Seth

Actually yes I'll have to pull the study, but by actively participating in a type group organization, your accident rate drops by something like 100x vs the rest of the general aviation population. So by discussing these incidents and being a member of MooneySpace - YES - it makes you statistically a safer pilot. Watch, we'll be the two next to gear up . . . Now I have to find that study! -Seth

You just picked up some value ($$) with an airframe 1 year younger!! -Seth

As a follow up: Like Amelia said: Learn to properly lean. Remember, in higher altitude and DA airports, though your indicated speed will show the same, you will be flying faster, thus when you touch down and take off you will be traveling faster than you would be at sea level. This is especially apparent in the hot afternoons. So it's important for planning. -Seth

Great man. My father and grandfather worked closely with Quentin in his post WWII career. I only got to know him as an older man, however I quickly realized his special nature. His widow just passed a few month ago. -Seth

I flew east coast to west coast and back twice. Once in my 1967 M20F in 2010 and once in my 1983 M20J Missile 300. I'm based at GAI in MD just NW of Washington, DC. For both trips, I travelled west via North Carolina (2010), Atlanta, Alabama (2010), Texas, Arizona (2010)/NM(2013), and then Southern California (San Diego 2013, Los Angeles Both). San Francisco/Wine country (2013). I travelled up to Portland Oregon both times. In 2010 I then flew to Bozeman Montana before continuing to Rapid City for Mount Rushmore. I visited Quentin Annenson Field in Luverne, MN to pay tribute to an old friend, mentor, and WWII fighter pilot who had passed - they renamed the field after him. I then visited Minneapolis/St. Paul as well before Chicago and then back to the East Coast. In 2013, I continued from Portland to Seattle, then Wyoming, then Minneapolis, then Chicago and home. In 2013 I had 300 HP in the Missile and portable Oxygen on board. That made a BIG difference. I flew as high as 17,500 feet. In 2010 I had NO oxygen on board. I was suffering from acute hypoxia at 12,400 feet for a stretch there between Portland and Bozeman. In 2010 I used paper charts. By 2013 I had an ipad - HUGE Difference. Situational awareness today will be even better. When used to flying over populated areas in the east half of the country, there's an entirety of beuty and untouched land in the west - it is sparsly if at all populated for hundreds of miles in many directions. If you have a problem, you must have a plan and be prepared. -Make sure you have a portable Oxygen system - it will help for safety, if you have to climb, to top weather or mountains, and gets you to smoother air at times. It will also help you just cruising at 11,000 feet. -Have a CO monitor - at altitude it will effect you more and you may need heat at those altitudes. -Have a portable 406MH ELT transmitter - you can get one for not much and it's great insurance - especially if you leave the airplane. -Survival supplies 3 plus days of water, food, warm clothing, first aid, maybe a handheld CB radio and of course a handheld aviation radio (to communicate with search and rescue). Survival tools (knife, multi tool, etc) as well. -Beautiful scenery - bring a camera! -Check in with someone you trust at every stop so they are aware of when you should be at your next stop. Thus if you go missing they can alert search and rescue. -Get training, read up on, whatever learn the signs of mountain flying, mountain waves (I got some of those) how to approach and go through a pass (angled), practice a high gross weight low speed turn so if you get boxed in a bad situation you can make the 180. -Always have your outs. Both trips were GREAT. I admit, now that I have two young children, I'm not sure if I would make the trip in the same fashion as I did then. Maybe I'd follow highways more closely, make the trip a bit longer to be in better gliding distance of towns and airparks vs straight lines. It's a WONDERFUL thing to do - have a blast! -Seth

Bob says clean and waxed above and below leading edge to wing spar is good for 4 knots. I did a before and after flight and found 3 “free” knots. -Seth

I can’t believe looking back this was 2016!!

It should be 3200 unless that particular airframe did not for some reason get the gross weight increase. I second contacting Rocket. The person with intimate knowledge of the Rocket and Missile modifications passed in the last few years. It may take some digging but they should be able to find what you need. -Seth

That’s fantastic!!

Well done Alan!!! -Seth

I had been training in my F model prior to selling and purchasing my Missile. I overhauled the engine at purchase - so no maneuvers like that for 100 hrs. Got engaged, got married, had two kids, and am now about to finally finish my commercial 7 years later. If possible, if you own your own aircraft and it’s a Mooney, I would do it in your own aircraft. Finally taking the written in the next 10 days and then brushing up maneuvers and going for the Oral/Pracfical in March. -Seth

See, Alan is talking about saving a Mooney, not cutting it up!! Save that Missile Alan!!! I coun't at least five Mooney's you've saved so far: Your old E The E you saved from GAI The J you are currently flying The C you found and sold to your friend at VAY Maybe this Missile. Now, the question is, how many Mooney's have you scrapped? Most recently, the 1st E. I think two others, maybe more? -Seth

Especially since the Missile travels faster than a stock J. 180+ knots all day if you want it. Great plane. With a properly repaired or new wing this could be a great buy. However, not at the price - it would need to be less. Sorry for stating that to the seller. The Missile is a GREAT airplane, I'm personally biased, and there are not too many of them - 40ish. Let's get this one back in the air. -Seth

That's a great looking prop on the Bravo. Congrats!! If my Missile prop ever has an issue and needs replacement I'll have to seriously consider the 4 blade MT for all the reasons noted AND the conversion from my full feathering prop (and danger of prop governor failure it holds on the Missile and Rocket). The lighter weight on the nose would be huge for the Missile (as Erik's Rocket and now your Bravo demonstrate). -Seth

I had Gill’s in my Missile upon purchase. Had to replace them one year into ownership - they were three years old at that time. I’ve had concords ever since (5.5yrs). I too use a battery minder. -Seth

Erik- Is it in annual a the place I've dropped you/picked you up at before? If so I may have to go sneak a peak the next time I take a pleasure flight. -Seth

Erik - can’t wait to experience in person! I know pictures won’t do justice with the sparkle/shimmering effect. -Seth

I have a manual dial for true airspeed - outside OAT and altitude slide - typical airspeed indicator and it gives you TAS. However, for speed runs, as my airspeed calculator may be slightly off, I use GPS ground speed and fly the four cardinal directions. Later I add them all and divide by 4. I figure it removes the possibility of manual airspeed indicator error and the variance of the manual slide rule on the airspeed indicator for TAS. I haven't used the three leg calculation yet. -Seth

If not before than at Mooney Summit

Let’s make that happen Hank - let’s make it happen this year! -Seth

Sorry for the delay gang: two kids so quickly takes time away from my favorite website!!! My two year old is now asleep and my 7 month old is just about down . . . And my wife deserves a gold medal every day. Onto my Mistress: The Missile. I’m lucky, she is fast. My fastest 4 way cardinal speed four way course 5000 and 8000 feet on a cool day was 191 knots burning a lot of fuel. Before that my best four way course was 188 and before that 186. The speed kept increasing slightly for the first few hundred hours after overhaul. Also, keeping the leading edge bug free as noted by Bob Kromer at Mooney Summiy top and bottom from spar to spar gives 4 knots - that’s part of why I think I got an increase from 188 to 191 the last time I went up - I had just washed the plane and gotten everything off which I admit I don’t do every time after landing. Down low at sea level WOT and 2650 RPM we’re talking 20GPH. You are in the yellow at that point. At between 6000-9000 is my sweet spot. I don’t like to go much higher without supplemental O2 which I have because asthma and feel the altitude once at 9000. I will go up to 11,000 to 12,000 without supplemental O2 but prefer not to. Fuel burn drops dramatically over 10,000 feet!! I got a great tailwind coming east at 16000 feet earlier this year - my fuel burn was 8.7 I though my true airspeed was lower due to lack of power up there, my ground speed was stilll just shy of 190 knots. I personally love seeing over 200 knot ground speeds - it happens a lot! Real world speeds: I can fly all day around 15-15.4 GPH 75-100 ROP at 180 knots true around 7000-8000. If not in a hurry I back down to 12-13 GPH for around 175 true. LOP I can be 10.5-10.9 at 170. I don’t tend to fly LOP too often as the engine is just a touch rougher, but at times I do. Often I’ll just pull power back ROP and be within a gallon or two per hour for the desired speed LOP. I know LOP burns more cleanly. However I’m being honest, don’t want to start a debate, but as noted simply power back ROP vs flying LOP more often than not. The magic is with 200 less ponds by the mid body over the long body. I climb better than most Ovations for that reason alone. Also, I get a 1067 lb useful load. I have extended range tanks and runway performance is fantastic on take off. As long as I land on speed, it’s pretty good on landing. My wife says “Hank (airplane’s name) wants to to fly.” She was amazed at the acceleration difference from the F to the Missile. My F was no slouch and also had a 3 blade prop and 1018 pound useful load. The climb off the runway in the Missile puts a smile on my pilot buddies every time they fly with me. I am off the ground quickly, then pitch for 90 knots until 1000 AGL where I curise climb beteeen 120 and 140 knots. I often see 1500 FPM and better during the danger zone up to 700-800 feet for the power off 180 if needed. With my Monroy (thank you!) thanks I can go 1000 statue miles in 5 hours or 1500 miles in 10 hours (with a wide mouth Gatorade bottle). My longest time in flight was 5.5 non stop DC to Minneapolis. The next day it was 4.5 hours back. I try to keep most legs to four hours or less. Full 98 gallons (588 pounds) I still have 479 pound for the cabin. I’m only 5’6” and wet at 155 lbs (I obviously played middle linebacker in college). And I rarely need the full 98 gallons but it’s great to tank cheap fuel into expensive places and pay the minunun needed to waive charges. A fill up can mean a difference of $200-$300 on average should I get fuel at a smaller airport in the mid Atlantic. The negatives: - I came from an F model so for leisure flying, after two hours I’m in the mid 20s vs mid teens. It adds up but I’m covering so much more ground. I can and do slow down. But the speed even if not needed is addictive. You want 180 knots, or even 170 instead of 148 or 140. -Nose heavy - the full feathering prop adds safet but it makes the airplane nose heavy. I can’t wait to fly Erik’s Rocket so I can feel the difference of the non feathering 4 blade composite prop - he said it feels more like a C model in lightness in the controls. The Rocket and Missle otherwise are very heavy and especially nose heavy aircraft. -Frankenplane - technically it’s not a factory install engine which both hurts the resale, mechanics who don’t know it don’t set it up right or don’t know it’s quirks, and may hurt upgrades in the future. It did help with lower aquisirion however. Hope this helps!! -Seth

The dozen or so times I've had zero/zero conditions at my home field or visiting fields I delay or cancel the flight. Often it's early morning spring or fall at my home drone. -Seth

There are never words that are appropriate. Thank you for sharing and I'm sorry for your loss. -Seth

We're all addicted. I love this time of year. Here's to a stellar 2018! -Seth

I’ve noticed I can’t find a small die cast or toy Mooney for my daughter. She calls many airplanes Mooney right now, but I’d love to find one for her in the future. Do we all contact Hot Wings and ask them to make a Mooney? Anyone have any suggestions or can point me in the right direction? I know someone built an R/C Mooney a few years ago but I’m thinking smaller Hot Wings (3-4 inch) Mooney. Thanks! -Seth