MooneyDreamer

That's awesome! Good on you for offering this to everyone. I'm new to the realm of portable oxygen and this looks like a great opportunity to get started at a super low cost. Brandon

That's what I thought too! I've seen full SkyOx systems with tank, regulator, 4 canulas, and a mask for about the same price as they were quoting (and they were brand new). On a totally unrelated note, but relative to this trip, what does everyone feel about The Claw Aircraft Tie-Down System? I have one in my shopping cart at mypilotstore.com for $100 and it seems like a good deal and backup plan in case we get to an airport with no tiedown ropes or spaces. Thoughts?

Thanks for all the recs about Seattle. We'll jotting down all the places everyone on this thread has given us to see what we can fit in based on how much will be fly-over versus actual stops. I hadn't even thought of SMO! I'd like to land at Van Nuys since I lived a few miles from it for 5 years, but hadn't thought of many other bucket list airports while there. We'll be on an IFR flight plan in the MD/DC area, but we'll still brush up on the course, just in case. We were going to stop near the Montgomery Mall to redeem a flight sim gift certificate at Dream Aero that my wife won and then stay with family. Looks like they're closed due to COVID, so we may just see family near the Bay Bridge or on the Eastern Shore in DE instead. What?! We just dropped off the tank we have today so the parts guy at the A&P on our field could get an accurate quote. After the initial quote of $300-500 to send out, test, and get back, I doubt it'll come down that much just because it's a small tank. Here's to hoping...

Thank you all for the excellent advice and pointers towards other similar threads. The campground locations, airport recommendations, tips about calling beforehand for entrance/exit procedures are invaluable. We had thought about O2 previously as a bring along in case of needing to be above 12,500 for terrain, but it looks like it's a necessity after reading y'alls comments. We have a tank in our hangar that looks like it came with the plane originally (1978 model, and this is a club plane so it's a guess it came with it), but I'm not sure how old it is or last time it was filled. I called a local shop on the field and they said they can check it for inspection dates and fill it, but they can't do hydrostatic testing on it and would have to send it out. Said $300-500 including shipping and it needs to be done every 5 years. Is that right? I'm seeing SkyOx systems all-in that are $500 with regulator, canulas, and a mask. I've also seen recommendations to buy an old tank on craigslist and purchase the regular and hosing myself. With such extreme ends of the spectrum, I'm a little confused which way to go and what I should expect to spend on the setup.

Hey everyone! So my wife and I are planning a trip around the country in about a month and a half in our J model and are hoping for some advice from either those that have done something similar, or at least those that are well traveled in other parts of the country. We're in Charlotte NC and will be allocating roughly 2 weeks to the trip. We know we're heading to MD first, then to the eastern shore, up to the Hudson River corridor, then to Niagara before heading west (all the way to the west coast before eventually making it back east). What are some things you would consider when planning this trip? Logistics, places to stop, maintenance concerns, etc. The plane is going into annual in about 2-3 weeks, so hopefully any maintenance issues will be caught during that time. As for lodging, we are taking a tent and camping gear and plan to either camp near the plane or stay in FBO sleeping areas; probably grab a hotel or airbnb every 3 or 4 nights to "recharge." Primarily, I want to make sure we're not overlooking any important planning considerations and/or any places we should really stop to see. Thanks in advance and can't wait to see what amazing experiences the Mooney can afford us! Brandon

@David Lloyd, nooo say it ain't so! I learned to fly out of KEQY a few years ago and had always heard of Wilgrove, but never gotten to visit. That was until about 8 months ago when my wife and I were seriously on the hunt to purchase an airplane (first a M20J and then progressed to a Bonanza P35, before we abandoned it). During that time though, we discovered the insane waiting list at the surround area airports for a hangar. I ended up stumbling upon Wilgrove and it's shade ports, as well as Alan and his beautiful A36. Nice, little tucked away airport 15 minutes from my house, with the nicest airport manager I've ever met, and the only place around that had space available (and affordable, too!). I still see the cherokee the the flight school uses sometimes when I'm at Concord or Monroe. Will be a sad day when it is no more

Looks like a bunch of us were looking at this plane. I hadn't gotten to the point of requesting/reading the logs, but if you find any issues while looking into them, please let us know. I'd love to learn a bit of knowledge from the little intricacies found in these logbooks, for when I'm ready to buy my own bird.

30.7 hours in 2016....not nearly as many as I wanted, though I did cross the 100 hour mark this year (got my PPL the end of November 2015, along with tailwheel, complex, and high performance endorsements that December). BUT, I did get my ASES rating in September in a '46 J-3 Cub on floats on the Hudson River. Was awesome! Looking towards getting my instrument rating and multi (possibly) this year. And as always, keep looking for the perfect M20E or F to buy....