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The wood looks immaculate… I bet she flys great… -Don

I use that feature often when not using a ifr approach… -Don

I spared everyone the several thousand year old bat guano pic ;o) -Don

Yep, that it is. David reshaped the lower and the top to be aerodynamic including the inlets… -Don

Water/spring inside the cavern and more :

The Caverns were wonderful -- wife did NOT expect the very steep climb out on the 'Discovery' tour. The first tour, Heritage, was much easier. Wife and I got some nice pics -- and the cave water was crystal clear -- they even setup drinking fountains (with filters) to sample the water! Very fun weekend trip -- and the Mooney makes it so nice to not have to deal with traffic -- 66-73° temps at altitude too. Trip back was also fantastic, nice, cool and we got a lot of shortcuts from ATC -- I really enjoy flying IFR -- even in VFR conditions. We did encounter some clouds and weather but, the Stromscope helped us keep and eye on the build-ups -- great tool to have! pics of the caverns:

Aerox finally came in! I'll need to take some time and setup that in the airplane. I'm due for oil change and brakes so that is on the list for this week. Wife and I did another trip in Texas to the Natural Bridge Caverns. We chose the San Marcos airport since the hotel and airport are nicely located and, San Marcos has an outstanding FBO - Berry Aviation. Class Delta and excellent service all around -- got my plane in a hanger before the storms hit! The trip down was super @ 8000 feet -- the plane just hums along. Really happy with the performance and fuel burn.

Oil cooler on the SabreMech cowling — note the ‘cool’ air inlets… -Don

Mine are in the same locations. My oil temps are outstanding and I’ve never had any problems - even with temps above 110° here in Texas -Don

David did this with his cowling mod before I bought his plane. Here in Texas, 390s or less CHT- depending on my fuel flow - during the summer… -Don

Congrats on what looks like an excellent bird! -Don

Mooney chicks ready to ‘fly’ - or ‘fry’… -Don

What David did with mine:

For sure - or scratching a new windshield - like I have -Don

Ugh, I know the feeling all to well…. -Don

Congrats! Welcome home…, JD and Laura are great… -Don

That’s good, I just bought a new concord so I’m betting in the next 5 to 7 years the FAA will be ready.. ;o) -Don

I’m happy to do it. I’m assuming remove the cover and change the wiring… If you do a video, I’ll just follow it… -Don

Right now, owning with hanger, annual, updates/upgrades/fixes/maintenance, subscriptions, insurance, fuel I’m averaging 20k-22k for my C over the last 4 years. First 2 years higher as I added G5s, fixes for avionics, gnc 355. I do my own oil changes and things I’m allowed to fix. I do about 100 hrs a year, highest was 144 hours in a year. Some years higher, some lower, it depends on what you do. I try to stay on top of things through-out the year to avoid big annuals. -Don

Yeah, I’ll probably need to do the switch change also. She’s working great though! -Don

Ordered a 2 person Aerox System with Boomula from Scott - he gave me a discount code that pretty much covered the Boomula addition. Like the system, simple and on those longer flights, need some to keep me fresher when 8000-11000 feet. If I fly out west/Mountains, want to have that. I’ll put this in the baggage area but with me getting older, more ‘ox’ is not a bad idea ;o)… -Don

@EarthX Inc, no C models? (Battery in the engine bay)… Thanks! -Don

Gear down 2 dots before intercept (as soon as I’m in gear speed - 120 mph), flaps to takeoff setting 1 dot before intercept (once at flap speed - 100 mph), stabilize, then do BGUMPS at FAF/intercept: boost pump gas undercarriage mixture/carb heat (as needed)/manifold pressure/throttle prop/flaps and then ‘Ss’ (seatbelts/switches/breakers) throttle to get ~450-500 FPM and trim/trim/trim for approach speed ;o) old Mooney with much lower speeds… -Don

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2023/august/pilot/on-course-basicmed-success#:~:text=Pilots who complete the steps,no FAA medical certificate needed. https://www.pilotmall.com/blogs/news/basicmed-explained-guide-to-understand-the-essentials?srsltid=AfmBOopzzh7gFKldMCsEsvF2u3THTDr9gTjcA6x1737G4xPs4Gr5eYTB FAA realty has change some of the limits to higher weights: https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2024/may/15/congress-passes-faa-reauthorization#:~:text=Expansion of BasicMed%3A Increases the,seven (up from six). Just a start… -Don

Time for basic med?