HRM

Tried. Did you have success with one? Not all are created equal. It's at a weird angle in there. I think the problem is that 5/8" sockets are made 'hefty' to accommodate the torques possible on that sized hardware. To get on that nut you thin and long (in terms of the handle holding the socket). <sigh>

Trying to loosen the nylon locknut (5/8") on the lower engine mount (see photo) on the pilot side. Any suggestions on how to get at this? We've run out of ideas to include long-reach angled needle-nose pliers.

Probably a little of both Congrats!

Lately the UFOs have been getting some mentions here on MooneySpace. Frankly, joining them is on my bucket list (14 years and counting, no rush!). Do we have any UFOs here flying Mooneys? I've always thought that I'd probably have to drop to a Cessgnat or LSA to make it, so I'd like some encouragement.

Sounds to me like you (OP) are trying to move too fast. Get your PPL in a Cessna--they fly like Mary Poppins parasol. You can rent them at almost any FBO and get insurance with your CFI as a student. After you have your ticket, go fly a Mooney with a Mooney CFI (yes, they are unique, not all CFI's are Mooney CFI's). What the insurance company will do is sentence you to a specific number of hours training. When I bought The Mistress, they demanded 10 hours.Frankly, it was ten of the best hours of my life. Had a great time literally flying across the republic (of Texas) landing here there and everywhere. The guy I trained with knew Mooneys inside and out and my love of this airplane is partly attributed to him. So, take it easy, go slow. You'll go fast enough when the time comes and you'll never go back.

The E is complex, not high performance (FAA).

Frankly, I find that aggressive and cat-like. What's not to love? Meowr!!!

LOL! So much for the 'speculation' thread. Go MOONEY!!!

This is why I handle (no pun intended) the fuel caps on my E during refueling. I don't care who I insult. Many are not aware that the cap levers are designed to fold towards the back of the wing so as not to catch airflow and possibly open.

LOL, now I am wondering if anybody's Mooney has taken a stray bullet! Here in Tejas, hunting season is pretty wild.

So to summarize, only one side has this issue and you have concluded that it isn’t the fuel cap.

I have a giganto roll of blue painter's tape (I think it is 2" wide) and I just tape over the fuel caps if I have to park my E outside. I doubt that condensation is creating that much water.

I always just order a complete hangar exorcism after doing any major work on my E. I've invented expletives working on that thing because the existing ones just didn't do it.

I prefer Porsche in the comparative for the following reasons: Mooney once put a Porsche engine in a Mooney. Porsche sits at the start of the exotic car line-up, Mooney is likewise against its competition. My 911 (991.2) has a steel cage with an aluminum shell--who would'a thought? Working on a 911 is just as tight and absurd as working on a Mooney. A 911 seats four with a backseat fit only for children, likewise my E. ...there are probably others.

Exactly! One argument in favor of reuse is how easy the damn things are to R&R--NOT!

...and no one even took a nibble of my clickbait for starting a manual v. electric gear firestorm!

Welcome to the vintage Mooney club. Mine started heating up two annuals ago. I am guessing the seals finally dried up.

I hate to sound like a heretic...but who cares? This is really the crux of the issue: the future of Mooney. When I bought my E a decade ago I think Mooney was insolvent. The factory was there (I used their runway a number of times during my familiarization period), but my need and interaction with them was minimal. I will say that the skeleton crew there was very nice and sent me a few engineering drawings when I requested them. I managed to redo my interior, redo seats, add 3-axis AP, add MVP-50, etc., etc., etc., all without the factory. Parts for my E abound, but if I had had something catastrophic (gear-up?) the reapers would be summoned because the hull value just is not there. Like the circle of life, my E would feed some other E (or C, or even J). So you can argue until the cows come home about why the company went under, if it did indeed go under, and if it will resurface again (I think it will), but to the vintage owners it really is business as usual. Unless, of course, you do not have a J-bar in your Mooney, then you have that spring to worry about. Then again, has the factory even had any of those for the last few years?

Getting back on topic...sort of. P&P just posted another article: Going Direct: Why Did Mooney Fail? It’s Simple! (Not) by Isabel Goyer. Not to invoke @GeorgePerry again or anything (don't you have to say the name three times?), but the article does mention the SR22.

You mean like this one? I totally agree about the evolving, Porsche went to extensive robotics in their factories.

Pure speculation, but I am an engineer, albeit electrical. I am also going on the lengthening that took place between the short bodies and long; i.e., why didn't they widen then when they had the chance? So, take the fuse and pick a 'clean spot', like between the windows. Saw it in half and slip in a 6" slice--voilà, longer airplane. Minimal tooling, just some longer wiring, tubing and control rods. Now get on either side, say at the panel, and widen for more room. Now the panel has to be wider, the doors may have to change and the overall shape into the airflow is larger, which is a huge Mooney conceptual no-no. The tooling changes significantly as well. Just sayin'. Lastly, this underscores a set of thought I've been having lately about the uncanny similarity of 'Mooney' (the engineering entity) and 'Porsche'. Simply the need for speed and efficiency at speed. Drink the Kool-aid or move on. There's a reason for the term Mooniac.

Sweet! Almost as nice as a Super 21

Easy to lengthen, very difficult to widen. What Mooney are you flying @1980Mooney?

Frankly, I thought that was the big plan when this all started a few years ago. The reality is that the Mooney is pretty much handmade and the most expensive resource in any business is the human resource. Mooney is not making wood wings anymore (imagine the labor in that!) and it really is just tedium to rivet an aircraft together where the parts are formed on jigs or pop out of presses.