Hank

Fly through turbulent air with half tanks. Whatever is in them will get thoroughly mixed up and sent out the pickup tube . . .

Mooniac! LASAR sells tshirts with that on the chest . . . .

Welcome, Chris! Looks like you made a good airplane choice. Cs are the best! I can't help much with part numbers off the top of my head, but rebuilding the carb heat box will really help engine management and cruise speed. I rebuilt mine, replaced the muffler with a hand-sized hole and did some touchup repairs on the doghouse and my indicated airspeed increased by 10 mph at altitude and 15 mph down low. Just Tuesday, I made a fuel run after work and was showing 155 mph at 1500 msl running 23"/2500. Ain't Mooneys great? Your time will be here soon. Please find a good, experienced Mooney instructor rather than a good instructor with "some Mooney time," it will pay off greatly. Check into the Mooney Aircraft Pilots Assn [www.mooneypilots.com] and see when their Pilot Proficiency Program will be out west [it moves around the country 5-6 times per year]. It's a great way to quickly get comfortable in your airplane, in 2½ days of ground school and 4 hours' flight time in your airplane with a very experienced Mooney instructor. Welcome aboard, hope to see you around!

That could all be done with a TIMER. But a CLOCK is needed for IFR releases and further clearances. "If not off the ground by 20 minutes past the hour, release is canceled--call me back", etc., when departing non-towered fields under IFR.

Just be aware that carb ice can form outside of clouds and in temps well into shirt-sleeve / no-heat-required temperatures. That's how the sturdy Cessna that I had used as a student met its end. In Ohio, 45 Mooney minutes from you, @steingar. But it is less of a problem for our Mooneys.

Is the Skypark on the Isle of Misfit Boys? Sorry, with all the attacks on the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer claymation show, I just can't help myself right now . . . . .

Removing a fuel sample from the tank contaminates it? How is it then not contaminated flowing past the quick drain in its way to the engine? Or do you leave your sample cup on a chain outside? Mine is clean enough that the ten seconds the fuel spends in it while I hold the cup and peer at the fuel does not contaminate the contents. If the fuel sample is contaminated, it's because the contents of the tank are contaminated. Pouring it back in is simple, done while sticking the tank to determine its fill level for the flight. Open fuel cap Dip stick, check level, remove thumb so that pipette drains back into tank Sump tank Hold cup in front of cowling to judge color and look for clear water at the bottom Sniff to verify it's avgas Pour back into tank Seat and close cap Despite twelve years' flying around the Ohio Valley and the Southeast, I have never found wafer in the tanks of my Mooney (even after spending sevetal days tied down outside in daily thunderstorms at the beach). As a student pilot, I did one time find several cups with water from one tank in the FBO's 172, the first flight after a couple days' heavy rain. But that's all . . .

I've had plenty of long descents (beginning 50nm or more from destination), but what does "long descent with power back" mean? As I descend and MP rises, I pull it back to whatever my cruise setting was, then richen to regain my cruise EGT. I save power reduction for slowing down before pattern entry.

My push-to-test also springs out and disconnects when I let go. Try some contact cleaning spray, then press it a bunch of times til it doesn't need pulling anymore.

You've gotta pick the name from the list that appears as you type. @Sabremech

I lean similarly to @orionflt but keep pulling until the MP needle moves. I've written about this before. You'll find what works for your plane and makes you comfortable. Let us know when you come to Atlanta, @DJE22, maybe some of us can do lunch or supper or something.

Plug harness is much le$$ expen$ive than magneto IRAN, install and timing . . . And he can do it himself with A&P supervision.

No more than me taunting people who have hot start issues with how simple and quick it is to hot start my O-360 . . . . .

The 172 I got my license in (Lycoming O-320) was totalled a couple of years later in a carb ice incident--engine started running rough so the pilot tried to land with a tailwind, was fast and tried to go around. He made it about 150 yards past the end of the runway. He and his wife were walking out of the trees, bleeding, by the time people drove over from the FBO. I've never had carb ice, nor pulled Carb Heat because I thought I did, in over 11 years of ownership. But I have used it twice prophylacticly in Instrument training during a Midwest winter. Have I said lately how much I appreciate my Carb Temp gage?

M-sure. Next comes "cuatro," right?

Hurry up and fix your brakes already! You've about exceeded my French . . . .

@testwest

Follow your plug wires from each magneto to each plug, looking for chafing or worn spots--there may be intermittent grounding of a wire. Is it always the same cylinder? Check the plug--lead fouling, high resistance, proper gap.

Which autopilot do you have, @steingar? This has never happened with my AccuTrak. But then again, it's difficult to accidentally hit that toggle switch down by the right yoke.

Check out piperpainter's videos on youtube. But then again, he went back-country flying with his tailwheel & tundra tire friends in an M20-C, not an F . . . .

If everything bends the same way, it may as well all be straight. The point here is that ILS can simetines bend differently, and that's a problem.

That is true for all of our engines any more . . . .

That fuel load plus me is my gross . . . And it would fly me over 14 hours . . . .

Everyone gets to retire at some point. I hope . . . .

I rather prefer GPS approaches, and I'm from the tail end of the Boom. Tower almost always offers the ILS if it's available, because almost all IFR-equipped planes can fly it; not so with GPS approaches. Not long after getting my rating (in 2010), I headed over the hills from WV to KFAY, and my descent was nicely between buildups (with clear StormScope) until entering the base layer. Tower told me to expect the ILS Back Course, which I had never flown in training. I did remember reading about reverse sensing . . . So I asked for the GPS approach instead and they rapidly granted it. I'd much rather fly an approach designed for the runway I'm flying to than twist around one giving guidance to a different runway and try to keep it straight . . . .