Bill_Pyles

That's fantastic that your grand daughter is interested in flying. My 13 year old son says he wants to be a pilot as a profession and I do all I can to encourage him. While on a recent trip to KHII I let him hand fly the airplane for 12-15 minutes each way and I just gave him an altitude and heading and let him go. When he turned 13 in May, I gave him an intro flight at Westwind at KDVT as a present and had the time of his life. We are so lucky to live in the U.S. where GA has not been crushed by the government.

Well, this post has gone all over the map from Weep No More to escorting an unaccompanied minor on his first FC trip to state laws related to businesses that use harsh chems.... Let me just say that my new-to-me 1980 M20J is having its tanks re-sealed by Paul Beck this week, and I am excited to see the work done by Weep No More based on all the great reviews I have read over the months. It is comforting to know how many of you have been delighted by Paul's work.

Along these lines, what are the top ten Mooney-specific parts that are a) likely to need replacing and hard to find?

Clearly, there is one number of hours involved in making all of the details AND assembling the airplane, and another number of hours (much lower) if all the parts for the airplane available and a team assembles the airplane as if it was a kit.

I have been flying only since 2002 and I am 54. I have never owned an airplane but I have an offer on a 1980 M20J. I figure it is now or never to buy an airplane, and I am as excited as hell. My 13 year old son wants to be a pilot. I am also dismayed by the negative trends of GA and I don't think they are reversable. I try to take as many people flying as possible, and I encourage some of those people to learn to fly. I hope I have another 15-20 (more?) good years when I can be a safe pilot and have a blast doing it, but I think 20 years from now there will be fewer GA pilots.

Quote: DaV8or Here's an idea I've never seen before; how about chrome plate the gear? That would be wild.

Thanks for your note Ken. I have met Chuck at the Deer Valley Pilots Association meetings and I spoke with him about Mooneys in general (this was before I put an offer on one) and didn't get the impression he is active. Hard to believe there are no Mooney CFIs around here... Tucson my be a bit fiddly because I will want to bang out 10-15 hrs of dual pretty quickly with a lot of landings and some short x-country stuff. I travel a lot on business, so it would be easier for me to find someone local.

I plan to own an M20J in the next 30-45 days but I need some dual in the Mooney. Can anyone recommend an instructor in the PHX area? I fly out of DVT. Thanks.

OK; I appreciate your responses. Sounds like the plane I flew may be a little odd, but not completely off the chart. There was nothing in the baggage compartment, btw.