Immelman

Nice plan. One comment, the EDM 700 may not fit where you want it due to insufficient depth. Measure that sucker first before you get a new panel cut. (I wanted to put mine in a similar location in my E but could not).

I have a 66E. Speeds anywhere from 140 to 150 knots depending on weight, altitude, and temperature. Below gross (solo full fuel or 2 people partial fuel) I will see 150 knots TAS consistently at about 6-8K density altitude, full throttle, 2500 RPM. Only speed mod is the LASAR cowl closure.... and it could be faster, as I am slightly out of rig and have a couple extra anntenae and inop beacon I want to remove from the airplane. At these altitudes I burn about 10.5gph to get that speed. However, load it up to max gross weight and/or fly on a really hot day and I will see 140 knots at best. If the winds are with you, I like to take the airplane up high.. the other day I was solo and despite the warm atmosphere climbed up to 13.5 where I saw a consistent 140KTAS and 8gph. Economically speaking, with any tailwind, that is a lot more bang for your avgas buck if you're going somewhere far away than getting the last 10 knots out of it down low. On the other hand, I also think this is a testament to the flexibility of a Mooney and is but another reason why I like it. As others have said, the difference between the E and F is legroom, and possibly larger tanks/gross weight increase.

Dave, it sounds like your tanks are in fine shape! I would not count on having to do a re-seal right away... I mean its something that could happen to any of us but I am flying around with 40+ year old sealant and a couple of patches in the logbook and am fundamentally OK. Can you elaborate on the tail bushing issue? Was this detected by lifting up on the bottom of the empennage below the vertical stab to check for play in the pitch trim mechanism (others have referred to this pivot lovingly as the Jesus bolt.... if it goes, you're dead). I make lifting the empennage to check for play part of my preflight inspection. However, if you have some other kind of play going on I am curious to know where it is so I can monitor the area in my airplane.

Beautiful airplane! Well done.

If you are not driving an HSI with the 165, get a KX155. I don't know for certain, but they might be compatible as far as the tray and wiring go -- but again it will depend on whether the 165 was driving something fancy like an HSI.

Quote: csfahey Are you talking about the ones that are engraved? My Mooney had the engraved ones on it. They are discolored now and should be replaced to match the new paint on the interior plastic.

Quote: KLRDMD For a Continental, the above makes sense. For a Lycoming, not so much.

I have replaced several placards by simply calling an MSC (like Top Gun or Lake Aero) and getting the actual Mooney part. The price was reasonable on the ones I ordered (fuel cap stickers, turning limits, etc). I plan to re-do my windows and possibly some interior pieces soon and will call them again for the new placards I'll need.

1966E, pleasure & business, $50K hull, $100K/$1M non-smooth liability, $1060/year premium through AOPA (Chubb is the underwriter). I have commercial/instrument ticket and had about 200hrs in type as of the last renewal. The first year I was paying $1400 and change, $1200 the next year, and so on.

Hi everyone, Well, I did it -- signed up for the Mooney caravan. Earlier this year it was a toss-up between a summer flying adventure to Alaska or to Oshkosh, and Oshkosh won out because of other life events eating into the prime Alaska flying season. Never the less, I am very excited to visit Oshkosh (it will be my 2nd trip, the first was 1999 when I took a 172 out there, solo, as a new private pilot from the west coast!). My wife and I are going to make this a two week trip, with stops in Bryce Canyon, UT to see the parks, a morning flight across the Monument valley area, Cortez, CO to visit Mesa Verde, then to Denver to visit family, and then on to Madison for the caravan. That is the tenative plan anyway -- we'll stay flexible and do what the weather allows. On the way back the tentative plan is to visit Yellowstone and/or Glacier park. I look forward to meeting you all. Jesse K., N9351M

Dave, I do not get any sealant from my tanks either (still original 40+ yr old sealant). I *do* occasionally get bits of crud, sand, etc that will cause the drain to not close completely that I have to work out; I am not sure if sealant could be part of the culprit.

I tried Blackstone's once but otherwise use AoA. The big money question is whether the comments are worth double the price (AoA can be had at a discount too, shop around). After consulting with my A&P/IA, a guy who has built many an aircraft engine, he suggested the most important thing was the raw data to plot a trend and note anomalies from that trend. So that's what I'm doing with AoA.

I have flown the sierra many times and really enjoy the east sierra both for flying and recreating. However, I am with Dave on flying to burning man, at least in a retractable gear airplane. From what I understand, the alkaline dirt gets in everything... there are nooks and crannies in the wheel wells of our airplanes that just cannot be cleaned. I would, however, do it in something like a fixed-gear cessna.

OR, I hear you. I just obtained my CFI ticket in my Mooney. But with that said, while a stall is a stall... knowing how your airplane behaves and the signs it gives you approaching a stall really should be something you are well practiced in and comfortable in. This is done by approaching stalls -- right up into the aerodynamic buffet -- in various configurations. Here is a tip for safety on the power on stalls, one that I arrived at in preparation for my CFI checkride: Use 65% power (doesn't have to be precisely 65, just somewhere near there). The reason here is safety -- in my opinion a weak spot on our airplanes is rudder authority. As you approach the stall you must, of course, be coordinated. Note how much rudder travel remains in that situation -- not much! What does this say about a real world inadvertent power on stall (with, say, full power?) if the left wing were to start to drop a slight power reduction might be in order to right the airplane. With all this said, we all know that one should never unintentionally stall an airplane. Just food for thought.

Use your own airplane unless there is a good reason to rent another. A good reason might be that you fly tailwheels occasionally (I do) and want to knock the rust off, or if you want to try something new like a course on spins, basic aerobatics, or the like, that can't be done in your Mooney. Otherwise, practice in basic proficiency and the various flight maneuvers -- to include MCA and stalls -- really should be done in your own airplane. I am assuming that owners typically fly their own airplane the majority of the time there.

I haven't been since 1999, and am really looking forward to it. We will take our time -- leave about a week ahead of time, planning to visit family in Denver, and perhaps a national park along the way (Arches).. looking forward. I registered for the Mooney caravan (late, and I owe them money..better take care of that today)

It never hurts to ask/try! That's my philosophy.

I have to agree. I saw those photos and was white with envy What a beautiful machine.

I highly recommend making your own. When I bought my E I made a similar query on the Mooney mailing list and got a bunch of replies. Between those ideas, and the AFM for my airplane I put together a nice checklist. Two-sided, one pieceof paper, color for emphasis, and laminated it for a whole buck down at office depot. The trouble with the sure check commercial lists is that they will not have things specific to your airplane... for example, electric trim and autopilot; per the AFM supplemements these may have mandatory preflight items. Anyway I'll send you what I worked up via PM.

Could be the oil system, the engine, the sender, or the gauge. Perhaps an experiment (sender removed and placed in boiling water?) would help? My sender/gauge consistently indicate 15-20dF higher than actual -- at least at ambient temperature. I recently bought an oil temperature probe for my JPI monitor and will add that in soon, to supplement the ship's gauge.

Call LASAR. I have the LASAR "wiser visors" (I thnk they're called) in my 66E. I did recall seeing that mine came from the factory with some sort of visors and then they were replaced with the lasar ones sometime after.

Congratulations and welcome! A pilot friend who first turned me on to Mooneys bought a C model at about the same stage of his private pilot training... it served him very well, and I'm sure yours will serve you well too! If you're mechanically and electrically inclined, my advice would be to find a mechanic/IA who will show you the ropes in terms of owner assist stuff, so that you can perform things under supervision. This will save money and teach you a great deal about your airplane. Develop and carry a good set of basic tools to troubleshoot problems on the road... carry a spare spark plug, the tools to change them, tools to clean out fouling, spare fuel drain, assorted small fasteners (for things like fairings and what not, screws dissapear), learn how to do things like safety wire, etc... its fun in a way.

Dave, I can't anwer your question but I had the same concern when I bought my Mooney, because of my prior time in complex a/c with the more usual arrangement. All I can say is that it has been a non-event. Just positively identify a control before you move it. Also, in my airplane, the three controls are different in a tactile way; thus its easy to positively identify the critical one (throttle) when you need to do something like put the flaps down further and then get your hand back to the throttle on approach to land.

The folks there are to be commended for doing so much to improve our airplanes and keep them flying with their parts manufacturing, among other things. If I am in town, I'll be there.. but I may be on my way to oshkosh

Kelly Instruments will overhaul them for just over $100. I had them re-build an errant fuel gauge and they turned it around quickly. They were recommended to me from the LASAR parts guys and I in turn recommend them for repairing the cluster gauges without question.