DXB

This is an incomparable bargain. I would expect the PMA'd versions of Fudge Rounds and Oatmeal Cream Pies and stocked by the parts department to cost at least 2 orders of magnitude more (~0.65 amu).

When my O360-A1D ate its cam/lifters and went in for overhaul last August, it had been consuming 1qt/3 hrs for a couple of years. That seemed too high to me, and I was worried - it was likely all lost out the breather due to blowby, given the oil turned black just a few hours after oil change. I've had the engine/plane back for >6 months now. After 20-25 hrs breakin with mineral oil, I changed to Phillips XC 20W50 w/ Camguard and flew the hell out of it. I just did the next oil change after another 46 hours. No more black oil. During that interval, I calculate using 1qt every 18 hours. That seems too low to me, and I am again worried Does my freshly overhauled engine with new Superior cylinders have a cylinder lubrication problem?? The engine notably cools much better now with a new carb and refreshed baffling. However, worrying about my engine remains one of my favorite pastimes. I will likely be back in a few years posting concern over my average levels of oil consumption.

Question 1: 500-1, the boundary between IFR and LIFR, is generally the worst forecast I'll accept before leaving if planning to use an ILS (and many LPVs). I think this is the most rational choice many (most?) amateurs who are current and feel proficient - it wasn't listed as a choice here though. Question 2: Once there, I'm sure gonna try it down to minimums (including using the approach lights down to 100ft) if I have good fuel reserves and easy outs that wouldn't be compromised by at least attempting it. I bet this is true of most folks comfortable with a 500-1 forecast. Question 3: The question seems only subtly different from 2, and I bet very few people would break off an approach that they feel well stabilized on before reaching the legal minimums. I think the key when faced with IFR and particularly LIFR conditions at the field upon arriving is having a lower threshold to break off the approach early if everything isn't going perfectly and one gets behind the plane. The survey categories do not capture this key consideration.

Never again having to worry about leaks, strip vs patch discussions and related cost/hassle/bs, is PRICELESS. So I guess they add infinity to the current value

Seems most likely just a transiently fouled plug on #1. Or maybe a partially clogged injector?

"Trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets." -Kevin Kelly. Unless you are retired and have nothing better to do, I'd cut your losses and move on. Maybe spend the extra effort on building a relationship with a new shop you can trust. Sadly, your story is not uncommon. My previous trusted shop had done reliable and sometimes exceptional quality work for me for years. Then came the year of the ADSB mandate. An excellent younger A&P had just left, and the capable senior IA in the shop was instructed to rake in as much $$$ as possible by doing one ads-b install after another. That IA, who I had known for years and trusted, went out of his way to emphasize me when I brought in the plane that he wouldn't be signing off my annual this year - I later understood why and wished that I had taken his subtle hint to turn around and run. My annual was signed off by another IA I'd never met, and the work was complete garbage - worse than that described in this thread. The shop owner acted indifferent to the situation - I coerced whatever remediation I could out of him (which was painfully little), paid my bill, and moved on. You can forgive a shop that screws up but not an owner without integity.

I've been all over the US and Canada, and lately been struck by the excellent amenities and overall quality of life in multiple medium sized places in Virginia where I've flown the Mooney in recent years - specifically Charlottesville, Richmond, and perhaps even Roanoke. My temperament sounds fairly similar to yours, and I looked closely at a job in Charlottesville (that didn't pan out in the end), but otherwise I would have been very happy to move there. There was even some hangar space available! I bet these places would check most of your boxes. And you can get up and down the east coast very easily from those locations in the Mooney to many places that are lovely to visit but you wouldn't want to live year round. I would definitely NOT suggest Philly - my current home of the last 20 years - it checks zero of your boxes . Please let me know if you do find the perfect spot, and I'll put it on the list for my retirement options...

I imagine cleaning this deposit area off without pulling the jug should be feasible with the right tools?

I got a bill from Vector by email a couple of weeks ago for $300 past due. The tail number in the bill was not mine. They managed to link my last name and email to an LLC apparently owned by someone of the same last name. They got a reply to go f*ck themselves without further explanation. Then the airport contacted me trying to collect. They got a more detailed explanation, including a critique of their decision to work with such a predatory business.

So 8 months not flying, now returning to an M20C you have about 600 hrs in... My guess is that your basic flying skills will be fine, but you'll be awkward on the radio for a while. If you're instrument rated, you'll definitely need some focused practice to get proficient again. Day VFR flying will come back very quickly on its own. However, the added stress (and inevitable small gremlins) associated with a fresh engine install makes having an instructor along sound like a good idea. For comparison - my M20C was down for overhaul recently, but only for 3 months. I had ~1300 hours in the plane up to that point. I used the 3 down months to get my tail wheel endorsement in a J3 cub with no radio - wonderful and eye-opening experience. I also did an IPC in a PA28 shortly before I got my Mooney back - that was a total mess given the different avionics and autopilot and overall lack of familiarity with the plane, but at least it got my feet wet again with more procedurally complex flying. I didn't do any specific Mooney refresher training before picking up my bird. My first flight near the field was actually quite easy - no deterioration in ability to handle the plane, but I felt like I had marbles in my mouth every time I went to speak on the radio. That issue lasted about 10-15 hours. I then flew some approaches again with my regular Mooney CFII, which was very helpful. I feel fully back to my old baseline of proficiency after about 30 hours on the new engine and flyng a handful of approaches in actual.

Would love to read this!!

Beat me to it - I immediately envisioned trying to skip a targeted ad for men’s hair growth products obscuring my georeferenced approach plate as enter low IMC.

I'm a little confused by which fuel line came loose at which fitting. It sounded like it may have been the one from the firewall to the engine driven pump since it had a firesleeve on it and also possibly had been messed with at tecent engine reinstall? On the vintage birds the line from the boost pump behind the firewall is distinct and wouldn't be touched. I don't know anything about the J's fuel system though.

First and formost terrific job handling this!! Combined with a little luck, your skills let you walk away from a dire situation, and the aircraft basically being fine is a nice bonus. As far as I can tell, the cause seemed likely to have been a transient obstruction like ice in a distal portion of the fuel system. The leak discovered at the fuel hose attaching to the engine side of the firewall (proximal to any such obstruction) is serious but seems like a red herring here since you had good fuel pressure measured distal to it before and after the engine quit. I only wonder if you have a data logging engine monitor to help sort the events out a little better. Your engine failure catches my attention because I've previously experienced two in flight anomalies, documented here on Mooneyspace in separate threads complete with engine monitor data (see below), that I ultimately attributed to small amounts of ice in the fuel system on cold winter days. Of course my carb'd fuel system is quite different, and my engine didn't quit, but both events did scare me. A useful discussion point here might be: what is the best SOP to mitigate risk of ice crystals plugging fuel system components when operating in cold temps? Sumping may not catch such materials, which could have already been present in the fuel when it was pumped at very cold temps. How cold should it be for one to think about it? What other factors contribute? I know Avgas itself freezes at <-60-72F or so. I also know one can add up to 1% isopropyl alcohol to fuel. When should one do this routinely? Does one need a full 1%? Will that small amount of alcohol dissolve crystals that have already formed? Does anything need to be done to mix the alcohol in? I find very little written out there on this topic. I think that answering these questions might give you the confidence to trust your bird again in the frigid northern latitudes - there's nothing intrinsically unreliable about it.

250 hours is a rather early failure! The greatest of multiple benefits of the Surefly in my view has been added reliability over the rather delicate and primitive internals of a magneto. Since these have been in service for a few years now, it would be great to have aggregate data on failures. I imagine most must make it to 2000hrs without issue?