Immelman

I'm not on here much these days but if the OP still hasn't fixed it... The above link to the maxwell method of FINDING leaks is paramount. Get the plexiglass. Get the shop vac. And the soapy solution if you have to (Alternatively, water in the tank, looking for bubbles. If you use soap, you'll be using a lot of water anyway to cleaning out the soap properly. OP as I recall you posted a pic of fuel leaking from the inboard leading edge hole area, is that right? So get this, I had a leak that went down the forward spar, ended up in the cabin, and made a mess, an odor, etc. It traveled down the front spar..... it began.... midway aft, along a rib! The fuel's path of least resistance was to go forward, then sideways, and to the cabin. The leak was nowhere near where I thought. The culprit was compliance with an old AD/SB, where sealant on some aircraft was incorrectly applied over small holes along the wing rip, designed to let fuel not be trapped. The "repair" was someone gouging a bit of sealant out. That compromised the integrity of the seal there and eventually it leaked. My 50+ year sealant was good, the scraping on it, not so much. Once located the repair was pretty easy. A tiny bit of removal, an inch or two of new sealant, made sure the rib hole was not blocked.... boy, a lot easier than ferrying the airplane and having all tanks stripped. Yet it was still somewhat of a pain in the ass. Just less of a pain than the full reseal.

1966

15 yrs owning my E Have done 3 patches. Still original sealant. Every few years, something else starts a new, small leak. Usually ok to continue for a while. Yours does not look okay to continue. I figure I am still ahead vs the time, cost, and failure potential of having it fully stripped and resealed.

My Mooney survived 9 yrs tied out (wait list time). I flew and washed it regularly (California - no hail or freezing precip in the area). In the ensuing time I saved 25K of rent, 1/2 of the initial purchase price of the airplane. I fly airliners for a living, and being working machines, they are only hangared for maintenance work. And while I have a hangar now and enjoy it..... you can get by without it.

OP is describing an issue with the retraction lever/cable..... far different from the retraction speed adjustment on the pump. Where that cable attaches to the flap pump is not the most robust clamp. Basically #8 (+/-) philips head machine screw that clamps (pinches) the cable to a lever on the flap pump. The rigging for keeping the flaps down (or retracting them) is simply clamping the retract cable in the correct spot. I only point this out to suggest that if it gives you more trouble, to ensure that its clamped/fixed to the pump securely.

Vref it is! Its not broken (yet) so I won't be fixing it (overhaul/tanks) anytime soon! Do things when they're needed... And interestingly enough, Vref puts my plane pretty close to that original 50K valuation. Admittedly some things are subjective.

Hmm, tricky stuff. Thanks for the ideas! Frankly, its still clear as mud, trying to put a value on my plane. Agree, if and when I renew the engine and/or panel, a big increase is justified. But a 1966 airframe, engine at manufacturer (all indications are good, but its still TBO), and older panel just have me unsure. I bought the plane for 50K in 2007 and never bothered to adjust the hull value. Small incremental improvements along the way but nothing major.

Insurance renewal time, and the first in several years without an increase. I did not change my hull value at all over the past 3 years of market craziness. What's a good way to estimate what my plane is worth, as far as hull coverage, in the current market? I remember Jimmy Garrison had a calculator.... and AOPA vref. For what its worth, my panel is 80s vintage and ready for a makeover, engine approaching TBO, so I'm not expecting much, but am curious what its worth!

Call me old and chicken, but 10 no problem, 15 okay-but-not-super-comfortable, 20 absolute max, abusing the airplane a little. 66E short rudder. Frankly our airplanes do not handle stiff crosswinds with much grace.

Say, what is MSRP, or what would a Mooney service center sell those for if they had the stock these days?

I fly a plane with glass for a living. Its a great job but flying my E with its steam gauges is more fun! If your "mission" requires an upgrade sure, but if the E fits your mission, it sounds like its time to dial in the final touches and keep it. Retire earlier, if you aren't already.

Open up the Apple app store on your ipone/ipad, buy "Engine RPM". Something like $5. It listens via the microphone. Works pretty well! Agreed with the optical tach that hammdo mentioned (my IA loaned it to me)..... agreed exactly with the tachs in our modern cars. Used it to dial in 2700. Go slow on the adjustments. And FWIW the tach in my plane reads about 60 rpm off.

If its not an inconvenience that would be awesome! I suppose removing the interior a bit is in order to see what the structure is like. It has been very seldom I've had people in the rear seat. Now with a 5-year old, if we ever go somewhere (family of 3) it is more in the forefront of my mind.

Thank you, for finding that thread, my search was not effective!

My '66E has been modified with shoulder harnesses for the front seats. Does such a mod exist to add shoulder belts to the rear seats? Googling around I see images of newer-generation Mooney aircraft with rear seat shoulder harnesses. I'm not sure how the geometry of the tubular structure would allow or not allow that on a vintage bird...

What is the wind and how long did the 737 land? That will guide the proper response.

Seen at Oshkosh 1999, on a C172 from our neighbors to the north: https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10025137

Best way - flying your Mooney over to a buddy with some Brand C high wing thing, complimenting them on it (perhaps not with complete sincerity, you have a Mooney after all) and dropping it out of that.

My wife tried, and tried, and tried to go once on a trip CA to Moab. Was trying to leave early, beat the convection, that kind of day. A pit stop was a bad idea. Of course the Mooney has longer legs than its occupants. It was a challenging attempt but she just could not get in a comfortable position to 'let go'. I'm not sure if a 'device' would have helped. I recall having some of those combination pee/barf bags with an adjustable mouth and gelling subtance for her to try to use, but it just didn't work out. And there were only two of us on board (well, and our dog in the back seat), no shame... Really our craft are quite small when you get down to it.

I am a myflighbook user. It says 395 as of yesterday. But I have flown for a living for the past 10 years, that's cheating. I have a feeling I will not surprass Bax. To tell the truth I am not certain I will finish my project. Yesterday was the last of the really cool ones. Southeast California desert and a sprinkling of fields in the LA Basin and San Diego are all that remain. I have had the thought if I go hopping around enough down south it may look like I am a drug runner and attract unwanted attention.

Ahh yes the good old VFR rules. What is legal = what does the observation say vs what airspace is it. As I recall it has RVR as well, but only Seattle can tell you what that is. Part of another safe/legal matrix involving what part of the FAR, op spec, and what kind of airplane you're flying I suppose. What is safe = ? In the 4-square safe vs. legal matrix I think ACV can tick all of the boxes in the span of about 10 minutes, maybe less. As noted ACV is 'controlled' in the sense that it has class E to the surface. Non-towered, but the airspace is controlled. It also gets a fair amount of IFR traffic.

Things change, and that can be hard to accept. Over the past couple of years I've made it a project of sorts to land at as many fields in my home state of California as possible. A few times a year I'll go out on a fly-about and get a few more, sometimes staying overnight somewhere, sometimes making in a day-trip. Yesterday I completed the NW part of the state, filling in the rest of the blanks. Several strips up there are quite demanding to fly into in a Mooney, and I am not necessarily recommending you follow my foot-steps here. For quite a number of years I wanted to land at Happy Camp..... yesterday was the day! No smoke! No wind! Great cool weather for mountain flying! Until during my NOTAM check I discovered the field was closed, confirmed with X's on the ends, closed permanently as of this past March. Another one gone! Since I began this project I noticed several fields in the state are still on the sectional, but have been closed for some time. Many of the other fields I've made a stop at show no signs of life, whether in the "bush", or closer to civilization. And of course we know about cities such as San Jose or Santa Monica trying to kill more well-utilized fields. Many are in absolutely beautiful and peaceful locales to stop and take a hike, camp, or ride a bike. But they're like visiting ghost towns. Brambles and grass growing through long cracks in the pavement, among other things. Its a wonder they're still open. Its interesting to see what is happening in GA.... in one sense, instruction seems to be booming as airline flying is once again a lucrative career and pilots are in demand. On the other hand, so many fields are absolute ghost towns, under-utilized resources in some cases literally crumbling away. So go get it while you can. A bright spot: Dunsmuir, CA, closed over the summer was resurfaced... A common scene.... Scott Valley, CA Klamath Glen, Andy McBeth.... a "follow the river" kind of approach, pick the path over the shortest of the trees.... Looks like a great place to spend some time. This is the one that had the brambles growing up everywhere. The ramp was particularly bad looking. I drove in here to check it out several years ago, and its gone downhill. Under the ILS to Arcata lies Kneeland.... looks like it sees some use as a heli fire fighting base. Cows all around, what I did not see were the deer inside the airport fence until I was rolling out.... Don't land long! On final to Eureka Murray..... last visit was on foot on a layover from when I flew a turboprop into nearby Arcata... the restaurant was good then, now it appears gone. At least there were some signs of life and use. Eureka Samoa..... I felt lucky to get in. The kind of place that can fog in on short notice. My touch and go, rolling the mains on and leaving seemed like a safe amount of time....

Used fuel tank sealer on the last one...

These pics are 10+ years old, not the best resolution, but hopefully they help.

Mine has a bracket attached to the top of the left side of the left yoke (no PC button at the top). PTT, AP disc, and electric trim all all right there for the left thumb.