petegaz40

I was having the same issue and had my fuel injectors cleaned and that pretty much cleared it up.

It’s been some years so I don’t remember the hours. I didn’t do the maintenance but it was cheap to own and operate. It was enjoyable and I did quite a few cross country flights in it for minimal cost.

I’m currently on my second E model. I have owned a Thorp T-18 with 180 hp and a c/s prop. It’s a tight fit but the performance it pretty incredible. It will climb 1000 fpm at 10,000 ft. I use to easily cruise 160 kts and burn 9 gph. It was an easy tail wheel plane to fly but you need to keep your speed up to make that happen. It’s definitely worth looking at them. With that being said, there have been some structural failures so for me I wouldn’t fly them anymore. I’m anal about structural failures.

If it was me I’d go for the one piece windshield (inexpensive mod). As far as big money mods the engine analyzer would be at the top of my list. With that being said, more fuel is by far the best speed mod you can get but if you aren’t flying 600+nm trips they will do you no good.

Have you checked your gear doors?

Why not run more MP pressure??

I am having some radio issues that need some attention. If you know of someone or a good shop close to phx please let me know. Thanks!

The Mooney wing seems to really be at home between 8-12K. One advantage of flying that high is that there isn't much traffic up there unless you are in the mountain west.

I have a '64 model and the side windows need replacing. I priced the windows and now I am wondering what a rough cost to have them changed out would be. Any ideas.?

I have read all the posts especially the ones that were someone posted the amount of hours their CFI had. There is a difference in logged hours..... You can log 100 hours, or you can log 1 hour 100 times... It's the experience that counts... I wouldn't fly into a remote strip with a airline pilot with 15,000 hours vs a tailwheel pilot that has been flying in the back country and has 750 hours. There are a lot of CFI's that don't have a lot of cross country time or if they do it was flying someone else's airplane (such as the military, charter). It's easy to make recommendations when you aren't paying the bills. "if I was getting a plane, I would buy brand X"..... Everyone has a different mission: Some people never fly more than 200 nautical miles from home, some people just go to breakfast on the weekends or give friends rides etc, some people use it for business. You have to try to define your "mission" and go from there... Can a low time pilot fly a high performance plane?? Yes! My dad deployed to the South Pacific in World War Two in Corsairs with 278 logged hours..... It can be done. Is it a good idea? Not sure, just glad he didn't get tested when he first got there or maybe I wouldn't be typing this. Mooney's are amazing airplanes for strength, safety and reliability but they aren't for everybody..

I would learn to fly first and then decide what kind of plane fits you best. You can learn in a Mooney but it isn't the best trainer for a beginner. I think you could probably buy a Cherokee 140 or Cessna 150, fly it for a year or so and get all your money back when you are done with it. You might buy a Mooney and decide its not the type of flying you want to do.

The twins are cheap to buy but once you own them............

The turbine singles are MUCH more reliable than any piston twin out there... If I had the bucks I would be looking at TBM-700's, PC-12's and maybe the Piper Meridian.

What is your budget??

Sometimes Banning is calm, but not often.