eldeano

Quote: scottfromiowa Think about the most it could be...add 50% more...THAT is how much it costs to own. If you are thinking about it...you are a rational human being with other wants, commitments and goals. Find a partner in crime...then at least it's only the Most it could be...and your partner gets the other 50%. I'd put a smiley face, but that is gospal from this Mooney driver...and I enjoy every upgrade, improvement and flight...so I'm NOT rational...I'm a MOONEY owner.

We bought our plane in the Boston area and brought it back to Seattle WA. 2200 miles.

Quote: eaglebkh Eldeano, Do you have a VOR receiver? I didn't see one and wondered if you filed IFR without one?

Basic six pack and Garmin IFR stack, all installed by a previous owner. I want to get an engine analyzer and an autopilot in the future. That would make me .

The girlfriend calls our '63 my "shorty". Hmmmm, hope she doesn't call anything else that!

I used to hang around a lot of guys when I lived in Vegas that had experimentals. I had experience in composites construction (swift race chasis) and would help some of them out. But seeing all of the isues they had, and all of the engine outs for stupid stuff, decided for me certified was best. Some of the lower horsepower designs were OK but the more performance the more issues. Maybe I'm just getting old and conservative.

Quote: danb35 Making it for yourself, it would easily qualify as an owner-produced part, but it also needs to conform to the type design--I'm not sure it would do so.

Quote: jbreda I have been looking at this problem as well. I believe removing the step and its system is about 7-9 lbs. I have not weighed the step itself as of yet but having had it out I am expect it to be about 4-5 lbs at least. I think the step is needed for safety getting on/off the wing. I am considering remaking the step from other materials, either aluminum or carbon fiber. Corbon fiber can be structually compatible and can be purchased in square tubes. With this arrangement, you might be able to eliminate the spring that raises the step sine weight would be much less. Does anyone have any experience in making structural parts from carbon fiber? My e-mail is johnabreda@yahoo.com John Breda

Don't know, but my DAR checked to make sure I was proficient in everything in my airplane, autopilot and GPS. This was a long time ago. Long, long, long time ago. But I think in general they want to make sure you can operate what ever is in the plane you are getting your check ride in. Good luck!! It is worth it. Dean

Quote: FlyingAggie I had LASAR perform a prebuy inspection with an option to convert the prebuy into an annual if I decided to buy. They had no past history with the plane. LASAR credited the $1800 pre-buy fee toward the $2500 annual fee. The prebuy and annual have different objectives, but both involve opening up all the inspection ports on the plane. I spent a week at LASAR participating in the prebuy and then after the purchase decision was made assisting in the annual. It was a great way to get to know the plane and find all the warts. In the first eight months of ownership, the only surprise squawk has been replacing the engine driven fuel pump. I used my AOPA legal services entitlement to have a local aviation attorney review and customize the AOPA sample purchase contract agreement. I then used the AOPA Title and Escrow Service to manage the closing. I was very satisified with the way the deal went down. Good luck with your purchase.

He may try different insurance companies, I know the previous owner of my plane was 75 before he let his medical lapse to go to light sport.

I did a pre-buy/ annual. To make it worse I did it at the owners home airport (I live 2200 miles away). The owner had scanned the log books and emailed them to me, so I picked the one A&P that hadn't worked on the plane. When I talked to him he suggested a pre-buy, then if things looked good we could convert it to an annual, and thats what we did. The thing was, the plane had been maintained at Lake Aero for ten years, including a new motor in 08, new prop in 06 so I had a bit of confidence the plane was in good shape. I called the A&P that did the previous annual just to try and get some info about the plane. If I had felt the owner wasn't being forthcoming, or I had a feeling something was wrong, I would have found a Mooney guy to do the pre-buy. Like has been mentioned earlier, a couple of thousand now can save you tens-of-thousands later. We used AOPA contracts and escrow account to hold the money until the conditions of the sale were met.

0%;height:350px;"> Quote: mooniac58 When recently in Wash State I rented a 172 and did a touch and go at Lupien (Oak Harbor) - http://www.airnav.com/airport/KOKH It is also 25' wide and there is a huge lump in the middle of the field. I got the 172 down on the numbers and back up before the giant speed bump, but holy cow - from the air it looked narrower than a back road!

A new year. My first new year with a Mooney. Thanx to everyone on this board for great advice, especially for us that are new to Mooney's! I have seen posts from several fellow new owners, and I wish them well in their new adventure as well!

Possibly Alodine might be a good idea for a little corrosion protection.

No, on top behind a small access door on a bracket. I'll get pictures next time I'm at the hanger. I emailed the former owner, he had it installed for a solar battery charger he had on the top of his hanger. It was installed at Lake Aero in California in 2002 in conjunction with the new panel. Work order 02-12 they may still have it on file. It references a power plug kit.

Very nice, about a $1500.00 savings

I have one on my 63c but havn't been able to locate the log entry when it was installed. I'll see what I can find.

Just like the palm pre was going to take out the iphone the zune was going to replace the ipod. I suppose if you have waited this long though the Consumer Electronics Show is in a couple of weeks, and usually apple comes out with their own announcments shortly after. Actually the HP/Palm ipad looks pretty cool, but its main benifits are hdmi, flash and a camera.I like the size of the Samsung Galaxy, but reviews on it are pretty mixed. Apple I'm sure will come out with an updated ipad, then sony is coming out with a playstation pad etc. etc. it would be impossible to keep up. For now if you find something that works that you can afford, in my opinion, you might as well just get it otherwise you will always be waiting instead of enjoying. I'm hoping my skyradar will be in the mail today then I will give updates.

Thanx, Sounds like you are are all correct. I have one less thing to worry about. Plus I just think they are ugly. I talked to our avionics guy at work today and he said about the same things I heard hear. We have a lot of them on our company wheeled planes because sometimes we get interference on our company UHF, otherwise no issues. Curiously we don't have any on our seaplanes but they are technically vfr only. Thank you for the advise.

Has anyone added static wicks to their older Mooney? Has anyone found they are necessary? I met a gentleman at the local avionics shop that had his radios lock up on him in flight in a Bonanza. The tech said static wicks would take care of the problem. He had recently removed them when having his plane painted.

I didn't read all of the posts so this may have been mentioned, but a Chinese company is rumored to be buying Cirrus or at least part of it. Jet certification is costing to much. Like a lot of American companies and States and local Governments etc., when the economy was good the orders and money were coming in they overextended themselves. Economy goes bad and they can't stay solvent. Also Cirrus has wife appeal. Interior more like a car, a red handle that will pop out a parachute etc.. We know as pilots a parachute is nice but will not help you for the majority accidents. But looking at the posts recently on Squirrels story, the other half has a big influence on what we buy. Look how much attention the icon has gotten. Look at apple. Design and sex appeal has a lot to do with a persons decisions, whether they are practical or not. Also I wouldn't get to paranoid about foreign ownership, the Japanese were buying up america in the 80's payed to much and sold it back to venture capitalists then Michael Milken came along and we were selling everything to the middle easterners, now the middle easterners are hurting and have been selling things off to hedge funds and venture cap. companies, then Wall Street came along, now we are selling to the Chinese. Maybe if we could control our own companies greed, bring back more conservative accounting practices and regulations not influenced by lobbyists we could get on more of a steady pace and keep our own companies and manufacturing. Just Saying, PS looking forward to be able to buy Mooney parts at my local Walmart!

Quote: piperpainter Holy **##! That is a long way!

I first heard about skyrader on this board, maybe form you, got the free trail and like the software, the box with GPS and ADS-B weather is all I need. I think I will take the plunge! Thanx Dean

Looks like it is the Skyradar app. Did you get just the app or the actual ADS-B unit? I have been seriously looking at the ADS-B unit and would be curious to know what you think. I currently have a Garmin Aera and XM then use the ipad for plates and skycharts as well as airguide. I would love to drop the $75.00 a month for XM and $300.00 a year plus for Garmin updates.