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Back in late 2010 I stumbled across Mooneyspace and was amazed at the amount of valuable information available and the community atmosphere of the site. I was between airplanes at the time so I lurked for awhile without signing up, absorbing anything I could. I had owned a 231 from 1993-1996, a Bravo from 1996-2000 and then other airplanes for a few years and then another Bravo from late 2006 to early 2010. In the Spring of 2011 I was seriously looking at a 231 in Georgia so I signed up on the site , and my first post was to ask a few questions as I considered the airplane. I didn't end up buying it, but by lurking on here I had the right things to consider when I went to look at it. I didn't actually end up getting another Mooney until 2014 but in the meantime I was learning a lot on this site. Mooneyspace helped me to go from being an owner that was mainly hands-off when it came to understanding how an owner can be involved in maintenance, to really enjoying getting involved. It helped to take the mystery and intimidation away. I went from never having changed my own oil on an airplane to being very involved in a top end overhaul/Bravo conversion on an M20M that I owned from 2015-2021. Yesterday I was looking at my Mooneyspace profile and to my surprise I was a few posts short of 10,000. So I thought I would take this 10,000th post to thank everyone that has made this a very fun, informative journey. Early on, @Marauder and @carusoam were very helpful along with Clarence and many others and now so many others on here collaborate to make this the premier place for Mooney information and assistance. Here's to the next fifteen years!!

As many of you are aware over the last couple months and escalating today in an epic nature the site has been invaded by spam bots. It reached a level that was no longer manageable so I have set all new accounts to requiring manual approval. IF YOU JUST REGISTERED A NEW ACCOUNT: Please contact me using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the site requesting approval. Make sure to include your username on the site as I won't know you by your real name and your emails might not match. This might take up to 24 hours so please be patient. Going forward these are the changes I am proposing: All new accounts will be created as a "basic member" that cannot create content but can browse the forums. All current members will become "verified" members. No action or fee required to keep using the site as you already are. To become a new "verified member" you will have a couple options. For instant and easy access you will pay a small fee. Probably a one time $3.00 fee something like that and your account will be verified for life, no additional payments required. A free alternative and slower method will be available where the new user can email me a copy of their ID and something like a utility bill to prove they are who they say they are. As part of this I have upgraded the forum software to include their "commerce" package which will enable the site to automatically take payments for a number of things like membership fees, selling items, etc. I have been considering this for a while since it will automate the current donation system that requires me to manually upgrade accounts after donations which can take time and is prone to errors (such as PayPal emails not matching user emails and me not being able to find accounts to upgrade). So in the near future I expect to change the current "donate $10 or more to remove ads and get Supporter level access for a year" to something more like a $25 per year auto-renewal membership that is completely managed within your member area of the site. While going from $10 to $25 seems drastic, I need to pick a single amount for all users and $25 is actually what the average donation is now from the past 12 months. Also consider that the minimum donation has been the same $10 minimum since 2008 (hard to believe I have been operating this site for 17 years!) and I have been considering raising it to $15 or $20 for a while now. Note that all current Supporter level members will remain as such until it has been 12 months since their last manual donation. I hope this all makes sense. Please feel free to post your comments below. I might not get to reading them all so if you have something really important to tell me please use the in-site messaging system. Thank you all for your patience as we dealt with the floods of spam over the past couple months. It was frustrating for all of us I know. Craig

As a "Mechanical Design Engineer" this interests me too, so I made a cardboard model. I know its nutty, but I am a nutty person. This is just a basic simplification of how the steering works in the extended and retracted position. It has the same strength properties as the gear in my Mooney

Strap in. I bring you a story of adventure, peril, and a bit of “there I was” with my recent purchase of M20J sn 24-1167, currently N1156P (Soon to be N707LT) You saw it for sale here: A seldom used M20J of a few 1810 hours. 0 time OH engine and prop, new paint, engine mount, tires and tubes. Original interior an panel. Looking for a new home from Fl. And I bought. Sure, a few questions, but it is a good deal so yada, yada, she is mine. Fast forward. We all have jobs. When do you have time? Not now, or now, but NOW! Time to fetch the new find from FL to CA. Overnight, delayed flights, lost luggage, finally land Orlando. Rent car. Drive to Daytona (DAB). Meet airplane and confirm I have not been catfished – it exists and isn’t a fantasy (of 6 figures tossed for fan mail) Wait for an hour for gas (because it is a training base for Embry-Riddle after all). Pay pre-purchase inspection bill (shout out to Daytona Air Service – great people), and become #12 in line for T/O. A moment: ME: 13,000 hr pilot. Current 121 B737, 135 current G650/G4. But first time ALONE in an airplane in 3 decades. I taught in these airplanes: How hard can it be? Well, my friends, neighbors and colleagues, your skills and patience will be tested. Especially in a new airplane over 2,400 nm cross county with the three time FLARE rule: one at 737 height, once at Gulfstream height, and once at “OMG this is LOW” height. After multiple landings, it wasn’t pretty, but no bent metal. I will be calling a local CFI. Short story: DAB-HXD-TOI-MKO-ODO-E63-STS. 2400 nm, 2 days. 9 hours first day, 8 the second. REALLY comfortable factory seats (thank God). Super-grateful for iPad and Sentry+ And a great deal of super-IFR/VFR skills involved. Let me explain. I used skyvector.com to choose the route. I chose cheap fuel spots. It was a fantasy because MA nature had other ideas. Day 1 was just up to meet a friend in HXB and landing was embarrassing. But I didn’t hurt anyone or bend metal. Day 2: Up at em and head West! But 400nm long line of TRW up the East Texas side through LA and AR. So I land short in TOI. Nice FBO, quick gas. New plan. UP North around the TRW and come back down towards Midland right? OK: lots of TRW, dip, dodge and weave at 8,000’ in the “not forecast East of the Texas Line”. Oh, but low clouds/vis underneath you for about 4 states. Thanks. Not ready to takle a non-turbo airplane over the Rockies/Sierras so Southern route is still the key. The FlightAware forecast: LIES: 4+20 if dipping and weaving around the most hearty of cells who didn’t want to be found – but they were there (like Artesians for those of a certain age). MKO: My first time self-fueling up in a while. I ran the truck in the old days: this self-service stuff is new, but I figured it out. Then, well, we are on the back side of the TRW, so let’s head for the original destination: ODO. Multiple overcasts, with MOA’s: NO, you can’t go right for weather but you can go as much LEFT as you want. Why would any military agency in their right mind want to fly in THIS? OK, you want it, you got it! I’ll go around and you in your T-38, F-16, F-18 can cry for help later. Actually feel sorry for the newbies trying to navigate this. Why the Hell would anyone head to Midland in their right mind? Because dear friends, I go there A LOT. Well, to MAF. But now I’m in a light plane headed to ODO. There are MOA’s to avoid, overcast with some good thumpers I’m trying not to get underneath. It’s quite the show. And by landing, it’s 9 hours of flight. And the young line man looks at me on landing and asks, “Want a hangar?” Oh yeah, the MOTHER of all TRW has parked itself South of MDW tops +510 so Yes please! I just bought this pure-skinned angel and don't want her BEATEN TO DEATH BY HAIL PLEASE. (Heck, she make it this far) This AM (4/24): I am up at 630, breakfast, UBER to airport, and there is my plane fueled and ready. Only real IFR to break through layer to E63: Gila bend. 3+45 I was there. Spoke to a really nice lady who was in her C-182RG just out foolin’ around for the day. You know what? It’s 623 nm to STS from here: I can do it. Damn Skippy. Across the American Southwest. Great controllers through Joshua, LAX, Lemore, and OAK. 4+23, 40.2 gal 4+23 later landed in STS. I now have my commute vehicle. Needs some radios. But the mechanics, interior and exterior are fine. Good deal. Glad to be a part of the Mooney community and have a literal 2 day cross-country machine. So friends and family of the Mooneyspace, I welcome you comments, contributions and patronage at my FBO's in OAK and STS. Dang: What a machine AL built!

Very much appreciate the discussion and the feedback, here. Please allow me to provide a response to some of the messages. 1) I am a big Mooney fan. Flew a 67 Mooney Super 21 for nearly 2,000 hours. Commuted to and from law school in Norman, Ok. to the family Ranch (100miles each way) on a daily basis for 3 years. 2) Part I - - Some aviation fuel chemistry history: A- During WWII fuels with very large amounts of aromatics were adopted. Arguably, the Air War would have been much more costly in terms of losses for the fighter aircraft without the introduction of aromatics to aviation gasoline. The fuel approved for D-Day was "100/150" - - and used a lot of different aromatic components; B- In the ranking of the levels of "aggressiveness" as solvents, the ranking starts (most severe) with benzene. Then add a single CH3 group and you get toluene. Yes. Paint stripper you buy at the paint store. C- Add a second Ch3 group and you get xylenes (three isomers - ortho, meta, & para) Xylenes are significantly less aggressive as a "paint stripper" than is toluene. <== THAT is important. Keep that in mind. D- Many fuel bladders were developed during WWII and are labeled "approved for aromatics" or something similar. If you look closely at some of the P-51s and other planes at Oshkosh, you will see a placard that states "approved for aromatic fuels." Part II - - Post WWII. A- We had "Green" 100/130 with LOTS and lots of lead. And even purple 115/145 (with lots of aromatics) At the end of the piston airline and going into the late 1970s and 1980s, the ASTM folks decided to drop the lead content and created BLUE 100Low Lead. Still lots of lead. But much less than GREEN 100/130. B- Some of the refiners had very good "aviation alkylate" (~ 70% of some 100LL fuel formulations) with relatively high MON values for that aviation alkylate (a less than pure form of isoctane). Those refineries could make 100LL with relatively low levels of aromatics (almost always "toluene" from the paint store). Maybe 10-20%. C- Other refineries (P66 at Borger, Tx, for example) had lower MON quality "aviation alkylate" and the had to use a LOT of toluene. I can show you detailed hydrocarbon analysis (GC-FID) test results for local (Ada, Ok. FBO) P66 Borger, Tx 100LL that has 29% toluene and another 4% of other aromatics for a total of about 33% aromatic content. 3) Fleet Experience during the transition to 100LL - - A-Starting shortly after the introduction of 100LL, with high levels of aggressive toluene, A LOT of Mooney, Piper, and other airplane owners that had aluminum integral fuel tanks (no bladders) began to leak fuel out of lots of rivet holes. That started a whole new business for G.A. with companies initially specializing in re-sealing those tanks. Later, companies developed retrofit fuel bladders for those problematic "integral fuel tanks". B- A big part of the problem was the aircraft manufacturers did an "inconsistent" (careful choice of words) job of applying the polysulfide sealant to the interior (rivets and seams) of the aluminum integral wing tanks as they were manufactured. [As we have learned during material compatibility testing, the devil is in the details when it comes to the proper application of sealants to fuel tanks. ] C) Over the decades, the level of toluene from most refiners has decreased due to better quality aviation alkylate, but some refiners - - for at least some production runs - - still (from looking at their data sheets) still have a lot of toluene. 4) G100UL Avgas - - A- Uses a very high quality aviation alkylate (2-4 MON numbers higher than the alkylate used for 100LL) and then uses xylenes rather than toluene in order to achieve the 100/150+ octane/supercharge rating for G100UL avgas. The right choice of xylene isomers will have higher octane blending value than does toluene. Using "xylenes" also has the advantage of being less chemically "aggressive" than is toluene. But the high quality alkylate and the premium xylene isomers also "cost more" than the related components in 100LL. BUT - - there ends up being no lead. B- We did extensive material compatibility testing, including a whole variety of older bladders and a whole range of tests for sealants applied to aluminum. All of that supervised (in person) by multiple FAA engineers and managers and then later approved by the FAA. 5) The 100LL we have at the airport in Ada (typically Phillips from Borger, Tx) still tends to have a lot of toluene in that fuel. A- Late October of 2023, AOPA brought their 1965 demonstration Baron to Ada. Two freshly overhauled IO-520s. One fuel bladder was 46 years old and the other ~50 years old. They were supposed to have been replaced with new, prior to the start of testing, but the bladders were on "back-order". B- G100UL avgas was exclusively kept in the LH bladder and 100LL was exclusively in the RH bladder. C-Within 30 days, we noticed fuel "spots" on the hangar floor. Investigation - - we found fuel leakage and staining on the bottom of the RH wing - - which had ONLY ever had 100LL. See photographs. 6- Oshkosh, the leakage from the LH wing tank (G100UL Avgas) was ( based on Eagle Fuel evaluation) caused by pre-existing damage to the tanks and the gaskets associated with the access panels. (In addition, there were pin-hole leaks in both fuel bladders). 7)-G100UL Avgas is NOT a threat to normal aircraft paint. A- Embry Riddle did extensive certification testing of G100UL avgas. They used G100UL in their C-172s for over a year, at Daytona Beach. They had no evidence of any fuel leaks and they had zero staining on the wings. B- As part of our due diligence, wee have deliberately spilled a LOT of G100UL Avgas onto various painted components from the many Bonanza aircraft that come through the TAT shop for turbo systems. That includes LOTs of wing tips and the lower cowling access panels, both of which are removed and replaced (with tip tanks and newly louvered lower access panels.) C- Some of that has been allowed to dry on those painted surfaces and then the process was repeated. NO SIGN OF ANY LOSS TO THE INTEGRITY OF THE ADHESION OF THE PAINT. D- We have even soaked a couple of those side panels in G100UL for a week or more. The paint was fine at the end of that. E- What does and will happen - - is if you do not properly clean up the spilled fuel, and allow it to dry, it can and will leave a light tan stain on the paint. If you do properly clean it up, it will not stain the paint - - even after repeated spills in the same location. But, to date, we have never seen any evidence of any type of "paint striping" activity to any of the dozen or more aircraft parts that were removed from our customers Bonanzas and used as "test articles." See https://g100ul.com/dl/Refueling Hygiene G100UL Avgas.pdf F- An aside - - some of the recent crystal and graphene coatings improve the resistance of aircraft paint to any damage from any variety of 100LL or G100UL - - but that is not a cure all. See the link Refueling Hygiene! 8. So "what happened" on the bottom of the Mooney wings ? A- In one case, the sump drain appears to be leaking. Likely the fittings inside the wing are also leaking. B- In the other case, there appears to be some kind of leakage from inside the wing. Not sure from the photographs. C- Almost certain that old drain valve has a "nitrile" set of O-rings. D- The paint on the bottom of the wings has likely had many months of exposure to steady drips of 100LL. In California, probably with only ~ 15% toluene in the 100LL . . . maybe. E- No information about the age of the paint on the bottom of the wings, but from its overall appearance and the multiple rivet holes that are bare and which have lost their paint - - it is likely a they are rather old paint jobs. The paint on my personal Bonanza, N11RT is about 35 years old and it is in much better condition than the appearance of the paint (away from the damaged paint). F- It would be good to know the age of the paint for each of those two aircraft. 9. What to do ? A-There is a long standing FAA / maintenance bulletin (20 + years old ???) that tells mechanics that when they find fuel leaks or deteriorated fuel lines or gaskets or O-rings, they should replace those components with parts that are made from chemically resistant materials (viton, fluorosilicones, etc.) Those types of materials are specifically stated to be for use with a wide variety of fuels, including aromatic based fluids. A lot of mechanics have ignored that recommendation over the years. Last . . . 10. I would like to have the chance to borescope an older Mooney fuel tank that has not been converted over to a bladder. A- If anyone on this forum would like to bring their plane to Ada we can do that here. You might find it interesting. If you have the STC you can probably leave with some G100UL in your tank, if you want. I hope this information helps to bring some clarity and understanding to these issues that will be the subject of conversations during the transition away from leaded avgas. Regards, George Braly gwbraly@gami.com

Got my practical test done today. It's been about 3 months of rescheduling for weather, conflicts, and rental plane maintenance but we finally got it done! Passed the exam a few weeks ago on my first try, and passed practical flight portion today first try. I got home and my mind and body have completely given up on me. I am couched.

Yeah. That was me. Dead sticked it from FL210 through the clouds, icing, in the mountains, and broke out at 1500 agl. All I had was this road so I put her in nicely. There happened to be a bit of water from the left tank (just switched tanks). The water went into the fuel flow divider and froze. -36 C OAT. When the water froze, it expanded and shut the flow of fuel to all cylinders. No possibility for restart. I let the plane sit for three hours as I dealt with the local sheriff department (who were excellent btw). Fired her up. Run up was perfect so I flew it outta there. lol. Another day in the office. I’m now working g with the FAA, continental, and another shop to remedy this issue.

Some of you might remember me. Back in 2019 Signature over torqued the front gear of my brand new Acclaim Ultra and refused to pay. 5 years later, I face them in court tomorrow. They are risibly stating using a huge boom was not an issue and that it’s my fault. I haven’t cowered. I covet your prayers. These guys are nasty. On better news, I now fly a Honda Jet. This is more accountability than anything else. Cheers, tail winds, and Gods overarching presence to you and yours.

Last week we were at 4500' off the California coast by Santa Cruz. We were just starting Commercial training. Before doing any of the new Commercial maneuvers, I start by doing slow flight, then Power off and Power on Stalls. The airplane, a 231, has been upgraded to 2 G5s, and the GFC 500 autopilot. As such, when operating outside of the ESP (Electronic Stability Protection) envelope the ESP needs to be disabled in the G5. Additionally, the AP circuit breaker needs to be pulled because, if the airplane is operated outside the envelope with the AP off for more than 10 seconds, the AP will automatically turn on and engage the servos in LVL mode. I hadn't pulled the circuit breaker, but we had slowed to just above the stall and, unbeknownst to me, my student had used the electric trim to trim up fully. Pulling the CB disabled the electric trim. First, we found that the stall warning switch was inoperative, but continued the exercise anyway. Power was added to maintain altitude on the backside of the power curve and the nose was lowered to increase speed and lower the AOA. To relieve yoke pressure trim needed to be adjusted down. With the electric trim off the student tried to trim down with the trim wheel. It wouldn't budge. The student said that he couldn't control the pitch with the yoke, the force was too strong. At that point I added my control input to the yoke. The force was so strong that with both of us locking our arms straight out we couldn't overcome the pitch up force. I tried to unlock the trim wheel with both hands--unsuccessfully. In all of my flying I have never had a flight where the outcome was in doubt. But for a few seconds that's exactly what I thought. Knowing that the 231 is somewhat nose heavy and on final at 75 knots with low power setting on a 3° slope the plane was controllable, I pulled the power. That did relieve some of the control pressure. I tried to unlock the trim again with the trim wheel. No dice. It was totally locked up. We were on flight following with NORCAL, and I was about to declare an emergency, when I decided to turn the AP on and see if the power of the trim servo would unlock the trim. I pushed in the CB and waited while the system went through its PFT. It took a few seconds, but ultimately finished successfully. I had the student try the electric trim---and it worked. The trim became unlocked. We had dodged a bullet. I said, "Let's head back to San Jose. We're done for the day". I got no argument. Epilogue: I told the student that until we found out the reason for our issue, we wouldn't be flying the plane. The maintenance shop was able to recreate the problem. I called Paul Kortopates and related the issue. He told me that a Service Instruction had been issued on December 14, 2016, SIM20-88A Stabilizer trim stop screw Modification. I've attached it here. It applys to the M20J, M20K, M20L, and M20M. It was to be done within 100 hours. On this airplane it apparently had not been done, so the force of the electric trim on trimming up for slow flight had pushed the trim wheel past the stop and locked it up. I'm posting this because for those owning aircraft to which it applies, you should confirm that it has been complied with. Otherwise, you might be put into an unrecoverable situation the likes of which we were lucky enough to have overcome. SIM20-88A Stabilizer trim stop screw Modification.pdf

This sure is a cynical group. Personally, I would rather have expensive-but-available Mooney parts than cheap-but-unavailable parts. I only rarely need actual Mooney parts but when I do need them, it's usually something standing between me and actually using my airplane.

I just got off the phone with Mr. Pollack (Mooney CEO) there IS an agreement that will allow for the manufacture of the 40:1 Gear Sets that we have been hoping/waiting for. The Authorized POC will be contacting me within the next couple of weeks and I will get the cost and timeline information and share with the group as well as the order process. This is GREAT news and wouldn't have been possible without Mr. Pollack's willingness to put in the (unpaid) effort to make this possible. I appreciate everyone patience and encouragement during the process that got us to this point. More to follow once I get more information. V/r Matt

Hello all, After a rough couple months of spam-bot invasions I have decided to make some critical changes to the way new users to the community are validated and how Supporter level memberships work. Here are the key changes: When a new account is created here it will be placed in a group called Unverified Members. This group can browse the site but cannot create any new content. To upgrade this account to a Verified Member you have two options: a) pay a $2 fee for instant validation which is good for the life of the account or b) contact me @mooniac58 with a picture/scan of your valid ID to prove you are who you say you are. The old manual $10 minimum donation for upgrade to Supporter level has been replaced with a $25/year automatic subscription system that will renew every year on its own unless you cancel it. No more waiting for me manually upgrade your account, etc. Those that purchase the $2 instant validation will get a $2 credit towards their first year of Supporter level access...so $23 for the first year and $25 thereafter. Generic Donations: Separate from the membership plans, users can still donate arbitrary amounts to support the site using the new donations page. Those that donated prior to today with the old system will continue to have Supporter access until 12 months from your last donation as long as that was $10 or more. These are the current membership levels for members: Unverified Members - New accounts, can browse site, cannot create content or message others. Verified Members - Either paid the $2 fee or proved in another way that they are a real person. Can post new content but not in classified forums. Limited to 200MB total storage for attachments, photos and other files. Supporter Members - Signed up for $25/year subscription. Do not see advertisements on site. Able to post non-commercial topics on the classified forums. Storage limit of 1GB. Sponsor Members - These accounts have paid a fee to have a limited number of commercial posts on the forums (usually 1 per month limit). Some final notes: While I am confident new spam-bots are not being registered on the site, I am quite sure that they have dormant accounts that were created in the past that still exist undetected. For this reason we have and will see brief uprisings where they rise up and make a bunch of spam posts. We will ban each of these as they occur and wipe the content. I don't expect much of this and the past few days have been clear skies here. If you created an account prior to August 5, 2025 and did the normal email based activation then you are in the Verified Member group. No one was downgraded during this process and you don't need to do anything to validate your account. Please do not do the $2 validation process (I am still working on hiding this option for everyone except unvalidated accounts in the site). I will be making small changes here and there to try and make it more clear how new users validate their accounts. For now I hope newly registered members find their way to this topic to get the instructions. Eventually I hope to figure out how to customize the site more to guide new members through the process better. And lastly a big thanks to everyone who has supported this community over the past 17 years! Craig

After 4 months and a week, I finally got my baby back from the spa, well for a week, at least, before going back to be tweaked…. Went a little overboard on the makeover, but I do get the feeling of flying a brand new plane, including the smell from the leather interior.

This happened quite a while ago but it's only now that I'm willing to bring it up. I was flying my 77 J enroute from CYTZ to my home airport CYXL on Jan.31 2025. It was a 650nm flight over mostly remote part of Northern Ontario. Roughly three and half hour into the flight, about one hour from reaching my destination, in the vicinity of Nipigon Ontario, at a cruising altitude of 5500ft, the engine started to sputter. I immediately turned boost pump on and then my engine quit completely. I acted upon the situation as everyone would, I was lucky that there is a highway right below me, and I quickly turned my plane gliding alone the highway looking for a suitable landing spot. Then I tried to trouble shoot the problem, and declared mayday on both Center frequency (but I'm on the edge of their reception) and 126.7. Oil, fuel pressure were in the green. I had plenty of fuel. Propeller was windmilling, there is no oil spraying everywhere or any catastrophic failure. I even had fuel flow, though only 3-6 gph. But I had no power. Engine monitor show all four cylinder cold on EGT. I tried both mag, didn't switch tank because I already ran one dry, and determined I cannot bring the engine back. The subsequent landing on the highway is uneventful. Clipped two small roadsign during the landing roll, but I'm fine and the plane is now being repair in Toronto, after a temporary repair was carried out in the field and got a ferry permit from TC. The landing happened just before sunset, temperature at landing was -20c. If it would've happened ten minutes prior or later, I would've end up landing on a frozen lake. That was the only highway along my route for almost 300 miles. I think I got lucky here. After landing, I checked the oil, sitting exactly at 6 qts. I spun the prop and noticed smooth movement with no issue, and normal compression in all four cylinder. I then checked my fuel tank and I could see plenty of gas. The only thing abnormal, that I noticed, was when I turn on the boost pump there is a strong smell of fuel. During departure out of CYTZ, when I turn on the fuel point in the takeoff check, I also smelled a whif of gas but I did not thought to much about it. Shortly after, police, fire and ambulance arrived, though I do not require fire and ambulance (luckily I don't need to pay for ambulance). A snow plow came, plowed out a side road and move my plane there, where it sat for two month getting the wing patched up and a ferry permit issued from TC. A local float plane company sent a few mechanics and inspected the engine. They found the fuel line out of the engine driven pump to be loose at the connector, causing a very significant fuel leak. The reason why it is loose, according to the mechanics, is likely because the fuel line with fire sleeve over it was rubbing against the firewall, loosening it over time. Both mags are firing properly and sparks are produced on all 8 plugs. I'm not sure how much I believe this theory. Since during the flight, I ran the right tank dry, and my fuel accumulator read exactly 32 gallon used. The fuel flow transducer is located after the leak, so if there is any leak, I'd ran out of fuel before my fuel accumulator reaches 32. The mechanic in Toronto that usually worked on my plane said it might be due to some kind of icing issue inside the injector servo or controller or something like that, and the float plane mechanic did agree that it's also a possibility. He says I should not loose power completely if I still have fuel flow and green fuel pressure. To add, I did sump my tank in Toronto and noticed no water in fuel, and fuel cap o ring is fairly new. It was noted the boost pump was functioning properly providing proper pressure with no leaks. They removed the fire sleeve on that fuel line, reconnected the hose properly and ran the engine up, and it ran fine. So we eventually flew it out to toronto for permanant repair on the wing with a fueling stop in Thunder bay. Now the plane is sitting in my mechanic hangar in Toronto, I've asked my mechanic to thoroughly inspect the engine again, which I asked him to do last time when I was dealing with the prop governer fuel leak isssue. I'm really not sure how do I trust this plane again. For the past year that I've owned this airplane, I was always on the way of fixing something. The engine was looked into at least twice under my request to make sure the pervious owner's mechanic who installed the engine did not make any more mistake that's not yet discovered. Just sharing my experience here. I guess from now on I will use 1% alcohol added into the fuel to prevent icing. I'd love to hear everyone's thought's on this.

Yeah Ethan, great question. Emergency situation not much time. I wanted to go to enterprise. It was on the rum line and had a good tail wind. Pretty sure I could have dead sticked that runway no worries. Seattle Center advised not going to those airports as they were IMC and higher terrain. La grande was 90 degrees off my right wing and right into a headwind. It was a tough call, but I figured I could drop in the valley and find something suitable. So I turned for La grande. I’m my own worst critic. The one thing I didn’t do is declare an emergency. I told Seattle center that I had “loss of engine power and could not maintain FL210”. The controller and I ended up arguing a bit over a few details on the way down and it just made things mores stressful. And at 8000 feet he said the frightful words “radar contact lost”. I said out loud, “Brad, do some of that pilot shit!” Lol. I followed a canyon on the terrain page of the MFD and prayed to God that I’d break out. And He graciously gave me 1500 ft. And a dirt road with power lines and an eagles nest. Good enough for me.

As of today I have owned at least one Mooney continuously for 40 years!

I want to thank everyone for the advice given to me that helped to make this happen! I bought a Mooney! My instructor and I were flying the flight school's Warrior and flew to a nearby airport. As we were taxiing back to head back to the runway I hit the brakes and pointed out the window "wow, look at the paint on that Mooney!" My instructor was pretty tired of hearing about Mooney this, Mooney that, so she said "you're such a dingus" and we kept rolling. Later that day I pulled up Controller to drool over Mooneys, and that exact one showed up for sale. I couldn't believe it. It was way over my budget too! A few Google searches later and I happened upon Mooneyspace and a guy had a sort of "near miss" with buying it. I reached out to him and he sent me the Prebuy information that he did, as well as the local Mooney Expert's information. Really nice of him to do that for me. I met with the owners and they were just the kindest people ever. Couldn't ask for a more lovely couple. The plane is a 1968 M20F, it isn't perfect but it is WAY nicer than what I thought I would end up getting. Some faded paint and minor issues, but nothing major. It's under an hour drive from me, and the A&P that did all of the speed mods, and maintained it for a good 20 years has a shop just 25 minutes from my house. Everything has lined up so well. I'm still in shock, and so excited. Today I have the keys! The owners kept every receipt and picture, so I have some nice pictures of it as they put some speed mods on it. I don't think I'm going to get any sleep tonight...

I know some people here have much better machines, but my trip yesterday was an eye-opener to the capabilities of my E model. Took off from KRKS (Western WY) at 10am, and five and a half hours later landed at 91C in Eastern WI, crossing five states (WY, NE, SD, IA, WI). 993 miles non-stop at an average speed of 190 mph, burned 46 gallons of fuel at 13,500 feet. Of course tailwind helped (around 25kts), but I still feel amazing about it. I used oxygen all the way, and felt none of the fatigue I used to feel after flights above 10k. Here's a picture of one of the more spectacular buildups I had to dodge along the way.

The park was gorgeous. I put on a 360 mount to do some recording, and it turned out great. We only flew in it for an hour. We went up Ruths Glacier, flew around a little in that area, and then spiraled up to pass Denali, then down another glacier (not pictured). Most of the other passes were fogged in, so we kept it pretty conservative. The other pilots flying were super chill and gave us tips. I kind of wish I had recorded that. Overall, I wish we did it longer, and I wish we could do it again. The weather is shot for the next few days, and then we need to head back to MN. I forgot the cowl flaps on some of this. I climbed from 6,500 to 16,500 and forgot to close them when we reached the top. Oh well.

After landing I put the flap switch in up position and the flaps did not move and the circuit breaker popped. Thereafter, I noted that the breaker would pop when the master was turned on with the flap switch in up, takeoff, or down position (the airplane is a later model with the three position flap switch). I tried wiggling the flaps because some have said that got them working again, but to no avail. I'm not saying others are wrong, but the up/down limit switches ride on the acme screw barrel of the actuator which cannot be back driven due to the wheel and worm gearing of the actuator so I have a hard time seeing how wiggling the flaps can move the switches. Be that as it may, it did nothing for my problem. Removing the belly skin and inspecting things, I noticed that the actuator had overrun past the down limit and jammed the barrel. I disconnected the barrel and manually freed it and rotated it to the up position. But the breaker still popped. I disconnected the connector that feeds the motor and the breaker still popped indicating that the problem was not the motor. I disconnected the connector that goes to the up and down relays and the breaker didn't pop, so the wiring is good. Next I removed the down relay and reconnected the connectors and the breaker did not trip indicating that the short was in the relay. I took the down relay apart and found that the armature had become dislodged and that all three contacts (C, NO, NC) were stuck together creating a short circuit. The Magnacraft relay looks like a pretty flimsy mechanical design to me. I found some new/old stock online and ordered two. Hopefully this helps someone with a similar problem.

Hi folks, paul contacted me and told me about this thread. I was the pilot and it’s my 252. Happy to answer your questions: - it’s a 252 with Monroy tanks, 105 gallons total - I usually fly 2.300RPM, 30“, 10.3gph LOP. However up high the MAP was between 27“ and 29“, FF on average during cruise was 9.5gph or 62% - I have a stock steam gauge sixpack with the original airspeed indicator with TAS calculator. TAS was roughly 175kt. - average ground speed was 214kt, maximum 269kt but we took a picture showing 252kt :-) - we used 73 gallons of fuel and still had 32 gallons in our tanks after landing, so more than 3 hours reserve (the king air crew we met was jealous) - we didn’t use Gatorade bottles or travel John. Would be a mess in those life suits anyway. Actually we did not drink anything until 30 minutes before landing and it was no problem at all! It was my longest flight so far and it was an experience, for sure. The whole trip was spectacular. BTW, on our way west we wanted to stay in Ilulissat, Greenland for two nights. We didn’t even think about not stopping in Greenland as we wanted to see the glacier. If you are interested, the whole story is on instagram: @flyawaywith_jz Hope to see some of you somewhere in the world! Best, Thomas

Flew my Mooney for my 3rd flight without transition CFI (takair). Brought my wife up with me. We just did a short flight, for her to get used to the plane, and weather was looming so we went back and landed. Probably my best landing ever. I could barely feel my mains touch and rode them all the way out, gently touching the nose wheel down. "Are you feeling this awesome wheelie?!?" I was laughing out loud and so excited. My wife just shook her head. A landing that would've made my instructor proud. But alas, he was not there, as he has kicked me out of the transition training nest. I guess I should start instrument training soon then

In about 3 years I will have been a MooneySpace member for half my life.

I have a question- WHAT'S THE ALTERNATIVE? Here we have a company that can produce any part we need for an orphaned line of airplanes-Mooney There are only about 7,000 of them left (and we kill dozens every year shrinking that field) We have another company stepping in to help US get the parts WE need from the sole supplier And all we do is bitch about it! SO, JUST WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE? Provide a viable LEGAL solution Don't just bitch about it! What if we CAN'T ever get any more parts? What do we do then????? Its a very small consumer base needing parts whose construction is tightly controlled by an outside agency- the FAA That equals $$$$$$$$$$ To make every part for every Mooney ever made TAKES THE ENTIRE ACTORY less the assembly line That takes money to support- more $$$$$$$ Have any of you actually seen the production facility in production? Minus the assembly line? Either you make parts there or you move it somewhere else - at what cost? More $$$$$$$ ALL airplane parts are priced at today's cost to produce a new airplane - NOT 50 years ago. Priced any new Beech parts lately? How many Bonanzas are sitting because of bad ruddervator skins? They can't get them. Our Mooneys will be paper weights or boat anchors if we can't get the parts we need The days of being Cheap Bastards is over. You want to fly a Mooney (or any other airplane) pony up to the bar and pay the bill. As I have said several times- we are flying antiques! They will eventually die a lingering death But without parts it becomes genocide!!! Suck it up folks - there is no alternative except to buy a different make airplane that is in production Sorry for the attitude but this bitching does nothing constructive for the situation we are in.

Follow the brick

For those of you who work on your own airplane but don't always have someone present to help you remove and reinstall the lower cowl, here is a YouTube video which shows how to do it without chipping paint or scratching the spinner. This jack makes it safe and efficient and it's easy/cheap to build.

Phillip, I'm curious, what do you think these people owe you? I'll help you with that answer. Absolutely nothing. And what have you contributed so far. Exactly the same. Have you ever used the words "please" or "thank you" in your life? People come on here all the time and request help and, just like with you, members jump in to see if they can provide any assistance. The only difference is that in almost every instance the person asking has enough class to be grateful for anyone's time and attention. If you don't like their suggestion, ignore it. Don't blast them for taking their time to respond. You have the airplane in front of you and you and your mechanic can't figure it out and you come on here and expect the answer on the first reply? “what did you do since the last time it started?" was one of the best answers you could have gotten. It sounds like you've done some things recently. You already said the spark plugs were new - did you check to make sure the leads were seated on the plugs? Are they gapped properly? Have you double-checked that they are the correct plugs? You said you had a new fuel pump - this wouldn't be the first time that a new or overhauled pump was not putting out the pressure it should right out of the box. Did you time the mags recently? When was the last time your mags were overhauled? Think back - if it started Thursday and it doesn't start Saturday, it's very likely that something in those two days changed. When we get frustrated we overlook the obvious sometimes. Getting basic answers from people on here and then chastising them for giving you the answers, tells them that you already know more than they do. But if that was true wouldn't your airplane be starting? I wish you the best in the search for your answers, but unless you change your attitude you would save yourself a lot of frustration by getting your answers elsewhere.

Now it’s official . . lol

So when I sold my Cherokee 235, I had my sights set on a Turbo Saratoga - the thought of luxuriating in all that space while moving along at a decent clip…. My Wife told me I’m nuts. What do you need all that space for? It’s going to be just you most of the time. You should get a Mooney, she said. She thought they were the best looking birds on the ramp! So I took her advice. I’m now about 50 hours in to my Ovation and I absolutely love it. There’s no other piston engined single I would want. Oh, and here’s my picture from today. She was right, of course. All those empty seats….

Happy Update. The Shop called me this morning with total transparency and owned up to it being an unsupervised intern. He was removing the lower plugs and the Plug wire was slightly seized and rotated the plug out. Instead of grabbing experienced help with a better solution he used a crow's foot with an extension wedged it against the pushrod tube and commenced to torqueing the other 7/8 wrench. I guess he banged it several times. The shop is sending DOM and IA who completed the annual up with all new parts, fixing it , performing an engine oil flush with new filters a few times after the fix and then fly it back down to them after 3-4 hours and once again change oil and filter. After each flush send to blackstone for analysis and determine if any further maintenance is required. I wish more shops had this stance and leadership when things go wrong and its their fault. Hopefully crisis averted but they assured me if further engine damage was done , IE bearings, lifters , etc. they would handle the repairs with no expense to me. Thanks for listening.

Rumor is that, an FAA complaint has been filed by LASAR.

Had you posted your interest in N562BG on here before spending the money on the pre-buy we could have told you much of what the pre-buy told you . . . for nothing. I have pictures and logbooks and info in a file on dropbox that I would have gladly shared. Brian is the best at what he does, but spending the money to have Brian Kendrick travel out to look at that airplane is a little like hiring Picasso to paint your tool shed. Every once in awhile someone comes on here mentioning that they are looking at an airplane, asking all kinds of questions, but they are afraid to give too many details since they're afraid that someone will swoop in and buy it before they do. In nearly 15 years on here I've never seen that happen. It usually takes us about 10 minutes to figure out which airplane it is anyway. The Mooney community is small and tight-knit. People on here share lessons that they've learned. We don't charge each other for that. I might share one thing today but it's likely I'll need two things tomorrow. That's the community that we are. It's a net win for everyone that contributes.

Greetings all, First off, a sincere thank you to everyone who’s shared constructive feedback and thoughtful questions! We’re taking your concerns to heart and several clarifications have already been made on the website as we continue to add information. Some context: over the past year and a half, we’ve raised the capital to purchase Mooney’s parts division, stabilized and grown Lasar out of the COVID era, and taken on the heavy lift of managing and funding the Mooney facility itself. Since June, our small but determined team has been working to build and execute a plan that continues Mooney Product Support long into the future. Mooney Assurance is one way to help us get parts flowing and rebuild brand confidence. We’re not claiming that Mooney Assurance is currently a “home-run” value proposition, we simply want to provide as much value as we can while we tackle an enormous job. The idea for this program came from a number of Mooney flyers who wanted us to provide an avenue to help the brand. We understand why some may feel they don’t yet have enough information, and that’s fair. Our focus has been on the day to day, so communication with you all is something we’re working to improve, our goal being to balance sharing updates with digging in and doing the work. This project is a heavy lift, and many hands make light work. Your engagement, questions, and participation help move the entire effort forward. Please stay tuned for more updates as we work to “show” rather than just “tell.” For those who wish to discuss specific ideas or concerns directly, please reach out to Brett Stokes at brett.stokes@lasar.com. We appreciate your patience and hope you’ll join us in preserving a legacy. Stay tuned this week for increasingly informative updates. Sincerely, Brett Stokes and John Smoker Lasar Aviation

I don't know where you heard about that reputation and I certainly have not seen it other in isolated situations. It's these situations that need to stop the fighting and bickering. This is the single BEST place to talk Mooneys and it's important for all of us to make it a welcoming and productive place for Mooniacs to hang out and share experiences (good and bad) that others may glean valuable information. I'm sorry if someone made comments about your weight. That's not right in any fashion. Also, if you went back to all of my posts, you will see that I have not attacked or said negative things about anyone personally. Including you. We want everyone here, let's help this forum have a really good vibe.

I have a 1991 Bravo. I'm on my 3rd engine. The avionics I put in starting in 2013 and upgraded as the G500 transitioned to the G500 Txi and GTN 750/650 to the GTN 750/650 Xi and GTX330ES to the GTX335 are better than in most business jets I have flown in. The Bravo travels at half the speed of jets. That is fast. Rather than step up to a Turbine with at least double the yearly expense, I chose to keep my Bravo and upgrade it to the max. I love the airplane and its avionics. Structurally, it is the strongest single engine airplane out there. Basically, it is new, panel and firewall forward. I feel like I have a new airplane. I have never looked back.

George, I am certain it is very clear to you that there are many folks on this forum who fully support you and your products. It is equally clear that there are many who are respectfully cautious about G100UL. And there are some who are downright nasty, and question your integrity and motives. I suspect that this diversity among members/posters is probably typical of most forums. I would sincerely hope that you do not let the few who attack you, taint your view of the majority of us, and you will continue to participate in the exchange of ideas and information.

Speaking on behalf of every American GA pilot , we are not accustomed to it in the US and are enthusiastic about not becoming accustomed to it.

@rturbett Take another look at my Lower 48 map! I finally got around to checking off UT on our way down to the PPP in Ft Worth (KAFW). Great overnight in Moab, UT just because it was someplace we wanted to stay.

I spent 40 years in the industry. I retired off the A330 and I loved every minute of it. To make it worthwhile it must be something you want to do and not think of it as a job. I never worked a day in my life. 6 years after retirement I still have dreams in my sleep of flying transport airplanes. If you are not sure, it is going to be a job. If you are sure (and I was from 5 years old) it is a living dream. I survived 5 years of furlough, 1 near bankruptcy, 1 real bankruptcy, 3 mergers. I have two uniforms in my closet and I would not change a thing. Pay? Who cares when you love your job, but my retirement placed me in the top 3% of Americans. Can't beat that. Let me add, my first wife had pancreatic cancer and thanks to my airline who put out over 2 million for her she never wanted for a thing. No insurance arguments, no "if only's" they just wrote the checks. My first Christmas with my second wife I spent in Accra, Ghana. Not where I wanted to be, but you have to take the good with the bad, because the bad, ain't that bad.

Up on top today, with Mt. Assiniboine poking through at 11,765’.

I'm halfway through my A&P program and I like sheetmetal so I decided to do a very minor owner produced part project. My 201 yoke switch covers (blanks) needed a refresh so I thought I'd just do a quick strip and repaint. Once I stripped them I wasn't happy with the condition of the old aluminum so decided to fabricate new ones. I tried .051" 2024T3 as well as .064" 2024T3 and 7075T6....I think I like the 7075 best. First photo below show the old switch covers as installed. And the other two photos compare the old stripped covers (left) to the new covers that are almost ready for paint (still need a little more hand sanding). I'll etch primer tomorrow and hopefully paint Sunday. Will post final pictures when I can.

Couple thoughts. First, anyone who viewed Mooney's financials should NOT comment. They are in possession of MNPI and can be sued for tortious interference especially now that Privates are being solicited. Second, this LASAR plan fails within a year or maybe never even gets off the ground (see what I did there?). Based on the following. Third, LASAR's video showed lack of sophistication and I don't mean just the terrible production quality. The message was neither crisp nor enlightening. I get we are only talking single digit millions here, but as a 30 year Investment Banker who's seen a lot of presentations over the lifecycle of a company, that video was outright a waste of time. This latest message takes the lack of sophistication further (announced the need for funding AFTER you announce the deal). That's way backwards but in line with how they described the take over of LASAR; no real plan and no foresight to the issues. Fourth, it doesn't matter whether you consider yourself a lender or equity holder by paying the upfront subscription or entering into the Privates. The result is the same, you're equity given the lack of collateral based on some of the materials from LASAR and the 1st stage pitch distributed here several years ago. I bet NOLV is at best $500,000. Fifth, any creditor can involuntarily declare Mooney bankrupt should the amount of debt meet the limit (limit routinely increases but is surprisingly small). However, I would bet there's no debt here. Mooney couldn't even get terms on payables (a low bar) according to Mooney's hobbyist CEO. Also, unlikely any equity investor converted to debt (its usually the other way around). Lack of debt actually makes a buyout here easier. The change could just be a paperwork exercise with as little as $1 being exchanged. Ask Bombardier how that would work. They did it in 2017. Last, this train wreck was predictable years ago when the latest ownership group came in. A lawyer as a CEO rarely works (Frank Blake at HD being the rare exception). A lawyer who has no operating experience in any manufacturing much less aerospace (the issues here are not specific to the aerospace industry), funded by friends and family money, and wants to do a turnaround as a hobby? Well, that's laughable. Hey, I get it though, sounds cool at parties to say I am the CEO of an airplane manufacturer. I've had to make tough credit decisions. I've funded into companies that eventually went BK. I've negotiated forbearance agreements. An investment decision on LASAR's "scheme" isn't a close decision. It's just terrible. Btw, my name is William P. Rutkowski in Atlanta. Anyone is welcome to look up my credentials in LinkedIn. NOTE, THIS IN NO WAY SHOULD BE CONSIDERED INVESTMENT ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT YOUR FINACIAL ADVISOR BEFORE INVESTING.

You are completely WRONG! AirVenture is the most organized event you will ever attend. They have their act together with more than 5,000 volunteers who joyfully are there to assist. Plenty of tables, many with umbrellas surround the food vendors, plenty of food vendors all over the venue, although expensive. There are many, many port-potties scattered at convenient places all over the venue and they are maintained throughout the day multiple times. No lines for them. No Smell to them. For over 650,000 people the grounds are kept immaculately clean. Traffic is as well organized as possible with "In" direction in the morning and reversed to "Out" direction in the afternoon. I will say, though, that it is a pain in the butt. Police man the main entry roads and control the traffic lights, and volunteers direct traffic once you gain entry. Busses are provided from the parking areas and have priority with their own special lane. The venue is huge and there are multiple trams that have various routes throughout the grounds. Anybody who is anybody in aviation is there hawking their wares in 4 large hangars. The new airplanes from the big and small companies are displayed outside. There is fly-in airplane camping parking surrounding all the runways; enough for the 10,000 airplanes that fly in. The RV area is like a city in itself. The "cream of the crop" air traffic controllers from around the country control all of the air traffic. There are forums in the forums area every day given by many well know speakers. The FAA also has a building and has seminars all day long. If you're a lifetime member of EAA, the Oasis on the front line has all kinds of snacks and tables for free in an air conditioned building. If you are a donor you step up even more and have access to the PHP house, that also has even better snacks than the Oasis. EAA hosts almost a dinner there from 4-6 Monday, Tuesday. and Wednesday. If you're a donor or exhibitor, AOPA puts on a great free breakfast and has an outstanding dinner at the Waters house of the Lake on Tuesday evening. Hundreds of people show up to that. As you get older, 4 wheel scooters are available to rent for the day and have enough charge to get you anywhere on the grounds. Many years ago I almost laughed at the thought of ever needing one but, alas, for the past year and now again for this year I've needed to rent one for my special person. Flying in with the Mooney Caravan was fun for a number of years. The camaraderie is great. However, I park in Madison and drive up to Oshkosh because I don't want to park on the grass for the week, and I found that by the time everyone had debriefed and I got set to fly back to Madison, the thunderstorms often started building. So I haven't flown in with them for the past few years. And then there is the pure adventure of traveling more than half way across the country, stopping at places you probably never would have seen, meeting people you never would have met (I've got some great stories of people I've met going to Oshkosh at fuel stops). This is year 25 and counting. I hope I've conveyed a little bit of the excitement of AirVenture, It's a lifetime experience not to be missed.

Hi all, I've gone back to lurking these past few months due to a problem with losing GPS signal since the annual in January, which seriously cramped my flying (and my general mood). But I'm happy to say that the cause of the problem has been identified and is no longer an issue So now I'm off on an adventure with the legend himself, @kortopates... I'm so very stoked! Yesterday we flew via Lyon, France to Brugge, Belgium. Today we made the trek across the English Channel and southern England (one photo shows the white cliffs of Dover) to St. Mary's Scilly island with a fuel stop at Land's End. The guy in St. Mary's tower let us do a tour of the Scilly islands before landing on RWY 14 which is 695 meters long (2280 feet). Tonight we will decide where to go next. So awesome!!

CAM LOBE CORROSION? A DULL TALE OF 1200 HRS SAFE LYCOMING OPERATION Surface corrosion noted on a cam lobe after pulling a jug isn’t great, but in isolation it is a terrible reason to split a Lycoming case – it may need overhaul soon, or maybe not... My illustrative anecdote: >10 years ago, a newb pilot/owner buys an M20C with a 600hr SMOH O-360 that had spent some time sitting and needs a little cylinder work at the outset. After pulling a couple jugs, the well-known Mooney A&P/IA who did the prebuy finds surface corrosion on multiple internal components and even some pitting on cam lobes but normal lobe height and lifter faces. The A&P sends pics of the extensive pitting and says newb owner you must overhaul. The collective “wisdom” of the internet also says that the newb pilot/owner/doctor must overhaul and asserts that he is just another vertical-tailed doctor killer-buying sucka. His demise in a smoking crater seems likely to all because he is arrogant enough not to accept A&P or internet guidance without asking questions. The sucka pilot then takes deep dive into authoritative literature by Mike Busch and others, learning that (1) there is zero danger in running it until cam/lifter truly spalls and (2) it’s easy to monitor the situation through the filter so that once it happens, further damage to the engine can be prevented. Armed with real knowledge, the arrogant newb pilot/owner pushes back hard against the A&P/IA, getting him to sign it off under some duress. Though this newb’s demise seems imminent to all, he flies regularly, uses Camguard, and keeps engine dry in winter by heating it uniformly and continuously. He also cuts and scrutinizes his filter nervously at every oil change, finding nothing for many hundreds of hours. He gets a good engine monitor, learns how to use a borescope, and learns spark plug maintenance, allowing him to monitor the top end as well. He does oil changes and oil analysis religiously but ultimately quits oil analysis after learning enough about it to conclude that it’s utterly useless for real world maintenance decisions on this engine. Finally, after flying for another 1200 hours over 10 years and accumulating ample instrument time, he notices a subtle but consistent decrement in TAS on recent flights. At the next oil change, he finds ample ferrous shavings in the filter (pic). He had become lazy recently and was only cutting every other filter, and so he pulls the previous filter off the shelf and also finds similar metal, realizing that he flew about 80-90 hours with cam lobe(s) and lifter face(s) coming apart. He flys it one last time to a major engine shop 3hrs away for overhaul, marveling at the aircraft’s fast and smooth performance during this serene flight and wondering if he is making the right decision. At overhaul, the suspected cam/lifter spalling is confirmed, and metal shavings are flushed from the oil cooler and governor. The prop is IRAN’d/resealed, and the hub is found to be in fine condition, as is the crankshaft. He’s finally back in the air and still (mostly) enjoying the continuous learning involved in the Mooney ownership journey….

"Life is short" is a term we hear often. When we're young and say the term, I don't think most of us really grasp the concept. Life seems infinite. However---one day you will wakeup and say, "Wait a minute, just yesterday I was 20 years old and everyone around me is older. Where did the last 60 years go?" It happens just that fast. My recommendation? Don't wait too long to go after the things you want. Time waits for no-one.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/avpages/iclothwipes10.php

En route MMQT-MMOX, I got a couple of shots of Mount Popocatepetl, which is southeast of Mexico City. There was a sigmet for volcanic ash downwind of this; I flew on the upwind side.