pwnel

I have a story on this. On my recent flight from Adak to Sapporro Japan, the same thing happened while pre-flighting in Adak. I sumped the port wing, continued my walk around and noticed a large pool of liquid under the plane as I was busy on the starboard side. Walked backed and the valve was leaking at a strong pee-level. Almost had a heart attack as I had 1900nm to fly with no option for more fuel as I'd shipped my two drums of AvGas to Adak at great expense months ago and there weren't any more for a 1000 miles. Got the leak to stop by working the valve, just as mentioned here. Took off for Japan. But now you're in the air with 14 hours to go. And of course you start thinking - what if that leak came back. Like the OP here describes.......... I swear I probably stared at that left tank fuel gauge for two hours non-stop before I convinced myself it's probably fine. (it was).

Updated Flash - although I'm slow. Weather into Singapore and weather over Bay of Bengal and into India - not fun :-)

Totally worth the visit. Few people will ever see it. And PM me - as I left a full drum of AvGas there as a community emergency stash and asset - so that's enough to get you back to Cold Bay where there is also gas. I'd go in August still or leave it till next July. (the gas will last - it's 2024 dated)

Here's what's in my Foreflight performance profile. It said prior to the Adak->Sapporo flight that it requires 135gals, and it came down to almost exactly that. The combination of performance profile and Foreflight's wind forecast was heartwarmingly accurate. I ended up staying at 8000ft (initially because of headwinds - but later one I just didn't see the need to climb as I wasn't going to gain much - was going along at 148kts TAS and about 10kts headwind component.). My original plan was filed for 10,000ft - and that's what the fuel/time calcs was based on. Btw, I landed 5 minutes after my planned arrival - after a 14h flight! :-) Climb TAS 105 Fuel flow 24.7 gal/h Climb rate 500 fpm (Note, I did pull the MAP to 34 and RPM to 2600 which still gave me 500fpm but at around 19 gal/h) Cruise TAS @ 10,000ft 150 Cruise fuel at LOP - 9.4 gal/h Descent TAS 160 Descent fuel 9gal/h Descent rate 700 fpm

Took a screenshot of this and sent it to my friends - made my day haha

Thanks folks - appreciate your interest. Some quick comments while sitting in a coffee shop in Kyoto :-) Marc, I had a specific window of time in which to do this - ie, starting late July and going until around mid September. Of course I was going to do Eastbound - but the Alaska bush pilots strongly advised me not to attemp the Aleutians after mid-August. (the issue is icing and weather). Had I gone Eastbound, the Aleutians would have been my final hurdle - and in September. I would have stressed about it the entire trip and not given myself the best chance to get through there safely. So I changed around to Westbound primarily because of that. And I have to say, sitting here in Japan now having done it - I'm bloody thankful I did. I STILL stressed about it, it STILL wasn't trivial - especially getting into and out of Adak. Luckily that's inaccurate Aerodon :-). The FAI requires a minimum of 27000km - ie, 14,578 nm. Here's the reference directly from the NAA https://naa.aero/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FAI-Circumnavigator-Diploma.pdf. But honestly, not that I care too much about certificates and stuff. I'm doing it for the adventure. But yes, the Mooney is a great machine for doing this. We fly magical airplanes. Should be writing up the Pacific crossing today - I'm admittedly slow on the "social media". I'm entirely self-sponsored - so no obligation except to other interested folks like yourselves. Reading the stories of Mooney circumnavigators like Brian Lloyd and CaronAnn Garratt inspired me - and I feel obligated to write down things for others that may want to do it too. (A bunch of folks in the Mooney community have been absolutely great and I will call out all my favorite vendors in a dedicated blog post soon.)

I need a yoke with the "special edition" decal in the middle. My mechanic lost that center piece. I realize the OP wants to sell the entire aircraft though. Texas Air Salvage doesn't have what I'm looking for unfortunately, but that's probably the best bet for the OP?

25 years, but frustration is at the 40-year level. This site is impossible to use now. Also, having led 3 large social networks - what you cannot put a price on, is the contributions from users that actually make the site. Ie M20doc and others. I'm not super active myself, but I have invested lots of effort at times to answer detailed questions on specific technical points. That stuff all adds up. If you chase away the 5% that adds useful content, you're dead.

Yeah same. Pulled the D&M in my 231 and just installed a new ACK-04 with its own antenna. Looks fine. I imagine the D&M antenna is still inside the dorsal fin - just left it. ACK-04 connected to IFD440 and new switch installed on panel.

How glad am I not having spent $40k on an upgrade path to a GFC500…. That STEC3100 STC needs reviving folks.

Excellent. Well done to Maxwell for taking over the STC. Spoke to Kellen and looking forward to doing it for my 231.

Yup - not that your problem is complex. But stick to MSCs for annuals and bigger work. Dave does all my annuals (N87 is 20min away from me - I'm sure Weber is great too). Avionics is Todd at Lancaster - very happy with their service and work - scheduled for more in June.

Flew Ft Pierce to New York recently in one shot (5.5hr flight). I pull the seat back all the way and then spread my legs between the two footwells. No problems (but I do have the full adjustable seats which helps a lot). And it's an AirMod / Dennis Wolter cloth interior that's 20 years old. Quality work. Wouldn't do leather also. PS: 6ft 220lbs. Yeah yeah - Covid and sitting a lot the last year.....

With respect, this is an irrelevant argument. Apart from South Africa, the only reason you'd be flying a Mooney anywhere in the rest of Africa is when you're ferrying it to or from South Africa. And for that you'd have ferry tanks.

I have the same plan, but honestly for me spending a minimum of $10k on the Monroy tanks didn't make sense vs just going straight to a temporary Turtlepac install. (I have plans to go well beyond just the Atlantic though).