davidfreedman

Rob Riter is an IA out of TOA. He handle maintenance and annuals on my Mooney and did a prebuy for me on a plane I passed on. He owned an M20C for years and it quite the enthusiast. He'd likely do it but ask you to pay fuel for his round trip from TOA. RMRiter@aol.com, (310) 614-0759

p.s. Lasar parts...(800) 954-5619.

You've likely done the appropriate work to conclude that it needs to be replaced. A quick story for others. I was getting intermittent on/off states when my master was in the on position prior to starting the engine. I could hear the relay switching as my vac spun up and down. Shop recommended I replace the Master toggle. I found an article that recommended I clean the contacts with Contact Cleaner first. I clean the four poles and it works perfectly. Give it a try before you conclude you have a dead switch.

I finally completed my BRF yesterday after being grounded for 3 months due to a long string of maintenance and repairs. I was flying at max gross with my CFII in the right seat and one of his CFII students in the rear right. I followed advice from a separate threat climbing to altitude with WOT and prop full forward. On my right crosswind, I noticed more cowl vibration than I had ever noticed before when I looked out over the nose. I backed off to 25 squared (my previous technique) to see if that made any difference and it did not. Figuring my cowl must be loose, I called tower and landed immediately for inspection. I did not pay attention to vibration on descent. On the ground, I found the cowling to be fully fastened. I bounced ideas around with my CFII and he suggested that the vibration may have been a result of max gross + a different loading situation than I normally fly (a 190 pound man in the back rather than just luggage). He thought this may have increased the angle of attack for same climb performance. I should mention that he's also my IA an usually pretty good at diagnosing these sorts of things if they are mechanical problems. Have any of you experienced this? Any thoughts?

How do you spot a pilot at a party? He walks up and tells you.

I've got plates on the Garmin 696...works beautifully day and night though I often have to zoom to see the level of detail I need which is slightly irritating. I attempted to use my Kindle once. The display was great during the day, but it's not yoke mounted like my 696...little distracting to pick it up and put it down. Also, the navigation between pages is ppor when you are flipping hrough approaches. Non-backlit so same night challenges as you mentioned above.

Norman, Your response is tremendously helpful! I appreciate the specificity. My current technique for the record: I back off to 25 squared at around 500AGL...get that that this is pointless. I'm 90-100kts to 3000AGL then 100-110...a somewhat steep climb with the intention of getting high quickly without getting too far from the strip in case of an engine failure. I start leaning at 3000 DA but have no concept of the "red box." Cowls typically wide open to cruise altitude (I tend to get hot given the agressive climb). I'm working to keep my CHTs under 400 and oil temp under 200. At cruise I lean to 100ROP and either close or half-close cowls depending on CHT/Oil temp. I cruise throttle wide open and 2500RPM. I've got a JPI 800. Just called the avionics shop that's doing my 480 software upgrade and they quoted a solid deal ($1050) on the 830 upgrade given that the probes are already in place. That'll save me a bunch of cycling during critical phases of flight. I'll keep you posted and thank you again!

Scott - thank you for the recommendation. I will do the online course one of these upcoming weekends and stop perpetuating OWTs

Eric, I bought my 1983 201 in April 2008 for $124k. This was right before everything went to crap. This included an overhauled engine with about 20 hours on it and a fresh prop. Also, a new panel with all the goodies (480/mx20, SL30, 347, 327, stormscope, jpi800). That number's hardly relevent any more. When I bought it, I used aircraftbluebook, vref and mapalog. I found mapalog to consistently give the most favorable valuations (for the seller). I'd recommend checking at least one of the others for some balance. Personal opinion, sub $100k sounds right in this market with that config unless he's got more toys that aren't listed. Good luck!

All ears and always willing to learn...give me the short list...

KSMooniac, You're scaring me. I did my ferry flight from the East Coast with the chief pilot from one of the big Mooney shops (intentionally being non-specific). I'm pretty sure he indoctrinated most of that and that's how I fly (with a few exceptions). I'm having a "What...there's no toothfairy?!" moment.

Caveat - I'm biased and inexperienced. Buy your Mooney with a great engine and good avionics (you need the first and if you want the second, buy it, don't install it if it exists on the market). Here's why: 1) Both depreciate...if the guy before you bought it, you'll pay less second hand. Replacing your avionics stack is like $30-40k...resell won't support that. Parker's $40k on engine sounds about right. Use it to your advantage. 2) Downtime and squawks...major work takes time and aviation guys work slow. You won't fly for awhile. And when you get it back, things wont work right and you wont understand why. So you'll spend time going back to the shop til they figure it out. Interior/paint is a different story. This, like everything else in aviation, is a money losing endeavor but DAMN you feel good after you get it done. Big difference is: 1) I assert that the loss on investment is less than avionics/engine 2) Squawks tend to be non-critical that you can handle at your leisure. Glue...touch-up paint..etc. And a last word...owning an airplane make no financial sense for the most part. And it's the greatest freedom on earth. Taking a bird from and old stack/replacement engine can be gratifying if you enjoy the journey and aren't bothered by the money. P.S. Don't consider total time unless its INSANE.

I dropping my M20J off at Pentastar at Van Nuys to be passed along to the avionics shop for a Garmin 480 antenna upgrade. They were too busy to give me a ride across the field to my car which would have made for a mile walk on something that looks like a freeway to the other side of the field. I noticed a beautiful Piper Meridian (yep, the turboprop) at the FBO which was being towed into the hanger. A kind gentleman who turned out to be the owner offered to give my girlfriend and I a ride to the other side of the field. We chatted mostly about his gorgeous bird. I asked him what it trued out at...he embellished 300 kts and told me about how earlier that day he was getting a 2000 ft/min climb out of Mammoth Mountain through the mid teens. We traded numbers and agreed to fly together soon. Since yesterday, I have stalked his n-number on flightaware, confirmed my suspicion that he doesn't get TBM 700 numbers but does beat 250 kts ground speed, read most of the Meridian POH and enjoyed an ongoing fantasy of being at the helm for an aggressive climb out. I love my M20J and we'll be together forever, but even right seat in a Meridian is sorta like a one-night stand with a hot celebrity. Sorry for cheating Mooney...it'll only be once...or twice.

Jason/Buster1, I don't know of any Mooney CFI's in Vegas but I know of a few very good instructors in Northern and Southern California. You may consider a more intensive training regimine where you take some time off work and go 4-9 days straight (Not sure where you are in your training so I don't know what would be appropriate). You could accomplish this by coming to CA or getting one of the guys out there and covering hotel/motel. Let me know if that sounds palatable and I'll send their info along.

Hey Jason, On Mooneys being difficult to fly...I did my PPL in a 172 and picked up my Mooney right after at around 65 hours. I did 20 hours of transition training (insurance requirement) and have been flying her for 2 years since. I occasionally rent my Mooney to a gentleman who had 300 hours in a 172 and he transitioned to my Mooney in about 11 hours. There's nothing difficult about it...new set of habits/muscle memory, that's it. Great instrument platform as well...you've got rods rather than cables which make for more precise control inputs. I'll be in Vegas in June - let me know if you'd like to go for a ride.

Hey Erick, Very nice...the first all metal Mooney! I'm passing them along to share with the only requirement being that you repost here when you're ready to pass them along to the next. Send me a private message with your address and I'll ge them in the mail. Cheers!

Thank you, Mitch! L52 on May 8th...I'll be there. I've been keeping up the the Oceano. I joined the FB group as you suggested. I'll be at a wedding on the 22nd so will not be able to make the ArtCraft event. Enjoy!

I'd love to hear your contributions on what Mooney owners ought to read/watch...books, DVDs, websites. My contributions on the books side are: The Al Mooney Story - A MUST READ. I finished it feeling like the luckiest person on earth for the priviledge of flying my M20J and a deep appreciation for the Mooney brothers' path. Those Remarkable Mooneys - A detailed account of the evolution of the Mooney line and the company behind it. Happy to pass these along to anyone who promises to pass them along when they finish reading them.

Hey All - David Freedman here. 32 years old and a relative newbie at 230 hours since I got my PPL a couple years back. As soon as I finished my PPL I picked up N1171P, a 1983 M20J. My first experience with her was the ferry flight from Trenton, NJ to Santa Monica...a beautiful way to start the relationship. We were based at SMO for a year and a half and recently moved to a tie-down at VNY (Morten, I'm jealous of your hangar). I'm thankful to this day to Gabriel Schlumberger, her previous owner, for the fantasic panel upgrade (480/MX20, JPI 800, GTX 330, GMA 347, strikefinder, SL30). I also fly w/ a 696 which fits quite well (I saw some posts that were questioning if it were appropriate for the tight cockpit.) I put a fresh interior in this past year. My primary mission is Los Angeles to San Francisco to see my father and sister, lots of wine country trips (KIZA, KPRB) though I fly occasional medium distance trips...various AZ, NV and NM destinations. I have yet to take a good flight up the pacific coast. I've been a long time board lurker of this and mooney.aviating.com. I have yet to really engage the Mooney community (VMG, etc) so let's call this the start of something new. I look forward to crossing paths with you folks!

Here's the ground track for my flight home in April of 2008 when I picked my M20J up in Trenton, NJ and flew it to Santa Monica (with the help of a Mooney pilot far more experienced than myself). This doesn't address your Alaska or soft field concern and I'm low time so very conservative but here are some pointers. 1) make sure you've got XM weather in the cockpit...makes a real difference when you are in the air long enough for conditions to change dramatically from forecasts. 2) Fly Victors even if you're going VFR. It's conservative, but saves a ton of time on route/altitude planning and is better asurance of radio coverage. 3) I didn't do this, but file flight plans. You'll be flying unknown terrain...just seems like the right thing to do. 4) Allow for lots of schedule slack and expect to spend time on the ground due to weather when you'd rather be flying...if you end up with great weather then lucky you! 5) Bring plenty of extra oil and good snacks that will keep your blood sugar regulated. 6) Cash on hand is helpful when landing in random places. 7) I hit nasty turbulence like I had never seen...in that case, back off to maneuvering speed and keep flying. Hurts to give up the speed on a long flight but it'll soften the load. 8) If you don't have it, you might want to pick up portable oxygen. It's obviously helpful at altitude, but I sometimes use it under 10k on long flights...keeps me aware. Not sure if that's placebo affect, but it works for me. Enjoy!

Sounds like a great time - will do my best to be there!

I think I got the best interior deal of all time $5,500. My work was done by Andrei at New Life Upholstry in Venice, Ca. Most of his 25 years of experience are in high end automotive...he's probably done only 10 planes. This was an experiment for me that I went for after he did my friend's Mooney. He did a phenominal job. It included the following: Stripped the interior down to the frame and took all the plastic/seats/etc back to his shop. Reenforced all cracked and thin plastic with fiberglass Rebuilt the seat foam Reupholstered the seats...2 tone with nice piping Recarpeting thougout include cargo area, hat rack, kick panels, etc Covered headliner in faux-suade (handed the detail around the overhead lights beautifully) Two-tone side panels Seat pockets The job took a couple of weeks. The quality of the job was impeccable though the air vent tubes were hung in such a way that cause some cabin air flow blockage...had this repaired at annual (he would have fixed it but I didn't bother). I've got before and after pics in my photo album. Artcraft - hopefully see you at the end of the year...1171P is wanting some new paint!