Mr. T

Thanks for the good information. One thing that I'm still not clear on -- is the 100 hour interval a "hard" limit, meaning the plane can't be flown past 100 hours without a new inspection? Any leeway at all?

Looking at a vintage M20 for sale at All American Aviation who I understand to be one of the "big dogs" in the Mooney resale market. Who could I use for a pre-purchase inspection for one of their aircraft? Do I just use "their guy" even though conventional wisdom says never use the seller's A&P? I gather they're a very reputable dealer but my gut says I'd be better off to use someone from outside -- yet my brain says if there is an "outside" guy, he's probably done dozens and dozens of PPIs for plane sold by All American and probably isn't really as "outside" as you might think. The plane I'm looking at is due for an annual so it makes sense to have that done in lieu of a less-thorough PPI. For folks who've bought a plane at All American - who did your PPI / Annual? Why did you choose that path?

Can someone give me the down-low on the Hartzell prop hub "Eddy Current" recurring A/D? * I understand the A/D must be complied with every 100 hours. Is that accurate? Is this like the seat rail A/D in a Cessna where you can't fly past the 100 hour point? * How much does it typically cost to have the inspection completed? * How often are problems found? * What kind of shop can do the work? Do I need a specialist? Recommendations in or near the Kansas City area? * What options are there for upgrading the prop hub and which option is "the best"? * Anything else a newbie would need to know?

Starting to feel like I should squawk 7500...

All good points. The mission for my partner and me is VFR and light IFR (for now, anyway) cross country flights. I'm sure I could get by without Otto's help but I'm also sure I don't want to. Wish there was some more clarity around all these "real soon now" options - though I'm a few months out on my final purchase decision anyway so maybe the crystal ball will be less cloudy by then..

Thanks for all the replies - I was hoping for more discussion of the "really old" stuff but think I understand the basics. I guess the question comes down to this: If you found a plane that had everything else you wanted *except* it had either the basic PC or one of the Brittain APs, would that make you reconsider the purchase? Would you offer less because of the AP? (Assuming you're like me and believe that an autopilot is an important bit to have...)

Still on the hunt for the perfect M20 (E / F / J) and have found numerous autopilots in the older planes that I'm not familiar with (The STEC A/P's I understand - mostly). I "grew up" in a Grumman AA5 with no autopilot and fussy "trim tabs" (extensions on the aileron that you had to bend by hand), and while I did my entire Instrument training in that plane, I hated flying in IMC, as you couldn't relax your scan for more than an instant without it wandering off one way or the other. I'm not doing that anymore. So now, 16 years later, I've had a little bit of experience with an STEC in the club 182 - GPSS, approach coupled, vertical speed hold, automatic elevator trim -- it's pretty sweet. And I'm pretty sure I need most of that same functionality in my M20. Could someone give me a brief rundown of the various types, capabilities of each and whether I should steer clear of any of them in particular? What I've seen so far, I think: * "PC" - Seems like a rudimentary wing leveler. What else can it do? * Brittain "AccuTrack" and/or "AccuFlight" - Sounds like maybe an add-on to the PC? * Century I, II, IIIB, etc.? * Am I missing any? In particular, I'm trying to understand which of these can: * Track a heading bug * Track a CDI * Be upgraded for GPSS (I probably already know that answer) * Be fully approach-coupled (I think I know that answer also...) Can any of the components (servos in particular) be re-used if upgrading to a more modern autopilot? I see some folks advocating for de-prioritizing the A/P on a purchase and instead planning to install one of the newly available (or soon to come) autopilots. Any ideas on installed cost for any of the newer systems? I'm guessing $15-20AMU?

I'd guess Chiefs tickets are pretty hard to come by these days.... ;-)

Nice to hear from a fellow new guy... I’m currently a member of the Flying Club of Kansas City, which is primarily based at OJC but keeps a couple of planes at LXT. I fly an Archer, 182 and 172RG. I’m primarily motivated to buy my own plane so I can stop the constant hassle of scheduling - we’ve got 80 members, 5 planes, one or two seemingly always down for maintenance and its hard to schedule unless you can work 2 or 3 weeks ahead. LXT recently opened a bunch of new hangars but when I called last week, there were a total of 3 (old ones) available. I’m hoping they have something available when I get a plane but no guarantees...

Thanks for the welcome! I look forward to spending a lot of evenings searching MooneySpace and filling the brain. @flight2000, thanks for the references. I think there's a Mooney for rent at KFLV, so maybe I can book a couple of hours with John Schmidt and get my feet wet. @jasona900, thanks for the offer - I'm trying to connect with a guy at KFSK this weekend; if that doesn't work out, I'll definitely be in touch!

New guy here, based at KLXT and contemplating purchase of a vintage M20 - something like a C or maybe F. As part of my research, I thought it might be a good idea to get recommendations for Mooney-experienced A&Ps and CFIs in the Kansas City Area. Checked a couple of reference sites and didn’t turn up anything. If you know of one or the other, please let me know! Also - since I’ve never set foot in an M20 - is there anyone in the area that has an M20 who might be willing to let me see your plane, ask a zillion questions and maybe go for a ride? Thanks - I look forward to learning a lot on MooneySpace!