glbtrottr

Yes and no. Imron has a more reduced number of PT toners that are used on a number of product lines beyond imron. Beyond the Imron codes on their chip cards, Axalta sells an updated set of 2 spectramaster color books with a greater number of colors that can be mixed. Even spectramaster is limited in their shades and colors. The cameras which are made by the same manufacturers for various paint brands - and the chromatically they read are matched against the pigment databases the manufacturers provide. When they match a color code, you’re often given a number of color match choices and codes with a percentage of accuracy. You have to calibrate the camera oftenish to get the right options. I mix all of our own colors in my shop. Since we also paint cars on occasion, I have a full complement of Spies Hecker waterborne, challenger solvent, and other paints - so paint mixing and paint matching is something that we do often.

Bring me the sheepskin and I can sew them for you.

TSO’d or PMA’d? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Under ten bucks per station. A simple soldering iron does the trick. Make your life easy and mark each wire for headphone and mic as they’re wired differently. Remember that PTT also involves wiring two additional wires to your 3 terminals for a total of 5. Use heat shrink wrap to protect your soldering. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I bought a K model while working in IT….30 years ago I was looking for a J model, and a guy I later became friends with named Jim Cardella was brokering a K whose price continued to drop due to it being on probate. Oh well…it was too much plane for me…so I thought. I flew that airplane all over the Midwest, in rain, snow, over the mountains, over freezing rain, threading the needle between storms after spending oodles in Garmin Candy to help my autopilot. That’s where my hatred for Garmin price gouging began After needing to paint two of my planes and being outraged at the high cost of some shops, I decided to paint my own planes. While I was at it, I decided to consolidate, and an E model seemed the right choice. My consolidation efforts failed miserably. Today, I own 13/14 airplanes and counting. My K model is still with me for now, and so is a for-pleasure, entirely on principle purchase of a mooney mite whose annual I’m about to finish. Sorry, no space in the back seat for any kids…I own a paint, upholstery and avionics shop, so I get the pleasure of bringing some airplanes back to life and bringing some of these beauties back to their previous glory. If only I had more time On paint: One of the airplanes I see come by my shop that has phenomenal corrosion durability is the piper comanche for parking outdoors. The factory chose in their wisdom to zinc chromate the airframe inside and out - I’ve seen planes come in with barely a memory of paint hanging on by its fingernails, and once stripped, not an ounce of corrosion…proper preparation and proper primer use is essential for durability. Nothing lasts longer than Axalta Imron if you’re parking your plane outside. If all the steel parts aren’t properly treated right after stripping, and primed in short order, premature rust will show up on your paint job a few months after you’ve paid. Some shops use cheaper brands and types of paint for stripes to save themselves cash. Guess what the first thing to chalk up or peel is, requiring a new paint job? On upholstery: We love the look of double stitching. We also love to use basting tape to protect the stitch. Perforated leathers get destroyed by sun and knees, and some people love memory foam. Plenty of outstanding aviation leather brands out there. If you’re using vinyl, there’s cheap and outstanding versions. The amount of glue used makes a difference. On avionics: many many shops charge a percentage of hardware sale cost to back into installing hardware and will run away from repairs, troubleshooting or less lucrative jobs in favor for the keeping-up-with the joneses-85k-panel-redo’s with G600 autopilots. Whatever. Take a look at their completed harness work, and don’t get gouged. Some will harmlessly offer a seemingly low hourly rate and then surprise you with “oh my gawd we found thiiiis raaaaats nest behind your panel” doubling your cost. Don’t do it. Get a not to exceed price quote and get a timeframe guarantee.

I get that - my comment was aimed at a lack of a built in display, provided only by the 375…for a cool $9k. Sure, you get GPS approaches also…. The NGT 9000 is $6300 MSRP. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Tail beacon is easiest and doesn’t require installing an extra antenna. Garmin GDL82 is second easiest - but you need to pop in a WAAS antenna. Then you’re into other piggybacks like Garmin GDL84’s and 88’s - some have built in waas and others don’t - so antenna install needs may vary. Then You have transponders like the GTX 335 with their own waas and antenna, blah blah blah.- price is twice that of tail beacon. Used free flight and navworx/avidyne boxes are great and include in and out, but you need to know how to plug them in and configure them. Going up the price scale you have awesome boxes like the L3 NGT9000 for in and out. Imagine a GTX345 that needs neither a waas receiver or a screen - it’s an all in one box. Or you can throw $9k at the problem and have a GPS/Adsb in and out transponder like the Garmin 375…. Other solutions like Trig and Bendix still require a WAAS receiver so that buys you nothing. Little do I despise more than the Garmin monopoly…. I’m happy to build harnesses for anyone who needs them.

I bought complete flying airplanes for $4700…. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Buying tail rack a used involve not only making sure you have the password so you don’t have to bug the manufacturer, but also the gaskets have to be replaced on the regular lest you want to waste your money for a failed device. Is ionic sells repaired / refurbished ones too. They’re easy to install but the elements help them fail more often than I’m willing to open my wallet to have to replace them.

A kitten dies every time someone installs Garmin product. If they make a new version of the old version, they intentionally switch pins around to create avionics installer revenues. No reason the 430–>650 upgrade should have required so many pinout changes, or the 327–>330–>335–>345 install, let alone differences between the gdl82/84 and the GTX family. The SL30 which was a great piece of equipment until the Garmin monopoly purchased the Iimorrow/apollo/upsat company and drove them out of business still lives strong 30 years later. I’d rather buy an SL30 than Garmin if I can help it. If I want to buy new, the Trig is an awesome option to install. I’m always happy to install them for customers - and as someone else said, the SL30 emulation for course tuning works great. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don’t know that I feel as negative as some of the others here. I’ve bought and sold a ton of airplanes. It is no easy skill. I say that as someone who owns a shop that does paint, upholstery and avionics aside from maintenance. I’ve bought a flying mooney even in the last year for as little as 7k, though 55-85is more realistic for what you have in mind. Buy your own plane - don’t rent. You’ve already got some nice time logged. Don’t fall into the trap”get great avionics” trap. A reliable airplane with a mediocre panel, a six pack and old radios flies just as fast and as reliably as one with a brand new Garmin and Dynon / avidyne stack. What’s the likelihood your deferment will make it thru? Some are and some aren’t

Accepting offers Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Brand new, never used Garmin IFR GPS155XL. It includes a brand new, never installed AK950 annunciator, new Garmin GA-56 GPS Antenna, installation kit, and unused registration card. Why buy a used one on eBay for $1700 when you can have a *brand new one* here that includes the antenna, install kit and annunciator for less? As a bonus, if you’d like, I can include an installation harness for you at no additional cost. I also have a GI102 available if interested. Accepting offers! Cheers!

The cushions for the seats are available - but the insert that fits over the fold down seats is a pain in the butt to find Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ll order a pallet. I’ll let you all know how it goes Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And craigslist … https://tallahassee.craigslist.org/avo/d/edgewood-1968-mooney-pressurized/7701890461.html Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

But hey- you got some cheap landscaping and the “imported” nanny didn’t cost much, right? Aviation continues to suffer as responsibility, morality and the fabric of our families continues to be frayed by “newer”, and “better?” Choices. We used to make aviation mechanics and pilots as many of us looked up at the sky wanting to fly - today, people want to be influencers or succeed at their only fans presence. No wonder ramps are emptying and mechanics and pilots are hard to find…or artisans in general. I just picked up a similar situation in Southern California. A neglected Comanche 180 was sitting on the ramp for over 20. Three bladed prop, complete with engine, interior, no missing fairings….just unclipped the wings and slapped it on two trailers…. One of my guys wants to overhaul the o360a1a himself, all the surfaces are already removed and stripped…ready for paint. Only the radios are missing. I got a mark 12d on my shelf that fits right in, a flybuddy and a transponder ….no rewiring yet. I got all the radios. The beautiful thing about Comanches is that the were chromated at the factory….the plane looked awful- algae growing on the wings.. After stripping? Zero surface corrosion…. I guess I could try doing this in communist China but not sure how well I’d fare with the advent of ADSB and the upcoming intended direct billing or taxation tied to using the system, we will see how much people like it as we keep sliding into socialism…

Very nice paint! Hera another before and after… Just did my m20e a month ago. Between customer jobs… Wait time: zero (smile) Duration: one week and three days after hours Cost: I had all the Imron paint already saved for a project when it came up Value: priceless - the fuel bladders were inspected and reconditioned and so was the fuel injection Now I just need to make time to install the WAAS gps and adsb in and out I may do some letter scripting on it as well - I was thinking of keeping it but I’m have my eye on something much cooler

Come on down Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think - don’t quote me- lasars mooney inventory was sold to bas aircraft sales in Greeley, Colorado. Dan still does mail order but mostly from his bunny slippers.

Let’s see…. I’ve got a full kitchen. Wifi. Air compressor. Two welders. A magneto checker, sandblaster, mill, break, shear, sandblaster, two ceiling beam hoists, drill presses, band saws, three sewing machines, AN bolt and rivet cabinets, powder coating oven, 2000sq ft of storage, bathroom, shower, televisions, tool boxes, safes, a dog run, parking spaces, trash bins nearby, cameras, a tire shelf, pneumatic and electric tools, my old paramedic kit, a wing rotisserie, a conference table, two pilot rest and recharge rooms, 480v power, and a massive generator that powers the whole airport and my shop as well…. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Awww Scottsdale. As is often the case with idiotic and lazy municipal airport staff, some savvy and enterprising person often finds a weak and corrupt government official to lease out airports in whole or to “manage” them - general aviation loses out, and the airports become crap for the average pilot…. Didn’t Palomar go through one of these price increases as they chased Jet $$$? I think Hawthorne was leased out in whole to Levi / Main Street / advanced air for like $487k a year I recall. Rates doubled and near tripled in short order… Camarillo and Oxnard refuse to sublease which makes them gems…. I think American Airports was finally and positively tossed out of LA County which effectively killed the company… Greed - screws it up for everyone. Capitalism is great until it takes away from the public good Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ygpm Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The factory really breaks my heart. Some genuinely nice people. Maaaaaany have left at all levels. Engineering talent, support talent, service talent… Then we have a recent CEO who comes here clamoring for change and pleading for support, and then crickets…. Chinese money corrupts everything it touches.

“Bad prep” is too general and subjective and doesn’t cover all sins committed included crappy product. Some people use “essentials” or “delfleet” and while a fine and pretty paint, durability is questionable. But hey! It look good when it left the shop…riiiiight? What about many of those lacquered jobs or those that were thinned too much or people who didn’t use the right amount of hardener or they used too much accelerator or… Piper did a crappy job in some lower end models we paint regularly and an outstanding job in others. I recently painted a Twin Comanche with original paint where all of it had all but fallen off …and though close to the ocean, it has virtually no corrosion because of how well zinc- chromated it was. Mooney didn’t do a fantastic job with our birds - I’d say middle of the road. I had a job done on my am model during the Gretchen years that didn’t even last 5 years before the Jetglo clear coat rotted…. We see airplanes that were alodined , we see airplanes that were chromated, we see airplanes with neither…. Often times factories and shops will take the bare aluminum, sometimes etch it / brighten it and sometimes not, immediately followed by a thin coat of “sealer” (a wet on wet primer)…sometimes the sealer is low quality or allowed to dry for too long and no real cross linking occurs with the paint- and not long after results in some awesome delamination, “crows feet” from sitting out in the sun for too long and destroyed all the way down to the bottom but hey - people think it will be fine if you just spray a little primer and paint on it. Full strip and paint jobs uncover many old sins and give us a chance to right many wrongs. We use paint from Axalta (imron), jetglo, skyscapes, awl grip, akzo and even Hentzen. By far the most durable system we see in GA is Imron. We standardize on Imron. If you want paint to stick and be guaranteed for 10 years, you gotta follow the TDS…. We are in Southern California….