FoxMike

Jimmy, You can go to the trouble of putting cameras on the plane or you can fly in some ice and land at an airport that is below freezing. I did that with my Bravo and found ice on the landing light lenses and the prop spinner. Amazingly the antennas, wing tips, and belly were ice free. You may notice areas of the wing that will build ice because of damaged TKS panels or leaks in the system. I found leaks in my Bravo after several hundred hours and subsequently torqued and safety wired all the nuts that secure the tubing. It is a good idea to check out the system and make sure it is working properly. TKS is a good system if properly maintained.

Mike, I just replaced the fire bottle in my 99TLS. The RT-1200 bottle is still available but has a different handle and did not look like it would fit. I choose the RT-600 which fit OK. When you get a new bottle you also get a new mount. In my case the old mount had mounting holes 5 inches apart. The new mount had the same so it was easy to take the old mount out and put the new one in. Hope you are as lucky. Walt

Gretchen Jahn

I put a set of VGs on a T210 that I owned. I was genuinely impressed with the low speed handling qualities. At the time my home base had no tower and was under Denver Class B. I had little room to maneuver while following 172s that were in front of me in the pattern. The VGs really helped particularly when i was heavy. I raced the airplane once a year and found the speed difference was about 5kts. During normal cross countries I hardly noticed the difference. If your engine ever quits and you have to land off airport you might be very happy you have VGs.

Here is a wild guess. The vernatherm seat may not be sealing completely. Lycoming used to loan a tool out to true up the seat. Again just a guess. You might take the vernatherm home and put it in the oven make sure it meets specs. when hot. Good luck.

I am sure someone else makes them but I do not know who. I think you are stuck with ordering from CAV. When you get it please examine the the box and filter for all identifying information and pass that information on to all of us. Sometimes the manufacturer will sell direct but not always.

One other thing are the Bravo's with G1000s and STEC autopilots. The path to WAAS and ADS-b compliance is uncertain and could be (will be) expensive. Probably best to avoid that equipment.

The big items would be checking on crankshaft AD (applies to mostly later models and rebuilt engines). Inspection of the exhaust system for cracks. Also AD on tail which should have been completed (few airplanes were subject to any repair). Crankshaft AD could cost a lot, I spent about 20K to replace the crank even though Lyc sent me the replacement for 2K. I have owned mine since 2003 and like the airplane. The wet head is a good feature if you fly high. If you find one with TKS make sure it is working properly and that the stall strips are not starting to come unattached. Get a good pre buy as the Bravo has lots of expensive to replace parts on it. Good Luck!

flyboy0681, I appreciate your post comparing the 770 with the GTN. I went to OSH this year to checkout the just approved King and Avidyne equipment. The 770 really looks to be a flop. I see they just sent their President to the locker room. I wonder if they can get a new version of the software approved quickly that would be user friendly. They really need a miracle to get the 770 competitive with brands A and G.

Stefan, Sometimes a complete seal is not necessary. Although a long way to go, try the Weep No More people. They have done some work on my airplane and did not need to completely reseal. On the subject of tank size, I would not mess with larger tanks unless you have a continual need for them. Your idea of a trip to Cancun could be done with the tanks you have. Fly over to New Orleans and kick the trip off from from KNEW. The overwater would be about 150NM less. Adding tankage for sale purposes would be attractive to a few buyers but I would bet you would not recover 50% of your cost. Putting in an ADS-B system (UAT) would be a better use of money. Just my thoughts. Walt

You might try to find one partner. A two way partnership costs 1/2 of owning yourself. Airplane prices especially Mooney may move up some in the next couple of years but no guarantees. The older models are sure possible if they meet your needs. Acquisition costs are lower but upkeep may be somewhat higher. It looks like ADS-B is going to cost $4K or so for a UAT system so it won't break the bank but I doubt it will be the last mandated equipment you need to buy. You might put the word out you are looking for a partnership and find someone who would sell you his interest in another plane. I bet you have already thought of all this. Many years ago I owned a 1/4 in an E model. I was the only instrumented pilot in the group and none of my partners wanted to buy a transponder. I decided to buy a E model myself and since then have owned all of my airplanes myself ( except for a Baron I owned for a few months). Managing the costs is rough unless you have a business need for the plane but it can be done. Good Luck!

Static wicks are a good idea if you do not already have them.

I have a PS 7000 and often have a problem with squelch. I find it is caused by the overhead vents blowing air across the mic. Muffs help but repositioning the vent slightly solves the problem. Open doors while taxiing is almost guaranteed to set the problem off. The best fix would be install an air conditioning system and/or pressurize the airframe.

It looks to me like the white bar is a reference point for best power during takeoff and perhaps high power climb. In high DA takeoff you need to lean before takeoff to get best power and and shortest takeoff run. I am guessing it would be easier to reference that bar rather than watching the each EGT bar without a reference. The red bar is probably giving a reference for max temp to prevent detonation or exhaust cracking for NA airplanes. For the turbo models the redline also indicates a temp limit for the turbine blades.

Mark, I would appreciate a copy of your cheat sheet. My email is bellw@me.com. Thanks in advance. Walt

Mark, I have a PS 7000MS in a 1999 Mooney. Is the 450 the same size? I have heard that you have changed the connectors over the years so I guess I would need to do some rewiring. I fly some IFR in busy airspace and sometimes need to listen to two channels at once. I used to be able to keep things sorted out but I was wondering if the intellaudio really works and if you can better explain the design objective I would appreciate it. Have only a Mac so I cannot listen to the demo. Thanks.

I understand the units that came off the production line that were found to need inspection but the earlier ones must have been repairs that were done at the factory.

Don, You mentioned you had a 430. It needs to be a 430W to use as a position source. I think it costs 3K to upgrade if you do not have it. If it is not a "W" keep what you have and go for the Freeflight UAT. You can always add an ES transponder later. Someone suggested that the FAA may set the compliance date back. They might but I do not think so. The motivation to implement NexGen has been to get the the cost of ATC down significantly. The salary and pension costs are horrendous thus the FAA feels the best way to lower costs is to gain productivity by using computers. The FAA has put a lot of development money into NexGen and needs to keep moving the ball foreword. ADS-B is just one element and lots of productivity can be gained when the next phase starts in 2020. I do not think we are finished buying equipment if we want to use the IFR system. The feds will let you know about it after 2020.

Don, I am thinking about equipment replacement just as you are. Went to OSH earlier this week to look over all the new stuff. I have an M model so I am in a similar quandary to the one you are in. I hardly use class A airspace but hate to foreclose my use of that airspace after 2020. I have a KLN 94 GPS which is OK, and an IPAD running Foreflight. The cost to upgrade the GPS looks to be between 12K (new King) and 18K (Garmin). Then I have to add a transponder 3 to 5K. Those significant costs do not include the install. As many have found out, the install cost can get out of hand with various problems that arise. Right now you can get a Freeflight system that can be configured in several ways. It can be UAT in and out (with WAAS Gps and Wi-fi) or less if you want to just add enough to get legal. It can also output position data to a 1090ES transponder. Complete system 4K. Both Garmin and King have similar systems with somewhat higher prices. I think more UAT systems will be on the market shortly. One big question is reliability and customer service. I have no answers to those questions. If you choose Garmin you will be like an Apple user, stuck with only Garmin stuff as connectivity with other equipment is going to be difficult. King may go this route in the future if they can get their act together. I think Aspen is about to get into the UAT market by offering a rebranded Freeflight System which connects to the Aspen glass. It looks to me as though the panel mounted WAAS Gps has only the advantage of LPV approaches at the cost of learning a fairly complex system and paying a significant cost. Perhaps some watchful waiting is the best thing to do at this point. I think after the OSH experience that I will stand back and let things shake out for a while.

I would not get overly excited about the stall strip glue. Mine are still attached and have been green glued since 1999. Do not let anyone help you push the airplane by pushing on the stall strips. When shopping for a plane a close visual inspection of the strips will show if they are fully or partially attached.

Just got back from OSH. Attended the King dinner on Tuesday night. It was a great cookout except for the rainstorm. Maybe Garmin arranged for the storm. Looked over the 770 the next day and was not favorably impressed. I asked three different sales reps to demo the box and none were able to do it. Their excuse was that the box was certified only a few days ago. I hope they get some instruction and practice so they can better demo the box before the show is over. Price quoted was $12,000 plus install. I asked about cost and availability of databases and got a blank stare. King clearly was not prepared to present the 770 on Tuesday or Wednesday hopefully they will get their act together shortly.

Greg I have lived in Co. for 40 years or so. Most of the time I have owned a turboed airplane. When I have occasion to fly a NA airplane it only takes a little while to want to get back to a turbo. If you are used to operating a turbo it will not take long to miss it. I am in an out of ANK a half a dozen times a year. You could certainly could operate a 201 from there safely but you will probably need to change some of your flying habits. I think that owning a 231 would be a better choice but I well understand the desire for lower operating cost. I would venture a guess that your operating cost would drop considerably if you decided to operate unpressurized turbo of any stripe. Pressurized pistons airplanes were a challenge to properly design (nobody got it right) thus the excessive cost. I own a Bravo and am happy with the performance. Good Luck.

Dan, Many years ago I owned a 1964 E model. I wanted to add an autopilot and found the only one eligible was a Brittian B2D. The reason is the ailerons which were used until 1965. The ARC you have were designed to work with those ailerons. If you give up on the ARC which might be the best thing to do and if you want another autopilot, you will probably have to change the ailerons. I put the B2D in my airplane along with a lot of "201 mods". The result was an airplane that went fast but the increased flow over the old style ailerons required more force to move them than the servos could muster. I elected to replace the ailerons with the later style ones to get reasonable performance out of the autopilot. I tell this story because I know very few autopilot people remember that Mooney built two two types of ailerons. It might be you could find a B2D and install it. This would work OK unless you have a modified airframe. Good luck in finding a reasonable solution.

Could be the clutch is starting to slip. You might spend a little time determining where you can get a replacement for it. I have not removed one but my wingman has and he did not think it was all that easy. You might round up someone who has done the job before since time is of the essence.

I am planning on replacing my bottle in the future with a new composite bottle. I have a 115 cu ft bottle and I like having one that size. A steel one that size would weigh a ton. A portable bottle is easier to fill but a pain to manage in the cockpit. I do use a fair amount of O2 but the big bottle does not need filled very often.