gsxrpilot

Since I fly a K with the damn filler neck and flapper, it just never works to put in a fuel order and head to the hotel or restaurant. It will be +/- 10 gal when I return. So I almost always am there to supervise fueling and I ALWAYS install the caps myself. I know just how tight they should be and anything else is on crooked. In 700+ Mooney hours between two airplanes, I've never sump'd water out of the tanks.

I would start by finding a shop that is actually happy to install an EDM-900 in your Rocket. Evidently this shop hasn't done many, or hasn't had great success with the installs, or both. Either way, this means more expensive and less chance of success for you. And when features don't work, the shop will just say, "we told you so." I'd find a different shop.

It doesn't have to sit well with everyone... only the one guy who bought the plane. He probably doesn't care. If they'd held an auction and sold off 1000 different items, much of it useless shit, but people purchase anyway to fund the museum, that's different. But this was only one item, sold to one person.

Russell would have never sold them... JD, however, bought all of SWTA from Russell's estate just after he passed away. It includes all the STC's. But there's certainly nothing wrong with your design. It really looks great!

The conversion from a 252 to an Encore requires complying to a specific Mooney Drawing. It's getting more and more difficult to get ahold of the drawing and the required parts as the years go by. But here are the requirements: Engine - - Change prop governor to reduce max RPM to 2600. - Change wategate to increase max boost to 39". - Change fuel pump to supply fuel flow required for increased boost. - Remark engine instruments accordingly. = increase from 210hp to 220hp and engine designation change from MB to SB. Airframe - - Change brakes from single caliper to dual caliper. - This requires new brake rotors/disks. - This requires new master cylinders. *not 100% sure on this one - This requires new inner and middle gear doors to enclose the larger disks and calipers. - All of the above now requires new counter weights for all control surfaces. Logbook entry Weight and Balance with new gross weight of 3200 lbs. This should result in a net UL increase of +230 lbs.

I'm sure if someone came along with an interest in taking over the STC's the SWTA Cowl would be available. JD is just a bit swamped at the moment trying to get the maintenance business off the ground and keep the new kid in diapers ;-)

Or this guy!! The title says it all.

I used to live there... and with 100+ degrees for days in Austin... kinda wish I still did.

The big difference between Florida and California... bugs. The weather is great in Florida, but the bugs will keep you inside instead of out enjoying it.

@Raptor05121 finally someone with their priorities straight... Airplane first, then car.

The situation in jets is a bit different in that it's very difficult/impossible to hand fly the jet with people walking up and down the aisles, drink carts, etc. Also, at least the jet's I fly on are typically in the air for more than 10 hours and sometimes close to 20. I'm pretty sure the only time the seat belt sign is off, is when the autopilot is on. In our little planes a failed autopilot is just a minor inconvenience although expensive one. I'll bet it can be done, but I'll also bet no one has done an STC for such a configuration. Personally, I wouldn't want the extra weight of a second autopilot.

7,725 this month. (That's an anomaly, but loved every mile of it.) I'll call JD Casteel and put him on a plane to come take care of it. :-)

J's are as fast as K's up to about 10K or 12K feet. But they'll do it on less fuel. F's have the best average useful load of the fleet (Eagles are right there as well but in a different tax bracket). And they're cheaper to acquire than a J... but a smidge slower as well. The sweet spot between speed/efficiency/useful load would have to be an M20K 252 Encore. I typically get between 16 and 18 MPG in my 252 (gotta be sucking on the O2 to get this) and the Encore conversion will give me over 1100 lbs useful load. But it's hard to beat @201er M20J for range. I'm pretty sure he did a full tour of the Caribbean and didn't buy fuel until he was back in Florida.

I think SavvyMx makes sense when you don't have an A&P/AI you can trust to know your plane and act in your best interest. And if you're in that position, Savvy is just a band-aid until you find a shop you can trust.

With work in Chicago on Thursday morning and tickets to the Cubs game in the afternoon, I elected to leave OSH on Wed before the storm came in. It was a pretty uneventful departure. But unusual in that I never stopped moving once I started up in the North 40. It was a straight taxi all the way to the pavement, then turn on Alpha, and OSH Tower immediately clearing "the Mooney on Alpha" for takeoff runway 27. The next day was an excellent Cubs game followed by early Friday morning departure for Texas and home. @"Chocks", Wade, and I took the VFR corridor down the lake shore before turning south. It's a spectacular view of Chicago and don't miss it if you get the opportunity. @"Chocks" and Wade climbing away over Soldier Field. After a lunch stop in Conway, AR with @Bryan, it was IMC most of the way home to Smithville, TX This caps off an epic month of July with the Mooney. We flew 7725 miles and I put 48:01 in the log book. She's now headed to annual with JD at SWTA and I'm heading back to work so I can pay for another month like that next year. I'm feeling very fortunate and thankful to have such a good airplane and the time and means to use it.

It's only 45 minutes (car) or 10 minutes (Mooney) from Wilmington, NC which is a thriving city of over 120,000. You would find all the indications of civilization there. Just be aware that mother nature wipes those beach communities clean every X number of years, as hurricanes are regular visitors there. And thanks for the call, BTW... hope to see you guys at OSH next year.

I taxi down a grass strip from the runway to my hangar. There's a gravel taxi way, but the grass is easier on the prop. After landing from the return flight from OSH yesterday, I was afraid I'd set the airport on fire taxiing through the grass. It was 106 degrees in Austin and the grass is all bone dry. But no chance of getting stuck.

I love the brand, the plane, and the people I get to hang out with because I own a Mooney. I just don't love the latest group of marketing/sales people employed by Mooney. But fortunately or unfortunately, they seem to come and go pretty quickly. It can't be an easy job selling $800K toys.

I was leading Tango element in the Caravan arrival. We saw Doc, the B29 coming up on our right side. He called OSH tower and said he was straight in for 36L. The tower asked who it was and he said "Doc! we're the B29". The tower told him he would have to hold over the airfield as he was scheduled number two, behind 61 Mooney's. He acknowledged and we saw him climb above our flight and enter a hold over the airport.

If everyone was like you, we wouldn't need sales people. I also manage a global sales organization and have attended/worked countless trade shows. This crew wouldn't be on my team very long.

I went by the booth wearing all Mooney gear, head to toe. Everyone was busy talking to each other. There were no other non-Mooney employees at the booth at that time. I was the only one. I finally figured out how to get one of the VIP badges and left. But during the time I was there, two other "customers" came up to me and asked if I worked for Mooney. Again, because everyone in the grey Mooney uniforms were busy with their own conversations. I was not impressed.

If you've got $60K or $70K disposable cash to spend on an airplane but want to restore one from scratch for the fun of it, then this might be a good candidate. But if you've got $20K to spend on an airplane and really want a Mooney... run away from this one.

I spent some time at the Aspen booth looking at the unit, playing with it, and asking questions. The new screen, faster processor, no reliance on air data for attitude, longer battery life, and a new two year warranty for $3000... I'm in and will upgrade as soon as it's available I was told that during the introductory period it will be an advanced replacement program. Pay $3000, they'll ship a new unit to your avionics shop, have them do the swap and send back the old unit. They said expect 5 hours shop time... some of that for paperwork. I paid $6000 for my Aspen 1000 Pro off of Barnstormers... to get a brand new unit with a new warranty in exchange for $3000 sounds pretty good to me.

Yep, looks to be priced right to me. Should go quick.

If it wasn't for our full size dog who travels with us... I'd be flying an RV instead of a Mooney.