moodychief

Retired military. Currently - Airport Management until my wife lets me retire for good!

Make sure the Johnson Bar is lubricated. There is a hole on the Johnson bar you can squirt lubricant towards the top. Sometimes when it needs lubrication it is hard to slide into the floor bracket enough for it to be locked into place.

If you will find a glider port and get 4-5 hours of glider time under your belt you won't worry about adding power as you will have the experience of not having a go around option.

Is the passenger your wife?

We have made several same-day shrimp runs and the shrimp is only in the cooler for about 3 1/2 hours max (flight time + drive time from airport to house). We kill two birds with one Mooney, share the cost/adventure with a friend and let them log Mooney time for when they someday buy a Mooney.

Not at all. Sexton's in Destin has thick coolers you can buy and they pack the bagged shrimp in lots of ice. No smell, no melting. I forgot we also picked up 10 lbs of Grouper fillets that trip.

All in one day, Valdosta Georgia-Destin Florida (picked up 60 lbs fresh shrimp)-Fayetteville AR-North Little Rock Ar (dropped off 30 lbs shrimp)-Benton AR --- 5 hrs 45 minutes. Drive time approximately 21 driving hours (no breaks).

Maybe we should do a roll call of Mooney owners with cars sitting at airports. I have a 2001 Chevy Astro van (8 seat) sitting at PLK Branson, MO.

Parker, Does Nashville have a lot of decorations? We are looking for somewhere we can walk and enjoy lights and possible holiday (there I said it!) festivities.

I am looking at making a quick holiday trip with my family to see a little Christmas spirit. I am looking for destination ideas within a 3 hour flight of the Little Rock area. Right now I am considering New Orleans or San Antonio but am wondering if there are any hidden treasures out there I should consider?

The two fused wires go to your cluster gauge.

Douglas, GA has a BBQ joint at the end of the field. Douglas is an old WWII USAAF training field. A lot of the old pictures of the base in the restaurant. Might want to call to verify as it has been a few years since I've been there.

Ipad 2 3G 64G. Never have had a problem getting GPS signal in my C model. had one small lapse of signl in my friend's J model. I run georeferenced Wing X Pro on every flight.

Save the money on a rental car unless you are planning on traveling outside the city. You can buy a daily pass that is good on the transit system (streetcars and buses) until 4am for only $3.00 (last year price) per pass. Gives you unlimited boarding.

In my 63 C model, gear down two pumps (manual) of flaps, 13" MP, trimmed for 85 mph, will keep you on the glide slope and ready for a missed. Maintain 85 mph all the way till over the end of the runway then slowly back the throttle off until your at idle, slight flair, hold off runway until it chirps near the aiming points.

The crack was about three inches after the line left the gascolator going to the mechanical fuel pump. The engine operated fine at idle and with fuel pump on. As soon as the fuel pump was turned off at altitude the engine would run rough and quit. If the fuel pump was on there wasn't a problem.

Are you sure it is your gascolator? I had a similar situation in my 63C model where I thought the gascolator wasn't sealing properly. After extensive troubleshooting we found a crack in the top of the fuel line as it passes through the cockpit between the front of the wheel well and the fire wall and it was sucking air. The top of the line had rubbed on the cutout it passed through to the firewall. If it definitely is the gascolator bowl, call Don Maxwell as he may be able to help or point you in the right direction.

Skew-t charts will show you the layers also. How can you say they are experimental when the information is from the soundings of the weather balloons the weather service launches every 12 hours. That is the only problem with skew-t...they aren't real-time.

Check your logs and see when the carburetor was installed. It may be one that needs the new float. My carburetor was installed in early 2005 and had to replace it last year since it had the old style float.

I just noticed mine is a full cabin cover. Go to flightaware and type my N number to see the picture someone snapped on one of my trips.

Send them a picture and ask if that is how their custom fit covers are supposed to look! I had one made for my C model and it fits like a glove.

Flying from Chicago to Colorado, you should consider a fuel and food stop at Atlantic Iowa. It is not quite half way but I guarantee it is worth the stop. We diverted in there last year and was surprised what we found. There is a place in town called the Farmer's Kitchen (I believe) that won the blue ribbon in the National Crisco Baking competition for their Peanut Butter Explosion pie. It was so good I bought a whole pie to share with my family back home. If you don't like peanut butter and chocolate, they also had about every kind of homemade pie possible in the 6 foot tall refrigerated pie case. I believe they also have the chili that won the 2007 National Chili cookoff People's Choice Award. The airport has an old police car as their courtesy car you can use to get into town with.

Congrats on your first successful IFR experience. I thought I was the only one left in the Mooney World that doesn't have or use an autopilot. Maybe we should start a sans autopilot club. I flew my buddy's J model Sunday coming back from the Mooney Homecoming. The three hours of IFR (all on AP) made me realize how rusty my handflying skills would get if I relied on the autopilot for every IFR flight.

I did a soft field once. Two pumps of flaps, apply enough back pressure to keep the front wheel skimming the ground as the controls become effective, slowly release back pressure when airborne to accelerate in ground effect, positive rate of climb, retract gear and trim for climb. Wasn't worth the hour of washing the mud off!!! Mud in wheel wells, step, belly, bottom of flaps, top and bottom of tail surfaces. Never again. ZANE: BTW I went to High School in Camdenton. Moved to Springfield my senior year. Nice little town.

Never believe what the media is selling and never judge another by what has been reported. According to the media, I died in a Cessna 172 in 1978 in a neighboring state during a weekend trip. To say the least, my coworkers and boss were speechless when I walked through the door three days later. I didn't even know I was dead until they told me! Steve, I wish you and your wife a speedy recovery. Having escaped a burning plane myself, the best thing is to get back in the air as soon as possible. Best regards!!!