William Munney

Minus 30k for the core charge…..which you would lose if you switched engine types. I guess you could maybe sell the old motor.

167 knots is 65% power and ROP from about 7500-11,500. I am just finishing breaking this engine in so used to ROP. Going to try 65% and 55% LOP next. The new IO 550 G is supposed to have “tuned” injectors so 25-30 degrees LOP should be fine I’m guessing. We’ll see. For 525 nm that sounds about right. Up to almost 12,000’….higher is faster.

For you 280hp owners. The cost of the STC, change in the governor and the new propeller required makes it about 30K for 30HP…….and no increase in cruise speed. It was a hard NO for me when i considered it during new engine time.

I looked at Saratogas and A36’s before I bought my Ovation. When i was being honest with myself…….I was going to have mostly just two people in there. After that realization the choices were much easier. I don’t need a turbo so Ovation it was! Upper Midwest for me so TKS is so nice. I’m giving up 5-8 knots i think but it really makes no difference at those speeds. I’m about 167 at 14.7 GPH and 170 something at 15.6. So, maybe not giving up too much.

Over $100,000 for a 4 cylinder with 180 HP. I don’t see how that’s going to work. They might make some for drones etc…… but you can blow up cheaper Lycomings in drones for……well, cheaper. I don’t know how many “new” age engine designs have been announced and then failed during my time in aviation but it’s more than a few. The Walter turbine was great until GE bought them…made a few changes…..and 5X’ed the price.

Just saw this “Art”. Thank you. I’ll put it on the list if we go GFC 500. Imports or Exports Art? Or architecture? Ha ha

So true. Just when you think you have the money for this or that…….something else will break. I knew going in on this that nearly everything on this airplane needed some attention when I bought it so now there is not much that we have not overhauled or rebuilt or at least had a very good look at…… but, on advice of several people, I have left the autopilot alone as long as it’s working. It’s honestly very smooth. I am only looking into the Garmin AP because it fits with rest of the panel and opens up further functionality with the GTN navigator and the G500 TXi. But, there is something to leaving good enough alone.

Ha! Anytime Lance. I have a son in the AF in San Antonio at Brooks Army Medical so that’s on our list when it cools down in Texas. I’ll keep you posted with a rebuild thread sometime with the details. But, finally in the flying phase now! No idea where he will pick next. I have mentioned NY City and the Hudson River Corridor, Vermont and Maine, Hilton Head, Florida and the Bahamas, Texas, Denver again, Amarillo then Santa Fe then Flagstaff and Sedona, the VFR corridors over the Grand Canyon, California and the West Coast. Mackinaw island too. So many interesting airports and small cities. He wants to land somewhere like Ohare or SFO or maybe Phoenix Sky Harbor too. I’ll have to see what they are charging in those places. We have been all over Minnesota and Wisconsin. But missed Oshkosh this year. We did most of the work on the airplane in Benson (KBBB) with Jason Doscher. Then, Mankato, Duluth, Anoka County, Osceola, Grand Marais, Brainerd, International Falls, Orr, Fargo. Wherever there are low clouds and/ or poor visibility. Ha ha. I occasionally have to put the brakes on that. Anyway, give me a shout when you get back up North. Be great to meet you. I’ll do the same when we hit Texas.

I know you better than that Lance. But, thank you. And I appreciate all your help and good advice with my project. I am an experienced pilot but this is my first ownership airplane and it needed a bunch of work as we have discussed. I have had other people here and there who have suggested I was spoiling him but my view is that I would like to take advantage of this small window in both our lives where we get to see the country together, learn a few things together and allow me reconnect to my GA roots. I would not have done it if he was a shitty kid. Parents know, even if they won’t say it, if they got a bad one. He is the most deserving young man I know and he is all smiles. I wish you could have been with us on his first 500/1 approach in the Ovation when he called out “there it is!” when the runway came into view ………and then, “ just like it’s supposed to”! Ha ha Getting a bit tired of him always filing altitudes so we can fly in the clouds for “actual IFR” but, we were all there once. Thanks again Lance.

Well. Yes and no Lance. But, I see what you are getting at. And, I don’t care for spoiled, entitled children. He has been in school through the Fall (when I bought the airplane) and Winter (when the majority of the work was done). He helped when he could driving home from school and then the additional 2.5 hours to the maintenance facility where all the work was done. He is working on his pilot ratings and an engineering degree so he’s got a lot of his own work to do. And, honestly, that is his main job right now. The large refurbishment project on the Ovation was my responsibility and the timing was dictated by the aircraft purchase date and the lead time on the new engine. My goal here was to build the safest, up to date, all- weather traveler I could afford….. not to spoil anyone. Owners can only do so much anyway. Jason Doscher at Jed-Aire did all of the work required by an AP. He has done much more work this summer despite taking classes and flying at school all summer. We are both learning to do all the required maintenance that we are allowed to do. He’s a great kid and truly appreciative of this opportunity…..or I would not have started it. Also, I have learned as much from him as he may have from me. It’s been awhile since I have done VFR flying and been in the low altitude IFR environment. He is currently working on Commercial, Multi, CFI so I am getting plenty of questions answered. Finally, I cannot convey how satisfying it has been to travel with him all over the country sharing this together. It’s a narrow window for this for us. The engine break in was done by the book and the airplane has been trouble free thus far.

Aerospace Welding in the Twin Cities area.

I just bought a factory NEW IO550G from Continental last Winter. They had factory remanufactured engines available also. Cornering the market on G cylinders?

That’s what I hear from everyone with a GFC 500. I did have one avionics shop recently advise me to wait on the GFC 500 because there have been instances of pitch excursions on long body Mooney’s. He says Garmin knows about it and has at least two test planes down there. The paint looks better in pictures. Again, it’s not terrible for GA but it’s 28 years old. Some scratches around the cowling and a few other places and some faded Claret. All the systems are 100% solid though.

Avionics people say I need an SI 275 (or G5) to run the GFC500. So add that in. The G500 TXi supports smart glide but I think the math all come from the GTN 750 TXi. Mine is a GTN…non TXi. While we are on we this, does anyone know how to get the green descent arc on the G500? Maybe a new topic for sure.

Thanks Don. I didn’t think about selling back the KFC. The maintainer says same thing…..GFC 500. Says it’s better for resale than 28 year old paint? I have seen waaaaaaaay worse paint in GA than mine but??

I think that is a GTN750 TXi function. Mine is GTN 750. ForeFlight has a nice glide ring anyway. I like the GFC for auto activation if flight parameters are exceeded. “Level” function. And VNAV for STARs. It’s a great autopilot but has had some problems in some long body Mooneys and I’m not sure if those are fixed. I think at resale time some buyers might like the KFC-150 and new paint and others might value the function of the GFC 500 over the paint. I was thinking there might be a definite preference on this site for one over the other but it doesn’t seem that way.

Finally. I would like to thank and to highly recommend Jason Doscher at Jed-Aire Aviation for his help and experience with this project. He is located in Benson , MN (KBBB). He owns the business and answers his own phones. Drop in for decades of Mooney experience and honest work and opinions. Normally I would keep this to myself but he is honestly an asset to anyone flying a Mooney……or anything else actually. I have seen a wide variety of flying machines in his hangar.

New IO 550. Painted baffles. Rebuilt air intake. Exhaust is completely overhauled as well. Firewall forward….. all new.

Old air intake now rebuilt with some carbon fiber. Spinner was originally painted white….picture is after several hours on a lathe. Factory new Continental IO 550. 2200 hours TBO and 3 year warranty. (Could be two years… can’t remember)

Interior. It’s easier taking it out than putting it all in somehow.

Current panel.

After about 20 hours with the buffer and some aggressive paste.

After too much coffee, it went from perfectly flyable to this. Carpet was bad. Seats were meh. And, it smelled from sitting mostly unused.

Ok. Here is the whole enchilada. My original intent was to buy a “ buy it and drive it” Ovation or something similar but I ended up purchasing a “fixer upper” which is another story. And, I don’t mind a project. I did the math before I bought it and I will be OK when I sell it. So far. Someone is going to get a solid, good looking, modernized airplane with a great panel, a very sharp interior, and a factory new motor etc…. And FIKI! But, at some point, the resale price would not support the money spent to do “everything”. Why I bought it: I am currently flying it all over the country with my son, who is in a university aviation program, so we can see the country together and he can get VFR and IFR experience outside his home airport environment. It’s a narrow window for us to make this happen. A couple of years. After that, I am not sure I will keep it. We’ll see. Right now, I sure am having fun flying VFR and in the low IFR environment again and he is learning real travel in an airplane in all the weather over large distances. I completely went through all the aircraft systems ( firewall forward etc……) because my son and I are in there traveling through all kinds of weather together and he will be on the insurance this Fall flying solo. Things happen in aviation, as you all know, and I just couldn’t live with myself if I had cut corners anywhere and something happened as a result. The panel had been done before I bought it. Very capable Garmin IFR. All glass. Very clean. No vacuum. G500 TXi, GTN 750 WAAS, GNS 530 WAAS, Sirius XM weather, USB ports, remote G345 transponder and audio panel. So, good there. The airplane interior really only needed carpet badly. But, to get to the carpet I had to remove the seats. Once I had the seats and the carpet out….i just kept going. It’s all wool and leather now. Finally, to answer your mission question, I am making improvements to build a safe, nice looking, all-weather traveler while keeping an eye to resale. I didn’t want to blindly throw money anywhere so I am seeking advice from you all. I currently have room in the budget for tank reseal and AP or paint. But not both. And, I don’t want to just give things away at resale. I think everyone understands that. Thanks again all.

According to the maintainer…..they are getting close to needing redone. Also, I just redid the interior and don’t want fuel in there.