Pinecone

Yes. If it is a PFD, why not make it redundant, just in case? And yes, a PFD for a pilot in the right seat to use. At times, it would be used as an MFD. For a pilot in the right seat helping or pax who wants to see where we are. Not TikTok, but NetFlix would be nice for pax entertainment.

I think that elevator skins are now available.

That is the low cost way. But if I have doing a major panel upgrade with custom panels, why not do it right? But taking the into account, the options for the right seat are G3X 7" with PFD reversion, AERA 760, or iPad?

When I flew one in Ukraine, with 4 people and maybe half fuel, the take off speed was below the ability of the airspeed indicator to read. The needle was just starting to bounce on the peg. My friend had one, and we were doing VIP rides at an airshow. And one pass down the runway, the tower called us, that they had us at 45 knot ground speed. I asked if they wanted to see a LOW speed pass. And you read all the PIREPs on flying various aircraft and they pretty much always states, "the controls are well harmonized." To truly understand that, you need to fly an AN-2. You NEED both hands on the yoke to turn. The ailerons are VERY heavy and not very effective. I can see the comment about needing two pilots to spray. If you look at the wing, the ailerons are pretty small. The elevator is VERY light and VERY powerful. And the rudder pedals feel like they are set in concrete, but you push and find yourself looking out the side window, as the rudder is very effective. But a hoot to fly. As I said, I flew it in Ukraine. And then, one of the guys who was also on the trip, ended up buying one, just because.

I would not expect a lot of handling change, until you got really slow. That could have been exciting.

https://skygeek.com/f3qudrva7th.html

Agree. No way of knowing what will need repair, until the inspection. My recent annual was about 34 hours for the annual part, at $105 per hour. Total was a bit under twice that, but most of that were things I told the shop to fix. IIRC, only two things found as part of the annual.

That is a HUGE point. Overhaul an engine, IRAN a prop is what I have seen as recommendations. The engine advice was, if you have to split the case, you might consider the overhaul to reset the clock, as you are almost there.

I always think back to the one trip in my friend's Cherokee 180. We were PA to ATL area. He was under the hood and I was safety pilot/CFII in the right seat. I was watching the trucks on I-81 pass us and drive off into the distance. That doesn't happen in a Mooney.

Remember, I am looking at providing a PFD for a pilot in the right seat, as well.

My recent first annual was less than you were quoted (in USD) with a reasonable list of squawks to work on. Only a couple of things found during the annual. My pre-buy was more, but I did have them pull the lifters (Continental), which was a good thing, as they were pitted.

I have long range tanks. Why not a 7"? It fits without moving the whole stack (and I have the hump in the glareshield), and the 750 is closer to the right to act as the moving map for the right seat person. Plus they would probably have a tablet running an EFB. Last flight, I took my old iPad Mini 2, and using a RAM suction cut, connected FF to the AHRS in the GTX-345. Other than it showing a slight left bank, it worked fine.

Realize the the long term testing, which is the only thing that got shortened, is only to determine how the efficacy degrades over time. They just had a much bigger test group. And that testing is typically 2 years. So we are already past the end of any testing under the normal time line.

Dust tape and a wax job should take care of that. Sorry that happened. Seemed to be a BIG bird.

And at least some Mid Bodies. My 252 has two senders per tank.

Times have changed. I instructed in the early 80s. If someone wanted a check out (wasn't needed), I would do a short solo flight to check myself out, then fly with them. Not these days.

300 mile trip is just getting started in a Mooney. My longest so far has been about 800 miles. About 6 hours with head winds. Edit - That was non-stop flight.

And higher fuel flows. As for cabin size, side to side, it works great for the person not flying to move their seat back one or two notches. So shoulders are not rubbing.

Lycoming already has an SB allowing 100 hour oil changes with UL fuel. I run synthetic oil (mainly Mobil 1, but some Castrol in certain engines), and have for years. And when the cars get older, I have let the intervals go even longer. Yes, aircraft engines have more blowby. But the main reason for the oil change intervals is the lead.

Why does it need to go the prop shop? Is there something visibly wrong with it? There are guidelines for overhauls, but they are not mandatory for typical GA flying. And if there is something wrong, set up for an IRAN, not an OVERHAUL. IRAN (Inspect and Repair As Necessary) allows the shop to take it apart, inspect it, and only do what is required. An OVERHAUl requires them to replace things that might not need replacing.

I am planning my dream panel upgrade and going a similar route. 750Xi and 650Xi. Was wondering if it made more sense to put in 7" G3X on the right side, with PFD capability or an Aera 760. One purpose, I occasionally fly with a second pilot in the right seat, who sometimes flies the plane and it would be nice to have MFD and PFD over there.

One enhancement, look Left - Right - Left (in US or other left hand drive countries) before going. Traffic coming from your left is in the closer lane and more likely to be obscured. And the time to look L-R-L allows those running the "yellow" to blow through before you enter the intersection

n CA to HI is the flight where at mid point the aircraft is the furthest distance to ANY land. There are longer overwater legs, but they are closer to land through the flight. CA to Australia or JFK to SOuth Africa. I was set with 5 crews to ferry AN-2s from Lithuania to the US. They were converting the ag spray tank (removable tank on cabin floor) as aux fuel. A fuel pump would transfer to the wing tanks after you burned them down. Deal fell through as the work was not done when the principles arrived, and they had a deadline to get them out of Lithuania. I was bummed. One in that it would have been a great adventure and a great story to tell. And two, the primary pilot in each plane was going to get a Lithuanian pilot certificate, as the planes were still Lithuanian registry.

To me, LED light systems are like cell phones. Many people want the latest and greatest. But for most people, there is little benefit to upgrading every time and that skipping a couple of generations is more than enough.

And it makes it cheaper to operate as you can stop and tanker cheap fuel.