Jeff Uphoff

I usually feel the same way in my Ovation. In general, I've only found the heat to be lacking on really cold winter days well up into the teens where it's simply not making the power of its turbocharged brethren. That said, my feet still get cold at other times because a) I usually feel cold compared to most people, especially in the extremities, and b) it just doesn't blow that direction. --Up.

Ouch. Weather wasn’t the best around these parts yesterday.

I spent nearly a year spanning 2023-2024 commuting from KROA into the DC area, using mostly KHEF and KIAD, but occasionally others--KJYO, KGAI, KBWI, and even KCGS, which is inside the "no-fly zone" FRZ. If you're going around, but not into, the DC area, plan on heading northbound up the east side of the SFRA and southbound down the west side. There are ways to "cheat" and go opposite the flow (to avoid weather, mountains at night, whatever)--my typical one between the NYC area and KCHO was to file KRIC as my destination and KCHO my alternate, which always got me east-side routing, even southbound, and then once I was mostly past DC, I'd ask to "divert" to my alternate. Expect your altitude to be constrained passing south of the SFRA for KDCA traffic and on the west side for KIAD's. The through routes around the SFRA are busy airspace but IMO not crazily so. Note that even if you're going by (and not into) the DC area, if you're flying VFR within 60nm of the DCA VOR, 91.161 requires you take special training. See https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-91/subpart-B/subject-group-ECFR4d5279ba676bedc/section-91.161. Sites like AOPA and faasafety.gov can steer you to the training. If you're going into the DC area, bring your A game. Take all the training you can find for the SFRA. (I have a FRZ PIN to go inside the "no-fly zone" to places like KCGS, and that's training and vetting beyond all the rest.) I mostly use KHEF there but have used KIAD ($$) a bunch, too, and it's fun to mix it up with the big iron there--you just fly really fast! (Note: KIAD almost feels cheap, fees-wise, compared to KBWI!) Under no circumstances do I ever fly in/out of the SFRA VFR--I'm an IFR-only guy there. I've been flying around DC's airspace since the mid-90s and so am pretty used to it. (9/11 messed it up considerably.) Happy to try to answer any specific questions... --Up.

Yup. I've had a 210HP TSIO-360 231 and a 310HP IO-550 Ovation, and pulling back and flying LOP, I can get the Ovation down to around the 231's burn at a similar speed and still fly comfortably in the low/mid teens (where I mostly flew the 231 as well). But WOW is that extra 100HP nice to have on takeoff and climbout from within this bowl of mountains I'm surrounded by! --Up.

I'm glad I did the C -> K -> R progression. Each model has been great for teaching me how to deal with something fundamental and preparing me for the next level: C: Mooneys in general, owning/flying a retractable. K: Flying at high altitude, operating a complex engine, and managing energy (my K had no speed brakes). R: Flying big-bore horsepower (310) and a relatively heavy plane, upgrading to (partial) glass. Don't know that I'll go another level up from the R--it suits my current mission too perfectly (mostly several-hundred-mile trips east of the Mississippi). --Up.

I COMPLETELY agree with Adam here. I bought my first Mooney in '99, and I'm on my third one now, having logged some 2000 hours across a '65 M20C, an '83 M20K/231, and now a '00 M20R. Gear maintenance costs have been next to nonexistent. IIRC, my old Johnson-bar M20C had something like a 100-hour recurring AD for checking the preloads on the manual gear, but that's been about it for gear-specific mx. My M20K and M20R both came with a fresh set of donuts because the seller's hadn't cleared pre-buy, so I've never even had to replace those on my own dime; it's been just regular annual inspections and lubrication for the gear in both those planes. I've spent FAR more chasing/fixing things like avionics gremlins than I have on gear maintenance. --Up.

Already have an order in with him! Thanks, y’all! —Up.

I'm curious why the difference on STC need between these and Rosen's...? --Up.

Oh, do tell--what are the @DonMuncy units? --Up.

My cigarette-lighter plug circuit kept failing and so it didn't work anyway. Installing a panel dual-USB plug replaced that circuitry and gave me something useful. --Up.

I'm looking at Rosen visors for my 2000 M20R Ovation (built as an Ovation2, since converted to a 3). The Rosen page says: "Mooney Skyvisor System (fits Aircraft years 1968-1999)" Looking at the STC, which was updated in 2004, it lists the various covered models without any sort of end-date restriction, and M20R is included. So...by the STC, my Ovation looks covered, but...is there a fit issue of some sort with post-1999 aircraft? Thanks! --Up.

Replacing my cigarette-lighter plug with a dual-USB (A & C) charging port so I no longer have to worry about battery levels in my ForeFlight iPad & Sentry Plus on long trips. (Battery-range anxiety isn't just for EV owners!) --Up.

I like it because I'm based at an airport (KROA) that's literally in a bowl, surrounded on all sides by mountains--and with continued unfriendly terrain to most points southwest, west, and north. I want max climb capability to at least 5-6k to get clear and gain options. The 310HP is outstanding for that. --Up.

This past weekend, I flew my 310HP Ovation from Salem, OR to Roanoke, VA at 15k' in under 11 hours, with one stop. Burned 125 gallons total. (A bit of tailwind helped.) Damn but this plane is efficient; I was LOP burning 11 GPH and truing low/mid 170s. (This was my first transcontinental round trip since selling my 231 years ago, which I used to commute CA<->VA in. It was my 25th transcontinental run overall.) --Up.

I landed my old M20C in 36G42 straight down the runway at WJF once. I've never carried so much power down final! After landing, things got worse, and I watched a Cessna get blown over onto a wingtip and its prop, and a Champ wind up on its back, so I rented a car and drove home to San Jose! --Up.