Kyle Koukol

@LANCECASPER, @gsxrpilot, @carusoam, you guys are bad (read: great) influences... I am talking with the US distributor again tomorrow about ordering the AVEO winglets. Emailed the paint shop about having the airplane come in for the winglets to be integrated into the paint scheme. Will keep everyone updated as to the progress. Please keep the suggestions coming... we want to see what we can build a 1979 J model into without totally changing what the airplane was originally designed for: going fast- with minimum fuel consumption.

@ZuluZulu if a trip down to SMO occurs in the future, I'll be sure to let you know. I sincerely appreciate the kind words and look forward to sharing this airplane with our fellow Mooniacs!

Brad, The switches are Tyco. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/pbcircuitbrkr2.php The avionics are not split into separate busses, however Airborne installed two independent switches for the Avionics, leading to the same bus. It is essentially to prevent a complete avionics failure due to a faulty CB/ switch. I typically fly with only the left switch ON, that way I know if there is a failure, I can resort to the right hand switch and have the airplane back in the shop ASAP. In addition, there is a GROUND COMM switch on the far right side of the panel, installed in the circuit breaker panel. This switch is primarily used for receiving clearances before starting the engine, programming the flight plan while waiting on pax, etc. Should the alternator fail though, this switch allows us to only turn the Garmin 750 on in order to maintain radio contact, situational awareness (location), and preserve battery life until we decide it is practical to provide the remaining electrical power to the rest of the panel. FWIW, the only thing I feel that we missed on this panel install is a push-to-talk (PTT) installed somewhere on the panel itself. Ideally I would like to put one in the empty space on the left side.

Thanks @gsxrpilot, I figured they were good for at least 10 knots and 2,000 fpm climb rate! Does anyone with a J currently have these winglets installed and have some information on how to purchase?

Thank you! I am glad the switches are well received. I was somewhat apprehensive to see how the fellow Mooniacs would receive moving away from the classic rocker switches. The panel is a very light grey. I was concerned when I first saw it that it would produce quite a bit of glare, but it has not been a problem in the slightest.

Brad, we used the original seat frames but had a local shop in Auburn recover them.

Lance, I love the winglets, your timing could not have been more perfect. I just took delivery of the Whelen lights, and am dropping the airplane off at the mechanic on Monday to have those installed as well as digital fuel senders. Might be returning the Whelens if these winglets are indeed available.

@LANCECASPER, there's no sneaking past your attention to detail! You are exactly right, a few of those pictures were from early in the build out process, so the misspelling was caught and corrected. The annunciator panel was actually one of the more challenging aspects of the panel, we had no clue where to put it when we had laid the whole design out. Randy and Rich at Airborne are the ones to credit for that ingenious mounting method. Finally, great question regarding Bruce. I am not sure to be honest, I will email him and try to get an answer for you!

Thank you very much! We have sure loved the airplane thus far, I hope that will continue!

Thank you! It has actually been out of the shop for a little bit now, so I have had some time to get all of the systems up to speed. The squawks were very minor for the magnitude of the project: Comm 1 (GTN 750) was scratchy. Airborne took the airplane in and put the 750 on the bench, verified squelch and reinstalled- problem fixed. Rudder trim was slightly left of center. I couldn't believe how well everything came together in the end. It even survived the flight to and from Oshkosh this year!

Art, they are a CB/ switch combo. I really did not like the original rocker switches, so I am super happy with the new switches, I highly recommend that modification. And we actually never had the conversation about removing the RAM air. Finally, the gear down switch does look much better than the original off white it was, that was a cheap upgrade!

It sure was. I picked is up from KESN when we purchased it.

In March of 2015, we finalized the purchase agreement of N4352H, a 1979 Mooney M20J “201”. Early in 2017, we decided it was time to do a full modernization project and ensure the safest and most capable aircraft we possibly could. We figured that this project would take just shy of one year, so I dropped the airplane off one day before new hire class for my airline started. Upon purchase, the aircraft was equipped with the Aspen PFD2000 system, a single Garmin GNS-430W, the S-TEC55X autopilot, as well as the Lycoming IO-360-B3A6. With the exception of those upgrades, the airplane remained relatively original in its equipment. Her most recent coat of paint was put on in 2001 and scored as a 7/10, her interior was from 1997 and also was 7/10. Avionics: We first started the project at Airborne Electronics in Sacramento, California (KSAC), with an entire overhaul of the panel. After much debate, the decision was made for the following equipment: Aspen PFD2000, with Synthetic Vision (previously installed) JPI EDM 900 Garmin GTN 750 Garmin GTN 650 Garmin G5 standby attitude indicator PS Engineering 8000G audio panel Garmin GTX 345 transponder S-TEC55X with altitude preselect P2 audio advisory system Below is the old wiring being dealt with as we progressed through the tear out process. New wiring being installed, not a single one of the original wires were retained: The panel layout was drafted several times throughout the process and mocked up with cardboard cutouts: After harnesses were created the panel was cut and powder coated. All harnesses were assembled in a manner that lets the avionics tech remove a few screws and pull the individual components down and underneath the panel for ease of maintenance: Finally, operational testing of the equipment began, this was an exciting day for all of us: As an aside, I hated the rocker switches in the original panel, so we went with a more typical switch setup, for any CRJ drivers, you may recognize that battery master switch: The panel and glare shield once installation was complete and she was ready for her ferry flight to Auburn, California (KAUN) for annual: After annual she began her last flight as N4352H down to Santa Maria, California (KSMX) for paint art Art-Craft Paint (http://artcraftpaint.com/). Paint: I dropped the airplane off at Art-Craft and discussed our project. They were certain they could pull off the design within the 30 day window as quoted, and they delivered perfectly on time and on budget. The masking and foil process began the day I dropped her off: The paint was stripped and they kept me updated every Friday (minimum) as to her progress of becoming N187CT. The base layer was applied: And finally the picture that got me the most excited about this project, seeing the paint start to come together, taken two days before delivery day: Finally delivery day! I showed up via Uber as they were just putting the finishing touches on the aircraft: The final product. It was a mix between the Mooney Acclaim paint job, and another scheme that I preferred for the tail design: Below is the original design that we presented to them: Interior: We contacted Bruce Jaeger of Spatial Interiors (jaegeraviation.com) to come out to Sacramento to help us bring the interior into a modern age and style. Bruce spent three days in the middle of summer heat reconditioning and repairing our original 1979 plastics. The results were incredible. The attention to detail that Bruce demonstrated was second to none. He spent the time to repaint the center control stack as well to bring it inline with the rest of the aircraft stylization as well. Finally, the seats were updated to include "Mooney 201" badging. All in, the project took about 9 months, a long time to be without our beloved Mooney, however it was the best decision we felt we could have made to create our dream airplane. Kyle http://www.comstockaviation.com/