mike_elliott

Shaq?

No worries, they fly F22's out of Tindall.

FH603, Do give Jeff Bender a call with your issues. Like I have previously said, I have found him to be a reasonable, conscientious man that runs a reputable shop. If he missed an airworthiness issue on a prebuy, I am confident he will make good from what interaction I have observed from him dealing with others. Incidentally, this is the same shop that did a complete strip and reseal of one list members tanks for less than 2K. Somewhere in the archives there is a lot of discussion about it. I hope for the best for you, and with some luck, can run across a set of bladders for reasonable $.

Your right. He didn't say Bender did the PPI either. None the less, if he has a grip with Jeff, Jeff will do the right thing in my experience. No sense in giving Bender a bad name here when no one said he even did the prebuy, or when the prebuy was done. Or do you not agree?

Bender Aviation is not Island Bound LLC, who he complained about. He said he took it to a Mooney Service Center in Clearwater and later named Island Bound LLC http://www.flyislandbound.com/links.php Jeff Bender is not a Mooney Service center, altho he has a couple of Mechanics that own Mooneys and he works on a number of them. I have found Jeff to be honest and willing to stand behind his work. I don't believe he is a Beech, Grumman, Rockwell, Cessna or Cirrus service center either, but works on them also.

I was rather troubled when you said you had a prebuy by a Mooney Service center in Clearwater. There isn't one. I live just north of there and the only shop at Clearwater airpark is Bender aviation, an honest reputable shop. Looking at the website of Island Bound LLC, there is no mention of being a Mooney shop, or a Mooney sign on their website that I can find. Frankly, it is a cheesy looking, broker website that sends signals to run, not walk away from. I have never heard of these guys until your post here. Unfortunately, It appears this is a case where you believed a salesman vs. spending the $ for a proper prebuy from a reputable Mooney Shop, a story that gets repeated far too often. While I know this isn't any relief for you, but you may have some relief available if your prebuy invoice lists any items "fixed" that were not.

Josh, Paul and Eric will do you a "solid" annual. Additionally, Boyd Birchler is a 231 owner out in Mount Comfort, very Mooney knowledgeable. You also have Larry Wheelock in Terra Haute who will come to Indy as he summers in Indiana. These are a couple of very experienced Mooney IA's whom I have let work on my Mooney, along with DMax.

Wow,.,.Your Mechanic must not know any of the very conscientious vintage Mooney owners I know. A blanket statement like that is somewhat insultuous by your mechanic to all of those vintage owners who's airplane's reflect their pride of ownership. A great many of them are reading your posts here. Of course, most of these are not the planes you find on Controller for under 40K. I wish you the best, but finding used bladders for cheap really wont be an option. If you want bladders, you will have to pony up the big bucks and wait for them to be available. The good news is that they are continuing operations and are at least an option

It is Oasis Aero. Paul Beck and Eric Rudningen own and operate it. They are Mooney International's newest MSC, and were both under the tutelage of Mooney's oldest MSC, Jaeger Aviation. They are great Mechanics and great people who will treat you right. Unlike the previous owner who purchased Willmar from Bruce, Eric and Paul know the value of treating customers right.

Humm....no MSC at KCLW that I know of. That said, Jeff Bender of Bender Aviation is Mooney knowledgeable and fair, 2 of his mechanics own Mooneys. Is that who you are referring to as a Mooney Service Center in Clearwater?

So terribly sad. If anyone has the immediate family contact info, please send it to alice.elliott at mooneysummit.com or PM DEB here on Mooneyspace so that we can offer our assistance.

I have! it is one sweet Acclaim, as was his J

It is my understanding compensation to a CFI is for knowledge, not for pilotage. This has been ruled on previously, and there is not a medical requirement for knowledge. Now if the CFI is required to be PIC or required SIC (think safety pilot) then yes, he will need a medical or a shiny new basic medical. Someone in the front seat(s) needs a medical of some flavor.

I am so glad you are both ok, and we don't have to write a "letter" to your surviving family.

especially in coastal Florida (and arid Arizona, and moderate Midwest, and overpriced CA, and nasty Newark)

Your probably right, Bob. If a plane just had bladders put in in the last couple years,I wouldn't have a concern in the world. but when they are 20+ years old and now not being able able to get new parts when needed (maybe they have a 30 year life, but I doubt if it is much longer than fuel lines) It would cause me as a buyer to discount it accordingly, just as I would a 20 year old wet wing like Robert Gary's. I really hope a bunch of the bladder owners get together and resurrect the STC so it doesn't cause an availability issue in the future for anyone.

How old are your fuel lines? 10+ years is long time to trust fuel lines. Are the Mooney bladders made of material that is that much more durable than fuel lines to last indefinitely as to not pose a real risk to a potential buyer of needing replacement, or would it be fair to prorate them in a prebuy like you would wet tanks, gear donuts, engines, etc?

and also if you keep your wet wings in a hanger with fuel in them, they will last at least 10 years or more. Heat is the enemy of both. Jose, can a plane that has had bladders installed be converted back or is that "game over", do you know?

You might be on to something here. All of the O&N equipped bladder Mooney's just took a serious hit on value if the STC is not maintained, Just think of owning an L model now. If you cant get a part and need it, you would have a yard ornament instead of a nice Mooney. Perhaps you bladder owners can pool some $ and get Chris's girls to "make them an offer they cant refuse"

RIck, with the MP fluxuating form 30 to 20 or so, you are not making exhaust to run the turbo when it drops to 20. 4 reasons cause this. 1) fuel, 2) air, 3) spark 4) compression. Lack of compression would not be intermittent, so eliminate that. Since you have a set of Tempest FIne wires ready to go, why not put them in today and give it another shot. It would not necessary eliminate the spark as a cause, but from my experiences, putting in Tempest (even massives) does wonders for running a TIO540 A1FB motor leaned out. The Slick mags are junk but we are stuck with them until an electronic system is approved to replace it. Don Kaye eluded to one in the works. Unfortunately I think it is still on the same path the BK KI300 is. More worrisome would be a density controller/Fuel injection servo/pump issue

So you are saying your 83 J came and was certified with all of the same airframe and aero mods as the later ones that could pass the required FAA climb rate such as the one piece belly, etc. IF so, you have no problem, simply inform the faa of their error. If not, Get your wallet out and go get your plane certified to a higher GW.

Not true, Peter. Your logic would allow an F the same GW increase, right? How about the G? After all, it is claimed the 0360 is really as powerful as the IO360. Rocket engineering "got away" with it by throwing 100 additional HP up front to make the climb requirements. Perhaps an F could do this, perhaps your 1st gen J could also meet the FAA requirements. All it takes is a bucket of money, solid engineering data and test results to get the answer you want to hear.

Perhaps because the earlier ones did not/could not climb at the 10x gw landing stall speed over 2740#. If yours can, you might be able to get it recertified, just go do it!

One more time Peter...according to Mooney, yes. Don't believe Mooney if you don't want to, but what are you trying to prove?

My opinion (and its just that) is to save this step of wealth disposal until you are 1) Completely finished updating the avionics to all of the gizmos you would ever want in this airframe. Your avionics guy will not cuss about you to everyone he knows for the next few years. 2) Are ready to repaint the plane 3) Need a 5 AMU aviation shopping/spending fix 4) Need a new windscreen and you want to redo your glare shield 3M makes strip caulk (sold in the PMA section of NAPA aero parts stores) the works well to keep H20 out