Stetson20

Could you post what type of LPU you ended up buying with a link and/or a pic? Curious as I intend to fly between central MI and Chicago area over (or around) the lower part of Lake Michigan. I've seen some snazzy fishing vests that have the compressed CO2 cartridges. Seems like that would be comfortable. That and checking the lake water temperature for flights to make a go/no-go decision on flying over or around the lake. Anyone have thoughts on that? TIA

Yes probably turkey buzzards then. I've never seen a bunch of big birds together like that before. I was fascinated!

Not a flight but taken from my hangar at 9D9 Thursday. I counted over 21 hawks- all right over the airport. pics taken with my crappy iphone 8 camera.. but yall get the idea

Not sure if this will work in the Mooney but I use them all the time in the 737. Very cheap window shades I found at Autozone. I can measure if anyone is interested..

You wouldn't happen to know Bill Ham would you? We went to flight school together in 88-89. He flew AH-64s for nearly 30 years. Retired and went right back to work as a DAC at Hood flying them still!

Any update?

I'd like to replace this yellowed cover with a new one when I replace the landing lights with LEDs. I like the 1/8" Lexan idea. Dumb question. Are the holes to dissipate heat? And would they be required with LEDs? Thanks!

First annual is in August. It was opened up for the pre-buy somewhat, but the local shop is really backlogged and I have to take my place in the queue. Annual due in August. Removing the radar from the right wing will require skin work, you're right. I have no idea how much that will be. All great suggestions! Thanks!

Given the choice, I'd keep the radar and strike finder. But, man, does that radar crt take up a lot of real estate. There are nav displays that paint wx as an added service right? I'm learning about GA avionics. Most of my experience (99%) is military or airline...

I have the Monroy tanks so I would need 4 fuel inputs, I believe.

Yes I noticed that a lot of the segment lights? are out on the KNS 80. It's essentially useless right now, as far as I can tell.

I was surprised- more than one person has suggested keeping the weather radar. Yes, it does work. The previous owner says he relied on the strike finder more. I don't intend to fly near convective activity, but then again, who does? Thanks for the suggestions! I'll be sure to post before/after pics as I go. Maybe first order of business is sell the house and move in to that spot down by the river I saw the other day? (I have a van already!)

In the process of buying N58089 and I need to upgrade the panel. First, I need an engine monitor. I'm on a budget (who isn't?) so what would you do, in what order? Heres some pics from the GMax website:

As I recall he used 2300 at cruise..

It's actually here in MI. The plane was in IN and the owner was nice enough to bring it here for the pre-buy.

Anybody have an idea how to access this in ForeFlight? I'm still learning to use the app.

Tom, I'm at Hastings 9D9. Mark Anderson from the EAA speaks well of you and your beautiful airplanes (Rocket and Lancair). Whenever you get down this way, I'll buy you lunch and pick your brain on all things Rocket. My wife has an aunt in Escanaba so I'm sure we will be up your way soon. I'll make it a point to call on ya at IMT -Roy

Gorgeous!

Yes- now at Hastings 9D9. And what little M20E time I had, I've forgotten a lot of it. They say the memory is the 2nd thing to go. I can't remember the first.

Got a rental car in Gary? Did you get the optional kevlar helmet and vest too? I felt safer in the green zone! Tho, admittedly, I didn't fly to/from GYY. I have family near there and it's a rough area. (Calumet City, Hammond) Also, I flew in to and out of MDW with SWA. I've only been around the west side of Chicago Class B once- when taking my M20E from Poplar Grove back to central MI. And I went around the long way via Chicago Heights VOR, as I recall. Was awhile ago. Foreflight has a handy feature- you plug in the starting airport and destination, and if there are any previous route clearances on file, it will show them to you.

Very good point. I've looked around for a CFI/II with Mooney Rocket experience- but haven't had a lot of luck. Any suggestions? As an aside, he is the resident M20F CFI for the local flight school/flying club. They do have an older Mooney that they use for complex/high performance endorsements.

From a VERY early age, I remember telling my friends & family that I wanted to be an Army helicopter pilot. I was born in 1969 so either I'm a reincarnated Army pilot OR I watched Vietnam footage at such an early age (I don't have any memory of it) that it imprinted on me. Either way, I went straight in to the Army out of high school and learned to fly the UH-1 at "Mother Rucker" in 1988 at the age of 19. Selected AH-1 Cobra's out of flight school and flew them in Germany, Korea, SWA and back at Rucker as an instructor before leaving the Army in 1995. I ended up branch transferring to the Navy, where I flew the T-34, T-45, S-3 and B707 (E-6 Mercury). My favorite and most exciting flying memory is getting my carrier qualification in the T-45. Family responsibilities intruded on life, I had a growing family, and I ended up flying 707s. I preferred the excitement of carrier aviation and never thought of, nor planned to fly for the airlines. After I did my 20 years, I got on with AirTran and was promptly furloughed 9 months later in 2008. It was a blessing in disguise. I ended up going to Iraq to teach the Iraqi Air Force flight program in Kirkuk. It was fun and I really enjoyed the challenge. At the time, the USAF was doing the flying in C172s and C208s, both with G1000 navigation suites and the 172s had Theilert diesel engines. My job was ground instruction and simulator training, which I enjoyed immensely. While I was furloughed, Southwest Airlines bought out AirTran. I was now (after integration) a newly-minted Southwest FO. I was based in LAS, BWI, MDW and back to LAS as a FO. In 2019, I upgraded to Captain and have held a captains seat at both OAK and LAX. In 2017, I bought a M20E and had a lot of fun learning to fly a small GA piston airplane. We were running a small business here in Michigan, and when we closed up shop, we decided to move back to Vegas. I didn't have a mission, and didn't feel comfortable flying a non-turbo plane in mountainous terrain out west, so I sold the Mooney. Last year, I started wanting to buy an airplane again. I always kept coming back to the Mooney for it's ownership value. Today, I got the pre-buy results back and am in the process of buying N58089, a Mooney Rocket. It's been a wild, fun ride and I still have 13+ years until mandatory retirement.

So sorry to hear that. Naval Aviation is very dangerous. Is that how he died? If so, it sounds cliche but I'm sure he was doing what he loved!

Is your brother still an active SWA Captain? More importantly, did you convince him to buy a Mooney!

Yep, turned in the family truckster (National Lampoon's Vacation reference) for the mid-life crisis mobile! I have a local CFI who has flown Mooney's scheduled in a couple weeks for some orientation flights. I am also going to buy Paul @PJClark lunch & pick his brain as he took a similar path- he took a solid but dated Rocket and modernized it. I'm really excited to be flying a Mooney again!