Hank

I don't take off the lower cowl at annual, and I'm not used to seeing it off then. It is relatively easy to disconnect behind the spinner and lower gently to the ground. Like I said, oil change coming this weekend, whenever I can find the time, and I'll look around then. It will be nice to relax a minute before hurting my knuckles safety-wiring the new filter in place.

Dave-- I'm not sure I've ever REMOVED the bottom cowl. I have taken off the top and both sides and LOWERED the bottom cowl a few times, but off hand I don't remember anything special. I'll be changing my oil this weekend and will look at [but not remove :-) ] the lower cowl attachment then. Your F may be a little more involved than my C, though, what with your more complicated engine and all.

Quote: rbridges check your insurance quotes. It's probably going to be in the $12-1500 range, but it would be good to get an idea before the purchase. With insurance, being a low time pilot is like being a 16 year old wanting to buy a car.

I've put four adults into my C a few times. The longest was flying the length of the NC Outer Banks, 1500' agl in August with two adult males and two boys in college. For that flight, 200 + 220 + 160 + 180 = 760 lbs, leaving 210 lbs ¸ 6 = 34 gallons of gas, or 3 hours plus reserve. But we all wanted to go to Kitty Hawk, so I fueled carefully and we went; then I refueled at Manteo and we went back. Long XC takes time in anything that's not a jet. 1000 nm makes for a couple of days without being too tired. I once took the wife 1320 nm in 3 days each way, and had time to go sightseeing at our stops along the way in both directions. In my experience, I usually run out of space in the back well before I run out of useful load [except for the one trip above]. My wife enjoys taking half of our house with us when she travels . . . I also bought the plane six weeks after my PPL checkride, much of that time spent checking out the plane and talking to the bank. It's very doable for a conscientious new pilot with a CFI who KNOWS Mooneys. I also attended a MAPA PPP the month after my required dual instruction. Check out www.mooneypilots.com for lots of good information, a couple of free reviews and information on the Pilot Proficiency Program. It's the best way to learn your new Mooney, even if it hasn't been "new" for several decades.

Becca-- Here's a female racer asking for advice. For some reason, I thought you might have some to share. :-) http://forums.aopa.org/showthread.php?t=78241 Even if she IS in a slow, draggy Brand C . . .

You reckon being the Administrator might make your SFRA clearances a little simpler to get, and easier to navigate?

It can get loud inside when the rain is heavy, too. Either way, if it's more than a mist, your plane will emerge cleaner than before. I've never paid attention to the AI, focusing on course, altitude and attitude. If there is no convective activity nearby, the worries are fewer, but this time of year the problem changes to icing. Stay on course, pointy end forward, greasy side down. As my instructors have all told me, the plane doesn't know it's raining. On Sunday, I caught a Bonanza on pattern entry and made a quick circle for spacing, 20-25º bank [he dropped his gear early as a speed brake, I made a power-on descent and couldn't see his gear go down when he was below me, but he quickly got big in the windshield]; I was visual out the side window and my wife commented that we had rain on the windshield. Just a few scattered drops, neither the plane nor I noticed.

Hey, wow, a thread to ignore. This is still a better place than the red board. But then again, I fly a vintage short-body Mooney so I'm not a real pilot, and without a commercial cert, my opinions are worthless, too. My little jaunts around the country, though, are accomplished much quicker while using less fuel than most other certified aircraft that my admittedly-limited experience is aware of. I can even haul around all of my wife's luggage, and she usually brings everything including the kitchen sink. Maybe there is something to a Mooney after all. Now, it's back to ignoring the occasional vitriol that pops up here. I try to not pay attention to folks who act up in order to get attention. Doing so on the internet is just really sad . . . . .

Seth-- Congratulations on your recovery! I've only porpoised once, after dark, coming home from my first overnight trip and I was so happy to be home that I quit flying the plane in the flare. On bounce #2, everything full forward and climb over where I hope the trees are and make another landing attempt. I kept thinking, "just make a normal landing, figure out what went wrong later." I typically pull all remaining power on short final, once I know I've got the trees cleared and can see the runway number, and I'm usually down on the 2nd or 3rd stripe.

Ross-- That's part of the difference between models, and even years of manufacture for us Vintage pilots. [As in "pilots of Vintage aircraft," not "Pilots of a certain vintage." ] My flap speed is 125 mph, gear is 120 mph, but since the question involved speed during the approach and flare, I left those out. I generally put in Takeoff flaps by midfield, and drop gear abeam my intended touchdown point. At my home field, these two are immediate, as soon as the flaps are down I drop the gear and begin my descent; at longer runways, there can be a substantial pause in between. I'm also not a fan of full-flap landings, preferring to follow the advice in my Owner's Manual: "FLAPS--FULL DOWN or as desired." I put them to Takeoff on downwind, drop gear, reduce throttle a little bit and pitch for 90 mph. If I need more descent, I add more flaps on final; if my slope looks good, I don't; if the wind is really strong, gusty or crosswind, I won't. The point is to be consistent with speeds, and fly the correct number. Mid-bodies like your F will handle differently than those of us in short-bodies, and only ROP/LOP and bladders/seals brings out a similar passion to flap position for "normal" landings. I do what works for me in my airplane. YMMV. Just don't come in fast and try to force it down, porpoises are not fun and can be expensive. Like any plane, your Mooney won't land if you are too fast, but ours float much further while speed bleeds off slowly. I find a flatter pattern than in a Cessna works very well. I also cannot duplicate the gear down, power off, pitch for the runway that Bonanza pilots seem to prefer, I keep the same glidepath all the way down final until the flare.

Quote: nosky2high Hank, Do you have some guidance/advice for a rookie conducting sparkplug maintenance? The use of spark plug thread lubricate, recommended tools, tricks of the trade, etc.? Thanks, Anthony

Quote: rbridges that's my post above. another forum log in glitch.

Mike-- It would be interesting to do a range comparison on those three data sets. Range with IFR reserves, fuel used and time to go the distance. All I know is your plane holds more fuel than mine [52 gallons], but it uses more and goes faster, too. I only see 150 kts when the wind is blowing from behind, or I'm descending.

Most people are OK with out additional oxygen at those altitudes. I use 9000/10,000 going to see Mom & Dad in Asheville, NC because of a short stretch where MEA is 8600. I also use the same altitudes back and forth to Atlanta, since I pass very near AVL [~20-25 miles west]. AVL is a short flight, 1:15; ATL is twice as long, no problems or headaches or anything. Just take a full bottle of water for each person, since altitude makes me thirsty.

I prefer analog gages, like analog clocks. I can tell at a glance if the MP/RPM is set correctly, if the temps are OK, and if it's time to head to a meeting or not. Often when glancing at the clock, I dont' even realize the time, but can tell by hand position in a fraction of a second if I'm good or need to get moving. With digital, that won't happen--I have to look long enough to recognize the number and get it into short-term memory to compare to what I am looking for and decide if it's good or not. And lord help me if the digital number is changing. There seem to be two popular ways of displaying those: 88888, or put up a number once or twice a second. Try making sense of that on your altimeter! [There are tall, pointy, tree-covered rocks where I live. No thank you!] And the glass-panel, fighter-style tapes where you always look in the same spot and have to read the number are not a lot better, it's like looking at a digital clock with the last number only half shown or blurred out. glance at a hand, I know what it's pointing at and if it's right. Glance at a number, wonder what it was, look again longer, read "21.9" and then decide if that's close enough to my desired "22" setpoint or not. Nope, not for me.

Russ-- I had similar thoughts before heading to Wyoming, but it's really not an issue other than leaning for takeoff, and higher groundspeeds for takeoff and landing. You will use more runway than normal, but your ASI will read the same. It's kind of strange to fly at 8500' msl and have everything as close as on my weekend breakfast runs at 3000' msl. You will be amazed at how quickly you reach cruising altitude! Just stay away from the tall rocky things and you will do fine. Be careful, also, of afternoon temperatures in the summer. Density Altitude goes up quickly! If memory serves correctly, landing at Rapid City on a warm afternoon [winds were 20G28, not bad by their standards, and only 40º left of the runway], seems like elevation is ~3300 and AWOS was calling DA of 6800' and advising "consult your Operating Handbook for high altitude takeoff and landing procedures." My Owner's Manual says very little about high DA takeoff, and doesn't mention landing procedures at all. Just keep it lean, fly the numbers like always, and expect to use more runway. Review high DA procedures before your trip, maybe make a checklist for the trip as a reminder. P.S.--I had less than 200 hours total time when I headed west. It's very doable.

Quote: tomcullen I propose an experiment. For those of you who have in-flight pictures, make a survey and see if you can find any images where the elevators are not "streamlined" with the horizontal stabilizer. -dan

Wow. My C has a positive stop at each tank--point to the left until it stops for left tank, point to the right til it stops for the right tank. There's a pretty noticeable detent at OFF, but I never stop there in flight . . . makes it easy to take off on fullest tank with no worries. It is a good idea before takeoff to verify that the lever moves freely to both positions. In fact, it's such a good idea that the last line of the Engine Start Checklist in my Owner's Manual says: Fuel Selector Handle--CHECK right and left.

Thanks for the informative post, Dale! I've often thought it would be nice to carry a bike along, but (in)frequency of use has kept me from pouring mucho dinero into one, although I've drooled over many on-line. Could you post a photo when you get a chance? I'm also going to look into eldeano's bikes while I'm at it, since my wife is ready to go home before I get warmed up when we ride together.

Quick Reply--submit--weird blinky screen--error--refresh! Wa-laa, double post!!

It has always been my understanding that the gear warning horn is activated by a microswitch attached to the throttle quadrant, and is not related to anything on the MP gage itself. The switch is adjustable by referencing the MP gage, but it is either on the cable itself or inside the quadrant and activated by the throttle lever.

Quote: Mooneymite I've always done my own oil changes since I've owned my Mooney. It is a great time to do a mini-100 hr inspection on the engine. That being said, changing the oil is simple. Cutting open/inspecting the filter medium is a nasty, messy, rotten job. Anyone who does an oil change on an engine with a filter, but doesn't thoroughly inspect the filter hasn't done the whole job! You may not like what you find, but it is one of the first ways an engine has of warning you of impending failure!

That looks good, Byron, but I thought the real value of cutting the filter open is slicing the filter paper off of the base, spreading it out in bright sunlight and looking for small metallic particles. Then test with a magnet to confirm that they are not steel. Knowing what it looks like each time will establish a trend to tell when there are more particles.

Glad everyone had a good time. I hope to make the next one . . . But my tanks haven't leaked any yet! It'll be nice to put her in the hangar and not have blue spots on the floor, and no more worries about messing up my sleeves when sumping. :-)

Quote: Vref Done a lot of Oil changes in my life inclusive on my motorglider but I am a novice on my M20J - Lycoming so I am looking for tips for my first DIY oil change? It looks that I have a quick drain connection from SAF AIR....