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SAMFOX

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Everything posted by SAMFOX

  1. All items in excellent condition.... Bruce’s Cover: $400 (Never used) York Gust-Lock: $200 Tempest Engine Dehumidifier: $200
  2. In my dealing and talking with folks it has been between 6-10% depending on broker, and or flat rates between $3-5K...All depends on who you use and are comfortable with. Some are more responsive then others.
  3. https://www.controller.com/listings/aircraft/for-sale/29182725/1997-mooney-m20j?dlr=1&pcid=1295132&crmid=5248113&if=1
  4. @BushPilot ever find that J?!?
  5. Amillet, I will let you know how it goes...Aircraft will be listed this coming week (not by me), photo day this weekend...It has only taken 6mos to get here...and for me to emerge back into Mooney space, I was glad to see it is as viberant as ever!
  6. Thanks all for the comments and inputs...think I will make my way back to AAA at the EOM....just makes the most sense do to me having to travel, etc...
  7. Thanks for the inputs...still have all the scanned logs from when I purchased it so a quick update should be easy! Lots of pictures I can do but as you said not sure I want to deal with all the hassles...maybe I will give it a shot for a few weeks and see how big of a paion it will be. Not sure how the market is for Js right now, doesnt seem to be many out there that I am seeing!
  8. Anyone have any experience/recommendations on best way to sell a Mooney. Basics are: 1997 M20J, 1440 TT, ADS-B In-Out Garmin 345, Aspen PFD1000, Garmin 530W/430W, Flight Stream, 940# Useful Load, fresh annual... Looking for thoughts and ideas...I purchased plane through All American so thought I would ask for inputs before heading back to AA for re-sale!
  9. That is definitely a good one! If you have a chance to drop into KEGE just to the north there is the “Meeker Two” it is also an interesting departure which requires you to cross the DBL R-326 then make a right turn back to intercept the DBL R-322 radial outbout! Require about 1900-2000ft/min (dependent on what your flying) to 15000. This is also a field you could do a VCOA at with 4200-3. What a great place to fly into and out of!!!
  10. Just my opinion but...Not sure I would fly above FL250 unpressurized...not worth risking DCS! If you ever suffer from DCS symptoms put on 100% oxygen and keep it on...though in GA aircraft I imagine you will quickly run out before you get to medical attention. I would go with: - FL240-FL249 max 45 Min - FL230-FL239 max 70 Min - FL220-FL229 max 120 Min - FL210-FL219 max 200 Min
  11. Thank goodness for that extra 48 ft/nm or 24% ROC we shooting the 40:1 OCS...just another buffer for performance deviations from both pilot and plane! Don’t forget your 35 ft screen height!
  12. All valid and most important is knowing your aircraft’s performance and what conditions affect it. Sure numbers seem doable until you realize oh it’s to 14,000 ft...Not in a J! And always remember if in doubt fly the ODP first...
  13. Ha! I find just flying out of FXE can be stress enough...I got my first 2 hours of Mooney time there. My cousin has a J hangared there and her and her other half got me some dual time...so appreciated that, and really enjoyed her plane!
  14. Your post makes a good point about needing to convert ft/nm to fit/min! Interesting that LOC/DME-E also uses a separate LOC-BC for missed approach.
  15. In light of recent discussions about IFR flying and DP procedures, what is your preferred/favorite way (legal way) to depart IFR? Have you used any departure procedures that are less often used than other such as VCOA, and what were some lessons learned? Also, what are your personal weather minimums?
  16. TW, All good points, no illusions of guaranteed successes!...and yes all original equipment to include fuel system. 1440 hrs on Prop, Frame, and a about 20 hours less on Engine as it was replaced by factory warranty after delivery to original owner. Started down the road with engine D2 burning about 6-8 qrts of oil per 5-7 flight hours (averaged over 1qrt/hr). I was expecting less. With the hours on the engine I was conflicted to either O/H or IRAN it. Because I intend to keep the plane, I went with the latter after having it inspected and had my cylinders built at Penn-Yan, they required new pistons. Cylinders cost me around ~800$/ea (3.2k) Which included the pistons. New Fuel Servo from Avstar was 1.6k. Prop O/H was 2.4k. I felt these were all fair prices, specifically the deal Penn Yan made me on the cylinders with the pistons. Engine/Parts cost only with no labor etc and not counting prop, engine mounts, landing discs, aircraft procurement, insurance, etc: 18-25k depending on which shop and if they could use your cylinders...average prices TBO is 2000 hrs at $22000 O/H = $11hr parts Curent time is 1420 hrs so if I make TBO at 2000 hrs (no guarantee!) 580 hrs at $4800 IRAN= $8.5/hr parts In my mind I think I can safely take this engine to beyond TBO if it is continually monitored and cared for with no intentions to sell. Not sure about folks thoughts on that but would be curious? Nothing is guaranteed, and everything comes with risk (looks like through bolt failure from your comment). Im sure I made a rookie mistake somewhere in my calculus but selling the aircraft has never been part of it. As far a gsxrpilot, I agree with the enjoyment part about modern panels and also love the toys. My bird came with just enough toys to make it enjoyable, but also has the nostalgia of challenging myself at the same time...Crosswinds, bearing pointers, and weather at mins! But then again having the terrain awareness makes it a little more fun and reduces some stress! Cheers, BK
  17. Thinwing, thanks for being a good wingman, absolutely valued your inputs and they make perfect sense, hope you did not think I was being crass! It has been a learning event...my thoughts were 21 year young prop that has never been off or overhauled, same for other items...all original fuel system, engine etc...MSC said they were willing to sign it all off minus fuel system... I made the decision because I forwent the Pre-buy when I bought the plane so I decided to spend the money to have it all inspected and repaired as needed now, so I would have a known starting point. Honesty I think the finding on the fuel system influenced me a little because I wanted to be certain there were no other issues. I carry precious cargo (wife and two sons) and I have lost too many friends and coworkers in this business. I don’t like to put blind trust in a machine I am unfamiliar with as I can’t just pull over on the shoulder. As to Roberts comment I agree, if I were selling I would have just had it signed off, and informed buyer of squawks! It however baffles me on these threads that Mooney owners dump 30-50-100K into panels and smile about it but will defer maintenance and leave plans on the ramp with open write ups at the same time...probably because they know and trust their own birds! Really NDB, RMI, VOR/DME, VORTAC gives you a lot of capes! Fix-to-Fix and circling approaches is a dead art! In the end I now feel like I have a known staring point and peace of mind!!!
  18. Thinwing, No need to caveat your comment sir, though I am of a younger generation, it is not the snowflake generation :-) , a good dose of sarcasm and ridicule goes a long way in my aviation upbringing, along with instructors pulling on oxygen masks while you sight emergency action procedures from memory all while try to maintain your position on the wing! I would 100% agree with you that the majority of the maintenance performed was discretionary and many would argue that it was money wasted. For me it was more of get ahead of it decision, because I was already committed on certain things and did not want to go back months later and re-attack things that I could have deferred. I will look for the Dmax article you mention, I believe I have read it once before but can't recall all the content. As far as the fuel servo issue, definitely not discretionary, and definitely something that should have been caught when I took the plane back to Texas for a 50 hr inspection. There is no doubt in my mind that DMax is a professional and knowledgeable mooney guy, I spent hours talking with him when I was there dropping off and picking up and really enjoyed the experience. But the reality is that DMax does not do all the maintenance himself and climb under every bird, so maybe not all his guys have his wealth of knowledge or discipline when it comes to maintenance procedures. This does not mean that it is not a quality shop, it definitely is is. It just means that it is good to have a second set of eyes every now and then...no different than visiting another doctor. I will ask the preload question, and not make any assumptions...thanks for that. On the topic of prop and engine it was all about ensuring everything is as good as it can be, not a concern that the blades were going to seperate in flight! I will admit I am not a mechanic...its my job to break'em and their job to fix'em...Thanks for the conversation, and inputs, it is all a learning experiment for me!
  19. So, most of the things I am dealing with come from my unwillingness to defer maintenance...having a plane is about convenience for me so I never put the aircraft in the hangar with an open squak...I aim to maintain a 100% msn capable rate and often do preventative repairs prior to failure. More for piece of mind/convenince versus necessity. I treat my J like we treat our 75s and 73s at work...has to be 100% reliable 100% of the time. This Annual I had: 1) 4 New Cylinders (Penn Yan). Personal choice on this, IA was willing to sign off and compressions were good with (Aero 100 Plus) but had annoying amount of oil consumption. Cylinder walls slightly corroded, D2 light use. I felt comfortable after inspecting the rest of the engine with shop manager that this was best option for me. Instead of overhaul or complete rebuild. 2) Landing Gear Discs Replaced (I will keep old for emergency spares, they were still in limits performance wise but we’re aging) and Landing Gear Door adjustments...Nose gear was pressing against wheel well and polishing metal, main gear had to many washers and main gear doors where over compressed with main gear being stressed while up. Nose gear wheel was overly tight and bearings were not free spinning. 3) replaced compressed engine mounts which had been shimmed to align prop with cowl. 4) fuel injector system/servo (Avstar repaired)...this was something that I was concerned about because it had an issue that could not be overhauled and could have caused loss of power. Additionally, the long metal fuel screen had significant corrosion on the threaded cap side (the side the screen should be removed from when inspected). You could tell it had not been removed properly for years. I was told that some mechanics will remove it from the fuel line side because it is easier to get to (though not the proper way), this was obviously the case because the threaded cap was rusted nearly through the threads, super obvious. The other issue was on servo body were the spring mechanism moves the baffle of the servo, it was the improper shape and could not be repaired. 5) Had prop overhaul because of back and forth movement in one blade. After overhaul governor had a slight over speed 2785 rpm...this found after 2nd maintenance flight once they were doing final ground checks for release...Governor is being inspected/overhauled...a prop balance will accomplished once reinstalled. There were a few other minor annoying things with how gaskets were applied and missing valve cover screws...I will give a full report once complete if anyone is interested. What Inlearned is it is good to get a fresh set of eyes every now and again...I have no complaints about any MSC I have used thus far but all Mechanics are different and see different things... Tommy at Freeway Airport has been awesome and spends hours with me when I stop by to ask questions or just poke my nose around...he climbed in and around the bird with me and explained every system, how it operates, gotchas or things to look for, as well telling me what he was comfortable with signing off and not in the terms of if this was my money I would not do X-Y, but I would do Z...he made sure I put eyes on and approved every aspect of the maintenance. It has been a great experience minus the paying aspect! Hope to be complete in a week or so...now if the weather will cooperate too. Tail winds...BK
  20. RPCC, In the end it boils down to what risk you are comfortable with taking. However, I would recommend if you are not going to do a PBI then at a minimum that you have an independent source; someone with mooney knowledge do a limited inspection of the big items, if you feel a full PBI is not right for you. As others have mentioned find someone that knows the model because not everything is equal. Additionally, as any aircraft owner can tell you certain items can be signed off with deferred mx to next inspections, etc...so even though you are on a fresh annual it does not mean your next one wont run you a small fortune! I can only speak from my experience within the last 12 months, and my scenario was similar to the same, the details was Broker was All American, Mx for last 10 years was DMAx, all prior Mx was MSC since rolled out of Kerrville, recent annual w/less than 5 hrs flt time, aircraft always hangared. Gasp, Gasp I bought the aircraft sight unseen, (I would not recommend this, lost a few years and hairs) and took a ton of heat from peers and peeps. What I did to mitigate was to have a Mooney guy independently review the logs, and another independent Mooney guy out of San Antonio, go kick the tires for me and look at the plane in person. He sent current pictures, and gave me his written professional opinion short of the PBI (cost me around $300). Now in the end it worked for me but I can say I went into annual 1 Dec 17 and I still have not been signed off yet four months later! Mostly my fault but there were things that came up, that I was disappointed about, because I would have thought that with a lifetime of MSC Mx, the things that were found would not have been an issue. To make this long story short, I would not buy sight unseen again, but I still would have accepted a little risk with less a thorough inspection...though I would not influence anyone to do the same!!! best of luck to you, and I hope you find a SAMFox Mooney!!!
  21. Congrats, 94MR looks amazing...contrast is nice and flows well! Also did anyone ever try to answer Don’s question or have any info on the pros and cons of auto vs aero paints?
  22. The bigger they get the louder they get...this one was a site to see back in the day as well..
  23. Looking at working with Boss on J-Refinish any previous posts or PIREPS. Did a search. It nothing came up! Any comments/experiences appreciated...
  24. Very nice panel it does look very clean! Did you realize any gains in Usefull Load...realize it would be slight but always curious! Also, did you ever consider putting the L3 backup on the co-pilot panel? I do concur having the JPI in cross check is key...mine is on co-pilot panel and it is a constant reminder to look at it after desired cruise power is set!
  25. Your right... neilpilot one, samfox zero...Moving on!
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