Bob

MY only experience is with the Northwest Flyers in Schaumburg. It was only for an oil change. The guy there is Gene. It looks like he knows his stuff and is very nice. I am just starting to getting to know the aircraft service system, but have known the German Auto service business for 20 years. I can pick out only 3 auto techs out of a couple hundred I observed in the 20 years that I feel are the best at what they do. I get the same feeling from him. It is hard to describe, but the balance of attention and speed while working, how and where they set their tools down, what they observe quickly and how they answer questions while working tells a lot. I also think they are priced fair. Oil change total was $150 with 2 extra qts. If I stay local for my annual next year. Gene is going to do it. The negative: No Instrument approach at Schaumburg

Quote: We don't get much landing and takeoff practice as compared to a student pilot. Again, practice, practice, practice.

All Members: This message board has been a great help to me when I was shopping for my first aircraft, as I settled on a Mooney. Thank you all! Without everyone’s help, I am not sure what I would currently be flying. Colin, As I was Mooney shopping, I tried to listen to all opinions and then question myself after I heard a negative view or article. I have determined that 90% is false and only about 10% of the negative is real. Please take a minute and place all negative views aside and just evaluate yourself and your needs, mission and funds. Should you buy a Mooney? If the answer is YES, then take the pros and cons, heard about all models, from knowledgeable Mooney owners only! You have found them, they are here! Here is my purchase history: I placed a contract on N231PZ on Oct 17th, 2009. Private Pilot checkride on Oct. 29th with 57 total hours in a 152/172/Warrior, Cherokee and 5 retractable hrs in an Arrow. Picked up N231PZ with an instructor on Nov. 4th and trained for 11.5 hrs. Complex and High performance check-off on Nov. 5th First Solo as a 300mile cross country, on Nov. 6 I understand all of us are different and this is what worked for me. Please make choices that work for you, and only you. When you buy a Mooney, if it takes 10 hrs or 75 hrs, please do what is needed for you! Now after flying my 231 for a few months, I have made a few observations. 1) A Instructor and most people in general will shy away from the unknowns. If he has no Mooney experience, he will say "Don't Do It!" And so will non-Mooney owners. Most people without real Mooney experience will make comments based on the 90% false information they once heard. 2) Things do happen a lot faster in a Mooney, but, not too fast. 3) Speed has benefits. Most of the time, other people are told to follow you in. Also the other day departing Delta space with a traffic call, I decide to climb hard to just increase separation. Controller 15 seconds later, made a call, "Traffic is no longer an issue, thanks 231PZ". 4) Speed has a negative effect, It is no longer a joy to fly a short 30 mile leg. A 360% turn may take you many miles back to where you just were. 5) A well-equipped panel really, really reduces workload! If your workload has been reduced during the last 2 hrs, It is very simple to land with some little curve balls when you are not worn out. Such as gusts, busy airport or an unfamiliar airport, etc. 6) A Mooney is not much harder to fly than a Piper to fly, just different. You just have to get proper training to learn the differences. 7) A new student pilot may have an advantage. Everything is fresh in our minds. For example watching the over the fence, approach speed is just drilled into our heads as the Instructor judges our accuracy. Wow, now the coming in to fast, that everyone is worried about, is no longer a problem, Cool! 8) To avoid the issue of slowing down a Mooney when learning, always fly a full pattern and slow it down early. Then as you get smoother, you can come in faster and fly it as it was designed. Fly smooth first and then speed comes by itself. The controllers won't like this, because they expect you to be faster, but they just adjust as needed. 9) If you are too fast in the pattern, don't struggle to slow it down. Just make your pattern bigger. This take NO effort at all. Stresses gone! 10) The fastest way to get educated is to buy a Mooney owner lunch. Before my Mooney purchase, I had lunch with Brooks, from this board. He was a low time pilot and the chat really helped me a lot! He really helped me see the benefits, for my personal needs, of the K rather than the J that I was looking for. If you would like to grab lunch send me a PM. Maybe Brooks will join us? Bob

Allsmiles, You have posted this link 5 times now. It may be helpful to many the first time! But becomes old well before the 5th time!

I registered mooneymap.com and linked it to the map that Jeff set up. I hope this helps everyone to remember the link. Thanks for all the participation everyone! As far as people having extra Mooney parts. I am in need of a CDT/TIT gauge. If anyone has one available please let me know. Thanks!

Thanks Matt for you help! I think this is a good start and it is great that many are participating. The Mooney family is very large and It will be nice to know where all my relatives are!

Thanks for this great forum! If it was not for Mooneyspace, I would still be searching for knowledge and would not be a Mooney owner at this time! I was early-planning a trip from Chicago to Florida and thought it would be great if a googlemap with pins of all members was available. This would make it very easy to stop for fuel and have lunch with another Mooney pilot.

Parker-Yes I did. I picked it up on November 4th. I am enjoying it! Have about 25hrs on it now. I grabbed one of Paul's pictures for my Avatar. Have not had any time to take any of my own. It takes a bit of time learning the options available to me in the panel.

I thought about this last week and decided to use TKS fluid in a home weed sprayer. I would not try automotive windshield deicer. The main component is salt. I am not fond of salt on 30 year old aluminum.

I went to the hanger today and the heater works pretty good. Outside temp 27 and engine temp was 65. This was without a blanket. In a few days I will be adding an additional hose to the intake grill of the heater. My thought is the heater will work much less by not trying to warm the cold outside air and will only have to maintain the warm air in the engine bay area. The heater intake hose is going to be placed in the front cowl opening along with the temp sensor and the warm air hose is going into the turbo inspection door opening. I guess this makes sense, my house heater does not heat outside air to room temperature. It takes room temp air and maintains it. I feel a little silly for not thinking of this earlier! The picture shows location of heater intake.

Loveflying-Yes, I will place a blanket over the cowl. Later I will test if it really makes a difference. Here are the Ranco Control Specs. Temperature Setpoint Range: -30° to 220°F Differential range: 1° to 30°F Input Voltage: 120VAC, 208, 240VAC Pilot duty: 125VA at 120/208/240VAC Sensor: Thermistor, 2" long x 1/4"dia with 8' cable (included) Control Ambient Temperatures Operating: -20° to 140° Storage: -40° to 176° Ambient humidity: 0 to 95% RH, non-condensing Enclosure: NEMA 1 Dimensions: 6.52" high x 2.7" wide x 2.48" deep Agency Approvals: UL listed, file E94419, Guide XAPX, CSA certified, file LR68340, class 4813 02 Relay Output Ratings - NO (NC) 120V 208/240V Full load amps 16 (5.8) A 8 (2.9 A) Locked rotor amps 96 (34.8) A 48 (17.4) A Resistive amps 15 (5.8) A 8 (2.9) A Horsepower 1 (1/4) HP 1 (1/4) HP George-Thanks for the link to the other post. I saw that and started a new post due to the age. But the link will help everyone see all the options. Any thoughts from on "ideal" temperature? I really do not want to cook stuff 24 hrs a day for months, but the higher it is, the faster I get to go fly.

Last night I put together an engine heater for my 231. I know many manufactured units are available, but did not want to spend $400-$600 for a heater. I also did not want to have a $50 heater that may cook something due to no temp control. I chose the Lasko/Stanley 1500watt ceramic heater due to cost, temp and fan adjustments, quality and also due to the nice handle. I then decide to add a Ranco ETC-111000 Digital Temperature Control and chose this control because of the quality, price, adjustment options and also because it includes a temp sensor that has an 8ft lead. This will allow me to use the heater just like a home furnace and have it automatically maintain the engine bay temperature. For my needs, a hanger with electric, I want to set up the Mooney with the heater and leave it till I return for the next flight with little worry when gone or wait time when I return. Everything looks good from the bench test and I will hanger test over the next few days. As a starting point I will use low temp settings and medium fan settings on the Lasko heater. And set the Ranco control to go on at 65 and off at 68. I will place the temp sensor in the turbo door and hose in the front cowl opening. If all goes well, I will next work on keeping the cabin warm. Total cost is about $130 and 2 hours of my beer time. Ranco control and Lasko heater were purchased from Amazon.com The 4 inch neoprene 350 degree hose from Mcmaster.com Tin 4 to 6 inch adapter from Home Depot.

In most states you pay it to the state, simular to buying a car from a private party. This may help. http://tax.utah.gov/selfreview/aircraft/faq.pdf

Here is a link with a lot of info on this. Also includes a good visual of the flight log.

A Mooney went down last year in my area. The pilot more than likely did not extend the gear due to panic and a very, very short time to react. I believe the Mooney slowed faster and avoided hitting cars because the gear was up. Just wanted to post as one example of an off field landing. You slow down very fast while aluminum is grinding on the pavement! Last year, when this happened, I thought much harder about the ideal emergency landing choices. A google will give more details. http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/09/plane-crashes-near-bolingbrook-airport.html http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6399256