Ross Taylor

That's about exactly what I did, but I got my foam from the super nice folks at Hi-Tech Foams...that lady (wife of the husband/wife owner team) I spoke to on the phone was so nice...what a pleasure! Here are pics I took during the process. Not shown are the next steps of adding the little angled "anti lean" strips along the edges and some foam on the front. I used a cheap carving knife for the basic contour, as that works great on "regular" foam too. Then I tried my knife, for tapering down the back edge, and found that worked great too. And...NO...I did not cut on my wings! I just put the foam there for the photos. Like @Pasturepilot said...a huge improvement and I'm really happy with the feel.

Definitely consider @Raptor05121 bird...we know the story and his reason for selling. You mentioned wanting a C or E because they have a Johnson bar manual gear. Note that’s not a given...our E, like many others, has electric gear.

Thanks for the info and stories, all...

Bug reports...LOL...love it!

This is interesting and something I'd like to do. I wondered about the Mooneys in this application, considering the access. My MIL has MS and needs a walker...I'm pretty convinced that I'll need to rent a Cessna to take her for a ride...I can't see her getting up on the wing and into our E. Does Angel Flight do a good job of matching patient/passenger limitations to the aircraft used?

Great timing...I'd posted about this eBay listing just a few weeks ago and it's still there...80 feet of the red 3/8" Poly-Flo for less than a buck a foot. Seems like a decent deal and it's the same stuff you're looking for. Good thing you didn't need the green - I've seen none of that. https://www.ebay.com/itm/IMPERIAL-EASTMAN-Poly-Flo-3-8-Tubing-66-P-APPROXIMATELY-80-FEET/303141791684?hash=item4694a8a7c4:g:LNEAAOSwJEpcyvhC

Well, if you can't find one there you could easily fly to Williams AZ (KCMR) and the shop on the field there is owned by a Mooney owner.

A big part of this decision has to be based on your own situation and risk aversion/tolerance. If you're in a financial and mindset situation where you could handle the worst possible outcome, then that allows you more flexibility. If not, though, then you might want to look for something else...knowing that there are always going to be unknowns and surprises even in the best looking plane. Personally, I think you go with your gut. It sounds like this plane has much that interests you and the owner's not left it out in the sun to rot away. As many will tell you, part of the pre-purchase evaluation is on the owner. In my case, we bought our E sight unseen from a true gentleman who loved his Mooney...and we couldn't be happier.

Haha! That was going to be my question as well...knowing of it from my straight razor addiction. Do you sell the shaving soap you make? Oh...and yeah...airplanes... congratulations!

And maybe our friendly LV-based JPI dealer @Jeev might know, too?

Hey @Lawyerpilot Lee - it looks like Alan’s able to get you closer to restoring your system!

As @gsxrpilot said...lots of owners love the Johnson bar...and I would be very happy to have it on our '66 E as well. But ours was changed to electric (two weeks off the factory floor) and I'm very happy with it, too. Our electric gear cycles faster than other retractables I've flown...and the only modification we might make is the addition of a speed override button. I think the only negative about the Johnson bar system is the actual physical range of motion required, which can be an issue for pilots with shoulder or elbow limitations.

Okay...feeling rather stupid, since nobody else asked...am I the only one who doesn't know that the yellow holder/bracket is? What is that for?

Here's a take off chart for a '66 E. This is not a factory chart and was taken from a very detailed spreadsheet an MSer posted...but I can't remember who, so my apologies for not giving them the credit they deserve. I printed and laminated this for our E.

Thanks @Skates97 - I just ordered 3 pair and sent my wife there, too. Appreciate the pointer!

Hey @Lawyerpilot Lee, I'm happy to see you're making progress on that system and got some parts - right on! And wow, @Vance Harral , what a wealth of knowledge you've got.

I'd say...absolutely. Our 12 year old daughter, who's tall for her age, fits comfortably in the back of our E. She sits behind my wife, on the passenger side, as I have a bag on the floor behind my seat. She doesn't have to sit sideways.

I'm also looking at the CYA-100 and the instructions do, indeed, show the light orientation with green at the top. But, personally, it seems that as I'm pitching up the lights should follow me up until they turn red. Hmmm... I might just install it upside down. On the CYA-100 is only one LED illuminated at a time, or does the bank of LEDs "grow and shrink" (how do I explain that?) as AOA changes? I saw a review on AS complaining that only one LED was illuminated at at time, which the user said made it hard to quickly identify exactly where in the range (within a color) he was. What's your experience with it?

This thread's a good place to start... but you'll see that there are almost as many techniques as there are pilots.

PM with the files sent! I'm happy to do that for anyone...it's super quick to do.

@dbrown - do you have a vector or PDF file for the old Mooney logo for your embroidery shop (when you find one)? If not, here's the one I use. If you want to PM me your N number, I can put it into a vector file they can use (like this one). Mooney Logo_old style.svg Mooney Logo_old style.pdf

Not really. For any engine parts, you're covered by current manufacturers. And for body/other parts, there's a healthy supply of aftermarket (such as interior) or used (such as Alan Fox) or STCed (such as LASAR) parts. We've got a '66 E and have absolutely no concerns that I could find a part we might need. In fact, thinking about it as I write...I'd be hard pressed to think of a case where I'd look to Mooney for anything.

But damn, those 4-blade setups look fantastic! And, as a friend always says...if you can't be cool (I'm not), look cool. :-) Just be glad nobody makes a 1-blade configuration. Single blade wind turbines are odd looking affairs...

One thing I took away from reading all the rulings that @smwash02 linked to is that, if you can pass the first hurdle of justifying the plane for business (regional sales, for example, seems easy) the tax court seems disposed to permitting IR training expenses so that you can more reliably conduct your business flights. At least that's my read on it.

I've got an unrelated question...what is that thing just to the right of the gear switch?