carusoam

ScubaMan, You are in the right place to ask questions. The forum on Modern Mooneys might be a slightly better place...(no requirement to double post). I would share my checklist with, unfortunately My M20R is still of the steam gauge variety... Fortunately, there are a couple of G1000 owners here. Welcome aboard.... Best regards, -a-

CoachTom, The wing sight fuel gauges should be calibrated to read usable fuel while on the ground. As compared to, the gauges on the instrument panel that should be calibrated to read usable fuel while in flight. I am reluctant to use the fuel gauges for flight planning without knowing its calibration status. [1] For fuel available for flight: The wing gauges are not that precise. I think they are marked in 5 gal increments. [2] For weight and balance purposes. You should add the unusable 4 gallons into your empty weight calculation, as you would for oil Best regards, -a-

"I believe the factory only did two of them, and one has been repainted." - Fantom... I think one is an Ovation and one may have been an Encore.... -a-

...does it take to land an M20J? You thought you could only land a mooney on water once... This airport is something special to the east coast. Note the pilot technique, he uses a lot of slipping prior to sliding..... Nashua, NJ (only in winter!!!)

It seems that anything from M20A - M20TN uses much of the same principles.... (as you may know, I am familiar with C and R) The long bodies have more engine mass further out front and require "a tad more" thought and trim to keep from dropping the nose in the most final phases of the landing. Remember to verify that power is pulled all the way out. The vernier controls sometimes need to be rotated left to completely remove all power. The additional 3 degrees of nose up attitude referenced in the Mooneyland article is difficult to measure as PIC. However, it is a completely new sight picture to get used to. Most notably she has a big honker that she holds high in front of you. It takes more and more back pressure (or trim) to keep it there as she settles in. (long, fiberglass, shaped cowling vs. short, blocky, aluminum cowling) Keep the speed on target, the nose up and be patient. If too much of the runway goes by, go around, (control the nose as power comes on). Decide what too much is in advance...waiting too long to make this decision is unhealthy. The first few solo flights have a higher probability of landing long, over-run and/or botched go arounds. Don't let it happen to you. Best regards, -a-

Jose, I have both the visors and the cap.... Do you put your headset over the cap? For comfort with my old DCs, the cap is on top of the headset.....(no pictures allowed!) In winter the ball cap is a requirement, keeps the shiney spot on my head warm from the ever-present chlly air flowing through the top of the cabin. Can't do that with visors.... -a-

Mitch and JimR, Thanks for the reminders....Artcraft did have a very professional thread about painting... Fired up the Mooney and the Corvette this weekend....(no red, both blue....) If you are going to paint your plane, do it now before Vref's VAT is extended to the US.......to cover the budget shortfall? Does anyone have any pictures of the mid 90's Moonies with the Texas Flag motif? Best regards, -a-

Greg, Welcome to the long body section of the Mooney world. I think you'll find it wicked cool....... Best regards, -a-

One need to update..... The long questions regarding fuel / distance / time have all been circumnavigated by a simple mnemonic to identify the answer without doing the math......(saves about 15 minutes on the test). Your class instructor did give you this didn't they???? As a mooney driver, you won't need all of the time that is alotted anyway.....and you do know fuel requirements to your destination and alternate to 1/10 of a gallon right? Best regards, -a-

David, I hope this starts you in the right direction......(unfortunately it is not a complete answer....) From the Oct 1977 POH.... (I no longer have my M20C) Usable fuel = 52Gal (i am sure there is unusable too). Oil capacity = 8qts, 6qts min for flight Gross Weight 2575 lbs Empty weight 1525 lbs Baggage area 120lbs hat rack 10 lbs Center of gravity limits (gear down) 2100 lbs most fwd 42.0 inches 2575 lbs forward gross 46.5 inches aft cg (all weights) 49.0 inches Datum station zero is the nose gear attaching bolt centerline, which is 33 inches forward of the wing leading edge at wing station 59.25 ___________________________________________________________________________ The final warning from the POH....see weight and balance record for loading schedule. This is usually kept with the log books for airframe, engine and prop. Search on this site for type certification. This usually has additional station information..... "You can go online to the FAA's website and get a copy of the aircrafts' Type Certificate Data Sheet. It will have lots of useful information about weight & balance and approved equipment and where on the airframe it's located. An IA is supposed to use a copy to make sure the aircraft conforms to type certificate and any STCs or 337s that came along later, during the annual inspection." Kwix-draw I expect that you are still looking for the stations for fuel, front seat passenger (range), rear seat passengers, baggage compartment, and hat rack.... Best regards, -a-

Flyboy, The IFR training for the written exam is dated to match the age of the test questions. Martha's jumpsuit is modern compared to the number of ADF questions you can encounter on the test. Fortunately IFR flying is much better than the written exam portrays it to be. The old school still works too... Best regards, -a-

Does the Glassair III come with a TIO-540? A two seat rocket that cruises at 300mph....? -a-

"How does Mooney handle the stall? The several Mooneys I have stalled have done quite nicely! " N6791N George, Nicely stated from a person with experience and offering technical detail to support your arguments. Very commendable. Best regards, -a-

"I'm curious about your comment Lew. I've never owned a boat nor do I particularly care for them (I'm just not a boat person), but why are they so expensive to keep up?" - FlyBoy0681 Way off topic.......the question got me thinking and I needed to type something....... Shared Boat Experience, in no particular order: Speed on water 15 nm/hr with similar fuel burn to an M20J. Price of fuel similar to 100ll (at the marina). Overnight tie up (tie down) fees by the foot (limited availability). Hauling, cleaning, bottom painting, covering and storage fees (similar to an annual in expense). Saltwater is incredibly corrosive. Engines don't wear out they corrode. There is no rebuilding, just replacing. in an aircraft engine, oil leaks out on occasion, on a boat, the saltwater leaks in.... If the boat goes on a trailer, than you will also need a vehicle capable of towing...... Insurance, training, Coast guard or police boarding = ramp check All that expense and the usable period of time is May - October Anything sold at a boat store has higher prices, similar to aviation: cleaners, waxes, radios etc. Going to a specialist (MSC) mechanic at the next state over costs too much in fuel to get there and back. Sea sickness takes longer than airsickness to get over.....because at 15 knots it takes a long time to get to shore. Overall the expense of the boat itself will be in the range of what you would afford for a plane. For your typical mooniac...you would be looking at a boat that goes much faster, but unfortunately drinks much more gas.....something with twin 454 CI chevys with marine conversions.... Don't get me wrong, I would love to have a boat, but the workload goes up with expeses also.... My dad is the yachtsman, I'm the pilot.... Best regards, -a-

I have been to Sun 'n Fun three times. Camped in GAC each time. Short taxi in rough grass field. (shorter than KOSH to the North 40...) Bring your own tie downs. Also remember to bring a hammer. It is hard sand that neither wants to accept the tied down "nails" nor does it want to give them back when it is over. Also remember to print out your signs in advance: "GAC" for camping "GAP" for parking etc... This helps the volunteer ground handlers point you in the right direction. Print the notam and keep it with you..... remember to go slow when transitioning from paved to grass surface. Bring warm clothes, the title of the show is sometimes mis-leading These are thoughts that come to mind..... Best regards, -a-

I have had very good reception and accuracy at 12,000 ft. I have had less accuracy inside the cabin of a commercial jet liner. Accuracy from inside a hotel room (15 ft from window) is within a 1/2 mile. accuracy of the internal antenna can be significantly affected by the shadows created by the structure of the aircraft. I have not used a mount. I am using my Ipad for situational awareness, KLN90B for IFR nav. Best regards, -a-

The fuel sender is the expensive part. The connection between the sender and the indicator is a magnetic coupling. The indicators get old, they are not really water tight and are susceptible to UV degradation. My MSC replaced one this year after my annual for well under $100 including labor.... Best regards, -a-

Welcome to the Long Body Camp.... Best regards, -a-

Jim, Congratulations, you have done mighty fine work. It looks brand new on the inside. Best regards, -a-

I went with trade-up.... It did not make financial sense to continue to put money into the plane that no longer fit my mission. co-pilot likes the headrests.....even though they could have been added at a much lower price.... -a-

From my limited experience... If possible, call for your clearance in advance to avoid the writing while flying. fltplan.com will text you the most updated clearance and is a good place to start prior to calling. Depart VFR, contact ATC (local frequency is on approach chart of your departing airport). If you are fortunate, they work you right in, if not continue on VFR until they can work you in... When you make contact, let them know that you have picked up your clearnace already, they may want to give it to you again.... Otherwise, trying to get clearance on the ground at an uncontrolled field can be quick, a cell phone is required. Know how long it takes to get through run-up and be ready to go.... Usually you can get a void time of 10 - 15 minutes. It is hard for ATC to reserve more time than that. Best regards, -a-

Luc, Things to check to make sure the self test works on the AP... I have a BK KAP 150 There are a few buttons that can interfere with the initialization test. (1) CWS - Control Wheel Stearing. It is hard to tell, but if the button is activated, the initialization period never ends. (2) AP emergency Off button. This is more obvious than the others. (3) Electric Trim. must be on for the test. The engine is always on when this part of the Pre-flight comes up, but I don't know that it is required for the initialization test. Good luck, -a-

Cruiser, I agree. It is necessary to keep the IFR GPS database up to date to stay on the up and up...If the database is old, using the ADF keeps it legal. For anyone not reading the approach plate: The hold after the missed, is an NDB, on the ILS at KMMU. -a-

Speaking of use it or lose it.... I too have the back up, electric powered vacuum pump. The only exercise it gets is during the pre-flight. There really isn't a way to exercise it more often. It would be unusual to run two pumps at one time.... Is anyone familiar with a failure of the back-up pump system. Mine is near 15 years old....(added early in the plane's life). Best regards, -a-

Mark, You may want to consider holding on to the ADF for one reason.... KMMU ILS requires ADF (FYI) - that was alphabet fun.... Approach plate... http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/1102/00931IL23.PDF -a-