AJ88V

BTW, when my luggage door flew open, I lost my "Little John" bottle. Looked all around the airport for it. Still haven't replaced it. LOL!

I will test this next time I'm down at the plane. Don't know if the latch could come open from a rough landing, but by that point it's unlikely to be a safety of flight issue. Very very true. I took off once with the baggage door open and knew it immediately. Unlike an unlocked cabin door which you couldn't push open in flight if you wanted to, the baggage door will fly wide open like a sail - and bend if it stays attached. Flying for me was a non problem, but the embarrassment for being an idiot remains. So does the cost of repair. The door itself closed fine afterwards, but there was distortion around the hinge and that cost money too. This discussion has been very useful to me. As Paul and others have said, maybe the risk of flying unlocked outweighs any chance of being trapped by a jammed door and a locked luggage door. I'm slowly being persuaded.

Yep, old tech that works. Worth adding even if you do have a working beacon. FWIW, I believe one power supply runs the wingtip strobes and the second pwr supply runs the tail. Those flash at different rates on mine, so, while I don't have the wing-wag lights (excellent), the out of synch between tail and wingtips probably enhances visibility.

Thanks for the thoughtful response, Paul. I am not familiar with the inside door lock release on the J and later models, but pretty sure that you cannot unlatch the pre-J models from the inside if the passenger door is locked. Will put this on my list for the next time I'm down at the airport. The plastic panel is already off my baggage door so I can get a good look and report back. Changing gears.... Planning to replace both my baggage and passenger door locks so they're keyed to match. Will probably use the Chicago cabinet locks you mention. The tubular keys look cooler, but the Medeco locks are way more expensive, the keys are a lot more expensive to copy, and they are less comfortable in your pocket. Locks are for keeping honest people honest and if somebody really wanted to break in, I'd rather they pick the lock than destroy the door. And one last thought for you early Mooney owners, I recently read a recommendation somewhere to keep a pair of vice grips in the cabin in case the pin falls out of your door handle leaving just the tube sticking out. Not an awful idea, buy I don't like anything that heavy that can fly around the cabin unless it's back in the baggage area (covered by a heavy rubber car floor mat in my plane). Probably better to just inspect your door handle and verify the pin is tight. Cheers!

Not really a great idea to LOCK the baggage door. That’s the escape hatch in the case of a rough landing that jams your passenger door. There’s actually a mod to tie a loop of piano wire to the latching mechanism so you can unlatch the baggage door from the inside. But back to the original question, I *try* to tug the baggage door when boarding the plane. Leaving it wide open until latching and leaving the keys in the lock are both good habits, as is looking back at the baggage door when you check the passenger door before takeoff. That saved me from taking off with it open just last week. Felt pretty foolish shutting down the engine so I could latch the d@mned baggage before taking the rwy, especially with another plane coming up the taxiway behind me.

I would say those numbers are high, but not atypical for a C model. Which carb do you have?

I asked my A&P what he was using for the headliner material - he’s restored lots of planes - and his advice was “Don’t do it. It’sa pain in the @zz. Pay somebody else to do it.” And then recommended a shop that does really nice interiors. So how bad is doing the headliner? There doesn’t look to be much to it, but then I’ve never had it apart.

What is hot? Can't say the cooling is that much better with the cowl closure.

The old xenon strobes are pretty available in the used market for cheap as people move to LEDs. Whelen aircraft power supplies run $50 - $75 on eBay and the bulbs are cheap there as well. Old tech, but still good tech.

That would be hard without the step. Probably easier with the flaps down. Took a flight in a friend's Piaggio P.149 and could barely reach the step. Literally had to grab a handle with one hand and used my other to lift my leg up!!! But what an amazing plane.

Yep, Lee is terrific. He instructs as part of the MAPA Proficiency Training team. (Don Kaye is also on that esteemed list.) Will Wobbe is another Virginia-based instructor and might be closer. Also on that Mooney link I posted.

Thanks Fritz1. I was looking for insulation, and Spruce calls it soundproofing. Here's the link for the pre-cut kits (approx. $1000). https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/soundex.php Individual Soundex sheets are cheaper, but not cheap. Has anybody used this 3M material? https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/dampingpanels.php 18" x 48" is $200.

Planning to update my interior. Fortunately the plastic is in pretty good shape, only requiring a small amount of repair before repaint. I don't know what if any insulation was replaced when SB M20 208 tube inspection was done, so looking for recommendations for insulation. Probably more interested in thermal and weight saving vice chasing soundproofing. The stuff on AC Spruce looks to be chop foam like carpet underlayment with aluminum foil and is NOT approved for certified aircraft. Also, the interior headliner is pretty stained and looks like it should be easy to replace. The current material looks to be a thin vinyl (over foam?) and would be fine in a different color. ACSpruce sells wool with a burn cert, but I'm not sure I want to go that route. Some of the refurbished aircraft on my home field have some woven fabrics that look nice too. Recommendations and discussion appreciated. Thanks!

Wish I had read more carefully. Thought it was an aviation issue. Apologies.

Try this link https://themooneyflyer.com/cfi.html I found a great MAPA instructor to get me current after a long layoff from flying

You might start looking here https://themooneyflyer.com/cfi.html i found a great instructor through this link

You might want to reach out to AOPA. I had one time needing an attorney and had signed up for AOPA’s protection plan and was grateful to be connected to an aviation savvy attorney. Good luck!

Try Sporty's for the Forensics detector. You;ll have to pay $6 shipping, but better than not getting one. https://www.sportys.com/forensics-carbon-monoxide-detector.html Once again, my decision to forego endless great weather and amusing politics that promise the ultimate protection by the nanny state of California. It looks like SB-1204, Safe and Secure Transportation Act is likely to be passed and signed by Gov. Pneusom. Since airplanes fall out of the sky and have to come down sometime anyway, all non-commercial aircraft will have flight operations restricted to airspace over designated airfields. Fortunately, celebrities' aircraft are all registered commercial.

Looks great. Where did you get the leather? How much material / $ did you need?

Changing gears slightly, I always park my plane with the beacon switch turned on. That way I can guarantee the master switch is off when leaving the plane.

Really like the Fiberlites and may go that route myself if not going full glass instead, but, IIRC, don't think they're STC'd as minor change for the Mooney. Looks like the Nulites are PMA'd and can be wired in by the pilot owner (according to AC Spruce page)

I was looking for "Freedom" as a response!

I guess rigging is something that doesn't get done very often or more people would have opinions. Heck, I've owned this airplane for 26 years and never questioned the rigging - flies straight and hands off, and mostly makes book speeds (after several Lasar mods). Reason behind my inquiry - Plane has always snapped pretty good in an aggressive (rapidly induced) power-on stall. Did a few hours of dual as I'm getting back into flying since regaining my medical. My very experienced Mooney (MAPA) instructor did one really hard stall just to see what she would do - we may have rolled more than 90*! (thankfully, we also recovered without entering a spin, or losing much altitude!) There was a post recently on this forum where someone took their short-body to a shop in Tennessee? Kentucky? but I can't find the post again. Said it took a less than a day an his plane was 7kts faster. One can dream, right? Finally, it seems like there's not much love for the Mooney Service Centers so far. Weber in PA used to be a top Mooney shop, but I've heard mixed things lately.

Just bought the Forensics CO detector you linked from Amazon. That's their gen-1 model. It did have a 20% off coupon at least until last night, but doesn't seem to be there now. Considered a lot of the lower priced units on Amazon (~$30-$40), but that Forensics unit is sold by Sporty's and has decent reviews over there. I figure any of these are better than the dot-type detectors.

Ooopppsss! KCJR Culpeper. Fixed in my original post.