Brent

I like the traffic on the Aspen. I’ve got an ADS-B In datalink, but not on the panel displays.

I’ve got an old MX20 off to the right on top of a 430. I’d like to do some upgrading, and the MFD wouldn’t be a bad option. But I spent my whole allowance on the plane...

I tried it early on and went back to 360. But being more comfortable with the different looks, I’ll try the arc view again. Thanks for the reminder.

I have an Aspen PFD, GNS-430, and S-TEC 30. The equipment is more experienced than the pilot, but I’m happy with the setup. I flew a VOR-DME approach with an arc the other day, and in GPSS mode, the system tracked the arc and led the 90-degree turn inbound off the arc nicely. The display can be a little busy for the size, but it has really grown on me as I have gotten increased command of it.

Nobody is immune. I know a long-time, high-time pilot who had a gear-up landing a couple years ago. He had been instructing in fixed-gear planes all day. Flew his personal retractable a few miles back to his home airport. Got distracted by people he knew in the pattern. Perfect landing - except gear up. You can imagine how he felt after that semi-sudden stop and all that came after. Appreciate all the tips above. I'm one-year in, and I think a lot about how to have enough consistency to avoid what has happened to many better than me. Closest I have come thus far was in closed pattern when the speed never got real high; there was some distraction - bird, balloon, traffic, or something. I'll use some of the short final tips here posted here.

Oh! It included the analysis, too. Important variable here that I forgot.

Yeah, my first L.A. oil change was a surprise at $260. But to be fair, it included some preventive inspection work and picking up and returning the plane to my hangar. So basically a house call.

@base698, Sorry to read about the surprises. I have to believe your future costs will be lower and average everything out. Here's my experience: Bought a 1985 M20J from a broker located at Kestrel Airpark, Texas. First time buyer - did what research I could in the year prior while I worked on an instrument rating. I had no issues about the broker or the purchasing transaction. I was a rookie, and had to put some trust in the other side, but I never felt uncomfortable. After the pre-buy, I put in a $3000 hold-back because of the oil analysis, though the consensus among all stakeholders is the numbers were high because the plane hadn't been flown. Anyway, they accepted the holdback, the theory turned out to be correct, and I released the money after 20 hours or so and another oil change. Costs DEC 17: $1000 Pre-buy inspection DEC 17: $2000 Buyer-directed maintenance after pre-buy (gear actuator "no-back" spring, gear door strut bearing, spark plugs, oil, glare shield light, misc.) JAN 18: $600 Two consecutive oil changes related to the holdback provision and need for analysis APR 18: $240 for a software update on my GNS-43W GPS and GTX-330ES to fix an ADS-B issue flagged in a registered letter (yay!) from the San Antonio FAA FSDO JUL 18: $1250 Annual inspection JUL 18: $375 Shim worn linkage in nose wheel steering Now, the above must be qualified with the information that the owner before me spent about $20,000 for a Mooney Service Center annual and a lot of (deferred?) maintenance. Going forward, I worry about declining compression values on my IO-390 engine - no aftermarket cylinders. Nearly a year in - no horrible surprises, but I figure everyone gets their turn in the penalty box sometime. So we'll see. Thanks for starting the thread.

SDFlySurf, Congrats on the license and the plane. When I bought my M20J in December 2017, I had 270 hours on a 30-year old license, 100 of which was recent in a Cessna 172. I had two hours in a Mooney, including a demo flight with a guy on this forum and a 1.5 hour orientation lesson in a J Model operated by Pinnacle Aviation at KCRQ. The broker I bought the plane through in Texas set me up with a really great guy who had done transition training for the Mooney factory. So I went to San Antonio in December with three days blocked out for the training (cost was $350/day for the instructor). I had read all the manuals, etc., in advance. We did an hour or two of ground work on Day 1 then flew for 4.2 hours, 11 landings and a good barbecue lunch in Llano. At the end of that first day, a Wednesday, the instructor said, "Well, we should be done by noon tomorrow, so you can get up to Dallas ahead of the weather." (I was going to meet my wife at my in-laws for Christmas in the Dallas area, and there was a cold front headed south that was going to hit on Friday.) On Thursday, we flew for 2.9 hours and 11 landings. We landed back at Kestrel by lunch, and Bob says, "Everything looks good. How do you feel?" I felt fine. But I thought there surely must be some kind of rule against Brent jumping into a Mooney and flying off by himself to wherever he felt like going. Nope. Filed a flight plan, got in the plane without asking anyone for permission, and flew to Grand Prairie. Go figure. Anyway, to answer the question: for me it was 8.6 hours of transition training, including the 1.5 at KCRQ. I had to fly 10 hours dual, and 5 hours solo for insurance. I'm really enjoying the plane and figure I should have decent technique and a handle on the settings after, oh, 500-600 hours, max.... Enjoy.

Hey, where'd all your instruments go?

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions on my lost intercom issue. UPDATE: Got back in the plane today and jiggled the audio panel box. Problem solved. Sooooo....yeah. Loose connection to broken or loose wire back there, I guess, but not quite ready for the avionics shop.

Thanks, Hank. I “jacked” around with the jacks and wires, but I’m going to take a closer look.

Pilot error if it happened. I'll give it another try. I'd blame it on my wife, but she just let me buy a plane.

Thanks for that suggestion. I think I cycled everything I could cycle. Picture of the SL15 face attached. SL15 Face.tiff

Thanks for the tip. I'll give that a shot when I get back to the hangar. Either that or a hard landing...

Greg Baker, Thanks for the ideas. I've heard lots of good things about Lake Aero. Anyway, using Dave Clarks. They continued to work fine with the radios after the intercom went out. I'm just going to capitulate and take it to an avionics shop here in SoCal.

Lancecasper, thanks for the PMA7000 tip. Appreciate that.

Thanks for the idea, Marauder. Yeah, I cycled the isolate switch (there's a small toggle switch that shifts between crew and all). No joy. Didn't think to check the back seats. I'll give that a try.

While flying through light to moderate turbulence today, I lost my intercom. All comms/navs continued to work fine, and I had side tone on my radio transmissions. But after that, I got no voice-activated intercom off the pilot or co-pilot headsets. The intercom loss coincided with a little jolt of turbulence, so I'm wondering if it's wiring rather than the audio panel itself. The box is an an older Garmin/Apollo SL15 audio panel, but as noted, the SL15 and the radios continued to work fine. If anyone has an initial thought, I'll appreciate it. Month #3 as an aircraft owner, so it's all new for me.

I was in a similar position and got a couple of airplane introductions through some kind folks on this forum. I see some are already responding. Note also, Pinnacle Aviation Academy at KCRQ Palomar (San Diego area) has a Mooney M20J. They offered everything from a morning ground/flight orientation to a complex endorsement and more in the airplane. http://www.pinnacleacademy.com/aircraft/aircraft.aspx?id=24 I'm going down there for an orientation before I go get full transition training and pick up a plane in Texas later this month. (And once I have the plane and some experience, I hope to pay forward the favors.)

I'm seeking information on aircraft property tax in California. I've done some searches and can't seem to find any methodology other than "tell us about your airplane, and we'll send you a tax bill." This will be non-business, personal use only. Yet another field I'm trying to fill in on the buy-an-airplane spreadsheet... I don't know whether to assume $1000 or $10,000 for a $100,000 airplane. Thanks for any insight.

Everyone, Thanks for the kind response. Truth is, I was a little surprised to see the friendly reception so quickly, including one direct message. That's a nice reflection of the Mooney community. In response to the question from carusoam, I spent a good part of 2016 getting current and am now back to flying VFR. Yeah, some things have changed, like I can't listen to the baseball game on the ADF because the planes I'm renting don't have one... not to mention the changes in airspace and radio protocols. When I started again (it was via one of the AOPA Rusty Pilot seminars), I wondered whether landing a plane again would fill the square and that would be that. But flying again is more satisfying than I expected, maybe even more so than the first time around. So, at present, I intend to pursue an instrument rating in 2017 and get a little VFR exposure to a complex aircraft. An aircraft purchase could be in the cards within the next 18 months, hence my interest in getting some exposure to a Mooney. To that end, I received a message from one operator in Los Angeles area along with the post from KLRDMD, both of which I really appreciate. I have provided contact info to both in the event something convenient for everyone can be worked out. Thanks again for the kind reception and introductions. bw

After a 25-year hiatus, I returned to flying in 2016. I'm thinking about aircraft ownership this time around, and all my comparisons and dream sheets tell me a 201 is what I should aspire to, ultimately. With that in mind, I'm looking for an opportunity in the Los Angeles area to get some exposure to a Mooney. Predictably, I don't see any rental aircraft around L.A., but the lists I have seen on this forum and elsewhere seem to be a little out of date. In any case, I'd appreciate any leads or advice.