140pilot

When I had my 20C I came from a Cherokee 140. To be honest if you do the math on time savings assuming you are flying 200 mile trips strictly from the point A to point B stand point the PA 28 would be the better deal considering price, insurance and maint. I found when you get out to 400 miles or more ( in our case it was 600 ) the 20C could not be beat. Insurance was around 250 a year higher on the Mooney. Annuals ran around 600 dollars more. As for the storm scope we had an old WX 8 and loved it. We did not have the XM weather so flying on a hazy day and knowing what was around you was good. We had a simple Century 1 AP and that really took a load off on a long trip so I imagime the STEC 30 would be a god send. As for the engine being 0 SMOH you need to ask questions. Who did the OH. Is it a service limit special done in the hangar or was it a new limits with new accesories job done by a good shop. While the varisol OH looks good on paper in reality you might have been better with an over TBO engine from a good shop. My 20C was still going strong at 2300 SMOH where my friends PA 28 had already had a camshaft failure at 400 hours and a top OH at 600. As for the bird being worth 62K I think it is high unless the engine OH was new limits, all accessories done from a reputible shop. Also the KLN 88 is dead weight now but you could add a KLN 90 or I believe a KLN 94 easily. In the end if you are VFR like me all I want is a solid mid time 20C with a couple KX 175B's a KR 86 and maybe a DME and I will be happy for say 38K or so.

Doesnt anyone use the ADF to listen to music or as a primitive strike finder anymore ? We had a KR 85 and would tune it to a lower clear freq. in summer and if you heard sudden bursts of static you usually knew t storms were around and if you watched the needle if there was enough electrical activity it would point in the general direction of the activity which was close enough for us in the days before XM weather and even WX 8's

I guess you can look at the engine issue many ways. When I had my M 20 C we were running it at 2300 smoh with oil analysis every 25 hours with no issues. A friend had a reman O 320 installed on his PA 28 and it did not make 400 hours before the camshaft started making metal. It all what you feel comfortable with. As for the Garmins make sure you have your unit set to show private fields and smaller strips. Here is an excellent post on Vans airforce site where a guy lost his engine ( fuel line ) in IMC and managed to find a small grass strip to set down safely in. http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=57122

This article will give you a good run down of what to look for. http://www.lasar.com/sales/buyers-guide.asp And you can use this pre buy check list to try and get what you can accomplished. Obviously you cant get it all done but it helps as a starting point. http://www.lasar.com/sales/checklist.asp

My 20C was a high time ERAU plane. I got a lot of grief for buying something with a high time engine and airframe. She had around 7900TT and 1900 SMOH when I got it but she was very well maintained. I never had a single significant issue with that plane and the engine ran flawlessly. I sold her with just under 2300 smoh on the A1D and would have flown her another couple hundred if I had not sold it. I just felt comfortable with the engine. I had friends with fresh overhauls that had 10 times the issues I had with my high time ride.

Remember you can only tie the low altitude record !

First post here long time lurker. I would be more than happy to exercise your 20F while you are overseas. Only problem is it has been close to 10 years since I drove something with one of those new fangled nose wheels on it. Are you based over at PVG ? I used to have one of the old dirt floor hangars right across from Eads and it was always a joy shoe horning my 20C into that hangar. Of course I get rid of the 20C right when SFQ called me for a new hangar. I ended up buying an old Cessna 140 and restoring it and still have it over at SFQ. Quite a different type of flying from the Mooney but great fun. My business has expanded across the state and I have been pondering buying another Mooney. Still on the fence but cutting 4 hour drives to one hour flights sure is attractive! Of all the planes I have owned the Mooney is the only one I can honestly say I miss. Oh well one day! Russ