klystron

Also, does anyone happen to know of an instructor with vintage M20 experience and a place where one can be rented in the Newport News / Norfolk Virginia area? I need to get my dad checked out so that *when* the time comes I can have him go with me to pick up an aircraft and finish my PPL training in it.He's an ATP, CFII, etc. Lots of time in pipers, cessna's B1-B's, and Boeing's, no mooney time though.

A klystron is a really big RF source. We used them on the tokamak back at school to heat plasma to temperatures hotter than the center of the sun. I'd love to get a K if I could afford it. One of my coworkers is considering getting one but I think he is looking beyond my price range.

This 100%. The nearest place for me to rent is Santa Fe, which is a 45 minute drive. Once there the only places that rent are two flight schools, one has a Remos-GX, a Tecnam Sierra, and a 182P, the other has 3x 172s. I have taken the Remos-GX from KSAF to KHYI and back over a weekend but I had to convince the owner to move people around in the schedule and we ended up leaving a day later than we would have liked. The problem is that because they are flight schools it is very hard to get them over the weekends, when I really want them. I have a 3-day weekend every other week so I'd love to be able to go fly somewhere on those weekends. I would also love to be able to take extended lunch breaks and go grab a $100 hamburger up in Pagosa Springs or Taos. I'd like to get into a partnership but those opportunities are limited in a town of 12,000 people. There is a flying club, but they currently have 8 people bought into a single Cardinal so once again it comes down to scheduling. I might get a buddy of mine to buy into my aircraft (once I have one) when he finally gets converted to full staff here at the lab. Of course I won't try to do that until after he solos

On Denali, while bored at 14 camp, my climbing buddy and I started adding up the cost of all our gear that was just sitting there out in the open. Once we hit about $10k each we decided that we should stop and never think about it again.

Curse you for nabbing that airplane!!!! But seriously, congrats! I'm hoping to join the club soon myself.

I have a very well paying job, my all my housing costs are payed for by my renters and I don't have a girlfriend or significant other (and am unlikely to find one soon) so I might as well spend my money on something! Plus I think the best pick up line ever is "Want to go flying?" I do have some pesky student loans but no one ever had fun sinking all their money into paying off those...

That's a beautiful aircraft you have there Brian. Unfortunately I'm hard capped at $60k. I've got $20k in the bank and am planning on financing up to $40k. (I'm a 26yr old kid and don't have a ton of cash lying around). Silly banks won't count the nearly $30k a year in rental income I get since it only shows up on last years tax statements. Soooo, if you are willing to negotiate on that price a bit... - Josh

Thanks, yeah that is my concern. My absolute top right now is $60k, but that number goes up by about $2k-$3k every month. My goal ideally is to get an aircraft that I can use for 10+ years. So if I get what you're saying I should look for an airplane that has a good exterior and maybe crappy avionics? I know I probably can't afford both at the moment and I would rather have a solid airframe that I can upgrade vs one I have to patch in $1000 bills.

Ok, so I am strongly considering going with N241RC. He said he would take $57,000 for it, which is a little higher than I would like but it seems like an ok price for a relatively low time M20J with decent avionics. The logbooks prior to 1995 were lost and reconstructed, but the engine was overhauled in 1999 and work on the overhauled engine is all logged. From the airframe logs one entry states that the entire aircraft was cleaned and treated with Corrosion X Inhibitor in 2012. I can't find any mention of the gear pucks being replaced or the wing tanks resealed. The seller is an A&P but had someone else do the last annual inspection dated 6/20/2016. One interesting thing I noted was that almost every annual inspection ended with "Removed bird nest from tailcone"...

Ok cool, thanks. I wasn't sure if it was anything serious or not which is why I ask!

Lol normally when I google an N-number it's to run an aviationDB query on it. On a similar note. Anyone know what's going on in these pictures with the baffling for the landing gear actuators? Looks like the opening has been taped closed and then a hole large enough to for the actuators was cut / torn into it...

I have also come across a 1981 M20J with aging paint and interior. Avionics look good and the price is a little on the high side for me but the owner said he was willing to accept "fair" offers. He is currently asking $62,900. The aircraft has 985 SMOH and looks like it has spent most of it's life tied down and the paint definitely shows that it lives outside in Ohio. Here is a link to the trade-a-plane listing: http://www.trade-a-plane.com/search?category_level1=Single+Engine+Piston&make=MOONEY&model=M20J+201&listing_id=2179200&s-type=aircraft I also have a google drive link to logbook pictures and additional pictures of the aircraft. Is there anything I should be particularly insistent on or pay additional attention to when looking at an aircraft with aging paint? Current owner is an A&P. Thanks, - Josh

Possibly interested, what is the useful load and what TAS / FF do you flight plan for?

Yeah I've noticed this as well. I've seen T/N F's and C's but almost never an E. My dream plane would be a T/N'd E with a full set of 201 mods. Yeah, the more I think about it the more I'm convinced this is the best approach. Thanks for the heads up! Haha yup! At least you get a couple hundred feet of extra altitude once off the mesa, and I have heard of people utilizing the emergency strip down in the canyon. The other option is to shoot for the highway and pray you get down before the steep hill... Still a super exciting airport to fly in and out of! The buildings to the south are LANSCE, the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center.

My main destination will be Boulder, Co where I have a bunch of friends on the ground to give me rides. I'd plan on flying up there, or to Buena Vista or Aspen several times a month to climb 14ers, snowboard, etc. Other big climbing destinations are going to be places like Jackson Hole, Yosemite, various places in Alaska and Canada. Most of the trips I'd plan on landing at a larger airport and then taking a car to the trailhead. Some of the special trips, like places in Alaska and Canada would involve getting to a glacier and being gone for 3+ weeks. For trips like that I'd fly to Talkeetna and then take one of the air taxi services to glacier (I'm partial to Sheldon Air service, those guys are great!) I would also like to look into flying down to Mexico to climb some of the volcanoes down there. The thing I really love about mooney's over a 182 is the fuel economy. It's easier to con people into flying with me and split fuel costs when I can keep those costs low and the travel times shorter. Most of the time it will only be me and 1, maybe 2 other lightweight guys and probably about 50lbs of gear per person. We tend to subscribe to the "fast and light" style of alpinism which so far has served us well.

Pretty much this. KLAM is a 1-way airport, go arounds are sketchy because we have terrain that rises to 10,000' about 2-3 miles behind the runway. My primary destination will be KBJC, which means I'd have to go through at least 1 9,600' pass with surrounding mountains going up to 12,000'. I'd also love to be able to get up high for cruising and maybe acclimatization for climbing big mountains... (I've been up to 23,000' on foot and plan on going up to almost 27,000' next spring)

Yeah, I rented a Remos-GX, which has a 100HP Rotax in it and it does "ok". I tend to expect about 300-400 fpm with 2 people in it. Some days we get 12,000' DAs so I tend not to fly on those days. We have at least 4 mooneys on our small field, probably more hiding in the hangars.

Hello All, I've been lurking around here for a little while and now I'm finally ready to take the plunge and try to find a mooney of my own. Due to some complications with getting a medical cert I decided to just get a sport certificate back in March, but after some work with an awesome AME I finally managed to get my 3rd class medical certificate! Now that I am no longer limited to tiny, slow, LSA's I'm looking at acquiring a Mooney to finish up my PPL training in and work on additional ratings in (IR, CPL, CFI, etc). I also plan to use it for lots of cross country flying. I'm an avid climber, backcountry snowboarder, and mountaineer and would love to fly myself and 1-2 partners to cool climbing destinations. I currently live in Los Alamos, NM (KLAM). Our airport sits at 7,200' and hangar space is incredibly limited, so I will end up tying down the aircraft. I'm looking for a fast and efficient aircraft, which is why I'm looking for a moony: 1) Ideally an M20C or M20E with speed mods, but an M20F would also work. 2) Max price of $60,000 3) Turbo Normalized would be awesome. 4) WAAS GPS and Autopilot equipped strongly desired. 5) Crappy exterior and interior are just fine. 6) <1500hrs SMOH 7) Aspen PFD strongly desired (Most of my flying has been in a Remos-GX with Dynons) 8) Manual gear preferred. So if you know of anyone trying to sell an aircraft roughly fitting that bill send them my way! I'm also kind of eyeing this aircraft: http://www.kelmaraircraftsales.com/7027v.html It's a '76 M20F With a RayJay turbo, speedbrakes, only 2845h on the airframe, 801 SMOH on the engine, 80hrs on the prop. It had a spalled camshaft that was repaired in 2006 and a prop strike in 2003. I'm a bit concerned that it has been sitting for at least a year and I would obviously have to upgrade some of the avionics. Any advice?

Yup, from what I was told they want to do a 1-year special issuance, then re-evaluate in a year. If everything looks good then they will just issue a standard 3rd-class. Excellent, enough for a full tank of gas, two normal sized guys, and several weeks worth of mountaineering expedition gear!

Yeah I went to Dr. Steinkraus at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. I talked to AOPA and Dr. Chein about it a little but Steinkraus was by far the most helpful. I was referred to him by my dad who still has a 1st class medical and flies for Delta after having a very minor stroke.

Nope, problem is I was diagnosed with ADHD about 8 years ago right after starting college. I'm only 26 and in perfect health other than that stupid diagnosis. Fortunately my AME has most of the regional flight surgeons on speed dial and we basically were told that I'd get a 1-year special issuance the first time around and be set after that.

Interested as well but I have to wait to hear back on my 3rd class medical... I'm in the market for a bird I can use to finish my ppl (already have a sport cert), and then use as a time builder / nice XC platform. I do wish I could find something that's been turbo-normalized just to deal with the 12,000' DA days we get here at my home base. What is your useful load?

As soon as I get my 3rd class medical I'll probably go for this one... Two things that bug me about it are the 1650 SMOH and the older avionics.