MBDiagMan

Thanks folks! As I said, I feel comfortable with no flap landings. As time goes along, I will accumulate plenty of flap landings and there may very well be a time when I prefer them. I am not opposed to change, and I constantly try and learn different things.

We might have bragged about the weather too soon. It is now beginning to look like we may have to deal with low ceilings Saturday.:(

Too bad. I was looking forward to visiting some more with you and Amanda before you head across the pond. Please keep in touch on MS during your tour and very best of luck to the both of you!

Even in my initial transition training in rough air on a 6,000 feet strip I never was unable to exit the runway at midfield. I now go in and out of a wavy, 4,000 feet runway and always turn off at midfield with no problem with no flap landings. I don't consider myself a high time Mooney pilot either. My old school instructor that started me landing the Mooney with no flaps is a tough instructor that doesn't put up with much. He taught me to fly in an Aeronca Champ in 1991. He put me through so much stuff that I have had no other instructor even mention to the point of requiring me to spin before he would sign me off for the checkride. He taught stalls from a climbing turn, spiral down to the end of the runway with the prop stopped and on and on. I probably did a hundred simulated engine outs for him. Where I am going with this is, if he is good with no flap landings, I am all in. I would follow him into hell. I am not normally argumentative. I am quite sure that there are many of you that are highly experienced, highly skilled Mooney pilots that can build an airtight case for requiring full flap landings. Please don't be insulted when I follow Good ol' Bill instead.

Yep, I haven't looked since last night, but it appears that the worst of it will be gusty wind. Glad I will be in the Mooney instead of my taildragger. Gusts and tailwheels don't go well together.

My transition instructor had me landing with full flaps. We ran out of time, he signed me off and I went on vacation for a week. I came back and flew with my old school instructor who has a lot of Mooney time. He said try landing with no flaps. I squeaked one off and never looked back. I have used half flaps a few times to bleed off some altitude, but other than that I have enjoyed good landings with no flaps.

Thanks guys! I have gotten pretty comfortable with just rotating, ensuring positive rate of climb and yanking up the gear. I know that I waggle a little while yanking the gear, but it doesn't seem to be a big deal.

I went to an open house last week where I hangar my 140. A medical air transport company, opened a base at the Hugo, Ok airport. They had the open house to engage with the community and get to know the pilots in the area. The company was founded by a doctor who I met and got to know a little bit. He showed me his personal plane, a beautiful turbine engined Malibu. He combined his medical profession with his love of aviation. It is a great group of people and aircraft. It is great having them around. In the course of visiting with the pilots, one of them talked about his time years ago as a young flight instructor. He said the FBO where he worked had a Mooney C model that he did complex training in. He said that he learned to trim on take off before retracting the gear. He said he did this to eliminate the waggle on gear retraction. I didn't think to ask what speed he trimmed for. As you can see, I can't ask a simple question quickly, but has anyone done this or do any of you do this on a regular basis?

I would think that CFI's type would be any Mooney for insurance purposes, but unless you are already comfortable with the Johnson bar, or yours has electric gear, you would want someone comfortable with the gear. It would not be a huge deal, but there are a few things you need to learn to get comfortable with it. Also, if a CFI has done much Mooney work, they are most likely familiar with the manual gear. IMHO, a short body is not the "learn from a Mooney expert or you will die" project that some people will try to lead you to believe. That said, I would indeed recommend that the transition instructor be familiar with Mooney's. my $0.02,

I am enjoying following this thread, but it would be much more enjoyable if you would write the city and state next to the airport identifier so I don't have to look them up. I bet you're having fun in spite of the delays.

I put this in pre J model forum by mistake. This past Saturday was weathered out. Don Muncy is looking for at least five Mooniacs to commit to trying to be at Redbird airport Dallas. We would love to have you come join us Saturday. Don is a great host. The food is good and the people are great! All this and Mooneys too! let us know if you can make it.

Since the May 20th date got pretty much weathered out, we are looking for attendees for this Saturday. Don is looking for five folks willing to come and currently has only two. Come one, come all. We night have better weather Saturday. let us know of your interest. The food is good, the company is good and the host, Don Muncy is top notch. Let us hear from you.

i will start a new thread in an effort to drum up support. Even if it doesn't come together, weather permitting, Sandy and I will probably have lunch there on Saturday. It would be great to see you and Amanda if you are around. Sounds like Don would join us also.

Spark plug wire?

You are a gracious host Don! Maybe if we bump this to the top a few times it will be noticed. You might be right about the fact that this is a holiday weekend is getting in the way. HEY OUT THERE! Anyone want to join us on Saturday at Redbird?

I guess I am still just a grass roots taildragger guy. Even though my Cessna 140 has EXCELLENT wing root mechanical fuel gauges, I have used a stick in the tanks before almost every flight I have ever made in her. I brought that same old fashioned mentality to the Mooney. I made a fuel stick right away and if the tank is not full to the brim, I use the stick. The fuel gauges in the Mooney are pretty bad, so the fuel stick is mandatory AFAIAC.

Yes ZW, I would enjoy seeing pictures. I need more than just the upholstery replaced. I need the interior paint that shows to be dealt with and a general detailing. These prices are higher than I expected. One of the attendees at our get together Saturday was showing us his beautiful seats in his 201. If I understood him correctly they cost $200 each to reupholster. That said, if $10K will make the interior stand tall, the rest of my plane makes it worth the cost. The plane looks fabulous until you get to the interior. It really brings the otherwise outstanding plane down.

Uh-oh! tell us more about your engine; time since overhaul, oil used, oil change intervals, etc.

Sorry to keep dragging up this thread, but my rough air confidence in the Mooney just continues to improve. Had a little bit of a challenge for a trip I took today. There were some various and constantly changing cloud layers which made things a little interesting, but the afternoon rough air was an interesting experience. The years I have spent in the Taildragger have made me into someone that dreads rough air to a point of avoiding it unless there is a real need to fly in it. Today, I went to Mount Pleasant and got in the air about 1:00 to give Sandy her first Mooney flight. The air was rough enough that it made her slightly queasy. This was surprising because she is a tough, action packed kind of girl. She has done lots of skiing and other adrenaline activities over the years, so there isn't much that bothers her. After giving her a flight in the rough air, I headed back to put Joyce away. It was pretty darn rough, pitching me all over the place, but it really didn't bother me. I feel vastly more confident with the Mooney in rough air, than even my very best day ever in the taildragger. I believe that the wing and the positive control linkage is what makes the Mooney different. Whatever it is, it is making aviation more useful for me.

Thanks very much for the comments and suggested sources. please keep the comments coming.

I have gotten to know Kevin a little bit. I saw him at Paris last week and he even remembered my name. He is a really good and gracious guy. He seems different from the Repo man on tje show. He has been generous toward our Veterans Memorial also.

My new to me C is a top notch plane in all categories except one, the interior. It is not badly torn or anything, but just looks REALLY long in the tooth. After seeing really nice seats in a few J models today that were reupholstered for a reasonable price, we are motivated to get the interior done. It needs to go beyond the upholstery though. In addition to seats, carpet and panels, it needs the interior paint redone. Does anyone know of a good shop in my general area where they could do this turnkey and not tie up the plane for too long? Thanks in advance for sharing not only the requested resource, but your experience and comments regarding the cost and feasibility of such a job.

Yes, Don is a great guy and a gracious host. We thoroughly enjoyed the time. The only thing I regret is that I didn't even know that a B29 was there and available to tour. I got to watch/hear it take off though.

I don't get it Chuck. Did they think Eli couldn't pass a third class medical or something? Great picture and great looking dog. I hope you, he and the wj hole family can make it to Redbird next Saturday.

Sandy and I definitely want to be there again, and are up for Saturday. We enjoyed today very much. It was a great and gracious host and a great group of people. Look forward to doing it again except in a Mooney instead of an SUV.