Leaderboard

A bit of an update. It's a long one. And on the detonation topic, the VP UL100E fuel gave an update on potential changes and performance differences over the weekend. I was able to add it at the last minute just after the intro.

I will be formally retiring at the end of 2026. It’s hard to believe I’ve spent more than 45 years in the weather business, and nearly 30 of those years as a flight instructor. Weather and aviation have shaped so much of my life—my work, my friendships, and a whole lot of memorable days. Now it’s time to turn the page. I’m looking forward to slowing the pace, spending more time with my grandkids, and—over the next couple of decades—traveling to interesting places around the world with my wife. I have to say it out loud or it’ll never happen. So…what does retirement look like for me? Mostly, it looks like making room for new adventures and gently setting weather and aviation to the side. I’ve shared what I can, and I don’t think I have much more weather wisdom left to impart to the aviation world. It feels like the right time to step out of the light and let the next generation take it from here. That said, I’m not disappearing overnight. I still plan to manage and maintain my EZWxBrief progressive web app for at least a few more years. I’d hate to shut it down while so many long-time aviation friends still rely on it daily for preflight planning. I will, however, be ending my 1-on-1 online training at the end of this year—my day-to-day volunteer activities won’t leave me with the kind of open schedule that training requires. You also won’t see me at aviation events like AirVenture or SUN ’n FUN as a vendor or forum speaker (including this year). Instead, I’d like to go purely for the joy of it—and maybe take my grandkids once or twice so they can experience the magic. Beyond that, I don’t plan to take on additional speaking engagements or hold classes past 2026. I’ve truly loved teaching pilots at every experience level about weather, but it’s time to pass the torch. I do plan to keep writing. I’ll continue to provide occasional content to various aviation magazines, and I’ll keep selling my two books and the Weather Essentials recorded classes. That should keep me connected to the aviation world—just at a comfortable distance—for a little while longer. And as for the forums… I’ll likely stop posting and reading most of them (at least the ones that haven’t banned me). But I’ll still be around, and I expect I’ll be answering the occasional email for the foreseeable future. Thank you to everyone who’s been part of this journey with me. It’s meant more than I can say.

George is an engine guy. He focused on engine performance, especially detonation margin. He's not a materials guy and probably didn't do enough testing there. Now he's in deep having spent a lot of time and money developing G100UL. Human nature says he will defend it to the end. Look at how many of us defend our positions on all kinds of things in the face of evidence to the contrary when we believe we are right. George has done a lot for GA over the years and I hope that this somehow works out for him, but it seems pretty obvious that the negatives outweigh the positives for G100UL.

Being polite was how I was raised. No need to lead with emotion when the facts speak pretty well for themselves.

Lubrication. I've read the threads here and often refer back to them when going over my plane. More specifics on how to apply lubrication to areas such as universal joints and tubes where they pass through guide blocks. Should we remove previous lubricants? Where to look for signs and symptoms of wear? -David

I have decided to call it quits. At 87 years old, no insurance company will offer me a quote, liability or hull coverage, in a Mooney. Worse yet, I have not been flying enough to even begin to justify the costs (as if I ever could). But worst of all, the frequency of my flying does not allow me to remain proficient. I am not likely a danger to myself or others in good VFR conditions, but somewhere, sometime, I know that I would extend a little too far with weather considerations, and I just don't need that risk. My plane is up for sale, I will still be keeping up with Mooneyspace, and all my friends here. I still plan on continuing "Visors By Muncy" and hawking my wares (Visors, cabin light timers, tugs). Don

Hello, Mooney Community! I'll be closing on an M20D tomorrow morning. First airplane, quite excited. Just introducing myself, as I'll likely be using the forum as a familiar resource on the regular moving forward. Caleb C. Mitchell, 39, from Hebron, Nebraska. Just earned my private license this month. Will primarily be using the aircraft to visit my parents and haul my father back and forth for cancer treatments (Loveland CO to Houston TX). Will also use for personal business. Hopefully the occasional "just for fun" trip. The bird is N6631U. Cheers!

Started this morning with full group of pilots Our first PPP of 2026. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I used to do things like quit organizations when I didn't like something going on internally, but, somewhere along the way, I figured out that if I quit an organization solely because I didn't like it's internal politics, I wouldn't be a member of anything.

In short, the Aerocruze 100 at my approximate all in price of 11K was worth it. The GFC500 complete setup all in was going to be roughly 32K. I figure 70% of the performance for about a third the price. '76 Ranger with the Aspen E5, GNC 355, MX 170C, AV30 back up, everything else close to original and analog. I purchased the autopilot a couple years ago. Initial install shop ran into the bracket issues and did not want to take it further. Wasn't able to find a shop that would install it so it sat in a box on my hangar floor for seems like two years. Through a contact here on MS, found out about an avionics shop in Oklahoma that had done a bunch of AeroCruze installs including all types of Mooney's. Super nice folks, bit of a cross country from Ohio, but at this point I just wanted it done. Flew the Ranger to them right out of its annual directly. Once they went into the box, they found the previous shop HAD actually cut on the bracket but in a way that rendered it unusable. So, $500 and an email to Duncan/BK, had a new bracket on the way. I was actually surprised it only took them about a week to get it to the shop. That surprise added some time to the install and my crazy work schedule, it ended up 5 weeks from drop off to pick up. The shop told me the standard settings from BK seem to work in Mooney's, they've never had to tweak one yet. They did a really nice job at the price they promised, cleaned up some wiring, and were very communicative during the process. One test flight with the avionics guy, everything looked good, flew home that same day. I've now got a couple flights in, no long cross countries but I've done several coupled approaches VMC including missed to a published hold. I've got a tell ya, I am kind of impressed. What is crazy is I do this for a living in "big iron" with more capable systems and it is still a barrel of fun to watch it happen in my little Mooney. The airplane did not have an a/p before. It does have idiosyncrasies that I was forewarned about from the avionics shop. When the a/p priority switch is in Aspen, the autopilot follows the Aspen's heading bug. Its 10% lazy. It will mildly overshoot then come back, eventually settling on the heading. The shop explained it has to do with the routing of info between GPS, Aspen, and A/P. When the priority switch is in GPS, it follows whatever the Garmin is doing precisely. Altitude hold is okay but not stellar like I have experienced in some Garmin autopilots. The yokes have been lubed, minimal friction in the system. It doesn't do a bad job, sometimes a very mild PIO +/- 50 ft. I have flown through some mild, occasional moderate turbulence and it actually held altitude to a tighter tolerance. The shop told me the folks at Duncan said you could leave the trim annunciation wiring unconnected to save on all the nuisance indications from the display head. They hooked it up and told me to accept the fact, the a/p is never going to like where you set the trim. And that's pretty much how it works. I know where my trim should be ball park, so I set it according to what I am doing and just let the AeroCruze blink "up" or "down". If you hold the yoke a/p button in, it goes into Control Wheel Steering, and that's what I use once in a while to ensure its in trim. Every once in a blue moon, the screen will be blank for a little while but rest assured it will start wanting trim again even if you've proven its fine by kicking it off and letting the airplane fly hands off. Coupled approaches work as advertised especially if you don't have a moron pilot like me at the controls who forgets to start trimming pitch on a go around. I let the a/p take me down on an LPV to below minimums ( all VMC), pressed the ALT button for GA, pushed in power and watched the airplane pitch up for a 500 fpm climb, then watched it pitch WAY UP as my dense brain realized I should really be working that trim wheel down and quickly. Once past idiocy, Ranger cleaned up, it climbed 500 fpm to the MAA of 2800, leveled off, flew out to the hold, beautiful tear drop entry, then proceeded to go round and round without missing a beat. I handled trim, gear, power and flaps but never touched the yoke. Really nice. I've pushed the "Blue" button, (level), four times after maneuvering the airplane into some unusual attitudes. Up to 60 degrees of bank, maybe 15 to 20 in pitch, no high airspeeds though. Its never failed to come on and quickly level the airplane and hold it steady. Although the trim annunciation was blinking like crazy, it never showed clutch slippage or failed to hold the airplane stable. With only two buttons, one knob, and limited display size for the control head, there is button-ology to learn and not all that intuitive. I think with usage, I will get better, but it does take a couple more inputs to get different things done than I would like. Its internal AHRS aligns FAST! I mean its ready to go within 5 seconds of power up. My AV30 is second, my Aspen takes longest, almost gotta sit on my hands for patience. My conclusion. If you have Dynon or are going Dynon and their latest a/p news, that's an easy one. Stick with Dynon. If I knew 5 years ago what I know now, I'd have gone Dynon from the get go. GFC500 would be the best all around especially if you've already gone largely Garmin and/or you own an M20J or better, the value is there even at 35k. For us vintage owners, especially the 180 horse and analog or basic glass panel folks, the AeroCruze is a hard deal to beat. I think its a huge boost to safety even for the VFR pilot. 10-15k in is still a lot of money! However when comparing our current choices for certified aircraft, I think it is worth the spend. AeroValley LLC in Paul's Valley, OK did the install. Give them a shout if curious. They helped me out in transportation too. Plus Amtrak runs back and forth between Dallas and Ok City, like 11 bucks.

Take it to a MSC or a mechanic who has a good knowledge of Mooneys so they can put it up on jacks and investigate. Don’t put it off.

@mluvara latest testing video is very concerning. Do I think these tests should be done in a scientific setting with better controls and repeatability, yes, but they point out very concerning issues. If g100ul does in fact permeate like that, no amount of anything will keep it from destroying anything it is around in short order, or over time. It is also a fire and safety hazard. @George Braly either didn't do due diligence in full testing, doesn't really understand materials science or has a materials engineer at gami, wanted to use the fleet as the test. OK, we are all human. Or the worst knew about it and did not let anyone know. He had a chance to tackle this probably when issues started, become transparent and involve the aviation, science, and engineering community. For blaming technology of 50, 60 years ago is not winning hearts or minds and is completely deflecting. If g100ul only works for the latest engineered parts, OK, own it. If more work needs to happen on the formula, OK own it. I had high hopes for it and had strong respect for George until the constant deflecting. Not sure he realizes, he is digging the grave of gami, single handedly. Which actually takes talent and the desire to do so.

We need to be really clear about the legal governance issues surrounding AOPA and what rights we as members have - and don't have. AOPA is a trustee-led 501C3 corporation - it is not a member-managed organization with a board of directors, like EAA. As a member of AOPA, we have zero governance oversight. Our proxies are not used for voting. They are only for quorum purposes. Witholding your proxy is meaningless. There are no rights associated with it and we cant just give our proxy to someone else not on the Board of Trustees, because that doesnt exist as a thing. As "members" we get the right to be customers - and that is it. We get the magazine, the legal services plan access, lapel wings, and other benefits, including representation. We have NO governance authority at all as members, and no say in how the Corporation is run. Think of it like being a member of Costco..... The more serious long term issue is that AOPA could be diminished in its clout in Congress as a result of all of this. You can criticize them for not acting on this issue or that, but I have been to many AOPA events where there were one or more congressmen in attendance - that kind of attention doesnt come easily. if we lose that kind of power, that is not good for anyone. Our industry needs a strong AOPA. Every 10 years there is an existential threat and if AOPA isnt there, the tanks roll through the fence - look at things like privatization, and GARA - infrequent threats or opportunities, but you have one shot to get it right or bad stuff happens. I don't know how this resolves itself, but the outcomes and long term unintended consequences are scary.

I agree entirely and understand the sentiment. You’re surely not alone so this directed more to the sentiment shared by many rather than you directly. But i feel GA needs AOPA and without them GA flying will go the way of flying in Europe with ridiculous fees and overly zealous restrictions. I don’t think we should abandon AOPA but do everything we can to straighten out their direction to include our needs as i believe Darren was trying to do. I am an EAA member as well but i don’t see them as a replacement for AOPA. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Rely on the hangar fairies. They come in, in the middle of the night and magically fix things. They make them just like brand new. Do you think an IA or an FAA inspector is going to walk by your airplane, notice your dimmer works perfectly and has a brand new potentiometer, and knowing that it should be old and crappy, demands that you prove that that is the original pot? Just make sure your hangar fairies know what they are doing. If they do crap work, the IA might notice.

this is 100LL in comparison

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We just got a couple of Gibson cylinders in that the customer supplied for a bonanza, they painted all of the flanges, but they didn’t paint the barrels black, and they also painted the exhaust port. So by the time we stripped the paint under where all the base nuts go, and we stripped the paint off the exhaust flange that takes time to do. And then we had to put the cylinder on the second day to get the paint stripper time to work. The honing looks like it was done with a bottle brush by hand, and the scratches were 45 degrees at the bottom of the barrel and 30 or less at the top of the barrel. We didn’t even have time to check the choke and out of roundness and the bore diameter but I bet you that stuff wasn’t straight either. It looks like a bottle brush hone was used on the cylinder and then they painted it with a rattle can in nine minutes and sent it out. I wouldn’t put a Gibson cylinder on my Neighbors weedeater.

Update. Last year after discovering the problem, I ordered a new tail stinger skin because I was worried that the factory might close for good. Surprisingly cheap. 400 dollars. Shipped out right away. Came alodined and chromate primer on the inside. Even with the new Lasar price increase it is still cheap. I took the airplane on January 19 to Don Maxwell to have the skin installed. The entire thing including matching the paint came to about 3200 dollars. Don Maxwell said the condition of the fairing rubbing against the stinger is not unusual or unknown on the modern models, so you should check your every time you take the fairing off. He has a guy who actually likes to do them and is very efficient. You don't even need to order the skin from the factory as Don says they have the template and usually make them in the shop. At any rate, my airplane is now has a fully restored factory new tail stinger that looks great! By the way, when I was there yesterday, I spied an M22 in paint shop. Someone is doing a big restoration!

Insurance is a form of risk management called transfer. You pay a premium to transfer a financial risk to another party. It makes no sense to over or under insure. Professional risk managers are adept at matching the policy with the actual risk. This is the point about insurance often missed when the focus is on the cost of the policy and not the management of the risk. (BTW, there are four formal methods to manage risk: Accept (self-insure), Avoid it (sell the airplane), Mitigate (don't carry passengers), Transfer (buy insurance)).

I’ve been sweating it out again being 78 this year and insured with Brown but luckily my agent discussed my pilot proficiency training every year a yearly IPC etc and was renewed although at a 10% increase I’m more than happy to pay.

The problem I have with the fueling hygiene deal is that this guarantees that your paint will eventually be damaged because all it takes is one slip up and no fueling process is going to be 100% perfect. Having just paid $40K for a paint job, that’s a deal killer for me even if all the other issues were moot.

I tried Aircraft Spruce, but they got back to me after a day and said they couldn't supply the dials. I next did a Google search for Rochester Sensors distributors, and the first name that came up was John M Ellsworth. I asked them to quote price, delivery and minimum order quantity for a 5404S02105 dial and they promptly responded with $59.55 ea, 4-6 week lead time and no minimum order quantity. They took my order for two with a credit card charge of $146.23 including tax and shipping and emailed an order verification. I'm kind of surprised it was that easy -- we'll see what happens come 4-6 weeks.

So, an update to the "missing" corrosion post. I posted a topic about some corrosion that was found in the wings on my Mooney during annual back in October. The mechanics found some corrosion in both wings during annual inspection and deemed the aircraft unairworthy. Also during annual they found evidence of rodents in both wings. Dead mice, droppings, etc. I posted pictures in this group and at least one person here recommended that I file an insurance claim. Some local folks that I know were also encouraging me to file the claim. So, I filed the insurance claim and provided the insurance with everything they asked for. Upon review of the information that I submitted, the insurance made the decision to pay for the repairs. I took the plane to Don Maxwell in mid December and am now waiting on the repairs to be completed. Thank you hammdo for picking me up and taking me back home!

That is a hard question to answer since every salvage airframe is different. Every variable is at play from airframe damage, engine/prop times and damage, installed avionics, and even location. Some can be fairly easy to repair like a "regular" gear-up victim, but others make no economic sense due to the amount of damage relative to finished value. Obviously a 2018 Ultra can withstand a lot more repair labor than a '65 C and still be viable. If you watch ebay, every now and then you'll see a stripped carcass for sale from Wentworth... I hate when they do that! They buy the salvage, then take out all of the panel goodies and sometimes other bits and perhaps the engine, and then try to sell the airframe where they left it when there is little chance of flying it out. I bet many of those get cut up. I like BAS a lot better since they fully dismantle and catalog everything and don't waste any parts, at least as far as I can tell. They're very nice folks too. If you manage to find a good airframe that is a candidate to repair and fly, you can work backwards from what the finished & flying value might be and estimate your costs to get it there and see what it might be worth. In many cases if you start with a free airframe, it still might not make sense! If it has a lot of goodies installed and the engine isn't trashed, then it can make sense. But they're all different! And if you find one that is 2000 miles away from you, then it adds more cost versus a closer one. I've bid on 5-6 Mooney salvage auctions so far. I won my very first one in 2013 and missed the next several because those would've been "nice to have" and money-makers for me vs. the first one where I had specific things I wanted that had value to me, and I parted out the rest. It worked out well for me since I got far more familiar with Mooneys while dismantling it, and I "made" money beyond my costs, but only by counting my labor as $0/hr since it is a hobby. I just won another one but haven't retrieved it yet...hopefully next weekend. All of the ones I've bid/bought were too far gone to repair and fly. If you're mechanically inclined, have the interest, space and time/bandwidth then I would encourage anyone to consider buying their own salvage if you're a long-term owner. My motivation on the first was to get upgrades for my early J (back seats, overhead vent system, engine controls/console to delete my throttle quadrant, turbo normalizer, etc.) as well as spares like gear and flap actuator, engine parts, switches, circuit breakers, etc. I sold what I didn't want or need and it worked out, even though fielding inquires and selling/shipping is a hassle. I'm looking forward to my next one and will retain more parts for myself this time since the factory situation is still hazy.

You all rang? We are"The Plane Salon," a new sponsor / supporter here at Mooneyspace located in Southern California at KCPM, but we're not new to Mooneys. We paint them, we upholster them, install radios in them while keeping them flying and try to keep our customers happy. I learned how to fly Mooneys from Bill Grebe at the factory, Wes, Mike, and I can honestly say when Don Kaye taught me how to fly Mooneys better, he met everyone at the factory and started training a bunch more of us innocents! Our shop owns a K model, an E model, and a Mite - we'll be refurbishing all three soon. On leather: there are ALL SORTS of prices and qualities of leather, and how much people are willing to pay only affects this slightly. Townsend, Moore & Giles, Perrone, Aeristo, tons of qualities and pricing. On the price of a hide: here's a leather quote from one of the above vendors I obtained to match a customer's interior: " XXXX Lima (VA-T-1201) – 1,600 sqft available Price: $18.55 / sqft XXXX Bilbao (VA-R-0518) – 1,765 sqft available Price: $18.55 / sqft" Here is a wall of various leather colors from the above vendor and some others in our shop - there are about 800 hides of leather hanging there....we took off the plastic so you could see the variety and colors. A "hide" usually runs around 45-60 feet. That means the pricing above equates to about $1,100 a hide. Some are as little as $400-500. Automotive supply shops sell leather for about $5-9 a square foot, and your mileage definitely varies. How many hides does an interior take? From 3 to 5 for our four seaters. Sometimes, shops complement leather with various forms of vinyl (ultraleather, many names of XXXX "leather" which is actually synthetics.) On perforated leathers: This seat came from a J model. As you can tell, when people leave their Mooneys parked outside on the ramp, perforated leather sometimes fares very poorly. On fabrics: Some people like tweed, some like all sorts of fabrics. We are always happy to accommodate. On automotive shops: Automotive shops sometimes do marginal work that isn't suitable for our application, and some do nice work. From using wood and steel for some of the things they do, to some unsightly hog rings and other items, that sometimes leave a lesser finish, we've seen a thing or two. Some of our favorite shops here at Mooneyspace and some of the local shops in our area charge as much as $25k or more for a complete four seat interior; wonderful business for the work they do and much respect. We try to stay comfortably and sometimes much below less than half of that and our customers end up pretty satisfied. $1000-$1500 per seat tends to be somewhat common for many aviation shops. Once you add custom stitching, double stitching, patterning, embroidery, new foam, certified materials, the price will go up substantially at many shops beyond $2k a seat. Every seat doesn't have to be a masterpiece - some people want a simple, functional and attractive seat that doesn't break the bank. Here's a simple seat in leather done for a Piper Comanche - we had 24 hours to get the set done for someone who was desperate, so no time to fit each and every little detail, but they got done in record time: When you factor the above comment where Airtex sends seat covers for $2k, and you still have to spend time and money to install them, fit them, glue them, trim them all as billed labor, sometimes it simply makes more sense to have a shop remove and install their interior and build it custom. On sending out your seats: Sometimes people send us seats for completion in a pallet, including interior panels. Is there a universe in which I would have light colored seats in my plane? Here's a set for a 2008 Cessna 172 before final fitting / pulling and delivery. On the price of embroidery: Different shops charge different amounts. Our embroidery machine cost around $25k. We either throw it in or charge a minimal amount for it. On stitching: Peter T, Wingoever, Jet Driven and Slowflyin show various types of design topstitches....sometimes customers visit, bring their old seats, and we mark them up so they can share with us exactly some of the designs they want. Sometimes it takes time, and a lot of love and attention to make sure your desires come to life. We will sometimes sew custom patterns for customers with various threads and patters to ensure they are comfortable with designs before we put thread to fine leather. The stitching below is all done by hand - here are some for the golf carts we use at our shop when you guys visit. Sometimes people purchase materials that have already been stitched with CNC. Our craftsmen prefer to do it by hand as sometimes they have to find some flexibility in how the final product matches and fits. We are The Plane Salon in Southern California - feel free to come and visit us at KCPM or give us a call at 877-725-6652.

At least we shot down the balloon rather than letting it map all of North America's military bases.

Mine used to stumble about once or twice per hour at cruise altitude around 7k-9k. Rebuilt mag at 500hr did not change anything. Changing the plugs when it was time did not change anything. Installing a new set of wires when I discovered this was the cause of my radio interference fixed the radio reception, and the stumbles. I could not tell you the last time it stumbled and that has been about 7 years since mag harness change.

It shouldn't have dropped pressure with four quarts in the sump, unless the oil was geting very hot. +1 to just keep running it but keep a close eye on trends, both consumption and metals. If you're handy with a wrench and don't mind spending some quality time with your engine, get a good borescope and take a peek at the cylinders yourself from time to time. You are allowed to do this as the owner. This way you can start seeing what's normal or not, and get a peek at the sparkplugs at the same time. One thing to watch when doing this is how much oil is pooling in the cylinder. You may be able to identify a particular cylinder that is using more oil this way. This way if it does get to where you need to change a cylinder (if oil consumption continues to get much worse), you don't have to change all of them, just the one(s) most likely to be causing trouble. Angle valve cylinders are very difficult to get right now, so if you do have to pull a cylinder you may have to send it off for overhaul. There's always a risk when you do that that something is past overhaul limits and you'll be grounded until you can find a replacement. So just run it with an eye on it until it is evident that you really need to do something.

Actually Mike, AOPA has many very good programs and resources available to members. Everything from rusty pilot seminars that help folks get back in the air to a database of medication that is acceptable/unacceptable to the FAA, and most everything in between. These resources may not be valuable to you, but they are valuable to those who need and use them. And again for people who need or want them, the Pilot Protection Services is extremely valuable for consultation and recommendations regarding medical and legal issues. They were a great help when I received my first cancer diagnosis, and provided great counsel when I needed to speak with the FSDO after an inflight emergency. These things are worth supporting. I won’t argue the compensation issues are questionable at best. But I also won’t throw the baby out with the bath water when it comes to the value I receive for my dues. Having said that, this situation the board has created with Darren is unacceptable and must be addressed directly by the membership. Determining the best way to do that is the first step toward influencing any change.

Some of the guys that used to work at AWI in Minnesota (now owned by Hartzell) started up another aerospace welding company nearby in Rogers, Minnesota. https://aircraftexhaustsystemsllc.com/contact/

+1 that it's a standard part. It's also, imho, a minor modification and does not require a 337 even if the part is slightly different but functionally equivalent. It doesn't even really need to have the same taper (i.e., dimming profile) as the original, just the same resistance range, if you don't mind the difference in dimming profile. Likewise any resistor of the same resistance and wattage and form factor should be fine, as that's also a standard part. The pot should have at least the same power (Wattage) dissipation capability as the previous. The FSDO is often not a reliable source. You'll get the opinion of whoever you're talking to at the time, and the next time you call you may get a different opinion from somebody else. Unless the FSDO person you're talking to will be directly involved in your project and either personally inspecting or signing something off, your IA has the opinion that matters.

As @LANCECASPER suggested above, don't spend any money or time until you have verified with a qualified mechanic that there is no terminal corrosion. Once it gets started, there is usually no financially realistic way to correct it. If you get past that step, do what the Mooney experts do: remove the tail. Here is how Don Maxwell moved the M20T Predator prototype when they were bidding on a government contract to build military flight training airplanes:

Before you put any money into it, including taking it apart and moving it, inspect it carefully for corrosion on the spar. In the long run it’s always less money to buy a flying airplane than to restore one. This could be one of those deals where if you got it Free it would be too expensive.

I learned a long time ago that AOPA doesn’t need my membership dues to pay ludicrous salaries to ineffective leaders.

As has been mentioned here previously a few times, most responsible standard developments don't happen very publically, since it takes a lot of deliberation and collaboration, which can be iterative. The ones that are noisy tend to not be very good. So I think it's a good and normal thing to not hear about Swift or Lyondell very often, since it means they're probably doing actual work toward reaching a workable solution.

Or maybe they will kick the can down the road like the government debt. Or maybe the political winds shift and lead is not the big bad bogieman that it’s been portrayed. There is an A&P at my field 80+ years old and i was shocked when he finished an oil change and just washed the oil and grease off his arms and hands with 100LL! I was like damn! Are you not worryed about lead poisoning!?! He was like well i don’t eat a sandwich right afterwards but been washing my hands with 100LL for 40plus years son and my health labs still don’t have me with any of that lead buildup non-sense. Made me question just how bad is the 100LL.

As promised please see G100UL sales from 01/25 to 01/26, as you can see sales have dropped to an embarrassing new low for GAMI...100LL to come soon for comparison

Good luck! About 20 years ago, I lost one of my wing gauges. I got a replacement from a Mooney place in Florida for about $50 (which at the time seemed ridiculously high). When it arrived, I saw it was a Rochester gauge. I went to the local Rochester operation here in Dallas. I showed it to the lady at the front desk and told her I wanted to buy another one. In about 5 minutes she returned and gave one to me. She said it wasn't worth having to do up the paperwork to sell it to me. This was pre MS days if my memory serves. I contacted some of the Mooney folks who needed some as well, and put together an order for about 10 or so for various model Mooneys. Back to Rochester, and guess what? This a proprietary product for Mooney and we can not sell them to anyone but Mooney. I fussed and carried on, but to no avail. My advice is that if they do sell them to you, grab up as many as they will let you have.

These pictures are terrible but still want to share how picturesque the Smokys are in the winter. Winds kept us low from Gatlinburg to Thomaston (south of Atlanta) yesterday so I flew down the river valley offset from the foothills. I'll work on my photographic technique and get better pictures next time.

I maintained a Turbo Arrow, and took the engine to 2600 hours without a cylinder replacement. I put new rotocoils on the exhaust valves every 800 hours. By 2600 hours, the decision was made to overhaul because the oil consumption was a quart every 3-4 hours, and the compressions were in the 50's. We used Camguard on this engine, and did a ring flush at the same time as protocol replacement. The key to Continental longevity is replacing the rotocoils on a regular basis, so the valves will stay spinning.

I know this reads like sad news, but there is a bright side here that's worth celebrating. You made it to 87, healthy enough to fly, with a lifetime of aviation behind you. Even more impressive, all those years and all that experience haven't dulled your judgment: you recognize that flying less often, especially in IFR, can put you in a place where "just one more push" with weather could end badly. That level of self-awareness is rare and admirable. I hope someday I'm in your position: able to look back on decades of flying and savor every moment, knowing I did it on my own terms and with a clear head. One more positive side to it: now you will be “flying for free” with fellow mooniacs who would gladly cover the gas just to spend a few hours in the cockpit with someone who carries even a fraction of your wisdom.

Well, here is a report on how it went today (OAT 6*F). After a night plugged in, the oil was at 67*F and the CHTs at 40*F. I ran a small ceramic heater (1500W) inside the cabin for 20 minutes before pulling the plane out of the hangar. With these preparations I was comfortable in the cabin with just a sweater and the engine fired up completely normally. The only "issue" I had was that due to the super dense air I had to throttle back a fair bit to stay out of the yellow arc on the airspeed (at 3500 feet the DA was close to sea level). But 24/24 worked well, even though I had to run ROP (10.2 gph per POH) to keep the CHTs barely in the green. The oil temp was fine though, after covering half the oil cooler with aluminum tape.

I’ve been a professional pilot a long time and our SOPs include having the approach plate available while flying the approach. Paper charts on a yoke clip 25 years ago, iPad in its holder today. All altitudes and data loaded and visible in the FMS. But I wonder, do you realize that most Mooney owners/pilots here don’t have an FMS that shows that data? Then I have to wonder if you realize you’re picking a fight with a well liked and respected MooneySpace member who is also a longtime CFI-I. You, on the other hand, haven’t been a member very long and you’ve been a braggart since your first week here. Then add in the fact that you’ve never talked about flying a Mooney, your profile says “Skywagon”, the Reg # listed (N44114ed) doesn’t exist, and (N44114) is a Taylorcraft. Why exactly should we listen to your opinions and no others?

That's a Cirrus.

Annual is done! Did Corrosion X, new led landing light (half the leds were out), fuel flow transducer, scat tube, new mains and tubes. Engine and oil filter looking great. Next will be saving up for tank reseal. Gonna see if Maxwells can do the control rods in the tail section and flight check the bird to verify all rigging. Now to put some hours on her. Glad nothing big this year - just normal maintenance… -Don

I didn't have the budget for custom leather, so I went with Airtex. I haven't installed the headsets yet, but I'm happy with the seats. The covers came with new foam, and all in it was just over $2000. I also spent $800 on carpet and $1000 on almost new plastics and probably $200 more on paint, glue, etc. There are certainly much nicer interiors, but I'm pretty certain this is better than what the factory supplied.

Seems that every manufacturer of oil, gas or additives has data showing why their approach is best.