mike_elliott

From Mike Weir Last Saturday we had 11 arrive in 7 aircraft for our lunch at Short Cakes in La Belle. Here is an early heads up on the dates and locations for the next 3 Mooney Lunches. All start at 11:30 July 12th KFPR Fort Pierce Airport Tiki August 9th KBOW Bartow Tantrums September 13th KOBE Okeechobee Landing Strip Cafe I hope to see you there. Mike Weir

It’s 10a on the acclaim solenoid

My bad I didn’t mean to confuse jetdriven by using the word fuse. I should have said starter breaker

Or the starter fuse was pulled and not reset, a practice I got into doing (along with gear actuator fuse) anytime I was under the cowl or jacking with (get it) the plane

no harm....

but you wont have all that lead to "cushion" the valve seats

Mike Weir has stepped up to take care of organizing the Florida Mooney Lunch group meetings each month. Here is an email he recently sent. His contact info is mwier79@gmail.com Mooney Lunch June 14th 11:30 @ X14 LaBelle Municipal Get your Mooney running, fly out to LaBelle for lunch and semi-accurate conversation from like minded individuals. I’m hoping for clear sky and fair winds, but it’s Florida in the summer. If you don’t like the weather, wait and it will change. Please email me back with a guest count. If think you will show up let me know so I can pass it along to the restaurant. Life is fun - Enjoy it Mike LaBelle has a 5,200 foot runway 14 - 32 , ramp space, restaurant and reasonably priced fuel ($4.65 at my last use). Hamilton Disston recorded the largest purchase of land by a single person in the history of the world! That happened in 1881 here in Florida when he purchased 4 million acres. He planned to drain the swamp. A settlement formed on the shore of the Caloosahatchee River in that swamp and was named for the daughters of F.A. Hendry cattle baron and later FL politician who bought marshland along the river for grazing. E.E. Goodno bought some of this land from Hendry borrowing the money from Henry Ford. Ford later took Goodno’s land (7,000 acres) to settle the debt. The airport was activated in January 1956. I haven’t found much about the history of the airport, but its most recent renovation was completed in 2019. The total project which includes the terminal building, aircraft parking apron expansion and aircraft parking apron rehabilitation was funded by the FDOT at $3,065,200.00, the FAA at $2,534,500.00 and Hendry County at $21,300. Short Cakes Restaurant yelp.com Airport Information X14 - La Belle Municipal Airport airnav.com Some history of LaBelle The History of LaBelle citylabelle.com The Hendry county link contains some old LaBelle photos and stories (The Clock Tower) oooh.. Hendry County, Florida - FLGenWeb Site sites.rootsweb.com

The 99-2002’s were some of the worse for tank sealant leaks per Paul Beck. I hear the factory didn’t apply between rib and skin then. In any event, get it checked out and if it’s the sealant, patching will be a temporary fix as it will fail in other areas in short order

so do I

Great write up nice trip! Welcome! Marfa? Who’d a thunk another Mooney went there!

Boy these would make a great Mooney Summit Silent auction item if they still exist and if the owner would donate them!

That’s exactly what we are working towards. As carriers realize their risk exposure is reduced with formalized structured FITS based training, we anticipate a few quality underwriters will recognize that not all Mooney pilots fit in a high risk profile. Data from wings program effectively back this up and with FAA endorsement it aids underwriting making concessions for competency. Stay tuned and trained!

In an effort to mitigate the ever increasing pressure on insurance rates, we at Mooney Pros, Inc. have partnered with the FAA to provide FITS based scenario transition training and IPC's Mooney Pros, Inc. Named FAA Training Provider, Offering Enhanced Mooney Pilot Training Programs [Tampa, FL] – May 6, 2025 – Mooney Pros, Inc., the leader in Mooney specific aviation training, is proud to announce its designation as an FAA Training Provider. This prestigious recognition underscores the company’s commitment to excellence in pilot education and safety. Effective immediately, pilots completing transition training with Mooney Pros, Inc. will earn credits toward the FAA WINGS Program, including Basic, Advanced, and Master phases. Additionally, clients who complete an Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC) with Mooney Pros, Inc. will achieve the Basic WINGS phase. Both programs also fulfill the requirements for a Flight Review, streamlining the currency process for pilots and enabling lucrative insurance underwriting rates “We are thrilled to partner with the FAA to offer these enhanced training opportunities,” said Mike Elliott, CEO at Mooney Pros, Inc. “Our programs are designed to elevate Mooney pilot skills and safety while providing clear pathways to FAA WINGS recognition.” For more information about Mooney Pros, Inc.’s training programs, visit www.mooneypros.com or contact Mike Elliott, mike@mooneypros.com for a custom program tailored to your needs. About Mooney Pros, Inc. Mooney Pros, Inc. specializes in high-quality Mooney aircraft aviation training, focusing on safety, proficiency, and personalized instruction for pilots of all levels.

Dear Mooney Enthusiast, We had good weather for our last event. 9 Mooneys brought 14 people to lunch at The Tiki in Fort Pierce. Food was good, and we all enjoyed the visiting and eating. Our next event will be this Saturday, May 10, at Winter Haven (KGIF). As of today their self service price for 100LL is $4.56. This is the last event that I am planning to put on. All events start at 11:30. Future events. May 10, Winter Haven, GIF Please let me know by Thursday if you are going to try to come so I can give the restaurant an approximate head count. If you tell me you are coming, and can’t come do not worry about telling me, just do not come. I do not want anyone flying for any reason if they shouldn’t. I have been putting on Mooney Lunch for 20 years, starting in January of 2004. My situation is changing and I am giving it up after the May meeting. If anyone would like to take it over, please call me. If I pass it on to someone else, you will be given the option to have your name and address removed from the mailing list before I make the transfer of information. So far, no one has shown an interest in taking it over. Just an idea, but since no one has expressed an interest in taking the organization over, maybe a small group could do it. One person could handle the email list and notices, someone else could contact the restaurants, and those two or others could take turns being “in charge” at the restaurants which basically means taking attendance if you still want it and thanking the management for taking care of us. Hope to see you soon, Dave and Ruth N46DT 352-408-3343

The Mooney Summit's Bill Gilliland foundation has reached out to Mrs. Braun to offer our help. Thanks Steffan for validating the info we needed. Thanks for all the generosity of the Mooney Community that enables us to do this.

Yeah, I’m intimately familiar with the selection process. In the old days to be a fighter pilot they didn’t particularly want team players. They wanted the motocross rider or a wrestler versus a football player or a basketball player that had the Support of everyone else for his success.They wanted the kid that would walk into the bar and pick a fight with the biggest guy in the room. They wanted the guy who at 14 took the engine out of his dad’s station wagon and put a cam in it without his dad‘s permission. Today who knows? Proper hair color? The bottom line is for an 18 year-old to train and get his PPL in a Mooney M 20 TN. It’s an immersion process. And trust me I vetted him well before accepting the role as his instructor.

Brian Kendrick in San Marcos, JD Casteel SWTA in Smithville, Dougosh in Kerrville lots of great choices

I’m glad your plane is whole again. One really should not expect anything less from a maintainer than to do it exactly by the book. With today’s litigious society and the ever shrinking size of the font used in insurance fine print coupled with an insatiable appetite to find somebody alive to blame for somebody not alive, an A&P would be less than wise to make sure that he doesn’t have all of his eyes and tease crossed and dotted concerning the records of his work. As a CFI and Mooney training organization, we have the same challenges, not unlike so many other professions in the service or health industries

While having done a lot of Mooney specific training, I have only done one primary instruction. It was with an 18-year-old in an Acclaim type S. He never had an issue being behind the airplane, adapting to the complex management of the systems and had excellent adm skills His name is Reece Gold. Last year, He was a driver in the Indy car NXT series this year. He’s off in Europe, running the LMP3 series. Well, it can be done in a plane like the Mooney, but frankly insurance puts a stop for most to even attempt it. They look at the overall actuary tables versus the specific abilities of the individual and the training program. Of course they’re in business to make money not to pay out insurance claims so they want to mitigate any risk at all if they can. Our military trains, young men all the time and very high-performance aircraft

Sounds like the gas cap o rings on that tank are not sealing. The fuel vent and fuel servo are the only other paths into the tank for water. If the weep holes in the tank are seals over, water does get trapped. Anytime I spot water when sumping, I rock the culprit side wing fore and aft a number of times, resump, wait 5 min and resump. Repeat ill start on that tank, run checklist, before taxi I’ll switch to known water free tank and do run up and take off on that tank. That way I have insured clean free flow from both sides on the ground ymmv

So terribly sad. If anybody knows a surviving spouse contact info, please let me know. I have a text into Don Maxwell to see what he might know.

shouldnt take an A$P more than an hr or 2 to fix. Your lucky, the hose didnt break off in the wing. As Dan said, tape that sucker up now, find an A&P who has done it before, it will go smooth. Enjoy a long lunch while glue sets up, and place another bet in vegas as this is your lucky day as the stall strip is not laying somewhere in the desert. Seems like Andy at CAV systems said at SNF they are $1500 new and they have a few but are "flying" off the shelve now.

Dm sent

If anyone knew Jonathan Shelley or knows if he has a surviving spouse and their contact info, kindly DM me. EDIT, it appears the pilot was Jeffery Blane Maneth.