Ben E.

I agree with all this, but I can tell you as a prospective buyer, I want to see scans of all the log books. It gives a good idea of recurring issues, shows the extent of damage history (or supports the owner's claim that there is none), time since last recurring maintenance (e.g., magnetos), etc. Scans of the last overhaul documents are also very helpful because it tells you exactly what was done.

Just to add to this part of the topic, I've done this flight several times in the past year and I always ask for (and have received) clearance into the bravo. I tell ATC when requesting clearance into the bravo for the initial portion of the flight southbound over the Hudson that I want to also fly up the East River and transition over the park back to the Hudson. They say they will work on the East River but clear me into the Bravo to proceed southbound to the VZ bridge. Shortly after my 180 at the VZ bridge they will clear me for the East River and tell me to fly over Governor's Island and transition at my discretion. Then I fly until the Queensboro bridge and make a left. Then turn right back up the east bank of the Hudson. ATC always gives me 1500' and is very good about calling out the helicopters and other fixed wing traffic, including planes in the VFR corridor. In my opinion this is the safer way to do this flight. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

There's a small bug I've noticed for a while. Location on the user info that appears next to a user's post is missing a colon. I've added it to my location to look right. I have attached a screenshot.

I'm looking at a J that had a Western Skyways major overhaul to factory new limits in 2010. The compressions had dropped to the low 70s by 67 hours SMOH. Around 120 hours SMOH, the #2 lifter collapsed and overhauled lifters were installed. The compressions were back to the mid 70s by 250 hours SMOH, but fluctuated between low and mid 70s thereafter. In 2015 there is an entry that says "R&R all 4 cylinders for repair . . . completed initial break in runs per Lycoming SI1427B, no leaks noted." The last two annuals had high compressions. I asked the owner what happened to cause the R&R on the cylinders and lifters and he said "It was a bad break in. So I hired someone to break it in after the cylinders were redone." I believe this is only responsive to the cylinders because the lifter issued happened before he owned it. I've asked for detailed work orders for all work. In the meantime, I know there are some guys here that know a lot about these things. What do you think happened and do you think it's something that should make me question the quality of the overhaul and the engine?

I'll let the more experienced guys comment on the possible corrosion but thought I'd say please be careful. That looks like a brown recluse in the first picture. My uncle has been bitten twice and after seeing the scars that remain I wouldn't mess around with them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They're all good sites. You'll see some cross posting and sometimes a plane will only be on one of the sites. So you should really check all of the sites. In any case it doesn't cost you anything to use the sites or inquire about a plane. Don't forgot to check out controller.com, which typically has the most listings. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I know that's the general consensus, but they used to compete at that level. Planes used to cost a lot less, even when compared to income levels. And I think if they don't learn to compete at that level again soon then they will all go out of business. That's the great thing about modern industrial automation and 3D printing. You can take solutions developed for other industries and adapt them without much work to something like airplane building. I think this will be even more viable in five years or so. There's been amazing advances in what can be done cheaply.

I think the best thing for Mooney and general aviation is to go back to its roots and build an affordable plane. Sure, people want the latest and greatest, but few people can afford to buy $800k+ planes. In another ten years at the rate of price increases we are seeing we will be looking at planes that cost a minimum of $1.5MM. This is not sustainable and will destroy general aviation. They should take a tried and true airframe like the M20J and build them through automation like a 21st century Ford factory. Have CNC machines make all the parts so they're 100% identical to reduce the labor need to get everything fitting together. The only thing I would add is a chute, which I don't care to have, but would make a lot of your modern day overly cautious types (e.g., wives) get on board. If you really think about it, the materials that go into an airplane are relatively inexpensive. The labor of building them by hand is relatively expensive. Of course certified parts like engines and modern avionics jack up the cost, but if you vertically integrate and hopefully get a relaxed regulatory environment then you can cut those down substantially. I'd buy a new M20J that cost $250,000 new and that flew a good 160kts TAS over a new $800k Cirrus that had a few more bells and whistles that didn't add to the true aviation experience any day. And if that was the price then I think a lot more people would be buying planes.

Thanks for all the replies guys. Please excuse me if the question sounds silly. I only have about 2 hours in complex planes and engine management wasn't stressed. Yes, I do mean make it to TBO without a top OH. So it seems that it's not reduced a reduced power setting that allows the engine to make TBO--based on the attached power settings table from the POH you guys seem to be running at 75% power when possible based on altitude, otherwise 65%. Rather, LOP operations seem to be the common theme. When you guys say if you run the engine hard you may be looking at a new set of cylinders, are you talking about ROP operations, or is it something else? Also, shouldn't operating at ROP provide more fuel that will cool the cylinders down?

Based on some searches it seems like you have to run the Ovation at lower power settings if you want to make TBO. What would you guys say is the highest power setting and resultant TAS you can use in the Ovation and still hope to make TBO? I'm trying to figure out the practical speed advantage of the Ovation over the J...

Thanks guys. I'm really tempted by the Rocket, because it would work well with my mission. I know Rocket Engineering is doing well. I just wanted to make sure that if something did happen and the STC wasn't transferred to someone for some reason, that I wouldn't be grounded indefinitely if something happened with one of the modified parts.

Hypothetical question here. I'm not too familiar with how mods, STCs, and all that stuff works. If Rocket Engineering (knock on wood) were to go out of business, how would that practically affect Mooney Rocket and Missile owners? Would their repair shop be able to make all necessary future repairs without having to rely on Rocket Engineering for parts or approvals?

Are there actually states that charge an annual use tax? I've only ever seen the one time use tax for sales of things purchased outside the state.

To add to the "for what it's worth department," use tax is what you have to think about generally. States charge this when they can't collect sales tax. I fly out of NJ now, but will not base my plane there when I get my own because they charge a use tax that's 6.875%. New York is actually the tax friendly state in this case surprisingly and exempts general aviation planes from the use tax. In general, use taxation is based on where the plane is kept, not where the owner lives. One of my best friends is a NJ state tax attorney and used to work in tax policy for NJ treasury. He says the state sends inspectors to the airports to check tail numbers against the tax records. Apparently that's common in other states as well. My understanding is that after approximately 2 years for most states, you can move the plane to another state without paying the use tax. Keep in mind, if you transfer the plane from a corporation/LLC to yourself individually for some reason in the future then this would be a taxable transaction. Here's a good overview of these issues: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=7e81f81e-5582-47ba-94fe-62d7129b4c50

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great autopilot. I'm just saying if I'm spending buku money on top of the line IFR avionics, I'm going to go with an autopilot that can couple an approach.