1964-M20E

Quote: Seth I just voted Jolie - I'll see if I can run through a couple of times to get some more Mooney Votes. -Seth

In crusie when high enough and I'm at FT.

Good points I went out there today to see and strip itself seemd pretty good. One pilot told me that ater a rain land further to the north on the strip. The taxiways near the hangars were pretty wet depedning on which one you look at. Some have paved taxiways to the strip. Like I mentions there are pros and cons to each of the hangars I'm looking at. I guess I'm in a prety good position right now since there are several availabe. I can build my own as well but that would mean more up front costs. Yes we had a tremenddous amont of rain here with localized street flooding.

Hey guys I just want some opinions and thoughts. I am contemplating moving my plane from its current airport. Current airport NEW: Outside on the ramp Multiple runways perpendicular to each other Control tower most of the time. Instrument approaches FBO handles the plane once I put the covers on it Call ahead and the pane is waiting at the front of the FBO when I get there Multiple mechanics on field and avionics shop The new airport: Has several hangars available to buy (a top with one or more sides closed in) each hangar has its pros and cons size, condition etc. One hangar has a 65 M20E might be part of a package deal though the plane is a serious fix up and I really do not need another airplane or project but I hate to see it sit there. You always own the hangar though not the land it is on. Grass strip No control tower Very close to tower of major Class B air space MSY No instrument approaches but you can circle to land form the Class B The airport is long established in its location and the monthly fees are less than what I pay for a ramp tie down now. Cheaper fuel The drive from my house is about 10 minutes longer (miles about the same) to the airport and a little shorter if I leave straight from work. Work locations are always subject to changes for what ever reason. On field older mechanic I’ve landed there before most recently last summer with my Mooney With the hangar I can paint my plane which is in serious need

There should at least be a 337 on the major repair for the gear up. On the other hand you may be able to use this to reduce the selling price some more. If it was fixed right and you can get it at the right price it does not matter. It has been flyining for how many years now after the gear up. Knowing about the gear up have the mechanic give it a second look and beat the seller down.

I looked at the Cardinal RG before I bought my Mooney. I think they are real nice the two huge doors are nice. I like the lines of the Cardinal and actually prefer a high wing plane to the low wing but as mentioned above if you do not plan on hauling 4 adults regularly then a C or E model is the way to go. The cost for my Mooney was significantly less than any RG cardinal I looked at. I wonder if Al ever thought of putting the wing up top I guess you could make it work and keep the efficiency of the Mooney.

I have the Sky Radar dual band and I can get reliable textual weather information. I have not seen any NEXRAD images yet but so far when I’ve flown there were not any echoes nearby anyway. I’m using the Ifly 720 GPS. I have the remote antennas in the side window. Maybe one day will add the belly mounted antenna for better reception. I have not send any traffic with the dual band system even though I have been flying in class B airspace and in several class C air spaces. It would be nice if the FAA would turn on the TIS broad cast in areas where mode C are required below FL180 and or class B and class C airspaces.

Quote: stevesm20b I have a M-20B and just installed a new set of tires and tubes. I didn't notice any difference between the old and new tires inflated to the same pressure. My old tires still had tread left on them but one of the tires went flat. Then stem on one of the tubes cracked and broke off. Fortunately it happened while it was parked in the hanger and not when I was flying. So, I replace all the tires and tubes just to be on the safe side. My book says 24 to 30lbs. I keep mine at 30lbs, only because the airplane is easier to push in and out of the hanger inflated to 30lbs compared to 24lbs. Mooneys have a pretty stiff gear, and I have noticed when the tire pressure is on the low side, the ride is not as bumpy when taxing. That may be why you don't run as much air in the tires on a Mooney compared to a Cessna.

I find mine is heavy on takeoff as well and I have it trimmed nose high above the takeoff mark. One day I’m going to go up and see where the trim indicator is when the plane is trimmed for 75MPH IAS and mark it. Then I’m going to see how that works on the ground for take off or if it is significantly different from where the needle shows it should be for takeoff.

I just spent $354 for the pitot, static and XPNDR check on my plane. They said they fixed a leak in the static system as well and they are the only avonics shop on the field. So it looks like it is $250 to $400 for the check and it is requried every two years. As for the pilot that is a different beast.

I'm working on my IR and I can easily see how one can get distracted and not put the gear down. GUMPS check several times during the approach starting at FAF or if VFR GUMPS on downwind, base and final and if ATC needs you to keep up your speed do it with the throttle do not retract the gear once it is down unless going around or missed. The most important one is the Undercarriage everything else will work itself out but if the gear is not down it is not pretty. Oh yeah what really makes me put the gear down the fear of metal scraping the runway.

Quote: jetdriven It continues on. Everyone's solution is cut everyone else's payment.

Yes you may have 30,000 federal employees not working for the Federal Gov't but it takes many more americans working in the private sector to support and pay the Feds. I do not know what the ratio is but I imagine it has to be 10 to 1 or greater. Federal Employees do not contirbute to the wealth of the country. Most (my wild ass guess [WAG] about 50%) do a necessary job but do not create wealth the other 50% we most likely we could get rid of and most of us would not even miss them.

Taxes never go away and raely get reduced. Yes the system needs funds to operate. The FAA and the entire Fed gov't need to reduce spending and the FAA need to reduce the reglations espically on Part 91 aircraft. The only way to get out of the mess we are in is to reduce spending. It works just like at home. I just cannot increase my pay when i spend more than I make. There are plenty of airports that do not need towers 24 hours and more that do not need towers at all.

Looks good and I'm sure they work well. However, it should be a simple log book entry. The regulations do allow the owner to replace the light bulb, reflector and lens. The new light reflector and lens are all one piece with LEDs now. These are lights for heavens sake they have no impact on how the airplane flies and if they stop working the plane does not fall out of the sky. As long as they are bright enough and have the proper viewing angles why should it be any more than a log book entry? This truly is not rocket science. Once again the FAA is holding back new reasonably priced products to stay with inferior outdated technology that was developed before the Wright Brothers began flying.

I jumped in on the Avidyne before the end of last year with a better price than now. Unfortunately it will be later this year before the production units are ready. I participated in a webinar the other day and the Avidyne seems really nice. The pro is if you have a 530 it is a slide in replacement and has more viewing area and higher resolution than the 530. The con from the 750 is the Avidyne has a smaller screen than the 750 and you are still stuck with Jepp for the database. In our Mooneys the 750 could be good since about 1” to an 1.5” of the larger 750 screen extends above the tray which could allow us to use the upper most portion of the radio stack where the tube structure interferes with the trays. For the approximately $6k discount for a new touch screen panel mounted WAAS GPS I think it is well worth it especially if you already have an older 530 and you just want to upgrade. Just remember at one time Garmin was the new kid on the block going up against King and others. Besides I like multiple vendors and competition. It would be nice if these radios were completive enough so that you could every 5 to 10 years just replace it with the latest and greatest and not have to offer up your first born.

OK just to make sure I get this correct. Service Bulletin M20-313A is done first and if everything is correct SB-M20314A does not apply. I just downloaded the SBs and reviewing them so that my mechanic and I can take care of this by the end of this week.

Getting closer every day to having my IR. Passed the writen this weeend and half way there on the required number of hours. Unfortunatley this makes flying feel more like work to get the next raing but the rewards will be worth it.

I flew with the I-fly 720 Tuesday in daylight and sunshine and the screen was easy to read. I'm still working on the sky radar part.

If I’m not mistaken the factory tachometer is mechanically driven and there is some error when you view an analog gauge form an angle. High accuracy analog gauges have a mirror on the face of the dial behind the needle so you can ensure your are correctly lined up to the face of the gauge. Most likely the digital readout is more accurate than the mechanical gauge. I hope this does not erupt into a glass vs. analog gauge discussion here.

I did not get a chance to fly with the 720 today but I was in the plane in bright sunlight and it is readable. i had other issues so I just put it in the back seat to get it out of the way. No need to try and use a new device whil in a BFR flight and confuse the issue.

I have the Ifly 720 and I mounted it on the co-pilot yolk. I have not yet flown with it yet. but it seems to work fine there even though it seems a little intrusive on the co-pilot's space. They will just have to deal with it.

I have the Ifly 720 and I mounted it on the co-pilot yolk. I have not yet flown with it yet. but it seems to work fine there even though it seems a little intrusive on the co-pilot's space. They will just have to deal with it.

Quote: Lionudakis The new faa doesn't consider a previously approved 337 a basis for approval. You still have to jump through the same hoops with or without an existing 337. I've done close to a dozen in the last 2 years, the last one was a doozie, with a stack of previously approved ones. Not trying to be negetive, but realistic.

It is interesting to look at the July 1966 issue showing the M22 first small aircraft with a pressurized cabin. Notice the landing gear no biscuits.