N205S

Consider EpicAero out of Midland-Odessa. Their group will travel for pre-buys and have helped with two of mine. I had annuals done with Don Maxwell and all other items throughout the year done by EpicAero. I believe Floris Flight Services does the same thing with their Mooney.

1987 M20J 205: Yesterday at 8500' MSL, 12degree Celsius at altitude, WOT, and 2500 RPM I saw 161kts TAS. I typically see between 158-162kts TAS in cruise and I have seen 164kts on 1-2 occasions. Seems fast to what most report but it's a solid plane. This is with a 500hr engine and 3-blade Hartzell top prop.

@Matt M our family is in a similar situation. Up until recently, I always had them both in their lightweight, airplane designated car seats but have more recently began putting both my 5yo and 3yo both boosters with the shoulder harness WHEN my wife is flying with us. If it is just me, my 3yo stays in a carseat and my 5yo in a booster to give me one less distraction/concern in case my 3yo tried to get out. Also, consider this, In an emergency and/or off field landing, would you rather have them in the carseat or booster? The carseat will probably provide superior protection on impact but be more difficult to get them out incase of a post-accident fire, or other need to get them out quickly. That said, I see pro's and con's in each choice.

Link to a A508 LED replacement Option below: https://www.aero-lites.com/product-page/whelen-a508-led-replacement-360-degree-beam-preorder-ships-august-18

Attached you’ll find the housing for my 1987 J. It’s labeled TP20 instead of TP39 like one of yours. Hope this helps. I believe some others have made the Aerolite A508 LED work with this housing so for $56 bucks might be worth the try..

I’d be looking at a similar upgrade path, as I’m flying behind the KAP 150 now.

I do have the EA 100 for the Aspen to drive the AP. Here’s two pics that will give a better idea of my current setup. I would like to remove the vacuum system when I do the panel upgrades.

@1964-M20EI agree. The integration of the Avidyne 540 and KAP 150 A/P was my consideration for the AeroVue.

Thanks @carusoam. I wouldn't want my plane to be the test-subject for the AeroVue due to the unknowns. Sounds like no Mooney owners have taken this route with their upgrades - and probably for good reason. My initial plan was to upgrade the the Aspen 1000 PFD to the Aspen 2000/2500 Max System, which provides complete redundancy to the PFD in the event of failure, and even further possibly add a Garmin G5 for another back-up to the PFD and MFD. I've read about the numerous problems that others have had with their Aspens but after 1+ year and 150+ hours of flying behind mine I've had 0 problems and 0 resets in flight. The BK AeroVue appears to be the other option that would work with my Avidyne 540 and KAP 150 AP, which I'm happy with.... just in a single, larger display than the Aspen setup.

Does Dynon have a certified autopilot to be used with their displays? I don’t believe the BK KAP 150 (my current AP) is compatible/STC’d.

I don't believe the STC allows it to interface with the Avidyne 540 FMS/GPS/NAV/COM. If it does, I'm sure someone will chime in.

Tried the search function and didn't find much luck with anyone installing the BendixKing AeroVue Touch PFD in their plane. Here's a link to the display: https://www.bendixking.com/en/products/ifd/integrated-flight-decks/aerovue-touch I'm currently flying behind an Avidyne 540 FMS/GPS, Avidyne MLB 100 for Traffic and Weather (ADSB-in), and an Aspen 1000 PFD linked to the original KAP 150 Autopilot.I love the Avidyne 540 and am committed to sticking with it. That said, it appears the Garmin Displays such as the G3X aren't a choice, and my best options would be an upgrade to the Aspen 2000/2500 Max or the Bendix King AeroVue Touch shown above. That said, has anyone installed the AeroVue Touch and/or flown any Mooney's with it installed? Thoughts? Pros/Cons? Thanks!

I leave mine folded since it aligns with the rest of the baggage area. Pic attached. Does yours not lay flat?

I'm in if the date(s) align. Ideally on a Saturday since I'd plan to fly in from TX.

Good advice. I'm in Texas so if I go the leather route, I'll make sure it's perforated.

I've had my plane a year now and took it to Maxwell for it's first annual under my ownership. While there, they were able to take the 1987 original, cracked, and yellowed plastic side panels and wrap them in 3 different colors of ultra leather to match my 3 colors on the exterior. They also sent the glare shield and yokes off to Aerocomfort and had them wrapped as well. The carpets and seats were in good condition so I kept the originals. However, I'm considering getting the seats done in a chocolate brown colored leather in a diamond stitched pattern. Anyone go from cloth to leather seats and regret it? Anyways, couldn't be happier with how the interior turned out so wanted to give a positive review.

I'll keep an eye out for details. Looking forward to it!

Hey. I'm wanting to get involved. Any news on a Formation Training Clinic coming up in Texas? If so, who do I need to contact? Thanks!

I have them. All it takes is removing the three screws to check the pressure.

1987 M20J 205 with the 2900lb Gross Weight Increase STC. W&B done in 2015. Reported to weigh 1924lbs, 44.39 CG, with 976lb useful load. Have the 3-blade Hartzell Top Prop up-front. Looking at these other numbers, looks like I could probably shed a few pounds and get to 1000lb useful load. That said, I've not been able to get it out of CG with any loading/fuel configuration yet but I'm typically operating with a more forward CG.

I had already passed the FAF and started my descent. Hopefully I can get back in the air this weekend and see if it happens again. I've got 30-40 approaches without an issue until this. I would just like to understand why this happened, troubleshoot it if possible, and have a plan incase this happens in actual IMC.

The Glideslope on the Aspen only vanished for roughly +/- 1 second - and it only did it 3-4 times. When I did look over at the Avidyne Unit, it still showed LPV (but the GS indication may have been back up). It could have possibly downgraded the approach but I did not confirm since the Glide slope came back online so quickly. I suppose my concern is more if this happened and (1) the glide slope indication didn't reappear and (2) if I were already under LNAV minimums. Hopefully this was a one time occurrence but wanted to understand/troubleshoot the problem, if this happens periodically.

Good morning, all. I am working through my instrument rating in my M20J, which is equipped with an Aspen 1000 PFD, Avidyne 540, and KAP 150 Autopilot. This morning, I was hand flying a few different RNAV approaches and during one approach the Aspen's glideslope indication was intermittently coming on and off. My Avidyne showed "LPV" and I was planning to fly the approach to LPV minimums. However, once I saw the intermittent glideslope I was prepared to fly LNAV minimums. The glideslope came back on and everything was fine until LPV Minimums. Still, I don't want this distraction to happen in actual IMC. Has this happened to anyone else? This was the first time it's happened to me. Any way to correct/troubleshoot this issue?

I did not have one at the time so I did not get a CO alert. My JPI provided an alert for the high CHT so I only made one lap around the pattern and landed. However, you better believe that I have since purchased one!

@ragedracer1977 I haven't read through the remainder of the thread but I suggest looking through your JPI manual for troubleshooting procedures. Last week, I saw a 500+ CHT on Cylinder #3 immediately after departure with normal EGT reading. I circled around, landed, and had my mechanic look at it that afternoon. My JPI manual showed a scenario for "CHT more than 500, EGT normal, Adjacent EGT may be low". Probable Cause: Leaking exhaust gasket blowing on CHT Probe. Once we got the cowling off, this was the exact issue. I lock washer wasn't installed where it should have been and the hot air was blowing on the CHT Probe. Quick fix by my mechanic due to the recommendations in the JPI manual. I hope this helps.