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I would hire the meanest attorney I could find and make them really wish they had taken care of me.

Congrats!!! Welcome aboard!

You can never have enough math. If I could start over, I would be a math professor. What was this thread about?

Another Question: Are all odd numbers prime? The math professor says: 1 is prime, 3 is prime, 5 is prime, 7 is prime, 9 is not prime. Therefore, all odd numbers are not prime! The physicist says: 1 is prime, 3 is prime, 5 is prime, 7 is prime, 9 is not prime, 11 is prime, 13 is prime. Therefore, 11 and 13 are exceptions, and all odd numbers are prime! The engineer says: 1 is prime, 3 is prime, 5 is prime, 7 is prime, 9 is prime, 11 is prime, 13 is prime, 15 is prime. Therefore, we engineers don't care what you call the numbers, we just use them!

That is not a paradox, and it doesn't take forever to reach the prize. It is a classic example of an infinite series that occurs in a finite amount of time. Like a perfect ball that always bounces one half of the height from which it falls. Infinite number of bounces, but in a finite amount of time. You just have to have fast feet!

Mooneymite, KSMooniac, and openskyflier, I agree with your posts. I have flown for wealthy people that have sent their children to me to learn to fly. Not one success story in the bunch. I could make it fun, and they did indeed learn to fly. But their interest meter was stuck on zero. They learned to fly because their parents wanted them to, not because they were motivated themselves. Also, I have had people that were excited and motivated come to learn to fly that have successfully gotten their PPL, Instrument, and other advanced ratings. They bought planes planning to use the aircraft for business and pleasure flying. Some of these included doctors and lawyers that could easily afford the expense. Most of these people sold their airplanes and gave up on flying due to the lack of utility and complications associated with general aviation in the current environment. Flying used to be a lot simpler and friendly to the GA pilot. To me, it is like comparing the thrill of flying commercial in the 60's to flying commercial today. My observation has been that, unless you really love flying, it just isn't going to be something you will stick with. And today, I see fewer people with that burning desire that I have known all of my life. A lot of people complain about not enjoying primary instructing, or one type of flying or another. Not me. I have loved every minute I have been in the air, even when not in a Mooney! Not trying to be negative here, just sharing what I have seen. FWIW IMHO YMMV etc.

Prices dropped long before the Chinese got involved. Just my opinion, but I think it is a combination of less pilots (lots of old guys like me that are dropping out after decades of flying), rough economy, less friendly airspace, (eg. more TFR's complicate use of our airplanes), and higher costs of fuel and everything else associated with flying and aircraft ownership. Factory parts have been difficult to get for a while. Good news is there are plenty of old Mooneys out there in salvage mode. Nothing has been in what I would consider critical shortage. I am on my 5th decade of flying. Might go the LSA route before quitting altogether, might not. Either way, there will be one more cream puff C Model on the market when I quit flying my Mooney. Sure will miss it! Welcome back!

I was giving an IPC and the pilot looked at the wrong plate for a nearby airport, dialed in the wrong ILS frequency, spoke to the right airport, and flew the wrong ILS. I kept waiting for him to catch the error, but he didn't. The orientation of the two airports and runways was such that everything looked reasonable. That was a busted instrument check. It can happen. Always double check everything.

Great looking aircraft James! As a C owner, you will have to put up with a lot of C envy from the other model owners. If you're an engineer, you will get double envy here. Congrats and welcome!

Sounds like a lot of work... Long live ROP! Just kidding. Good luck.

No offense taken... just having fun.

It took a while to get to engineer envy, but we got there! All engineers, please join me in taking a bow.

Perhaps it started out as a debate over LOP vs. ROP...

Had this been in an Aerostar, the pilot would have a lot harder time claiming he/she didn't know what happened!

I am going to that part of Florida the week after Thanksgiving for an extended vacation with several members of my family. Naples will not get a dime of our money. Thanks for the heads up.

Yep, 68 is when they started trying to reduce costs, and the step became fixed. My 68 is early in the run, and still has flush rivets and inspection panels, but the step is fixed. Wish my step was vacuum retractable, I think they are cool. I suffer from step envy...

What more can be said? You might get away with no flap policy in most small GA planes, but there are many planes I have flown that would be disaster and an NTSB report without recommended flaps. Learn each aircraft and abide by the POH. Or have a lot of real test pilot skills and experience.... some planes are not so forgiving. Just my 2 cents. FWIW, YMMV, etc etc etc

I have several of the Leatherman tools, and like them all. The tool that I reach for and bails me out more than anything else is a small Swiss Army knife with the basics. I keep one in my pocket at all times.

Unles you get an E with 201 windshield and cowl, don't expect a vast cruise speed increase over the C. FYI, FWIW, and YMMV

Stock 68 C except Scimitar two blade prop. Consistently get 143 kts tas, plus or minus a knot or two, running 23-24" at 2400 rpm between 5500' and 7500'. Overall, 143 kts tas seems to be the number. Could never get close to 140 kts with the 3 blade that came with the plane when I bought it. Scimitar made a lot of difference. The 3 blade was superior for take off and climb, but the Scimitar is superior for cruise, at least with this aircraft... I chose cruise performance. FWIW and YMMV

It would have been the perfect day if you had paid for her ride. :-)

I will be very interested to see how this progresses. Please keep us posted, and... Good luck!

Autopilots Central is excellent.

I didn't really think mine vibrated that much until I put the scimitar on it. The difference was amazing.

I had a 3 blade prop on my C when I bought it, and it had quite a bit of vibration. There is more than a little debate and opinions on this issue, so I am just saying what I have heard and done... I have heard that it is very difficult to balance the 3 blade with the O-360, more so than other engines. Beats me if it is correct, but that is what I have heard from some people that have had a lot more experience with airplanes than I have. I put a 2 blade scimitar on my plane, and it is incredibly smooth. Vibration is history. FWIIW and YMMV Good luck.