AerostarDriver

Anyone see the note about pre 65 models not being included in the initial supported list for the C,D,E models, however the M20, A and B models are in the works for GFC 500 approval.

M20E with an 3 inch stretch, 201 Cowl and Windscreen, needs to have a 2750 gross weight with 64 gallon tanks and have an IO-360 or equivalent diesel. 2 doors would be a plus but honestly not required. G3X+GFC 500 for avionics. Price needs to be right around 425-550K to compete with the DA-40, Arrow and 182. Will it happen, no, but one can dream.

@bob865 Did you have to rebalance the rudder when installing the Orion 500? I got mine in the mail yesterday and I am finding it is much heavier then the Whelen A550 I am replacing.

Best speed mods for an E model is really relative on your mission and budget. Hands down the "best" speed mods you can do are a 201 Cowl, 201 windscreen, oil cooler relocation and brake rotation, however this is quite simply expensive. A 201 cowl, assuming you had all the parts is about 8 to 12k in labor, The 3 options you can go also end up being about 5 to 10k in parts. Also the 201 cowl requires the laser oil cooler relocation stc which adds cost and will require a 201 spinner in your prop is newer or will require a 201 prop and spinner, which again adds cost. I have all the parts for a 201 cowl and will do it one day but every time I talk about doing it I am looking at about a 15k expenditure and can not justify it. I would say if you do a lot of single seat cross counties, a case of water in the baggage compartment is the best modifications you can make, like @carusoam said, moving the CG aft (within limit) will cause your speed to increase. It is great because it cost ~4 dollars and comes in ~24 and ~32 pound varieties, plus you will never be thirsty. If water is not your thing, simply locating some weight, friends, pets, and putting them in the back will have a positive effect on speed provided you stay within limit.

So a suggestion may be to go with the GTX 335 which gives you mode S traffic on your Ipad and panel mount and then do a GDL 39 3D or GDL 50 for ADS-B, AHRS and FIS-B on the iPad? You would be in for about half the cost.

So something I saw recently on an A model was fiberglassed wings in place of the fabric. I have no idea on the legality of such a configuration but interesting. Depending on what fabric was used, what process and how the covering has been maintained, I have seen fabric airplanes last 50-60 years with proper care. However, sun, rain, snow, dust are not friendly to fabric, neither is siting but that means flying in sun, rain, and encountering dust and rocks.

@coinneach Where you able to look inside the tail or any of the insides of the wing while you where there?

I find the fuel injected 200hp IO-360 an easy engine to manage one you understand that if the engine is running on the ground it is too rich. I lean until effectively any increase in power equals roughness and then go a hair richer to smooth out the roughness.

Just so I am reading that correctly, the GDL 88 can't display ADS-B Traffic on the GNC 355 but can display FIS-B Data?

I must be doing something wrong because I cannot get Garmin to send my shop the install manual for the GI-275 CDI to check if it is compatible with my setup unless we buy a GI-275... Regardless I would still look in to if the GNC355 will support the GDL 88 as they are about 900-1200 bucks on ebay. The GNC355 and GPS 175 will support the GDL 88 for ADS-B and out. That may be a much cheaper path to go then a GTX 335 or 345 with the disadvantaging being you don't get Mode S Traffic unless you have a GTX330ES.

I don't think you can get a GNC355 without a shop installing it but you could do a GPS 175 and an used SL40 for about the same price. An option to explore would be to look at GDL 88 compatibility with the GPS 175/GNC355 to get ADS-B in and out.

Lasar has an STC to effectively mount any IO-360 on a C,D &G to convert them to 200HP including counter balanced options that do not have the restriction on 25 squared operation.

Allow me to rephrase, a poorly treated Mooney can suffer from significate corrosion issues. I believe it was Alan Fox who said their was a process change in the 70s for extruded parts like the main spar and rear spar caps that made them less susceptible to corrosion. All metal airplanes suffer from corrosion issues and corrosion is not a Mooney specific problem. However, great care should be made when looking at any Airplane that is has been stored outside in a less then ideal condition. The pictured Mooney is a 71 E model, that the corrosion was found in the rear left spar inspection bay. It ran from under the baggage area, along the whole left side of rear spar, and forward along the gear attach rib in the left wing. It was my understand that a 66 wing was evaluated for a replacement and it was found to nearly as bad as the pictured 71. Back on subject, the 68 C model to me looks to be a good candidate to have a 200 hp motor installed. Assuming its bones are good.

Vintage Mooneys are corrosion magnets, pre-73 seems to be the worst of it. Even if it does not rain often, water finds a way to make it to places it should not. Attached are some photos of a Mooney wing that was being worked on by Don Maxwells shop. The airplane looked to be free of corrosion except for a very small spot but the wing was non-repairable.

If we ever saw a revival of the J/201 this would genuinely be a no brainer. Keep the composite cabin that is on the ultra series, fixed gear, Cont/Titan IO-370 or Lycoming IO-390, G3X based avionics... However, I believe this is all pretty unlikely.

My E also has a GNS480. From reading the manual, anything you can do with a 430/530 you can do with the 480 as far as vertical navigation. It is my understanding the 480/430/530 will all fly coupled LPV approaches on the GFC500 BUT the GTN series will fly coupled go arounds and do enroute VNAV. It is also my understanding that Garmin treats the CNX-80 and the GNS-480 the same even though I believe they are at EOL at different software levels.

My Mooney M20E had aeroflash strobes, while doing the prebuy one of the power packs was dead. I elected to change them out completely for Whelen Orion 650s but I was not able to find where or when they were installed in the log book. I assumed it was when they removed the rotating anti-collision light.

I did a fare bit of my early flying down in south Georgia, a number of Ag operators had wig-wag on the nose lights of the AT-802s they flew. A few times I found myself only seeing them because of the nose wig-wag lights. I also fly very often around the ATL class bravo, I will do just about anything to be more visible.

I talked to lasar and they "have never offered a second landing or taxi light with the oil relocation kit" but I was able to locate this post where lasar has offered the install of 2 landing lights and the oil cooler relocation kit. @0TreeLemur I really am looking for a second landing light for the redundancy, additional light and my desire to use them as wig-wag lights. @carusoam I bought my strobes from him, his prices where about 10% cheaper then anywhere else.

I actually wish the M10 would have come to market. A true 2+1 that is in the 250K range that could do at least 140-160 knots would accomplished a lot of missions. While it is outside my budget, their are real people who buy 172s and Archers new from the factories.

I will give them a call. If I can find someone who can send me some pictures and dimensions it doesn't look like a hard part to make and the safety case for adding another light shouldn't make it that hard if I have to go the 337 route.

So the airplane I am closing on already has the STC for the oil relocation but just has a solid plate closing out the old hole. Are they not offering the part or the STC in general?

Hi, New member here, in the process of closing on an Aerostar E model that has had the oil cooler relocation mod. I saw on facebook someone who had an F model with 2 landing lights who also had the oil cooler relocation mod but he was unable to provide any useful information on it. Anyone have any information on this mod or have it on their vintage Mooney?