eaglebkh

I wonder if he thinks the AOPA FD is considered legal? Of course, it doesn't get published nearly as often as the green book...

I have run a tank dry - almost intentionally. The pre-buy revealed a seeping panel, so right after purchase I had the panel resealed. On a long flight prior to having the reseal done, I planned to burn the first 2 hours out of the seeping tank to get it as close to empty as I felt comfortable. Taking off with full fuel (25g in each side), I approach the 2-hour point in my flight and get ready to switch tanks. Before I make the switch, the engine starts sputtering. I switched tanks and the engine came back to life. Somehow I burned 2.5 hours of fuel in just 2 (assuming 10gph). It probably would have been a little bit more tramatic if I had not already been ready to switch tanks. Thankfully my wife was very understanding of the situtaion and did not freak out too much. What caused the higher-than-expected burn rate? My guess is that it was a combo of hot summer day (more time climbing to altitude), mixture too rich, and general unfamiliarness with operating the plane I'm much better at predicting burn rates now...

If I can fit 6'6" fishing rods in my short-body E (not using the tail section), there's got to be a way to fit golf clubs in an F. Can you lay the irons across the luggage section and then position the divers so that the heads are in the hat rack and the grips are between the back passengers? I'd still be concerned about clubs being loose and able to ram through the windscreen in turbulence. But like Scott said, that's going to be pushing it on useful load. May have to leave even/odd numbered irons at home, using a 3-wood and a driver only. Heck - just use a putter, 7-iron, and 3-wood only. Would make for an interesting round. Or you could do the forbidden sharing of clubs...

Since reading this post, I noticed that my ailerons sit below my flaps ~3/4" when level. Either my flaps are up too high or my ailerons need to be adjusted up.

I have the transducer-less fuel flow indicator...

Quote: MooneyMike LASAR is a Mooney Service Center, not an engineering drafting company. It is also a company which has designed and brought to market a number of STC's for past and present Mooneys. You ask them to modify a template they created so you can have your installer save time and money?

My only experience with LASAR was not good. My avionics installer tried to work with them on getting a new instrument panel fabricated with the standard layout. We requested the template drawings and sent them what we wanted. I needed the Attitude Indicator and Compass holes to be shifted up slighty so the Aspen would have room around the sub-panel above the yoke control rod. The first story they told us was that they couldn't modify their basic drawing, and thus would not be able to move any of the holes around. Nobody over there knows how to modify a CAD drawing? LASAR then said they could cut me a panel without the AI and DG holes with a turn-around time of 2 weeks. After 4 WEEKS, my installer had recieved nothing. After a phone call to LASAR, their story changed and now it would take 2 MONTHS to get us the panel. We settled for a blank panel and cut the holes ourselves. My panel upgrade project was set back 5 weeks because of their efforts. However, I do not have any experience with any other departments of LASAR. It seems from everyone else's replies that the rest of the company has a pretty good reputation.

I've had success using the following technique - it's a modification of one I found posted somewhere else regarding Mooney hot starts. If you know you're going to be starting the engine shortly after shutdown, then leave the engine at 1000rpm when shutting off. Don't touch the throttle again until after you have it started again. For engine starts within the next half hour, it should fire right back up without any priming. Beyond that, I usually prime 1 second per 30 miuntes of down time up to 5 seconds. For example, if the plane sets for 1.5 hours, I would prime for 2 seconds (1 second of prime for every 30 minuntes of downtime beyond the initial 30 minutes). It's complicated, but it works. I often find myself not doing "hot" or "cold" starts - usually somewhere in between.

Definitely a nice 201. I like the rounded window corners, though it is not the original shape. The plane is also nicely equiped avionics-wise (S-tec 55x and GNS 430). I cannot seem to find in the description anything about a tank reseal. It's probably just me. I am also curious about the prop swap - the listing says No Damage History.

I use a dedicated Round-up sprayer and a spray bottle with Fleet Wash on my plane. With the sprayer, I have much more control over the amount and direction of water flow. A typical wash uses a 2-gal sprayer with one intermediate fill-up of water. Less water getting sprayed on the plane means less oppurtunities for corrosion.

George, Thank you for the informative post that started this thread. Thank you for writing about your concerns with Mooneyland. But really, what is there to gain from all these replies? I understand it's just your opinion and you don't mean to tell people how they should go about doing things. But if it's just your opinion, then say it once and let it rest. This is turning out like the bladders vs. tanks discussion that occured a few replies earlier. You don't have to "defend" your opinion just because someone else has a different point. Richard, I'm no moderator, but there is a line between defending your name and using this forum as a means to promote business. I think the people can decide now who is in the wrong. No doubt you have probably helped many people. This is a good forum, and I hate to see it trashed with pointless arguing and smearing. Now can we get on to meaningful discussions? Thanks...

Are any of you MAPA members (Mooney Aircraft Pilots Association)? I was considering joining but wanted to hear from some members. From a vintage owner standpoint, what are the advantages of joining? Don't know if I'll ever get around to attending the seminars they hold if I was a member. I'm already using Falcon Insurance with the AOPA discount. Is there an additional discount for MAPA members? Thanks for your input!

Seth, I just had a 300XL installed in my plane and pretty much had similar choices to make as you do. In the end, I selected the 300XL over the 430w for 2 main reasons: 1) Cost. I simply couldn't afford spending twice as much for the 430w than the 300XL. I wasn't interested in a fancy moving map, so long as I could cross-fill onto my portable. 2) No published LPV's at home base yet and 3 airports within 40nm with an ILS; 1 within 12nm. So I decided a basic IFR en route and non-precision approach GPS would be sufficient. Bottom line, I can make it home if the weather is below non-precision minimums. Aside from no WAAS, one negative regarding the non-WAAS boxes is that you'll need to install an annunciator (an extra $1k installed). I am very pleased with the 300XL so far. I have GPSS and it really flys the plane quite nicely. I had the WAAS antenna cable installed as well, so one day when I save enough money for a 430w it should be an easy swap, since I have another nav antenna not being used right now (removed KX-125 for the 300XL).

Are there more benefits than just lowering the stall speed? Besides, exact management of speed is a necessary skill for Mooney pilots - just avoid slow flight.

I am undergoing this very project right now. My avionics installer contacted LASAR to build the panel. First, they were not willing to move any of the holes around from their "standard" layout (I'm getting an Aspen EFIS, so the AI and DG holes had to be moved up slightly to make room). Instead, they wanted to just leave off the AI and DG holes and let my installer cut them. No big deal, they said it would take 2 weeks. After 4 WEEKS, nothing yet. Then the LASAR folks gave us a story about not being able to cut new panels until they get enough orders, yada yada yada. So my installer told them to just send the blank panels and he would cut them himself. I'm a little fumed about it because it really held up the whole project (now into the 8th week). LASAR must not be effected be the economy... Anyway, if you go with the local guy, just be sure you have a plan to cover the side of the new pilot-side panel, since it will be straight up and not slanted like the current panel. So there will be a resulting gap between the panel and the radio stack. Also, make sure there is ample width and depth for the new layout - some instruments are +10" long. Something I didn't know was that the starter switch is almost the size of an aluminum Coke can. I had already planned to put a bunch of switched near the starter switch, but not anymore. Lastly, you can order the new panel blueprints from LASAR and use that as an outline for cutting your own panel. Best of luck...

Eh-oh, I sense a tank vs. bladder discussion coming on...

My battery is behind the cargo section, accessible through the big square panel on the pilot side. My ELT is mounted in the hat rack, but as Adam mentioned, it could be anywhere on our "vintage" planes.

Any hope of getting that 310hp Type S conversion for the M20E??