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Thanks for the tip! I'll consider that when the time comes.

Yes, my battery was moved to the tail. This aircraft has pretty much every speed mod and trick applied to it. There's no free lunch.

I'm running CG numbers right now and even based on 1.5lbs that far back it's going to seriously limit me. My wife likes to ride in the back while we leave the front passenger seat empty. As is, I can do 30lbs in the baggage compartment and 40 lbs in the second rear seat; this puts me right at the aft limit with the gear up. It's no issue if she's in the front seat, but that isn't our preferred setup.

I'm curious about installing a Garmin yaw damper to go with the GFC 500 autopilot. Any idea where the servo is physically installed and what it will do to the CG and how much weight it adds? My M20C is already pretty tail heavy which is great when it's just my wife and me, but it becomes difficult when trying to add adults to the back seat. Moving the CG any farther aft would essentially limit the back seats to children only. Thanks,

Thanks for the information and link to the other post. I'm hopeful that it might just be a microswitch or relay issue. I'll keep this thread updated as another resource for posterity.

After a few touch & gos the gear decided that it wanted to stay up on me. Fortunately the manual extension system did its thing and got the wheels down and locked. I haven't had it looked at yet to see what the cause might be. How often do these types of issues happen and is there a common failure mode? Any leads that I can pass to the A&P would be helpful in getting started in the right direction. I'll keep this thread updated as the inspection and repair goes on.

Thanks, I'll look there, but also open to replies here too.

I'm finalizing details on buying a M20C and insurance needs me to "receive a checkout in the make and model aircraft by a properly certificated flight instructor prior to sole PIC operations." Anyone in this area able to help out? Date trending toward 29-30 August. Open Pilot Warranty on the policy requires 500TT, 100 RG, 25 type. Thanks!

I'm going to buy a Tesla Cybertruck instead....way cheaper in the long run and way cooler. Thanks for all of your input. https://www.tesla.com/cybertruck

This plane is airworthy and flies at least once a month.

Are these areas easy to inspect? I have access to the plane and would like to look at these areas before I decide to hire someone for a pre-buy.

I'm looking at a 1969 M20F and I have some concerns about corrosion from an external glance. Is surface rust like this on the ring gear and engine acceptable? The nuts on the cylinders have me concerned as they are quite corroded. I believe the plane was previously based in New Orleans near the ocean. With this surface corrosion, is internal corrosion likely on the structure too? Take it or leave it? I'm considering offering 80,000 - 85,000 which is on the low end for an F model. This plane actively flies. I currently live in the desert so continued corrosion will be at a very reduced rate.

Wow, that's way bigger than I imagined.

Just saw this Youtube video of a really compact scooter. Kind of pricy, but really compact. 15-20km and 25kph isn't great, but definitely useable.

My wife and I are looking for good e-scooters to get around on when we take the plane places. Ideally 20 miles of range and lightweight. I'd like to fit two in the baggage compartment of a M20K. Any suggestions?

Very valuable context. I'm used to flying a hotrod that can sustain 8,000-10,000 ft/min at normal weights below 10,000 feet and >2,000fpm at at max gross (all engines operating...cut it in half with 1/4 engines out). I have a grand total of 20 hours in something under 1,100 horsepower....I have a lot to learn.

Well...the prop has more power turning it so it takes a bigger bite.

Higher DA also requires higher TAS for the same IAS (rotation/climb speed). In other words, that lower horsepower must accelerate the plane to a higher actual velocity.

Those climbs aren't bad actually. I'm used to flying multi-engine where all we care about is engine out climb performance, and these numbers are better that what I'm used to seeing for 3-engine climb performance in a 4-engine jet. ....of course 4-engine climb capability is much higher, but you can't count on that.

There are so many factors to balance when deciding on a plane. I'm 99% in the Mooney camp, and it's pretty much 50%/50% for me for J vs. K with a slight lead on the J side. When it comes down to it, one of the main reasons I want a plane is to travel, and taking my dogs is a part of that. Without an easy way to get them on oxygen, I'm stuck below O2 levels anyway. My wife will want to sleep and I'm not comfortable with her sleeping on O2. Sound like climb performance at my intended high DA stopovers is low, but manageable.

Thanks for the datapoint. J sounds marginal, but doable. Hopefully someone with firsthand knowledge of a K will be able to provide inputs.

Sounds okay/safe for day VMC, but not for an IFR departure. I'll have to pull some performance charts to run the numbers to see what the book says.

Any perspectives on how J models perform on takeoff at 8,000+ DA? My planned mission will likely see me transiting Gallup, NM (KGUP) or Santa Fe, NM (KSAF) fairly regularly since it's a nice 3 hour mid-point between two primary destinations. Today KGUP's DA is 8,500' and KSAF is 8,100'. How's climb performance? The highest SID out of KSAF is 310'/NM to 8,200' (field elevation is ~6,400'). My home field's DA is currently 5,300' so that will be a factor too. What I'm really trying to do here is pin down J vs K for how I plan on flying the plane. I think it's pretty obvious that a turbo will make a big difference in this case. All comments appreciated. Thanks!

It seems like me doing even the most basic due diligence was too much for him. He's not even responding to me after pushing for the logs as a "fundamental part of this process".

With multiple referrals, I'll reach out to him and see how he can help. I'm not necessarily looking to buy today, or even in 6 months so hopefully he can help me keep an eye out. Seems like buying a plane has more pitfalls than buying a house.