skydvrboy

For the F model, the flap extension speed changed in '68. I know because my '67 F model came with a '68 owners manual and a previous owner had put a label on the on the ASI indicating flaps at 125 mph. When I downloaded and printed the '67 manual I discovered the flap speed was 105. I fixed the labeling and asked my AI to inspect carefully for damage at annual. Fortunately, no visible damage was found, but one has to wonder if the metal was fatigued. Or perhaps there was no change to the structure and further testing showed that 125 was safe. At any rate, I now baby my flaps just to be on the safe side and only put them in around 90 - 95 mph.

Agree, this whole thread is non aviation related. However, it is posted in a forum specifically asking for suggestions on how to make the website better, so they do belong in this forum. But yes, this thread and all the replies, mine included, would be inappropriate in any other forum on the website.

Totally agree. I wouldn't expect the moderator to review any posts unless they were flagged. My mom always said... sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. As a libertarian, I'm pretty tolerant of just about anything anyone wants to say or do as long as they aren't physically harming someone else. However, I'm not an anarchist. If there are rules they need to be evenly enforced, not selectively enforced.

I did not follow the thread as I didn't know the OP and it wasn't relative to my flying. I just now went back to see what you were referring to and those "problem" comments have been removed. I still have no idea what was said, and by the replies he received, I don't really want to. I still stand by my comment that the entire thread should have been removed as it wasn't aviation related in any way shape or form. I don't find it appropriate to post info about his wedding anymore than I would find it appropriate to post info about my son winning the county spelling bee (who many on here have also met). It's simply not aviation related and does not belong. Those exciting life moments would be better shared through PM's with friends, than through the entire community. To do otherwise is only an open invitation to the type of replies that most on this thread are trying to avoid.

I don't believe this is correct. Typically an incandescent bulb is required to allow the LED's to dim properly. When I talked to the rep at Oshkosh about my situation the first question was whether I had left an incandescent bulb on the circuit. He said that should solve the problem but if I'm still not getting them dim enough that I would need the PWM dimmer. As a side, I have a set of lights in a chandelier at home that will only dim correctly if there is an incandescent light in the chandelier. Take that last one out and they will not dim. Leave it in and everything works fine. I also have a ceiling fan that has a slight delay before the lights come on. With one incandescent, it works fine, with all LED's it just flickers.

My only beef is that the policy isn't enforced. I seem to remember a recent topic about a wedding that had nothing to do with aviation and should have been pulled for violating the non aviation policy, but wasn't. Either enforce the ban on non-aviation threads for ALL topics or add a separate place for non-aviation discussions that the rest of us can avoid!

No problem. I still love my LED's in the post lights to light up my instruments, just not in the gear indicators. On the bright side (pun), after replacing all my post lights with LED's, I have about 10 spares for when the incandescent bulbs in the gear indicators fail!

I replaced mine with these https://www.aero-lites.com/product-page/aero-lites-aircraft-post-light-drop-in-led-replacement-for-ge-330-12-14vdc. I'm guessing the ones you posted are identical. One word of caution, the gear lights don't dim with your panel lights, only with the internal iris. I found them WAY too bright and ended up putting the old incandescent lights back. They also say they are fully dimmable, but fully dimmed (in the post lights) they are still about as bright as the original bulbs turned all the way up (with incandescent still on the circuit). I talked to them about this at Oshkosh and they said the only way to fix that would be to install an LED specific dimmer.

It's about a 6 hour drive each way in good weather, so that's not really a feasible option. On the other hand, it's only 2 hours by Mooney, so just long enough to get it all warmed up! I love this time machine!

Grrr... Here is our current forecast for Friday: "Rain and snow likely before 3pm, then rain likely between 3pm and 5pm, then rain and snow likely after 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. Chance of precipitation is 60%." I'm not optimistic about my chances of making it. As a low time VFR only pilot, I want nothing to do with weather like that. I'll wait and see if the forecast changes before completely backing out though as forecast around here frequently change.

Practice your short field/soft field technique. Taxi with the trim full up, yoke full back. Don't forget to re-trim for takeoff. For takeoff, yoke full back, once front wheel breaks ground, relax back pressure to keep it just off the ground. Accelerate in ground effect and get your wheels put away once you KNOW you are flying. For landing, know what speed you need on final and be on speed. If you don't touch down in the first 1/3, go around. The grass will slow you down, so you should be able to make either of those midfield taxiways with very minimal braking. I fly an F rather than a J, but would have no reservations about landing on this strip after flying out of 1KS6. (Full disclosure, I chickened out on my first few attempts but eventually became quite comfortable.)

Just for kicks and grins, last night I added up all of my expenses and divided by the number of hours I've flown. In the end $142 per hour (actual expenses, no reserves). The Warrior I was renting was $120 per hour, so I could have rented for less on an hourly basis. However, I usually don't fly for an hour and put the plane away, I go somewhere... and I get there faster with the Mooney. When you factor in how far each plane flies in an hour, it came out to about $.98 per mile owning and $1.14 per mile renting. Do you fly by the hour or from point A to B? The biggest difference though, the year before buying the plane I flew 25.9 hours. Not enough to remain proficient. The year after buying the plane, I flew 116.6 hrs. As for scheduling the rental, YMMV. I never had any problems and was only requested to put 1 hour on per day I had the plane. No problem with taking the plane on a 3.5 hour trip, staying there a week, and coming home. Typically, there were only one or two other renters ever flying it and their schedules rarely conflicted with mine.

I think he meant that if he fits in the C, he'll put money down on the F. @nathan lively Is this correct? If the plane you are talking about is the one listed on tradeaplane, it looks like a pretty good deal... if you can live with those ugly green colors. That said, as others have mentioned, get an extensive pre-buy done. Good luck whatever you decide.

You can listen to what other people are spending to get a ballpark figure, but you will need to do your own research once you get serious, as costs vary greatly depending on location, model, value, etc. For instance, in my area enclosed hangars run $50 - $120 a month. I pay $89 for nice T-hangar with electricity and a solid concrete floor. For $120, I could have a private box hangar on a private grass strip, but that won't even pay tie down fees in some places. Insurance this year was $1,288, down from $1,508 my first year. Annual inspection is $1200 flat plus whatever is found that needs addressed. First year maintenance was $9,000 as I was getting neglected stuff fixed. This year it's already $1900, but I expect that to continue to climb throughout the year. As for variable costs, once you've already paid the fixed costs, just about the cheapest thing you can do with the plane is fly it!

I went the same direction and bought a cheap F. I'm 1.5 years into ownership, completed 2 annuals, repaired a lot of stuff, upgraded some stuff, and still don't have $46.5 in the plane. I'll never have the glass panels and high end gizmo's that the upper end planes have, but it gets me from point A to B fast and efficiently! Plus, the lower operating cost (compared to renting) has allowed me to build hours at about 3 times the rate I was before I bought her.

Only a single data point, but possibly worth mentioning. My son and I climbed one of Colorado's 14k ft. peaks the summer after he finished kindergarten. We acclimated a few days at 6-8k and spent the night before at 10k. Upon reaching the summit, he couldn't remember his age, his birthday, or how to spell his name. I realized it was time to quickly get down the mountain. He's a teenager now and I swear the brain damage from that trip is starting to show!

I'm about 6' tall, but it's all in the torso. Unless you have long legs, if you want the pedals close, the yoke will also be close. I've learned to sit a bit further back and stretch just a bit if I need to push a pedal hard. That rarely happens unless I want to do a hard slip. Regular turn coordination requires almost zero rudder input. I was based out of a 2000' grass strip with power lines at one end and my F handled it well even in the 100 degree heat of the summer (stay light). Short is more of a problem than grass for the older Mooneys, but pilot skill and technique will be the determining factor. Other questions have already been well covered by others. Add-on: Let your mission drive your choice of Mooney, there really is no single best model for every situation. I recently looked at my flights from last year and 75% of T/O's had at least one passenger, 60% had 3 or more, and just under half had all 4 seats full, so I really need the rear legroom and useful load of the F. FWIW, the rear seats feel more comfortable and spacious than the front.

Still planning on attending... weather permitting.

Sure it's fun to upgrade the plane, but for me it's much more fun to fly it! I'd stick to things that will keep it flying longer. #1 Shoulder harnesses (I know... this should have been done a long time ago) #2 JPI 900 Engine Monitor (currently no engine monitor) #3 Fuel tank strip and reseal (weep when full) #4 ADS-B (still haven't made up my mind between 1090 ES or 978 UAT) #5 Instrument Rating (get the most out of this cross country machine) #6 Whatever's left in fuel to visit friends and family

I think this problem is just begging for an owner produced part. Looks to me like one could easily fabricate an upgraded replacement part.

I have the opposite problem. My door is easy to close and doesn't provide a solid seal around the top rear corner. It's just enough of a gap that it sucks some of the wife's hair out of the plane. Anyone know if the top latch is adjustable? I know it's not on the frame and I haven't had time to take the door apart to see if there is any way to adjust it inside the door. If not, I'll need a thicker door seal to close the gap.

@mike_elliott Totally agree with you. No guarantee that a leak wouldn't start somewhere else. It's a long shot, but the patch leaking where it was sealed would be the only possibility with any recourse. Whether or not you want the guy fixing the leak who couldn't fix it last time (either through poor existing sealant or incompetence) is a whole different question, IMO. I'm kind of in the same boat as the OP. My tanks are weeping. My AI says it's not yet an airworthiness item, but with full tanks, the smell when opening the hangar or door is pretty strong. Much less to non-existent when the tanks are lower. I recall seeing a tank seal entry in my logbooks, but I'll have to check to see if it was a patch job or a complete reseal and by whom.

Glad you found out for sure, too bad it was a leak and not just fuel settling. I doubt you would have any recourse with the seller, but you may with whoever patched the tanks back in October as part of the sale. I'd start by seeing if they'll stand behind their work. Good luck!

I was only looking at the pin over the city. My screen looks a bit different and I didn't see the search feature since I had already clicked on the pin. I'll use the search feature found in the map legend on the left. Thanks!

@gsxrpilot Paul, when searching for a location on the map, if there are more there are more than one MSers from the same city, only one shows up. For example Austin, TX only shows Zwaustin. Any way to fix that? If you are looking up someone in particular, you can select that person from the member list and see where they are from. Any way to fix that?