Immelman

Jerry, When I bought my airplane my '66 j-bar socket looked similar. LASAR replaced it. They also replaced the thumb latch. You mention their kit does not include the thumb latch. In my case I remember they replaced both because the thumb latch was worn as well. I'd suggest having a look at that (if you can) and checking with LASAR about including it in what they sell you. Also, when this part is replaced you may be changing the j-bar position ever so slightly with the gear locked down. As I recall, this can have an effect on the gear 'pre-load', which may require adjustment after replacing this part. Don't skimp on that.

Good points. I really did not expect the turbo to be that much money; and agree that at that point, with today's market, you're in 252 territory. I was basing my assumptions on resale prices... which made for a poor assumption!

I think its been said before, but... For that kind of money it seems that one would be ahead by doing a conventional overhaul of an IO360 and then doing some sort of aftermarket turbonormalizer. In terms of bang for the buck I think that would yield a lot more capability and performance to an NA mooney owner. With that said, I have no idea what the status of (approved) aftermarket turbochargers & relevant accessories for a typical mooney. I have seen them installed or for sale on occasion, though.

Condor tire -- new/not a retread/no wheel well fit issues. And they are cheap. I have had a condor on one main and a goodyear on the other for some time now and the cheaper condor is holding up great. Pony up and spend money on the Michellin Airstop tube though. They just don't leak. Maybe I'll have to top off the MLG once a year. The nosewheel (which does not have an airstop) needs to be topped off once a month or even more often to maintain proper inflation and prop clearance.

Beautiful! If I were a richer man I'd have two -- the Mooney to go places and a nice aerobatic steed, maybe a Decathlon or something - to horse around in... some day!

Stick your finger up into the J-bar socket while in flight (or while on jacks and the gear is up) and you should feel a "click" as the switch closes. The red light should illuminate and green light extinguish right at that 'click' point -- no later. My switch started to fail on me -- the green light was slow to come on and/or intermitent if actuated by the johnson bar. With my finger, I found that depressing the switch latch all the way to the stop caused the green light to illuminate. This was the result of the switch being worn out. I called LASAR and they sent me a replacement. It wasn't expensive. We then jacked the plane and I replaced the switch (an exercise in patience due to the cramped quarters) under A&P supervision. The old switch showed that when the 'click' happened, the NO set of points went to some odd resistance.. 50 ohms or so, causing the itnermittent green light. The new switch had the NC side open and NO side close the moment the click occured. Finally, when replacing the switch, you'll need to calibrate it (by bending the switch arm) so that it 'clicks' JUST when the j-bar gets into the position where it locks. You don't want it to prematurely show green.

- Instead of combination wrenches, consider spending more for gear wrench with the ratcheting box end that can be flexed to approx 45 degrees each way. If you ever really get into it (especially on something like an owner assist annual) these are a must because there are so many damned fasteners in hard to reach places. You can also approach this with a box full of socktet extensions, joints an crows feet, but I will leave those for my mechanic's tool box. - If you ever do any panel work: a set of midget wrenches - Ratcheting screwdriver kit (nothing fancy here, again sears makes a cheap one. This lets you get at screws where no ordinary screwdriver would go - The common screwdrivers (#2 philips obviously), and then separately I carry a combination screwdriver (removable bits) that also has a flexible head you can adjust (again, sears) The common theme with the above compared to the Mike Busch list, in case you haven't already figured it out, is tools to work on fasteners in tight and or out of the way places. This is a fact of life on the Mooney. Even if you don't use these on your own, if you do an owner assista annual or are directed to do something under supervision it will make the difference between hunting to borrow your mechanics tools and having your own readily available. - Safety wire pliers, safety wire, duct tape, tie wraps (of course!) - Simple socket set, 3/8 or 1/4" drive. Don't need to go too crazy on all the different sizes - Fasteners: non-structural fasteners often work loose and fall off. I have assembled a bag of the common ones used in fairings, interior plastic pieces, inspection panels, etc. If one gets stripped, departs the airplane, etc, I can replace it. - Spark plug service: Spark plug socket ( I found a deep socket craftsman and bought it by itself.. much less expensive than the champion one and it does the job fine), along with a 1/2 to 3/8 adapter, spark plug washers ready to go, spark plug gap tool, and one or two spare plug. Also, this is slightly embarassing because its so darned big, but I carry a torque wrench with me. this is because spark plug R&R can be a common occurance, and I don't trust myself to have my 'arm' be an accurate torque wrench.

I am glad they apologized and seem to get it. Mitch -- I think your vouching for them helps quite a bit. When I see someone advertising in that manner it actually says to me that there could be something very wrong; "run away!". I may be in the market to get my airplane repatined before long and their price is VERY attractive, particularly if there is another Mooney owner standing up for their work. It seems with paint jobs a shop can cut corners and you end up paying more in the long run when corrosion starts the paint-a-bubbling.

150KT true @ 14K is pretty darned good. I can manage about 140KTAS at that altitude, at 2500RPM. I doubt I would get another 10 knots by going up to max RPM. Perhaps I should check out my rigging. Do you have any speed mods on your airplane?

In my opinion a 2-month annual is not acceptable. Either the shop/AI you are working with has put you at the bottom of the priority queue or a subcontractor (you sent out a few things for OH) is to blame. If its the latter I guess there isn't much you can do than to try to cancel the work in progress and take the business elsewhere or buy new parts as appropriate. If its the former... I would have a serious talk with the shop and possibly pull the plug on a future relationship. I write this acknowledging that 'things happen' -- and the stories above about engine mounts and props are, I think, acceptable, but let's face it: 2 months is 1/6th of the year. In addition to costing you insurance its costing you... the next annual, capital cost of owning the airplane, and your own proficiency in not being able to fly, not to mention losing the ability to actaully go places or do business which is what most of us have an airplane for in the first place!! Also, I would not get too hung up on the MSC/non-MSC thing IF you have a good A&P. I've been very blessed with my guy down here at WVI. He's very generous in his time (perhaps too much so), knows Mooneys inside and out, and is highly experienced. For things like Mooney specific parts or issues I, of course, love the fact that top gun and lasar are there and I am frequently depending on those outfits for parts. If I ever had a major repair I would strongly consider them, too... but there is not necessarily a whole lot magical about, for example, working on mooney gear as long as the mechanic has the right tools and knows how to use them.

Quote: edgargravel Harley: Same thing on mine with different texture. My overlay is now only on the right (co-pilot) side and it is black plastic. The left panel is a more recent six-pack panel (with overlay removed) and the right side still probably original. See the pictures. I would take the plastic off the right side too, but the aluminum it covers is not good enough to be exposed.

This is strange -- but I want to clarify. I (user name "Immelman") posted the above message. After I posed it I saw that it says it was posted by KSMooniac. I have no idea how the website got me logged in as that user. Anyway, I posted a bug report on this over in another forum. If yo have any questions about the above post, please contact me (Immelman).

Ignore my data for the 201 comparison because I fly an 'E'... Anyway, I wanted to chime in to agree about the wonderful at altitude performance of our aircraft. I flew across the sierra nevada mountains this weekend and decided to do a 4-way speed test -- approx 14,500 density altitude, I was getting 140 knots true on 7.5 gph. 10 knots slower than the '201' numbers reported above, but that's to be expected in an E model.

I was impressed with PilotWiz (or whiz?) which was free. It gave metars/tafs well enough, a whole bunch of e6b calcs (most of which I do not use), but the absolute best feature is weight and balance. If you take the time to setup the envelope of your airplane the W&B is excellent, showing you visually where you are with the envelope at takeoff, predicted landing, and zero fuel. Again, its free.

Hi, I'm Jesse. I flequent the AOPA boards and Mooney mailing list (mooney & mooney-tech). I own/operate a 1966 M20E based in Watsonville, CA. I've owned my airplane for two years now. No major problems. Indeed, it has been a reliable airplane. Have taken it as far north as Portland, OR and as far south as Cabo San Lucas; I need to expand my horizons a bit more to truly realize the utility of the airplane. Most of my flying is intra California to explore and enjoy life. I've been flying since 1997. I hold a commercial license & instrument rating and am (slowly) working on my CFI-A certificate. I plan to follow with CFI-I and then multi engine at some point. I work in the HW/SW engineering field now for a semiconductor manufacturer but would love to move into more of a full time aviation role over time.

Looks like a great job. Curious -- which 201 windshield are you using? SWTA? LASAR, someone else? About how much labor do you think the windscreen will end up taking?