donkaye

I believe you're wrong on that. Garmin has is all on the Cirrus. Mooney certified their airplane in a certain way and they have to work with Garmin and the FAA to change it. It is Mooney's problem. Additionally, Mooney doesn't have ADS-B In on any of the Acclaims.

It's such a frustrating problem in that there is just nothing you can do without Mooney. I'd be inclined to sell the plane at a discount and be done with it. I really like the WAAS LPV approaches. They are worth having if you are doing serious IFR. On a smaller scale I'm biting the bullet on my Plessey Landing Gear actuator. There are no more back springs being made at any price. I spoke to Tom Bowen at the Mooney Summit in Paso Robles last June and he said he would look into the matter. As much as I like Tom, I think there's as much chance of Mooney doing something about this as there is of hell freezing over. If I ever wanted to sell my plane (I don't) I would feel obligated to tell the buyer of the issue and the plane would probably be discounted about $10,000. Tom Rouch at Top Gun offered to make up a standard actuator with new motor and spring for less than half the discount. I took him up on the offer and expect to have it installed shortly. Laser wanted twice as much. Anyone want an actuator and a second used backup spring...?

Why did you sell it? To buy the new model? The weather information and audio makes it of prime use in my panel.

It could be worse. The start of my upgrade several years ago.

That is a very good price for the GTN 750 and GDL 88. Even better is the 60/hr labor rate for the installation.

Slightly confused. If the plane was new in 2003, how was it that the engine was not a Bravo? Mine was converted in 1997, so if the plane was new in 2003 it had to have had the Bravo engine. Was it new in 2003? It looks like the '89 Paint Scheme. What is the serial number?

Example: 1991 Mooney Bravo. Bluebook sets value at $150,000. Add all the avionics you can think of: $100,000 (I actually paid a lot less). All in at $250,000. New cost of Acclaim: $700,000 which doesn't include ADS-B In, since it is not available on new Acclaims. The Bravo is better equipped than the Acclaim. Bravo is about 20 knots slower than an Acclaim. If you expect to fly for awhile, do you really care if you could get $250,000 for the Bravo when you would have to pay $450,000 more for an airplane that is not as well equipped? I think I may have the most well equipped Mooney in the fleet and I didn't pay anywhere near $120,000 net for the upgrade. New equipment: G500 with SVT, GAD43e, GTN 750, GTN 650, GMA 35, GTS 800, GDL 88, GTX 330ES, GDL 69A, Flight Stream 210, WX 500, MVP 50, ESI 2000, Alpha System Eagle AOA with Valkyrie HUD. I kept the KFC 150 AP, the KN 63 DME, and the Miniflo-L Fuel Management System. Not shown is the Aera 796 that I have on the yoke for Approach plates, secondary XM weather and radio, back active and passive traffic from the GDL 88, secondary backup AI from the Flight Stream 210, and quick access to other functions. As soon as the ESI 500 becomes available, I am going to swap out the ESI 2000, so if someone knows who would want one, let me know.

Yes, that is another more expensive option. it is certified for primary AI so it would work as a backup, too.

In looking at your panel there is one thing that you could get that would make instrument flying a little safer. For $2,395 at Aircraft Spruce you could easily replace the turn coordinator with a Castleberry Electric Backup Attitude Indicator. That could be a life saver and is so much better than the turn coordinator. An HSI would be nice, but too expensive.

To answer your questions: 1. A friend just had a GDL 84 and Flight Stream 210 installed for a labor cost to $2,400. The GDL 88 will cost more because it must be connect to some of your other avionics associated with your panel mounts. If you don't have the avionics to display ADSB-B IU, then get the GDL 84 that will display on the 796 and IPad. 2. Garmin Compatible devices under the GDL 88 does not include the Aera 560. 3. TIS-A is going the way of the Dinosaur. It is only available in some Approach controls now. TIS-B is part of ADS-B and is available with most GBTs (Ground Based Transmitters).

A full size iPad not yoke mounted is bulky and distracting to the extent that a pilot who is trying to fly a 6 pack is constantly looking up and down, focusing and refocusing--not good when training for the rating. A mini is useful mounted on the yoke for approach plates and I've had students use it for the rating. I will modify what I said in the previous posting and recommend purchasing a Garmin 796 mounted on the yoke with part of the $5,000. It gives Approach Plates and important weather information and situational awareness when only legacy instruments are available on the panel. I do have an iPad that I use as a backup for the following: Approach Charts, all traffic (active and passive ADS-B), both XM and FIS-B weather, and XM Radio control of the GMA 35. My iPad situation is unique, though, because I have spent in excess of $5,000 for those iPad situational awareness functions. They required a GDL 69A, GDL 88, GTS 800, GTN 750, GMA 35, and a Flight Stream 210. My primary for Approach Charts is the 796.

Very late to this party, but the difference in speed in becoming a very good instrument pilot is the difference between night and day when comparing learning with old legacy instruments versus those of the new technology. In my opinion you want the best situational awareness your money can buy, and old technology is a hindrance to that. Laptop iPads are a distraction and obviously have no autopilot interface, but in the worst case helps. $5,000 gets you practically nothing of value, so if it were me, I would get the rating with the old technology, fly simple IFR like climbing and descend through a cloud deck, absolutely no hard IFR, and save up the money to get the avionics that will bring you into the present and provide much less risk and a greater margin of safety. Even if you don't use the rating that much, the precision in flying gained through its achievement makes it a worthwhile goal in and of itself.

I may be wrong, but the only Stormscope that doesn't have its own display tube is the remote WX 500 Stormscope.

Not at all.

The easiest way to update the card is to pay for the method where you send the old card back in exchange for a new one. Doing the update via a computer can be done, and I did it for many years, but I always had issues with it. I had a Mac computer and the updates only ran on a Windows machine with an old RS 232 cable. I ran it in a windows environment with VMware. It was very flaky. It's been a few years now and BK probably hasn't updated the method, so an old version of Windows is probably required. Do yourself a favor and update the card by the exchange method. It's worth the extra money.

In my opinion, a definite mistake not to upgrade for that reason. With either Jepp or Garmin PilotPak it makes no difference.

It is box specific on the GTNs.

It is, nor would I.

To the best of my knowledge GPSS provides lateral navigation only on any system.

In my opinion if you even notice the control as a force, you are not flying the airplane correctly. The Mooney should be flown as you drive a car. Do you feel a force on the steering wheel when you change lanes? Slight control pressure is all that is needed to gracefully fly the Mooney. I've never given the flying of the Mooney a second thought as to difficult control pressure. I assure you your passengers will appreciate a pilot who doesn't jerk the airplane around. That includes looking like a one arm paper hanger while on approach and into the flare, to which I've been a witness too many times. With the airplane properly trimmed you should be able to control it with the pointer finger and thumb of each hand.

My understanding is that only ADS-B Out is available. No ADS-B In on any of the new Mooneys.

I like flying the G1000 airplanes---when they are someone else's. The upgrade is not under your control and may not even be possible. If possible, you will be held hostage to possible outrages upgrade fees because you have no choice. I wouldn't consider buying a G1000 airplane for that reason---even if it was heavily discounted. In my opinion you're not moving up, you're moving into never never land. Can we say Edsel? Better to buy an upgradable DX model where you can choose your upgrade path. The price you pay for the upgrade, however, is a very stressful upgrade time frame. Although wildly happy with the outcome of mine, I really wouldn't want to go through the process again.

Yes.

Owning an airplane is not for the faint of heart. But, if there's a will there's a way--especially if you like flying. The day after I took possession of my airplane, I looked at it and thought, "What have I done?" I wasn't even qualified to fly it. Twenty three years and 10,000 flight hours later, that decision to buy changed my life. The Mooney is the best looking, best flying, fastest single engine piston out there. I took it upon myself to become the most knowledgeable person I could on flying the airplane. I really am not the kind of person who wants to spend my time working on them, so I get the most knowledgeable people I know to do that. So how can you make the airplane pay for itself? If you love flying and potentially teaching, how about becoming a flight instructor? That's exactly what I did, and I became an expert on flying the Mooney. I've met so many interesting people along the way, and had adventures many could only dream about. Flight instruction goes a long way towards paying for the expenses of the airplane. And all the while I get to go flying and help people like you realize their dreams. What a great way to live!

Wrong. The price was $5,000. We were on Lycoming for years before that to fix the problem.