Amelia

If you’re within hailing distance of Currituck, Elizabeth City, or Edenton, in ne NC, CFII Gary Ambrose, who owns a C, is good. Super nice guy.

I agree. Aerocomfort does a very good job. Get it done right the first time. Hector at Aerocomfort covered my yellowed and cracked and gummy-looking plastic K-model interior with ultra leather, and did a gorgeous job. He also offered a nice fabric option. He was great to work with. Maybe you could do the interior in stages?

I paid maybe $26000 for my brand shiny new 1995 Volvo 850, with a few bells and some whistles. Loved that car. Still ran like a top, mostly. So its paint was a little faded, the odometer hadn’t worked for at least 100,000 miles, the radio was a little unreliable, but hey, I had at least $35K in that car, counting maintenance, leather repair, a new alternator, tires,and so forth. Do you suppose I should have let 8t go for a penny less than that? The time had come to move on last year, after 23 years. I was delighted to swap that beloved beater to a friend in exchange for his expert services. He is still driving it many dozen miles a day, and he is well pleased, but never mind what I had in it, versus what I “sold” it for. Machines don’t usually go up in value, in my experience.

It’s the same or maybe worse at almost any marina. Once-beautiful yachts are deteriorating, half-sunk, peeling varnish and weathered teak, hulls and decks begrimed with mildew, ratty rigging. I can only imagine what shape the motors or sails are in.. A gorgeous day might have one or two boats on the bay. A hundred others never leave the slip, or the driveway. I guess it was fun for a season or two. Keeping the dream alive, maybe. I have no room to talk... my once-good bicycle has hardLy been ridden in 20 years...ummm 35 years?

I spent nearly a year looking/not-looking to replace my beloved 231. I looked at other options, but nothing compared in performance, range, fuel economy, avionics, and care.. Mooney owners on all models and years, tended to splash out on their panels, compared to other brands, tended to keep them in hangars, and exhibit a remarkable degree of pride in their planes. And it seemed that there was a lot more overall value, compared with other planes. My old 231 flew my family back and forth across the continent, easily over weather and mountains, and around thunderstorms. My new normally aspirated love, a M20S Screaming Eagle, while lacking the turbo boost, is even faster, more comfortable, even more stable, lots more range, and better equipped. How much gas it uses depends on how hard I push it and whether I fly LOP. If I am content with J speed, I can throttle back to J fuel consumption. If I insist on Screaming Eagle speeds, it will cost me at the pump. I like that choice! I love hand-flying this bird, but wouldn’t be without a good autopilot if only for fatigue relief and the peace of mind knowing that my non-pilot spouse would have that additional safety margin available,, if I were to crump mid-flight. We rarely fill all the seats, but easily can. The long-body and good UL makes Angel Flight pax comfortable, critter flights easy. The other luxury my “new” plane has is articulating front seats. Huge improvement for this short pilot. Expensive toy? Ohhh, yeah. But I insist I am so worth it!! I expect it will hold its value fairly well, And there’s this: My friend at the airport, who loves this airplane, assures my husband that there’s a reason they don’t put no luggage racks on no hearses. Enjoy it now, while you can, he urges.

Well, I’m curious to learn what fun place(s) you and your right-seater decided on. SO many options, from rustic to regal, to choose from.

Sounds like a certain hangar elf could have a nice little side gig manufacturing pedal extensions. Once upon a time I was 5’4” and 110#. Alas, those measurements seem to be shifting, and not in the super-model direction. I love the articulating seat, but if anybody should find me some 3” extensions, I could have more dessert.

You could add a star to the pins where Mooniacs have space for RONs.. inviting a PM from pilots weathered in or passing through. We enjoy guests when it works out.

Make it 2019...as dear Bob pointed out, I’m not getting any younger!

Well, my eyes, at least, are now younger! Some years ago, one a dark and stormy night, I got out a stack of logbooks stretching back to the mid70s, and began ticking off States. The Midwest and New England were easy, back in C172 days. We stopped often for fuel and toddler potty stops.. And Our Hero had Continuing Education requirements before the days of Internet seminars, so we went places.(Guess who picked the courses he attended?) A couple of trips to California, Colorado, and Vancouver, BC, meant, landing every couple of leisurely hours. Frequent trips from Ohio to see my family in Alabama and Florida added more gas stop states. Pretty soon, I lacked only Oklahoma and Arkansas in the Lower 48, plus Hawaii and Alaska. My MIL lived on Waikiki Beach, so I arranged to rent a 172 at HNL with a delightful CFI who moonlighted as an anesthesiologist. After 25 years in a Mooney, I wondered if I could still fly a Skyhawk. So easy and comfortable! It was a wonderful circumavigation of Oahu, with the instructor in charge of the radio, and tour-guiding. MIL swore it was much better than the helo tours. I so highly recommend that experience. OK and AR were on purpose, just to say we did. (Air Race stops didn’t count, because I was not PIC.) so now, I lack only Saskatchewan in Lower Canada, and Alaska. Maybe next summer!

Darn. Missed this one, and it would have been so easy for me. I tried to sign up, too late, but I don’t think it worked. Can you keep me on your next-time list?

I had a UBG-16 in my 231, chosen because the CS Guy was so nice. Had nothing but trouble with it, one broken wire after another. Maybe too much vibration? Replaced it with a JPI 730 then upgraded to 830, never had any more trouble. Still happy with JPI in the current airplane. UBG-16 with wiring harness, but no probes, for sale cheap. Factory yellow tagged. Make offer.

When I learned of pedal extensions, I went out to the airport armed with 2x4 blocks and broccoli rubber bands, to try the two sizes out.The airport manager, who likes to keep an eye on things, caught me in the act. Wanted to know what in the hell I thought I was doing. I emerged from my very-awkward head-under-the-panel position, pointed to the newly installed 1.5” extensions, assured him I possessed the STC for these remarkable new budget-friendly options. I thought the poor fellow was going to have a stroke. Such fun to pull his chain. I did resist the urge to close the door and yell, “Clear!” but explained, ever so carefully, that I may be crazy, but I ain’t stupid.. Or is that the other way around?

I bugged my favorite Avionics guy again, and I think my po has been sent. Maybe twice. What gives? Plaintive voice from the back seat: “Are we there yet? “

Oregon Aero cushions are good, come in several configurations; at 5’4”, my 2” tweed seat cushion was helpful, but not a perfect solution. 1.5” pedal extensions were also, good, but 3” would have been bette. Let’s face it: these Mooneys were made for tall, thin pilots. Finally, I found a nice set of articulating seats, and bought them, am very happy.. (They came with a lovely Mooney Screaming Eagle wrapped around them. ) Now I need to find another pair of pedal extensions, and finally, short, pudgy Grandma will be sittin’ pretty.

Hi. Weather here in coastal Carolinas is interesting. It is what you find when you get here. Soon as I say late October is glorious, we’ll have a late hurricane, buckets of rain and gusty wind. At least you have plenty of warning. Same for spring. Gorgeous in late April, early May, until a front roars through with lines of big thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes. Pick whatever works best, and have a plan B. And C. Edenton, NC is lovely, has free room and board for Mooniacs, if you know who to call.

Bay Avionics. Hampton Roads, VA. Good guys.

I’ve put in a request with my favorite Avionics shop, but with new ownership and a routine visit from the feds, not sure how high on their list of priorities my paperwork is.

Yeah. What Bob said. How long do I have to plan my bank heist?

I have an S-TEC30in my M20-S, which is, um, better than nothing, I guess, but needs far too much babysitting, This new box sure is tempting..I may have to call my favorite Avionics guy.

I learned, as demonstrated by my guardian angel Mooney-owner CFI friend,, that with full nose-up jammed trim, if the pilot selects full flaps and reduces power, the pressure is quite manageable. Wish I’d known that then! In the much lamented 231’s case, it was a purely mechanical jammed stab-trim issue, and as it turned out, a malfunction Mooney was well aware of, but had not widely disseminated a cure for. No electrical issue, trim wheel was jammed, too.Something to do with the clutch plate. Mooney subsequently issued a Service Letter, so that every mechanic who touches a Mooney of that model should know the fix for it.

I claim zero expertise, but my brother loved his Winchester-done Continental IO 550 in his C182. It is still running perfectly with good compressions at 2000 hours, but says there’s a gummint mandatory, though unnecessary overhaul. He has scheduled his next one there for this summer. Said they were prompt, did beautiful work, and he expects the next one will last him the rest of his career.

Thanks for the recommendation. The good man at Zeftronics talked to the good man at KBJJ, and it was decided that there was likely nothing wrong with the voltage regulator. Thus we are richer by two 24-volt batteries and one alternator and accessories, and poorer by a couple of AMUs, but the trip home went well, and the new purchases behaved themselves.

Ah. So I now see. Po’ ol’ deah—Bless its heart. My toddlers loved the book, and we had to read “K-Mooney” every blessed night for a couple of years. 70B is, at least for now, called The Beast.

Dear friends, anybody know where I can find an a outage regulator for my 1999 M20S, Screaming Eagle? Fast? The mechanic here in NE OH has found an alternator to replace the one that gave up the ghost, and it should arrive on Friday, but the part number for the voltage regulator evidently doesn’t exist in the (non-Mooney) real world. The mechanic says when the alternator goes, the voltage regulator is likely not far behind. p/n VR 940 151-505. Advice most welcome.