piperpainter

Here are the pictures for those that are curious! Wheel Well Liner was through LASAR (Lake Aero Styling And Repair) They claim 1.0 MPH and it cost $155.00 for M20B - M20K.

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For anyone that is curious I just put these in and will probably post pictures tomorrow! Really easy to install, took me about 40 minutes altogether. I didnt paint them cause I plan on getting paint in Feb. Worth the $155 bucks!

I think i need to find a shop! haha That takes alot of work haha

Actually the paint...this time...was easy. I had stripped it a while back and repainted it cause it looked bad. That was the frist time I was "going to polish it." But didn't know how to go about it. Thanks again for your help, I have a ways to go to make it real pretty but just the polished/silver look on the plane looks better already.

Thanks Sky Captain! Im going to do this right after I get home!

Did about 200+ last year. Hope to somehow afford the same this year. I have a trip to OSH and around the US planned that'll be at least 50 hrs!

Plus you can get over just about any terrain you need to with the service ceiling Mooney's have.

Thanks for the info. I'll see what the new Alternator requires when I get home! Otherwise I wonder if that can be closed or redirected!

ohhh i see!! So maybe you will know this question. I just got the alternator mod. Will that require the duct still or no? I know you said the factory one did require the duct, but maybe the mod is different!

I always forget to ask my mechanic what this hole is for and now im deployed so there is no asking still! Any ideas would be great, if not i'll find out in a few weeks! haha Thanks!

Thanks for the info! i'll be needing a new cover after I get a paint job and it seems this is alot better price than other's i've seen. Thankfully I already have wing covers. Got those and Stab covers for $92.00 on ebay...what a steal!

I am going to be doing this so I am glad you mentioned that places will polish it for you! I'll have to find a local one to do when I get home. Thankfully I have a few months till painting!

I've run a tank dry before on purpose. I was high above the airport waiting and even doing knowing a sputter was coming was freaky. I switched quickly to the other (almost full) but I still didn't like it. And I'm amazed the Mooney POH says to do that normally!

I use a stick I got from the store. I had my tank empty after changing the fuel sump valve and I put in 5 gallons measured. Then every 2 gallons till I was to about 15 ( I have 26G tanks) Once I got to 15 I measured every gallon. Yes it took me a bit longer at the fuel pump but i know how much I have in my tanks now! The stick is really nice to. I even marked the lower part red to show its low for flight. Cost was about $.94!

Very nice, very nice!

I would not worry about Biase with Jim. He is not the official mechanic on the airplane so he can tell you all the things that Craig may want to say but the owner may not want to divulge. Thats is actually how he explained a pre-buy to me when it came to me purchasing a plane. I am glad to see others chime in about Jim, he truly is a great person to work with and very knowledgable. Not that you want to know but I had a mechanic go through all the logbooks, and do a thorough inspection then report to me all the items that needed to be addressed and what they felt the plane was worth etc. It was a great $500 or so bucks. Next thing ya know I purchased the tickets to TX to go get my girl! So by all means, complete a pre-buy then make your decision before going out there. Also don't think that the plane has been rotting and been neglected on the ramp. To answer a few questions no, I have never seen the tires flat or cracking etc. I know he flew the plane, like I said it seemed it was often gone every weekend maybe sitting up in friday harbor(less than hour flight) while he was at his other place. So definitely NOT a ramp queen. In regards to the snowy picture...that was several days of unexpected snow storms. Not everyone could make it out to the airport due to the roads. I went to check up on my girl first thing the next morning and actually cleared about 30 airplanes tails of snow, since its not good when they fall on the tail or have all that extra weight on them. As a matter of fact thats were I met SAGEMGUY and told him about Jim for the first time! Anyway I recall that the owner of the 231 showed up the next day to check on his plane and was very grateful I had cleaned it off. I would say he was not neglecting the beautiful bird but couldn't get to it that moment. I have my airplane outside and haven't had any problems yet. But I try and watch out for her and make sure nothings leaking inside etc. I wouldn't worry to much about the interior. If your all about eye candy then yes but otherwise if its a great airplane that just needs new interior id say go for it. I got new carpets for my airplane made and it cost me around $240.00 and WOW does it look better! I didn't let that deter me cause thats easy fix stuff. Lastly, Mooney instructors can be hard to find but I am pretty sure there is a flight school up at Boeing field. So maybe look around the flight schools (one used to rent a Mooney) and see if that instructor can help you. I hope you find someone either way!

Awww im so sad! This is a great plane. The guy would fly it all the time up to Friday Harbor. He is actually parked just a few spots away from me. I knew he had Spanaflight do the annual cause i've seen it come out of there. The plane has been parked outside for as long as i've known it. About 3 years. I never really talked to the owner other than on the radio. Anyway...to further help you. The paint does look decent from when i've looked at it. I've cleared snow off it before didn't look bad at all! As I said before the owner would fly it alot, id see it gone as much as I saw it there. I have a mechanic who ownes and knows Mooney's pretty well on the field. He does my annual with me and he does several other Mooney's as well. He isn't a service center but he knows them well. Jim Bergman, he's been around airplanes most of his life, he retired from united maint. Very nice guy and easy to work with right on the field. I highly recommend him to all friends in aviation as he & his son do a great job all kins of airplanes. Twins, singles, gliders etc. He has a couple people that fly in their airplanes from other states even! Mountain Aircraft is the name of the business. James (Jim) Bergman (253) 845-3803. You can tell him Bryan Painter told you to go there! At least give him a call! Also when it comes to Spanaflight Craig is one of the AI's that works there. He has a really good knowledge of Mooney's as well so the airplane has at least been in good hands with him. I don't go through spanaflight myself but before I had Jim as my mechanic I was going to go through them. I didn't because they don't really allow much of the owner assisted maint. Goodluck and if you have any more questions about stuff at KPLU let me know. I maybe on the other side of the world right now but I do have the connections still! Also I wanted to add that they do have a Mooney Maint center that charges alot, but if thats what your looking for...up north of Seattle at Skagit KBVS. Goodluck!

If only I had power so I could do something simple like the $30.00 heater! Darn tiedowns

I agree. You gotta remember the owner may be flying the plane in for you but you are paying the bill. They should be giving you a full and detailed report they wouldn't be able to give to you if it was the owner paying!

Change tanks or ask for immediate decent!

There shouldn't be an issue flying the plane that distance. My owner flew about 45 minutes for me, hung out while the pre buy was done. (pretty much from morning till done in the evening) Then flew it home. He wanted to sell and I wanted a pre- buy done at a Mooney Service center. He was very nice about it, and I didn't even have to pay for the fuel. Just the pre-buy. It was his last flight in the plane! So by all means, it doesn't hurt to ask if he'll take it that far.

I've never had a problem with my CHT. I have the cowl closer and it looks great. But I can't tell you what it did before cause I had it when I got the airplane. But I know it looks better than the big hole they had originally!