GDGR

I just finished upgrading the headsets in my F, and now have 3 sets of uflymike w/ QC25 headsets. All work great and had for less than a year. looking for $350/ pair shipped to US or CANADA. I’d do a deal for all three.

You want to share your settings? I don’t get to the US a lot, and on a whim, tried to see if my flight in July was okay. Had a 6% error rate on it. Not sure what to do to try and fix.

Boy, I’ll bet $hit really hit the fan here.

I've charted everything since my purchase. Hangar fees, Insurance, upgrades, fuel, training, maintenance, Annuals..... As of now (96.1 flight hours, based on Tach time), Here's my numbers for an F: Maintenance + Fuel = 167.13 per hour (Note: Fuel servo replaced, fuel pump overhaul, 10 year prop overhaul, and new starter included here ~$7200) Fixed costs + fuel = 153.66 per hour ( I pay 250 a month for hangar, and roughly $5.50 per gallon... welcome to Canada, here, let me turn around and grab my ankles) Maintenance + fuel + Fixed = 270.72 per hour. Obviously, the more I fly, the lower the fixed and maintenance goes. I don't expect the maintenance to go higher, other than an annual, EDM900 install and an IFR GPS later on. Take these numbers for what they're worth.... and don't tell my wife.

We lived 2 blocks off of Sand Lake. Remember landing on the ice one time and walking home.

Good Lord, were we neighbors???? I’ve been blaming my Father for costing me a lot of money these past couple years. He worked at Flow Station One on the Alaska Pipeline in the late 70s. We’d fly out of Anchorage on his days off. Either from the airport or off Lake Hood on floats.

We all have a bad day now and again. When I was completing my Atlhetic Therapy degree, I remember being in the clinic, where a female basketball student/player needed ultrasound on a sensitive area... instructor said she could perform the ultrasound herself for clinic hours. instructor, and a few other students sat and chatted, while the player was behind a curtain. After about 15 minutes, we hear a “does this feel like this is taking too long?” (It’s a 5 minute ultrasound application). I finally asked “did you push start on the machine?” Shortly after, you could hear the audible “BEEP” of the start button being pressed.

Yikes. Sad to hear.

This was my initial response. But, being in Canada, and having my head in the sand when it comes to Trump's government (My Mother is so Dem, I had to block her posts on Facebook, because she's reverted to complaining about the government full time in her retirement years), I wasn't too sure if this was even an issue any more. I will say this: Our Labor up here per US dollar is about 30% cheaper on exchange right now. Just a thought.

Thoughtful insight. But, there are car companies that do well, and don’t have an entry model: Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Aston Martin they have their market, and go after them.

Here's a nice 80 mph approach float at approx 2150 lbs weight. Full flaps. CEG3_Landing.MP4

I don't know how everyone else decided on their aircraft to purchase, but when I did my comparison, I looked at: 1- Affordability 2- Retractable gear (always wanted to fly one... call me crazy, but even as a kid, I wanted a plane that didn't have the wheels hanging out in cruise) 3- Maintenance complexity 4- Speed 5- Efficiency. Every time, I came back to Mooney. Piper, Cessna, Cirrus, Beechcraft... they never checked off all the boxes. Maybe this is the approach Mooney needs in the future. Figure out where and why people want to buy, and emphasize these in either a comparison between other manufacturers, or outright display its' superiority (i.e. fuel efficiency or speed per gallon) I was "talked out" of a 231 Turbo when I first got my PPL (probably was a smart choice... still think it was a fabulous deal and now kicking myself. Note: Ken C, if you're on here - if you decide to sell again, message me..... I'm wanting to upgrade!!!). The F I purchased has been good and bad (The Good - it's been a great Complex trainer and transition plane. It has served my purpose 98% of the time. I made the right choice as far as a transition from a C172 trainer at flight school... The bad - Needed work. I knew that when I bought it. Should have researched more into upgrades in the cockpit before I jumped on a great deal.) I definitely don't want to see this being the end. I don't think it will be. But, things need to change in order for someone else to want to jump on an opportunity to continue on and be successful.

My home base is 3000' runway. I used to be 100MPH on downwind, 90 base, 80 final. Found that I was floating too much on flare. Worked toward being below 80 mph on final, still too much float for my liking. Went and looked back at the POH. Full Flaps, and gear down, stall is 62 MPH! I now aim for 70 over the numbers and it's been smooth as silk.

You're on the right track for sure. The "Mooney Ambassador(s)" would need to be personable, friendly, educated (about the aircraft and its' components) and be able to speak to the masses. Many would apply, but the select few would have to be extremely charismatic, and eloquent in front of a camera. I would compare this to the hunting scene, and Cabela's / Bass Pro. Not sure if a lot of you will get the gist of this, but Steve Ecklund is a good friend, and the Cabela's Hunting Ambassador. He travels probably 6 months out of the year. Hunting, filming and promoting products, the store, and guiding outfitters. My point with this is, he's a down to earth, smiling happy guy who is willing to speak with anyone. He also has a sense of humor (if you want a real look at his sense of haha amidst death threats, google "Steve Ecklund cougar kill"). How he keeps his day job, and his beautiful wife is beyond me.

I’m still trying to get my head wrapped around only 6 planes per year. rounding up to $1M per plane, plus part sales..... what is their Net Income from these areas? Direct Costs? Indirect costs? Insurance? Hell, I run a wholesale business that does more than $6M (add parts to be another $3M and I’m right in line with top line sales....) We do okay, profit share is decent.... but I have 4 employees. If I added another 196 I’d be screwed. It’s a shame they weren’t publicly traded and we could see the books. On that note, maybe it’s time for a Mooney IPO

Hey Steve, I manage a wholesale location in the waterworks industry (deep service utilities). I typically get a lot of Geotextile shipped to me from Georgia about 4 times a year. If your pricing is competitive, we might be able to do some business.

First order of business.... Permanently fastening static wicks

I’ll sell my F to anyone for 950k. I’ll even take that in Canadian

Awfully nice of you to buy me one, even if we never met. But I think we just became best friends.

One more good reason to visually inspect fuel levels prior to flight.

So..... “just fly the aircraft”?

Really saw this gong another direction once you mentioned the roommate... Glad you sorted it out (FACEPALM)

For those of you with Facebook:

Need to get it off of Facebook. Aye, there’s the rub. Even my sister who works for Zuckeeberg can’t figure this dilemma out!

Wish I could post the video, but a buddy of mine put this one the Mooney Pilots FB page last week. video showed him scraping back ice and snow, then peeling off the plastic and easily opening up a dry, unobstructed fuel cap.