Ned Gravel

Last year Clarence @M20Doc changed out my old '65 E model seats for a set from a K model (I think) that allow the back seats to be folded down. The seats were provided by Alan Fox @Alan Fox (Grim Reaper) and the remainder of the missing hardware needed for installation was provided by a retired Paul Loewen. The ones I had are now in Clarence's shop and he has suggested I offer them for sale here on Mooneyspace, so he can clean up that area of the shop. Clarence is sending me pics so you can see what they look like. The fabric is not good and the foam is just OK. The frames are in very good shape and the cams to recline the seats are the ones that came from the new set . I transferred Dave Staffeldt's @Sabremech new model cams to the new seats. Only condition is that the cost of shipping is paid by whomever buys them. I know some are going to give me a hard time over this, but I am not fussed by the money, other than the cost of shipping. Clarence is going to have to box them up and prep them for transport. More pics to follow. This one pic now is of the interior when I bought the plane in 2005. Colour is a sort of purple with a red piping trim. Back seat has rips in the fabric. Lap belts from the K model seats are included. Expressions of interest are welcome. More pics as promised.

“The Good Shepherd” by Frederick Forsyth. A classic. Get the audiobook version with the pictures of the Vampire and Mosquito.

Member 17. I am in.

I just got a "Christmas Greeting" letter (e-mail) from Ralph with an apology for not being able to hold the PPP in January at Lakeland, FL. I hadn't signed up for it, although I did hope to attend another next Fall. The point is that this e-mail (which did not ask for any funds) was very nice and very unlike the one received by the OP. Gives me hope that MAPASF hasn't gone completely off the rails.

I enjoyed both of the PPPs I attended. Does this mean that they will stop delivering it?

Reiff guy here. It rarely gets up to 30 (F) from the beginning of December to the middle of February where I live. So the Reiff rings and the two sump pads work great for the 60 mins or so it takes to get the whole thing up to 70. Only one consideration counts for me here. Time taken to get the engine up to acceptably warm.

Fly more often?? Failed to keep up my hours in 2020 and need to get out of the cave to fly more this year. Planning to do one of two transcontinental trips. Just hope the vaccine effort allows either one to happen. BTW Seth. Trip to NIST in March will now be virtual only. Sheesh.

It's just that it takes one to "know" one. OR I have been trained by Clarence @M20Doc. You pick..... But thanks Anthony.

Panel shot has the downlock block of a Johnson bar in it.

Here ya go Tony. Always pleased to assist.

I have to ask, being a Canadian and all..... where does the name "FlyingCanuck" come from? Seeing as how that describes Yves, myself, Chris Shopperly and a bunch of other folks north of the 49th parallel that also "slip the surly bonds of earth." You know, from that aviator hymn written by an American in a Royal Canadian Airforce uniform?

Ah. I see. Have you confirmed that it is tilted backwards from comparison with the horizontal on the avionics bay? Or from its apparent tilt while parked. If it is the latter, it may not actually be tilted. As for replacing it with another, your only concern will be the AI and the tilt it was configured for when installed. That was the issue that forced me to measure my own panel’s tilt back in 2008. Other than ensuring sufficient clearance for instruments behind the panel, which should already be OK, you should be good. But as Anthony says, just my opinion. I am not a mechanic with the authority to tell you how this actually is supposed to work, only what I did.

I have a '65E as well with the older panel. It has an 8 degree tilt forward. If you do not, yours was modified to remove that tilt in the past. If you want to be sure what your tilt is exactly, compare it with the tilt of the fore-aft line at the top of the external rear avionics bay (battery compartment) cover. That is the supposed true horizontal line when the aircraft is in flight. With a protractor and a plumb bob, you will see what that is on the ground and be able to compare it with your panel. The tilt forward on my panel is only 8 degrees when in level flight. If I am not mistaken it is much closer to vertical when the aircraft is parked on the ground. MIne sits very slightly nose up, but not as nose up as many others. Compare @larrybLarry's Mooney at the end of the Caravan Parking spot during one of the Oshkosh Mooney Caravan camping sites with the second picture posted here. It is my '65 E model. His (along with many others in that photo) sits more nose up than mine. 9201A is an M20K Encore (long body) and mine is a '65 E model. The third picture is my current panel. You will note that it too was modified from the original, although not as much as yours. The right side portion of my panel is the original version for my Mooney.

Thanks Cyril: Clarence let me know it was ready at around 10:30 am or so on Friday. I went hunting for options. I pulled the trigger on Via Rail by 11:15 or so. If I had known you were available to fly to Rockcliffe to pick me up, I might have taken you up on the offer. Clarence and Stew were thinking the same thing, but life got in the way. Another ride in a Twink or the 400? Who can say “no” to that?

Belonga Yves?

Made it home today in 1:35 doing 165 kts plus (had a pretty good tailwind). Great weather. And now we have a better airplane with the new(ish) interior. Thanks to Alan for getting me the seats and what hardware he could reach. Thanks to Paul Loewen for the parts Alan could not reach. Airtex for the new carpets, even though it took them six weeks, and the guys in the shop for putting it all together. I had David's seat back knobs installed on the new seats. And finally, it turns out there were zero surprises this annual (except for the side panels needing some work to be re-used). Baby is now home.

I envy you sir. I am an engineer who has come to the realization that I should never fly anything I fix and I should never fix anything I fly. My techs used to tell me to put my hands in my pockets when I walked into their shop (and not touch anything). I still remember my senior tech sergeant describing me as a fellow good with a slide rule (or calculator) and not-so-good with a screwdriver. Clarence will tell you the same - as I have participated in more than one of those seventeen annual events. And so, I have learned to sell my strengths and buy my weaknesses. I have taken soldiers into bad places and commanded sailing vessels on the Atlantic Ocean, but I still have a habit of stripping the screws on the underwing panels. I wish I had your patience with tools and handwork.

When I was a partner in a '69 PA 180 R Arrow, her callsign was C-GDBE and we called her Debbie. Since the Mooney was my replacement for Debbie and her callsign was C-FSWR, and the previous owner called her Swear, I had not picked a name. I was not cool with Swear. Then about 10 years ago, my bride (her name is Ute - pronounced Ooo-tay) decided to call her Baby. The implication I wanted to avoid was the idea that I was in love with the Mooney - not so. That is reserved for Ute, but I let it go. So I do not use the name much, except when reciting this story. Since you asked, I guess her name is "Baby." But it was Ute's idea.

Thanks Alan. Say hi to Brenda will ya?

I am on the train between Ottawa and Kitchener to pick up my Mooney for the seventeenth time since the year I bought her. The first time was for the combo PPI/annual done in Sep/Nov 2004. That shop has done all sixteen annuals since then. Tomorrow, they are opening up the shop for me to do a test flight. Muscle memory needs exercising before I fly her home. Systems need checking. And the weather is perfect until Monday afternoon. Severe clear below 12,000’ is the forecast. So no icing to worry about at altitude. This time, it has taken significantly longer because of a backlog on getting parts from a supplier. In the end, I will have a markedly improved interior, to compliment the other improvements I have made in 16 years of ownership. Even though I am approaching my 68th birthday, I am looking at things in the same way as Bob Belville. As long as I can fly it safely, it is worth the investment to make it better. And that is what motivates me to write today. Investment. My maintainer’s invoice is an investment in the airworthiness of my 55 year-old aluminium wonder machine. The one that puts my girl to sleep within 5 minutes after rotation. In this regard, I am grateful for being married to her and for my Mooney. And the maintainer who works on it like my life depends on it. Because it does. I need him to stay in business tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. For as long as I own my Mooney. I have stayed out of the “mechanics charge too much” discussions that occasionally come up, because what counts for me is competence, over everything else. Add integrity to that, and I will do business with those folks for as long as I can afford it. When I can’t anymore, I will change hobbies. I have been in the business of formally recognising competence since shortly after I retired from active duty in 1993. That is what I see every time I walk into that shop. Competence is what I wish to underpin the maintenance work on my Mooney. Tomorrow, I get to fly my Mooney again for one more year and that Is worth the investment I make. But that is just me

I was cured of reliance on VFR in 2010, when heading south for the FISK arrival, Green Bay approach called me for traffic that was squawking 1200 but not talking to anyone, at my altitude within a couple miles of me, (sunward) and on an apparent collision course. We quickly agreed I should turn right and climb. Spotted the traffic about 10 loooooong secs later when they turned left and the sun glinted off their wings. Later that month, I was denied flight following because of ATC workload. Never again. I have almost always filed and flown IFR since. Takes no extra time for me on my iPad. There has never been a time since that I have regretted the extra set of eyes, even if the routing is not the quickest. ATC does not always help with weather and that is a strategic decision for me anyway - not a tactical one. But traffic separation is entirely tactical.

Good call Mimi. Has happened more than once to me too.

+1. Fuel stick reads (confirms) quantity during walk around. Wristwatch tells me what fuel remains while in flight. Always plan on 10 gph. Often experience less, but the planning is sufficiently conservative (without going overboard) to keep calculations within the margins. Looking at the gauges is never a satisfying activity.

I fly to the US all the time (well did before COVID) and once cleared of customs, no difficulty with any number of domestic flight legs. Both US and Canadian customs are aware of how long I plan to stay. Certainly never exceeded 30 days since I retired from active duty.

They are off a lot of things.