sleepingsquirrel

I think it was Bullwinkle that said, "And now for my next trick , I'm gonna pull a rabbit outa my hat" see: Hey High Plains I like the "low-wing" photo... for an update.

Hi, I'm sure you are aware of my situation from the get go. I'm using an alias avatar because I didn't want my better half to discover my indiscretion before I had time to execute Plan A , (ref: nice vfr 68 c for sale on ebay; ref: more Mooney than brains). I was afraid that an avatar in my natural pose connected with my Indian name would be a dead give away So here I am with an update. Now that I have learned about time travel ,Mooney miles per minute are metaphysically different than Cessna miles per minute, I used this new found skill to simply displace time. I never had to lie to my wife about the Mooney. I had purchased and taken delivery of it in the past and have, had it delivered and presented in a present time (now about two weeks ago). The time for purchase was when I became confident enough in my plan to show her a run-out Beech ,pretty enough and a four seater. The price did not appear offensive to her. When I sensed her interest in a bigger plane , I moved into action by showing her very nice , very expensive Mooneys on Ebay over a period of a few days. I skillfully interlaced the Mooney I was going to buy and have delivered with the others ( time displacement ). All the time carefully measuring her mood until , voila' the deal was done and the airplane magically appeared on our field in a present time. (now about two weeks ago) She was well aware that I had found a jewel of a deal, great stats, great price, and that I was already turning away offers for the Cessna. So far no skin off my nose, no doghouse duty, I have never felt more adroit. This is saying volumes , my wife is the youngest of six with five older BROTHERS! There has never been anything I have thought or done that she had not anticipated two weeks before my feeble mind came up with the idea! She learned from the some of the best! disclaimer: Time travel is not inherently dangerous in a Mooney, attempts in other aircraft could result in injury or death while exceeding Vne, side effects of time travel include; headaches, mild nausea, occasional faintness of heart and self doubt If you're still with me, you might ask; If Plan A failed, what then? What is Plan B? Plan B is elegant in its simplicity and requires no special skill of any kind. Simply fall to the floor, curl into the fetal position and suck my thumb until room temperature returns to something below the fury of six hells ! until we meet again, Sleepingsquirrel

Hi, This Cessna 150 just begged for the name "Hedgehog", it has eight antennas and no wheel pants for flying in the hedge rows here in North Alabama. Still waiting for my Mooney to speak to me.

I agree, if you could put a tail wheel on a Mooney and teach it the bad habits of a powerful taildragger you would have a P51 that burns 10 GPH instead of 60 GPH. If you put a tail wheel on a Cessna .... you would have a Cessna with bad habits. Fine young co pilot you got there, that's about the age I started flying with my Uncle in Cessnas. I took me nearly 50 years to find a better airplane!

"No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris" Orville wright "anything Charles Lindbergh said"

Did I have to watch that? I believe that the old saying "those who have and those who will" does not apply to me, that's why I bought a plane that has bagged its limit of two. Back to the pictures , I think he WAS trying to land, just going to Mooney fast as usual! Probably above Vspeed to extend gear. I've read that Mooneys will not land if going too fast.... thinking about it anything I've ever flown doesn't like to land if going too fast. Go figure. Sleepingsquirrel

I looked it up in the completed listings . I don't know the plane, but would have asked where the owner runs the oil level. (question about excessive oil consumption) . I was told to run my oil between 6 and 7 qts to keep from just puking it out. With the compression numbers stated I doubt it is burning that oil. The owner may just keep it topped off at 8 and have an oily belly. I'm no longer in the market but still studying it. I noticed that the one serious bidder appeared to be feeling out the reserve price. then another bidder with no feed back continued to feel for a reserve price. I thought the plane had merit at that price. I did notice a 100% feedback rating for the seller but that was mostly for possum,squirrell,cat,raccoon traps I didn't know there was such a market for critter traps.

I just can't get my Mooney that close to the ground with the gear up! I think it's some safety feature the Previous Owner failed to tell me about. The pictures are awesome! Your wife did a great job! I'd say ducking shows great intelligence on her part. Too bad about the gravel dings you picked up.

In flying I have learned that carelessness and overconfidence are usually far more dangerous than deliberately accepted risks. Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect. If you are looking for perfect safety, you will do well to sit on a fence and watch the birds; but if you really wish to learn, you must mount a machine and become acquainted with its tricks by actual trial. — Wilbur Wright Whenever we talk about a pilot who has been killed in a flying accident, we should all keep one thing in mind. He called upon the sum of all his knowledge and made a judgment. He believed in it so strongly that he knowingly bet his life on it. That his judgment was faulty is a tragedy, not stupidity. Every instructor, supervisor, and contemporary who ever spoke to him had an opportunity to influence his judgment, so a little bit of all of us goes with every pilot we lose. unknown In 1903, it is widely accepted, men took the first pensive steps into the sky with science to provide relative safety and assurance of a controlled return to terra firma. Since that time nothing more valuable has been passed from one aviator to another than the secrets learned from each and evey flight into the air. Every mishap, every bad landing, every heroic effort in the air,every hour, creates a story to be passed on to the future generations of those who dare to call themselves pilots. I count myself lucky and fortunate to have been infected by this dream, at an early age. I'm also lucky to have known flyers from the greatest generation. Those survivors who not only had to outwit the unforgiving nature of leaving the Earth in flight but the dangers of other men who would do them harm there, in the air. It's amazing to me that our history as aviators can easily be traced through records to the Wright brothers. The Wrights admitted to "standing on the shoulders of giants" as they added their own knowledge to further the future of aviation. I consider myself privilaged to have this hard won knowledge, and intend to pass it on, as well as enjoy its rewards. I have learned from the best, not all of them still alive,not all of them taken by the very adventure to which they were addicted, but the collective base of knowledge of all those flyers who can all trace their roots to Kitty Hawk . Humility prevents me from saying "not on my watch" . However, I no longer choose to "sit on the fence and watch the birds". Sleepingsquirrel

Well, Ok , For a man that can't tell the difference between a "wide awake raccoon" and a "sleeping squirrel", it won't matter ,like "what's up with that possum? I'm really glad you guys have a keen sense of humor.

Hi, Scott, Did you happen to find the sales specs on my "new" Mooney ? It was advertised as 14 hours SMOH 2800 hoursTT 160 hours on prop.(give or take) I found it advertised in several places at two different prices. I know of two gear up accidents in the 60's. The old bird has shrugged that off over the years. I watched with great interest the discussion on the ebay submarine Mooney in Tennessee. I figured that if any thing was wrong with my bird I would have seen it here. I have actually sent her the picture of the plane I'm going to buy . I have sticker shock from showing her expensive Mooneys. She will just love me for the great bargin I will bring home, what woman doesn't love a bargin!

Hi, I can't thank you enough for listing your nice looking Mooney on EBAY . Yours is the one I finally showed to My wife after a floating a trial balloon with a run out Bonanza on Ebay. I'm close to getting out of the closet with my purchase of the M20B,ey than brains". When she showed signs of approval for a bigger more expensive airplane than the C150, "Thanks to you", I felt confident that I can spring my plan into action. If you had a buy it now on yours I would have had her approval to move on it! I'm sure that the bidding will continue for your bird beyond your wldest expectations. Good luck I'm also seeing a glimmer of money loosening up in the market. I'm betting my money on it! Please pardon my post. I now see that I'm working in the past.

Hi, I've been reading about the brake reversal how does that work? I looked at a very modern Mooney today and looked at my 50 year old gear doors and for the life of me can't see any advantage? I'm all about grass strips as well. Wouldn't want anything else dragging on take off.

Hi y'all, Cut off my finger, or WORSE! I'm still in the closet on this one. I have been busy the last two weeks updating the interior of the newest member of our family. I'm sure that if I can make the Mooney look better than me skinned alive that I will be forgiven. I'm sure that we need to make one trip to Pensacola in the Cessna 150 then make the same trip in the make this thing appear as if by magic! This airplane has such character and classic lines , I'm sure it will capture her heart , just as I find it has captured the hearts of others fortunate enough to be properly introduced. Several weeks ago my wife had cut an advertisement out of the paper and left it for me. The Collings foundation has placed a P51 in their warbird inventory and they were coming through on tour. I knew the price of admission was steep because several years ago I was thrilled by a ride in their B 17 Fortress, worth every nickel,by the way! My wife insisted that I ride the P51, in spite of my trepidation. She even offered to underwrite some of the cost just to make me less nervous about it. I had only ,to do it! In the days leading up to their arrival I asked myself , how should I approach this flight, would I really only be a passenger or... would I really get my hands on the controls of the GREATEST FIGHTER PLANE of all times! Needless to say on the morning of the flight my heart was pounding to the point of bursting through my chest. Stu, my instructor was great. I'm sure he noticed me carrying around my log books like a student looking for a x-country endorsement. He and I talked about how the flight would run , he put me at ease and he recognized me as a pilot. I was strapped in the back seat and we were soon off into the wild blue yonder! I had every control ,every phase of flight at my command ,except the throttle, the prop, the takeoff and the landing, but still I was flying the P51 Mustang! We never got over 65% power tooling around at 250 kts. Never needed more power. He did his signature four leaf clover and then demonstrated rolls then let me have her for several minutes of " dancing on laughter-silvered wings,climbing sunward, joining the tumbling mirth, chasing the shouting wind", well..., you know the rest of the story. If your still with me, you would ask what does all this have to do with flying Mooneys? I tell you this from my point of view. Al Mooney created an airplane which for all intent and purpose flies just like the P51 Mustang! A machine to make men's hearts soar to the "high untresspassed sanctity of space" a machine which in the period from inception to today, solidly has one foot in the past and one foot in the future! I submit as evidence, my flight and opinion, and my 50 year old Mooney. until we meet again Sleepingsquirrel

I have returned to aviation after being involved with all the other things one needs to do to live on this planet. Last May I started my journey back by spending time in a J3 on floats. I'm older now and 5 hours in that environment was fatiguing to say the least. I'm a traditional Cessna pilot and left handed to boot. Needless to say flying from the back seat, stick in right hand and throttle in left hand was a bit of a challenge. However, the fuse was lit! I have done very little since last May but research aircraft prices, compare specs and try to find the aircraft that suits my personality. I finally found a Cessna 150 on ebay that made me feel comfortable, G Model ( which can be put on floats) . Of course I have a wife and the low entry cost and her familiarity ( has soloed) got me over the wifely advise against the wifely resistance to blowing cash into the atmosphere. She had not been encouraging during my search for a plane, flatly threatened divorce if I purchased a Lake amphib, I had found. Well, if not divorce, at least make me miserable for the rest of my natural life. I lost two Lake amphibs under this threat. Finallly ,Dec. 3 ,I hit "buy it now" for the great C150 I now openly own. I had to shine up my balls and just say to her , I'm not going to die regretting never owning my own plane. She realized she was no longer in control of my newly polished hardware. She began to become involved in the finalization of the deal on the 150 by making me ask the seller ,"What's the condition of the interior "? I think we all know not to ask that question about a 43 year old airplane! When she observed the pictures of the two year old paint (looks great) she remarked "Why didn't you buy a four place airplane"? I could have died,or strangled her for her stubborn resitance and then just, "why didn't you buy a four place airplane". If your still with me, I took this as tacit permission to go and find the four place plane of my dreams. It didn't take long to find a 1961 Mooney M20B at my value/price . Some of you may argue that it is really a three place machine, but, there are four seats. I closed the deal at "buy it now on ebay "and the plane was delivered on the 10th of Dec. The check out and turn over was great , the plane fits my personality to a tee. Now I have something more exciting to do on climb out than just look around as the world SLOWLY sinks away as in a C150. I have mastered the Mooney wave and have managed to successfully land (with the gear down ) the required number of time to satisfiy the FAA. I will be asking myself three times during the landing phase this question, "Is the gear down and locked , is the light green"? This seems to be working so far. I love the flight performance of this old bird. Some of you already know the real purpose of this post, for the rest of you , I know how much trouble I'm in if my wife finds about about this "other" affair. I had to buy this one because like the 150 it would never show up again at this condition and price! My plan is to let her get back into the swing of the enjoyment of flying with me and the get tired of the 150 Trainer. Already had offers for profit if I sell, but need it for her. I have the two planes tied down within sight of each other, just close enough to be seen and not far enough away to look like I'm hiding something if she arrives to go flying and I might have been flirting with the Mooney while waiting for her. Really, I know that I would be better off seeing another woman at this point, the forgivness thing and all would be easier if I got caught in a cheap motel than caught waxin' my Mooney. Sometimes polishing your brass is a good thing , sometimes polishing your brass gets you in trouble. I just keep telling myself that she is going to love the MOONEY ,I can't wipe the smile off my face after tying down this thing down. I don't need marriage counseling, I'm glad to have found this knowledgable forum, I have more MOONEY than brains! until we meet again, Sleepingsquirrel