philiplane

That's how most GA works in Europe. Grass field to grass field, scud running to avoid ATC fees.

I maintained a Turbo Arrow, and took the engine to 2600 hours without a cylinder replacement. I put new rotocoils on the exhaust valves every 800 hours. By 2600 hours, the decision was made to overhaul because the oil consumption was a quart every 3-4 hours, and the compressions were in the 50's. We used Camguard on this engine, and did a ring flush at the same time as protocol replacement. The key to Continental longevity is replacing the rotocoils on a regular basis, so the valves will stay spinning.

New stuff? Not a problem. But with regard to diesels, it's not because they're new. It's because they don't make any sense. You give up useful load, you save a tiny amount on fuel costs, and then you give it back times three on maintenance. Diesels are expensive to maintain. They have single-source parts ($$$$), life limited components, and a throw-away engine at TBO. There is only one supplier for that throw away engine.

The reality is that Mooney will likely never build another airplane. There aren't enough buyers at the price Mooney needs to make a profit. The price Mooney needs is more than you'd pay for a more-capable Cirrus. Beech put the Baron and Bonanza lineup on ice. Cessna hasn't made competitive high performance piston planes in 40 years. And then they tried, and choked, with the TTx challenger to Cirrus. Piper put the Six/Saratoga/6X line on ice years ago, and now the Arrow and Seneca as well. The market has changed, older designs are out of production, and the winner is Cirrus. They are the only one introducing new capabilities to the light aircraft market. Mooney gave it one good, last go, with the last Acclaims. The large, dual door was a significant attempt to woo Cirrus customers. Let's face it, getting in and out of a Mooney was never easy, and now that pilots are bigger than ever, ease of entrance is a key factor. If that's a hassle, it doesn't matter how nice the interior is, or what cool gadgets are in the panel. Passengers want ease of use, creature comforts, connectivity, and safety if the pilot becomes incapacitated. Well, Cirrus gives them all of that. Big doors, big windows, satellite radio, phone, and texting. Air conditioning. A parachute, airbags, an envelope protection autopilot, and now, Auto Land. Push the button and land, and collect the pilot's life insurance policy payout. At a price point of $730k to $1.3 million. (SR20, SR22, to SR22T) That is the bar to meet, or exceed, for new airplane sales. The real challenge is keeping the Mooney Type Certificate alive to support the existing fleet. It really should be consolidated with as many legacy TC's as possible to lower total overhead costs. One manufacturing location making parts for a dozen or so legacy airplanes. Like Univair, but on steroids. The company should also make components for larger aerospace companies, like Mooney used to do. Making flight controls for F16's or ailerons for Boeing would be a good business that keeps the lights on.

You can buy the SA53s drain valve at Airparts Company for $23.

The Electroair system has a number of issues. Starting is worse than with a conventional magneto..there are problems with their accessory drive timing assembly losing teeth on six cylinder Lycomings,, and, the plug wires can fall off the coils. More than a few people have given up and removed them. But when it works, it works fairly well. Still, a SureFly is a much better electronic ignition system overall.

I do 1030 NM trips in my non-turbo Aztec. (172 KTAS) That's six hours in the air, at 8000-11000 feet cruise altitude. With 45 minutes reserve. With tip tanks the range goes up to 1250 NM, seven hours. At 16,000 feet, the range goes up to 1350 NM with tip tanks. Eight hours. And I have a Porta Potti in the back for passengers if needed. A Turbo Aztec does even better, turning in 190 KTAS at 17000 feet on 29-30 GPH. Non-pressurized Aerostar 600's will also do 1000+ NM trips with a full cabin, at 200 KTAS. Mooneys need another 200 pounds gross weight, and 130 gallons of fuel, to be practical for a 1000 NM trip. So it's possible to do the OP's trip in a non-pressurized plane, but probably not in a Mooney.

I would look for an instructor who is instructing IN a Mooney...

The Mustang engine is the same series used in the Baron 56TC, the Beech Duke, and the Piper Pressurized Navajo. Many parts are unobtanium.

You can buy the stainless version, 2600-2SW, all day long for $8 at Airparts in Fort Lauderdale.

A Bravo was geared up in Monroe WI on 11/28, another in Jamestown NY on 10/17. An M20F gear collapsed on landing in Hoquiam WA on 11/25, an M20J nose gear collapsed on 10/24 in Philadelphia PA. And a Mooney Mustang geared up on October 31st, in Pinehurst NC. We're on a roll....or maybe just scraping by...

In South Florida, it's due to monopolistic practices. The main player sets rental rates based on "market rates", which is laughable, They ARE the market. And for $1450 a month, up from $900 just four months ago, you get a 50 year old rusty metal box with roof leaks, no insulation, substandard electrical, rolling doors that fall off the tracks, and more. Oddly, there are brand new Cat 3 hurricane rated hangars that rent for less money nearby. But that airport is one of the few that doesn't have the big players running things. The game plan is to jack prices to drive out the little guys, and then claim there's no demand for tee hangars. Then they demolish them, and put up large jet hangars. The cities are all onboard with this, because they get a cut of the fuel sales. And they'll sell a lot more fuel to a Global Express than to a Mooney M20C. And after the crazy rate increases, there is more turn over, and more empty hangars. Many tenants are still at the airports, but they've out on the ramp now. So it's not really true supply and demand. It's extortion, using our tax dollar supported airports against us.

The ACK ELT-04 has a history of self-activation in flight. They are junk. They inherited the faulty G switches from the previous ELT-01 design. Zero stars, not recommended. I have six in the scrap pile so far. And another one to join it soon, as ACK has been unable to fix it after three tries. The best option is the Artex ELT 345. The battery lasts one year longer than the competition, saving you money. It's a solid piece of engineering too.

that looks more like a go cart tube, than an aircraft tire tube

Remember when we used to fly, to simply get away from the world for a little while?