dougmilam

Somewhat difficult to find in the Uavionix web site is this AML which lists only pre J models.

I have an 89J with a 3 blade McCauley prop. My usual TO trim setting has the black marker splitting the upper TO setting line.

I use a pair of Zulu's for me, but had a couple pair of older David Clark 13.4's for passengers. Decided to try the Headsets Inc ANC kit in one of the 13.4's. Flew with them today and the kit makes a tremendous difference. Switching between the Zulu's and the ANC kit headset showed that the Zulu's cut low frequency rumble a bit better than the kit and there was also a bit less higher frequency wind noise. When switching the kit ANC on, I immediately noticed a huge decrease in low frequency noise. For $200 the ANC kit turns an old passive pair of DC 13.4's into a pretty nice headset. Not top of the line, but very usable.

My experience with the J is the same as yours.

Had my yokes powder coated 4 years ago and they are holding up well.

Agree with the GPSS comment. For the money (mine was about $1,500 several years ago) this has one of the highest capability/cost ratios.

Another vote for the 2600-3. Took out my ADF/NDB and installed the 2600-3 in the existing hole to the right of the altimeter. That places the backup AI near my scan and gives both a vacuum AI and an electric AI. Have flown with it for 4 months and it really increases confidence in the clouds. Best $2,500 plus easy install that I have ever spent in an aircraft.

Plexus and Sontara wipes. Plexus seems to leave less residue than clearview.

Ditto on your panel. I use an Aera 510 for backup. It seems to be about the best bang for the buck. About $1,100 gets you a nice GPS with XM. The current version Aera software includes a number of features what were not available on the 496. I would be happy with either. Have fun flying that nice machine.

Had a brand new EI SC-5 clock installed last March. Now it won't keep time. Apparently the 10 year internal battery is going dead. Am I just that unlucky or have others had similar problems?

I also have an 89J and had this same problem a couple years ago. The solution was "adjusting both cowl flaps to trail 1/4 inch IAW Mooney M20J Maintenance Manual 71-13-02." It doesn't completely make sense to me, but the problem never occurred after that.

I'm based out of JWN and go to GZS periodically. We'll take a pass until it cools down!

I've found that centering the Mooney bird head on the back of the hanger helps with push back.

I think what you are speaking about is on this page: http://www.planeplastics.com/airplanes/mooney/m20c-j/page19/ I recently replaced my door plastic and it looks great.

The Aera 510 has worked great for over a year. As posted above, sunlight is never an issue. I have it yoke mounted and have the cords tie wrapped behind the dash. I use it as a backup GPS, but most importantly the XM weather projects well on the screen and is critical for summer weather flying. I consider the 510 at about $1,000 to be the sweet spot and have no desire to trade up to a larger unit.

Installed an EI SC-5 in the plane last annual. Really like having local/zulu and the timers. I didn't expect to use the engine timer much, but have found it is great for keeping track of hours since oil change. The lighting of the instrument is also quite good. I would install it again.

Matt Lovett at Midwest Mooney has done a great job with my aircraft for 3+ years. He is in Southern IL and wouldn't be far. His web site is: http://midwestmooney.com/

Really happy with my JPI 730. It sure was nice to tell my mechanic that cylinder 3 was the problem when I needed a new gasket. If I was doing an entire panel makover I would do a 930. The new 900 is interesting but the display may be too small. I was just adding an engine monitor into a plane that didn't have one, though. Some of the 830 features are nice, but what I really wanted was continuous monitoring of all the EGT's and CHT's. Fuel flow, fuel remaining, and fuel required to destination was installed, but really hasn't added much utility. One nice feature of the 730/830/900/930 systems are the alarm presets. If a parameter, battery voltage for instance, goes outside of my preset values then that value enlarges on the screen and flashes. I would be much more likely to detect the problem immediately than if a critical value was simply showing on a passive gauge.

Checklist and GUMP VFR: Midfield downwind IFR: 1/2 mile before FAF

Another Avilution's AviationMaps user.

Sole owner. Like to make all the decisions and have her waiting for me in the hanger.

I use a yoke mounted Garmin Aera 510 with XM. The wires are behind the panel. Costs about $1,100 new. The resolution isn't as good as the 560 but I have not found that a problem so far. The touch screen is handy. For instance, today, I touched an airport on the screen that was not my destination and quickly was offered information such as the METAR, frequencies, left or right traffic pattern, runway length, etc. I have considered tablet options, but so far haven't found a tablet based system that is as failproof in IFR flight as the Aera.

Here is a photo of my switch covers with the laminate switch labels.

Looked into this a year or so ago. No joy. Ended up having labels printed which look pretty good.

A hidden cost of ownership. That one cost me almost 10K.