PTK

Quote: aerobat95 Man, what is going on with all these small plane crashes......we need to be more careful. If you look at the blogs most people think our small airplanes are the most dangerous things on the planet. I can see some big time knee jerk reactions happening if this trend continues......we all know how the gov't doesn't like GA.

I will express only these last thoughts and then I will take the advice of some to totally drop this once and for all. As I have said before this has been long forgotten on my part. It somehow came up now and snowballed, because there was discussion about escrow agents, title companies and such. I'm sorry for taking a lower road and having played a role in this unpleasant exchange. Never ever did I convey to AAA that I will not be purchasing the aircraft. There were never any issues with deposit check other than my accountant wanting things done a certain way. Never did I convey to AAA anything regarding IRS!! This is laughable! I did inform them that I need to follow the advice of my accountant and attorney who were helping me properly structure the purchase. I don't think this is unusual in any way shape or form. These were not AAA's decisions to make nor did I ever request their permission. And finally the time I took is comensurate with the sheer size of the intended acquisition. I did not back out of the purchase. AAA had plenty of opportunity to back out earlier if they so desired. They chose to back out at the very last hour. The extent of their decision making was whether to sell the airplane to me or not. They took it upon themselves in the last minute to just drop me, and subsequently ignore me as if I didn't exist! This was a bad decision with less than stellar consequences. I wish things were different. I really really do. Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my comtrol and in AAA's full control, they weren't. So we move on! This is officially done as far as I'm concerned.

I don't think you can look at this decision as one plane fits all your needs over the next 15-20 year period. I think if you want one airplane to fit a changing mission like this in terms of load you really should get into a Saratoga or some other 6 place. But I don't think you need to force yourself into one airplane for this long. The Mooney is a perfect two place with baggage airplane or 4 place (preferably kids) in the back. This is exactly my scenario. Wife and the 11 y.o. twins, bags and fuel as mission dictates. I can carry full fuel but rarely do I need to. As we all know it costs money to carry fuel around plus you are going to want to drop in somewhere go to the rest room, grab something to drink eat etc. So legs of 3 hour max is all I do with the kids especially. It fits your mission perfectly I would say because your kids are even younger !

How would a buyer view the J if RAM air was closed. Think it would it make a difference ?

Quote: jetdriven I dont see any cons, the ram air only gives <1" of MP and is one more thing to maintain.

Looking to have the cowl painted soon and was wondering if anyone has an opinion in removing the RAM Air inlet and close that hole in the cowl. Mooney has a RAM Air removal procedure. Does anybody see any cons in doing so? Any input always appreciated.

Quote: jgarrison I would hope for a measured response from ‘allsmiles’, but my guess is that is not to be forthcoming.

I'd go for the Mooney now and in 10-15 years re-evaluate your needs! Based on what you describe your needs to be now the Mooney is a no brainer in all depts. Speed, efficiency, maintenance and load. Fuel is not getting any cheaper any time soon. I wouldn't go into an airplane knowing upfront that I'll be burning twice as much fuel as the Mooney! If you have the occasional need and must carry more load than the Mooney can handle just rent a Dakota or some other airplane. I've done this a couple of times. But 99% of the time the Mooney will serve your needs just fine. Take a look at this article http://www.mooney.org.au/index.php/workshop-a-articles/10-why-do-i-own-a-mooney.html

I am logged in incorrectly as Allsmiles right now, I have read all his PM's and I actually thought of creating an inapproriate and an highly agressive post to stir up the Fantom/Allsmiles fued....buuut, I'll just log off and log back in.

Quote: Cris I used the escrow/title services available thru AOPA simply because they are a known entity to me. I do not recall the exact cost but it was probably around $2000 including title ins. Of course AOPA makes money so the services are available elsewhere for less but I did not have the experience to determine who might be better. However the recommended company did the title search. provided title insurance, & guaranteed that the paperwork would be filed correctly. The broker, JeffFine of Fine Aircraft would have been happy to handle it all (except the title insurance which was the most expensive) at no charge. This was was part of his value add but I wanted a complely independent source due to the issues I wrote about. It was all handled on the phone at time of closing with a very knowlegeable A/C title person. Once papers were faxed the title company authorized me to hand over the funds to the broker & guaranrteed me clear title & off I flew. It was great for peace of mind. A few weeks later I got the FAA registration etc. Costly maybe but I would not buy a house without title insurance & with scames today who knows. Price is what you pay & value is what you get. One other point is that in the prebuy the Stec 30 autopilot was not checked in flight only on the ground. Jeff warranteed that it would work properly. It was out of tolerance. I had it fixed & Jeff paid the bill even though the deal was completly done. A man of his word- Old school. There still are people like that out there.

Quote: jetdriven Why did you pay the mechanic for a prebuy in advance of the actual inspection? I didn't think this was SOP (regardless of the broker, I would not pay a mechanic before he actually did the work).

Quote: Cruiser word of mouth referral is the one and only one true method. While this can still be a weak way to evaluate brokers, satisfied customers willing to say so is going to mean the most to future buyers and sellers. However, every deal is different and what the last customer was happy with the next one may not appreciate as much. To each his own.

Quote: bd32322 garmin needs competition - pure and simple - and aspen brings it to them at a cheaper price point. I dont care if its made in China/ India /Mexico - as long as it performs the same way. Allsmiles you belong to another era - the world is global and my money goes to the better product - be it Garmin or Aspen. And definitely Garmin being the only leader - helps no one - they are exorbitantly priced - they definitely need competition - and competition is good for GA - not garmin. When was the last time you opened a garmin box up and identified all the parts that came from which country/ state/ company. I opened up my handheld to fix it - because its screen went blank after a year of usage (yay Garmin) - and it had off the shelf parts from everywhere costing a few dollars and then a stamp on the box for "Made in USA" - the board prolly came from Taiwan - there were AMDs chips in there which are made by global foundries owned in the middle east - I could go on.

Quote: danb35 Interesting--that's not the song you were singing a few months ago. Then Garmin was awful, their (market leading/defining) products were awful, and the KSN770 was going to kill Garmin. The fact that the 770 had been vaporware for 4 years didn't seem to bother you at the time. I guess since you spent $BIGNUM on Garmin, now King isn't worth waiting for.

Quote: ToddDPT At the bottom of the triangular tab.

Quote: Becca Why did you pay the mechanic for a prebuy in advance of the actual inspection? I didn't think this was SOP (regardless of the broker, I would not pay a mechanic before he actually did the work).

Quote: fantom "By your logic everything is unnecessary including our Mooneys ! We might as well fly a J3 Cub" You're a hoot, and as always, take a logical discussion to a ridiculous extreme. I believe you could handle a J-3 Cub about as much as I believe you can cruise your J at 165 kts on 9 GPH.