Ron McBride

Sven Come to Mariposa Open house on the 25th. We can look it over and of course you can display your very unique plane. Ron

I have about 500 hrs in 310's, about 500 hours in high performance singles and a Couple Hundred in basic singles. I have had an engine failure in the 310 on takeoff. It was not fun, but we are fine, the plane flew a week later. In a twin, it takes and demands, practice, practice and practice. I have had a partial power failure in my Mooney. It is not fun, but was fixed an hour later, then maintenace to repair this flaw in the design. I have had maintenance problems over the years, even though I try to keep it maintaned to 110%. We/I am flying a 40 year old plane. All planes are a trade off of design. We trade speed, economy, space, safety, costs of ownershio in every plane that we choose. My F model is the best choice for me 95% of my flying. Yes a twin would be nice, but not now. I recently flew from Central CA to eastern OK. 9 1/2 hours going east, 10 1/2 hours going west. 20 hours and about 180 galllons of fuel. A 310 would have been about 15 hours and 375 gallons of gas. I was alone in the plane, do the math. A different load may come with a different answeer. Ron Ron

The 11th Annual Experimental Aircraft Chapter’s Open House Fly-In will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 25 at the Mariposa Airport. Dozens of homebuilt, classic and antique aircraft will be on display. You can meet and talk with their owners, builders and pilots. A number of classic, antique and custom cars will also be on display. The Mooney Ambassadors will be showing their pride and joys off also. Let’s meet and greet the non flying public and promote General Aviation and our Mooney’s. The Young Eagle will be given a certificate suitable for framing and a photo of with the pilot and plane they rode in. Some are even given a chance at the controls if they are up to it. They will be given a pilot’s logbook and a number which can be used to enroll them in an on-line course which will qualify them to sit for the private pilot’s written test. Other activities for children will include building and flying bottle rockets and flying in a simulator. A pancake breakfast will be held from 8-10 a.m. by the Mt. Bullion fire Department and a tri-tip lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Commemorative T-shirts will be on sale. Free shuttle bus service will be provided between West America Bank parking lot and the airport. Your significant others can enjoy the shops of Mariposa, while you enjoy the sights and sounds of Airplanes. Rental cars and housing are available, We are 1 hour drive to Yosemite National Park. Please rsvp with Ron at N9154V@aol.com so that I can reserve parking for all the Mooney’s together. Thank You Ron 559 577-2398

Look at Jelswick's gallery before and after paint. I don't know if he did the insides. But the change outside is dramatic. Ron

Yes, the fuel scan 450 is in the lower left of the panel and the EDM 700 is on the lower right side. Ron 9154V

I have an EDM 700 with a FS450 for the fuel. I wanted them seperate so that I can moniter fuel and EGT on takeoff with a glance. I have pictures posted here at N9154V for your review. i put these 2 instruments on the pilot side for instant review. Of course, someday EDM 830 would be even nicer. I would put this where the EDM 700 is now if it will fit. Ron

You may be able to repair it with fiberglass, the same as we do with the plastic panels in the interior of the plane. And then repair. Ron

For the Gaines Family I am very sorry to here about your Dad. His contributions here were valuable to all of us. I am sure that he is flying high over all of us and trying to protect each and every one of us. Please keep his love of flying that he instilled in you flying. Ron

I have a 69 F. I like the throttle quadrant and elec gear and flaps. To each his or her own. The electric gear has an AD note on it for lubing and inspection. With over 4000 hours on the plane, the log books do not show any failures and I had to replace the gears at about 4100 hrs. I put the 40:1's in it and am very happy. I average about 140 Knots TAS with mine. It is completely stock. Next week I have a 1275 Knot trip to make, I can do this in about 9 hours and 85 to 90 gals of fuel. I can make it with just one stop, If I had an E I could not make this trip without long range tanks. (Jonathon Paul). I have flown as long as 5 1/2 hours and still had 12 gals on board. When I was looking at Mooney's, I took a C model for a test flight, the owner had a pilot fly and he sat in back, he did not look comfortable. In my F, I have only once had an adult in the back seat, he said it was comfortable. It is usually just me, sometines the wife. My empty weight is 1682# and my useful load is 1058#. Hope this helps. Good luck in your search. Ron

Try Plane Plastics, http://www.planeplastics.com/airplanes/mooney/m20c-j/page22/. Try this page has a lot of panel covers on it. Hopefully they have the right one. I have one for the pilots side that looks great, unfortunately they don't provide a copilots for mine. Good luck Ron

Would it be worth putting in a new PS Engineering audio panel instead of moving the intercom? Ron

Sven Can you bring your D model to the Open house at MPI. I myself have never seen one. I am still planning what the Mooney Ambassadors will do. Also, don't forget to put this date on your calendar, Sept. 24th..................Mooney Ambassador event at KMPI. Come display your plane, talk to folks about GA and help support this great California Airport. This is scheduled on: www. mooneyambassadors.com Sign up and contact N9154V [Ron] for details.

The other advantage of a fixer upper is: you get the exact plane that you want, the exact color and scheme, the exact interior and radios that you want. There are many planes out there, but are they exactly what you want. They could have good King radios, but you want Narco's. etc. Ron

Michael Come to Mariposa KMPI about 20 minutes south, or maybe 5 minutes direct from Reid Hillview. They have car rentals, transient parking I think is $5.00 a night. Yosemite park is 40 minutes away, but you will be a lot clower to the valley than the north entrance is. KMPI phone number is:(209) 966-2143.

It is called a fuel spider. The real small lines go to each injector. On my F the overhaul of this is $275.00 at Wesstern Skyways. I wish they would hurry up and it back to me with the fuel servo. They are located in Montrose CO. Call them.\ to check on prices. Ron

Ed Congrats, I worked on mine over many years, passed the written 3 times and finally completed it last year. I flew an actual approach 2 weeks later with my wife, she was not overjoyed. Tops 3000, bottoms 1200 and 10 miles. Not to hard, but interesting. Ron

See the panel pictures of my of my F with a G430 and KX155 and more. My album is N9154V Ron

I have a 430 and a KX155. the 155 is just a nav com #2 radio. I do have a 496 that receives the flight plan and info from the 430, plus XM weather, this is very nice to have. Ron

I can not find any new posts for Re: Panel Changes - Should I put an Aspen in a 65C even though the lists shows that there are some. The last new post on this subject that I can see is July 15. What am I doing wrong? Ron

Also remember 2000 hrs at 160Knots is 320,000 miles. 2000 hrs. at 200 knots is 400,000 miles. You would have to fly roughly 80, 000 extra miles to make the 2000 hrs. You would save approx 400 hours for the same distance. This sounds very interesting, of course you have the up front cost of $50,000 to $60,000 over an overhaul. Ron with a 69F