Utah20Gflyer

The Mooney has a longer than average wing which generally results in slower roll rate as others have stated. This might create the impression of running out of aileron if you were used to aircraft with shorter wings and a faster roll rate.

I’ve never felt like I’ve run out of aileron authority. But unless you did a barrel roll in that situation I’m not sure you have either. The wing did come up at some point, right? Maybe not as fast as you wanted but doesn’t sound like you flipped over. I personally don’t fly below 90 mph until I’m established on final, 80 short final, 75 over the numbers. 1.3 VSO would be 72 mph for me which I wouldn’t do anywhere except over a runway. You can also help a wing up with opposite rudder if you really did run out of aileron.

Heavy things yes I strap them down. I do need to replace my straps though, they are old and hard to use.

I think people are too obsessive about getting all the old oil out. It’s impossible to get it all and that extra 1/4 quart you remove is not going to make any real difference in the overall quality of the oil in the engine after the oil change. If you are really worried then shorten your oil change interval but I doubt that will really do much for you either. Personally I run my oil for 50 hours and then do a quick oil change with no gimmicks. My oil analysis has always come back good so until I get objective information my oil is unsatisfactory I will continue this practice. The number one thing you can do to make your engine last is fly it a lot. Corrosion is what kills engines which comes from inactivity not that last bit of old oil you didn’t get out.

Given an adequate amount of interest and money Im sure you could get individual recliners. My 68 G model has them. So given that other mid bodies have them that means the parts would likely be compatible with the requisite amount of reworking. As for exactly what it would take you are going to have to wait for a more knowledgeable person than me to tell you what would have to be done. My gut tells me it’s a fairly labor intensive project. The more common request is for seats that fold down flush with the baggage compartment. That’s something I’d like to have but don’t have the motivation to actually make it happen.

I had to think about this for a minute because I’ve never noticed my plane having heavy controls but then realized in regards to pitch I fly the plane nearly completely with the trim wheel. I tend to take off with a little more nose up trim which makes for an easy lift off and will give me 80 mph in the air. After gear up and flaps up I trim to 100 for the climb out, the normal takeoff trim setting probably gives you the 100 mph but will require more back pressure to get it to lift off the runway. I think either way is fine, it’s a matter of preference.

I have some sort of rubber gasket material that is semi permanent. I’ve taken those panels off a bunch of times and no sign of any leaking.

Unless you have a bunch of free time and want to do a bunch of work on a plane I would say sell as is. You’ll likely be trading dollar for dollar, in particular if you account for your time. Spend the money on the new plane.

I may be able to provide one next week. I’ll see what I can do.

The solution might be bladders.

My fuel pump is loud enough I can hear it with the engine idling, but a slight increase in rpm’s and I can’t hear it .

Maybe if you stopped overboosting your airplane your audio panel wouldn’t have to tell you what to do!

The most likely hypothesis is the weight and balance is wrong. Unless you have access to the previous weight and balance so you can find the mathematical error the plane will need to be re weighed and a new weight and balance created. Mid body Mooneys tend to have the best weight/balance scenarios and you don’t tend to see them with far forward or aft CGs. My G model is almost impossible to get out of CG.

A lot of VFR on top today but was a nice flight. Most of Idaho and Oregon had a low cloud layer. Just a slight amount of bumpy air around terrain. The IFR airmet was a nearly spot on description of where the cloud layers started and ended. Pullman was clear of clouds as was Lewiston.

Yes, we are just finishing packing and about to head to the airport. It does look like a nice day to fly. I took my plane over to U42 last night to fuel up and the air was nice and smooth. Hopefully it will be that way today as well. Thanks again for the advice.

Given the unknown and variable costs associated with overhauling an engine I would say sell it as a core. If you have to repair the case and buy a new crank that isn’t going to increase the value of the engine to a buyer but could put you upside down in the deal.

I’d remove the fairing between fuselage and the tail and see how it looks. I would want that bulkhead inspected very carefully, including maybe die penetrant inspection to make sure it’s sound. The tail is only held on by a couple pieces of hardware, so it’s critical there isn’t damage.

Thanks, I appreciate the intel!

Thanks for the heads up about Lewiston. I’ve been watching weather closely and it is forecast to be good. I have one moderate concern looking at the prog chart for Friday and was hoping as a pilot with more experience flying in that area you might have some useful input. There is a warm/stationary front right over my destination. The low is off to the east which I understand is where most of the weather will be. What would you expect given your experience? I’ve only flown up in this area once in June to Deerpark, Wa. It’s very different weather than what we have here in Utah. Thanks,

I fly a G model out of Utah and it works fine as long as you stay within the limitations of the aircraft. For cross countries it’s common to fly at 10.5k and 12.5k in altitude because the terrain requires it. Overall I try to limit flight over large mountainous areas with little population and instead try to stay over flatter more populated areas. I’m fine flying over higher isolated ridgelines because you have good terrain right before and after it. Below is my flight plan for a trip Friday for a funeral from KTVY (Tooele, Ut) to KPUW (Pullman Wa) You’ll notice I am choosing not to fly over 200 continuous miles of Mountains and instead circling to the west. I chose the gps waypoints because they route me between the higher peaks and away from some restricted airspace. I should be able to complete this flight at 8500 feet. So pretty low for western flying. My flight planning process starts with planning a direct flight and then I zoom in and start modifying the route to miss tall rocks and airspace I shouldn’t be flying through. Once I find the lowest/flattest route I start working on what is the optimal altitude based on winds etc. Having a modern GPS navigator is very handy. Having to navigate with VOR and /or pilotage only through the mountains would really limit you. There has already been a lot of good advice that I agree with. I’ll just add don’t fly at night either. Sure, you could, and I do occasionally, but it does increase risk so why not just fly during the day? Also, without a bright moon the mountains and desert are IFR when the sun goes down. A guy killed himself and his family taking off out Moab Utah recently because he took off after dark with no moon. It’s no joke. So dark!

I would recommend renting until you get your instrument rating. Owning an airplane is a part time job and maintenance can really cut into flying, and if this plane has sat for a while you can expect lots of maintenance for a year or two, and I’m not talking about the camshaft, I’m talking you tachometer takes a dump or your attitude indicator, radio etc. And they aren’t going to happen all at once so you can efficiently have them addressed. Based on the lack of availability of mechanics that could mean it spends as much time in the shop as available to fly. Planes accrue maintenance even when they sit. So if this one sat for years you can expect years of extra maintenance in the next couple years. There are also substantial transaction costs when purchasing an aircraft. Prebuy, Sales tax etc. You are also going to pay a lot more for insurance even for a C with low time and not Instrument ticket. If this is a bare bones C model it might not be a good instrument trainer in which case you’ll have to rent to continue your training. A lot of negatives to your plan but it’s up to you ultimately. You don’t have to do things the easiest or cheapest way. I’m just trying to give you some realistic expectations.

The ground circuit is notorious for creating weird symptoms so it would be my primary area of concern at this point. if it isn’t too much work you might consider running a new ground wire that doesn’t have a bunch of splices. If you do splice it again use one that has the pre applied solder in it. I wouldn’t trust a ground that is just a compression crimp. Also make sure the connection is protected from corrosion by heat shrink tape.

A proper test flight is just as important as a prebuy. There are many things a mechanic can’t find with the plane on the ground.

I thought an inverter changed DC to AC and a converter changed from one DC voltage to another?

One time my landing light went out. I replaced the bulb and still didn’t work. Started testing lots of things. Turned out the new bulb was defective. Wasted a lot of time for nothing. The lesson is don’t assume new means it works. I’d try another bulb if you can’t get your hands on one and see what happens.