Utah20Gflyer

Yes I lean as I climb. I almost never take off full rich unless it is very cold but I’m as rich as I can be while still keeping the engine running smoothly and making good power. There’s a big difference in power between full rich and pulling the mixture out 1/4 inch when DA is 5k. The big pull is unnecessary if you are flying a normally aspirated engine. Just wait until WOT and your prop setting equals 65 percent power or less and then find your mixture setting at your leisure. Once your below 65 percent you can’t harm the engine using the mixture knob.

The hypothesis of not being instrument rated is plausible. His inability to fly assigned headings would be further evidence of this. That’s ballsy to ask for an IFR clearance without an instrument rating though, not something I would do but there are people much different than me who might. It could also be that his Garmin 430 was INOP for some reason and he was not instrument proficient. Whatever the exact scenario, this was a complete cluster and this guy wasn’t being honest about it. It made it a lot more difficult for the controller to help him properly and put himself and his passengers in danger. I hope this experience was a wake up call for him.

It seemed to me he was being deceptive about having an IFR capable GPS. Otherwise why would he have such difficulty loading the approach and selecting the IAF the controller assigned. Also, if you don’t really have a gps then when your IPad dies why not ask for a ILS, Localizer or VOR approach? ATC could vector you to intercept the final approach course. Shouldn’t be that difficult. I wonder if all the Nav equipment in the plane was INOP and the IPad was his only method of navigation. It seems that way.

You are welcome to come out to KTVY and take a look at my plane, it’s a mid body like the J and K so it will give you a feel for the cabin size. I fly most Saturdays weather permitting. Private message me with possible dates and we can see what might work for our schedules.

I’m based out of Salt Lake City and fly a G model. It’s fine for local recreational flying and cross countries in good weather. It’s very difficult to fly longer cross countries in the winter because of icing concerns. If you are ok with very limited cross country capability during the cold months then a J model will do fine. If you want to be able to reliably fly x country in the winter you’ll need a turbo, oxygen and TKS. So a K or maybe an M or S.

I think the main thing you need to know is a Mooney is a much better plane than a Piper Arrow. Ive flown both and looked at both when I began the process of acquiring a plane. I’m really glad I went with a Mooney.

Looking at the sectional chart that airport is in an MOA and next to but not in a restricted area. As long as the MOA isn’t active for the altitude you plan on flying it is no different than flying anywhere else that isn’t an MOA. Even if the MOA is active you can still fly through legally, some just consider it inappropriate to potentially interrupt a military training mission for your own convenience.

Are you sure a 100 hour inspection is $1,100? My last annual, which was a “cheap” one was about $3,400. Don’t 100 hours require everything an annual does? My first annual was roughly 13k so I’d budget for some catch up maintenance unless you buy a plane at the top of the price range that is immaculate.

Lithium Ion batteries often have their own internal charge controller, which is important because Lithium batteries are more sensitive to proper charging. I believe the earth X batteries are this way which means from an airplane system perspective you shouldn’t have to change anything else on the plane. Just install and good to go.

Granted 20 lbs isn’t a huge gain but if you get a lightweight starter, switch to electronic instruments, remove the vacuum system, etc you can start making a significant difference in useful load. As a general principle I try to strip weight out of the plane whenever possible. I’m up 26 lbs so far, another 20 would be a big jump. The G model has the lowest gross weight of all the Mooneys other than maybe A models (50 lbs lower than a C). If someone has an F with over 1k GW I get that they are unlikely to care about 20 pounds but I’m trying to get my gross to over 900 lbs. I started at 849 lbs. to each their own though.

I understand you pick up 20 lb +/- useful load by making the switch. That’s interesting to me. There is current approval for IO360 powered airplanes which have the battery behind the baggage area, but not for O 360 powered airplanes like mine that have the battery forward of the firewall.

I’d get the the medical and PPL first and then rent for a year or two. Get your instrument rating during that time and if it turns out you are flying 50-100 hours minimum a year then start looking at buying a plane. After you get your first medical you can move over to basic med which will give you a higher likelihood of continuing flying.

I had a very similar situation. I purchased my plane with a mx170b and a king 170b but they both ended up being bad. I replaced the mx170b with a 355 gps/com and the king 170b with a 175b that worked. Later I replaced the 175b with a gnc 255 nav/com. The mx170b/c doesn’t have a good reputation for longevity so I wouldn’t personally do another one. If you have a WAAS gps currently that you think will go another 10 years I would do the 255. If you think you’ll need to replace one of the GPS in the next decade I’d do the 355. The Mx 170b doesn’t have a glideslope receiver or frequency database so it is not really equivalent to the 255. The 255 is also much smaller which is nice since Mooneys, especially older ones, don’t have much panel space. I did send the mx170b in to be repaired first but was told it was not repairable. I would have been willing to pay 800 to keep the mx170b running but thought 2500 was too much to put into an old radio.

Even in my relatively slow G model I can beat the airlines door to door even when the flights are direct as long as it doesn’t require a fuel stop. Once a fuel stop is required the airline start becoming increasingly competitive.

Does your plane exhibit this oscillation when the auto pilot is off and the plane is trimmed for level cruise flight?

I went by the airport just now and unfortunately there is a lot of water dripping off the plane. Also very cold. As soon as I get a dry day above freezing where I’m at the airport I’ll get those pics.

Not yet, I’ll try to get over to the airport this afternoon and take those pictures. It’s been hard to motivate myself to go take out 50 screws on my back in the snow.

I’m not sure I’d trust a shop that replaced a switch without knowing that is the problem, how do they know it’s the relay now? Maybe it’s a bad ground for the relay? Could be lots of things other than the relay. Replacing parts until you find the one that is bad is an expensive way to maintain an airplane.

Sorry, I purchased mine from Lasar. So you’ve already tried the source I used. They wouldn’t be particularly difficult to make provided the person had the dimensions, a suitable material and the proper tooling which would probably be a lathe. But considering Lasar was charging 8 bucks a roller it would only make sense to go that route if you were desperate. I do have my old ones so I could determine the dimensions off of those with the exception possibly of the outside dimension which would be a little undersized based on the wear.

Yes, sets the visual altitude bug, the tone is heard at 1000 ft from the altitude and 200ft.

I ran into this issue. I’d like to display both but since I have to choose I go with True airspeed.

Some things you want to look for Fuel tanks leaks landing gear donut age and condition camshaft corrosion (hard to check) airframe corrosion steering horn Some of the common ADs 1. Landing gear 100 hour lube and tension check 76-21-01 2. Mag switch check 76-07-12 3. Yoke control shaft check 500 hours 77-17-04 4. 100 hour prop ECI if you have the older prop hub. 5. Fuel cap O rings 85-24-05

When I have a more forward CG I trim a little more nose up than the takeoff setting. I’m not saying there isn’t anything wrong with the plane, but why not do some experimenting and progressively increase the nose up trim on a series of takeoffs and see what the result is. If you get to a spot that feels nice and it indicates a lot of nose up trim that could be an issue with the linkage for the trim indicator. When I say a little nose up I mean the bottom of the indicator line is at the top of the takeoff trim line. So just a little bit. Trim setting should result in a reasonable airspeed once airborne. I wouldn’t want to lift off and be really slow. My setting gives me 80 mph which is great because that is the speed I want to raise the gear at. Positive rate -flaps up and then trim for 100.

It would probably be useful to say where you are located. If there are people on Mooneyspace that are by you they could respond, also they might know of others.