wrench

Seams like my house caught the same disease, now that I think about it. Maybe our kitchen cabinet guy should have had before Mooney kitchen pictures and after Mooney kitchen pictures in the showroom. Caution, this behavior may apply in boats and hot rod purchases also.

Based MKG. Was at Ionia Y70 for SMAT Funfest

That's a nice picture of my J in the middle.

We currently don't have 406 homing equipment. As you suggest it may not be feasible.

I see browsing the site that in the past there has been some confusion about the usefulness of 121.5 MHz ELT emergency beacon freq. A few months ago I went on a ground search for a 406 MHz emergency beacon. It turned out to be inadvertent triggering and all was well in this case. But I can tell you from this and other experience that if we did not have the homing ability of the 121.5 MHz companion signal from the 406 MHz equipment the ELT battery may have run dead on the unit before we ever found it. We were given Lat, Lon coordinates by SAR derived from a 406 MHz ELT beacon transmission to start the search. But we actually found it 3 miles away (typical). As a side note, CAP aircraft are equipped for 121.5 MHz homing but were not used in this search. PLB's and EPIRB's I believe transmit on both 406 and the 121.5 MHz frequency when triggered also. My observations from this type search 1) The 121.5 MHz is monitored by many commercial and some of us GA types while flying. We often still get reports of 121.5 triggering from these sources and was verified by commercial aircraft on this occasion also. 2) We get a very small search area IF your 406 MHz ELT has the ability to output a GPS signal to SARSAT. Typically within a few hundred meters, but not all 406 MHz ELT's have this ability! 406 MHz ELT's without the GPS output ability have a much larger search area. Our target in this case did not have GPS output thus a longer search time to find it. 3) In heavy ground or wooded cover the 121.5 may be the only reason SAR will find you. Especially for PLB's. 4) Our search area had mostly cell coverage but in many areas there was none especially in the low areas of the hilly terrain. Cell phone may or may not be a good backup but there are lots of recreational places in our state where coverage is nil. 5) If you have one of these devices, a 406 ELT or PLB or EPIRB, registration rules for the device's need to be followed to protect us all. I like many don't like a bunch of additional rules but to protect us and our passengers it can be very useful in this case. My observations on 121.5 homing, I hope this helps.

I would be in for my J

I had the same experience CARUSOAM had with an old Narco Nav 12 VOR receiver (set around to 110.00 mHz range as I recall) knocking out reception on both a Garmin 210 and a Skymap portable GPS. Old radios can cause interference problems we don't expect is also my experience. Bill

Is the spring installed or broken on the cowl flap actuator lever (co Pilot side). Note the picture on my J during my first annual, it worked correctly! It was left disconnected on the most recent annual and I had the similar issue. Bill

Thank you all for the recommendations. I noticed none of you recommended the shops I have used in the past. This site and our members are great. Bill

Hi all, Looking for some Midwest avionics shop recommendations. Looking to upgrade my GNS430, transponder and audio panel in my J. The big shops around southern Mi have big overhead and in the past I haven't had a flawless delivery yet from them. Bill

Maybe it was weighed next to the gravational pull of C182?

Talked to previous bonanza owner yesterday, traded it for an Acclaim and wishes he done it sooner.

Our a&p here at Zeeland finds that on many Mooneys he maintains the main gear doors dont close up tightly. Typically 3 to 5 knot gain when they are adjusted for proper closing. I can't confirm this personally but it is just another area for your mechanic to look at if you think you are losing speed. Good time to check is at annual when they do the gear swings. Bill

The only Piper single I can compare my J model Mooney to in performance and handling was the 250 Commanche I jointly owned. The penalty there was about a 3.5 GPH delta for about the same speeds as the J. It was a little more comfortable interior wise and like our Mooney's was a very stable IFR platform. It had a Johnson bar manual gear extension in case the electric gear motor failed. The "book" usable load was about 40 lbs higher but totally negated by additional fuel needed for the comparable endurance. Many had two 15 gal. add-on tip tanks. I think 90gals was the total fuel then. If I were to buy an Arrow it would be the Arrow III model without a turbo unless typical operation was greater than 5K up. Nice and easy to fly and maintain but you won't get asked to slow for other traffic very often in it. I liked the Arrow III best of the 200hp Arrows both turbo and non-turbo but I bought a Mooney for what it's worth opinion wise. A 2006 C182T Nav III we flew last week had almost the same useful load when compared to the 1962 Commanche but 20 knots slower. We were out of the landing weight box by 40 lbs with only 56 of the 95 gals of fuel onboard, three people and 40 pounds in the baggage compartment area. And oh by the way don't forget to sump the 13 yes 13 sump drains in the pre-flight walkaround. Our Mooneys are very good compromises in the single engine realm for value, performance and comfort. But thats just my opinion after many makes and models over the years as a PIC. Bill

Was that on the center stand or kickstand? Should be different depending on which.

Watch out for Sheriff Buford T Justice

On my 78j 2200.00 and four month turn around fixed it with a new valve. Call Lazar.

Doesn't settle debate but a good training article on AOA. Pros and cons. Fly safe all http://www.sportaviationonline.org/sportaviation/august_2013/m3/Page.action?lm=1375162217000&mobileWeb=true&folio=88

Thanks Super Dave

Anybody have a preferred FBO choice for KPTK (Pontiac, MI). Overnight and multi-day parking will be in my future plans when going to PTK. There are many Jet handlers there but what about our Mooneys? Bill

I think my last annual cost about billion of those.

Do you get served 20% faster than the brand x'ers too when you order it?

I got the hint one time after an ATC interuption got in the way of my 6 point climbout check when the BooH wasn't indicating 20 knots faster than a typical SEL sky knocker.

Ground search and rescue teams still use 121.5 locators. Civil Air Patrol aircraft use 121.5 and in more and more cases are equipped to pickup both 406 and 121.5 transmissions. Transmitting on both currently is the way to go for the most possibilities being found.

It's not to far of run in a Mooney but maybe give Mayday Avionics a call first in Grand Rapids, Mi. They do a lot of AP work.