Hank

I've heard the same thing from other Piper pilots. After landing, one told me with wide eyes that if he'd pulled power where I did, his Cherokee would have been in the trees, "but un your plane, nothing happened!" It's the same way I was taught to land a Cessna: aim where yiu want to go, maintain correct speed and pull power when you have the field made. The difference with the Mooney is that speed control needs to be more exact, correct speed varies by actual weight for each landing, the Mooney floats a lot more, and you MUST WAIT for the Mooney to land. Ain't no forcing a Mooney to land before it's ready . . . .

Exhaust leaks have telltale gray color around them, easy to spot under the cowl.

Your girlfriend must have something that you don't . . . . My dad used to fly in and out of the original Candler Field in the 50s. It's a cool plane. Ive ridden in the back of C117s in both jump and VIP configurations. It's a long way from modern airline transportation, even for the mid-70s when I made those trips.

I generally take off and land on grass just like I do on asphalt, except I use a lot less braking on roll out. Oh, the takeoff roll may be a little longer, depending on field conditions. Full power, 70 mph, rotate. If it's wet, I try to either not go there or wait for it to dry before leaving; if I really can't wait, I take off with just me, and meet pax / baggage at a paved field hopefully nearby. My Owners Manual doesn't have any soft field or short field procedures, and my normal paved runway takeoff has worked well on 2000' grass strips. YMMV, PPL advice not a CFI, etc., etc. This is just what I do . . . .

I was based my first 7 years at an obstructed 3000' field, so I feel your pain. Go arounds are pretty easy in our planes, and I did my share. Only had one really bad bounce, at night--got the increasing PIO going and firewalled everything, hoping to clear the trees at the end. It was not a good feeling! Coming home from my first long XC, Thanksgiving weekend Saturday night . . . I had finished my insurance dual on Labor Day Weekend. All I could think at the time was "Fly the pattern. Make a normal landing. Figure it out later. Fly the pattern. Make a normal landing. Figure it out later. Fly the pattern . . . " My landing was normal, taxied in, put the plane away and unloaded. Couple days later I figured out that I was glad to be home, 3½ hour flight complete, night landing, success ATC steer around unexpected Sat. night college football TFR, just so glad to be back that I quit flying in the flare. Too bad the plane wasn't done flying! We used to level off on final at 150' agl to clear the trees on final, then go to idle and descend to the runway. I often touched down on the second stripe past the numbers [there were 13 strips on the runway; google "Mooney landing KHTW" for my only video from inside the cockpit, taken by my wife with her digital camera]. My target speed is 75 mph on short final, and I reduce it by 5 mph for every 300 lb. that I am below gross for that landing. For your J, you may want to use 75 KIAS minus 5 KIAS for every 300 lb. below gross at that point [do not use takeoff weight, on a long trip that will change]. Seems I got this formula from Don Kaye, but it works well. And from my student days, it has always been "throttle to idle when you know you have the field made." But in the Mooney, that's now from further out. By "sneaking up on landing speed," I think Anthony's intent was to make several landings, starting a little fast, and aim for a few knots slower each time. If you get too slow, you either realize you're off slope or the stall horn will squawk, then give it just a little kiss of throttle. Talk it through with your instructor before getting in the plane, then find a number that works and practice it a few more times. But realize that "the number that works" will vary with your landing weight. Good luck, have fun and fly safe!

They're still around! And not real small . . . .

I used to go from engine start to 7500 msl cruise, plane accelerated, power set and leaned in less than 15 minutes. Haven't timed it since moving back South. I'm sure results in summer will be different!

I taxi at 1000, limb at 2700, cruise and descend at 2300 low, 2400 mid and 2500 above ~7000msl. I record tach time and time off ny yoke clock for every flight, the tach is usually at or behind the clock. Let me look for a picture of my little notebook.

Minelooks good, climbs awesome and cruises above book speed . . . Jealous types say it's slow because they don't have one.

Ain't nothing wrong with a 3-blade Hartzell prop! And I make better than book speed . . . .

I make sure to have at least 5-1/2 qts for local flying, and start trips at 6 to 6-1/2 qts. There's always one in the baggage area (or a partial quart); on ling trips I make sure to have a full one. Even in my short body, there's always room for a full quart and a partial quart.

The 3-blade Hartzell on my C was dynamically balanced at install back in '03. I had that checked at annual in 2017, still at .01 ips. Great climbs, provides hugher than book cruise speeds. At my preferred travel altitudes if 7500-10,000 msl, my little C generally indicates in the mid-140s mph (often 147-148 KTAS). Not sure I believe that a 2-blade would really give 150 KTAS on 180 hp . . . .

Wristwatch works, but isn't a legal option. Use the Davtron in your yoke, put the tablet in a kneeboard--your primary nav source is up there in your panel. Tablet is for situational awareness and approach plates. You'll need to stop using it as a navigational crutch (not saying that you do, but it's very common).

I only have experience with one dangerous pilot where I used to be based. He liked whirling his RV around low, made me run for cover between hangars once, I thought he was augering in. That day he angered several people that day. Not long after, he was caught flying similarly on radar from the nearby controlled field . . .

Clear, clean freshwater, too. It's what the county uses as its water supply. Parts are almost 200' deep.

I once ran a validation study for corona treating a polypropylene part that was immediately coated with a lubricious agent. The typical delay was just a few minutes, and I had to examine several time periods up to 24 hours. The effect fades pretty quickly, then the coating will not adhere to the plastic part. This will vary with different plastics, and with different surface treatments, but I'd not expect corona treatment to last long enough for the item to reach a store, much less for you to find and buy it. It's a pretty short-term effect, but it works well for immediate use. While I know several people who seem to have one of every tool made, I do not know anyone with a plasma oven at home to corona treat their own plastic parts . . . .

Be sure to send samples of the remains to the FAA. Or is it the Smithsonian? They identify the species, as well as tracking incidents.

More like a hand in search of someone else's wallet . . . .

Well, at least you have me beat in cubic feet. With full fuel, I can carry 477 lb in my C. When I can make it all fit . . . . .

So order it now, @afward!

It's about time you took your MIL flyin! You ben married for how long now???

OMG!! The Pre-J speed record is held by a C! And two of the top three C speeds are faster than the Es . . . And the M20-S. My C is fast, but not that fast, I've only hit 186 knots in straight-and-level flight. But I don't see any rules or disclaimers in the speed record website, so maybe 1000fpm descents rule?

That's my breakfast view when the sun is up. It's nice in the evening, too. Good for canoeing and kayaking year round!

If you're gonna use the top-performing Grumman, compare the AA-5 against a top-performing Mooney Ultra, with 100KIAS more. If you're gonna use the low end of the Mooney line, compare the M20-D against an AA-1. Mooney still wins. Or put an Ultra against an AA-1 . . . . .

At least your super-dangerous canoe season is very short, limited by ice. This is off my back deck, and the large pond drains out of sight into a 44,000 acre lake that never freezes . . . .