Leaderboard

Purchased this 67F model just over 2 months ago. Could not be happier! Have a few trips planned in the near future. We are based in Winchester VA OKV. This board is such a wealth of good information. I hope to be able to contribute.

Wife, kids, and I flew from Deer Valley to Stinson field. We stopped in Pecos, TX. She ran beautifully. 8.3-8.5 gph, 20" 2500rpm 9500'. TAS about 150mph average. 30.9 gallons from KDVT-KPEQ, 3:48 flight time. I haven't fueled in San Antonio yet to see exactly what I used KPEQ-KSSF. I nearly had to divert from KPEQ due to weather. We were VFR over the top of a layer for about an hour. FSS was advising me that PEQ was reporting broken at 4700', but they didn't know for sure what the sky coverage was. I had an alternate planned to Marfa, TX which was clear all the way up. As I got close to PEQ, I found there were a lot of holes. Winds were 20g28, but right down the runway. Carried a little extra speed on final and made a pretty good landing. We landed there (great little FBO!) and waited about an hour for the clouds to blow out. Flight to SSF was almost uneventful, except the battery on my Stratus died about 40nm out. Fortunately I still remember how to use actual charts and navigate by VORs. Of course, I had my 430W programmed in, but I thought it was good practice to fly it by 'paper' so I did. Winds at SSF were also pretty high, but again, right down the runway. SSF had my rental car pulled out on the ramp, AC running. Very friendly and helpful folks! So far, it's been a great trip and I was happy to not have been surprised by anything. The weather was pretty much as I expected, I had a good diversion worked out well in advance, and FSS was great.

Just a bit of a milestone. On July 7th, 2016 I met my CFI at the airport and we made three trips around the pattern before I dropped him off at the base of the tower and taxied to the end of runway 26R before taking off into the air all alone, my first Solo Flight! It is hard to believe that a year has passed. Since that first solo flight a year ago so much has happened. I had 15.6 hours of flight at the time, I have flown another 124 hours since then. I passed my Check-ride on Oct 15, 2016 and received my PPL. I made my first actual long distance cross country to Arizona and took my dad on a short flight. I bought a Mooney! I made another 197 landings, flew over 7,800 nautical miles, landed in a total of 5 different states at a total of 28 different airports. It is still like a dream that I have my pilot's license and I have my own plane. I still get a rush every time I push the throttle in and start rolling down the runway. I hope that feeling never goes away. I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Here she is

I've been trolling here at MooneySpace for many months now, and have recently made a few posts and received direct, helpful guidance. But I've never properly introduced myself and wanted to take a moment to say hello and share a little background. First, I have to echo the sentiments of so many before me and express how grateful I am for the contributions of the individuals who make MooneySpace the excellent resource that it is. The camaraderie here is palpable, and the occasional spirited debate and difference of opinion notwithstanding, the helpfulness and sense of community of this forum is unmatched, in my opinion. I've been an aviation nut since I was very young, and the first thing that I wanted "to be when I grew up" was a pilot. I was always putting those 75 cent balsa wood airplanes together and flying them, breaking them, frankensteining them back together in strange combinations, and flying them until there was nothing left. In my late twenties I had a tandem hang gliding experience that was amazing. About 20 years ago I was introduced to skydiving which gave me another perspective on flying (9 solo jumps before I moved on to other things), and then I got into the RC flying hobby. First a big gas wooden trainer, then collective pitch electric helicopters, then tricopters and quads, and finally remote audio/video piloting on all of the above (insert hundreds of hours of crashing, ordering parts, and rebuilding various flying things, oh and maybe a dozen hours of actual flight time :-). About a year ago, during one of our frequent family trips from central Texas to San Antonio to visit parents, my wife and I started talking - half jokingly - about how nice it would be to if we could fly that recurring trip and cut our transit time in half, not to mention improve the view along the way. Of course I had always fantasized about flying my own plane, and all of a sudden we were contemplating doing just that! A couple of months later we were meeting with CFIs, and in October of last year I started taking flight lessons from my excellent CFI based at ACT, about 15 minutes from my home. I started training in his J3C cub, hand-propping and learning the basics on the stick and rudder. At around 10 hours we transitioned to the C172. By this time I'd decided (thanks to all of you folks and a ton of other reading) that I wanted a Mooney. I started searching in earnest, and in May (and with my CFI's help and involvement), purchased N9440V, a 1970 M20E with ~200 hours SMOH and ~2600 hours TT. I had completed my pre-solo written test and was about to solo the Cessna when I took delivery of my E, and needed to insert 15 additional hours of instruction in the E before I could solo (per my insurance terms, not to mention my own peace of mind). So here I am, about 15 hours later, about to complete the pre-solo written again, and just around the corner from my first solo flight in my own Mooney. There is no way I'd be this far along and as informed as I am without the wisdom and guidance found on these pages. So thank you MooneySpace and MS contributors. I know I will continue to learn from you, and I hope I can give back in my own way to help others who land here, looking for wisdom and insight into these special flying things we call Mooneys. -Sia

Hello mooneyspace, just introducing myself, I'm the new owner of n7106v( less than 24hrs now ). I really can't believe I actually own an aircraft. Thanks to the previous owner for putting her back together.

After!

At our last annual we had to do some tank work which means the old wing walk had to come off. I’ve done this a couple of times and have made some handy discoveries I thought I would pass on hoping it will be of some help. I’m going to include pictures, hopefully in the right order. Before you begin this project order the wing walk paint. I’ve always used Randolf but I’ve learned a trick. Don't thin it out. When my can arrives I turn it upside down for a week or two. It will come in a plastic bag so just leave it in the bag in case it leaks, which mine has never done. The grit at the bottom of the can is hard to deal with and this method, though slower, really pays off. Leave it upside down until the grit has shifted to what is now the top of the can. You can feel the change in the can when it does but it takes a while. That’s why you order the wing walk first and do the next part later. Patience will pay off later. I start by using aluminum foil tape I get at Home Depot. Not sure why this works so well for this project but it does. The tape needs to have clean edges, not dented or damaged. I carefully place the tape outside the existing wing walk and make sure I use ample plastic to catch any drips. I’m also careful to press down the edges of the tape making sure there are no wrinkles. You want a good clean seal on the edge of the tape. Now that I have the wing walk area masked off it’s time for the stripper. I use Citristrip. One small bottle is all you will need. Using a disposable brush I apply a thick coat all over the old wing walk. The trick to this step is that you do not want the stripper drying out. After a thick coat is applied I cover it with Saran Wrap and carefully press it down over the goop. Then I double check that none of it is, or will, drip off the boundaries of the aluminum tape onto any paint I want to keep. Now is when you walk away and leave it overnight. The next day use a plastic spatula to scrape it all off being careful to not drip it on any paint you want to keep. You’ll be amazed at how well it works and there’s no fumes. I dump mine into a small box and throw it out. Using damp paper towels I carefully wash off the residue being certain not to create any runoff. Once I know it’s clean I use a solvent on it just to be sure. If you want to use Alodine and AlumaPrep now is the time. I take off the tape and clean it again paying careful attention to the edges of the tape. Hopefully you’ll get a nice clean stripped line like I do every time. I’ve never had any stripper get under the aluminum tape. Now it’s time to re-tape the area just like before and prep it for wing walk. I place the tape just barely over the paint line so I’m sure I get clean coverage. Here’s where turning the can pays off. Open the can and start chopping up the grit blob with the paint stir stick. This process is so much faster when the blob is at the top of the can opposed to all the grit being stuck to the bottom. Keep chopping and stirring. Wearing a work apron and safety glasses would be smart in case some of it jumps out of the can. Chop and stir, chop and stir. I apply the wing walk using a 4” foam roller and a disposable tray. The roller works much better than the brush which is the recommended method. Pour a little less than half of the wing walk into the tray. The trick is to keep it moving and mixed since the grit likes to settle fast. Apply evenly and watch for streaks. I apply two full coats and wait about 30-45 minutes between applications. After the second coat has dried for 30-45 minutes I remove the tape and plastic masking. Now is the time to be patient again. The last time I did this we waited for 3-4 days to be sure it was hardened and then we went flying. In the hot Redding sun a passenger turned his heal on the wing walk and it must not have hardened enough and created a small divot. Your results may vary but this time I am waiting a week to ten days before using it. I do not have pictures of the full process but I have enough it should make sense. -Sven

Didn't take any pictures, but today I passed my instrument check ride. Oddly enough, and I didn't realize until this evening, it was EXACTLY 2 years from my first solo flight. Getting my instrument rating in my own plane was a huge driver behind the purchase of my Mooney. I made it a goal to pass as soon as possible. Took the written as soon as I put a deposit down on the plane. Got my Mooney last May and after learning the plane (and dealing with some squawks), I started my IFR training in January this year. Took about a month off in between for annual/vacation. Excited to get the certificate wet on a long cross-country from NC to WI next week (no, not OSH)! I'll be sure to add photos then. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hello All, I wanted to introduce myself to the forum as I've just joined Mooneyspace, my name is Matt Meissner. I’ve been the proud owner of Eleanor, she’s a 1989 M20J, for the past two years. I live in Fort Lauderdale, FL and have just relocated her to KBCT as I was able to get a hangar there. I’ve been flying for about 15 years and am commercial rated and have my CFI/CFII/MEI. I recently found a IA who will mentor me and I will be doing an owner assisted annual shortly and performing owner assisted maintenance going forward – I want to get my A&P someday when I’ve gained the required experience. I credit Mooneyspace (and Mike Busch) for inspiring me to work on my own aircraft as every time I looked something up online it was always a Mooneyspace posting that had great information and insight. You guys seem like a great group of people and I look forward to becoming part of and actively participating in this great community. Thank you! Matt

Today's flight... four segments. We took off from Brunswick, Maine into low fog, 030 OVC, but beautiful from about 050 and up. The first stop at Sullivan County was for the dog. That changed our routing a little, and added a stop. The second stop at Mt Sterling for cheap fuel. The third stop was in Memphis for some BBQ with @neilpilot. It was great to be able to meet another MooneySpace'er in person, especially over some real Memphis BBQ. Then finally the last leg home to San Marcos dodging just a few cells in the last 30 minutes of the flight. All in all a good day to cross at least half of the country in a Mooney. Almost 1600 miles.

It was a beautiful evening yesterday so decided to go out and get some more hours on the Lancair (shooting for that magical 150 hours so I can send it off to paint). Took a couple that have been friends of my wife and I for 40 years (and missed an opportunity to go a week ago because they were golfing). We first flew around a hot air balloon that floated past us at the airport while fueling. He was 4 miles west and heading south west. It was the same one I filmed a week ago. Seems we've had some nice hot air balloon weather lately. We headed north towards the Keweenaw Peninsula but as we approached Lake Superior decided to fly east along the lake shore, checking out the Huron Mountains. This area is mostly owned by "big, but old, money" families, called the "Huron Mountain Club". It's been said Henry Ford wanted to join this group in his early days, they declined his membership request because he wasn't "rich enough", and he later land locked them in by purchasing all the land around them as he made it big himself. He eventually gave them easement for access, once he proved his point. There is a beautiful old lodge on Lake Independence in Big Bay that he built as his get away, which is still standing today. It has been used as a bar/restaurant recently but I can't tell you if it's still open. Anyway, enjoy the pictures! Tom

So it's been four very difficult and expensive annuals and finally on number five we made it through with only a couple of minor issues. We replaced the vernatherm looking to correct my high oil temps. The old one came out looking quite worn. The test flight to 6500 on a 90 plus degree day leveled out at 204 degrees and dropped to 195 after level cruise. Prior was getting 220 and even hit 230 on one flight to only 4000 feet. Having Robert back at LASAR was like getting a fresh set of eyes on Snoopy since he had never seen it or my logs so he really gave it a close and thorough inspection. Won't know for sure how the oil temps end up until we have made a couple of flights to prove consistently that the temp is down. Three days and one morning to complete. And as for owner assistance the first question I was asked was are you going to help us because they were short one mech and they were happy I said I was going to help. I know all the jokes about owner assist making it more work but they know and trust my skill levels which allowed them to continue working on other planes in the shop. its been a challenge getting Snoopy back in shape but I think we're getting things all sorted out. No illusions about this being the case every time it's still a 53 year old airplane and will continue to need lots of attention of the coming years.

My wife brought her friend along on our flight to Quakertown for the July 4th pilot BBQ. It was her first time up in a GA plane so we did a diversion to do some sightseeing in the NYC area first. Over the VZ, up the Hudson, past downtown. There was a Yankees TFR so at the intrepid I turned direct Teterboro and then direct Quakertown. Video compilation of the BBQ, flying, and her reaction to her first flight here:

I dunno, it'd not like they make these anymore. I tend to think of myself as a steward of my aircraft, someone who keeps it flying nor the next generation. I never like to see aircraft get dismantled. They really don't make them like that anymore.

FINALLY!! The 252 is out of the shop and airworthy again. It's got a resealed right wing, a repaired spar cap, and a new panel. All in only seven months! Yesterday we flew from Austin to Minneapolis for a backyard BBQ. I know you're thinking we went the wrong direction for BBQ. Then today we flew from Minneapolis to Brunswick, Maine. It was all IFR, and lots of IMC. We got some overwater time on three of the Great Lakes. The original plan was two legs, but we broke up the second leg into two just to be sure and have plenty of fuel for any and all diversions we might need. And we needed a few. All in all, a good way to get across the country and a good plane to do it in.

So far , Pulled the interior , inspected the cage , sprayed the cage with corrosion-x , pulled the foil off of the splice plates , splice plates are clean , reinstalled interior ,removed sound insulation as it was pushing out the interior panels, repaired short in instrument breaker , Replaced KMA24 with KMA 28 , Replaced Apollo 618 and antenna , with Apollo GX55 and antenna , Replaced all the cowl fasteners with new , Disassembled mag , cleaned and adjusted points , set E-gap , cleaned and gapped plugs , Changed oil and filter and added Camguard (a case was in the plane ) , Replaced gear biscuits with 5 year old biscuits , Replaced exhaust tail pipe , Replaced glare shield with used one , Lubed the hell out of everything , Replaced ADF antenna , Reconstructed logs completely back to 2009 , Got airworthiness cert replaced , Ordered 3 new goodyear tires , Removed jugs for O/haul , Inspected cam lobes , performed SB208 , Annualed prop , replaced avionics lenses , scrubbed the living hell out of the plane , Cleaned K&N filter , replaced turn coordinator with used unit , rebuilt all 4 fuel caps , swung gear , Getting there slowly.......

Ventured out into the Carribean with my traveling circus over the 4th through last weekend. Half of our time was spent in the Treasure Cay/Abaco area, and the other half was spent in Nassau. Regretted wasting time in Nassau...but otherwise, it was a fantastic trip. We'll definitely be back...next time to explore Elbow Cay.

I guess its guilty confession time. I had a prop strike on my aircraft last year. Almost the exact same situation, coming into a shorter strip than I usually land with an obstacle. I pulled power after the obstacle to loose the altitude, and came in at 70-75 mph. That said, the sink was just too much, and I hit hard and struck the prop. Not as good at energy management as I thought I was, and I'm still not to this day. But better. Two big differences. I hadn't come in too fast and had to go around. And I pulled the throttle after that bounce. I knew the situation was bad and didn't want to add energy to the equation. I had an asymmetric curl in the prop blades (just like the accident pilot) and a busted cam shaft. If you want to know why I was gone so long (assuming you noticed), there you have it. I feel horrible about pranging my airplane (the only good thing was I was delivering it to my mechanic)... but it could have been lots, lots worse. One can land a Mooney on a 3000 ft strip quite easily. I just did a 2800 ft strip a couple weeks ago, and again over an obstacle. But you really, really do have to control your energy. Too much and overshoot, or you bounce and porpoise. Too little and you hit hard. I was ready to give up aviation entirely after that. I realized I was not the pilot I thought I was. I'm still not, and I'm still not convinced I should in the game. But I will endeavor to do better.

It had been a week and one half since I was up, terrible weather and fixing some squawks. I'll never get this thing painted if I don;t get the hours on it though. Yesterday was a beautiful day so decided to go up after dinner. I called 7 different people to go flying and ended up solo again. I flew up to the top of Michigan (the Keweenaw Peninsula), passing right over the Houghton / Hancock Airport. You can see the peninsula stretching out into Lake Superior, and the hilly terrain along the spine of it. That's really nice snowmobile and biking territory with a view of Lake Superior to the east and west along parts of it. I was high to add pressurization time to the fuselage (one of my goals before paint) with a cabin pressure of 6K while flying at 17.5K. The Mooney was not looking happy when I shut down in front of the hangar. :>) It's a pretty tight squeeze getting 3 birds in a 42' x 64' hangar. Tom

It is with great pleasure that I have to announce that Van Allen Airmotive (Mooneyspace member dva) will sponsor the 2017 MooneySpace social gathering scheduled to happen in Oshkosh on Monday July 24th, 18:30 at the Mooney Caravan tent. Here are sone details about this business: Van Allen Airmotive is located in Allentown PA at Queen City Airport KXLL. We provide major airframe and engine services to GA singles and twins with light airframe and power plant to turboprops. As a Mooney owner, Dave Van Allen has a passion for the brand and offers special rates to Mooneyspace members on annuals and fuel tank reseals. Dave will be in Oshkosh for the entire show and looks forward to meeting forum members. Yves

I read somewhere that you should only cycle the prop with full flaps if you have an AOA indicator, otherwise you'll burn up the cylinders.

Had to be in court at 8:30 this morning in Burbank. I've driven it before; it takes about an hour (if no accidents) to get there by car, and ninety minutes or more to get from the courthouse to my office on the westside of Los Angeles mid-day after whatever hearing. So today I flew. SMO to BUR and back took about 6 minutes each way in the air (tack on a few minutes for taxi, runup, etc). From parking my Jeep at my tie-down to stepping into the courtroom: 35 minutes. (SMO is about 5 minutes from my office.) The return trip? About the same. Bonus: Holding short behind a Spitfire and watching it depart... Parked next to another Mooney at Atlantic at Burbank (N5808F, with a decal of Wiley E. Coyote riding a rocket on the vertical stabilizer); I think we were the only two piston planes there.

Not corrosion , its just the way the pic is , The only corrosion so far has been the ADF antenna was trashed , and the Dzus fasteners are rusty , Every plane is a different story , one thing for sure is that sitting is not good for any machine , There are mitigating factors sometimes....One is price , one is where they sit , ..... So far I have only put 900 dollars into the project , ( new tailpipe , used glareshield , used battery , used pucks , 70 gals fuel , new lenses for a few of the radios ) I don't go into these things with my eyes closed , You will hear the (experts) rip it apart , I love when the experts chime in and give their opinions , I have bought and sold many aircraft and over the years only one had a cam issue , The best part about this project is that it came off a property that had 40 cats on it , there is NO rodent or bird damage at all...took me a while to put the two together , also sat in an area that got direct sunlight , Anyhow , The engine purrs like a kitten , (had to clean the points to get it started ) and the autopilot and F/D ground check , So far the only squawks are the lighting in the dash , and the Monroy traffic detector wont turn on , I'm pretty confident this will make a nice bird and I cant wait to fly it....Haven't flown a J in 20 years ..

I got my Kool Scoop today. Decide to install it flush to the window without the hinge. I trim the edges for a perfect fit and cut out the hinge section. Put it in the window opening and pinch the edge with the window knob. It holds in place very well. Taxi around and got a hurricane draft. I store the scoop in the side panel pouch normally used for charts. José

An airplane advertised for sale is expected to be airworthy. and the seller should be responsible for anything that is an airworthiness item. A good prebuy inspection by a Mooney shop is important. LASAR uses a Prebuy list and it usually cost about $1700

I went out today to shoot some circuits in my RV-4. While holding short I look out to see a B-17 approaching to fly over head the field. "Tower forget the circuits, I'm going to chase that B-17" I was able to fly a loose formation with "Sentimental Journey" who was transitting southern Ontario on its way to North Bay Ontario for an air show. What a great flight! Sadly I had no camera or cell phone to snap some pictures! Clarence

How I love my 67F and it's ability to carry my whole family of 4 with 140lbs of baggage and 64 gallons of fuel at 145ktas at 7.8gph peak. I am so glad I spent less money for an F, as opposed to the J. I give praise to the J for what it does, as the other models, but in the spirit of the rifleman's creed ... This is my F. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My F is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my F is useless. Without my F, I am useless. I must fly my F true. I must fly straighter than the Cirrus who is trying to kill me. I must depart before he lands on me. I will… My F and I know that what counts in flying is not the smooth taxi, the noise of our prop, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is efficiency that counts. We will be efficient… My F is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its yoke and its envelope. I will keep my F clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will… Before Al Mooney, I swear this creed. My F and I are the defenders GA's right to exist. We are the masters of our politicians.

I would only do them in preparation for a touch and go after a no flap takeoff while LOP.

Finally got 68Q home. Now the slow work starts. Don't know which is more tired. Trailer that was used so many years ago to move it or the plane. Would have preferred to remove the tail from the tailcone but bolts broke instead of sliding out.

I guess the problem I have with this line of reasoning is that you always have options. And this was no exception. The Cirrus POH (actually FOM) is one of the best most detailed ones out there and I believe it and their standardized training program have been very responsible in greatly improving the fleets early higher accident rates. They devote a separate document to just CAPS deployment. Although they don't specifically cite an absolute minimum altitude for deployment because they say it depends on several factors and they say they have only demonstrated it to within 400' AGL and then add as of 2013 a pilot successfully deployed it at 444' AGL and their were 5 fatals with CAPs deployments too close to the ground to deploy, Cirrus has also said it should work to 300' AGL if maintaining straight and level flight but if the aircraft is coming down they say it can take 400' to deploy it and 920' if in a spin. There other key point with their training and POH is the need to perform the industry standard safety brief before departure. This may not be universal but Cirrus didn't invent this, its being preached by the majority of training organizations and is prudent for all of pilots because just as Cirrus underlines, its too late to be on takeoff and start making unanticipated decisions about if you are high enough to deploy or even high enough to turn back and just which way you will turn or where you might land. But in performing a pre-takeoff brief, the pilot verbalizes several key decision points such as what minimum airspeed he/she will continue the takeoff run past the half way point of the runway, what minimum altitude he/she will deploy the chute if a problem and what minimum MSL altitude he/she will turn back to a runway and which runway taking into account the airport physical environment as well as weather conditions while their is time to give it some thought. I doubt the pilot would have briefed deploying the chute below the min demonstrated deployment altitude of 400' when he had wide open space ahead. But we know the NTSB is going to say the pilot deployed the chute below the minimum demonstrated altitude. How can we not conclude that better emergency training and following procedures to self brief would have helped this pilot survive the accident? To me this is a wake up call to any pilot not yet self briefing each departure to go over their emergency plan before taking the runway.

I was able to break in my week-old IFR ticket today. Flight from NC to southeastern WI. Stayed IFR and got vectored way over the middle of Lake Michigan to avoid Chicago. Spent about 45 min over water. Eery feeling. Going to try to avoid that again (especially without life preservers or a raft). Next time I'll cancel IFR and go VFR up the coast. Stopped at Columbus IN (KBAK) for breakfast along the way. Great spot! Had about 30min of IMC too. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Took a friend up for his first Mooney flight! Just a quick little hop around central AZ, over Lake Pleasant, wide berth around a wild fire TFR and then back to base. He's flown with me in a 172 several times and tried his hand at flying them. I turned the controls over to him in the Mooney and his first comment was "Wow, it's like this thing is on rails. I just barely move the yoke and it does what I want. The cessna felt like it had a lot more slop! Gotta love the pushrod controls! When we left the field, it was pretty quiet. On the way back, I actually was momentarily told to stay clear of the Class D. It was a zoo! Finally got on the ground (I was number 5 for landing! and this with 2 runways) and taxied over to fuel. As we were fueling her back up, I saw a coyote wandering around parallel to the runway about midfield. Called up ground on the handheld just to let them know. Coyote was getting pretty close to crossing the runway, but a departing Extra 300 changed his mind pretty quick! Also, you'll see some pics of a 1948 Luscombe 8E. You might notice there's something 'funny' looking about the cowling. Let me know if you can figure out what's 'wrong' with this particular plane. As far as I know, it's a one of a kind.

Something just wasn't right with this this little trinket and so I fixed it. Now it's a proper flying machine. -Sven

UpDate,,,,,, My Very Special Day!! the lead up is that i bought a cherokee south of boise on 3-14-17.it wasnt until 6-23 that i got back there to bring it home, it had some gas in it, so i flew it 25 mi to nampa for my 1st solo and landing in 28 yrs, to get gas,,, then i flew 375 mi to my home drome, kpwt.. it wasnt until 6-28 that i went back to My airport, to pay for my tiedown, and to sit in my plane, just for the heII of it. I finally went out again on 7-12, got her fired up,, taxied over and filled her up to the tabs,, i spent about 3 hours in the hot cockpit doing maintenance, it made me feel great! So for the special day part. 7-13-17,, I enjoyed a relaxed 20 min drive from home to My airport,, Then i walked like a pilot across the ramp to My Own Plane,, then,,, I went Flying!! For an hr., made an ugly landing,, but my best in 28 yrs.. It feels great to finally realize that I can go and fly anytime i want,, and you know what? I might just go out tomorrow and do it again!

We continue to read sad tales of purchases gone wrong. I have a list which we use in the shop combined with years old experience, I will happily post the list I use tomorrow. I am asking you to help add additional items as necessary to improve it so that possibly others can avoid the pitfalls we read about. Any volunteers ? Clarence

Should control of interstate highways be turned over to trucking companies?

After being in contact with Griggs Aircraft every few weeks since Jan , it looks like the old O&N STC will be finally transfered on Aug 8 th. The final FAA inspection will be completed that day and will be given approval same day. Long story but I've been waiting since Jan to get these bladders to get my bird back in the air. Ruth Griggs has been extremely helpful and informative thru this process. Keeping me updated with progress . I'm told I will be getting the first bladder kit to go out the door and can't wait because only thing holding up my bird is the tanks. I can't explain how elated I am in the fact I almost sold my bird after the news I needed bladders and couldn't afford them at the time. But since Jan I have landed several side jobs which has made it possible to keep my beloved bird. So anyone needing a bladder kit for a Mooney less than a month away !!!

This was a couple of days ago, and I made a longer post in the Vacation section, but I think this counts as "flight-seeing"... Over western Montana and northern Idaho.

Soon you too can share videos like this

20+ hours in 7 days. Phoenix to San Antonio to New Orleans. It was awesome! I definitely learned a lot along the way. Weather is something I've never really had to deal with, being in AZ. Here, pretty much, if it isn't severe clear - it's icing or bad thunderstorms. This was the first time I've had to choose VFR over the top or flying underneath. And make the decision in the air. I'd check METARs or ATIS and get an idea of what the ceilings were like ahead of us. In some cases, the field we wanted to land at was under an overcast at 3000', but the cloud tops were only 5000'. So, I had to decide when it was time to 'duck under' to get to my destination VFR. I almost had to fly to an alternate on the way from DVT-PEQ. PEQ was reporting OVC at 3000', but was forecast to clear up. So, I planned an alternate to Marfa, which was clear. We went over the top from about El Paso til we were about 30nm from PEQ before the clouds started breaking. I found a big hole and descended through. Worked out pretty good, but I was sure glad I had a couple alternates within fuel range. Speaking of fuel.... My C burns a lot less than I thought it would. I flight planned for 10.5GPH, but I was burning more like 7.9-8.4gph at 19" and 2500 RPM, with my hottest CHT always held at 380 or under. TAS of 155-160mph. I could have gone faster, but I don't think it would have been more than 5 or 10 mph for a lot more fuel burn. I had calculated that I could fly for about 4 hours, with 1 hour reserve. After this, with those cruise settings, I'd say I could fly for 4.5 with 1 hour reserve. However, by the 4 hour mark, I'm REALLY ready to land and empty the bladder and walk around for a bit... Mostly, I learned that I need my instrument rating... It sure would have made life a lot easier.

Once I'm dead, I'm fine with an alligator or any other creature making use of my corpse. Much cheaper than spending heaps of money on funeral, burial, casket, or even cremation. The family can have a wake/celebration of life/or whatever they like. It won't bother me one way or the other

Here's the sort of panel a '66E deserves:

There are some people who fly the whole pattern at full flaps and slow There are some people that are at the top of gear speed abeam the numbers There are some people that worry about an engine going out in the pattern There are some people who fly short final at 70 mph There are some people who can fly the plane on at 90 mph There are some people who know that if you pull up just a bit between the fence and runway you can get rid of a bunch of energy There are some people that think a stabilized approach is 70 mph all the way down final There are some people that need numbers to land a plane There are some people that can fly a plane There are some people that don't believe in seat of your pants flying There are some people that believe that seat of the pants flyers are more able to adapt when abnormal conditions are presented

See our own Seth Meyers promoting the use of his Missile as a business time machine while speaking out against ATC privatization on NoPlaneNoGain. If you are passionate about this issue contact your representative through the NBAA Contact Congress tool - www.nbaa.org/action.

Did quit a bit of flying this weekend. Went to Chehalis Washington for an impromptu FATPNW fly in. Got to meet so pretty cool people and enjoyed the food at the golf course. Flew on down to Troutdale and spent the night with family then flew on home. Got to see N5355Q that I got my license in back in 2005. The 451 nautical miles was a breeze in Freedom. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I know many on the forum think little about hearing loss simply because they have not noticed loss themselves. I have been aware of my own hearing loss recently as I've finally passed that threshold of realization. When I got back into flying four or five years ago I bought a set of Lightspeed state of the art noise canceling headsets thinking it was my best deterant for hearing loss. I think I was wrong. I've seemed to kept the low frequency hearing fairly well but have just about lost the high frequency range. It's pretty disheartening when you can no longer wake up in the morning and hear birds sing just outside your bedroom window. Someone mentioned in a previous post that they use foam ear plugs under their headset so I tried this the other day and was amazed at the improvement! I could hear the conversation way better, actually turned the volume down, and I assume the high frequencies were probably substantially blocked by the plugs while the low frequencies were blocked by the noise cancelling headset. I only wish I had taken this approach five years ago, maybe I'd still be able to hear birds sing in the AM. So, in my book, don't be lulled down the path thinking noise cancelling headsets give great all around hearing protection, I don't think they do. I'm not an audiologist but I think the best hearing protection might be a set of Clarity Aloft type with a secondary noise cancelling set on top of these. If nothing else just try the foam earplugs under your headset. Once your hearing is gone it doesn't just somehow come back. Take care of it while you can!

I don't. I own the plane, it barely costs me anything to taxi back, I enjoy my time spent flying, I don't like the risks involved with touch and goes so I see no purpose. Hypothetically, if I were to do it, I would land full flaps, retract on the ground, and take off no flaps. The runway would have to be ridiculously long.

Currently in training: