Blood sugar will decrease before insulin decreases and there is a risk of becoming hypoglycaemic in flight. (low blood sugar which can cause you to pass-out). So yes you can fly whilst fasting but NOT if you are NEW to intermittent fasting or Low carb/ketogenic diets.

Greg, Advance Aircraft in Troutdale Oregon.