PeteMc

There was an "expert" on that said that with those kind of helicopters, an improper auto rotation procedure could cause the blades to hit the boom. I would then think the blades would all shatter off as we saw in the video of them missing from the helicopter and appearing to fall in pieces. I know very little about helicopters. But I'm unsure about the "experts" comment because I wouldn't think there would be any initiation of auto rotation until much lower when you use what little inertia you have from the blades to use up to slow you're contact with the ground/water. I would think it would just be full collective in the appropriate direction to build up the speed/inertia you're going to use when you get down very low. Any "rotor heads" here that can educate us?

I use the spray on cleaners too. But the Foam Cannon looks great for after a long XC or if you've been doing a lot of flying when the Wx is bad and you haven't had time to keep up on the Spray/Wipe cleaning. I'm thinking the Foam Cannon would be great just to cut through that first layer of grime and making the polishing cleaning a bit easier.

Thanks!

I was looking at this thread again and noticed you use the Foam Cannon. I'm not a big fan of pressure washers with planes, but do you know if it will work with low pressure or even out of the faucet pressure and still get a good foaming action? I like the idea of a pre wash with the foam to dissolve the grime and rinse most of the dirt off. But again, personally I don't think you should be pressure washing a Mooney. It would be too easy to actually push grime and grit into areas you don't want it and you'll never get it clean... Until your mechanic has to start taking things apart due to the corrosion.

Kind of my point... And in theory it only has to happen on the first call. (And I should have written it out like @AJ88V did.) Enunciate only on the first call and I bet you'll be fine: One <beat> Zero <double beat> one <beat> fife <double beat> Echo. I get that they may still blow it when they look at it, but most of the human nature part is the INITIAL mental registration of your N# (or anything else that can get swapped). If you make note of it and call it out, subconsciously there is a good chance they'll make note as well.

Might be all in the cadence... Try "NY Approach, Mooney 10 15 E" and see what happens. Sort of like the phone messages I love to hear where some one leaves there phone number rattled off faster than I've ever heard any controller give a full route clearance. Sure, THEY know their own number and can rattle it off that fast. But not really helpful for the person they're leaving it for.

My preference is a sweep second hand. Not sure if I have a Mitchell aircraft clock or not, but it sure looks like one of their very basic analog clocks. Problem with the digital is that there are more "digits" to remember. With the sweep hand you just mentally picture the clock and you know where 1 minute is for your Holds, etc. For an actual approach, I used a kitchen timer clipped to my Lapboard during training. Now days I have a timer in ForeFlight. Another advantage of a clock with hands is for fuel balance. I look at the minute hand and if it pointing to the right side of the clock, I should be on the right tank, left should be left tank. So if I was talking to ATC or just contemplating my navel, if I'm unsure if I switched tanks, I just look at the clock. And then there's your Engine Monitor... the cheaper the clock the less reason not to add the EDM900. Talk to the mechanic and let them know you want to add an EDM and as they are looking at the plane, keep that in mind for work that can be deferred. There may be some things that can wait a year that will let you get the EDM. There also may not be and may be some other big ticket items, but if the shop knows the big picture going into the Annual it can only help.

And have you shared the names of these shops? I was lucky when I first got my plane that I already knew some Mooney owners. But I'm guessing @Thedude would love a list a KNOWN good Mooney shops in the area since it looks like he may be a neighbor of your if he was thinking about Top Gun.

Interesting... Hopefully @Thedude was told going into his purchase by multiple people that the first Annual (at any shop) is going to be expensive. They are not going to know the plane and they are not going to know what the prior mechanic had on a list of rotating maintenance to keep the plane safe, but to spread out the costs. So I think any shop is going to make sure everything is "fixed" before signing off. But if you go to a non Mooney shop, you don't know what Mooney specifics might be missed - or screwed up.

Call now since it is your first and you're a new customer. They'll probably tell you to call back, which is fine. But get on their radar now. And are they the shop you are currently using for oil changes and any other minor things that come up? You want to build a reputation with the shop you're going to be using, and it works both ways. I recently moved, so I'm building a new relationship with the shop here. But I could call the shop I used for decades a day or two out and see if I could come in for a quick oil change and seldom they'd say no. They'd also put in a loose booking for my Annual before I even called (months out), because they knew when I typically liked to have it done. But they also had no problem calling me and asking if we could move or delay things if they had an AOG (Aircraft On Ground) for someone that just came in with a problem that was going to prevent a trip or some other timely issue. I didn't have a problem since it was a two way street that worked out for both of us. (I think I prob. only got one or two calls over the years asking for a day or so delay.)

Be sure to try and find an LED bulb that works. Odds are you'll never need to change it again.

I don't have the link for the plan, maybe it's when you go in the "Order" or if you're logged in as a User. But in the help section they do state: Supports aircraft ground speeds with <250kts, land and ocean: Mobile Priority at $250/mo.

"GBLB" engine? I know of the GB my K originally had and the LB when I did the engine. Not sure what a GBLB engine is.

In the M20J POH I looked at, it says approx. 12" MP (13-15 for the 231). If you have a PDF of your POH, try searching for "gear horn" and it should come up. To check it, you pull the power back in flight with the gear up. Adjustments might take a few flights if it got wacked or came loose and needed a major calibration.

I'm not sure of the specific units, but some GI 275 variants can be installed by an AP, others need to be installed in a Garmin shop. I think the difference might be with the ADAHRS and Auto Pilot versions.