Andy95W

Paul- you make a really good point. If a potential buyer was really interested and was a good “fit” for my airplane, I wouldn’t hesitate flying it to a reputable shop for a PPI. And if he/she really was a good fit, I’d do what I could to facilitate his completing the sale. A less-than-serious buyer is a different matter, just as a less than reputable shop would be. But I don’t relish the idea of flying to a shop 2 hours away and sitting for 8 hours, and then have the deal fall through. How could my time be accounted for without violating the FARs?

For everyone who questions why an owner wouldn’t want to take his airplane to an unknown mechanic, and everyone who thinks that is a “huge red flag” to a potential buyer, I’ll refer you to a thread from just last week: ‘More Maintenance B$’. It covers 4+ pages of questionable maintenance by “reputable” shops. (I’m not talking about Dugosh, BTW.) How do I, as owner, prevent some crappy mechanic from using an electric screwdriver and putting sheet metal screws into machine screw nut plates? OTOH, a buyer can bring an independent mechanic to my hangar, use my tools, and look at whatever he/she wants. I’ll even do most of the working opening it, jacking it, and closing it- saving the buyer a good amount of PPI money. And if the deal goes through, I’ll provide 5 hours of my time as CFI doing the insurance check out.

I’ll break my recommendation down into how much time it takes to perform. In general, you need to look at the main spar, the stub spar, the tubular steel frame (covered in SB M20-208), and then general surface corrosion on the skins and corrosion on the angle aluminum pieces. Phase 1 (about 30 minutes: You can see a good bit of the main spar and stub spar in the wheel wells. The main spar is the heavy frame work where the forward landing gear pivot point is. The stub spar is the rear pivot point. Look at as much of those as you can in the wheel wells. You can google search for “aluminum corrosion” and see some good pictures. Surface corrosion isn’t as important as intergranular corrosion, which leads to exfoliation (picture below). Next, look inside the tail cone (see below, marked in yellow with arrow). That panel comes out in less than a minute with 1/4 turn fasteners. Look for exfoliation on the angle aluminum pieces and surface corrosion on the inside skins. While you’re there, look at the pushrods- they are steel and often rust. That isn’t terrible, but does need to be addressed. Phase 2 (about 1 hour): If that initial look is acceptable, then you should dig deeper into the wings. Open up some of the inspection panels and you’ll see more and more of the main spar (red highlight). Look inside inspection panels #11 (see picture below) and you’ll be able to see a good bit more of the stub spar (green highlight). The main spar actually runs wingtip to wingtip, but I’ve noted the location of the extruded angle aluminum pieces that can corrode badly. Phase 3 (about 2 hours): If that seems acceptable, you’ll want to take a look inside the cabin. If possible, remove the back seat and pilot side wall. There are square panels under the back seat- remove one and you can see the inside view of the main spar (red arrow on picture below). Inside the pilot side wall, you’ll see the tubular steel structure that is the subject of SB M20-208. You’re looking for regular rust, particularly below the window frames. On the picture below, the steel tubes are painted green with zinc chromate paint- but you can see at least one tube with a lot of rust on it. That tube will have to be replaced. I’m sure others will chime in with additional suggestions. Good luck! I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you!

My gut tells me that as two professional pilots, you guys would likely enjoy meeting each other in person at OSH or MooneyMax, and you’d probably find a lot to talk about (and agree on). But the impersonal nature of the internet caused this spiteful discussion. Sorry to interrupt, I’ll butt out now.

I guess looks really are in the eye of the beholder- I like it! Not as good looking as any Mooney, but I’d love to have one, even for the looks.

If you re-tire the carcass, isn’t that the same as a recap? Sorry, it just struck me as funny.

⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️ THIS +1! (Unless you have a CFI with you- which is also a good idea) Just flying your new Mooney will be excitement enough!

@Vance Harral - Please read the last sentence of my previous post. I specifically said, “Spending money on training is far more effective than adding avionics- and part of that training should be the effective and proper use of automation.” As a CFI-I myself, I have always agreed with your point- training is more beneficial than technology. In the airplane I fly at work, we use the autopilot and we are well trained in the automation. Unless it was inop (unlikely), the Ovation had an extremely capable autopilot already installed in it. Owners of such aircraft should be as proficient in its use as they are with hand flying. My point remains that airplanes are crashing due to spatial disorientation even though they have capable autopilots already installed in them.

Strongly disagree. Used correctly, it’s a huge safety tool. There’s a 73 year old Ovation owner that just crashed and died today after departing in low IFR conditions. Don’t you think he’d likely still be alive if he’d used his autopilot? Or looking back 20 years, that the same could be said about JFK Jr.? The rest of your post was spot-on IMO. Spending money on training is far more effective than adding avionics- and part of that training should be the effective and proper use of automation.

Careful. Advocating for heterosexual spade connectors opens a whole other can of worms.

Look at his last line, he was joking. Great explanation of AKI, MON, and RON though.

I recently installed a Trig TX56A Nav/Com in my M20C. I’m an A&P/IA so I did the installation myself. I connected it to my existing KI-209 in lieu of the King KX-155 that I removed. The obvious competitor to the Trig is the Garmin GNC255. It is the same size, and it has the same basic features in that it can connect to a GPS and can access a frequency database. Like the Garmin, the Trig can “clone” an SL30 so it can be connected to a G5. (I did not do that, you should definitely confirm this with your avionics shop). The NAV portion will decode the Morse identifier and display it on the screen in both units. They are both 10W transmitters. I saw two positives with the Trig, and only one negative. First, the Trig always shows the active NAV or COM. If you are in the COM page on the Garmin, you don’t see the active navigation frequency. Likewise, if you are on the NAV page on the Garmin, you don’t see the active communication frequency. I personally like always seeing the frequency I am either transmitting or navigating on. The second positive is the “Play” button on the Trig that replays the last transmission. My audio panel doesn’t do that, so I’m glad for the additional capability. The only negative with the Trig is that I wish the display was white instead of orange. Two additional things that weighed in on my decision is that the Trig is $400 cheaper than the Garmin and it’s available immediately instead of a 3 month wait for the Garmin. The installation was very straightforward since I didn’t connect it to either my GPS or my G5. I wanted a completely stand-alone Nav/Com that would work if I lost everything else in my panel. Plus, I suppose I’ve been hand tuning frequencies for so long I didn’t see the need to use the database function. I figured that by the time I found the location in the database, selected it, then confirmed it on the chart, I may as well just tune it myself. So far it works perfectly. The maintenance facility in the US is Mid-Continent Avionics, so that made me feel better about serviceability.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/knifedisc.php

Install a Surefly. A little more money than an overhauled exchange but hot start issues will be a thing of the past and 500 hours from now it will pay for itself by not needing another inspection.

The carb you want is the one you have: 10-4164-10. It has the higher fuel flow. I would not change it, the other options flow less fuel and if your fuel flow is 1 GPH higher still, I wouldn’t even consider removing it until it gives you a reason. They normally go the full TBO for the engine. As for your #3 cylinder: that is certainly not abnormal for a (newer) overhauled cylinder. It could also be because it’s at the back of the engine and doesn’t get as much air flow, or you’re losing air pressure across that cylinder due to gaps at the back of your engine. Just make sure it stays below 400° (420° for short periods during initial climb) and let it run.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Southwest pilot taxi slow.

I would schedule a pre-purchase inspection, preferably with a place different than the annual inspection. Dugosh was awesome, but I’m not sure about them now. Lastly, I’d keep researching Barnstormers, Trade-a-plane, Controller, and others to see how the equipment and price compare to other airplanes around. Keep us posted! You’ve been here a while, it’s time you bought your Mooney!

Will this be your forever airplane? I think $77k for the equipment it has is probably in the ballpark of its value- if it’s mechanically sound. If it’s your forever airplane, and it’s in good shape, you can take your time redoing the interior and carpet while having a solidly equipped airplane to enjoy. The paint may just need a professional to “massage” it into better shape. Exciting time! Good luck.

Hank’s right. If you are converting from the original shock discs to the Lord, you will have to get the parts listed in the service bulletin. You will have to contact a place like Don Maxwell, or perhaps @Alan Fox has the salvage parts available. https://www.mooney.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/SBM20-139A.pdf

A 337 is required for a “Major Repair”, which is defined by the following: ———————— (b) Major repairs—(1) Airframe major repairs. Repairs to the following parts of an airframe and repairs of the following types, involving the strengthening, reinforcing, splicing, and manufacturing of primary structural members or their replacement, when replacement is by fabrication such as riveting or welding, are airframe major repairs. (i) Box beams. (ii) Monocoque or semimonocoque wings or control surfaces. (iii) Wing stringers or chord members. (iv) Spars. (v) Spar flanges. (vi) Members of truss-type beams. (vii) Thin sheet webs of beams. (viii) Keel and chine members of boat hulls or floats. (ix) Corrugated sheet compression members which act as flange material of wings or tail surfaces. (x) Wing main ribs and compression members. (xi) Wing or tail surface brace struts. (xii) Engine mounts. (xiii) Fuselage longerons. (xiv) Members of the side truss, horizontal truss, or bulkheads. (xv) Main seat support braces and brackets. (xvi) Landing gear brace struts. (xvii) Axles. (xviii) Wheels. (xix) Skis, and ski pedestals. (xx) Parts of the control system such as control columns, pedals, shafts, brackets, or horns. (xxi) Repairs involving the substitution of material. (xxii) The repair of damaged areas in metal or plywood stressed covering exceeding six inches in any direction. (xxiii) The repair of portions of skin sheets by making additional seams. (xxiv) The splicing of skin sheets. (xxv) The repair of three or more adjacent wing or control surface ribs or the leading edge of wings and control surfaces, between such adjacent ribs. (xxvi) Repair of fabric covering involving an area greater than that required to repair two adjacent ribs. (xxvii) Replacement of fabric on fabric covered parts such as wings, fuselages, stabilizers, and control surfaces. (xxviii) Repairing, including rebottoming, of removable or integral fuel tanks and oil tanks.

Loose cooler line: @M20Doc called it.

Welcome to MooneySpace!

I’m kinda hopIng that @ChatGPT will weigh in on Carson’s speed.

A summation almost worthy of Anthony, but without any personality!