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Sable1

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    St. Paul, MN

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  1. Just a quick follow up. Someone beat me to the punch. Due to the snow, wind, and work, I was not able to get to Omaha to see it in person, and the other interested party had worked out a deal with the owner. It's goes in for the pre-buy within a week or so. The search is back on. Thanks again to everyone with the feedback. One of these days....
  2. 17 degrees yesterday am, snow this morning. Winter is NEVER going to end! Why do we live here again?? At least I was able to get up flying yesterday and get my IPC completed.
  3. causoam - I was able to talk with DMAX last week about the plane. While he obviously did not recall it right off the top of his head (he may work on more than one Mooney ), he pull up the history on his computer, and we talked about the maintenance that was performed with him over the past 10+ years. While it did not provide quite the information I was looking for, it did give me the impression that the owner(s) did a pretty good job of maintaining the aircraft, and fixing things as they came up. As for the PPI, my plan is to do a phased approach (similar to what Mike B suggests), with the option to pull the plug at any time. Since it's due for an annual in a few months, my plan would be to have the PPI turn into an annual - provided everything looks good to that point. While I have no delusions that I'm getting a new plane, and that it's going to have some warts, I hope I'm not looking at $30k worth of squawks. The price on this is not that good. Thanks for feedback so far.
  4. After almost another year of searching, I found a 231 that warrants a closer look. I'm going to try to get there tomorrow (or hopefully some time this week) to see it in person and give it a quick test flight. It appears to be in decent shape, and it's been maintained by Maxwell for the last number of years. My only concern is that it's not been flown much in the past couple of years (a total of about 30 hrs in the past 2 years, 12 in the last year). So as long as it doesn't need an overhaul soon, I should be ok. (SMOH 632 in 03) If anyone is interested, it's 871AM, formerly 5452X. I've checked the history in the usual places (FAA, AviationDB, etc), and nothing glaring there. So if it looks good once I get there, I'll be looking to do a pre-buy. If anyone has a recommendation in the Omaha area, I'd appreciate it. I mentioned wanting to send to Benson MN for the pre-buy, but the owner is a little reluctant on that. (although it may not be out of the question) Thanks again for all of your insight. Tedd
  5. Living here in MN, I just paid the registration for my 2012 Tahoe in November and it was over $500 - And that's not even an LTZ, just a basic LT. I hate to think what the bill will be for me when I finally buy a plane - but I know it will include the 7.25% excise tax, plus a registration, plus who knows what else they'll tack on. Land of 10,000 taxes.... Between this and the damn weather, I think it's time to move!
  6. yea - this is a bit of a concern. The wife is not exactly thrilled about small planes (doen't care a whole lot for the big ones either). She'll go along if we have a destination, but the $100 hamburger or just to burn some 100LL on a sunny summer day has no apeal to her. I don't think she'd be excited about the mask, but I think she'd tolerate it. Good point to bring up though.
  7. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts so far. I have wondered if the GB is just less forgiving of being mismanaged (like most things in aviation), and that with the proper instruction - along with the right tools (i.e. engine monitor), they work just fine. Unfortunately I have found that there are a lot of knuckleheads flying planes that really should not be, and that begs the question of how the plane was taken care of. One recommendation I had was to find something with a timed out motor and pay for the OH myself. While that does have some merit, I think it would be hard to find the right plane that way. Putting $50k into a plane right off the bat does not seem like it would be financially a good idea. Unless of course the purchase price was low enough - but then the motor would not be the only thing needing work. As for the desire for a turbo (and it's certainly more want than need), I have gone back and forth over that several times. A 201 would really fit 90% of my flying, and I'm sure I would be happy with a non-turbo. When I started looking, and to some extent still today, the price difference between the 201's and 231's is really not that much. For roughly the same money, the turbo has some nice advantages - mainly as Nick stated, climbing above the weather. Of course without FIKI, that's a bit more problematic in the winter, but still. Maybe it's a poor analogy, but I look at it like having 4WD. I don't need it all that often, but when you need it - you need it. Plus, the 231's just look cooler. (I always thought the cowl on the 201 looked like it was too short) Tedd
  8. OK, once again I'll show my ignorance, and if I start to drive you guys nuts, just tell me to go away (or go back to lurking). I've started looking for a Mooney last spring. Flew a 201 and a 231, and really started leaning toward the 231. During the process I was told on several occasions to avoid the planes with the GB motor. I was told they have more issues, less reliable, blah, blah, blah. But the big deal I was lead to believe is that when it's up for overhaul, it would need to be replaced or upgraded to an LB (obviously not inexpensive). The broker I've talked to about a few planes basically said to avoid a GB at all costs. I know several of you here have GB's and from what I've read, they don't seem to be any more troublesome than the LB, MB, Lyc's etc... Obviously care and maintenance plays into that as well. And here's the real kicker. I came across a 231 that has recently had thier GB overhauled - which I did not think was an option. So have I been mis-informed? SHOULD I be considering a GB? (The thought of shelling out another $50k+ in a few years is not appealing, so I'd like to do whatever I can to minimize that possibility.) Thanks again for the insight. Tedd
  9. Hey Aaron - welcome back! (you couldn't stay in FL for a couple of more days??) Still thinking about the $100 hamburger run this week... (I think you'd be the only one there) Seriously - glad everything worked out ok. Thanks for sharing. Given the recent posts on the cold weather ops, I have certainly been giving more thought to personal minimums. Ditching in a cornfield at 11pm with -20+ F temps (not to mention the windchill) is not my idea of a good time. Even landing at a remote airport in the middle of nowhere can still be dangerous. Thanks for sharing! Tedd
  10. I was thinking the same thing. I've been a member for about 12 years, never got a hat, flight bag, stationary., nothing! And then I signed up for auto-renew a couple of years ago - sure I was going to win the sweepstakes plane with the extra entries, but that did not work out so well either. I should have cancelled my membership there! Like a lot of others, I'm also curious to see what the new guy does. I don't feel that Craig Fuller did a whole lot in his time in office, hopefully Baker does better. And maybe it's a visibility thing. Maybe they need to do a better job of letting us know what they've actually been effective in accomplishing. But it does drive me nuts the amount of effort and expense they go through trying to squeeze more money from me.
  11. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and insight. As is usually the case - I learn something every time I log in here. Hopefully some day soon I'll be able to contribute with some actual experience of my own. In the meantime, I'll have to continue standing on the shoulders of the giants here... Thanks again!
  12. Zane, I think you hit the nail on the head. There is always going to be some history lurking, and trying to hedge my bet as much as possible seems like a good idea. And you're also right about the transition training. Not that it can't be done, but it will call for more hours with an instructor (additonal $$) as well as the added stress. RJ - WOW. You make some really good points. I've not really looked much at the Rockets - maybe I should be. Based about about 700' MSL, I can see where some of the local opinions I've received have come from. I'm not really excited at the thought of a $50k overhaul at 1200 hours. Like most things - it's a pay me now, or pay me (more) later... The search continues...
  13. Carusoam - you did great, thanks. I like to think I'm not a ham fisted flyer and with the proper training would be able to manage both the temps and compressions as Don does. But of course everyone thinks they're an above average pilot.... (A little more background on me - 400+ total time, first aircraft purchase, only a few hours of turbo time - enough to give me the bug!) Part of my delimna is not just the price difference, but what's actually available. If it were just a matter of spending $x more for an identical plane, it would be much easier. Try to put a price tag on it, and decide if it's worth it. But there are so many other factors that get tossed in. My preference is definitely to have both. But I came across a mid 80's 231, low total time, mid time engine, P&I in good shape (as much as you can tell from the pics), decent avionics (G-430, Century 2000 AP) and from what I gather it's been very well taken care of. Under $90k. This has been a hard one to pass up. Don - Thanks for your insight as well.
  14. As my deal on a 231 fell through this summer, I continue to search for a bird with the right combination of bells, whistles, (and more importantly) good care, and price - in other words, a good value. So my question is: how important is an intercooler and (or) an automatic wastegate? I know they can both be added, but i believe it probably makes more sense to buy a plane that already has them, if that's what I want. I have talked to a few people, and have conflicting opinions, but not any good reasons why. I've seen a few planes without either, and they tend to cost less. I'm wondering if it's really worth the extra money. As for my type of flying... Based in the upper Midwest (MSP area), not many flights in the mountains, no low IFR, a fair number of $200 hamburger runs. Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated. Tedd
  15. +1 for Fate is the Hunter and also Flight of Passage. Both great reads.
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