N57039

Very observant. It is a Macauley propeller. The paint shop did an excellent job with the paint, but did not get the decal right. I did not make him change those. I guess I'd better order some new proper decals and make it right.

My 1984 Mooney M20J based at KCVC Covington, GA is for sale due to a move to a larger plane. Full details and pictures can be found at this site: www.mooneym20j.com

Been doing this for a number of years. Best way is with the engine leaned as much as you can and still get to 1800 rpm. The EGT's will rise nicely as each mag in turn is checked. Even better is to do this LOP in the air. Many of us do a LOP mag check in the air and don't bother on the ground. The check under load at higher altitude is a much tougher test of the mags performance.

Climb at WOT (wide open throttle) 2700 rpm. Lean as you climb to maintain the same EGT you had as you took off. At cruise dial the prop back to 2500 (or something in that range that is smooth.) Pull red handle to LOP. (Leave throttle pushed to firewall and get whatever MP you can) Today I was 20 dF LOP at 5,000' and burning 9.7 gph; later in the flight I climbed to 7,000' and went to 5 - 10 dF LOP and was burning about 9.3 gph. Altitudes selected based on winds (and two passengers with head colds). All other things being equal I'll go higher. 12,000' is nice and you be burning about 8 gph. Easy, huh. I do not have GAMI's and many IO360s work just fine LOP without them.

As a side point, let me make a comment about having two pilots in the cockpit. With proper briefings and CRM (cockpit/crew resource mahagement) having two pilots can be a huge stress and workload reducer. Although the press seems to forget, Sully had a FO workig his butt off and helping to make that successful water landing. Besides my Mooney I do fly planes that require two pilots, andthe additional workload is very noticeable when I am flying my Mooney alone IFR. So if you are flying with another pilot or even a non-pilot that is interested, I suggest briefing a little before departure about what your right seat passenger can do. Especially in an emergency you want to be able to use all the resources possible.

I was a 600 hour glider pilot when I got a power rating and eventually bought a Mooney. It's great for basic stick & rudder skills, learning about micrometeorology, and a lot of fun. When a had a double mag failure at 9,000' a few years ago, I greased a landing on an airstrip that ATC helped me find. I wasn't thinking about it at the time, but it was just basic glider energy management. I encourage all of you to get some glider time if you can.

This makes no sense at all...that being that a controller missed both giving you a clearance limit and hearing you read one back. If you really want to know, call the tower manager and ask him/her to review the tape. The controller MAY have screwed up (the tape would verify that); you DEFINI TELY screwed up if you left without a clearance limit. The VFR thing is unlikely assumning you were at an IFR altitude enroute and ATC didn' scream at you. And most controllers giving you a clearance are in a windowless room, perhaps hundreds of miles away, and they neither know nor care if its VMC or IMC on your departure. Oh, BTW, file a NASA form before you call the tower.

I'm running out of ratings to get. This one has to be next. Have fun on the checkride.

My wife and I are flying from Altanta area down to St. Augustine, FL for the long weekend. Another couple we know has a condo down there and invited us. It'll be a nice break.

I followed the same procedure Scott described with new Lycoming steel cylinders. Worked great. My oil then and now is Phillips XC 15W-50 (the blue bottle stuff).

To be precise there is a 500 hour inspection for the D mag; it isn't a TBO time. OTOH, it is VERY important to do it. I just had mine done a few months ago, and a crack was found in the main block. That could lead to total failure. I also had an incident a few years ago where both sets of points went to zero gap in a 10 second time span (according to my JPI download). That shut the engine down at 9000' and led to an exciting and unplanned but uneventful landing. Maintain that mag!

I'm a very happy 800 user. One comment about the %HP. In LOP operations the number displayed is meaningless. The unit gives a choice of %HP or RPM in the same display place. I only cruise LOP, so I just leave it on RPM and therefore have a more accurate engine speed indication than the old mechanical tach.

Could be a temperature probe for an electric OAT.

As a relatively low time GA pilot (mostly Mooney and glider hours) who had the chance to transition to legacy Learjets and Falcon 20, I had to laugh at the comment that GA aircraft could be easier to fly than a fighter. For sure you can't not consider the systems aspect, but the speed difference makes all the difference. Approaches, en route planning, even weather avoidence occur in slow motion in the Mooney in comparison to a humble subsonic jet. My aviation hat is off you you military pilots and your flying skills. Thank you for your service.

It's time for my Bendix D3000 duplex mag 500 hour inspection. I want to send it out to a repair station with specific experience with this mag. At one time I was told of one shop west of Ft. Worth, TX and one in Rockford, Il that had this expertise, but I lost the information. Does anyone know either of these shops or have another that can do this right? Thanks