Tommooney

I recently bought the sidewinder for trips in my 3 blade O. In my mid 60's it is getting harder to move the plane by myself without, but the old gas tug is too big / heavy to leave the hanger. There is not more interference than other tugs or tow bar. Not an issue. I also have a heavy gas tug from ID guys 20 years ago. The gas tug has much more power and authority. The sidewinder struggles with traction by comparison. Good luck!

Wash rack at OXR at base of tower. FREE The FBOs will lend you a crew car to drive to lunch at either Channel Islands or Ventura harbors close by too. Let me know if you come and I can come down and talk Mooney. I have a hanger there.

Great party Mitch! Thanks

HI Mitch! I'll be there again. I really enjoyed attending last year. Thank You! Tom

It helps for the seat to be either cranked full up or full down, I forget which. Try both. I saw a youtube somewhere on this. Also, It was a couple years before I figured out I can take / pull the seat bottoms right up and out for cleaning as they are only velcroed in. Tom

Congrats on the Ovation! I bought one 21 years ago new from the factory. I remember the words " If you respect me, I will out live you ". 1070# useful. Usually flown around 10K' , always WOT 2300 rpm, 75 ROP ( as they told me in the 2003 3 day new owner factory training ). I find I learn more about Mooney maintenance on this website, than anywhere else. Thank You everyone. Good luck! Tom

Mid-Continent is close by me in VNY I believe. I had talked to them about something else at OSH. That sounds like a good suggestion. Thank You very much.

I'm hoping someone can help me reset my autopilot, or just tell me I need a shop.... I had a new cfi ( Cirrus pilot ) giving some recurrency training who insisted on showing me how to operate my autopilot more efficiently by pushing more buttons... well it errored like the photo. A couple days later i restarted and it operated normally until he tried the same thing and it errored and now it will not reset after powering off and restarting. It stops at check number 2 every time. 03 Ovation, original equipment and owner Thanks for any help.

I don't understand what you guys are joking about. Its about safety. I've had third class exams since the 1970's that included the prostrate exam. Every two years Dr Dooty regularly did the prostrate exam. In 2012 he said he felt one side too big. Gave me the third class that day but told me to see a specialist. I did. Turned out he was right. It had to be removed surgically. I may be alive now thanks to his finger exam. Later I thanked him and he said I was not the only one he had found. Dr Dooty has passed away since then. I guess its something for young pilots to dismiss but as I approach 50 years of flying with out an accident, I am thankful for all the Dr Dooty out there. He was a good man. I hope you all make it to the 50 years milestone of flying without incident. Good luck Tom

OXR is a little farther but practically empty towered field. There is almost never a wait to depart unlike many SoCal fields where there may be several planes in line and on approach on a hot summer day. It does get morning fog but has ILS and GPS precision approaches. I'm out there at least three times a week in my hanger. Plenty of free advice from my hanger neighbors and I if your walking around the field. Fuel is less $ than SMO or VNY. Good luck Tom

I am interested too. Anyone have recommendations on a couple shops on West Coast? Thanks

BTF just north of SLC. I flew in 2017 and needed to leave the plane a while / month and take airliners home. I asked the guy in the FBO how much for a monthly rate. He asked " you buying fuel ? " i said yes and he said just tie it down over there...... There was no charge. That's where ill go back. BTF Tom

Frank at Chandler does my annuals. He's a good guy and his staff are good too..

Hi 91Y I'm old now so i'm going the opposite direction you are. I bought my Ovation factory new exactly 20 years ago. Only test pilot Mike Miles flew it 12 hours testing before we had BBQ lunch in Kerrville and he handed me the keys. No one else has ever flown it. It has 1500 hours since. Never a problem. After previously owning a Cherokee, '63 M20C, Twin Comanche ( great and fun plane but maintenance was long waits for parts ) My wife has decided not to fly small planes anymore after the last cross country CA to Maine 2021. My kids have moved far away: NYC, Norway, Italy. I'm looking to trade down to a Cardinal for the easier entry, lower costs, less proficiency, etc. The Ovation is now wasted on me as I don't need coast to coast capability. Just a flight around SoCal once a week for fun. An Ovation is much more $$$ than you described BUT, I rarely have any repair needs between annuals. Price is about $275K so you can figure what loan payments would be. Its paid off but I started with a 15 year loan at 6% when I bought it new from factory ($400K new ). It was a big $$ stretch for me back then but I have no regret, flying problem free coast to coast 20 years. 185K cruise @ 10K'. It flies every week. All JPI data is uploaded to SavvyMx monthly. All annuals at MSCs. Everything works for hard IFR when needed. We can talk if you have any interest. I just want one more trip to the Bahamas this winter( for me, best flying in the world to the 50 airstrips on the islands ). Good luck. Tom 805-300-6621

Try asking for the monthly rate. And / or try East or North bay fields.