ncdmtb

I am a member of EMPOA. Mainly because of the discount they have on Mooney insurance via a group buy. I am saving significantly compared to the old insurance. I can place a post in their forum once we have a date locked down. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks for the feedback. Has one heard of Executive Flight Training (KAPA)? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

A while back I initiated a thread on my intending to obtain my CPL. My plans are firming up. I currently live in Germany and am now planing a trip home in July. Unfortunately it will be quite short, I will only have 5 days to do my commercial including check flight and taking the written. (I will have preped for the written via a King Schools course, so I willjust need to go take the test.) I was planning to do my commercial at the Aspen Flying Club with the CFII I did my IR with. Today I just learned, that the aircraft will not be available. They only have one plane (retractable, const speed prop - C182RG) which can be used for the CPL. Now I am looking for an alternative. In the last 1,5 years I have only been flying my Mooney. Prior to that I did some flying in a C172. Any recommendations on where I should go? I want to maximize the chance I get it done. I don't get back to US very often. Nick Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hi Ben - thanks for your response. Your offer sounds great. I would like to take you up your offer. I will check my calender and PM you! It would be fun to zip over to France. Nick Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Newbie question: can I just buy one and replace the "plug" with it? Or do I need special paperwork/logbook entries? (Keep in mind my plane is in Europe and they are a little on the difficult side here ;-) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Update: It turned out the quick release was damaged (wonder if it happened during the initial attempted oil change?). Since they were not able to find a new quick release (without me spending a fortune - welcome to Europe ;-) they just installed a new plug. I flew today for almost 2 hours and no issue. Glad to have that resolved. I will be home in the US in a in July and want to pick up a new "quick drain" valve. Any recommendations on what to get/where? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

At minimum the oil change will not cost me anything. Maybe I will even get a "plane wash" out of this. Since the oil leaked out of the cowling and drew an airfoil shaped streak along the pilot side of the fuselage. Not a big streak, since the oil dripped out extremely slowly, but the again I just flew 30min. Week after next I am planning to fly to Dublin, so I am glad I caught this before I head out across the Irish Sea! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Maybe "Fear" is not the right word, maybe I should have chosen "uncomfortable" ;-) But in essence I did not feel like I wanted to head into IMC yesterday. By the way - 6 quarts are also not to be had for $30 here, it's more like $140 -Nick Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hi Mooneymite, He mentioned that it was clogged with "crud" and did not drain. Keep in mind, it is an "aged airplane" ;-) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks Scott. The oil after that change was at about 6,5 quarts. Not much oil dripped out, the size of two of the stains you see in the picture. Flying in Europe, in particularly Germany is very expensive. They even charge for IFR routings and we have landing fees here. And if you land a night, you need to pay extra for the runway lights. How much I do miss flying back home in the states... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I wanted to share my frustration and hear how other (experienced) Mooney pilots would have dealt with the situation. This week my M20E got an oil change. Decided to do it at Beechcraft Augsburg (highly professional service org in Augsburg, Germany); they service King Airs, Hawker jets, Bonanzas, Cirrus and other GA aircraft. They are really quite pricey - oil change about $700 (keep in mind this overpriced Europe!!) I wanted to fly the plane to Rieger Pilotenservice, they are REALLY good - but I wasn't able to take a time off during the week to fly the plane over. Anyway, they did the oil change and put the plane back in the hangar. Yesterday, early evening I decided to go flying. I wanted to do an IFR training flight in easy IMC and fly a hold, On my way to the airport I felt a little uneasy about flying. No idea why, but I was a little "scared". I have only 75hrs in my Mooney since beginning of last year. I ended up deciding to do a short VFR flight (weather was not great, rain coming through, bases at 4000) and give my new Garmin Virb a try, I only flew about 40min, When I put the plane back in the hangar I noticed a large oil spot (approx size 2 footprints). I was surprised I did not notice it during preflight (=will not happen again!!). Today I decided to do the IFR training flight. I was really looking forward to the flight and did not feel one bit uneasy today. When I got the the hangar I noticed a new oil spot in similar size. I was somewhat concerned. My plane shares the hangar with two C172 from a flying club; a flight instructor was just returning from a lesson with a student and asked if I want to pull out my Mooney before he brought his plane into the hangar. I told him I was concerned about an oil drip and am uncertain to fly. I have had the plane a little over a year and never have had such an issue (this was my third oil change since ownership). He said he would fly - planes can drip oil; I should not be concerned. I decided to find out what the issue is, before I get into the plane and fly. I was able to reach the mechanic who did the work. He came out to the airport. We took off the cowling and the drain on the pilot side (see picture) was dripping oil (ever so slowly, you could see a drop hanging, but you it did not drop in a noticable frequency) directly onto one exhaust pipe. He had mentioned, that when he changed the oil, he tried to open that drain, but it was clogged. So he decided to drain the oil from the co-pilot side (no quick release, a secured bolt). He was extremely apologetic and told me in his opinion it was not safe to fly since the dripping oil could cause fire. So here are my questions: Was I overly cautious? Have others had an intuition of "fear" (like I did yesterday) and decide not to fly? What could the issue be? Old O-ring that broke when he tried to remove it, but ended up putting it back again? Is this something that happens, or was this a result of negligence/poor workmanship? I am looking forward to what this knowledgable group has to share on this topic. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Nice!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'd be game for a one-day fly and a meet up for lunch. What about next weekend? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I am pretty much a newbie 1964 M20E owner. It is time for an oil change. How do you guys change your oil? Do you do it yourself or do you get a shop to do it for you? I heard that it is quite tricky to change the oil filter. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Let's wait to see what the first pireps on the conversion bring to light ;-) Fortunately we still have some time on our side.. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I tend to agree. Are you familiar with www.pplir.org? They were a driving force in getting the new regulation in place. It is a small group, but highly qualified. I visited their booth at the Aero and joined them. I intend to use them as a sounding board and sparring partner for getting my conversion done w/o going through a complete new EASA IR-training. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I am thinking about doing an avionics upgrade this year (GTN650, GMA340...) If there are 1-2 others thinking about an upgrade, maybe it would make sense to fly some one over to do the lot. Thoughts? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I fly my N-reg aircraft in Germany on my FAA IFR. I plan to get my EASA IR this year. I joined PPLIR - there are quite a few knowledgable folks there. Hope to get some guidance on "how" from them. I would do it in Germany - and this process is currently more than infantile here... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks for sharing! Cool stuff.... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Polished (I needed to replace mine in January and I mounted as is - I have not gotten it polished yet. Looks also quite good as is.) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have an IFR slot on Saturday from Augsburg. If someone wants to join... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Will you be there on Saturday? Anyone else planning to attend on Saturday? It would be great to meet some of you in person. Maybe we can organize a "Mooney lunch meet up"! -Nick Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Any recommendations for which E6B App for an iPad is best? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Can you share the link? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Where is it to? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk