FlyingDude

Kids ride diapered already. I might wear the samples I got when my buddies signed me up for all bunch of "old people's stuff" at my 40th bday... Hey! That's what astronauts do. It's only glorifying!

And wife? And kids? Other pax??

Agreed. I'd adapt this last to my "progress" of gaining 8kt as: 1. Rig the plane well. 2. Check that the ball in TC is perfectly aligned (panels can sag). Then Rig it better until it flys straight and level hands off with the ball centered. 3. Remove unused wires. I found 15+ lb of wires, clamps and relays leading nowhere. Prev mechanics just removed old avionics and left their wires hanging. Yes I weighed the lot. I'm keeping them in my stash. 4. Clean the gunk off. It really weighs and adds drag on the underbelly (rough surface). 5. I honestly didn't notice any difference in waxing the plane over just keeping it clean. YMMV. 6. Prop balancing increased our comfort A LOT but with no noticeable difference in speed. I already paid for the brake caliper forward swap STC. I might do it in the future. I'm not counting on any increase in speed but quicker access to the brake caliper bolts and easier safetying will shorten service time ... But like the others said, I have an E and it'll always be an E. If I won the lottery, I'd go with Piper Malibu, not modify my E... The 10kt difference here and there between different pre-J Mooney models amount to 15 min in a 600nm leg. I'm sure you've wasted more time than that taxiing on a busy airport...

I do agree that intermediate stops cost 1hr on average, but when I look at my logs, there are a handful flights exceeding 3.5 hr legs. But I did notice that TAS decreases 5-7kts at MTOW from 300lb payload. So unless I'm going to find dirt cheap fuel (i.e. slightly less outrageous than the rest) along my path, I opt for fueling at my destination and carrying enough+1.5 hr reserve...

Are those sheet metal screws? Thanks

i thought of making removable plastic or rubber patches, or even using premade ones if they exist... Anyway. Thanks for your answer

Hi guys, I cleaned the gunk off of the great well walls and painted the patchy areas. Covered some seams between metal sheets with speed tape. What do you do with the gaps in the picture? There are linkages behind them, so I think they were left to inspect and lube rod ends. But they'd allow water and oil get into the underbelly, creating the mess I clean at annuals. How do you cover them? Thanks...

One shop here told me an autopilot on my E would be a 45k$ job. That's the same one that quoted me 1800$ "nationwide flat rate" to swap out the displays in my KX155 with LED display - but then charged me 2400$ when I went to retrieve my radio, because "there was unforeseen extra work." My guy at 3CM would do it way cheaper (haha, I know how that sounds) but he's done a ton of GFC500s on different aircraft and has great pireps.

Hi guys, Could anyone lend me their travel boards just for one day? I just want to verify something and then I'll return them. Thanks...

@Parker_Woodruff Any idea on the annual volume of stolen avionics market? If it's big enough, maybe insurance companies can push avionics companies (Garmin, Dynon etc) to come up with an immobilizer design...

...as in??? It used to be but it no longer is?

I kind of hope that these are just bareback scammers, i.e. advertising non-existent "inventory" ... as opposed to common thieves trying to sell off what they pulled out of parked planes.

I thought they'd be auctioned. Chances are they'd be bought by people who want to restore them. Still high demand for planes. I hope those birds keep flying...

I can name so many friends, acquaintances and relatives who have bought boats, cabins and more-than-what-they-need cars ... all on loan...

Indeed it looks pretty neat. I wish mine looked like that, though my kids liken the plane's "mouth" (with the Lasar lower cowl closure) to "Baby Shark". Could you share some performance info? Such as, at MTOW or another known weight, what IAS do you observe at nearly standard temperature and at around 5000-8000 altitude at what engine settings (MAP and RPM) and at what fuel flow? Do you have other Lasar speed mods (aileron and tail fairings, etc.)? Just trying to understand the incremental speed increase by this mod on top of all other mods... Thank you.