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If you do this spend 2 AMU and get a Landing Height System installed it is the best thing by far to help you learn to land. Watch the You tube Jacobsen Method video and buy Don Kaye’s video.

We pay the base annual amount, then all of the "scheduled maintenance" items that are triggered by hours flown or calendar time, and then for stuff that breaks or wears out. It's only been 3 years, but it has averaged close to $7k per year for all of that. It may be that we are playing catch-up and will have some lower bills in the next couple of years. But then I've been thinking that for the last couple of years. I suspect with all things considered it's hard to get by with less than an average of $5k per annual, including scheduled maintenance.

I pay $2730 for the base annual at Top Gun which seems to be a solid going rate around here. The average total for 3 annuals has been about $7k each which is what I’ve been told to expect. A lot breaks and wears out on these old planes. There are always some repairs between annuals. I’m happy if nothing big breaks. I could save money by having an independent mechanic work on the plane but I’ve found most of those guys have gaps in their knowledge about Mooneys. I finally got a couple of co-owners to help pay the bills. This is just a bloody expensive avocation.

I still can't figure out why more people don't use sheepskin seat covers. They are super comfortable, warm in winter and cool in summer, and look really good. They are a great way to cover up and dress up worn original upholstery for very little money. If they are good enough for airline pilots they are good enough for us. Try Rocky Mountain Sheep Covers in San Jose. They will send you color samples, get the ones that look the best, and then send them measurements. Bob, as they say, will be your uncle.

The 201s are in demand, and it does have some valuable features. I'd put it at $130k, although that would probably be a maximum. There are a few planes on Trade a Plane now that may provide some idea.

Check the Mooney Flyer web site. they have a section for CFIs and ferry pilots. There used to be guy listed in Oakland, don't know if he is still doing this sort of thing.

Yes, the camera is the gold ticket. But first polish the paint down to the original color so they are not shooting dirty or weathered paint.

Take a panel off like the battery cover. You will need to find an uninterrupted area of one color about the size of a credit card. Then polish that area aggressively with rubbing compound or ultra or micro fine 3M pads from an auto body paint supply shop. It will look lighter than the surrounding area. Have them shoot the spot with their digital camera and mix paint accordingly. This should give you a match only you will ever notice.

Also check adds in The Mooney Flyer online and the Mooney Aircraft Pilots Association which you will need to join. MAPA has lots of adds.

Finding Mooney training in a rental in the Bay Area is not so easy. There is a club at Livermore that has J model. You might poke around the West Coast Flying Club. I am also 5’7” and the second seat notch works fine but the extensions are easy and cheap. I think Mooneys are great for smaller folks.

There's the photo. The ID of the lines in and out are about .170, and the ID of the connector is about .130, with a length of about 1.760. I do intend to try a comparison using my oxygen saturation, that should tell me something about the two different canulas. I notice that Mountain High has a quick disconnect that reduces the ID by about half over something longer than an inch, and they don't say anything about using a higher setting with the disconnect installed. Also the tip pieces of the canula are pretty small themselves. So I suspect if I at least use a higher setting on the regulator I'll be ok. And I won't be going over about 14,000 or so with this. But, I would feel better knowing I'm not restricting the flow too much.

I have a SkyOx oxygen tank and regulator, and want to use a Mountain High boom canula. I intend to use a "Y" connector to connect the two lines out of the "Oxymizer" to the single line that goes to the boom. This will mean a smaller ID through the connector. Will this restrict airflow? If so, by enough to make a difference? Can I compensate just by bumping up the flow setting on the regulator a little? Thanks!

I found a Rustoleum off white spray paint, kind of a French vanilla color at the hardware store that worked really well for this. Can’t see the touch ups. I don’t remember the name of the color. I just sprayed some in a paper cup and dabbed it on. Clean the spot with rubbing alcohol first.

And there it is....Thanks!

Not to hijack but permit me to ask a related question. The 760 overlays plates on the map and this seems like a very valuable function. Will the 660 do the same thing?

Top Gun in Stockton sold me a cap for the speed brake switch. They may have more. Give them a call. They need to pay their rent this month and you can help!

I don't know which ones might be the best fitting from direct experience. Try Rocky Mountain Sheep Skins in San Jose. The will have you take a large number of measurements of your seats and make them to fit. Looks to me like it might work right nicely. I plan to do it soon.

How about a Lancair Mako with speed brakes, AC and a parachute? What a Cirrus should be!

Yes, and then I'd add a GTN 650. But it is not a fair comparison, because that plane is worth easy $75k more than mine.

Are you going to polish it?

Frankly for me the parachute is the only thing that would tip the scales. My wife would be willing to get in one. I find the Cirrus almost unpleasant to hand fly. That is a big detraction. They are nice in cruise though, and it's easy to find them with great avionics and autopilots. For me they less comfortable than Mooneys, but they might be better if you are tall. That being said, if I had more money to spend on flying I'd buy one.

I have had iPads shut down several times due to heat, and if the sun is at a bad angle I can’t see the thing. I’ve never had any of these problems with portables.

I may be wrong, but I seem to think the Aera 760 is something of a poor man's G3X, at least half of one. I intend to use it in part to display charts and plates in a way that will make them readily available and visible, in addition to the GPS. Not to mention the many other things it can do in conjunction with the GDL 52R already in the plane, like weather and SVT. The iPad is great, until the sun hits it or it shuts off due to heat. I hate that.

I fully intend to integrate an Aera 760 into the upgrade we will be doing soon. In the J model, I fear that the Aera 760 might just be a little big to mount on the yoke without blocking some of the instruments. I have modified the mount for the Aera 660 there, and can modify the Aera 760 mount as well. It may or may not work, time will tell. But I still have a fantasy of making a suction mount that will fit the device elegantly just about where the window pillar is on the pilot's side. If it works, I'll post details.