JohnB

I just bought a Mooney Mover and absolutely love it! I have an M and there is an uphill incline to get into the hangar. It is NOT possible for 1 person to move it in with a tow bar, (I tried once and nearly ripped the soles off of my shoes!) two guys pushing hard can do it, three guys pushing medium can do it. With the Mooney mover, I can do it alone with a mild to medium initial push just to get it started up the hill then pretty much all electric from there. I like that it can fit in my baggage compartment and easy to charge in the hangar. Price Much less than other options. Highly recommended! Replaces 2.5 guy power.

Thanks Parker! That’s a great one to know, so if I can keep myself fit and continuing to fly 100 hours a year, hopefully I can keep insurance and flying till 100? (Donkaye and I once met a retired airline pilot who must have been pushing 100, who was flying his Cub like a boss!)

I don’t remember who, but someone made a foreflight overlay of airport restaurants a while back, probably not exactly current, I liked it quite a bit and helps when going cross country.

Rick, Thanks for looking up the sentry alerts! Another reason I’d suggest getting a better electronic CO detector Other than Sentry like the ones made by Forensics (my favorite) or sensorcon, these start alarming at above 10 and 20ppm and give readings all the way up to 1,000 ppm. One of the very first senses that goes away is your sense of color vision, so if you looked at your sentry lights with co poisoning, you’d have No idea what color the lights were. Having had a CO issue once in my cockpit from a cracked hose, as the old device I had before just beeped after 50 but I had no idea how much higher it was so I just landed. It is hugely helpful to know what the actual number is, and how fast that number is rising, as I would now do vastly different things based on the level. I.e. 50-100 I might just put on my NRB oxygen mask and fly to my home airport or facility for repair, over 200 I would land at the nearest airport perhaps with facilities for repair depending on the number and flight time to get there, for over 800 or rapidly climbing to these super high numbers,I’d land at the nearest flat surface(road, field etc), as you do not have much time of useful consciousness or useful piloting capacity above those levels with markedly impaired judgement, convulsions and death in less than an hour. Here’s a chart attached so you can make your own personal thresholds of what you would do if you know how much CO is in your cockpit, but having two of the good electronic CO detectors in your plane is very helpful and replace at least one at each annual (if one goes off, your first instinct may be not to believe it, so two verifies) and absolutely get rid of those color changing dot cards all together, as if you had CO poisoning and you happened to be lucky enough to be staring at your card , you would have NO idea what color it was as above. JB

Ok after another wonky relay, I'm seriously looking for the 940090-501 Mooney Flap relay retrofit kit. Anyone have any source for these? Used one would be ok.

Lance, That is beyond helpful. I’ll forward the info to my mechanic , AND order some spare just in case! THANK you! John

Wow amazing, I am looking for the same kit 940090-501 Kit as my flaps won't retract, my mechanic says its the two relays up and down, namely the WC67RCSX -3 power relay x 2, which he found but one, but the other one doesn't have a base. I am very much looking for the 940090-501 kit which is an apparently a more robust replacement. Do you or anyone else know where I can purchase one of these?

I would say I have done a more than a plethora of touch and goes, landing practices without incident. However, one day, I was practicing a bunch of precision power off landings, with touch and goes in a simulator, while the instructor was randomly changing the wind conditions without telling what they were to add more challenge. On one of the landings, although it was a perfect landing touchdown within tolerance with a ridiculous crosswind (I think he put in 30 knots), I had a gear up in the simulator. Of course its just a sim, and only requires a reset, but that experience terrified and humbled the bejeezus out of me and made me realize that no matter what, a gear up is possible if there are enough distractions. This fear I think improved my Gear gear gear gear gear checklist though!

The best hot start technique I've seen is well documented on Don Maxwells Hot start video Hot Start Technique M20J I had an issue with this my early days of owning my airplane as with my airplane I only get 2-3 good tries to start per battery then no more, and I didn't want to get stuck somewhere without a jump possibility, and multiple tries wear down your battery and starter, so I installed a slick start magneto booster, which allows starts even with suboptimal air fuel mixture. Slick Start Mag Booster With Don's technique above and slick start, my airplane starts ridiculously easily, hot or cold.

What great videos! Thanks for sharing Marc. Was very nice to see one's own plane's arrival in awesome formation. And the takeoff from MSN, lead organization, masterfully crafted by Clippy. Incredibly Great experience!

PM sent!

I love this topic, as I have the exact same issue right now. My built-in oxygen tank has recently reached it's service life (15 years). I was told that since it has reached it, it cannot be hydrostatically tested and needs replacement. Looking for replacement options, I may just get a small portable tank I can take while its being serviced or as a backup. Searching for places that can quote replacement onboard cylinders, if anyone knows a company that is good for supplying an onboard system and certifying the regulator, would like a pirep. I emailed the oxygen lady, thanks @LANCECASPER!

If you fly above 10,000 feet with your dog for long periods, you should give them oxygen. Their response to hypoxia is similar to ours, and start once you go higher than 9,000 feet. Dogs typically go to sleep when they become hypoxic to try to preserve brain function before they pass out. Best solution I've found that dogs tolerate is from Aerox, certified up to 25,000 feet!! Comfy for pups, it's like a muzzle to them. That way, when I'm on oxygen , they are too. Here's Teddy w/scarf added for cool aviator effect

Can't agree more. I have 4 CO units (yes 4) now installed in my airplane as I had a CO leak in my cabin once as I had 2 when that happened, and one's first instinct is not to believe the gauge is why more than one is needed. I've tried a bunch of the portable units (which work best) and have the following comments. I prefer getting a unit that will track 0 to 1000+ ppm and give you an audible and digital readout. I got rid of the units that only track up to 50ppm as there's a vast difference in what I would do if the CO level was 50, or if it read 1000. What I have installed now is 1- Guardian panel mounted CO detector - which is useless after 2 years, costly to get recalibrated/removed and re installed, won't integrate with garmin displays to display an actual value, and still self tests ok, but does not alert with elevated CO levels, not to be trusted 2- Sensorcon portable unit x 1 - I like this one, visible and the pro model Sensorcon AV8 pro also has a vibrate feature. Loud alarm heard over noise cancelling headsets. Detects 0-2000ppm 3&4 - Forensics portable aviation CO detector. I have 2 of these. Loud alarm and visible display, accurate, numbers correlate with the sensorcon. Gives you an idea of how much CO youre getting just hanging out waiting for takeoff from other planes. These are a bit less expensive than the sensorcons ($99-120 , vs $160-190 range for the Sensorcon AV8 models). You do have to change the batteries on these units around once every 9-12 months which is a snap. Range from 0-999 ppm If I have a high reading now, I know its valid and can make decisions based on the readings. I replace at least one of my portable units each year along with my annual and toss it, so I always have units that are not more than around 2 years old. Useless devices * Color changing dot card - ABSOLUTELY useless. One of the first senses that goes with CO poisoning is your color discrimination , so even if you were lucky enough to be staring at it, you would have no idea what color it was * Sentry CO detector - tried one unit, similar to the Guardian, self tests ok, but does not detect CO at any level even higher than 50ppm These are very handy, and potentially life saving devices to have in your airplane, and having a monitor that detects CO at a low level (below 50 and at least up to 1000) is very handy to see how much CO you're getting waiting behind airplanes and if I ever did see 1000+ on my monitors, I for one am landing on the nearest flat surface rather than trying to make it to a runway if there isn't one below me. (another reason why having more than one working to be able to make these kind of decisions)

The info I got to register was from the May Mooney flyer 2024-MayTMF (fliphtml5.com) I think registration is just to know how many people might show up. Costs of dinners/ activities/ hotels I think are on our own as there's not a hotel on the field but lots of choices nearby. Phil @mooneyflyer might have more specific details for you if you need more. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of fellow Mooniacs there! John B