jwilkins

I am not a mechanic but have seen loose control wheels and scored shafts. So, I'm offering my unofficial yoke removal comments: Pre 201 yokes have a tapered pin. Loosen the nut and then GENTLY tap with a plastic mallet to loosen the pin. If you smash too hard you can mangle the threads on the tapered pin When re-installing do not over tighten the pin. The pin attaches the CW to the shaft but the set screw takes out the play. DO NOT attempt to tighten the pin enough to remove all play between the shaft and CW. This is partially what causes the cracked control wheel shafts (in addition to the thin wall tubing). Both pre and post 201 have a set screw that keeps the CW from wobbling on the shaft. LOOSEN THE SET SCREW. Many control wheel shafts from salvage a/c have scoring from twisting the CW off without loosening the setscrew. In some cases the CW shafts are ruined. My 62 'C' had yokes which the previous owner had carefully covered with a premium leather automotive steering wheel cover. Not as nice as the professional jobs, but looked nice and were comfortable. The hand grip were covered; not the entire yoke. Not as nice as Aero Comfort's professional jobs. jim

I have a set of complete covers from a J which I was told moved to Europe and they did not take the covers. I got them when I was on the waiting list for a hanger. We started to open up some seams to modify them for different antennas, etc, but a hanger became available. If anyone needs them make me an offer. They are just taking up space. My K came with a cabin cover which is enough for trips when I am not in the hanger. The covers are Tan, Aircover JK Hill, marked with N12ZX . The registration for 12ZX says 1991 M20J but I did not buy the covers from the original owner, so cannot confirm this is right. This is a complete cover set for the entire aircraft. The fabric appears to be in good condition. Jim

I have no opinion or expertise to make a market valuation; that is for the industry experts to predict. However, I'd like to ramble on about total cost vs purchase price. Market value is a soft metric until the plane is sold; then you know what the value was to the person who bought it. My first Mooney, a '62 'C' was a really good purchase price, but I spent almost as much in discretionary upgrades as I did to buy the plane. The avioics guys tried to talk me out of putting a G430 in; they said the cost to total value did not support it. I put in a G430 and an S-Tec 30. The return on investment was really low, but I never regretted the expense. I went from white knuckle, sweating IFR approaches to only slightly anxious. If I had a clear requirement for what I needed instead of bargian price hunting, I could have bought a newer plane with the equipment already installed for less than my total investment. History says a 'C' engine has a better chance of making TBO than the 'F' or 'J' FI engine, but that supposes the pilot manages the engine properly. Not everyone needs an approach certified GPS. Some buyers want a really nice looking plane that has a fairly good probability of NOT having a lot of non-forecast maintenance for a couple years. This plane has a lot of really good features, including the Wilmar tank sealing and MSC annuals. I recently traded my beautiful pristine fast cruising '67 F for an M20K that can climb up higher & faster than the F. The cosmetics are not as good, and the radios are maybe a little bit of a step down, but it climbs. That's what I needed. Without knowing what the real mission is for any potential buyer it is very difficult to establish a real market value for any particulr plane. There just aren't enough out there to be able to shop like you can for a used car. I've mentioned this before, but my approach to buying the 'K' and the 'F' was to call Jimmy Garrison and talk to him about what I wanted and what I thought my budget could stand. Both times he worked with me to find a plane that fit what I wanted. Yes, the market is soft, but the real key is that the needs of a buyer come together with an available plane that fits. I would think the real key is not to focus on price, but to figure out as clearly as you can what your real priorities are and focus on finding a plane that fits your needs. When I bought the 'F' I told Jimmy that I wanted to find a plane that the previous owner had already done the avionics upgrades, had very good cosmetics, and had a fairly good probability of not requiring any major repairs in a couple years. 477T was exactly what I wanted, although at the top end of my budget, it was what I wanted. After moving West I told Jimmy I wanted to trade in 477T on a K and keep the incremental cost as low as possible, have a low time engine, decent maintenance, and good avionics. It took a few months but we found, again, what I wanted. I think the requirements should come first, then an honest calm discussion with an industry expert whose opinion you can trust about whether your requirements and budget are realsitic in todays market. If they requirements and budget are realisitic, then it is a matter of hunting. Remember that your perfect next plane may not even be on the market today. IMHO the purchase price is one one factor; the condition (think required maintenance expense), cosmetic standards you can live with (P & I are expensive), plus minimum equipment you want (already installed is much less expensive) make up the total cost of any particular purchase. Jim

There is no approval issue about having a WAAS and non-WAAS in the same panel. It's the same as having any other GPS Com or Nav/Com as #2. 231MS had two non-WAAS G430 units. I upgraded only #1 to WAAS. It wasn't worth another $3K to me to upgrade #2. Opinions may vary. I may be more thrifty (cheap) than some others. 1. As others pointed out, they won't cross fill. Both couple to the A/P OK with a selector switch. Only #1 is talking to the fuel totalizer. Not sure but I think this is an install oversight, not a system issue. I forgot to ask that the transponder talk to the GPS so the 430 does not know what my encoder altitude is, and the transponder flight timer does not start itself on take off. I actually miss the auto start of the flight timer. I may get this corrected sometime when we are having 'behind the panel' work done. 2. The data cards are different. I have not asked about a Jeppesen data two-unit discount as I only update #2 periodically not on subscription. I found a Cirrus driver in Florida who has the same one-WAAS, one-not and I buy an update from him periodically for the #2 non WAAS. If I knew a local guy with a non-WAAS I'd work out a deal so my data was always only one cycle old by taking their old card. Previous aircraft had conventional Nav-Com without a GPS so I'm not missing much except a legal /G by not updating the data 3. If your WAAS #1 unit craps out you do not have a back up for WAAS approaches. If your #2 data is out of date you can't legally use /G on #2 for IFR. 4. Non-WAAS has no terrain so you can't put terrain on #2 and nav screen on #1. I find having a second 430 in the panel a huge upgrade from a conventional #2 Nav-Com. I still have my Bendix AV0R with WX so I now have three GPSs on board, not counting the Ipad Wing X I'm trying out. Generally I keep the moving map on #1, do my page flipping and other stuff on #2 and can now just leave the AV80R on weather. I'm satisfied with the setup. Jim

In the past I have seen a couple on Barnstormers, and missed one by dragging my feet on it for a couple days. They sell quickly. If you find one set up for one of the less majestic B, P, or C planes you can get Mooney adapters from Power Tow (or fab locally). Try a periodic Google search for 'used Power Tow for sale'; it sometimes picks up ones from other owner groups. The first one I had I took apart and carried home in the back of my '62 C; so you can go pick one up if you drain the gas and oil. More fun than shipping. it's like hunting. If you see one you like, take your best shot as you don't know when the next one will be along.

We keep D-Con and sticky traps in the hanger, so far we haven't had mice get in the plane when it's in the hanger. Twice I have had mice get in different planes when i was tied down outside for less than a week on trips. Now when I need to be outside I try to be in the middle of the ramp, not on the edge near the fields, and I put a no-bait-required snap trap on the rear seat floor, on a newspaper as the trap can get messy after a week. Since I started tieing down in the middle of the ramp I haven't had any visitors, but I still put the trap in the back seat just in case. Years ago my Dad worked in a bakery. They had a 1/8 inch shim which was the standard mouse gauge. If there was a gap greater than 1/8" a mouse could squeeze through. Apparently they flatten thier heads down. it's probably impossible to close up all the holes in an airplane to keep them out. Baiting them before they get to the plane seems to be a better solution.

Sorry you lost your gear. Does your car or home insurance offer any re-imbursement at all? I would keep an eye on Ebay, Barnstormers, and Craigslist. Your experience is driving me to look for a hidden area on my expensive gear where I can engrave some ID. Maybe the N number or a phone number. Replacement headsets: I have owned and used QT Halos, Bose X, Telex Stratus 50D, Lightspeed 20XL, and a mess of other pre-ANR and borrowed headsets. The QT Halos are my favorite for more than an hour in the air. If I am just hopping around locally I use the Bose witht eh panel mount connector. Some people are just more sensitive to clamping than others. It's not just "big heads". My wife refuses to use any over the ear head sets because they give her bad headaches. She prefers to use ear plugs for noise reduction with a Telex on the ear headset (the ones sold to executive jet type guys) rather than any over the ear set. The next long trip we go on I'll see if I can get her to try the Halo in-the-ear set. The Halos are absolutely amazing for light weight, noise reduction, and no clamping pressure. Putting them on is not as quick as slipping on a clamping headset, but after more than a year of use, it is pretty easy. I've never had any complaints from ATC about voice quality using the Halos, although a couple times I have had to 'speak up' when using my old Bose X. You can easily forget you have the Halos on, which I have never done with a conventional headset. The Bose X ANR circuit just crapped out on one headset. I haven't gotten around to getting a price on fixing it yet. I am hoping the Bose factory is better about repairs than the Telex was when it needed work. I will never buy another Telex regardless of price or features after dealing with them on a repair a couple years ago. Non responsive and insanely high 'flat rate' repairs whcih are obvioulsy intended to discourage any repairs. Fortunately I knew a printed circuit board repair tech who found a bad solder connection on the power portion of the PCB and fixed it without the $500 (from memory) flat rate repair cost. It took him about 30 minutes, including re-assembly and testing. That would work out to $1000 an hour for the flat rate repair. Lightspeed has always been absolutely fantastic about any questions or customer service for my many years old 20XL headset. They should be put up as case study for excellence in customer service. Once I called them to tell them I broke the 'yoke' that holds the ear cup. The lady answering the phone said 'that should not happen' and sent me free parts for both L&R sides, well after the official warrantee period. Replacement ear and headband pads are sent out promptly, cheerfully, and at a reasonable cost. I like these guys. I bought the Stratus 50D because I wante to try the digital ANR system to see how much different it would be. It is difficult to do a side-byside comparison,but my thoughts are maybe a little better thna the Lightspeed 20XL. I can't tell the difference betweent the Bose X and the Stratus 50D, although the specs show the 50D is better at adaptive ANR. My 'new' plane has only one panel mount connector (pilot), so I just traded the Telex 50D with the Lemo /panel connector in on the new Zulu 2 (should be delivered today or tomorrow). When I did the trade in I could have traded either the Telex or the Bose. The Telex is bigger and bulkier. I could not tell any difference between the Telex and the Bose ANR performance. Plus, I didn't want to trade in a non-functional Bose. It didn't seem cricket. Unless I really fall in love with the new Zulu I will probably continue to use the QT Halo and let my son use the Zulu, or he can continue to use the Lightspeed 20XL, which he seems to like. I think the best advice I can pass along is that you should try to borrow any headset you are thinking about and see if it works for you. Everyone is different and what works super fo rme not be your preference. These things are all expensive. If you can possibly try out a set first it would be great. Best of luck, Jim

I bought my second and current Mooney from Jimmy. I called him without knowing him, told him what I wanted, and a few weeks later he called back with exactly what I needed. I found him to be professional and fair. I'll buy my next Mooney from him with absolutely no hesitation if he has one I want at a fair market price. There are few businesses that do not have soem disgruntled past customers. Personally I would have droppped this guy forever when he put the stop payment on the second check. Jimmy apparently has a lot more patience than I do. Anyone who is still obsessed after six years has significant issues. My analysis is that Jimmy is lucky he decided to cut his losses and take another offer. Returning the deposit minus direct expenses is an indication of a honorable businessman. Jim

On my former 62C and present 67F the cotter pin keeps the seat from traveling too far back. If you keep the drilled vertical holes cleaned out - my AP /IA used to use a drill bit in his hand to clear the crud out - the seats should lock in place OK. I haven' t heard of any Mooney seat rails worn so badly that the locking pin will come out of the hole without using the seat adjuster, although it could happen. On a side note, on a friends M20E he asked his AP to drill an additional seat stop hole so thta his wife could slide her passenger seat back almaost full back and still lock it in place. I'm not sure what ppaerwork was required, but hi swife is happythta the seat does not unexpectedly slide forward.

My '67 does not have a mounting stud installed on the post. Lasar has a really slick retro fit adapter for their Lasar visors that clamps to the tubing to create a mount point. Since it is just a clamp and no tube drilling or welding required my AP said a log book entry is sufficient. The Lasar visors are an absolutly amazing design for being able to articulate. I tried using the self-stick sunshield but it always seemed to fall off at an inconvenient time. My son and frequent co-pilot asked why I had waited a year to 'fix' the no-visor problem. The visors were damaged in shipping. I called Dan the head Lasar parts guy; he shipped out replacements the same day, no hassles, no questions. My plane has fairly thick upolstery on the posts, so I had to use the longer studs (two lengths of studs are provided in the kit). even with the longer studs there was not enough length to put on the plastic trim ring to cover up the end f the stud. The exposed stud does not bother me. If you get these read through the instrucitons and then call Dan if you have any questions. My only connection with Lasar is that they have been a fantastic resource for keeping both my previous and present Mooneys in the air at reasonable (in AMU terms) cost. When I have a problem I usually call Dan before I talk to the mechanic, as he frequently will ask me "What did Lasar say?" when I do go to him.

Quote: mohawk There are good deals out there, I just bought a F mdl resealed tanks, 500 eng 3000 A/F auto pilot ect for 35K