TheAv8r

Yeah, I've interpreted it the same way, there's 52gal of usable total fuel, and then an additional 0.5-ish gal of unusable (I have a '65 E with bladders).

FWIW consider all of the accessories too. I OHed the prop, put in a new prop governor, all new oil and fuel hoses (required per Lycoming's SB FYI), new baffling, new hardware, OH the engine mount, etc. Add in labor and by the time it's all said and done, it's $60-70k.

I overhauled my IO-360-A1A engine in November of last year with the engine being delivered to me finished in June. At that time, you could not get new A1A cylinders (2yr lead-time) so mine were OH. The base OH charge was $28k, I added in some things that brought the final up to around $33k. This was from a well-known reputable overhaul shop.

What is your MP / RPM / Fuel Flow on takeoff? Depending on your field elevation + density altitude, it should be around 29-30" MP, 2700 RPM and 19-20ish GPH. If it's nowhere near those numbers, that would indicate a control rigging or powerplant problem. I don't think the rigging would cause a 30kt speed penalty, it more of gains you 3-5kts.

The front Mooney cockpit is a lot more spacious than people make it out to be, tons of leg room and headroom. It's the rear seats that get cramped in older Mooneys, not the cockpit. The difficulty for larger people isn't the cockpit, it's getting in and out of the airplane IMO, kind of like getting in/out of a Mazda Miata.

My E when I bought it was at 1500hrs SMOH, regularly flying, well-maintained and running well. I had to overhaul it at 1810hrs. Just saying, it's a YMMV type of operation, it can be running perfect 1 day and have an issue the next, regardless of time, higher time just makes it more likely.

Jimmy from GMax Aircraft (well known Mooney broker) just posted this M20E for sale. https://jimmygarrison.smugmug.com/N6389Q/n-CjbH3B It’s above your budget but a perfect fit for your IFR mission, and I would say it’s worth the extra $$ to buy a plane that already has all the desirable upgrades like the CGR30s, GI275s, newer engine, non-AD prop hub, FS210, LED lights, etc. then spending it yourself on a cheaper plane.

Update here - We did a compression check and all 4 cylinders were 80/80. No air was escaping or could be heard. We then borescoped the cylinders and did find a few anomalies. I have sent these over to the shop to get their thoughts, but here are they are down below for the hivemind . Dark streaks down the bottom of one of the cylinder - A&P noted it did not seem to be cutting into the metal. That burnished splotch on the top is wet oil, not glazing, after looking at a few different angles per my A&P. More streaks/scrapes on one of the cylinders towards the end of travel near the valves. At 80/80 compression, I have a hard time understanding mechanically how the rings aren't seated, as that kind of compression means nothing is escaping past the rings, which indicates they are flush against the cylinder wall right? We'll see what we hear back from the shop.

It is consistent! I've done XCs, local flights, 1hr, 2hr... keeps getting back to that number. I always thought somewhere around 8-12hrs/qt was the norm though, 5hrs feels high. My old engine was 8hrs/qt at 1800hrs SMOH. The last Mooney I owned before it was 15-20hrs/qt on 500hrs SMOH. Maybe it will settle down in a year or two, I just am tired of flying it at 75% power, I like to run 65% power LOP on XCs to save gas. Plus I'm ready to cruise up at the higher altitudes and not stay below 5500...

Just an update there for those tuning in: At 48hrs SMOH and the oil consumption has been 1 qt/5hrs for the last 20 hours . CHTs have not changed whatsoever since the first flight. Every flight has been at 75% power. I have done 3 additional WOT runs since, including a 2000ft 2hr WOT run and it has not seem to make a difference. There is oil showing up on the left nose gear door that I believe may be blow-by from the crankcase breather. We plan to do a compression check and borescope again soon. I have an IFR flight coming up soon where an approach may have to be shot at lower power, I've put off all IFR ops waiting for it to hit 50hrs but it's getting hard to avoid that as we get into the fall months.

I just went through this same adventure wanting to replace all of my doghouse on my '65E on its recent engine overhaul. LASAR does not have any of the parts in stock and Mooney would not give them a lead-time to produce any of them. I contacted Airforms and they said they do not have any pieces for a vintage Mooney I looked for salvage shops and did not find any that had pieces in good shape. I contacted a few MSC's and none of them had new parts for the doghouse My A&P looked at fabricating new ones from scratch, but some of the pieces are pretty precise, such as the cuts around the cylinders and the top piece with the bends and spark hole bulbs and he didn't want to spend the time to do it. We ended up just doing sheet metal repairs to the existing.

I have never gotten 162 knots out of my M20E model, which is what the book says it will do. (ref 23.0 MP / 2500 RPM at 7500ft, TAS of 187mph for 2200lbs). I regularly get 152-155kts TAS dependent upon the altitude at 75% power. That seems to be the norm for M20Es.

I also have mine on the right side. The designer in me loves the clean organization of having it on the right, and it is not hard to see at all, but having it on the left would have been more convenient.

Makes me miss when I used to rent an Ovation! For ELP, I always land at KDNA - Dona Ana County. Long runway, nice FBO, and much, much less fees and cheaper gas.

+1 this fixed it for my 930.