MooneyPilot231

I have given up on two things... taking off with flaps down any at all, and landing with more than half flaps. Taking off with flap at t.o. position causes the plane to suck to the runway and I have to kind of jerk the yoke back to get it off the ground. I can land with full flaps but half flaps allow me to keep flair/ground effect time to a minimum. I will brag and say that I squeak most of my landings but keep in mind I fly my plane 3-4 times a week. Once the plane has settled near the runway I hit the up trim button and it slows the decent to make almost every landing perfect. Taking off I keep the trim indicator just above the area designated for take off. (you might start with it in the upper part and experiment from there) With neutral elevator the plane very slowly leaves the runway at about 70kts with no input from me. Your plane is different but maybe some of this will help.... I also agree with George on getting the gear up asap. If that engine quits above the runway you are not going to land on the airport unless that is one hell of a long runway!

This is probably a good place for me to mention that my dipstick on my 231 is way off. I have the LB engine and it reads a full 1-1.5 quarts lower than actual. When I first got the plane I ran it at 8 quarts per the dipstick and it burned quite a bit of oil. When I changed the oil the first time I filled the filter and added the remainder of the 8qts to the engine. Dipstick read about 6.5. Now I run the plane between 6 and 7 and burn a quart about every 12-15 hrs.

Did my repairs as described above. This whole thing is a complete pain but the difference in the way the interior looks when done is truly night and day. Well worth the effort.

Good info, mine don't line up either and it has been driving me crazy! Glad to know that may be "normal".

This may have already been mentioned but if you can spin the disc between the rubber with your hand while the plane is jacked then you need to replace the rubber. Not sure where I got that info but it came from a Mooney site somewhere.

Good info, wish I had known that 2 months ago when I had the plastic out re-dying it. Those of you contemplating pulling your ceiling panel be forwarned, it can be done by one person because I did it, but I would not recommend it. The ceiling plastic is in two pieces, front and rear. They are connected in the middle by 3 screws that can only be acessed from above the panel so it comes down in one piece and as you begin removing screws it becomes somewhat a house of cards with much pressure being applied on the screws you haven't removed. This can lead to brittle plastic being damaged. (hindsight 20/20) Pulling down one side as Richard suggest is definitely the way to go if you are working by yourself! I had the SB done on the frame corrosion at the pre-buy annual and there was very little but that would have no influence at all on the type of problem described above. Thanks for the info Mr. Z.

Since I have a back ground in building very expensive race engines, I will add that if you are looking to fly on a budget, stay away from turbo charged versions of the Mooney. A 201 in my opinion is a really affordable airplane with a bulletproof engine. Yes, you will save some money buying an older Mooney but the older the plane, the more it will cost to maintain. The real secret to owning a Mooney on a budget is learning to do most of the maintenance yourself which is how I swing 350 hours of flight time a year for less than $1500 maintenance cost. (almost all parts) Just my thoughts...

Richard has re-learned something he already knew.....Internet forums are a very dangerous place for sales people of any kind. I sell what is considered by most to be one of the nicest offshore fishing boats in the country and you won't catch me anywhere near any of the larger boating/fishing forums. Someone knew a buddy who knew someone who heard that a guy's boat had problems with his fuel tank......it never fails. While I think Richard's website is a bit overblown and most people are capable of buying a Mooney without using a broker. I will say that some people have far more money than they have sense. I sincerely hope those people use Richard or someone who offers similar services. I sent Richard an email prior to making my purchase telling him I was a 160 hour pilot looking for a Mooney, I didn't get a reply. I managed to get the job done anyway. I don't know whether to respect Mr. Z for coming on here or not, but I will promise you the outcome hasn't been a surprise to him....

Let me disagree with a couple of statements. My aircraft has now flown over 200 hours since I purchased it 9 months ago. The pre-buy annual was done by a Mooney Service Center in the Northeast. In the 200 hours since I bought the plane I have had two major issues. Both existed when I landed the day I brought the plane back to Texas. The fuel pressure was so low that the airplane wouldn't idle unless the throttle was kept most of the way in and there was brake fluid leaking from under the left wing where hard line becomes flex line. Either of these problems could have resulted in injury or death to myself and my co-pilot. Also, my plane hasn't been hangared in years and has no corrosion inside or out. Finding a plane that has been hangared is preferable but don't eliminate a plane just because it has been stored outside. Definitely don't eliminate a plane just because it hasn't been cared for a by a Mooney Service Center. These planes are very little different than most planes and any competent A&P is quite capable of maintaining one. I can honestly say the only mechanical issues I have had were due to a Mooney Service Center.....(oh yes I got a refund and an apology!) P.S. I agree with the rest, Mooneyland needs to be rebuilt from scratch, website designers work cheap these days!

I had the "pleasure" of taking off today with a reported 70 degree cross wind at 18kt gusting to 25kts reported by the tower. Now, there were some buildings up wind of me a 1/4 mile, so I knew the tower was getting bigger numbers than what was probably at ground level but let me assure you the wind was cooking big time and a certain part of my anatomy was a little smaller than normal. In the end, I had no problems keeping the airplane on the downwind side of the runway where I positioned it and other than the immediate weather vane into the wind (I requested a turn out into the wind) there were no real problems. I am in no way suggesting you take off in any particular angle or speed of cross wind, nor am I bragging about my doing it. Just trying to provide some "real world" experience vs. what you might find in your flight manual should you ever find yourself in real need to leave some place like I was today. I guess my main purpose for posting this is that I have read on other sites about how hard a Mooney can be to handle in a cross wind and while this is my only real take off crosswind experience with winds this high, I have landed a number of times with 15kt-20kt cross winds without issue. I know for a fact I am nothing special on the pilot talent scale so my guess is a Mooney really handles cross wind take offs and landings pretty well......

You did a great job and yes those 396's are very angle particluar. Unfortunately, unless you stick it on the yoke where no one really wants it, you have no guarantee of being able to see it. None the less, you did a fantastic job. You also made me feel a bit more normal. I am always looking at instrument panels in corporate jets and commercial aircraft and wondering why they can't be "nice". You know, cherry wood veneer or something. Just seems odd to look at 35 million dollar jet with 2 milliion in avionics and this flat grey instrument panel. Yes, I probably need therapy!

I did my plastic and will do my carpeting. Seats I will have done. Plastic is time consuming but not beyond most people's ability. Of course having seats recovered is 4 times what it should be but that is "aviation normal".!

Mooneyland "Z" wants you to believe that finding and flying a Mooney is much harder than it is. If you need help locating a good plane I will help at no cost to you. You don't need a broker to buy a plane. Just a little common sense, a good prebuy/annual prior to acceptance and a few hours of flight training. Those Mooney "gurus" are in my opinion self important, uneeded jackasses! Let me know when you get ready to buy and I will help you however I can....

Having looked at Murmer's website, I would say that you would be very happy with their work. If you can live with the price that would probably a good way to go....

That price is probably a little high. In this economy everyone is hurting including the paint shops. I believe there is a top notch paint shop on the Midlothean airport just south of Dallas. I fly over it 3 times a week so getting a ride home to Houston would be easy. In fact, I would be happy to give you ride from any shop here in the Dallas area if you find one that works for you. I would go with uerethane base coat/clear coat over Imron. Imron is very thick by paint standards and is much harder to match when you start getting chips in the paint. Imron is slightly more durable but overall I think base coat/clear coat is much easier to deal with and it looks better and is available in almost any color. Just my opinion, glad to fly you back to Houston so check on some of the shops around Dallas.

My take on this is that if the cost difference between a 231 and a 201 is a significant amount of money to you, you probably don't need either one. I can tell you from experience that there are almost no parts on a Mooney that cost less than $250. I just had a wing tip strobe go out. Called....$265 for a freakin' light bulb! Did I mention that my prop that was O/H 250 hrs ago is leaking at the base of all three blades. Coming off tomorrow for new prop seals. $600-$700. (That is with me removing it). I figure about $2000 a year for an annual that I do most of myself and about that much for unexpected repairs during the year. Keep in mind I fly 300 hrs plus a year but that usually doesn't impact maintenance cost that much and regular use as we all know helps most of your aircrafts systems. Planes are like houses, always buy a less than you qualify for !!!!

I wish I was talking Celcius! People in other parts of the country don't think it gets cold in Texas. Not true! Not all the time, but mid-twenties (Farenheit) is common. The titanium in my lower back and neck have instructed me to move to a year round warm climate next year when I retire....

This is a problem for all of us. Our resale value is going to suffer. Mooney needs to look at fractional ownership and other alternatives to individual sales of aircraft. They have basically done nothing to change their marketing strategy while their business has gone down the tubes!!!

I like the Mooney 231 in Texas because I can always get above the Cumulus in the summer. Long term it is going to cost you more to operate but the ability to climb at 750 fpm from almost any reasonable altitude makes it worth it for me. I went this entire summer flying 20 days a month without once having to slug it out under 10k cumulus and associated turbulence. I can't put a price on that! As long as the plane has the LB1 engine you have no real problems and due to the stigma from the GB engine you can often pick up a 231 for less money than a comparable 201. I rarely fly over 12k but the years of getting my brains beat out all summer in 172 at 7500ft. left me with no doubt which one I wanted. Another factor is the space behind the engine on the 231. Much roomier to work on and inspect. You just need to decide what is important for you. For just a little higher operating costs, you go from few limitations to no limitations....