dfgreene61

Can anyone figure out where I am at this moment?

Too bad. There are thousands of Mooney's flying around with out-dated AP's. Seems like low hanging fruit to be sure.

I have an Aspen PFD and C31 auto-pilot. I’d love to upgrade to the DFC90! I’d do it tomorrow if it were available.

Yeah, you could probably add in a couple hundred or so for a 5 hour flight if you worry about that sort of thing. I'd fly the J if it was twice as much.

I've got one. I have homes in Idaho Falls, ID and San Diego. 5 Hours in my J at 155kts and 11gph. 60 * $5 = $300. Delta from Idaho Falls - Salt lake - San Diego. Cost $400-700 for two people. Time including flight, drive time and waiting for flight: 5 hours min, most times 7 to 9. My J is quicker and cheaper and way more fun!

One thing is for sure, once you compromise and purchase that J, a week later the holy grail of great deals will go on the market ;0) Good luck with your search.

Skates97 - I've been flying UT and ID for a long time and have never encountered a wave like the one cnoe describes. Not that we don't have waves, I just don't fly if wind at ridge level is over 35kts. Up to 25kts I'll fly over ridges 2,000+ agl. Over 25kts I'll stick to the valleys at lower alt. Bear Lake is a wonderful flight, nothing else like it in the west.

Thanks guys, I was pretty sure it is normal in a J. Good to hear other J owners experience the same phenomenon. I'd sure like to know why however, seems like the additional drag under the plane would pull the nose down. The reason I'm interested in this now is that I'm starting my IR. When putting the gear down at the FAF I have to be prepared to push the yoke until cycle is complete and the nose up effect goes away. VFR it never phased me but when flying IFR I'm more conscious of altitude gain during the gear down cycle.

The only Mooney I've flown is my own J. So I'm not sure if this is normal or not. When I lower my gear, the plane will pitch up. Eventually once it slows the nose will come back down. I'm in the habit of pushing the yoke while the gear comes down to maintain pitch. Is this what you experience as well?

It's not the em gear release, I learned that lesson shortly after buying my J. Added checking the release as part of my pre-flight.

Thanks for responding everyone. I'll print this out and give it to my mech.

My M20J has been popping the gear breaker on gear up when it's under 30F. Never happens when it's warm. The breaker pops just before the gear is full up. Resetting the breaker completes the cycle and all is well. ideas?

N1162G Before and After..

I have a lip on my hangar too. No way I was going to wrestle with that every time I wanted to fly, CB or not. I bought a power tow (new, full price) and I'm glad I did. Great little tow, wonderful company to work with. They have adapters for the Mooney. http://www.powertow.com/40-EZ-Aircraft-Tug-159900-up-to-5500-lbs-Includes-Adaptors_p_14.html

You're way to analytical, go fly a 182, then fly a 201. Your inner Yeager will point you in the right direction. Buying a plane is about freedom, utility, excitement, fun. It's rarely makes economic sense.

"Because i am a numbers guy the thing that hit home the best was 'you bounce a money, your out a years tuition at Harvard' meaning, i dont stick the landing, its a 35000 bill. Well, that clearly puts things into perspective because i dont have enough confidence in my abilities to risk 35k on a minor 'mistake'; " One bounce, no problem, two bounces, watch out, three bounces, potential disaster. The gear on the 201 is pretty stout, I know, I've tested it! The key to starting out with a 201 is to fly precisely. Final at 80kts, over the fence at 70kts, keep her off in ground effect, work the up trim, grease it on ;0) Takes a little practice but makes you a better pilot. I was used to the Turbo Arrow which has more margin for error. While getting used to the Mooney I was typically to fast over the fence and didn't hold her off long enough. This resulted in a bounce and go around. When this happens you have to go around and not try to save the landing. It's the pilot who stubbornly try's to land after the bounce that can wind up with the expensive lesson.

Wow, it always amazes me how preachy this forum can get sometimes. Husky, I got my PPL in a C-152. Then I bought a Piper Tomahawk to build some time in. Sold that and purchased Grumman AA1A with a 150 engine. That was a fun little plane. Very maneuverable with 140 knot cruise but SHORT legs. Then I moved up to a Turbo Arrow. You can cruise at 155+ in the Arrow, it has excellent range and load. It's also very stable for IMC. I never felt like I was behind the plane. So all this added up to around 600 hours of flying. Then along comes Mr. Mooney, a '82 J model lovingly owned by a member of this forum before I purchased it. The Mooney is more of a chore to fly well than the Arrow. It's not as draggy and can get away from you easier. There's just not as much of a margin for error when it comes to steep turns and landing. You need to be on the numbers and watch your speed or it will get away from you. Is it something to fear? I don't think so at all. Good training followed by lots of practice = good results. You can remove the back seats in a J ('82 on up I believe) providing lots of room for your dogs in back. I typically plan 155 Knots at between 8.5 and 9.0 GPH. If you purchase a clean J and fly it for a few years I'm sure you'll have no trouble selling if you decide to move on up. Since you're going to be doing a lot of x-country flying and most definitely will find yourself in the soup, the most important item in your plane may very well wind up being your auto-pilot. If it were me (and it was) I'd find a clean J then I'd upgrade to Aspen, Garmin GTN and a new digital AP. These tools can save your life and will make flying much more enjoyable. BTW, when I had the Turbo Arrow I very seldom flew over 12,500. And I live in the Rockies! Welcome on board!

Bobby Picker at KIDA is a good instructor, I highly rec. 208-521-1446

62G has an Aspen PFD, Garmin 750, ADS-B, GPSS to an AP with alt hold and second king radio/nav. It will be nice to start getting more bang for the buck from my panel. I have hundreds of hours flying VFR in the rockies. Without FIKI and a turbo I consider my 201 to be limited when it comes to the missions I'd even consider tackling in my area. Flying to the Teton valley in IMC for example is something I'd never consider in my plane. Accelerated training is attractive to me for a few reasons. I have a business to run that limits my time. KIDA doesn't have many options when it comes to training. I had good results with accelerated training in the Navy.

Thanks for all the replies folks. I appreciate the encouragement and words of caution. Since I moved to KIDA my ability to take trips VFR has been reduced quite a bit. They have lower cloud bases here than what I'm used to back in Utah. There have been plenty of days this winter when I could have taken trips if only I could have legally taken off and flown through a thin low layer of clouds to VFR conditions above and destinations with no clouds (Vegas, Phoenix, Palm Springs) at all.

I'm considering using the company PIC to provide accelerated IFR training. Do any of you Mooniacs have experience with them. Their site is below. http://www.iflyifr.com

OK, new record for 2016. Flew two days in a row!! The photos below are of Sawtel Mountain in Island Park Idaho. Just purchased a building lot there. It's just in front of the wing at the edge of the snow field. This area is about 20 miles from the Yellowstone West entrance. The second photo is on the way back to KIDA, that's Grand Teton in the distance. What a wonderful day to fly. 4C at 7,500'. Smooth as glass. In non-El Nino years this is the norm for ID,WY,UT. Storms normally come and go in a couple days then severe clear for days! Not this year. Oh well, we need the snow pack. 62G is flying great. I had a few issues this winter once the extreme cold showed up. Had a fuel leak with the sender, gear breaker popping, flaps intermittent. My new mechanic at KIDA did a great job in resolving these issues. Seems like cold weather brings out the gremlins. 62G came with a REIF (sp) system for pre-heating. I bought one of those remote switches that activate with a text message. Three hours of pre-heat with hangar temps around zero result in oil at 60F. I still miss the heated hanger I enjoyed at 36U but this is the next best thing. Hoping to take a trip down to Palm Springs in Feb, weather permitting. El Nino - show some mercy!

The weather in Idaho has been terrible for flying this winter. El Niño has been keeping KIDA socked in. Finally got to start up 62G and go flying yesterday. Did some slow flight and stalls. Practiced landings at U02 (Blackfoot). DA was only 3,000 feet, I felt like a flat lander. Climb at 1,200 FPM. Almost 75% power!