Robert C.

+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.

Ouch, that is more than I remembered. here is the post, now 12 months old that i had in mind when I replied. DAVIDWH Full Member Members 150 posts Reg #:N606WM Model:M-20R Posted 20 August 2013 - 11:09 AM Present cost of STC from Midwest is $6,750 Govenor, about $750 3 blade Hartzell $12,275 plus Tach and fuel Looks like $20,000 and change

Depends on whether you need the 3 bladed Hartzell prop. It's been a while since I researched it so don't quote (checking with Midwest Mooney would give right number) me but I recall the STC being a few thousand and the prop around $12k. So it is obviously much more palatable if you already have the 3-bladed prop.

October 16 Apple will announce its changes to the iPad lineup...if there are significant changes prices of used may well come down as people trade up. Christmas wish list?

This is off the top of my head most of what i went through. Some of these you can do ahead of taking delivery, others shortly after. Insurance, arranging tie-down or hangar. Research sales tax in your state. I bought an Alabama registered aircraft from a location in Georgia. I live in Connecticut. Had to register at the airport (in CT) for a registration sticker, have to get a particular tax form from CT Revenue to pay sales tax ("Use Tax" is the technical term here) in April. Will you fly to the Bahamas or Canada or Mexico? Might as well get in gear and get what you need to apply for CBP sticker and screening, ditto registering with eAPIS. Technically you need to get the FCC radio license for that as well but many folks ignore that as noone ever seems to ask about that. Think of flying to DC to see the Smithsonian? Take the SFRA course and if you want to land at the DC3 get the TSA screening done. Do you have a wishlist for improvements - order them now while you're still in shock and fatalistic about the total financial outlay. e.g. engine heater, Engine monitor, AoA install, etc, Airplane cover and cowl plugs, pitot cover (unless seller provides - mine didn't). Garmin account so you can download data for the G430. SiriusXM if you use their weather product. Order extra keys from a MSC (unless the seller has an extra set for you). Inventory: microfiber rags, water spray bottle for cleaning, chocks, iPad mount? cigarette lighter power converter to charge iPad or cell phone. fuel tester, engine oil to carry, oil funnel, etc, etc. Probably forgetting a few small things but this is most of what i hassled with the past few months of preparing for and living the new ownership experience. Good luck! Robert

I bought my Ovation now about 2 months ago. My 1st airplane, low time pilot, not an inveterate car tinkerer....i.e. mechanical/aviation babe in the woods. i decided to spend $750 on SavvyMX which offers a pre-buy service. They find a shop, discuss the pre-buy with the shop, review the squawk list with you and advice you on how to deal with the seller on negotiating who pays for what. My O was quite clean so the squawk list was rather short and straightforward and the value added by SavvyMX was modest, but if there had been judgment call issues I wouldn't have wanted to be without them. Like others said above: don't know your background or experience level. Being low time I lined up a CFII for 12 days. We picked up the A/C, ferried it home (4.5hr flight) and combined the transition training with an accelerated IFR course; I passed the checkride on day 12 with 43 Mooney hrs in the log book and felt completely comfortable with the aircraft and how to operate it in a wide range of circumstances. Do I have a lot left to learn? Absolutely! But I have a mechanically sound airplane and a good core of understanding on how to fly her and treat her. The process worked for me, YMMV Robert PS: other than my honeymoon that was the best (and most intense) 2 week vacation period I ever took - well worth it

+1 George, Great choice (and decision on the "screaming eagle" upgrade)! I have the 310HP upgrade on my Ovation which brings the max RPM from 2500 to 2700. The STC revised performance diagrams show the T/O roll dropping from 1200 ft to 800ft. Now that's with all the usual standard atmosphere and max weight caveats. Same with climb rates, at 2700 rpm i comfortably beat the numbers published above. None of the long body Mooneys have cowl flaps so the only difference in operating complexity is the rpm reduction which strikes me as a minor price to pay for the much improved safety associated with the better acceleration and climb performance. And best of all, at altitude with the rpm pulled back to 2400rpm i get the same great 175kts at close to 13gph. Love it when I get to have my cake and eat it too

I second everyone's hearty: Welcome! And even stronger second the advice to get your IR. At 170-180 kts you quickly find yourself in different weather patterns than from where you took off. You are forced to become a better pilot, always a plus in a high performance aircraft. A great way to do all this: do your homework on which Mooney to buy while at the same time... do your homework on the written test pass the written and buy your Mooney combine transition training and an accelerated IR course You'll be amazed at the number of fun travel options that open up when you have both a Mooney and an IR Fly safe Robert

Hmmm...is it me or did FltPlan Go stop working after the most recent iOS update? Flashes up the opening screen and then is back to the regula iPad screen. fltPlan itself is working fine.

Dan and jfdez raise the 2 points I was going to raise. It does get me thinking though....does my totalizer match the G1000 fuel gauges? My recollection is that they don't, I.e. The fuel gauges inside and outside both go to 89 gal and not to 102 gal. So it isn't till I've burned 13 or so gal that things start to agree. Will have to check that more carefully Next time I go flying. Of course the right wing fuel sight gauge popped and disappeared in the past few weeks so I'll have to wait for a new one before I can complete the excercise. Robert

Don't you also need a CBP decal and FCC radio license decal? I've just gone through the process and am now waiting for those stickers to go on the airplane. AOPA has a piece on their website that describes what you need to do. If it's a one-off you're better off driving, it takes more than 1.5 hrs and the gas cost to go through the application process

Well Scott, sure hope you are wrong I rolled the dice and did get a G1000/ST55x Ovation; The price difference with the few G1000W/GFC700 Ovations on the market is between $40 and $70k so there is a real discount that can be applied to a future upgrade if/when it comes. I also figured the ADS-B issue would not be a big deal and that various firms would provide options at a reasonable price. That seems to start happening so the main issue left will be getting the Garmin upgraded to WAAS. Would be a bummer if that didn't happen but for those of us not planning on flying hard IFR very often that is an inconvenience, not a deal breaker.

Thanks Jeff, that is a great suggestion. I'll try and reach Dan and let him know of my interest as well. Robert

Ok, thanks for the tip. Robert

I learned to fly in an Archer based in Utah, flying out of airfields with field elevations between 3000 and 5200 ft. The instructor taught me to lean till the engine (O-360) stumbled and then enrichen to get to max power. Should come out to about the same as what Joe described. The bottom line is to lean for best power. Necessary? Well, necessary and practical are different things. Practically speaking i don't really think about it unless the field elevation is above 1000ft and even then only on hot days and with a short runway.

Congratz, wonderful feeling isn't it!?

http://www.donkaye.com/donkaye.com/Perfect_Your_Landings.html Best 25+7 dollars you'll ever spend. The message is dead simple and absolutely right - or rephrasing that: it worked for me. During the approach pitch and trim for 80kts Over the numbers at 75kts (+/- a few for weight) At half a wingspan gently pitch up for landing attitude Wait and she'll land herself so gently you hardly notice it Grin a goofy grin taxiing all the way to the ramp (not part of Don's video or presentation - my editorial ) Robert PS: Don Kaye is one of the better known Mooney expert instructors in the USA, he sometimes posts on this board as well

Hi Jeff, interesting. I dealt with other people at Premier and while I bought from them (obviously ) I did not have a good experience with them and while I won't publicly slag them if anyone is thinking of buying or selling through them I'd be happy to privately share my experiences. Robert PS: image of the speed/rpm/pwr setting attached

Hi Andrew, I'm still experimenting; my 1st 43 hrs in N446PC were largely spent in shooting approaches and practicing holds - under the hood So i didn't have many stretches of cross-country where I could play with settings after the initial cross country when i picked her up. I have focused so far on rpm of 2400-2500 largely for noise and efficiency reasons. I know the STC power table for the 310hp conversion shows performance at 2700 rpm but i just haven't gotten to seriously trying it. The 2700 rpm is nice on T/O and initial climb though On a tangent: is the NJ Mooney group still active? Thought I had left a message on the website but haven't heard back. would be fun to get together with area Mooniacs. Robert

Cool, I'm planning on flying to Bar Harbor this coming Saturday. Any tips or inside knowledge for a 1st time visitor? Airport and approaches seem straightforward enough. Did the FBO have a courtesy car you could borrow? Favorite luncheon spot Thx Robert

yep, I'm a happy camper. My bird is rather heavy (U/L of 904 lbs) with an A/C that i happily would have traded for extra payload so I wasn't expecting it. Think 9000ft is the sweet spot for long range cruising, lower down the numbers didn't look nearly as good, but i didn't record them and happily ATC cleared me for 9000ft fairly quickly.

Welcome, and well done. May you have many hours and many years of happy (and safe) flying in her. Like you I'm new to Mooney ownership and very happy I defied the common "wisdom" on how cramped the cockpit is supposed to be. Took my wife on a trip in our Ovation for the 1st time this past Saturday and she declared it positively luxurious (that is of course in comparison to the flying club's Archers, but still ) Robert

I have an Ovation (3); on 2 recent trips: 9000ft 186kts TAS 15.2 gph at 50 ROP, WOT (21.9 MP), 2450 rpm 10000ft 183kts TAS 14.1 gph at 50 LOP, WOT (21.9 MP), 2450 rpm 9000ft 176kts TAS 13.2 gph at 50 LOP, WOT (21.9 MP), 2400 rpm Robert