Derek

Maybe the "others" are one of the bigger fish, some Textron-like conglomerate. Seems like an a good optimistic scenario.

Genius. Thanks!

Fortunately I have those. I do plan to make a stick though.

Oh boy. Don't have one of those, but I assume you mean to feel around with a stick?

If I recall correctly I was doing the opposite and was fueling towards the inboard side.

Yes. We flew on that tank as well. Yes and that side indicates true. Is there anything I can do to diagnose the problem before talking to the shop? Thanks!

I was fueling my new to me m20j. I was with my CFI. It was actually my first time doing self-serve fuel. I guess I must have screwed up because when I got back in the plane left tank gauge was 0 and the annunciator for fuel was on. Is it possible that I damaged something sensitive with the pump? Thought I was being careful... maybe not careful enough. At any rate at least I got another two hours down of the insurance probation. Thanks!

Thanks @carusoam. This has helped a lot.

She's looking to finish her PPL in the near future. That will be a fun day!

What about the 24 volt thing? If the system is 28 volts shouldn't I be using a supply which provides that exact voltage and not the 24 volt one suggested by @elimansour?

This product being 24 volt and not 28 isn't an issue? I didn't realize that you're not supposed to charge through the auxillary port. Haven't seen details in the poh about it. How are you supposed tocharge? Open the inspection panel and tap right into the battery with some other device? I do have a trickle charger which my A&P put through a grommet into the cargo area so I can run a wire in through the cargo door to keep the battery topped off. But it's not enough flow to run the avionics for a while or do a faster charge in the event of a dead battery.

Is this the sort of device I need to plug into the auxillary port on the fuselage in order to run the avionics on the ground for testing/learning/configuring? https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/audioathgpu.php?clickkey=6344 It's the M20J MSE with the 28v electrical system.

10 hours with a CFI.

He was pretty excited. He recounted some stories of working on them in the 80s at a shop in Florida where he worked at the time. Hopefully I can post something similar in due time. I'm looking forward to ownership for that reason. Now, if I can just get my CFI more frequently to get through the probation period!

I've seen a few bounces from the ground as an observer. This didn't fee like that. It was more like a stone skipping across a pond. No pitching or rolling around. I was rounding out and felt the wheels gently touch the runway and then I was climbing for a moment. I was about to push in the throttle, but my CFI said "just hold it". It was a 5,000 ft runway and the first contact was at the 1,000 ft marker. Turned off with about 2,000 ft to spare and light braking.

My CFI is Mooney-experienced. He's not the "Mooney type" however. He is of the persuasion that letting the MAP stay high and just nosing over for a descent is hard on the plane in the long term. I don't know enough to make my own opinion yet. However, I did see some value in the constant speed descent practice as being a good way to learn energy management, and working on periodic downward adjustment of the MAP throughout the descent as pressure increases. But, I don't know anything yet. I'm used to chop-and-drop flying a C172 or DA20 when I wanna come down. That and pretty much staying at my selected cruise settings until I hit the downwind leg and quickly slow down with big throttle and pitch changes. You know, the typical flying of a renter. Got some habits to change.

In mid September we (wife and I) closed on a 1995 M20J MSE. Since then, it has been in annual and we just came out the other side of that experience only moderately lighter in the wallet. We got the pre-buy and subsequent annual done by Sean at C & W Aero at KCDW. It was a good learning experience but I'm glad it's over. I did the flight from KCDW to KPOU with my CFI yesterday and it was both fun and challenging. On the flight we went through airwork maneuvers: steeps, stalls, slows, constant airspeed descents, AP familiarization, manual gear extension, speedbrake use, and managing energy approaching the destination. As a low timer with DA20 and C172 experience I was amazed how different certain maneuvers felt. For example, steep turns go nose low much more in the Mooney than I am used to. Also, the general cruise attitude of the plane looks different. My CFI was pointing out a tendency to fly more nose-high than I should. I was absolutely amazed at how docile the J felt in stalls (power on and off). There wasn't any strong wing dropping tendency or even much buffeting. I thought about asking to go through accelerated stalls, but maybe another time. I was feeling a little saturated. I thought I had hit the approach numbers pretty good and was 75 knots over the threshold with nearly full nose up trim yet still bounced once and then settled nicely for a smooth but slightly yawing landing. CFI reminded me to avoid the temptation to nose down after bounce and just wait for it to settle as you continue to hold it off the runway. It'll be better next time! It is a joy to fly. I'm excited about getting through the insurance probation period and being free to continue to practice on my own. Thank you MSers for all your words and experience. We definitely made the right choice of aircraft. Photo is me, my father-in-law (retired A&P), and my wife after I returned with my CFI.

Congrats! I'm working on mine (been "preparing" for the written for like 1.5 years). I should be ready by now I suppose. I don't know why but I'm finding it very hard to do the program the local flight school wants me to do. They're having me do some ground school iPad App from Cessna (think its king schools product behind the covers). I find it awful. I really just want to read the text book from Jepp, take the test and then go fly with a CFI, but the school just doesn't work that way. What was your experience like? What sort of cadence of ground school (on your own or formal) and flight lessons did you keep throughout? Did you do the written early on in the process?

Thanks for all this information everyone. Too many choices! I'm definitely not fluent in all the manufacturer model numbers yet. It's like alphabet soup. I have to Google every darn one of them.

I'm embarrassed to say I don't know. To be honest I only just know realized it did more than provide adsb in and out. I see on the NGT-9000 webpage it says that active traffic is an option that can be embedded. Not sure how to know if I have that option or if I can activate it. So much to learn as an owner now. When I rent i would just get in, fly, park, and forget about the aircraft. I never really knew or used the systems over minimum necessary to survive as a renter.

Just closed yesterday on N355RL, a '95 M20J, and it's going to be in the shop for a few weeks waiting on a few parts from Mooney. I want to upgrade the engine monitor and I'm thinking about a JPI 900/930. I also want to do a GPS, not sure which. Thoughts on what should happen to the panel to make them fit? Suggestions on the GPS?

I will base at POU. Work is being done by C&W at Caldwell.

Thank you. I'm looking forward to the training a lot. I imagine it's going to feel something like a first solo.

Yes it is the original paint. The prior owner was very involved, owner assisted annuals every year until he passed away a couple years ago.

Just closed on N355RL, a 1995 M20J MSE! Excited, and also a bit mortified... Thank you all for your advice and help! Please keep it coming! Now it's in the shop for 3 weeks waiting for parts for some skeletons that came out of the closet in the prebuy. Attached the first picture I took after becoming an owner for the first time.