bonal

Sitting here in an old b&b in Columbia . Flew into o22 in 14U not a single bump in the air. Made good speed and all the controllers were wishing every one a happy new year!

One of the first things I did when I became an owner is to join AOPA. I thought their student pilot mag was very helpful and I look forward to the pilot mag each month. I also like to get the daily emails but most important is the lobbyist work they do. Just think what would be the status of the second amendment if it weren't for the NRA and their membership drives are not any different than what AOPA is doing. It's all about having a choice and I choose to support those that support me.

Hello to all the Mooney fans. I'm John and I got my PPL in 2010 in a C150 that I bought to train in. Started looking to upgrade last year and was lucky enough to based at Lampson field where LASAR is located so I got exposed to lots of Mooney's so I started to focus on finding a mooney. We have flown all over CA as far south as San Diego and Boulder city NV and north to Ashland OR. We flight plan for 140KTAS and always beat that. New to mooney space lots of great info and enthusiasm for these great aircraft. Ours is a 64 Converted D model with low times new paint and interior. I love to watch our Gps speed even on calm days I see up to 200mph on the Garmin the darn thing is always in the yellow arc. Love it! Next big trip to Butte Montana to visit my wife's family.

Last year my wife got me an ipad 2 with no GPS we looked at android as well. The folks at best buy had no clue about GPS enabled. Then I found out that we needed a separate GPS / blue tooth device. No matter all the reviews say that the built in GPS has trouble keeping up in faster aircraft. Foreflight wingx and garmin all have free 30 day trials. I liked the Foreflight best. I mostly use it for flight planning I like the tracking feature but we use a panel mounted 296 as primary gps. As a new pilot around 300 hrs I still like the steam gauges best. To me it's what a panel should look like. The full size ipad just sits in the left side pocket I pull it out from time to time to check progress an confirm what I already know about the status of my flight.

Thanks James I will give them a call

65% that's what he said I was very specific with my question. I think it's ridiculous that a new Cessna 172 cost we'll over 300 thousand dollars. An aircraft that was designed over 50 years ago and not much changed over the years. I still think cost is the biggest reason there is a declining pilot population. If you take out the product liability the cost would be a lot more reasonable

A couple years ago I attended an AOPA summit at Santa Rosa airport one of the speakers was the president or Vice President of Cirrus. After the event I asked him how much of the price of each plane was for product liability his reply was about 65% That's the bottom line

I've always liked these comparisons they are fun. If you tried to do that in or out of the SF Bay Area the Ferrari would have a tough time. I have found the break even distance with our Cessna to be about 100 miles. We live 15 min from the airport and that includes time for fuel. With the Mooney it's around 50 miles but we have to take mountain roads to get out of our county.

Thanks, do you know the name of the company in Texas and have you ever used them for service?

A few months ago my narco's display has lost it's contrast. I have reviewed the manual on how to adjust the setting in the start up procedure but it has little effect. Other wise the unit functions fine but its very hard to read and I have to input my codes by counting up or down from each selected digit. Is this something that can be repaired or is the unit toast. Any one with knowledge I sure could use your input. Thanks!

I agree buy a boat use today buy a new car drive it home. Get an x box and save the universe by the end of the day. One of the things I learned when I got my ppl was how much of a commitment it took to see it through and how much respect I have for those that do. Now I am starting to study about instrument. And all I can say is all you out there that have these advanced ratings well my hat is off to you. As for the boat I have owned one since the 80's it's still fun but no way I would rather go out on the boat than go flying. Bottom line though is I think the gen x,y and miliniums would rather just text and Facebook and game than do any thing that takes time and commitment And what's the point of working your ass off all your life if you don't use the money to do something great to make life worth living To each his own. I'm just glad for those rides I took in the air back when I was a kid.

Lots of thoughts on the subject. As for me well when I was a kid my folks best friends had a bonanza and I got to go for rides on occasion they upgraded to a Comanche twin a baron and then had a brand new pressurized bonanza made to order. When in high school a friend got his license and we would go out after school in a club 152 and just fly around. I grew up just outside the SFO class B in the east bay and would hear lots of aircraft on the weekends. And I love airplanes. When you think about GA keep in mind post ww2 thousands of retired pilots came out of the war and still wanted to fly. After the Korean War more still. As we know many of them have passed or stopped due to age. Modern military pilots and aviators are a much smaller population a single B2 can do the job of a hundred B17's any way flying was the ultimate and in those days there was no way to simulate things real was the only deal. Four years ago when I turned 50 I'd be looking at Barnstormers on the net and seeing there were lots of aircraft that cost less than the car I was driving at the time. My girlfriend, now wife said just go do it. I bought my 150 and started training. Earlier this year we bought our 20c. But again this came from an age growing up when flying was king. I think cost is a factor but more than that its a lack of understanding what GA is all about. Or even that its a possibility. When was the last time you saw any kind of commercial or promotion of GA in the mainstream media. Even pilot training academies only promote in flying oriented material. You have to promote outside of the choir. And the only shows lately on tv about flying we're based in the frozen north or about repossessing private jets not real good pr. I love watching the aviators but its not promoted in the main stream. I know this is a long post but for me one of the worst things I have to keep reading about is the death of GA. Man I'm just getting started. I am always talking up GA to my friends and co workers and any one that will listen. Flying is the coolest thing you can do! Best of luck to you and I hope you succeed in your return. Looking forward to lots of interaction on mooney space.

And on the seventh day god said "let there be flaps" and he saw that the flaps were good!

Hi Dave, the only trip we made with the owner on board was a fellow who was a navy test pilot that was stationed in southern CA and had family in Idaho all the other trips were just me and the ferry pilot. I'm based at Lampson and the LASAR guys have been servicing my 20 since I bought it last spring. He has since retired but I got to do a number of flights in some real nice models. I got to do most of the flying (right seat) while he would determine any gripes the plane may have. As a CFI he also did my instruction on the transition into the 20d. We have been really enjoying our new mooney. Merry Christmas to all

Another point to consider is stalls spins and slips. During my training we spent quite a bit on these. Not something a mooney is really good for except the slips. Now if I am approaching with cross winds or if I'm high on approach I can cross control with ease. Some of my local fields are very close to hills and mountains making stabilized approaches hard to set up.

4 years ago I bought my 66 C150 prior to starting my lessons. For sure get your medical done first at 50 years old I am in good health but if I had failed I would have an aircraft that I could never fly. I think for me owning the plane was like a commitment to completing the training. I think if you rent it's real easy to walk away. Since you live in SF I would go north and check out Gnoss Field in Novato as a base it's close to the city and there are lots of airports to the north. Santa Rosa is a great place to fly around its class D not to busy but big enough to challenge you. A good C172 will cost around 40k and a low time 150 around 20k. My first instructor was a retired Air Force instructor and he was all about stick and rudder. The 150 was designed to teach those skills his comment was its the most demanding yet forgiving aircraft. Not to mention fun. All the comments on cost insurance and other owner issues are dead on and now that I own a mooney I can only say my choice for the 150 was a good one. One more point. There are advantages to flying slow. Building time is most important. Fuel cost is no joke and a slower aircraft allows you to stay closer to your practice area for longer duration . Stay the course. I'm glad I did. Flying has been the most rewarding experience for me.

Wow the MMO debate lives hear too. lake aero says don't use it and I won't but check this out. My F250 started back firing and dying when I switched to the rear tank and would run fine when back on the front tank. The rear tank does not get used enough. I figured the high pressure pump was failing. Well in went some MMO and the problem ended. That was over a year ago and it's still working fine.

I will give that a try. I feel like a kid at Christmas all this great mooney stuff. Glad I joined the group. Since buying our mooney I have had so much fun learning so many new things. Oh yeah it is Christmas!

And once it's set it runs very smooth. If I close the prop the rpm goes to about 2600 I seem to get the best IAS at 2500 if I increase prop my air speed starts to drop. This is good stuff very interesting

2 days ago at 7500 alt 30.03 running at 2500 mp 24" I have the prop governor opened about 1/3 from closed. Fuel burn was 9.8 GPH total for our trip of 2.5hrs with 4 climbs and 4 descents

My friend who was lake aero's ferry pilot for years and knows mooney flying better than most said that was a good way to go. My home base is surrounded by mountains and my first instructor really got me thinking to fly as high as is practical altitude equals options. It's funny as we go all the aircraft I see way down there. If we are going over 2 hours time I like to go 10000 plus or minus 500 that's about when I see the speed start to drop on the Garmin. Winds aloft always factor this. Based on all that I have read and researched I am very happy with our mooney.

I know what you mean. She likes to work the Garmin but won't take the controls. She loves the flying and if we win the lottery I'm sure she will want me to upgrade to an acclaim. For now we are really happy with our new bird. Planning lots of trips in the future.

As I have only been flying our 20d/c for around 6 months I am on the steep side of the learning curve. On a normal flight we go VFR 7500 and 8500 at WOT 2500rpm 23 to 24" mp. The only egt is a single pick up with no temps indicated. I lean as a climb and once dialed in cruise I will lean until first sign of rpm drop then add a little to rich. I plan to upgrade my egt gauge in near future. Until then any thing bad with my current process?

Hi to all, yes we love our mooney I am still learning its quirks but I think it's one of the things that make old aircraft such living things. Still trying to sell the 150. Any one interested let me know its a real nice one. And this is no bull we get a TAS of 150 kph plus! And as a short body it's fun to fly. Now I get the fun of making it my own. The wife is a keeper and she likes to work the Garmin.

Just joined Mooney space would like to donate but I don't have a pay pal account is there another way?