N33GG

A long time ago, I was in the right seat of a few Mooneys with a test pilot in the left seat. He did things in those Mooneys I will never admit, even under torture, so don't try to make me. But I will tell you this, that is when I became very impressed with Mooneys and decided if I could ever afford any aircraft, a Mooney would be on the list.

Quote: jetdriven well, legally, without an acrobatic airworthiness certificate and a parachute for each occupant, you can't (generally) except 60 degrees of bank or 30 degrees of pitch unless operated as a CFI giving spin training to a CFI applicant, and even then only if it is aproved for spins. The qualifier even here is it must be a "nomral maneuver" So in other words, not much.

Someone got hit with the login bug... that is not my post above. This thread has been beaten pretty well. My only comment I will add to this topic is that if you are flying a turbo aircraft, you probably want to apply brakes, power up at least until the turbo is operational, and then go forward (I guess an exception would be if you taxi with enough power to get the turbo spinning :-) ). This is especially true in a twin. The last thing you want in a twin, short field or not, is to apply throttle, begin accelerating forward, and then have one turbo kick in and not the other. You will possibly depart the runway before you realize what has happened. I know, Mooneys are not twins, but people are here to learn. For singles, Mooneys included, on short fields, I recommend holding brakes and adding enough throttle to confirm the turbo is compressing and working normally, and then begin rolling. As always, just my two cents.

Off-airport pilots have long understood that just because you can land in a given distance, it doesn't mean you can take off again. Lots of factors come into play on take-off that simply aren't factors on a landing. I'm with the 'hold the brakes and give 'em hell' crowd, and I can say (with lots of small remote strip experiences to validate this claim) that pulling a 180 on the backtrack to maximize runway length is a ridiculously simple manuever. One should have no trouble getting within 10' of the threshold.

Ditto... especially if anyone has had success with 3 blade props.

Quote: DaV8or So nice... So jealous!! Good job. Just curious, how much did the building cost if you don't mind my asking?

My Mooney just spent her first few nights in her new home at Parker County KWEA. I just had a new hangar built that is 50'X50' with a Schweiss Bi-fold door. This is the first hangar that is all mine. SWEET! FYI... Parker County is just west of Fort Worth, and is a private airport. Available on the east side are hangar lots for sale, and on the west side of the runway you can purchase a larger lot for a home/hangar combo. Prices are very reasonable, and the land is deeded to you. No long term lease or other deal with some municipality. Finally, thanks go out to Mark Cozart of Cozart Metal Building Systems that constructed this hangar for me. He does incredible work at a very reasonable price. If you need any kind of metal building in Texas, I highly recommend Cozart.

I'm still waiting for the rest of my order. I'd call that personal experience.

You didn't land short, you just mowed the grass.

I too ordered and paid for a buyers kit a few years ago. I only received half of what I paid for. It took several calls to get an answer on the phone. They did not seem very concerned, and promised to ship me the rest of the order. Well, I am still waiting for my copy of the Aviation Consumer Aircraft Guide. Buyer Beware!

Well said fantom!

Quote: DaV8or I've had my Mooney 1 year, 5 months. Sadly, it's spent most of it's time in the shop rather than the air between the alternator, the panel upgrade, Annual, transponder, autopilot and now the starter/oil leaks. I still hold out hope for better dispatch this year.

Ditto... my 68C will run you out of the cockpit.

Only 100 rpm error? You should be grateful! The mechanical instruments can be off by much more than that, and not be unusual. Several years ago, I bought one of the small electronic handheld optical units (PropTach I believe) and carry it with me when I fly either my aircraft or others. It is amazing how many tachs are off, by how much, and to the surprise of the owner. Errors I see are often on the order of 200 to 300 rpm. The tach in my Mooney completely died last year, and I purchased an electronic tach made by EI. It is digital, and I miss the plain needle tach that has been so familiar to me for so many years. But the new tach is digital and clearly more accurate than analog mechanical tachs. If you want absolute accuracy, consider a digital electronic tach, such as the units made by Horizon or EI. Another option is to get your mechanical instrument calibrated (a previous aircraft I owned had a tach that was way off, and after I had it calibrated, it was amazing how accurate it was after calibration). Or, purchase a handheld unit such as the PropTach, and get an idea where your tach is off, and by how much (kind of like a compass card for your tach). Only off by 100 rpm, maybe you should be grateful. :-)

I agree with many of the comments above. More than many other activities and hobbies, flying can be out of the question when you get older through no fault of your own. Medical issues can and do pop up with some of the most healthy people out there. While you may still be able to travel the world, your pilot medical could be gone. If you want to fly, go get after it while you are young!

Quote: Mooneymite Once you have a fresh overhaul, reman, or new engine.....then you REALLY have to watch it.

Why would you want to deny your aircraft a good protective coat of dirt? Just kidding. :-)

With an aging engine, also keep an eye on the oil pressure, especially in hot weather. If oil pressure stays good and oil analysis is OK, I would fly it until you hear "Houston, we have a problem". It's no guaranty that you won't have a problem in flight, but you can have a problem in flight with a low time engine as well. Sounds like your engine is doing great.

I grew up in Germany living near the Danish border... looks right as far as I can pick out many of the words. Good information to know, but not sure how to use it next time I start my Mooney. Might consider finding a Danish tax forum and posting something related to flying aircraft...

The true beauty is beneath the skin ... and therein lies the real inner beauty of Janet Reno!

I am 6'0" and have short legs and long torso. Big problem for me in lots of aircraft, and cars for that matter, but not the Mooney. I have to slide the seat all the way up to reach the pedals (rear seat pax appreciate that), but the headroom is fine, even with headsets. Good luck and be safe!

Picture of a beautiful aircraft, or a picture of a beautiful woman... six of one and a half dozen of the other! :-)