mooneyflyfast

lacquer thinner

Looks like all the fuselage stretch went to the baggage area. Correct?

Agree about Mooney baggage. On the A36 I dont know about W&B problems but post 79 and earlier A36s by STC have baggage space back there with 70# structural limits.

The A36s that i have seen up to about 1979 had no baggage space whatever behind the 3rd. row of seats. I believe it can be added by STC for about 5,000. I have considered (and still am) an A36 mostly for the back door but I cant see my wife riding back there with baggage piled all around her. It would have to have the STC baggage or be a later model that came with it. My J model baggage compartment looks small but you can fit in a surprising amount os stuff before you cube out if you load carefully. She rides in the back seat of the J and the baggage is in the baggage compartment out sight and out of the way.

Is a 406 ELT required in Mexico? If so, do they check to verify that's what you have?

Regarding adding a G5 attitude indicator and retaining the KI256 to run a KFC 150 or 200, I have heard that, since the 256 has a flight direcor, it has to remain in its current location. Is this correct?

I just renewed with USAIG. 10% increase.

The G5 will not work with your autopilot as an artificial horizon. It can be made to work with your AP as a DG or HSI with an adapter. There is speculation that Garmin may make the G5 compatible with analog autopilots as a AH at some point but not so far. I'm in the same boat with my KFC200 AP.

What autopilot do you have?

You at Bulverde Airpark or Kestrel? I'm at 1t8 with my J

i've heard good things about SWTA in Smithville but I have not personally used them. David Behrend owner of Dugosh in Kerrville and Ron Fisher at Kestrel are excellent. I am based at Bulverde Airpark. Lets get together sometime.

I had this exact problem (KFC 200 in my 81J). I believe there might be a thread here. When my KI256 was overhauled I squawked this. When it came back it worked fine for several months then started it again. ~6 months ago my AP went inop. Jake at Bevan Aviation made some repairs to the computer and the pitch servo. No jittery FD bars since and everything works great. Might give Jake a call.

this was a very sad accident there with a Malibu taking off uphill (rwy. 30) ~10 kt. tailwind at KSAT 10 miles away. Takeoff with a 10 kt. tailwind on 12 is probably a good idea. Definitely not on 30. I go in there because my mechanic is there but I dont like it. The airplane's fuel tanks were fueled from a self serve fuel pump with 63 gallons of fuel prior to departure. The pilot initiated the takeoff roll from runway 30 with a 10 knot tailwind. The airplane was reported to have used the entire length of the runway during the takeoff roll. The airplane became airborne, attained a height approximately 100 feet agl, entered a descent, and subsequently, impacted the ground. A post accident fire consumed the airplane. Immediately following the accident, the pilot reported to local authorities that "he was leaving the airstrip and the plane stalled due to lack of airspeed." The 3,000-foot runway rises rapidly at its north end, such that the departure end of runway 30 was 50 feet higher than the approach end. At the time of the accident, the wind was from 130 degrees at 10 knots and the density altitude was 4,136 feet. Examination of the engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded its operation prior to the accident. Probable Cause: the pilot's failure to obtain airspeed after rotation, which resulted in a stall/mush. Contributing factors were the tailwind condition, high density altitude, and upsloping runway. Sources: NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20010827X01781&key=1

Gulf

He probably wasnt overly concerned with the legalities of exceeding max gross

When I left HRL yesterday there was a nice looking Mooney N231___ (dont recall the suffix letter) on the ramp with big red stickers sealing the cabin door and baggage doors. I could read "caution" but not the smaller print. It wasn't there when I flew in on Sun. I checked Flightaware for arrivals and didn't find where it flew in. I'm assuming this is a Customs deal. Does anyone know anything about this?

My 81 J with kfc200 has one of those labels. To me, it's talking about the old vor/dme based rnav approaches (the only kind they had when that sticker was affixed). I disregard it since I have a waas gps and fly lnav and vnav approaches. I have wondered why they call gps approaches "rnav". To me thats what my kns80 does--basically move a vor/dme station to a different location where you can navigate to or from it.

From the factory our planes came with open faced fiberglass batt insulation. When the window next to the pilots seat leaked the insulation absorbed the moisture and held it in contact with the steel tubing which resulted in it rusting. SB 208 called for replacing the insulation with foil enclosed insulation so it wouldn't absorb moisture. SB 208 calls for removing one of the bolts that attaches the wing to the fuselage tubing and running a magnet inside the tube several feet forward. The magnet is withdrawn and checked to see if there rust flakes. This is a PITA. Notwithstanding the factory checklist I don't think there is any good Mooney shop that recommends or requires doing this every year.

This is what hit Bulverde Airpark (north San Antonio) a couple of weeks ago. It caused substantial damage to hangars and several airplanes. Blew down and broke dozens of trees. Note the blue sky at the top. I wouldnt have wanted to be flying anywhere close.

I had one on a 182. It worked well but mine had no automatic trim. There was an annunciator that told you when trim up or down was needed.

Quote: The Bravo is also a "long body" compared to the mid-body of the K. You get more room in the baggage but your 4-seat passengers have the same room. I thought some of the length increase went to rear seat leg room. Is this incorrect?

Having unlimited clear approaches and overruns like those pictured in Europe would make a big difference--we don't have many (any?) like that around here. While my airport (1t8) has 2,890 feet of pavement, on the north end within 20-30 feet of the end of the runway there is a pole line, a barbed wire fence and a road. rwy 16 has a 420' displaced threshold. On the south end there are trees, a 6" concrete curb and an 8' dropoff at the end of the pavement. Rwy 34 has a 200' displaced threshold. The most challenging airport I know of around here is Twin Oaks (T94). It has 2,225 ' of pavement but the approach to 12 has trees, a fence and a street. The runway is sanwiched into a residential neighborhood about 2 miles north of San Antonio international. There is a wooden fence 70' from the runway. Rwy 30 has trees at the approach end. Rwy. 12 is downhill so the people I know who base there (2, a 210 and a 206) will accept up to a 10 knot tailwind for landing on 30). Prevailing wind is SE here. One of the most experienced pilots I know (pro pilot, Gulfstream corporate, etc) lives there and flew a beautiful J model Mooney a couple of serial numbers from mine. A year or two ago he made the local news by landing on 30 and running thru the fence at the end coming to rest in the street.

You didn't ask for advice on the advisability of basing an M20J on an 1,800 foot strip but I am going to give it to you anyway FWIW. I am sure that you are a highly experienced and proficient pilot but after 21 years and 2,300 hours in my 81J I would not feel comfortable doing it on a day to day basis, even if it was at sea level with clear approaches. My home airport is 2,890 and that is adequate as long as you are spot on altitude and speed. After hundreds of landings there I did a go around on Monday because I was a little high on final. 1,800 feet would involve too much pucker factor for me. As far as the performance of a later model 2,900 GW version vs a 2,740 GW earlier one, I don't know the number but it is going to be exactly the same given the same weight and technique. I would use the pessimistic figure and add a good margin to that.

I'm flying from San Antonio to Sana Fe next week--520 n.m.--a fairly long trip for me. At 155 knots I would save 7 minutes over the time it will take at my usual speed of 150 kts. I would like my J to be faster but it is of little practical importance (and no one would believe me anyway).

I have gotten quotes from Avemco several times over the years. They have always been sky high. I don't bother with them anymore.