T. Peterson

I don’t think Eric was being critical. He was just reminding us of a salient fact: The gentleman in question does have a dog in the fight. Even if it is a very wonderful dog, it is still his dog.

Glad you found the leak. I have chased mine ever since I bought the airplane over two years ago. Finally aggravated enough I am putting in an exchange engine from Western Skyways in January. Current engine was installed in 1991, so I can’t complain too much.

That looks like a very nice panel. I would not mess with it. What you need right in front of you is your IFR “T”, which you have. You will get used to your annunciator panel. Just go enjoy your airplane and save your money for real issues. Congratulations and may you enjoy your airplane for many years!!

Very happy for you! I’m jealous!!

You are stellar! Thank you!

Thank you for the heads up! I guess I will have another conversation with my A&P tomorrow.

I apologize for making it sound like I was blaming Mooney. I certainly understand that this is an engine issue and not related at all to Mooney. However due to the scarcity of this part I may be commiserating with many Mooney owners and other owners who have experienced long delays due to the unavailability of parts whether brand or engine specific. My A&P sent me the following text: “The P/N I have from LASAR is NH1009399-10 I also was given P/N 40D23255-340M.” Thank you for your response to this post. Good advice which I have followed.

I just got a call from my A&P that the V-band clamp on the Exhaust/Turbo is cracked. He is trying to locate a serviceable clamp and I too am trying to locate one. If any of you have a notion of where one might be located I’m all ears. TSIO 360 lb . The airplane has been grounded for a month and I suspect I am going to join the ranks of Mooney owners that have suffered month after month of downtime waiting on elusive parts.

Your philosophy mirrors mine to a “T”. I use my auto pilot in the enroute phase, but in the approach phase it is off.

I believe there is a reluctance to give up on the auto pilot regardless of whether it is an actual fault, incorrect programming or incorrect manipulation. This is in my opinion due to an over reliance on automation. It doesn’t matter whether it is my fault or an equipment malfunction, I must be comfortable with clicking every thing off and hand flying the airplane in instrument conditions. Over dependence on automation is I think a weakness of the professional pilot group.

I agree 100 percent! Unfortunately, I again seem to struggle with properly articulating my thoughts. To blame our young people for the moronic notions of our current social environment is grossly unfair. As you and others point out we all observe some very outstanding young people. However, it is not constructive to obfuscate the corrosive effects that muddle-headed philosophy has had on this generation, our generation and our father's generation. I completely agree that the exorbitant cost of aviation simply makes it prohibitive for most young people to pursue. But the gut level question is why is it so expensive? There are a plethora of technical reasons which I am sure we will soon be reading about, but none will answer the root cause. I believe the root cause is our cultural decline evidenced by an increasing sense of entitlement. It most certainly is not the fault of this generation but they mirror even as they are victimized by it. When Americans first began to view their government as a source of goods rather than the guardian of freedom, the die was cast. When a society desires to vote themselves resources rather than earn them a host of power hungry politicians will rise to indulge them. These despicable men fully understand that when they have the power to take from person A and give it to person B, they own both! Of course they pull this off by appealing to “compassion”. A charactered society would see right through this sham, but alas Americans are blinded in their lust for free stuff. The economic consequences of these blunders are a government that continually borrows and prints worthless money driving inflation to the point that many things that were already expensive have now become prohibitively so. I don’t suggest for a minute that this is all there is to it, but government willingness to exploit rather than discourage profligate spending is certainly significant. So while I don’t blame the current generation, neither do I absolve them when they line up to vote for a government that promises to forgive their college debt. The government has no right or authority to forgive that debt and neither does the student have the right to expect it. I suspect that someday they will bemoan the profligacy of their children while forgetting their own. Why not? They learned from us.

Time will tell. I would love to be wrong…..but I don’t think so.

It may be that the former generations overstated some things, but it is foolish to dismiss all their observations. To gloss over obvious cultural decline, is to learn nothing from the historical decline of many previous civilizations.

I don’t know whether Mooney can ever make airplanes again or not, but how long can Mooney stay in business building parts for a shrinking fleet?

I would love to have a Screaming Eagle, but not many available.

Very cool video!! I did note the temperature was 29 degrees. That will certainly help with the take off numbers!

“In simple terms the Court decided in 1984 that judges should defer to federal agencies in interpreting ambiguous parts of statutes.” In simple terms, it sounds to me that the Court in 1984 decided to put the fox in charge of the hen house, abrogating their responsibility. Of course this involves them in legislation. They interpret so as not to leave the citizen hostage to one branch of government, especially one bureaucracy buried somewhere in the bowels of government. Freedom is messy and disputes may be many. They don’t have much of that in autocratic nations. There are no disputes, only the will of a dictator. Unfortunately there is often not much food either.

Your comment is also right on target. Cowardly Congressmen shift their burden of responsibility to various bureaucracies and sub bureaucracies to avoid the messy job of real legislation. This allows them to dodge consequences by blaming some unknown and faceless bureaucracy when the citizen complains of an onerous and/or ridiculous ruling.

Well written and right on the money!!

Anything that works to restrain bureaucrats even just a little bit encourages me just a little bit.

I bet there are a lot of parts out there that would cause someone somewhere heartburn. Personally, I like the ingenuity of many on this forum. I just wish I had more of it!

Fascinating thread. Thank you for posting all this, and congratulations on reviving this airplane!

Thank you for contributing your comments. I am sure it will be a painful experience as almost every interaction with maintenance folks is a long drawn out expensive evolution. Oftentimes the results are less than optimal, but I just come to expect some degree of disappointment. There are exceptions for which I am grateful. I have decided to go with a Western Skyways engine and I am having it done by a shop that has so far done excellent work. I appreciate your comments and all the feedback I have received on this forum.

I very much appreciate all of your thoughtful responses. I will be re-reading all of them before making a final decision. Thank you so much for your input.

As you noted, the price difference between Remanufactured and new is about 7500.00, but the difference between Remanufactured and Overhauled is 21000.00!! My engine has leaked oil since I bought it and in spite of hundreds of dollars spent changing hoses, thru bolts, pushrod seals etc she just continues to leak. Last oil analysis was high in nickel. Blackstone said they thought that indicates worn valve guides. Other than that she runs beautifully and is an easy start even when hot. But I think the time is here to at least order an engine and I am really leaning towards Western Skyways even if they can’t get cylinders for several months.