AlexLev

This is helpful. Does the alternator just charge the battery or does it supply power to everything electrical? Or does it split the load with the battery? How does that work?

Dan's story inspired me to buy a Sensorcon which ironically was in Buffalo, NY and I just showed up at their factory and got one. After some flying, it started showing 5-8ppm after turning on heat when normally it would show 0 and it gave me clues to my muffler developing cracks which I was able to prevent thanks to it. Thank you, Dan! Could have saved my life! Side question: for those using the Sensorcon: what do you do after it needs calibration? Can you send it to the factory? Do you have to buy a new one? I think it still works, but it's been a while and it says it needs calibration now.

I have a G model I've owned for about 7-ish years. Not familiar with that particular plane you're purchasing, but I'd recommend having Airmods or Weber do a prebuy if you can fly it that far. Have you looked through the logs? Have you requested a CD from the FAA with the planes records?

I own an '68 M20G with a plane-power alternator conversion (instead of the generator). For those technically minded that understand AC vs DC and how the electrical system on the Mooney works, mind helping me understand it? I understand there's a 70A max load for the alternator and it's a 14v alternator. I have a Concorde 12v battery with 33 Ampere hours. The alternator generates AC and converts it back into DC via a rectifier (?) and the buses are fed off DC wires to the battery? Apologies if this is totally wrong, but would love someone's help...also with the battery have 33 Ampere hours - does that mean if the battery dies, and the load I have draws approx 4A, it would take approx 8 (33/4) hours for the battery to die if it's fully charged? How many amp would radios/transponder/GPS draw? Apologies if all these are novice questions, but want to learn/understand the plane and its electrical system better and I figure there's a few more technically minded folks here who could help me shed some light on understanding it.

I had my engine done with them and David in Feb of 2018. Since then, I have about 820 hours on their overhaul. No metal in the filter, but it has been seeping quite a bit of oil lately. My A&P tried to address it at annual and said "I believe the majority of the oil leak was the loose oil line return clamps. They're an oddball type (thumb screw, not a hex screw) this engine builder used so I had to improvise to tighten them all but I got them. Checked oil pan bolts and accessory case bolts too. All those were fine." What he did helped for the first few hours of the flight since annual, but the seepage is back now, so I'll have to see about addressing it. I was quite enthusiastic about Jewell's work (on time, budget), but it's disheartening to hear about your experience and it makes me feel a little slightly less confident flying with their overhaul, although it's held up to a lot of flying for the last 5 years.

Any luck finding anything? https://www.ebay.com/itm/275611357824?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D777008%26algo%3DPERSONAL.TOPIC%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20230105140155%26meid%3Dba951d4ab2574f7dae4de5ebe854a3fb%26pid%3D101666%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26itm%3D275611357824%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26algv%3DRecentlyViewedItemsV2&_trksid=p2380057.c101666.m5481&_trkparms=pageci%3A524419b9-c619-11ed-a27b-223eaf87421d|parentrq%3Af8672fae1860aa71460864e7fffd09e0|iid%3A1 but that seems like a crazy price for a used gear motor...

Thank you all for the good advice!

WHP and Brackett Field both had one for 350/mo.

Thank you! Yeah, no way could I do 1100/mo. I found a hangar for 350/month but like 1.5hours away -- and I typically can average a couple hundred hours per year, so if it's that far away, I'm sure it'd be more of a hangar queen which wouldn't be good.

Thanks. I've been at it. I had a few leads and someone who seemed willing to negotiate with me, but recently went radio silent, but I'm definitely going to keep working on it!

I'm potentially moving to the SoCal area near Long Beach later this year...and I am nervous of not being able to afford a hangar anymore like I do out in Western New York. So I'm curious for those that tie down, how damaging is it to the aircraft in general? Corrosion? Paint? What can be done to minimize this damage? I'm looking at moving in the Long Beach area, which is by the Pacific Ocean too - is this a definitive no-no for keeping a plane outside? I assume the nice paint job I have may wear pretty soon, so I might look into budgeting for a paint job or something sooner than later -- what other considerations to have?

Thanks! Did the checkout today. Probably the most expensive checkout I've done, but now I can use it while I'm out here and even go out to Catalina which is nice (although part of me thinks I shoulda just flown my M20G here in the first place haha!). Most of the learning I felt like I had to do was around LA airspace, the VFR transition over LAX and procedures entering/departing Santa Monica airport. Definitely tired after all that flying, but happy too! -Alex

Thanks! It does have an automatic wastegate.

Thanks for the tip! It's 240/hr. I hope they are nice to me on the checkout, but I will admit that cowl flaps will be a bit new for me since my M20G has fixed cowl flaps. I'll definitely need to think about them more. Why do they need to be closed before I speed up?

Hey there! I fly/operate an M20G back home, but am spending 3 weeks in SoCal and thought I'd try renting a 231 for some trips. I have my checkout scheduled for tomorrow and thought I'd ask some of the 231 drivers for some tips to make sure I don't botch it: 1) v-speeds? short field landing tips (would love to take it out to Catalina or something) 2) how do you work a turbocharger? what are things to watch out for? 3) any other intricacies or differences from my '68 M20G to watch out for? and then any SoCal specific tips for airspace are also appreciated for those that do fly in this area. Thanks so much!

I have an upcoming annual inspection next month and a decently bad nosewheel shimmy on landing (rudder pedals violently engage). I wanted to get a head start on looking for parts + planning. Reg shimmy: Taking all pressure off nosewheel can sometimes help it it a bit, or hitting the rudder pedals a bit back and forth myself can help. No controllability issue, but would like to get it fixed this annual. The nosewheel truss was rebuilt by LASAR in 2011 -- it looks to be in decent shape, but it does have some left and right play while up on jacks. Should this be overhauled/replaced potentially? My shock discs are also old, perhaps original - but look good and pass the test in the service manual still. Replacing them is sort of expensive and a PITA, so I keep deferring it until it fails the test (and they seem to hold on).. Any thoughts on priorities for this annual if this was your plane? 1) vacuum pump is pretty old with lots of hours, a Rapco unit but seems to be functioning fine. 2) battery is also from 2013 or 14 but also seems to be doing ok. 3) as mentioned; shock discs + nosewheel shimmy - not sure how to address yet. misc stuff like carb temp probe prob needs replacing, etc. Any guidance would be appreciated! -Alex

Hey Mooney friends, It's been a while and I come to you fresh of a cross country adventure I wanted to share with ya in my 1968 M20G. Here was the route: Day 1: Friday: KIAG>KMSN (3hr 20min), $154.01 fuel cost (may include overnight parking fees) A quick leg after work on Friday evening, landed IFR on the ILS in moderate rain. A quick over night stopover, a friend who worked at UPS picked me up from the airport and we had lunch at Coopers Tavern (had a pretty awesome Swiss Mushroom burger out that way)! It was neat to see the capitol building in Madison and learn how it was the largest building aside from the one in DC. Overall, even though the weather was cruddy, it was a beautiful stop. Day 2: Saturday: KMSN (Madison, WI) > KLYV (2hr 55min) (DIVERTED TO) > KFSD (Sioux Falls, SD), $146.78 fuel cost (may include overnight parking fees) Departed in IFR around 6am out of Madison and was planning a 3 hour leg for a fuel stop to KLYV, but after shooting an LPV approach into KLYV, had to go missed (my first one in a while) and diverted to KFSD. It was a needed break, took the crew car and went to Josiah's Cafe for lunch. Overall, I'm glad I diverted to KFSD since the airport had services and even though I paid a bit more in fuel, I could just go take a much needed break after a challenging early AM departure and half the flight being in IMC. Day 2: Saturday: KLYV > KRAP (Rapid City, SD) (2hr 15min): $121.97 fuel cost (may include overnight parking fees) Arrived about 12:30pm. Got a rental car and bolted to Mount Rushmore - enjoyed seeing it for the first time and walking around the "presidents walk" for different views of Rushmore. After Rushmore, headed for Custer State Park - the oldest State Park in America and hiked the Sunday Gulch Trail which so majestic and beautiful. Definitely recommend it. Spend the next few hours driving around the parks wildlife loop and caught some Elk up close, before heading back to Rapid City after a long ass day, grabbed takeout at Minerva's on the way home. Day 3: Sunday KRAP > KWYS (3hrs): approx $132.63 fuel cost Sunday morning, drove about an hour to check out Badlands National Park and bought an annual park pass. Badlands was beautiful, but I only explored the surface of it. Some gorgeous vistas, but no hikes were done. In the afternoon, drove to the airport and flew out to Yellowstone, to overfly the Devil's Tower Monument on the way and Mount Rushmore on the way out of KRAP. The visibility to KWYS was BAAAD, I was at around 12,490ft for most of the flight - due to the wildfires, the vis was between 2 and 3 miles. I was ready to ask for a special VFR clearance, but the vis was advertised at 3 miles by the time I got in. I could only see the airport as I was directly over it, so I descended over the field. Luckily, the runway is huge. THIS AIRPORT IS THE BEST. It had a free camp grounds, Gene, tied the airplane down, got the rental car AND gave me bear spray to borrow! No parking fees or overnight fees for the approx 5 days I parked here. In the evening, mostly just relaxed...got some BBQ at Firehole which was delicious and got ready for an early day at Yellowstone the next day. Day 4-8 (Mon-Thu): Yellowstone/Grand Tetons (didn't fly anywhere because KJAC only has like 6 tiedown spots by reservation only so no spots): Highlights: using the Gypsy Guide app to explore the park, hiking the Ferry Falls, Avalanche Mountain (the best thing in Yellowstone if you're fit), of course exploring the geyser's, old faithful, yellowstone lake, the canyon areas, so picturesque and beautiful! In Teton National Park, the Death Canyon hike to Phelps Lake was beautiful and a nice glacier swim was warranted in the lakes as well. Saw a fox on the hike in :). Day 9-10: KWYS > KGPI (2hrs) approx $122.96 (includes overnight parking fees) - took the ILS into KGPI due to poor visibility from the smoke/haze. Glacier was neat, loved the hike to to the Grisnell Glacier Overlook (about a 12 mile round trip), Around the Sun Road, huckleberries, the hidden lake walk from logan pass and driving through the park. The Gypsy Guide app was helpful in exploring it, along with AllTrails Day 11: KGPI > 20U (Beach, ND) (3hrs) approx $131.40 - okay finally, an airport with no one here...except Joe. Whoever he is, he used to run the airport. I called ahead and the owner said I could take the beat up crewcar minivan overnight. Perfect! Explored a little bit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park from the town of Medora, ND. Did some short hikes and star gazing. Day 12: (20U > KRRL > KIAG) (7hrs 30min) approx $310 fuel cost A LONG DAY BACK....started the morning at 5am with a 10 mile hike in Theodore Roosevelt National Park through the Lone Tree Loop Trail, lots of bison, praire dogs and even wild horses encountered. Probably my favorite National Park out of all of them, then a longass flight back. Started a smaller leg, but the place I was planning to initially land (KRZN), when I got to TPA, someone who landed there told me the fuel was out of service, so I diverted to KRRL. Sucks because KRZN was supposed to have $2.99 fuel...really extended the first leg from KIAG TO KRRL to about 4 hrs 15 mins which pushed my endurance a bit, esp after a long hike. However, I got a nice dinner at KRRL and some espresso to fuel me up for the last leg home. Arrived just before midnight local time. What an adventure! If anyone has any questions about the specific airports, wants some recommendations for the parks, etc...I'm happy to provide. I'll also post some pictures in the next few threads. Mooney's are incredibly, efficient, adventure machines!

Just bought that used Dahon III, excited to use it next time I'm on a solo trip. Thanks again for the link!

Cool, thanks! I'll give it a try. Is it possible to fit two? Did you have to take the tires out to fit them through the baggage door?

Thanks! I have an older folding bike that I've put in another airplane, but not in the Mooney (partly because I don't want to put it in through the door). I'll contact the guy on Craigslist for the Dahon. You're saying it folds up more and will go through the hatch? If so, thanks so much for looking up that one in my local area. I'll see if I can buy it!

This thread comes up every now and then, but thought I'd see if anyone has any PIREPs for folding bikes that will fit in a baggage door in a mid-body (I have a G specifically but I'm sure if it fits in F/J it will work too)? Can you load it in through the baggage door? Just one or can you get two in there? Thanks!

That video really helped me when I was going for my CPL.

I think it would sell quick for 25K. 30 might take longer. I’d prob price it at 27,500.

Had a unique experience at a pretty popular chain of FBOs yesterday. Stopped in for a break on a 4-hour flight home, asked for a top off, grabbed their crew car...on the way back, the CSR casually mentions "the line guy said to check your left fuel cap." I go out to the plane and see this: I try moving it and the arm portion sticking up is pretty much stuck. I am concerned that I'll break something if I try to force it any further, so I go back to the CSR -- the two line men come out to the plane. One guy tries blaming it on the "older fuel caps." That pisses me off - are you kidding me, buddy? I tell them - it's an expensive part, if they break it, they fix it. Eventually and reluctantly, they called a mechanic out. I'm sitting and waiting. A few times, I notice the line guys coming up to try to fix it (remove the stuck cap that's probably cross threaded) on the plane. I immediately come out there to watch. The third time they do this, I ask the CSR to not have them work on the plane without me being present. As I walk over, he cheerfully exclaims that he got it off. I don't really share his joy at this point and go to examine the cap. It looks like it's fine. There was a slight bend in the metal piece underneath (not on the cap but the part it threads into), but it didn't look significant. I told them I'd have my mechanic take a look at the next service cycle if it was and left it at that. He apologized, said he learned a lot and I departed, a little over an hour delayed. So what are your story of line employees screwing up? Did they take responsibility? How did it get resolved?

Seems like a great price for a J model if there are no red flags. Do keep in mind you'll likely have to overhaul the engine in the perhaps very-near future as that has been one has been in service for over 20 years. Even with an overhaul necessary in the next year or two, the price seems right to me.