Robert C.

A MSC near Atlanta quoted and then charged appr. $3200 for the annual when i bought my Ovation. The fee was described as "the standard price for a Mooney Ovation." Given the issues they didn't find during the annual I doubt they put in the number of hours you expect for that price. Next year I'll be asking my local AP for a quote first.

ForeFlight Pro also has the Canadian material. Just know that under the agreement that FltPlan.com has with the NavCan publishers you cannot print the Canadian charts, Plates and materials. Like Jim I don't know about Mexico.

Yep, sage advice. I had a pre-buy and then the annual done by a MSC near Atlanta, GA. I clearly was considered a naive easy money target. After the pre-buy I had 2 weeks before I could get down there with an instructor to pick up the aircraft and start my transition training and IFR course. So I asked them to do the annual (due a month later) and install a AoA indicator. The owner professed to be completely surprised to see me show up on the agreed upon day when I arrived with my expensive instructor in tow. The annual had been done but the AoA install had barely started. It took them 3 more days during which my aircraft was shoved aside at least once (the AP told me out of earshot of the boss) for other work. We were able to use the time for some ground school but could and should have been flying. The owner then effectively blamed his assistant for the delay. I had several e-mails into her discussing the pickup date and work to be done. The AoA still isn't working even after my local mechanic took a look at it. Equally annoying after a pre-buy and an Annual: the engine runs about 100-150rpm over expected factory idle. The shop never told me about that or advised me what to do about it. 2 weeks ago i noticed that according to the logs the ELT batteries needed replacing. My local A&P opened up the ELT, presumably tested during the pre-buy and Annual. The wrong batteries were installed - upside down - when the correct batteries were installed the right way up it turns out the ELT is defective and doesn't work and needs to be replaced. I'm not using another MSC until I have vetted them thoroughly on this board and on the MAPA mailing list. My local A&P has an outstanding reputation in the local community and although he only has 2 other Mooneys he looks after at this point I trust him a lot more than a MSC I don't know.

Many variables, Philip mentioned CG. The other obvious ones are altitude, mixture and prop settings. My Ovation with the same engine will run those speeds and better 50 LOP with 13.6 Gpgh at 9000ft, WOT, 2450rpm. So get an engine monitor and start flying LOP

My O3 has fuel flow only. Robert

That is great news. Thanks for your persistence in following-up. Will start saving now

What are the odds of one in New England or the central East Coast? These look like a blast, just a little far away.

Yep, check the Avionics forum, I asked a similar question 2 weeks ago. I'm Leaning towards the elt406 solution myself as I understand the ELTs with built-in GPs are chaper to install. The GPS interface apparently is quite expensive.

Double check but I'm quite sure the outlet is 12v. Since the electrical system is 24v I assumed that it was 24v and bought an inverter from 24v to 110v only to discover that my Ovation (2006) has a 12v lighter. Robert PS, gratz on your purchase, Ovations are great, can't imagine you not loving her

Blackstone charges $25, the container is free. You get a detailed report and a short write-up with suggestions about what may be going on. My most recent sample analysis attached. I aim for every 33-50 hrs for oil changes and have a Blackstone analysis done at each.N446PC-Oil Analysis -09-12-14.pdf Robert

Thanks guys, this is extremely helpful. As I'm doing my homework I just ran across the name "Skyhunter 406 ELT" also with an internal GPS and apparently independent of ship power. I don't see any complaints about them, or compliments for that matter. Robert

the 121.5 ELTs are legal, but i don't really see the benefit of having one. Frequency is not monitored for emergency signals, so it'd be random if a passing aircraft received your signal. If you go down in an area with a lot of air traffic the odds are there is a lot of ground activity as well and someone witnessed your crash. The more remote you fly the less the chances of being heard/found. The 406 is "heard" by satellites so you have continuous and complete coverage.

Well, the received wisdom is right: after you buy you find a host of things in need of fixing or upgrading in the 1st year that the pre-buy didn't catch My local AP just looked at my ELT because i noticed the battery date is due this weekend. First he finds that the current batteries are installed upside down, then he realizes they are the wrong part number; he replaces them with correct batteries and finds that the ELT is dead. This ELT was inspected at an annual in August by a presumably reputable MSC....hmmmm.... Anyway, i now have 90 days to get a new ELT installed. My AP would rather not play with the GPS interface so if he replaces the old unit with a new version of the same I need a trip to an avionics shop. Alternatively I can buy one with the GPS built in. Also, am upgrading to 406 as long as I'm spending money anyway. Anyone have experience with or advice regarding: Emerging Lifesaving Technologies 406 ELT with internal GPS $1200 Artex ELT 1000 Single Output 406 ELT $998 (?) Kannad 406 AF INTEGRA $855 Thanks in advance for any advice. Robert

Very cool, thanks for sharing.

What we really need is a WAAS GPS version that does ADS-B out on 1090 so you can use it when flying in Canada. This UAT stuff is all good and well but just like with electricity and measurement systems we're the only country in the world using it. Just a tad myopic if you ask me. /rant off

I trust that is so that you can plan on planning Summit IV ?

Done. Thanks for managing this great site and resource for all of us. Robert

Don't think the Wethead conversion was ever part of the 550/Ovation story, purely Bravo. So you'd have the same solid TCM 550G the rest of us Ovation drivers have. Don't know anything about that particular Ovation but looks like it has a nice panel for its age. 530W, basic engine monitor, coupled approaches all good. Relatively low time. Reads like a good candidate but I haven't been tracking prices for a while and have no idea if it is a good value at that price. Good luck!

Hmmm.....next year a Mooney Caravan arrival?

Best not to pass along hearsay...it is generally incomplete and often wrong. The "spin story" is a classic example. If you read up on the development of the Cirri you'll discover that the firm successfully petitioned the FAA to skip the spin tests because it has the BRS. This did save a material amount of time and certification expense. Since no official spin tests were done some pundit decided the Cirrus apparently is dangerous to spin and an OWT was born.

Sorry, but will have to disagree with you on that one. The carbon fibre and other "plastic" technologies have stood the test of time. E.g., "Plastic" gliders have been around since the 70s and have held up just fine. Moreover, without rivets and seams you have a cleaner hull and airfoil. Whatever may turns you away from plastic planes it shouldn't be the material from which they are built.

Congratz!!

+1 Interesting how few people know about this...until recently myself included. Of all people, it was the DPE who pointed it out to me when I fumbled the question on my oral. Now I religiously check it. Seems to give tops most of the time but not always.

I took it as a pun...red wine...whiney being less red than red?

Guess that depends on your model. The newer Mooneys have Medeco ignition locks. Keys can only be ordered from Mooney via an MSC; they are $25 each. The cabin door key is "vanilla" and can be duplicated by any locksmith.