Parker_Woodruff

The M20J flies "nicer", in my opinion. But nothing significant that should sway your opinion one way or another. Fly the plane you want/desire/can afford.

Thought for a second you were discussing the merits of three out of the four engine variants to the M20K

Both are nice Mooneys. The M20S is faster and burns a bit more fuel. Not efficient for short trips. The M20S is finished out inside nicer than the older M20Js.

A Google search shows quite a few screens in that airplane. Lots of maps and slick, digital avionics are no replacement for good airmanship and IFR proficiency.

For wind and weather and airspace, this was the best route: KMLB MAI KCEW KMSY KACT KELP ELP T306 ANIMA V16 SSO V16 TUS KTUS TUS V66 MZB OCN V23 SLI KHHR

I just finished a coast to coast flight (FL to CA) in a 1978 M20J and for probably the 2nd delivery flight this year something bad DIDN'T happen. I've learned over the past several years how to tell people "No" and leave a plane parked in some other state. Even if it means losing time/money for me. It's a shame that aircraft owners have gotten so lax about maint and that airplanes are flying so little now. Also, setting my rate a bit higher ($50/hr or $400/day) has weeded out some of the bad stuff.

You guys actually fly a lot. I'm impressed. I've flown 200 hours in the last 12 months. I'm typically about 150/year with the highest year being about 400 and the lowest about 50. 1550 hours total time and a rated pilot since 2006. I think about 700 hours in Mooneys.

Too many variables with grass. I wouldn't even think about 2100' grass and I'm the kind of guy that will put an M20J or M20K on a 2000' paved strip without batting an eye.

Hawk Aircraft Painting in Tampa, FL (VDF) is excellent and will be just barely at the high side of your budget. I don't think there is sales tax anymore in FL for such work.

I really do wonder why no one steps up and buys the Cessna 172 type certificate from Textron/Cessna and starts mass producing these airplanes looking toward the China Aviation boom. The C172 is about the greatest multi-tasking airplane out there. Textron can't be making that much money from their line of piston airplanes... The unfortunate reality is we have too many piston single airplanes fragmenting General Aviation. There are too many LSA manufacturers all making 8 airplanes per year. Economies of scale and great profits just aren't possible in the current scenario. But for Chinese, American, and [insert nation here] flight schools, it seems like the best idea is to go with a proven airframe.

Is this assuming the plane is on the ground? What's the usable fuel in the M20M and was there unusable fuel already in the tanks when the fuel was "drained". In other words, does "completely drained" mean they siphoned out all the unusable fuel? You'll likely catch my drift. Also, the plane might read differently on the ground and in the air. How do the sight gauges compare on the ground?

If they won't agree to taking their plane to LASAR, Top Gun, G-Force, or Don Maxwell, then I won't play ball. I'll even pay the fuel and buy the seller an airline ticket home from any one of those places. I want to purchase an airworthy airplane...some sellers have a strange definition of "airworthy".

Jimmy and David broker planes and are honest with the planes as far as they know them and study their logbooks. There are planes that they have sold which have had extensive maintenance done during the prepurchase process. There are planes they have sold which are more or less flawless. Your best bet to protect yourself is have an agreement that allows both parties to walk, but if the seller walks because he disagrees with the prebuy, he's on the hook for the inspection. Previous annuals by Maxwell or other good MSCs are a good indication of the overall maintenance of the plane, but are not a substitute for an inspection paid for by you. There's nothing that says something bad didn't happen from the time Maxwell & company put the cowl on and the seller flew away. Hard landings, something about to eat itself, etc.

Everything I'm hearing is $1900 - $2700 Most recent one I heard yesterday was a good shop in central florida charging $2,600 for an M20F. Accounting for 24-26 hours of labor, AD research, and logbooks, I'd say that's about right.

It all depends. There are a lot of operations that only need $30/bbl On the other hand, a lot of these South TX and ND operations didn't make financial sense until oil hit $70 and $80/bbl to begin with. The laws of economics at work...it made free market sense, and now we got a glut in supply And we have been "fracking" since the 1940s. One of the reasons I sold my M20K was to invest some more money into a small oil production company I am a partner in. Our last "fracking" operation of a well cost $1500. Even the small-time oil companies do it. If someone uses the word "fracking", you can be assured they probably don't know what they are talking about. But it makes for nice media headlines.

No one in the USA will cave to this pressure. They'll just cave when it doesn't make economic sense to extract out of the ground and/or if they are highly leveraged like a lot of the smaller firms are.

Luke is one of those lower time pilots with the airmanship skills of a 1500 hour pilot that flies 200 hours per year. And that Citatbria is largely to blame. Some other pilots could learn some basic stick and rudder from him...go get your CFI, Luke

Hope you guys are using cheap gas as a reason to go out flying a lot and putting your planes to work. The only way to keep GA alive is by flying and encouraging others to become airplane owners, not 15 hour per year renters.

I kept my M20J outside in Texas for almost two years. Had a couple later departures because of frost, but that's all...

Send it to Maxwell

USAA contracts with Falcon Insurance in Kerrville. Call 800-880-4545 and ask for Michael in USAA

I flew my plane from Central Florida to Don Maxwell for both of my annual inspections when I had my M20K and lived out there. Phil is great as well. He did most of the the non-annual inspection maintenance for me.

What do you mean by babying the engine? Some things do more harm than good (such as pulling the power back immediately after takeoff).

The TIT of my M20K decreased about 30 degrees (maybe more?) when I switched to Tempest Fine Wire spark plugs. LOP in an M20K is definitely a good thing.

Plenty of heat at FL210 in the winter.