BlueSky247

I’ll bring a landscaping tape measure if I ever get in. The website says to fly in anytime and have a look around…. CFI: Why do you have a huge tape measure hanging out of your flight bag? Me: It’s a long story…

Agreed. They also don’t mention the large cell tower off of the right side of the north end of the runway. We saw that from the air and you can see it in their media page pic. Best to stay on centerline on that departure….

Good question! There's no way they'd do something like that here with no power available to the lots. There's indications on the site map for power lines, and a lot of language in the bylaws about satellite dishes, radio antennas, utility right of way, etc. One of the building pics under the media page appears to show a power pole off to the side. But that is something I will for sure ask about if I ever manage to get in touch with someone there.

That is a great point about the emergency landing option! Thank you. I wouldn't plan on living there, just would be nice to have a place to snooze if I needed to wait out the weather or something. Or give Cousin Eddie somewhere to park his rv.

Thanks @KSMooniac that's exactly why I can't shake thinking I need to pursue this one further. All of the public airports around me have quoted 8 year waiting lists, and this airpark is only 20 minutes from my house. I figure if I can actually get in touch with someone and the pricing is reasonable, I'd put in extra soundproofing and industrial grade air scrubbers. I hope to have a couple of decades of medical eligibility left in me so not paying rent somewhere would be nice.

Yes, I pulled up the google maps satellite pic and there are a dozen buildings scattered around the field now. When I flew over on what was a beautiful day, only one hangar door was open and I saw almost no cars. I tried to visit by land but couldn't even get in and sat outside awhile with no one coming or going. Not encouraging.

Gang, Am I on drugs for thinking this place just does not look like a good idea? I was thinking maybe do a little hangar there with the studio apartment option but it is literally next to the interstate and worse, is downwind from that - guaranteeing you will always be enjoying exhaust pollution, nevermind the noise. It may not even be an option anyway since they won't answer the phone or return my call. (And yes, I realize complaining about noise in an airport thread is ironic, but I think we can all agree it's much nicer to hear the occasional GA traffic versus sitting next to a busy highway. That would put a damper on those maintenance days.) The runway is also "only" 3000' by 50'. I did a flyover last weekend and the place looked dead. https://broadriverairpark.org/

You would think that seat option would be more common! Regarding that C - I assume it was cooler out? Tanks not full? Are you both scrawny people?

True story, the furthest away field from me charged a $50 non-refundable fee to be placed on their waiting list. They made very sure I understood about the non-refundable part. My home field? "Here, scribble your name and number on the bottom of that list on the bulletin board over there and we'll get you in the system."

Thanks. I have heard, probably from here, that if you have a plane and are at the fbo often and buying their gas, sometime a hangar will magically become available.

Okay, I get it that these are considered luxury items and the underwriters need to properly mitigate risk. That doesn't keep some of the requirements from being a head scratcher. It almost seems to me that when they want to know your liquidity and overall assets picture, you could just cash purchase the plane if you wanted to liquidate those assets. Yet people often walk in and finance six figure cars with nothing more than a credit check and signature. Not the same, I know - just seems really weird to me. Hypothetically speaking - is this about what they are looking for? $100k plane, 20% down and something like 50% in liquid assets? They obviously want to make sure the first annual or any major expense isn't going to automatically render the plane abandoned. Am I understanding that right? Maybe I'm just ranting.... I spent the weekend driving around and putting my name on hangar waiting lists 8 years long...

You read my mind. I was just thinking I'd better change my focus on getting one of the newer J's, or comparable model with the upgraded panel.

@LANCECASPER Great point. I guess it would also come down to what is even usable for a certain model. With all the shops being backed up and prices in general, I was just hoping there might be an option that wouldn't be getting into second-mortgage territory.

You don’t have any other headset around to test with?

@VinceP Nice plane! Looks like you’re based in Central Florida. Would love to see it in person if you ever make it up to North Georgia.

On a related note, are Garmin the only AP option on these? I got excited about the Dynon setup after seeing a nice older mooney panel upgrade on yt but then found out about their AP holdups. That sucks.

Those look like transition pieces for an automotive-type four post lift. Sometimes needed for low riding sports cars.

Apologies for the newbie question. I see a lot of people assisting on annuals and maintenance work but when it comes to avionics, it seems like that is a complete no-go zone. Is that due to FAA issues, shops not wanting to debug amatuer work, or just general apprehension? Not trying to be a cheapskate or dismiss how critical these systems are for safety, but when the experimental guys can put in the same gear for a third of the price, there has to be something we can do on the certified side to help with the overall expense of modernizing.

Not a Mooney but had to share this view off the wing from the trainer this week. Times like these make the hour drive to the strip after a long workday worth it.

Lol! That’s awesome. One of the trainers I fly has an early version of glass panel and it’s got a noticeable delay on the readout. Drives me crazy. Long live analog!

Thanks again, everyone. I was originally hoping to save up and go cash on a C or E, but after thinking about how long I hope to be flying, and being a "cry once" kind of guy, I've decided to look into getting a loan for a J. Won't be able to justify the fancy panel'ed ones, but there's still a lot of reasonably updated ones out there. Maybe by the time I'm ready to upgrade the panel, they'll have that emergency autoland option available.

Bringing this one back up to thank the folks that recommended Dorr. I've been on the fence on whether to pay cash or finance and it would be good to get a sense from them where things are in aircraft loans this year.

Thanks everybody for all the feedback. Really appreciate the variety of options. I agree that finding a cared-for bird is more important than focusing on one specific generation or set of options. But if I'm understanding the specifics right, I should be looking for a J with extra tanks and a piss hose. Is that right?

We’re cleaning a new nest out of the trainer I’m using every week. Birds are persistent!

64 gallons sounds like a great compliment to a Bladder Buster Big Gulp.