StevenL757

Sounds like you made the right choice. "Your" airplane is still out there waiting for you...and you'll find it. :-)

Agree.

With that seemingly extensive amount of work, why wouldn't you consider a factory reman for your "C"? In general, RAM is a good choice for the T310, 340, 414, and 421 airframes as their RAM engines are all a variant of the TSIO520, but may not be a good fit for the "C". The two different applications are an apples to oranges comparison. With a reman and a "0" time logbook for your "C", you know exactly what's in the engine and start everything off on a level playing field. Steve

I hope I never have to talk to them as a customer, honestly, if they behave like that toward end users. My shop must have been born under a lucky star, as they’ve had had nothing but positive experience dealing with Garmin. Maybe Garmin reserves the manners and helpfulness for dealers only?

Yeah...that never hurts. :-)

Buy an experimental airplane if you want the convenience of buying avionics off the shelf and installing them yourselves legally without paying a shop to do it for you. Speaking broadly, it cracks me up that some folks (not necessarily those opinions above) will plan their installs and buy/install a G3X (or any similar Garmin widget), an Avidyne product, an STEC autopilot, and then blame Garmin exclusively when they all don't talk to each other or play nicely. I appreciate we all have choices, and that this stuff is really individually-suited; however, if you want peace of mind in knowing everything will play nicely, stick with one vendor. You'll likely save yourself a lot of heartache and likely sleep better at night. Trying to put a square peg into the proverbial round hole will likely cause you grief down the road in one form or another.

As I said before...plan to get that SkyTec out of there at annual (if that's indeed what you bought - you mentioned it in your earlier post, but it wasn't clear if that's what you bought).

You're probably right... :-)

A lot of questions...let me fire the first shot...others will be along shortly. What model are you seeking? What is your flying background and overall mission? You should pick someone highly-qualified that has a proven track record of working on Mooneys that is completely detached from the airplane in question. Your best bet is to get an unbiased opinion of the airplane. Treat the PPI as an annual. Your PPI mechanic should plan to spend at least a couple of days going through the airplane. Anyone who gives you "I can have it in the shop in the morning and out by the afternoon" for "a reasonable price" is only saying "I've been able to verify the plane has two wings, a vertical stabilizer, and an engine". Not really, but many on here will have their opinions (some good, some not so good) about where you should go. Do not let geography and/or a low PPI cost force you to one shop or another. This is really between you and the seller/seller's agent (if applicable). It depends on your comfort and trust level. You should - at any time - be prepared to walk away no matter how good a deal looks if the seller and/or his/her agent won't be candid and transparent about representing every aspect of the airplane, answering your questions, and addressing your concerns. Again, it depends on the agreement between you and the selling party(ies). Typically, the way things work is that a price is agreed, and then adjusted if the PPI finds anything derogatory/in need of remediation. Any airworthy items would be up to the present owner to correct/remediate, but if they don't choose to do that, you would negotiate that remediation cost into the price and arrange to have them corrected yourself. Things that are non-critical but *could* fail in the short term should also be discussed, and adjusted - either all or in part - against the agreed-upon price. Broadly, if a buyer and seller are both reasonable with each other and transparent, things should go smoothly and you'll have not only a good buying experience, but a good ownership experience. Let us know more about you when you get the chance, and welcome aboard MS! Steve

Would that technically qualify one for membership in the Mile High Club??

You mentioned you replaced the starter motor...what brand/model did you install? If it's a lightweight SkyTec, it isn't surprising that you'll have issues with starter adapters. The Energizer heavier-duty starters are the best for Continentals, generally. Assuming, of course, this is your problem...

I haven't found this to be true at all...under any weather/wind conditions. 80KIAS over the numbers will result in a float that requires you to bleed off more power to allow the airplane to settle into the flare properly. For every 1 knot you are fast over the fence, add 100 feet of runway distance to get the airplane stopped under normal braking action and assuming no adverse braking action reports. As I've commented on several times here, the airplane will tell you when she no longer wants to fly. Listen to her! :-)

@flyboyaviator, this thread should be moved to the General or Vintage section. Adding @irishpilot

Yeah, that’s a tough check to write, but the benefits...especially from Paul...will outweigh the temporary checkbook pain. ;-)

Funny you mention that. I read the same thread, and it motivated me to buy my baffling kit material shortly thereafter.