Andy95W

There are stories, perhaps anecdotal, that when Paul Loewen (LASAR) was doing the testing for his lower cowling closure he found lower oil temperatures during testing. The answer appeared to be that the really large guppy mouth took in so much air at higher air speeds that it would actually over pressure the lower part of the cowling so air would actually reverse course and flow forward through the oil cooler. Not sure if that's true, but it's a good story and a possible factor if you have an original unmodified cowling. Agree, but the oil temperature probe is not located at the hottest oil location, which would be somewhere in the vicinity of the cylinder heads. I still think that cooler is better, within reason.

Quiet Technologies Halo headset. You'll be glad you did. http://www.quiettechnologies.com

Scott- I have mine connected to an Aera 500. The guy at Garmin said the GDL-39 actually will take the GPS signal from the Aera and use that signal because it is more accurate than the GDL's, and that is the GPS position it transmits to the iPad. Not sure if the 696 works the same, but try e-mailing the Garmin guy direct, they're very helpful and fast. g3xpert@garmin.com

Sheet metal repair using real rivets for any cracks. Additional sheet metal to lengthen the doghouse metal, if necessary, to close gaps. Bent to fit. RTV (silicone caulk) to seal up smaller gaps. Any color will work, but to be official you should use the orange/red high temperature stuff. Rubber baffle material, cut to fit, to fill in other gaps where rubbing or overlapping joints is a concern. If not structural, pop rivets work adequately to hold this material in place. It really ends up being a custom job. No two airplanes will be the same.

DME/transponder antenna will.

You have to take the time to seal up all the leaks. -around the starter -around the generator -under the vernatherm -in the front where the baffles meet the front cylinders -and so on As an example: the outside circumference of the starter is probably about 8 inches or so. A small, 1/8" gap around it is the same as having a 1"X1" hole in the dog house. It takes time and patience but the end result is being able to keep CHTs under 400° On a 90° day.

BTW, welcome to MooneySpace!

Definitely give Southwest Texas Aviation in San Marcos a try. Very close to San Antonio by Texas standards. Actually, about half way between San Antonio and Austin. Russell Stallings (owner) has been associated with Mooneys for a long time and even had a good number of STC mods to his name. Not as many as Paul Loewen at LASAR, but a bunch. http://www.swta.net/home.html I'm not affiliated with him in any way, but I've met him a few times and occasionally stopped by his shop. I was always impressed and thought he was a decent, stand-up kind of guy.

What about your checkride?

The M20 means it was Al Mooney's 20th design, and after it was certified Al sold the factory and went to work for Lockheed. When the factory metalized the airplane to make the M20B, they wanted to differentiate it from the M20A (wood wing Mark 20) so they called it the Mark 21. The actual M21 was a Lockheed airplane, because that's where Al Mooney was.

+1. My experience exactly, and throw in some cold Michigan winters to boot.

I've never found a how-to because every airplane is different. Not just by manufacturer, but if the airplane is more than 20 years old, it'll be different than even its own make and model. That's one of the reasons that mechanics hate interior removal and installation. Your best bet is to just learn your interior yourself, with all of its own quirks and nuances. Ask advice from other owners and mechanics, a lot of the knowledge is transferable but still not the same. And after you do it one time you'll never again question why you got charged so many hours for what seems like it should be a pretty easy job.

Believe this to be true, plus it looks like a red "press-to-set" circuit breaker. What does it feel like? Does it feel like one of your other circuit breakers on the panel or does it actually 'thunk' like a pushbutton?

Welcome to MooneySpace! The overhead vent system on our vintage M20C's is very different from the M20J that the folks above are talking about. Ours used the overhead scoop, theirs was part of the dorsal fin. Even the overhead system for the M20C/D/E/F/G was redesigned sometime between 1964 and 1967. This was all an attempt to make an inadequate system better. If you are at all handy with tools, you are probably best off removing your headliner and doing the work yourself. You will end up learning how the thing is put together and how it works, rather than paying a mechanic to learn your airplane before he tries to fix it. Not many airplane mechanics are left around that have experience with our overhead vent systems unless you take it to a Mooney Service Center that has been around a long time (like Don Maxwell, Dugosh, LASAR, etc.) You are permitted to remove and install your interior pieces as part of Preventative Maintenance per the FAR's. Reconnecting a hose or cleaning out a mouse's nest while you are there would be kosher too. If nothing else, you can save money by removing and installing your interior before handing off your plane to your mechanic. Speaking from experience: mechanics hate doing that, but we like actually fixing stuff once the interior is out.

Sorry, in all of my flights I cannot ever recall this happening to me when transitioning from the flight levels.

Sounds like a good story to share with the group. We promise we won't judge. We might laugh, though.

Hank- JPI 730 (the small 2 1/4" one that is reasonably priced) would fit perfectly where your current carb temp gauge is. You can buy a carb temp probe for the JPI and have it all in one gauge. If you need any more help spending your money, just ask!

Totally agree. I love landing or doing touch and goes at 4000' + airports with partial flaps and extra speed and letting the speed bleed off in ground effect and getting the best squeaker landings ever. But it can't be done at my home airport. 1800' usable means going off into the grass and a drainage ditch. No choice but to nail the airspeed, flare to a stall, and still have to hope for the best with gusty winds. I envy all of you who are based at decent airports.

If you paid your accountant in beer to deal with all those 1099's, you could double that. And so on, and so on, and...

Actually he might be okay. 6000 NM at 140 knots (average) is only about 43 hours. Worst case he could just drop the oil and add more without even taking off the cowling. Walmart will take the old oil to recycle. Regardless, a great adventure.

Ah geez. Binary humor.

Disagree. The Airbus or Boeing "transitions". You have to fly it onto the runway or you'll probably hit the tail. My home airport is less than 2000' usable, with the last 800 or so being so rough you really don't want to use it. I have to flare my Mooney at the right airspeed, hopefully with the stall warning honking at me just like a C-172, or else I'm screwed. But yeah, if I'm flying into anything over 4000' it's nice and smooth to fly it on without much regard to airspeed.

Never knew until now what a Yeti would eat. Sounds like Gatorade, picante sauce, and guacamolé.

No advice other than when in doubt, err on the side of caution. Have fun, fly safe, and post regularly how it's going!

Thinking the same thing. Wow, lucky guy, he's only had the ONE bad landing. Please post again when you have 6 or 7 "worst" landings! My worst was runway 22 in LaGuardia with a Fed in the jumpseat. Now THAT'S embarrassing. Classy guy, though. All he had to say was, "I don't think I ever had a decent landing on that runway."