DaV8or

To the OP- Here's a strategy that I used when shopping for a Mooney that you could apply to this Mooney or any other. First, put together a realistic list of must haves and features that you would like your Mooney to have in the end. Then, place priorities on these things. After that work out a realistic budget for a completed plane, not necesaarily the cost of the plane you might buy. Do the research here, on the AOPA forums, asking around and in the magazines on how much upgrades cost. Trade a Plane really helps. Once you have in mind things that are important to you, it's pretty easy to make a spreadsheet to qualify or disqualify a candidate plane. Look a planes features in both the plus and minus column and then figure how much it's going to cost you to get it to the completed plane inside your budget. Also remember that there will no doubt be surprises even if you do get a great prebuy, so budget for that too. Even if a plane seems high in an ad, call anyways because most sellers these days are willing to knock a bunch off. This guy probably will too. Good luck! Oh, and I think this plane is a bit over priced because the avionics are pretty poor. It does have other good features though, so see if the owner will work with you, but I would not pay $57k for it even if radios are not a priority for you.

Quote: Jeff_S I have to admit I'm on the fence on this one. There is not only the initial price to pay, but periodic maintenance and upkeep of the system which is significant dollars as well. At some point you have to decide the trade-off between economics and utility. I know David (the OP) flies a lot at night and in that situation, where you can't easily find a good landing spot, the airbags would provide some additional peace of mind. But for mostly day flying, I believe the old adage of "fly it all the way to the crash site" is still pretty good advice.

An airplane is a big hole in the sky you throw your money into.

Quote: edgargravel I also believe that, at one time, Mooney owned the TC for the Ercoupe and the designs are similar, except for the twin tail of the Ercoupe.

Quote: N223MM I'm pretty sure this is a pre-J model. You are correct. Mooney made the M10 from 1968 to 1974.

Quote: 1964-M20E The reason you get less millage with ethanol is it has a lower BTU content than gasoline (corn base ethanol 84000 BTU, gasoline 125000BTU).

Quote: HopePilot I won't be redoing my panel for years, but when I do, I'm using "turned metal." http://www.fpmmetals.com/index.htm

Quote: flight2000 Dave, I have some on my website that might help give you an idea. There are a ton of wires and vacuum tubes in there. The avionics shop took the pics and sent inprogress photos about every other week. http://www.67m20e.com/panel_overhaul.htm Brian

Quote: maropers YEP THAT WAS OSHKOSH

Oooh, you guys with your acres of space in the panel on your new fangled Mooneys... The gizmos I could put in there! Good, clean solid looking panel. Should serve you well. Of course, soon you'll get bitten by the mod bug. It seems to happen to a lot of Mooney owners.

Any pictures with the panel out? Curious what the limitations are behind there.

Quote: maropers Well then.....

Quote: RJBrown Flex fuel cars break more when using alcohol.

Quote: tony Dave, just another thing I would check.....Will the display support that large a viewing angle mounted that far over from the pilot's eye?

I'm still scheming on my new panel. I would like to try to get an EI MVP-50 to replace all my factory engine guages and then some. Problem is where to put it. Below are the only two options that I can do and still get the 696 in there. Option 1 puts the engine functions close in view, but puts Nav 2, transponder and audio panel far away. Option 2 keeps naviation and communication close at hand, but engine functions far away. Any thoughts, suggestions?

Steve, Did you keep your original tach and MP for redundancy, or is it still required with the MVP-50? Also, how are you liking it? Did you have an engine monitor before and how does it compare in terms of usability? Do you fing the display hard to read where it is and do you think it would still readable if it were all the way over to the right? Sorry for all the questions, but I really want to get one of these for my plane but am struggling about where to put it. Your panel picture inspired me to jump in and disrupt this perfectly good thread. Thanks for any insights you can give me.

Quote: Hank Us Vintage folks will just wait and see how it goes. Since I have no shoulder belts at all yet, installation should be much simpler, rather like putting in "normal" front shoulder belts, right? And good old owner assistance can go a long way towards reducing the installation costs.

Quote: Geoff Time isn't the only barrier. Guess how much Mooney wants for the panel dimmer switch??? Wait for it...... $1,884.47 USD.

Quote: HopePilot THIS JUST IN: "Zombie Al Mooney" has gotten loose and invented the first jet ski to go 100 mph on 100 horses!

Does the replacement switch have to be TSO'd and have PMA? There are thousands of rocker switches available outside of the aviation business. Usually just a few bucks. If it's a circuit breaker too, then should be about $50 maybe.

Quote: KLRDMD I doubt that I'm the only one that can afford a newer plane but choose to not own one. I do not currently find the benefits of the newer ones worth the incremental cost.

I have this cowl and all my cylinders run very close to the same. Around 320-350.

Quote: carusoam Ned, In the meantime you may consider changing out the circuit breaker for a new one. Apparently, as they age, they fail at lower loads than their rated for? It would be great to know the actual load of each item as they are turned on. -a-

Excellent choice! Excellent plane! Excellent family! What's not to love? However, your photo taking duties are not quite through... panel pictures please!

Quote: Piloto Just don't buy anything older than you, is not worth it. José