thunberg

The color indicator on my RDR-160 radar just died, which makes for the perfect excuse to replace it with an MFD. Anyone have or know of any info on a used EX-500? Thanks in advance.

I had this all setup for my M20J, but recently transitioned to a twin and needed a larger tug, figured I'd give fellow Mooney pilot's a heads up on the auction I just put up: http://www.ebay.com/itm/220914949180 If anyone wants to make a reasonable offer before the sale expires I'd be happy to sell it within the group.

To be honest, I hadn't until you mentioned it. The push pull is definitely attractive from a safety standpoint, but from some quick research, the cruise on the non-turbo is a bit low, plus you lose a bunch of baggage space (nose and tail due to engines being there) compared to conventional twins. Interesting option to consider though.

Interesting comparison, but I'll still respectfully disagree in regards to the two being exact equivalents in regards to the safety of a second engine. On the costs, I think anyone in personal aviation who tries to justify and or rationalize the money we all pay to do what we do (single or twin) is missing the point that if it was truly about money we'd fly commercial. Lastly, I wouldn't be so sure that the 100LL replacement, when it comes, will cost more in that what we're putting in our airplanes is already an extremely small niche as far as the refining, storage, and delivery are concerned due to the lead. Any new solution should be at least less of a niche than the current solution which should naturally (hopefully) result in lower prices. Even though this article is from 2006, it still is a very good explanation of the situation and potential solutions: http://www.kitplanes.com/magazine/pdfs/0606-2935.pdf

Thanks for sharing your experiences with the D55. I'm actually specifically looking for a late 70's / early 80's E55 namely for the 166 gallon fuel option and the extended nose baggage area. As far as equiptment to match my M20J, I'm pretty bare bones as is and from the planes I'm looking at I'd only need to add a GEM / digital fuel flow and most likely a 430W to surpass what I have presently.

Thanks for the encouragement. I agree on the costs aspect, making the jump from a single to a twin is going to sting even more due to the fact that I'm coming from a Mooney that gets me 160kts on 10gph. Good luck with your own Mooney transition!

I appreciate your input, and while everyone has their own take on the single vs. twin debate, my own is that a twin is definitely safer as long as the pilot does their job with recurrent training. From pouring over NTSB data it seems the vast majority of the fatal light twin accidents for light twins, in particular a Baron 55 which is what I'm looking to buy, focus on pilot error or the usual continued VFR into IMC. While your chances of an engine failure are definitely double in a twin, the simple fact remains that you've generally got one left to buy time with as opposed to a single where you've now been converted into a glider. I definitely love my Mooney, and will continue to recommend and speak highly of them in regards to singles, but 2 more seats, improved climb, and additional redundancy of a second engine more than pushes me towards a light twin as the next step.

I've thoroughly enjoyed my experience owning a Mooney (my first plane) but I've found myself doing more over water and mountain flying lately and have decided to move to a light twin which means it's time to find a new home for my M20J. It's a 1994 M20J MSE with 1797 TTAF and 1797 SNEW for the engine, prop was overhauled 103 hours ago. No damage history, complete logs, hangared. I'm asking $129,000 and it's priced (hopefully) for a relatively quick sale. Controller: http://www.controller.com/listingsdetail/aircraft-for-sale/1171839.htm Barnstormers: http://www.barnstormers.com/Mooney,%20M20J%20Classifieds.htm I'd be happy to answer any questions and would love to sell it to a fellow MAPA member if possible.