IndyTim

Thanks for the tip on the EI. I'll go look at that.

Nice upgrades. And nice to know that if I am nuts I'm in good company. I've gone 'round and round on the whole trade-up thing, and it's a done deal at this point since I already ordered the new equipment. Relatively speaking the difference between what I'm spending and the trade-up is small. But in absolute terms, it's still a pretty big number...

Fixed. Good catch, thanks.

252BH is scheduled for TKS installation at Airnet in late January, and thought I'd take advantage of the downtime to do some avionics upgrades. With this large of a spend, I've thought pretty hard about what I should do and where I want to end up next year. I'm looking for comments/suggestions/feedback in the event I'm missing anything obvious. And while it sounds a little ridiculous to say this, given the list of equipment below, I'm looking to spend no more than I must. I use the plane every week to fly 500-1000 nm to client sites all over the east and midwest. Being able to get through, over, or around as much weather as possible is important. And ability to handle any type of airspace from rural Missouri to busy east coast is also key. I had my doubts about putting so much money into the plane, thought about going to a TKS Bravo, or Ovation 2 or 3. But when I think about the hassle of the transaction, etc... So here is the plan: 1. Add FIKI TKS 2. Replace the KMA-24 with remote audio panel GMA 35. 3. Add Garmin GTN 750 over top of the GNS 430. I thought hard about the 650 instead of the 750, but decided to go with the 750 for the WX, traffic, and chart displays. 4. Slide the GNS 430 down in place of the KX165 as 2nd GPS/NAV/COM. It's non-WAAS so I don't get crossfill with the 750. I dunno about that, but I consider it a non-necessity for now (unlike everything else on the list!). I'm really hoping both the 750 and 430 will fit in that space, over top of the KAP150. 5. Replace the KT-76A with a GTX 330ES - the 252 likes the flight levels so I'll need the squitter, and I don't want the remote -33ES in case the 750 takes the day off. With this in place, I'll be 100% ADS-B compliant. 6. Add a GTS 800 with traffic display on the 750. Maybe I'll add a GDL88 later, but until more folks are transmitting ADS-B out, the 330ES with GTS800 should provide a more complete traffic picture -- correct? 7. Add a GDL69a for Wx display on the 750. I'm replacing my yoke-mount Aera 796 as my weather solution and looking forward to XM radio in the plane (ok, the "a" is an indulgence) 8. Upgrade the JPI 700 to JPI 830 since I can barely see the 700. I wanted %HP and the constant display rather than a scan, and by the time I added all the necessary probes to a 730 I was in 830 territory price-wise. Be nice to get alerts on all the engine parameters including oil, also. I'm planning to add a G500 with a GAD43e interface to the KAP150, but it's already a big chunk of change so I'll let that wait. Airnet is going to prewire for it though, while everything is apart. Here are the doubts: a. Am I nuts, spending this much money on a 27 year-old aircraft? b. Am I losing any vital functionality or serious convenience by not WAASing the 430? c. Will the 330ES and GTS800 get me the best traffic picture I can get for the money, today? Am I giving up anything right now by not installing the GDL88? d. While it's down, anything else I should attend to? e. Boy the G500 would sure be nice... (TIM: don't go there)

As a PPL student earlier this year, I spent many, many hours trolling these forums as well as other sites, trying to glean the benefits of others' experience. My goal was to acquire a plane that I could fly to/from client sites all over the east and midwest. I want to share some of my recent thoughts/decisions in case someone else comes along who is looking for similar info. I bought Parker's Encore-converted 252 in July, about the same week as I got my PPL. I thought really hard about whether I needed TKS at the time, but it was a big jump price-wise to find something already equipped. And, N252BH was such a nice plane... I went ahead and bought it and figured I'd sort through the TKS issue when I got to it. Fast forward to now, and I'm about 10 hours from getting my IFR. I've been trying to fly back and forth from my home in southern Missouri to a client site in eastern PA, every week. Let's just say that, as a VFR pilot in a non-deiced airplane, my opportunities to fly an 800 nm route to the northeast have been severely limited. I'm still flying commercially as a "fallback" 3 trips out of 4. First it was frequent IMC that kept me on the ground, and as the weather has turned colder, now it's ice. Doh! but I insist on learning the hard way, I guess. I thought really, really hard about where to go from here. Getting the IFR will help, but doesn't solve the ice problem. Short of not flying, I considered these options: a) trade up to a newer Mooney with FIKI buy a booted Baron as my winter commuter and load hauler (very appealing in some ways) c) upgrade 252BH with TKS If I were able to a find a partner, I'd love to have a B55 Baron. But I don't want to take on the financial responsibility for a twin, as a sole owner. When I see how many of those poor birds have been sitting on the market for years on end, I cringe at the thought of ever trying to sell one. And I looked at John G's transition from his Bravo to an Aerostar and, well, that's a whole 'nother league of cost. Be nice to have that 2nd engine in night-time IMC though... As for upgrading to a newer plane, it's a big jump price-wise to get to a FIKI Mooney that interests me. And, 252BH has a 1050lb useful load - it would be hard to replace that. It's got nice new paint thanks to Parker, and it's a low time airframe. The final data point came this past Monday, when I flew up to PA with an instructor. We picked up moderate rime ice on our climb to FL190, and ended up having to go to FL230 to get above the tops. At FL230, 252BH was doing this: Manifold: 28.5" RPM: 2400 or so OAT: -22C or so TAS: 207 kts, calibrated Fuel: 11.2 GPH, 25 deg LOP That was the first time I'd been above 15,500 MSL, and I was really pleased with the performance at FL230. I wouldn't want to fly that high all the time -- after 3 hours on oxygen I was feeling pretty crunchy by the time we landed. But nice to know the plane can do it, and maybe I'll adjust.... So I bit the bullet yesterday and booked an order for TKS and some new avionics. I had planned to get inadvertent TKS, but CAV and AirNet (installer) essentially refused to quote it. I was torn over the choice anyway, so with their "encouragement", FIKI it shall be. I feel good about that, although not about the cost. <cough> One other note: I decided that, while the plane was down for TKS, I'd go ahead and do some avionics and interior work. I talked to a number of shops around the country, hoping to find at least two places that could do all three tasks. Airnet Aviation at KLCK (Rickenbacker - Columbus OH) was the only shop I could find that could handle all three. I looked at breaking it up into 2 phases, but it's both cheaper and less downtime to do it this way. Here's hoping that goes well.

Wake up, pm me if you're interested in just the 796.

Mike called dibs on the Stratus, so he'll be getting that. 796 is still available. Don, you're absolutely right. I like the 796 a lot, and I debated with myself for many of the reasons you mention. But bottom line, it's primary function for me is WX, and I'm going to a GDL69a and want to clean up the panel and yokes. I'll use Foreflight Pro for georeferenced charts etc as backup on my yoke.

I thought I would go ahead and provide a heads up to anyone who is planning to buy either a Stratus gen II or Garmin 796 in the near future. I'm converting to panel-based equipment in January. I'll sell both the Stratus and the Garmin then. Let me know if you want either one and I'd be happy to hold it for you. Stratus has been used once, is 10 weeks old. Receipts/box/etc available. $600 obo. UPDATE: I've decided to hang on to the 796 for a little while, at least until the new panel is in. Tim

I've been maintaining hangers at both ends of my commute this summer, and I'll be consolidating down to one. I'd rather not move the Powertow since I already have one at at my home hanger. This is a 40 EZ, purchased directly from Northwest in August of this year. I have not emptied the first tank of gas in it. It will be sold without the adapters, since I have the Mooney extenders on it which I will keep. I *may* be able to provide standard adapters from my other unit if this is important. $950, picked up at KUES (Waukesha).

I have a Mini on which I have both Garmin Pilot and Foreflight installed. I have the Stratus II with Foreflight. I also have a Garmin 796 with an XM weather subscription. Of all 3 devices, I find I rely on Foreflight/Mini the most. It's the most intuitive, the most reliable (the 796 has locked up a few times), and it's the one I have mounted on my yoke. The mini screen size is really nice, just right on the yoke. However, at 50 years old I find that my eyes would appreciate a larger screen sometimes. But it's not a showstopper - easy enough to pinch and expand. I just upgraded to the Pro version and love the georeferenced approach plates. Extremely useful. I'm not all that excited about the Stratus. ADS/B weather has been slow to update, even unavailable on my most recent trip. And I don't find the traffic all that useful, at least not at this point in time. About the only bogies that show up are commercial carriers 10,000 feet or more above me. I used Pilot on the mini but found Foreflight to be more intuitive and easier to learn. As for the 796 with XM, I am starting to use it more and more, mostly for in-flight wx. The winds aloft data is especially useful in-flight. So, my solution relies on Foreflight for planning, briefing filing plans, airport info, approach plates, taxi diagrams, and as my general gps-map tool. And the 796 with XM WX is my weather data source.

This article is very good and I refer to it frequently for operational advice. (Although I have an Encore - many principles still apply). Full power to climb is advocated (but make sure you don't overboost the 231). http://www.mooneypilots.com/mapalog/M20K231%20Eval%20Files/M20K231_Eval.htm

That's a lot of plane for the money. Had I not bought a 252 about 2 weeks ago I'd be interested. Good luck with the sale.

Thanks for te recommendations. I've got something worked out with Parker, but in all likelihood will try to get a day in with Bruce as well.

Bump - anyone have any recommendations?

I sent you a pm.

For my situation, I commit to relatively long-term projects of 1-2 years' duration. Typical trip is 500nm one-way. I always have commercial air access, but since there is nearly always a connection involved it can be painful. My personal experience on airlines after 2.7 million airmiles is that it's getting worse with each passing year. So I always have a fallback, and I generally have some flexibility as to trip timing, but I don't want a non-scheduled maintenance event that grounds me for more than 3-4 weeks, if I can avoid that. I wonder if it would make sense to stockpile high-probability AF items, maybe as an owner's cooperative? It would be hard to predict the likelihood of needing a part for a particular bird, but any well-informed analyst should be able to do that for the fleet or for a reasonably sizeable set of planes. If the jigs exist, is it conceivable to organize a "self-insurance" group buy? Just thinking out loud here....

Nice job picking your way through the squall line, Parker. Where were you getting your WX info?

I appreciate the feedback. The possible downtime waiting for airframe parts is an issue, for an airplane that's used for business. Is there better availability for some models vs others? M20J M20K 252 Ovation TLS/Bravo.

I've been considering buying a Mooney for some months, but wonder about parts and service availability in the future. I haven't owned one so I'm not tuned into the history, trends and dynamics of the Mooney parts/service ecosystem. I'd appreciated perspective from current owners - what are your thoughts on ownership and parts availability 5 years down the road? If it matters I'm looking at post '86 birds.

Hi folks -- I'm looking at buying a Mooney (again) and hope to find a good CFI with strong Mooney experience. I'm in the Milwaukee area most of the time. Any recommendations?

It looks like the two-couples-with-one-tandem scenario is ruled out, which I half suspected. It would be up against the GWT, and there isn't really any room for luggage. Really need the twin for that. But one couple with the tandem is fine, with the rear seat available for luggage stowage. No problem there...

Wow, that's wonderful to actually see those cases loaded in! I've been dreaming of that scenario for quite a while. Load the tandem, fly in somewhere with my stoker, pull it out and ride! I like the last picture best, perhaps. A Mooney and a light twin is a combination that's hard to beat. Thanks for taking the time to do this, and to document it so nicely.

Except if you have an Android! I've refused to drink the Apple kool-aid, to date. Although based upon the availability of aviation-related apps I sense an iPad in my future.

Does anyone have W&B worksheets for their J or 231 post? I want to play with some various trip scenarios, see how these two planes fit with the various missions we're contemplating. I'm looking at both 201s and 231s, so both versions are of use to me. Thank you