Hank

Insist on a tapered 2" cushion, for improved visibility over the cowling. When I bought it during my insurance dual, my landings immediately improved. My wife sits on two stacked chairs cushions, so the thickness won't bother either of us.

Lots of value in ignoring FAA and FCC rules. The regulations clearly say you're supposed to include your tail number, and the AIM specifically says to not use aircraft type and color, just as it says to not call "any traffic in the area, please advise." But hey, go ahead and choose which regs you follow and which ones you ignore. But you then lose the right to complain when I choose to ignore a reg that you choose to follow.

I don't know about the insurance market for newbies right now, but @Parker_Woodruff sure does. When I bought my Mooney before my hard plastic PPL came in the mail, my broker (not Parker) could only find ONE underwriter willing to insure me, so I accepted, wrote the check and couldn't actually fly the wings off of the Mooney. But I learned a lot, went lots of places, and had a lot of fun! My 1970 C, with electric gear & flaps, runs < 2AMU for annual, plus another 10-15% for pilot static check every two years. My direct operating cost is just under 9 gal/hr fuel, and 12-15 hours/quart of oil. That is for flying at 170 mph; slow down, and the fuel burn will also decrease. At current $5.60/gal, that's $50/hour, plus another ~60 cents for oil. Ain't no Piper gonna fly for $20/hour. Go ahead, get the Mooney, pay the first year insurance and fly at least 100 hours. You'll be shocked at how far and wide you will travel,doing that, and your insurance rates will come down. Then start working on Instruments, the 100+ hours of flying places will really help with the training as you will know how the plane responds, and what performance to expect. The thing to watch is not Operating expenses, but the Cost of Ownership--what does it cost to keep the plane ready to fly, before you actually pump fuel and start the engine. Hangar / tie down Annual (see above) Pilot Static Inspection GPS updates Software? ForeFlight charges annually, and only runs on cellular iPad/iPhone. Avare is free, and runs great on my $189 Samsung wifi-only tablet. Are you a fruit fan? I'm not. Then there's the Occasionals--tires, batteries, seals, spark plugs, etc. And repairs. Always remember that upgrading the panel, instruments, interior and paint are optional. Have fun! Get the Mooney! Train hard, fly often and stay safe!

I thought they were all originally on the floor before some moved to the dash, 9nly to be replaced by keys in the dash (which mostly moved to the steering column). New cars have returned to push button start--my car on the dash, my truck beside the shifter o pn the floor (I think).

I went into a Towered field with limited commercial service a few years back. As I was approaching midfield, per Tower about 4-5 miles out on downwind, they asked if I could make a short approach for incoming jet traffic (not yet visible). So I reduced throttle, dropped gear, turned base not far beyond the threshold (you can lose a lot of altitude on a 4-mile base leg, especially when you'll have < 1/2 mile final), turned final, landed, taxied about a mile and a half to the ramp off the approach end, parked, got out and was unloading baggage when I looked up and saw the jet on final . . . . Sometimes it's all about expectations. I've also shared the pattern with turboprop twins and business jets, listening to their calls as they approached, making my own and coordinating landing with them based on who got there first. I landed before the twin, who entered the pattern well behind me, and watched the jet fly a constant-banked downwind / base / final as i was enterinf downwind; he actually paused his taxi to the ramp to watch my touchdown, before i turned in a different direction, Be clear, be polite, and work things out--that's why we have radios. If the other guy doesn't have a radio or isn't using it, do whatever is safest, which may be landing and may be leaving the pattern, flying a 2-minute 360 and starting over again. Remember, you aren't right because it's you; the other guy isn't wrong because he's him; and all traffic won't show up on your ADS-B (like me! ).

I really enjoyed having engine heat on a cellular switch when I was in WV. My coldest departure was a breakfast run, 8°F. My wife stayed in bed that morning. Wish I could remember the initial climb rate, but my God the deck angle was steep!

While I agree with @Fritz1's approach, it doesn't do a whole lot for taking a trip. Sure, it tells me that i can make the trip out tomorrow, but doesn't do much for advising on the trip back several days later. So I'm driving today in beautiful VFR weather, because SC is gonna be stormy on Monday and tough to get across. Plus I don't really want to load the plane in heavy rain to fly back . .

Wonder how it would work stuck in the window behind the pilot seat?

Almost all airports have two runways; even one-way airports generally use one for landing and the other for takeoff. At an uncontrolled field, the "active" runway is the one I just used, the next guy gets to choose his own active runway. If it bothers you, just call, "XXX Field traffic, Mooney 123 is clear" when you pull off so that anyone waiting will know you're out of the way. I'm lazy, that's short, and it's finding its way out of my radio more and more often.

My first tailwind landing ever, and in my Mooney, was when I listened to an airport advisory instead of looking at the windsock for myself. Those "advisories" are only advisory in nature, you don't have to follow them! Now I pick a runway, enter downwind, look for a windsock, and compare my GPS groundspeed with the Airspeed Indicator--if the AI is lower, then I'm on upwind. My IA is at an uncontrolled field, Rwy 9 & 27. I dare you to say "two seven" in two syllables . . . .

I'm thinking hard about buying one when my RG35-ACX needs replacement. Yaay, @EarthX Inc! Go Approval! Everything I have except the GPS and radios will run without power anyway, and I can crank the gear down by hand if needed (BTDT, nobody gave me a t shirt). On the other hand, getting 25 lb off of my firewall is a great benefit to both useful load and CG!

I "found" my M20-C as I was beginning the XC phase of my PPL. It was a distraction, but I put it out of my mind until I finished up and had that great temporary license in my hand. THEN I got serious with the seller, did the test flight, inspection, rather more paperwork than I had expected, and five weeks after my check ride, I was a Mooney owner. Hope everything works out for you! Go ahead and start plane shopping, it will likely take you a while to find a good one. And finish up thise last nagging flight requirements. While the solo felt great, and was a huge stepping stone and confidence boost, finishing that first solo XC made me feel like a real pilot. Just wait for that Long XC! Fun times!

I'll take your word on it--my MAPA notebook is downstairs. But it's still a data point for the OP.

Every M20-C built beginning in 1969 has a factory six pack. That's 1969-1977. Many of the older ones have been updated. Mooneys are great for Instrument training. I did that in my C, and yes, fuel burn is much lower. My C will make the same trip as friends in a 172, saving about 30% of their flight time on 10% less fuel; if I slow down and run with them, fuel savings would be significantly more! Good luck with everything! Let us know how you do.

Don't trust those commercial checklists. Spend an evening creating your own from the Owners Manual, it will force you to read everything several times and look for those important speeds, then find the power settings in the Performance Tables. Don't put them into the first draft checklist, just pencil them in. With your Mooney CFI, you should confirm them in your plane, and write down anything you find that's different. Another benefit to home-rolled checklists is that you can customize them to your exact instruments, and rearrange things to match your flow patterns. My Manual said to turn on radios, then set them, but a previous owner had put in an Avionics Master, so all that Radio On and Off stuff went away. For printing them out to be useful, look up booklet printing in your word processor of choice; I printed mine in landscape mode, double-sided, with my single-sided printer--it took a couple of tries to get it right. But it is MY checklist, and it suits MY PLANE. There are two overriding considerations: Fly safe! Have fun

Just be aware that 150 hours in an N20-J is a LOT more distance and travel than in a Sierra . . . Learn the new sight picture. Learn what the numbers are for your plane--MP/RPM/Mixture for pattern work, base leg, final, short final; instrument approaches, speed at IAF & FAF; cruise performance at various altitudes, power on descents, and how to slow down after descent to enter the pattern. The last one there took me the longest. I used to plan to be at pattern altitude 3-5 miles from the field, so that I could slow down under my 125mph flap speed before entering downwind. With practice and experience, I figured out how to do it with a much smaller buffer, but did turn downwind just over flapspeed a few times . . . Congratulations on your "new" plane! Maybe we will meet up at some airport somewhere.

As you've already pointed out, it depends on what you are going to land on. Pasture, grassy fields, beach, lakeshore, dirt road--gear down. freshly-ploughed field, tall beans, fields with ditches / fences--gear up trees, water [lake or ocean]--gear up frozen ground with little growth--gear down But regardless of thoughts in advance, you'll still need to evaluate the situation if it happens and make a choice . . . .

After landing, while holding the throttle to idle, I reach out a finger and raise the flaps. To reach the Gear switch, I have to let go and reach up to the top of the panel. Raising the flaps reduces lift and puts weight on the tires. I prefer to not brake until slowing to 50 mph. So far, no flat spots that I'm aware of in 17 years of doing this.

No, it's just three solid black lines.

Huh???

Old Mooneys have small rudder, stopping the horizontal stabilizer. Around 1965 or 66 or so, the rudder was pushed all the way to the bottom of the vertical stabilizer. So not exactly a "more modern nose wheel airplane. "

This is due to Risk Homeostasis, and is why auto insurers quit giving discounts for ABS brakes.

That's the original location on my C. Original cowling with LASAR guppy mouth closure.

Do you think the bag is impact-rated to fall from your plane with burning stuff in it and not bust open when it hits the ground / trees / road / a building, scattering flaming debris around? And how do you get that burning scooter battery in the baggage area up to the storm window anyway???

So your panel-mounted GPS reboots itself, or the VOR head flatlines itself during the approach. I can see flying the approach pattern of your GPS approach using your tablet, but where do you get the vertical component? Does your tablet indicate the glideslope? Mine doesn't.