00-Negative

The $3k salvage M20E I bought 6 months ago is getting more valuable by the day.

I mentioned the seat rollers going from $10.64 in 2024 to $116.57 in October 2025 in another thread recently. I guess the fine folks at LASAR read that thread and didn't like us complaining and want to teach us a lesson. They have since raised the price even higher to $139.89 per each seat roller. What LASAR is doing here is absolutely harmful to the Mooney community and I believe that any financial contribution to them only contributes to making Mooney parts harder to obtain. -David

This. My short body E with passengers and baggage in the rear ends up with an uncomfortable deck angle before it's ready to land with full flaps. Half flaps yield much better results when I have weight in the back seats and baggage. Also I think much better on the airframe and landing gear to touchdown lightly 5mph faster than to plunk down at a slower speed. The landing characteristics of my plane vary widely depending on wind and weight distribution. -David

The final product uses 1/8" silicone baffle seal as suggested. I've replaced the seal 2x. After that flight, my A&P and I replaced the worn seal with the same material that was already in place which is a thinner, more flexible rubber material. I did find the original broken piece of seal behind the air filter. The first seal we made lasted less than 100 hours and I found it cracking again on the top. I then used the 1/8" silicone baffle material which was trimmed to fit perfectly in the opening without bending or stressing the seal material but still touching the side walls of the RAM opening with the door fully closed. The previous thinner seal material was cut slightly oversized and flexed against the side walls with the door closed which caused it to crack in short time. The 1/8" baffle material will not allow flexion in such a short gap, so it will need to be trimmed absolutely perfectly. As mentioned in the thread above, I had elevated silicone levels in my oil analyses through the first few months of owning my plane which I attributed it to new silicone rocker cover seals, push rod seals, air filter had not been changed in 2-3 years, replacing worn intake accordian boot, and other such overlooked maintenance items through the first several months of ownership. After the second RAM air door seal, my silicone levels came down. The ram air door can be removed easily without removing lower cowl or disconnecting anything. Remove the air filter and open the RAM air door nearly all the way. You can then access either 2 or 3 round head machine screws on the back of the ram air door and slide the door off of the tongue that holds it in place. There are flush rivets holding the seal in place. My A&P told me to drill out the rivets, cut a new seal, come back and we'll put it back together and re-install. I went to my shop and completely shredded the thing with terrible technique and ignorance about rivets. So we then fabricated a new door with a new seal. The RAM air door can easily be reproduced with hand tools. It might be a good idea while you're doing this to fabricate a completed and painted 2nd door with a new seal in place. I have compiled a hangar full of backups like this. I can remove and replace that RAM air door in a few minutes. But to remove, drill out the rivets, cut a seal, and re-install (If I have the materials on hand) will take a few hours which can delay or cancel a trip. I flew to Galveston that weekend for the competition, but it was eating at me. -David

Is there a way to do what's pictured below? A guy sent me this picture of his modification for Starlink Mini. He went through his country's aviation authority (not sure what country) for what sounds like a simple approval. I asked him for a few details , but he hasn't responded yet. I have an extra baggage door for my M20E that I can modify and keep the original intact. I also have a very reasonable A&P/IA that is interested in finding a way. By the time I got through any STC or other FAA routes, Starlink or a competitor may have developed a different product making this modification useless. It doesn't have to be plexiglass. I would rather use a carbon fiber panel or fiberglass in matching white so it wouldn't be noticeable. -David

@Sabremech Is there a path to FAA approval of those blocks? If so, are you pursuing it? Also of note- I purchased a new down-lock block from LASAR last year and have not installed it on my plane yet. It looks exactly like the blocks referenced by the FAA letter. It is anodized black CNC'd aluminum. Almost as though the good folks at LASAR got you shut down, then copied your design and methodology. I would rather have your block on my plane over LASAR's. And I'm not just sucking up because I want your cowl for my E. Or am I... -David

You can Google this topic and the letter that the FAA sent out to Mooney owners that had possibly installed this part can be found. I read as much as I could on this topic but didn't want to ask any questions out loud as it seemed sensitive. The guy that developed this part is a real asset to the Mooney community, especially vintage Mooneys. -David

Crap! I switched about a year ago and started putting LPS everywhere. I think it was something I read on MS that made me switch. And LPS-2 smells better! -David

I think that's exactly what's happening right now. But I don't think LASAR's model is sustainable. They're essentially pricing out vintage Money owners. I, for one, well not spend essentially >1% of my plane's value on plastic seat rollers. LASAR seems to be targeting the much higher valued Mooneys in the fleet. But those Mooneys represent a much smaller number and probably will need far fewer parts over the next decade. With the astronomical increase in parts pricing, I think it will push down the resale value of all Mooneys.

Is there any place for a rust encapsulator or rust converter on an airplane? https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-rust-encapsulator-platinum.html

Someone here mentioned that LASAR had the seat rollers out of stock. Evidently they listened and have now updated their stock. I purchased new rollers for my plane last year. In the screenshot, you can see today's price and also my invoice from 1/2024 to the right. Quite the price increase. I would like to think this is nothing more than a human decimal error, but I suspect it is not. This coincides with other updated pricing I've seen with LASAR. The sad truth is, I think we are far better off if Mooney shutters for good. Other orphaned airplane owners referenced earlier in this thread have fared far better than we will with LASAR in place. Some folks think that investing in LASAR's success will help protect the value of their Mooney. I think that increasing part costs by 1000% will quickly devalue the fleet. I think what LASAR is not telling us is that this deal is happening regardless of contributions to the Mooney Assurance program. I just don't know if their plan for profitability is well thought-out considering it's on the backs of the cheapest bastards in aviation.

I just did my pilot side. I used the CAD files available in the downloads section. I sent the file unchanged to https://sendcutsend.com/ and for around $120 I had a powder coated panel at my doorstop within a few days. Process probably took me probably 30 hours. I spent a lot of time removing old wiring harnesses for old radios, marker beacon systems, etc that are no longer in the plane. I needed to replace oil temp probe and EGT gauge. I found my 6lb backup navcom tray wasn't properly secured and easily moved up and down, so I fixed that. I replaced old vacuum tubing, scat tubing, pitot & static tubing. Rerouted random ground wires and spent a lot of time cleaning up and routing and securing everything behind the panel. Now it doesn't look like a couple of 6 year olds put my plane together. The only maintenance induced failure I encountered was when I dropped my freshly overhauled directional gyro on the ground. I still have a few minor things I need to do on the panel. Worth it. And future upgrades (G5s, JPI edm 900) will be much easier. Here are before/after pics. You can see the new panel makes my plane much faster. -David

This is the way. -David

Exactly where I stand. Could not have stated it better. Easily in for $5k. -David

I live about an hour away from Pineville, LA. That airport is in a state of advanced decay. Location is only 5 miles or so from a class Delta airport in Alexandria, LA. The population and economic growth in that area seems to be moving toward Pineville and shrinking in Alexandria which is probably why you're reading about it. Pineville recently had the single runway closed for resurfacing. It took 6 months. Otherwise the rest of the airport property is abysmal at best. On the other hand, my home airport which is much more rural, much less traffic and has much less money, had our runway resurfaced in 2 weeks. We've gotten new lighting, VASI lights, and our T-hangars are $63/month. I think it's a reflection of the airport manager. -David