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My Accu-Trak II works awesome with my Garmin 430W. Love it! It is a very capable piece of equipment, even though it is quite simple. Good luck, and congrats!

Right you are Dave! The reason we fly such great airplanes is because we can. Supply far outpaces demand. Just try to manufacture a Mooney C today for less than a quarter million. They aren't making any more Cessna 150's, Piper Tamahawks, or Beech Skippers for training. Our fleet is aging rapidly, and not being replenished. Except for high end models, read that expensive models, that is. What, other than LSA, is there to fill the void for the future? Want, rather, and prefer are great, when you have the option. The options may be more limited in the future when the fleet has aged and dwindled, not to mention regulated out of operation. A $150K LSA alternative may not look that bad, if that is all there is. For my sake, I sure hope the prices go down soon! I think LSA must succeed for the future of GA to continue in this country. Just my 2 cents though...

If you want to see where the LSA came from, look at Europe. If you want to see where GA is going in the USA, look at Europe. If GA survives here, I think LSA will play a pretty big role.

As above post states, these planes are attractive to those that can no longer get a medical, and want to fly something better than an ultralight, legally. Being an old guy, an LSA is probably in my near future, and I appreciate the option. But, however, these $150K and up LSA's are not in my future. I have too many other things I would rather spend my money on! Perhaps a Champ or Cub for me, and either would be fine flying. Niether of these is a Mooney of course, but I would be in the air nonetheless. I guess old guys that need the LSA option with lots of extra cash, and maybe wanting to show it, well maybe the $150K and up birds make sense. If it works for them, great. But never for me.

If the MSC had wanted to kill you, you wouldn't be posting anything on MS....

When I pick up my aircraft after any serious maintenance, I arrive early and spend a LOT (typically an hour or more) of time slowly going over, under, and through the entire plane, including under the cowl. Then the flirst flight is considered and managed as a test flight. The MSC I use is great, but s#*t does happen. Prior to owning this Mooney, I have had several airplanes and used other shops over the decades that I have been flying. There is not room to describe all the crap I have experienced. Hence, my over cautious behavior! Also, decades of being an engineer have taught me to expect everything to go wrong, and you will rarely be disappointed. Like I said, stuff does happen. I try not to let it eat me up, and move on. Life is too short. But I totally sympathize with your frustration. I have been there, many times.

FWIW... I have used FF customer service a couple of times, and both times they have been outstanding. Fast, sharp, and very helpful.

I'm sticking with my U-Tube Video theory!

It would seem to me that there are wrinkles, and then there are wrinkles. In my reasonable view, not all wrinkles are equal, and not all wrinkles are a matter of safety of flight. And a reasonable agency would indeed allow a nonthreatening wrinkle to continue to fly. But alas, where does the line get drawn. But then again, that is the reasonable point I was trying to make. Perhaps if you make money off of repairing wrinkles, all wrinkles are a serious threat! Just having a little fun here....

I hope this isn't a trend such that before long every A&P and AI will refuse to sign off any aircraft with dents or hangar rash for fear of action from the FAA. May seem reasonable to owners with relatively new,aircraft, but the fleet out there is old, and it shows. Require every aircraft to be completely cleaned up would ground a lot of planes. And consider the older aircraft like Swifts, one of which I used to own, there just aren't skins and replacement feathers lying around. We just need a reasonable government agency. Hmmm, we may be in trouble here.

About 15 years ago I purchased a 201 J Model that was really nice, except it had been kept in a community hangar, and had the hangar rash to prove it. An elevator here, an aileron there, and a wing tip to make the package complete. The price was right, and this was a deal, or so I thought. It wasn't that bad looking to me, and certainly not a safety of flight issue in my opinion at that time. So I bought it, thinking I would just take it to an MSC and get it all repaired so it would be a nice clean aircraft the way i like my aircraft to be. Well, I did just that, and got a big lesson in the process. Repairing hangar rash can get expensive in a hurry. With this valuable and expensive education under my belt, I have since paid a bit more attention to what others might consider minor hangar rash when shopping for aircraft. Caveat emptor... FWIW and YMMV

I was at Don's shop recently and admired you aircraft. It's a real beauty! BTW, in my experience, you can believe what Don says...

That's easy Dave. For new engines, Continental recommends Marvel Mystery Oil! (Just kidding.)

Hmmmmm...... That's interesting.

Circuit breaker should not be that big of a deal to change. Many of them have screw terminals that make it extra easy, just depends on what you have in your aircraft. Like Marauder, I have had to replace several that have gotten weak over the past few years (landing light and transponder come to mind, just to name a couple). Of the possibilities, a bad circuit breaker is not the worst news you could get! Again, good luck!

Some breakers do get weak with age, especially the ones with the big toggle switch. Might not be the circuit breaker, but yes, they do go bad. Don't rule it out. Good luck.

Which model and year Cherokee?

I think our government knows exactly what happened. They are letting the media keep everybody busy with random wild theories, while the State Department is secretly working with the White House on a cover story that indicates the incident was not planned, but rather the result of an in-flight u-tube video that upset some otherwise peace loving passengers. Somebody has to go to jail for a video again.

I used to fly a Piper Saratoga. That aircraft would cruise at least 10 kts faster with some aft loading. I kept some weight in the aft baggage compartment even if I didn't need to carry anything. I have not noticed Mooneys being that responsive to loading and its effect on cruise speeds. In general, with most aircraft, an aft cg will result in higher cruise speeds. Some aircraft are more sensitive than others.

+1 Autopilots Central

In the old days, SIDs and STARs were in a separate publication. For many years now, they are in the NOS charts and part of most any database with approaches. In the old days, No SIDS no Stars made sense... not so much now. Flying smaller aircraft, such as Mooneys and light twins, I get SIDS and STARS all the time. File no SIDS no stars, you will get the same procedure anyway at many airports. Also, Slam dunks are common, like them or not, at many airports. Can't really avoid them either. At certain airports, it's just going to happen. You aren't going to finesse the situation with clever requests. Houston Hobby and Burbank come to mind... FWIW YMMV

Last time I let low voltage like that continue, wondering if it was ok, I lost all electrical in solid IMC. Might be ok, but might not. Get it checked. Get it resolved. Good luck.

This is not really an approved procedure, but I have heard it works wonders in a situation like this... Key mic and count to about five, and then slowly make your statement. A southern drawl might help at this point. ATC will quickly take care of you and get you out of the way. Don't ask me how I know this works well... :-)

I fully support everybody's right to decide and spend money wherever they choose. We all get to vote in the free market with our money. There is a long history of big companies getting a bit too full of themselves. Big companies can indeed go too far and suffer the wrath of unhappy customers, and hence suffer accordingly. May the free market prevail!

I have flown a lot of Aerostars... awesome aircraft. Congrats, yours looks great. I know you will love it.