201Steve

You can find a quality J between 85 and 100. Probably closer to 100. E and F model substantially less. I’ll say this, having fully completed the mission just last year, strap in. Do your general research and narrow down exactly what model you want. Read read read and ask questions. I changed desired models 4 or 5 times but when I knew for sure..... I savagely researched the market. Every single day, 3 times a day... for months. Through every single available outlet. Call people. Email them. Use forums. Find out who the players are. I even went so far as to write letters. About 200 of them. Once you are intimately familiar with the market for your selected model, you’ll know what looks right and you better be ready to move quick. I’m talking: on an airline and at the seller as soon as possible. Have all your affairs in order to get ball rolling immediately. Some people may not be as fanatical about it as I was, and that’s where a broker would be quite handy and useful. To me, the full commitment probably saved me $10k I did not have to pay a broker, and that’s how I looked at it, but not everyone is willing or capable of the commitment. You have to think, there are people out there hustling the market every day and they do it for a living. You’re competing with them. There is a lot of junk out there. The trained eye knows a good bird quick and you either have to learn it or pay someone who already knows it. It was very rewarding at the end, but it was a long process. Stay focused and try to enjoy the process. Good luck to you sir

@M20Doc is the drive something you can change in the field or Send off? Any idea of approx cost? Ball park

Had the exact problem and did just as @Jesse Saint suggested. Problem solved.

What’s the preferred method for cleaning? Mine whirrrrs sometimes.

Following

Lol love the responses it’s just... I haven’t had her long, and I’m maniaccaly obsessed with corrosion and rust. I’m too scared to wet wash it, even. As they say, a Mooney is built like a tank but there’s one thing that’ll ruin it. I have a Bruce Cover, but I only left for a $100 hamburger when... oil return line started leaking and I was grounded till morning. The moral of the story is... take your cover anyways.

I left the top vent open and the plane got rained on. Should I do anything? ‘77J

My mechanic is a MSC and did re-grease it, said that he'd never really seen one act the way mine is. You can stick your hand in there and feel that the threads are almost "sharp" compared to a normally functioning one where the threads on the screw are more smooth feeling.

Howdy folks, I have some issues with the trim system on my '77 J. The wheel gets very tight and hard to turn, right around the takeoff setting. I've been dealing with it for a little bit, but I know it's stressing the electric trim and it's a real nusance when trying to trim on the fly in the critical phases of flight. My Mooney mechanic traced it to the jack screw and the price for a new one is like $1,700. Any suggestions where I could perhaps source a used one? I've only had it for about 7 months so I'm not familiar with what outfits might be the Go-To on something like this. Thanks for any feedback!

I’m hearing an occasional variation in sound/feel. It is maybe once or twice every 10-20 minutes. It’s very short, so by the time I start scanning and checking instruments, I can’t correlate it to fluctuation.

All 3 seem to be goofing out a bit. Fuel Pressure, RPM, and Alcor EGT. The insight egt moves a little, but I figure there’s no way you get a constant EGT temp to the “T”. Or I wouldn’t think.

Yes. Strobe on.

Good call on the fuel pressure. I had forgotten that had happened. Here is a full instrument scan where the fuel pressure is moving again. It didn’t seem to have a correlation but maybe another thing to keep an eye on 11566D6A-61C2-476E-964C-1F9485AAC222.MOV

Also, here is engine monitor.

Take a look at video. ‘77 J. Cruise flight. Power and fuel settings appear to be no factor, but this was at WOT, 2500RPM, approx 40 LOP. 8DAB7920-A024-4A0A-9474-BADF8A04B191.MOV

Anyone know of someone with empty hangar space in or around Atlanta that would like to rent for a few days from Christmas to New Years? PDK, Mcollum, Fulton Co, Cherokee county? Longshot, short notice but I don’t have a cover for my M20 yet!!!

Also, I'm based at KSSI (St. Simons Island, GA)

Thanks to all for the feedback! Hang in there with me. Ive got a lot of new elements. I’ll have some to give back at some point!

@Kris_Adams

Howdy folks, I am the proud new owner of a 77 J model. First airplane and getting into all the nitty gritty. The AC came with an insight G1 engine monitor. The insight material all has emboldened, a disclaimer that "THIS THING IS ONLY MEANT FOR CARB'd ENGINES AND IF YOU REALLY WANT TO LEAN CORRECTLY YOU NEED A G2" That said, I have a couple of general inquires as well as specific. -Is it accurate to say you can't "really" lean correctly without fuel flow? -I feel like they are more or less saying the G1 is useless in leaning LOP/ROP without fuel flow, there wording makes me feel that way. Any truth? -If LOP/ROP is simply a measurement of degrees from peak EGT, why would it matter what fuel flow is? -Does anyone have experience with G1 that can give me a part by part process how they lean? Specifcally, how to use the reset function and where do you "start" THanks for any help/feedback!!!

@exM20K Funny how immediately everyone sniffs out the odd circumstances. I didn't feel like posting about the entire situation, as I've gotten a lot of feedback on the Mooney Pilots facebook group, but it's been very frustrating... The question I keep coming back to is, "Can I get a thorough enough pre-buy done in someone elses hangar." The feedback is mixed, so I'm seeing if I can salvage the deal with someone who feels confident they can comb through it well at the sellers place. I don't know... I feel confident about the deal, but it's been a PITA dealing with this guy. I could wait, but it's back to the question, what is necessary?

Hey folks, first of all- thanks for the content. I have scoured through quite a bit of information on this forum and appreciate the input of many. I am currently in the process of trying to buy a J as my first airplane. I am a pretty cautious buyer in general, which makes the process less fun but... I want to feel good about the purchase. All of that said, I am trying to get a thorough pre-purchase inspection done at the sellers hangar. He's not allowing the inspection be done anywhere but his hangar, so it's made the process a little less straight forward. I currently have a couple of options on the table, with folks who've recommended people in the Mooney Pilots facebook group, but their availability has been somewhat limited. I'd really like someone who is intimately familiar with Mooney and of course, who is willing to travel to sellers location for a PPI. If you have any names you could throw in the hat, it would be most appreciated. Milwaukee/Racine/Chicago areas preferably. Thanks for any help.