Mooney in Oz

Well said Paul and I could not agree more.

That happens when you pay the cost of the tow bar

I have the same together with a 'Remove Before Flight' red flag attached to each cover.

Impressive short field takeoff performance.

Also demonstrates the importance of a 'Line Up' checklist.

I sent my yokes to Hector all the way from Australia 18 years ago to be covered and they still look and feel great. I believe he was also the OEM yoke cover provider to Mooney before and around that time.

Congratulations Richard. You look way too young to be a grandfather!

Man that's 18 kilograms. I wish I could lose that in body weight.

No matter how diligent we are, things can happen. The 3rd flight as a proud new owner of my J, 19 years ago I aborted the takeoff due to leaving the pitot cover on. 3 years later during another takeoff the baggage door flew open. Didn’t realise it until I was airborne so I flew a normal circuit and landed. The baggage door still closed but I needed a new one as the skin had stretched about 1” from the hinge. Lesson learnt? Since then the 3 things I do religiously after the walk around before climbing onboard and closing the door to depart. Walk around items can be missed and the following only takes around 60 seconds for what I consider to be the most important items before takeoff; 1. Stand back in one spot in front of my Mooney and check all covers (pitot, fuel vents and cowl inserts) have been removed and the fuel cap latches are flush and correctly closed. You would be amazed what you notice by just standing there, not rushed and taking a few seconds to simply look. 2. Open the top cowl oil door and check the dipstick is secure followed by ensuring the oil door is latched after closing. 3. The last item is to check the baggage door. Give the handle a tug. Check it is locked (I prefer it locked but YMMV) and secure then off I go. This has served me well over the years and saved my bacon a few times. Better than having a bad hair day.

For NA powered engines - According to former Mooney test pilot Bob Kromer, after takeoff power is applied, leave the throttle and RPM as is until at cruise altitude. Anything less is costing you prop efficiency and performance. Don’t forget to lean in the climb. Bob also says that 105 KIAS is the most efficient climb speed in reference to the Mooney wing. I do almost all of the above except for the climb speed as I prefer cooler cylinders by setting a 500 FPM ROC on the AP until cruise.

I changed to Phillips Victory 100 AW SAE 50 with the Lyc additive. Consumption hasn't changed since I switched from Exxon Elite. As a bonus, on this side of the planet it is much cheaper than Aeroshell. I assume this would be the same in the good ol' US of A.

Just something else I thought of that I experienced during the bushfires in relation to visibility reported at uncontrolled airports. I found that when there was thick smoke in the area of the destination airport, the viz that would be broadcast electronically on what we call the AWIS (your terminology ASOS) was grossly understated as the sensors measure moisture and smoke is not moisture. Eg: viz recorded at 5,000 metres was actually less than 100 metres due to smoke. Some RNAV approaches ended up as missed approaches. The USA may have better sensor technology to be able to detect smoke viz as well as moisture, however if not, it should be a consideration when flying to such airports.

Earlier this year saw probably the worst bushfires in history on the south east of Australia. I recall flying between Sydney and Canberra at 15,000 feet in a pressurised twin turbo prop still in smoke and in similar viz as can be seen in @kmyfm20sphoto. You can't escape the smell of smoke in a pressurised aircraft. I also recall seeing the formations of pyro-cumulonimbus cloud, one of which on another day caused the fatal crash of a fire truck killing the young driver. It was reported a micro burst event from a PCC had caused the fatality. I was devastated to learn that 3 brave American firefighting crew, the Captain, First Officer and Flight Engineer died on board an Oregon based Coulson Aviation Herc C-130 while fire bombing when the aircraft flew into an area of low visibility and crashed into the side of a mountain. No doubt many of you will remember this. Those 3 brave souls died while trying to help us, away from their families on the other side of the world. Ironically after a couple of months good rainfalls eventuated that broke the drought and returned dam levels to near 100% capacity making for very happy farmers. I just hope the rains happen your way and bring some normality back to the lives of those who are affected.

Hope this isn't a silly question, both top and bottom, or just the top cowl?

I met Barry when I visited the factory during a Homecoming back in 09. He was the Financial Controller in those days. I see he still retains that position and has also been elevated to Vice President. I also remember he had a strong British accent. He might be related to @Hyett6420

I vote 1 for Anthony, Mike Elliott and Bob Kromer to be on the Advisory Board. I mean this in all seriousness and respect.

Courtesy of The Mooney Flyer, page 5, September 2020 edition. (www.themooneyflyer.com) Hopefully, some good will come out of this. Mooney Update - August 21 Jonathan Pollack is the temporary CEO of Mooney. He has been running Mooney for the past 6 months. No additional details at this time. In the short term, Mooney will only be providing Parts & Service; not building airplanes. There is only a 10% gross margin on the Acclaim. They need to right the ship before restarting the manufacturing of airplanes. Current owner wishes to manufacture Mooneys in China and Africa. Mooney is fixing the G1000 issue. They will also offer a “carbon cowl”, saving 15 lbs. Jonathan wants to increase the useful load by 400-500 lbs. He did not have a timeframe for this. This opens the possibility for a ballistic parachute or increased cabin space. Mooney will joint venture with an outside company to refurbish and recertify those airplanes. This could result in more affordable M20s. Mooney wants to create an Advisory Board including the Mooney Community. We think this is a good step.

What an amazing man. Thanks for sharing Paul. I really enjoyed that.

That is awesome Curt. Hats off to you and your late dad. You must feel very proud to have been a part of the development of a great legacy that we enjoy today, one of which you now personally own. Did you ever get the privilege to meet Al Mooney?

It has, but I wouldn't swap my J for it.

Hey, I agree with you and greatly dislike having to pay exorbitant aircraft parts cost as much as you and other aircraft owners. But realistically that is the situation with owning a certified aircraft whether we like it or not, know matter how simple the part is. This has been the case for at least 40 plus years that I have been involved in this industry. None of this makes it right, but it is what it is and needs to be taken into serious consideration before buying a certified aircraft. Try owning a Beechcraft or Cessna. Paying for those parts would have the same result as peeling onions.

It is one of the negatives of owning a certified aircraft. Having said that there are more positives than negatives when it comes to airplane ownership. I'm just grateful there are places such as LASAR or SWTA who can supply much needed parts. A workaround is to have a mould of each wingtip lens made up then take the moulds to a plastics/acrylic manufacturer to make the lens when needed. Whether that would be cheaper, I don't know. However if such parts become scarce, you will always have a ready supply.

Good video. Thanks for sharing. Reminds me of this:

Yes, but on this side of the world. Assume you will require a 337. Well worth it.

When you become proficient, treat all approaches to land as a possible go-around - just as you did in the airlines. There will be no surprise factor to ruin your day.