Hank

KHTW came through fine, and still has power. No damage to any aircraft that I've heard of. Don't know about KHTS, 4 nm away, but should be fine, too. No power at home since Friday evening . . . at least we still have water, some people have lost that, too. [no power to pump water up into the towers!] Current "projections" are to have everyone hooked back up by Friday. But WV and southern Ohio were both declared disaster areas [WV by the Governor; Ohio by the Governor and President. The National Guard is supposed to be distributing water.] I've heard of gas shortages but not experienced any difficulty. All open restaurants are full, full, full. I'm headed to the airport after work to absorb free cool air at the FBO. While there, I'll check on the plane and verify power in the hangar. It's warm on the ground [phone says 93 & sunny] but cool at altitude, but even then I'll have to land sometime. Anyone for brunch & pie at Grimes Field on Wednesday? Urbana, OH [i74; see recent AOPA Pilot for details of pie] Weather permitting, we will have several planes headed there after confirming that the restaurant is open.

Bryan-- Finally got to watch this video. "Awesome" is far too tame of a word!! [vimeo, youtube, etc., are blocked at work, and this video won't play on my cell phone. ???] You certainly do get the most use out of your Mooney! While I do fly into grass strips, they are quite tame compared to your many exploits. Your disclaimer on this video, though, is a classy touch!

Don't mix your prop grease! The Service Manual has specific instructions on this point, and what to do if you want to change the grease in it [or just don't know]. Fortunately, my prop has a sticker with the grease number [5 or 6, I don't remember] so that I don't put the wrong stuff in. I am a big fan of Tri-Flow, and my next order will include a small can for around the house. Just make sure the straw is pushed all the way in--I shot one across the hangar lubing my gear once and never found it. It is much smaller than the red WD-40 spray tubes. I like to hit everything that moves with Tri-Flow while she's open for annual, and redo control surface hinges outside from time to time.

Quote: fantom Hank; very good grass advise, but are you suggesting there is markedly less directional control with with the flaps up?

I've always thought of a G as a C with more room. The longer, heavier fuselage costs speed and climb rate; if it has the 64 gallon tanks, you'll have to watch loading more closely when the tanks are full but should have great range. Pay attention to current and past G owners over the J crowd--they don't like anything that's not fuel injected. But the O-360 is a good, dependable engine that cranks right up when maintained well. Don't overload it just because you have room for more stuff. That's a good point about the short-bodies—unless you are hauling books or tools, they are hard to overload simply because you can't fit the stuff inside! People, on the other hand . . . I can only think of two G's here right now--the one above, and one with a pretty LSU-style paint job but don't remember his name. You've got good C experience--talk to them about their G and compare against how you have been flying. As for price, Jimmy G has an article in the MAPA Log several times each year for different model ranges, or you can try VRef or AOPA or whatever. Not being in the market, I have no idea what anything is worth these days, other than "less than it used to be."

Quote: oavalle Any recommendations on how to land and take off from grass... Until about two months ago I only flew out of paved runways, but now in Guatemala I have to use grass strips and I somehow I feel scared, in particular I am concerned about the ground clearance...So any advice?

Grass is great! At least in a C--the nose ain't so heavy. I visit a local 2000' grass strip often, and stay at a very flat 3500' grass strip when I go to the beach. Neither has fuel, and I won't go in or out of the short one heavy. Obviously I am heavy going to the beach; I also went flightseeing there with three healthy adult male passengers. Fuel was limited to 34 gallons on that trip, and I was well under that from the trip down. May have to get some video if we go this year. Just watch the power lines crossing the approach on short final and everything is fine!

Any idea what a Mooney M10 is? Mites are 18's--is it a Cadet???

First things first--congratulations on getting all finished up! Now go fly some and just enjoy flying for flying's sake. Putter around, go places, enjoy using what you've spent so much time and effort learning and earning. This fall will be plenty soon enough to worry about Instrument Training. I took two years to knuckle down and get serious about Instruments. There's no rush. In the meantime, you can always shop for your own Mooney!

Erik-- I'm sure your vertical performance is even more exciting than the ground roll! I recently repainted the runway numbers, and checked how well my C accelerates compared to the Honda. Pushing the old car as hard as I was comfortable down the runway, my C hits 70 mph somewhat sooner, and the acceleration just keeps on keeping on. The Honda won't go up at all . . . and tops out not a whole lot further on. That's the one thing I don't like about flying--it is difficult to get a real impression of speed, except when you don't want it [being too fast on final]. Flying along the cloud tops is nice, though, when they are where I'm going. Looking at the little green readout on the Garmin just isn't the same. As for the numbers, I'm an Engineer with two degrees, and pilot a machine that demands correct airspeed, so I'm a little OCD sometimes. No panel shots for me--my sustained cruising speeds have ranged from 95 kts to 183 kts in the last year, you've got me by 100!

Quote: aviatoreb Two days ago I was thinking of starting a thread with almost the same theme. The part that makes my heart with glee and surprise every time is the moment the wheels leave the ground and suddenly driving uphill! Line up for the runway - a 2/3mi road that ends abruptly as if a road project to no where. FLoor it and close to 100mph suddenly you don't need anymore road...

Ain't Winders grate??? ;-)

So then 66 and 71 ailerons should be the same, right? Both are after the late 64 and later 65 ailerons.

I show the same part numbers: 230015-503, Aileron Assembly, LH 230015-504, Aileron Assembly, RH Taken from "Illustrated Parts Manual, M20C - M20E - M20F - M20G", Manual Part No. 205, copyrighted in 2006. You may be good to go. There is a Effective column which lists various serial numbers beginning with 1968 for various parts, but this column is blank for the ailerons.

Jolie, why is that not listed in the photo credit? Seems that MAPA would be proud to have a Mooney photo taken from another Mooney.

It adds a lot of speed to all maintenance, and removing panels is MY PART of all maintenance. That said, the one-piece is nice to have, but I don't know how much I would pay to have it. The new Bill Wheat belly with the quick-turn fasteners would be nice, but even my 52-screw belly comes off pretty quick. Now that I'm the only one putting it on, it comes off even quicker.

Quote: mooneyflyer Good story... and that's why it's SOP to add half of the gust factor to your approach speed. This is not Mooney-specific. This is SOP for pretty much all single engine aircraft in gusty conditions. I think you needed complex/High Performance CFI, but your example is not Mooney-specific. Still struggling with things a Mooney-specific CFI does that a good complex/High Perf CFI would not do. Phil

Quote: gmcd I took delivery of my new Mooney M20E today!!! So where do you guys store charts, plates, pens, flashlights, etc? I have the one pilot side pouch that holds a checklist, and maybe a few pens.... that's it. I suppose I could use the seat back pockets but would prefer something a bit easier. What about "mounting" a flashlight, etc? Any tips? Thanks!

Quote: Kenmcquillan I have a lot of data to sift through, and many of the answers were not what I expected, which is good because it will make the research much more interesting. When I am finished with the project, in about 3 weeks, I will post the survey results and final paper here. Ken

I think the whole thing is a paperwork and arithmatic exercise for the A&P. Remove everything, weigh it up and calculate the change in weight & CG. Our African friend has a requirement to put the plane on the scales every few years; over here, we don't do this, and some pilots are afraid to even think about it. So run some numbers and see what they turn up. It shouldn't be hard to find weights and arms for things like starters, DME units, ADF antennas, etc. The "savings" will depend upon what is installed, and what if anything has been cleaned up by previous owners. I still have the towel-rod ADF loop antenna on my tail because it will be lots of sheet-metal work covering up holes followed by a 3-color painting job to help hide it. But the wires are gone!

Quote: N9453V Hank, Thanks for the info. I skipped HTW since on long cross countries, I generally prefer airports with an ILS. Also, I looked at HTS, but we travel with our dog and the only decent hotel in Hawthorne that allows dogs wanted a $100 pet fee for a 1 night stay. The Holiday Inn in Charleston was much more reasonable and has a free shuttle from the airport. Didn't know about the AF museum in DAY, but may need to save it for another trip since this will be a quick turn. We need to be on the ground by 1630 EDT in CYLS to clear customs and that necessitates an 0500 CDT departure from BTR. -Andrew

Mike-- Do us all a favor and record your power settings, DA and airspeed for the rear CG flight. Maybe you can provide actual data for the light vs. heavy speed thread.

Quote: Parker_Woodruff

There IS something to be said for hot lead therapy in cases like this.

I need to redo the piece above the ceiling liner that distributes the air forward from the vent. Replacing the GPS antenna during WAAS upgrade broke it into many pieces, and airflow to the front seat suffers. But two knee vents and the huge influx below the throttle often has my wife under a blanket. More air would be nice when down low, though. Does anyone have a clear drawing of this plastic piece? The sketch in the Parts Manual is insufficient for making a new one.