Marc_B

Perhaps it was felt you were just kicking the tires and not really serious about buying. But not providing log books seems like a red flag. Every once in a while the right one comes around and those are usually gone before you know it. I’d recommend you get all insurance info, escrow and financing set up, and be ready to move asap when you find a keeper. I found a keeper and that convinced me I was serious and I set up everything including getting money ready to put immediately in escrow for deposit. While looking I saw several logs that showed how well (or not) an aircraft was cared for. Log review is invaluable to determine what to expect to find on PPI as well as what’s on horizon for first and future annuals/maintenance. But id say have your ducks in a row first, then be ready to move immediately for the right one, but patient and deliberate enough to walk away from red flags…its not just the initial purchase price, but the price of future maintenance as well. https://www.aopa.org/go-fly/aircraft-and-ownership/buying-an-aircraft/aircraft-title-and-escrow-services I used this service through AOPA for escrow and title service. Very helpful for a first time buyer and AOPA helped with contract offer as well. And if you plan to hangar (you should) get working on that last week! Seems like that’s the hardest thing to find these days. if you haven’t looked at logs before, find some on Controller or TAP and actually go through them entry by entry. Even better if you get a list of scheduled maintenance (tires, shock disc, magnetos, oxygen tank, etc.). You can quickly begin to see a pattern with maintenance, what’s outstanding and what’s upcoming, as well as getting a feel for how thorough maintenance was…minimum needed vs complete, only at annual vs when needed.

@PT20J That certainly makes more sense as it certainly doesn't seem to be sealing much, but having the handle in the right place makes it easier to lock/turn the key.

I’m curious to see the evolution of the Garmin GHA 15 into the certified market. Not sure if and when this will happen. Would be interesting to have an (edit: inexpensive) integrated radar altimeter with my PFD. But I fly with a friend who has the P2 aviation advisory system and I’ve got to say I love it when Sam Elliott says “the gear is down for landing”. (Not really Sam Elliott but sounds exactly like it) Another friend has the landing height system and really likes it. Better yet speak with @donkaye for instruction as well as first hand experience with LHS.

@N201MKTurbo That's enough for 1 million Mooneys! ha ha. Probably neoprene would seal well too I would think.

What is the material in the exterior door handle seal? Does anyone have a source to replace the seal alone, outside of replacing the entire handle with seal?

@zehutiman Savvy has several flight profiles they recommend. Every time I do this they always want even more time to see trends. Short answer, at least 10 engine monitor cycles (I run mine for at least 30 seconds). https://resources.savvyaviation.com/wp-content/uploads/savvy_pdf/SavvyAnalysisFlightTestProfiles.pdf

If you're installing a Surefly, then why not just IRAN one of them and keep the other for core... When I did my Surefly this past annual I was planning on IRAN for both to have a spare, but wound up having issues with the right mag (bill was going to be close to the price for a new mag)..so I just IRAN'd a single one and installed the Surefly for the right side. I'll just put on a new left mag next 500 hr interval.

Transient 10-20 RPM over max RPM used to worry me more until I looked at the categories of true "Overspeed" categories. Now I just dial it back to max RPM when I get a chance. It's also something you can look for on your engine monitor data to see if you're actually making Max RPM and Max MP on take off. For Category I overspeed (below), the manual recommends "If the duration of the overspeed event is less than ten seconds, no action is required. If the overspeed event persists longer than 10 seconds, land the plane and perform the following inspection..." and details the inspection.

I’ve had both. Different connections and different “footprint”. You’d need an appropriate base and connections for whatever unit you decide to use.

Wound up flying into TDW. Easy in and out. I pulled up to the self serve pumps and the line guys came over and did everything but pump. Shelby’s restaurant on field was nice but wound up going out to eat with my family. But they had a jalapeño gravy fried chicken that was recommended that I kinda wanted to try. Next time. Funny thing, River Falls (H81) had a sign on the side of road into TDW advertising fuel. Looks like a fly in community from the air. Certainly sounds like they are looking to pull in fuel purchases from the area intentionally. @DCarlton I’ve flown into BGD several times and it’s interesting that their 100LL is pumped/piped directly from Phillips refinery next door. It’s one of the sites for TEL for leaded fuel. Last time I was there, they had a budget surplus and are nonprofit so their fuel prices were super cheap to even out the books.

@T. Peterson ya I saw that; self fuel at TDW is currently $5.43.

Flying down to meet my dad for lunch for a stop-over, then heading back out. Curious if there is a preference/pros/cons for KAMA vs KTDW? Likely be flying IFR so navigating the airspace should be non-issue either way. Suggestions?

So I found two places who can repair these: https://aircapitoldial.com/ https://www.nimbusaviation.com/ Both places need the current panel to repair rather than purchasing a new one. Mooney has no stock or pathway to replace at current.

Wait. It’s worth it.

For what’s its worth, I lucked out on an aircraft with a solid glass panel and upgraded to a GFC500 autopilot a year or so in. I took that opportunity to upgrade the panel and now I have a fully integrated setup exactly how “I” want it. Bottom line, you can adapt to whatever set up you have. Priority in my mind for IFR is a solid autopilot tied to easy to use WAAS GPS navigator. Priority for engine longevity and reliability is a modern electronic engine monitor with all the data. You can do these things countless ways, mixed and matched or all one manufacturer. But having a fully integrated panel that is easy and quick to use (and being knowledgeable about all the nuance) is really pretty amazing. It’s worth the cost and wait (IMHO) if this will be something you’ll spend plenty of future time flying behind. But a project this involved has plenty of potential for pitfalls and issues you weren’t aware of. So choose a shop wisely based on their experience first and foremost. I have a great shop local to me and came away with an amazing setup and wouldn’t hesitate to work with them again. Of course we found some quirks of my aircraft along the way but some things just take money and time, unavoidably. I think that was the first lesson I learned as an aircraft owner! If all you want is a capable aircraft and don’t need to have it “perfectly” your way…buy an aircraft you can live with, and let the previous owners fit the time and money bill for it. But if you want it set up your way: do your research, take your time, plan for extra time and money for unexpected quirks, and get it done right the first time.

@GeeBee that’s great info! Thanks!! BTW, do you think the space in between the two banks of switches has enough room for a max pulse? Seems like if it is, the wiring would be easy to connect to recog lights…

My light switches are overhead on the headliner for the strobe/landing/taxi/recog/etc. But I've noticed that they do not light up with the panel or glare shield lights...is this supposed to light and a bulb is just burned out? If this isn't typically lit, have any of you had this modified to back light the switches for night flying? It seems you either have to memorize the position or have a headlamp as the overhead lights point down and don't really light up the switches either.

So found out that with VNAV transition to approach that it allows the 3NM final waypoint on a Visual Approach to have an active altitude constraint. Where as if this is disabled it shows you a reference constraint but doesn't allow VNAV to use this. So with Transition to Approach enabled it allows you to use VNAV from your altitude, direct to 3NM waypoint, APR armed, and it will smoothly descend and perfectly capture the advisory glidepath. Basically Transition to approach "turns on" the altitude constraint for the FAF and for the 3NM visual approach waypoints so that VNAV can use these.

M20K Encore. Original interior was maroon, old and worn with holes in seats (and not my style). Complete interior done by Aero Comfort. Went with a more sports car styling with dark brown and tan. Chose to not get the seats embroidered, but had Hector embroider the Mooney Thunderbird on bicolor yokes with black and the seat color. Choosing colors and carpets felt like a leap of faith but Hector helped out with nudges here and there and the final project turned out even better than I hoped. And to anyone having Aero Comfort redo seats...definitely do at least the pilot seat with confor foam upgrade...super comfortable for a traveling plane!

Hector does great work. Highly recommended and has a well known Mooney following.

GAMI spread is 0.3 - 0.5 GPH. I've looked at my Savvy data and trend analysis but it doesn't really give you a "bell curve" for the data...rather it says where you are within the cohort. But it's interesting that I had my shop replace my baffle seals last annual and my CHT spread is higher on average. Prior I was around 41-45% of the cohort; after I'm around the 57% mark. Replacing baffle seals and having higher numbers seems counter to what I intended...

@Echo I believe the compression ratio is 8.5:1 in IO360. If so, multiplier would be 14.9. So LOP calculation for fuel flow would be: (Max HP * %HP) / 14.9 = GPH fuel flow. This only applies on the LOP side where fuel is the limiting factor. i.e. 65% HP at LOP would be: (200*0.65)/14.9 = 8.72 GPH. But your question may be way different...rough and then enrichening could be ROP if you can't run LOP well, and of course it depends on your power settings. This thread has some good info:

Precise flight has the X3 demand system as well as looking at O2D2 pulse system. Same concept, different mechanism. Basic gist is instead of constant flow, it senses when you take a breath and delivers flow then. This helps cut down on oxygen use and decreases tank fill frequency. Not to mention that constant flow really dries out my sinuses and nasal passages. Pulse demand is much more comfortable for me. Both precise flight as well as mountain high have mask systems and they work really well. I have o2d2 and at the lowest mask flow setting I’m 98% SPO2 at FL250. Having a turbo with oxygen can be done safely and helps navigate weather as well as take advantage of good winds and less drag of altitude. I keep 2 finger pulse ox in the aircraft. One hanging from the prop knob, the other in my flight bag. Get in the habit of checking every 15-30 min and it’s no biggie. one last thing of flying high is it gives you a much bigger glide ring in case of emergency. So I think it’s a value add, not a safety minus.

If you have your GTN set to auto switch CDI then you’ll fly the DME arc inbound using GPS. The auto switch will occur within 1.2 nm (see pic)from localizer course. But you have to make sure you have the ILS freq tuned/active or it won’t switch. When you load the procedure in the GTN it loads ILS freq in standby. Also, if you don’t have APR armed before the CDI auto switches, you’ll revert to roll and pitch mode and could blow through the final approach course if you don’t catch it. it’s pretty seemless with a few gotchas so I’d definitely try to fly one in good conditions first.

Borescope is useful outside the engine too! Had a piece of baffle seal bent back. The piece to the right in the pic was back initially but I could see that from my oil filler door. I also noted a part of the seal by the intercooler that may need a little adjustment. I think CHTs look better but still 45-50 deg difference low to high.