whiskytango

+1 on getting tank sealing done before painting. A buddy with an F model had his brand new paint job ruined by a tank sealing company that had an electric screw gun "walk off" multiple fasteners on wing access panels.

Like @Schllc I am typically given the "dive bomb" vectored approach by ATC into the Class C airport I fly out of, followed by "maintain maximum forward airspeed until 5 DME from the runway" (there is a lot of airline, corporate jet and Military traffic operating here). The few times I fly VFR I use 120 KIAS on downwind.

Or this:

Your chances of dying in an airliner crash are almost the same whether you get on the plane or just watch from the terminal as they pull away from the gate. Kind of like winning the lottery jackpot - your chances of winning don't change too much if you don't buy a ticket

My only iPad / Stratus "failure" was due to overheating while the plane was on the ramp, between flights, preventing me from starting the flight until both units cooled down. I got into the habit of taking both out their mounts and putting them on the floor in the passenger footwell. Even on a 90+F degree sunny day, both units are ready to go when I am. I found the Stratus to be more vulnerable to inflight overheating, based on its position below the windscreen. Putting a white paper "radiant heat shield" around it (with 1/4 inch gap for air circulation) prevents overheating. I understand the argument that a Garmin EFB eliminates these potential problems, but I really like ForeFlight on an iPad Mini.

+1 on everything @jlunseth and @gsxrpilot have said. One other comment - you may have to trail the cowl flaps partially open during cruise in hot weather. Otherwise your hottest cylinder will be over the 380 degrees F that the experts (Mike Busch and GAMI) recommend for maximum cylinder life.

I had a somewhat similar incident in my first K model in 2003. The engine quit after a cylinder barrel blew apart. There was no open terrain around and I decided to land on a road. The road started out as a divided highway, but after I dodged some high tension wires the road transitioned to undivided highway with one lane in each direction. I was carrying enough speed that I realized I would hit the back of a pickup truck at the point of touchdown. I was able to pop up and just clear the roof of the pickup before passing through an intersection and landing "normally". I even had a green light through the intersection - what are the chances of that?? After going home and having a few adult beverages I told my wife that if this ever happens again I am going to put it in the trees. Landing on a road subjects too many innocent people to too much kinetic energy (not to mention the fire risk). This is not meant as a criticism of the pilot in Livermore CA - I'm sure he was trying to do the best with the situation he was facing.

I remember seeing motorcycle ice racing in the movie "On Any Sunday". The narrator (Bruce Brown) imagined what it would be like if you put your bike down and somebody ran over you with spiked tires

I tend to agree with you. If you go to the BK and Honeywell websites, there are multiple mentions of the AeroCruze 230 replacement for KFC 150 legacy autopilots. I couldn't find any reference to the AeroCruze 100 on either site.

I am always amazed at the absolutely perfect timing of Military fly-overs. WOW!

Not Mooney-specific, but Mother Nature tends to win the argument if it involves icing or thunderstorms.

If I were going to spend nearly 1 million dollars on a new airplane, I would rather see the manufacturer solve the problem with the missing gear retraction system, and not use their engineering resources figuring out how to add green stitching to the seats.

This is all great information, and makes sense. I will have it in hand, along with the Turboplus STC you referenced, the next time I have my A&P adjust fuel flow. Maybe the MB engine designation stands for the "Magic Bullet" we LB owners have been seeking!

I too have not been able to get my A&P to adjust max fuel flow for 24 GPH. The most I ever see is 22 GPH at 36 inches MAP. The A&P who installed my overhauled LB engine in 2019 set it up for 18 GPH maximum, which was way too low to prevent engine overheating in the climb. After the first flight I requested my A&P to adjust FF up to 24 GPH, but it only does 22 GPH, and my No. 5 cylinder CHT limits climb to 700 FPM in anything but winter weather. I reminded the A&P that this intercooled engine cannot be operated over 36 inches MAP, and to set up fuel flow based on that limitation. I wonder if he saw the 40 inch MAP redline on the MAP gage (which applied to the engine before the Merlin UDC and intercooler were added) and set max FF for that MAP.

My first 231 had a GB engine with no UDC or Intercooler. I don't recommend it. It was a struggle on hot days to maintain even a moderate climb rate without significantly exceeding 400 F CHT. As much as I tried to keep CHTs below 400 F, during the 3 years that I owned it I ended up having 3 cylinders develop cracks and 1 complete cylinder barrel separation, resulting in an off-airport landing. The previous owner had the alarm value on the JPI set for 460 F, so who knows what CHT he was operating at. The 231 I am flying now has an LB engine with a Merlyn UDC, intercooler and GAMIs. It is like flying a different airplane, and I can recommend it. I too would prefer to have a 252 with the MB engine, but none were available when I was buying.

This is a little off topic, but has anyone ever compared tach time with the flight time listed in FlightAware? I haven't but if they are close that would provide an independent data source in the event that the FAA ever questioned logged time in your logbook.

The last time I declared (oil pressure went to zero) I got a letter from the local FSDO asking for a copy of the logbook entry for any repairs that resulted from the emergency. I sent them the engine major overhaul logbook entry and never heard back from them.

Hi Stephen, Best of wishes to you on your next adventure. When my wife and I lived in the Annapolis, MD area we always had a sailboat (a Catalina 25 and later an O'Day 32 - both were fun boats, but may not be trailerable) and sailed the Chesapeake Bay. There is nothing quite as relaxing as sailing into a new creek, dropping anchor, observing Cocktail Hour and cooking dinner. Good times. My brother and his wife became live-aboard cruisers in their sailboat after retiring. They did it for 10 years, and had many great experiences. I'm sure you will too. I wish you the best!!

I bought this one from Amazon: Car Charger RAVPower 24W 4.8A Mini Dual USB Car Adapter, Compatible with iPhone XS Max XR X 8 7 Plus, iPad Pro Air Mini and Galaxy S9 S8 Plus It will charge both an iPad Mini 4 (slowly) and a Stratus 2S simultaneously. I have not detected any RF noise when it is plugged in and charging. It was $7.99 when I bought it in 2019, so it was fully CB-compliant.

That says it all. Thanks @Parker_Woodruff

Thanks, I will give them a call

After a prolonged period of hand flying (thanks Century) I am aware that my K model does not fly straight, and there is a noticeable effort required to stay level in the roll axis. I want to correct this problem before getting a GFC-500 installed. I know I could fly to Texas and have DMax solve the problem, but I was wondering if there is a Mooney A&P in the Southeast who is good at this type of work.

I just has an interesting discussion with AssuredPartners. I got a renewal quote, and was pleasantly surprised that it was only 14% higher than last year. I was expecting much worse, based on my age (74) and the reduction in annual flying hours since I retired. When I called to bind coverage, the agent said that I was fortunate to be flying an M20-K model Mooney. She that that based on 4 gear-up claims last year, pilots flying M20-E models are going to see premium increases of up to 80% from AssuredPartners! We must take extra care to stop making gear-up landings. The insurance carriers are clearly counting every one in setting rates. Also, if you have an E-model, you probably should not expect AssuredPartners to give you your lowest rate quote.

I couldn't agree more @GeeBee. Why is it that no major engine manufacturer is willing to do a true Clean Sheet engine design, based on a water-cooled fuel- injected aluminum block engine that runs on Mogas? I think I know the answer - the company attorneys have a good understanding of their liability exposure based on the current antiquated design, and that is factored into the cost of the product. The liability associated with a Clean Sheet design is an unknown, and no manufacturer wants to stick their neck out. Very sad.

The useful load on my current K model is 892 lbs.