Hi all! I am the new owner of N6995V. I have been a member of Mooneyspace for about 11 months but this is my first introduction and 95V is my first plane. To say I'm excited is an understatement.
First, regarding @rdshave, I want to say that I could not have asked for a more generous, kind, and stand up guy. This was my first aircraft purchase and after reading about the potential pitfalls and gotchas that can often plague the process, I was initially apprehensive. But I feel extremely lucky that the entire purchasing experience occurred with no problems. Not only did Ron bend over backwards to help with the multitude of details of the sale itself but he ferried the plane with me as a passenger up to San Jose where I did my transition training and he prepped the plane (including emergency gear) for the trip back to Wisconsin. Thank you so much @rdshave - I can't imagine that many sellers would have done what you did for me and I really appreciate it.
Secondly, with the new to me plane, I was very excited but also a bit anxious about transitioning into a Mooney. As a low-time pilot, I have read many stories of potential landing challenges for people like me. Additionally, I didn't have my complex endorsement at the time of purchase. Because the plane was in California, training with @donkaye was the logical choice for me and I am so glad that I was able to train with him. Lets put it this way, when I'm on final approach now, I hear Don's voice pop into my head reminding me what to look for to achieve a good landing. On the way home it seemed like he was still in the cockpit with me! I'm so grateful that the timing of the purchase worked out with his schedule and that we were able to have our initial meeting during Oshkosh. And boy does he have some interesting flying stories to tell too!
Finally, I really lucked out with the weather. To start, I staged the flight from Stockton to avoid the potential morning overcast of the San Jose area. I took the middle route over I-80 with only an overnight stop in Scotts Bluff, NE (and fuel stops in Ogden, UT and Lemar, IA partly because I'm conservative and still learning and getting comfortable with her actual fuel consumption); about 11:30 of total flight time from Reid-Hillview RHV to my home base in Waukesha, WI KUES. By the way, the Steel Grill restaurant in Scotts Bluff makes an excellent steak. What an epic adventure the last 6 days has been for me...I'm still decompressing and processing everything. I'm certainly on cloud 9 though and looking forward to more flying opportunities with my family and for work. Next for me is to finish my instrument rating - now in my Mooney!
Also, I would appreciate any recommendations for a Mooney mechanic in my area. Thanks!
