Hank

@Ned Gravel, the Owners Manual for my 1970 C is similar: So there is only one Gear Speed and only one Flap Speed. Makes it easy to remember! The Flap Speed = 125 mph also matches the white stripe on the Airspeed Indicator.

Yeah, Auburn just has a piddly little 5250 x 100 runway with ILS for the University and corporate jets. And a 4000 x 75 crosswind runway. And two large ramps (saw Friday the signs say RAMP to the east and APRON to the west). Full and self-service fuel. Major repairs. Half mile to the interstate, two miles to major shopping and hotels . . . . But LA is nowhere near as scenic as WNC. If I can get everything done, I'll try to make training in Hickory. But just started annual with a freshly-wonky vacuum pump . . . . Next year may be the year for me instead. Seems like I've said that before.

Lots of places to eat in Auburn, but nothing at the airport. It's a whole 15 minute flight fir me, let me know when you're coming and I'll meet you there.

I found a similar spreadsheet and added a second page to it with a variety of loading configurations. It was simple to figure several different passenger / baggage loadings and add line for 50, 40, 30 and 20 gal for each to cover landings and partial fuel trips. I keep a printout of this in the plane; those scenarios that are out of CG are in red for quick reference. In the event that anyone asks (zero occurences since purchase in June 2007), it's there. More importantly, it was quite beneficial when learning the aircraft. A quick glance confirmed that I was good, or told me to calculate it if it was close. It also let me compare flight characteristics to the loading when reflecting afterwards. So play with the spreadsheet and build a tabke of results. You may have some happy surprises!

Hope ya'll had a good time. Waiting for pictures, videos and PIREPs! Sorry I missed out on meeting everyone, too.

Sorry, I don't have pictures. The IA did that part while I was at work.

That, and put the wheels down . . . .

My coldest departure was 8°F (-13°C), memorable because my wife stayed home that morning; I don't recall temps aloft. All I did was run Cabin Heat wide open for a few minutes before pushing it half closed and opening Cabin Air aboit halfway. And boy did I climb!

Don, I have a friend with experience using the little lithium jumpers for dead batteries. He uses his truck infrequently and jumps it often with the little pack. Ain't technology great?

My C is redlined 2000-2250. When flying low on shirt trips, I use 23"/2300. But check your Manual and look at the stripes on the tach.

My cowl flap procedure is even simpler than the gear. Gear: down at FAF or when glideslope is dot-and-a-half high; or VFR, on downwind, gear down abeam my intended point of landing. Grab the white knob, pull out gently, flip to Down position and check green light, then recheck floor indicator on short final. Cowl flaps: never touch 'em, they were fixed at the factory Trim is manual wheel below the seat. Flaps is an electric push-and-hold while they move, which I can reach with a finger whike holding the throttle to Idle. Simple! So are my hot starts . . . .

There's no debate. My Owner's Manual says "FLAPS--Takeoff or as desired." So I do what I want every time.

Know someone with a 3D printer? Or a talented sheet metal guy? Owner-produced may be your best bet. Assuming it's the little box that holds the switches to the yoke and not a switch itself.

I've seen people use the weight of the plane to compress the discs on the mains, but the nose is difficult without the tool. The nice guy I rented from has retired, hangartoolbox.com The bad part is the shipping cost, the tools are bulky and heavy. Good luck, John, and enjoy lunch tomorrow!

@Fred_2O, note that @Marauder flies an F model . . . I use the same procedure in my electric gear C, except I generally fly towards the IAF at 23"/2300, turning on course and slowing to 105-110 mph with Takeoff Flaps. At the FAF, I drop gear to descend; or when the glideslope comes alive and the needle falls to 1-1/2 dots high. Flap speed = 125 mph Gear speed = 120 mph

And yes, the LED is plenty bright . . .

This is what mine looked like when I installed the new Whelen LED unit. The old one was not a true coffee grinder, just a large high-voltage flasher that went variable intermittent on the flashes. In this picture, the trim ring has already been moved to the new unit to prep it for install. P.S.--all work done sitting on the concrete floor shown above. Hard it was, but not cold during June in WV. I wrote down the part number on the label of the old one, and the nice sales guy at the Whelen booth at Tornado n Fun laughed, said "wow, that's old" and took me to a dealer's booth to purchase the correct unit--"you need this one." Great way to shop! It was also the last, very slow, CC transaction from that hangar before all hell broke loose . . . . .

Nice!! Well made, heavy duty and John Deere green!

Missing the 2-1/2 drive to ATL plus 2 hours of Security Theater helps beat the airlines, too, even at Mach 0.24. My seat cost is also less, especially when I use more than one.

Welcome, @AirPirate! Good Cs are really good planes. No need to discuss Cs that aren't good . . . . The whole key to flying and landing a Mooney well is accuracy and speed control. When I push for 500 fpm descents, my IAS climbs almost immediately to 170-175 mph and stays there until I reduce descent rate. Make the plane do what you want and it will reward you; give it her head and all bets are off. Things happen around here quickly enough that you won't be the FNG for too long! If you have any particular questions, feel free to ask. There are some knowledgeable C owners here, and some who know lots about instruments, installed equipment, etc.

I got a Samsung Galaxy Tab A, wifi model. for Christmas a year ago for less than $200. Then I bought two 64GB memory cards for $35 and out one in it and the ither in my Samsung phone. Works great flying with Avare and driving with googlemaps, just do the planning at home, in a hotel / FBO / McDonald's parking lot and it's good to go.

As a new pilot and new Mooney owner (just a month after completing the insurance dual), the program and books were a godsend! So was flying with a CFI with thousands of hours in the same model Mooney. If you're a new owner, go. If you're a new pilot, go very soon.

Some ways are easier than others, but none are graceful . . . . .

It was less than a year after finishing IFR, call it Jan 2010 or 11. Lots of paper still around.

I've never been given a published Departure. But someone in PA instructed me to go to the East Texas VOR [no identifier], then complained at how long I took looking for it with a flashlight on a paper chart so I could enter the identifier into the G430W . . . . Because I hadn't taxied out yet, I stayed polite to avoid the penalty box, but I certainly had unkind thoughts. Just one more of many, many confirmations that I'm glad I was raised in the South and live here again!