DaV8or

I think it's worth it. The MAPA Log magazine is kind of neat to get a magazine in the mail that is about nothing but Mooneys. The MAPA membership is long established and so there is a wealth of Mooney knowledge and expertise over there that is even more rich and deep than what can be found here. If you have a specific question about mechanicals of operation of your Mooney, the MAPA list will answer that question quickly and by the biggest Mooney experts in the world. The archives are very searchable and cover loads of issues, so often your problem has already discussed and the answers are already there and you don't even have to ask. As the Mooney factory winds down and most likely will go under, groups like MAPA will be all important with regard to parts and solutions to keep our birds flying. I am a very new member and have only tapped the resources there a little, but it's really nice to know this depository of knowledge and help is there. I recommend membership.

I flew my Mooney to Santa Maria for Thanksgiving with my Mother in law. Wonderful weather and true magic carpet ride. The S Tec 30 rocks! Here's a picture of 89M in back of the Raddison hotel. It was the first time I have put the cover on, so it took a little head scratching and I think the front straps are supposed to have some sort of snaps to fasten them. I got by by threading the front strap between the fuselage and the gear doors. Tight fit, but it works. I'll have to call Bruce's and ask about the snaps.

Quote: RJBrown I bought a bone stock 1200 hour 231 for $75000 converted it to a rocket, painted it, redid the interior, added long range tanks, an intercom, an EDM700, fuel flow, speedbrakes some speed mods and a wing light. with about 2000 TT it sold for $175000 and I pretty much broke even. That plane today would sell between 125 and 130.

I would pick the E. It is lighter and has less wetted area. Since money is no object, a Lo Presti cowl and all the 231 mods can be made to it. Should be faster than a similarly equiped J but at greater expense. On the other hand, aerodynamics are a funny thing and maybe the longer fuselage helps the laminar flow along the fuselage. Still, gut says E.

Quote: DaV8or Funny thing about this site. After reading this here, I went there and entered my tail number. It claims that the FAA has a record of my plane experiencing an engine failure and wing tip damage after a forced landing on a golf course back in '83. News to me, so I checked as best I could on the NTSB and the FAA websites and found no record of this event. I also checked my logbooks again and found no record of a repair. If this event did happen, there is no online record and whoever did the repair illegally did not log it.

Some people don't like risk and never do anything remotely interesting or exciting. Airline captains are no exception. Flying in a US commercial airliner is the next safest mode of transportation there is, second only to riding in an elevator. To each his own.

Time for Mooney enthusiasts and owners to pool their money and buy Mooney. Otherwise it's going to be all about parts planes.

Quote: flight2000 Dave, do you know if the 330 will put it on the 696 instead (via the 430)? I normally have the navigation page on the 430W displayed and not the moving map. I have the 496 as the map and weather. Thanks, Brian

Wow. That's a tough day. Congrats again on your new adventure in Japan though! The years will fly by and you'll be back home before you can say Konichiwa! Hopefully you'll make and save up so much money over there that buying and upgrading will be easy when you get back. Do you think the new owner of your bird will join us here?

I use Garmin. I have the 330 transponder hooked to the 430. It works pretty good, but it doesn't always work for some reason. Some areas it will tell you "Traffic not available". I like it though and I'm glad I have it. It shows relative position, direction of travel and altitute above or below me and I can zoom in or out on the display. I can also choose to ignore traffic that is not close or not a conflict.

Quote: rbridges travelling is not as much fun without the full body pat down.

Yes. Mine was pretty bad when I replaced it. If you pull it out of the panel and the sides are bulged or deformed, that is a pretty good sign that it is time to replace it. Still, there could be other problems with your system. If you can get or borrow a clamp on DC amp meter, you can put it on the battery positive cable and then measure the load with all your gear on and the engine off. Switch each system one at a time and this will tell you if anything is drawing way too high and what your generator is up against.

Quote: outermarker heading into the shope tomorrow. The plugs were cleaned, gap checked and a compression check last month. The plugs were good and compressions were all around 76/80. I guess the injectors will be looked at next.

Excellent! Another Mooney fanatic! Good on you for looking beyond the "It's too small" myth and seeing for yourself. So many don't. Now get ready for a magic carpet ride with reasonable fuel bills. Congrats!

Quote: tony Yes. Mooney experimented with improving the stall characteristics of the airframe in 1967. The twist was an attempt to have the wing stall at the root before the ailerons which would help with controllability. I believe the twisted wing can also be found on some G models as well.

Quote: edgargravel Russ lives in the rarefied atmosphere of "East of Edmonton." That is almost like "East of Eden" only colder.

Quote: Ashe Anyhow, from what I've read the 1967 and early 1968 long bodies have a twisted wing that robe a few knots of speed. However, I've also read that mid '68 brought the end of the "clean wing" until the advent of the M20J. So...am I correct in assuming that the only "clean wing" M20F's would be twisted wing F's? If so, is the speed loss a wash between a twisted, "clean wing" 67 model and a non-twisted, "non-clean wing" late '68? Ashe

Quote: Ashe I see some people say they have 1966 as well, although I think the serial numbers on 1966 models still denotes a '67 model year.

Missing a lot of necessary parts to do a conversion though. Still need the support brackets, engine baffeling, spinner, induction coupling, filter with ram air valve and cowl flap linkages. Then there's the damage to contend with. Not sure how usable that one cowp flap is.

Quote: Flyer05 I'd like to stay with an older model M20. My budget is around 50K or less and I am an IFR rated pilto so avionics are somewhat important to me. So thanks for any support you might be able to give me. Flyer05

Excellent mod! Getting better and better. I really needed a power tow fast and I needed one that I can put in the plane and take with me, so I bought the Redline Sidewinder, but if that weren't the case, I would be definately be looking for your plans.

Quote: outermarker I just began to have a problem with my 66 E with respect to mags/engine. The plugs are clean and gaped correctly. The engine runs very smooth during the mag check. However, the engine runs rough and will not go to max rpm. Fuel pressure is good with and without the pump on. I am confused at this point. One day it flew great and then the plane sat in the hanger for about 4 months. The next time I wanted to fly.......well, that is why I am writting..all advice is welcome.......

Quote: flight2000 What did they quote you for the MT prop? I may need to replace mine if I continue with the sale because buyers seem to be paranoid about the EDDY AD.... This and the Top Prop would be on my short list. Brian

Quote: scottfromiowa And a 696 to replace your 496. You've got the room...

You don't need a new panel cut at all. You could just have yours removed then bead blasted, powder coated and labled. Should save you about $800-1000 over an all new one. The strip and paint should be pretty cheap, probably less than $200, the labeling I'm not sure about. I have yet to do that. Then of course there is the remove and install labor costs. Probably can do the removal yourself and save some money there.