gsengle

No one asked one of the most obvious question - what's the budget? (at least the starting point budget - it does tend to grow if you aren't careful) 60k versus 200k will get you very different Mooneys or Bonanzas. As a new Mooney owner (about a year) and went through the same thought process. I LOVE the long body Mooneys. Great lines, lots of space inside. I flew both. I think the Mooney is just as easy to fly. Both are fun to fly. I found the Bonanza tight at the shoulder which surprised me. Don't like the center post yokes on the Bo. I'm very comfortable in the Mooney especially after I got used to the sports car like lower seating position. I like how tight it feels up front. If there is just 1 or 2 in the plane, I push my seat back in cruise and have tons of room, best of both worlds. Rear seat room is very good in the long body. My favorite part? FAST. Second favorite part? How about Daytona Beach FL to Northampton Mass in 4.8 hours burning 63 gallons nonstop. How about the twin owners I see at the gas pump making offers on my plane? If you plan on going longish distances in a single, there is nothing better in my mind... It is my personal airliner. And I love the quality of the construction of my plane... yup, biased Greg '96 Ovation

Quote: Cris Assuming that you have or want an Eagle you not only get better performance 2400 RPM (244 Hp) vs 2700 RPM (310 Hp) but an increase in gross weight from 3200 lbs to the Ovations 3368 lbs as well as the Ovations increased fuel capacity ie.75gals to 95gals. After all the engine/AF is the same. Personaly, I really wanted an "J" due to the shorter T/O compared to the Ovation but settled for an Eagle with the 310 HP STC. Although not well documented the 310 HP 2700RPM gives one J like performance off the runway which is much better than an Ovation's & a substantially better climb rate if desired. At high altitudes the higher RPM makes sense if you have ANR's )LOL)since you run out of MP around 9K. Think of this STC as a Porsche capable of doing 180 MPH but no one really does that except maybe on the track. It just gives a ton of extra performance if one needs or wants to use it. For me shorter T/O & quicker initial climb are very important. And isn't that what Mooney's are all about?

Quote: Cris This is the part # of the Hartzell 3 bladed metal prop on my Screamin Eagle (310 Hp) installed at time of conversion. I do not know if it is the same as the 280 HP 3 blade Ovation prop. I'd check with Midwest for the definitive answer as I recall there was some discussion as to weather or not one could use an existing Ovation prop (3 blades) but like Parker says you definitely need a three blade for this STC. Propeller Type: Hartzell 3 bladed prop. #PHC-J3YF/F769DF (B)2

Quote: Parker_Woodruff Nope you need a new prop and it'll set you back a lot of money. See Seth's above post.

Quote: Parker_Woodruff If you can do the 310 hp upgrade, then do it. I can't confirm what the cost is. I would recommend Zephyr Aircraft Engines in Zephyrhills, FL. Where do you live?

I'd be thrilled to get my Ovation painted by Aircraft, but alas, I'm based in MA, so a little far Does anyone have the whole list?

I'm at around 1750 hours on my Ovation's IO550, and it uses quite a bit of oil (anywhere from a quart every 2-5 hours, seemingly depending on how hard I'm running the engine) but otherwise is running well/smooth, and the compressions are all acceptable. But I know an overhaul is in my future in the next year or three. Couple of questions. I know this has been debated many times, but is there any advantage to a factory new engine - i.e. has the engine changed or been improved since mine was manufactured in '96? Second, I understand that Continental can zero time the engine - does anyone have good/bad experience with letting Continental do the work? Third - my default plan is to use Penn Yan again (they overhauled the Lycoming in my Arrow a few years ago, pre Mooney days). If I go this route - does an overhaul mean I have to re-do my gami injectors? I'm assuming that a new engine would change things enough? How bout just overhauled? Four - I know about the screaming eagle conversions etc. Is there any 'upgrades' I should be considering for an Ovation 1? thanks all for your thoughts! Greg

Quote: scottfromiowa I second that.

Best ATC moment ever the other week. "Mooney zero romeo delta, slow 30 kts to follow landing traffic, challenger on final, cleared for the visual, number two."

Quote: danb35

Limited but very good experience with the guys at Islip Avionics at ISP on Long Island. g

Quote: sixsixX KBHB is good, but ground transportation is expensive 40 bucks into Bar Harbor one way !!, Not a lot going on near the airport. Try KSFM , great dinner on the field, and low cost trolly service into Wells beach and area beaches. Great seafood, but call around first its busy up there during holidays if your staying overnight. Have fun.

Quote: Immelman I open the throttle to approx the 12-13" m.p. position, mixture rich, and then turn on the fuel pump to prime. 3 seconds or so if its warm out (and the engine is cold), longer (5-7 seconds) in cold weather. I then pull the mixture to cut off and crack the throttle (1/8", approx 1000rpm position) and crank... works pretty well. If the engine is warm, I do not prime, just crank.

Has anyone noticed (if you have a fuel computer) that waiting for the flow from the prime aux pump to get to 2-3 gph (regardless of how long that takes) seems to be the key to an easy start? I have a 550 in an Ovation. Anyone else use this approach? Am I doing the right thing? It does seem to take a variable amount of time, and it will never start before hitting 2 gph minimum, regardless of hot or cold.

Quote: Becca We bought our Mooney brokered through AAA after a long time searching planes. Honestly we had been mostly looking at private party purchase, but AAA had the right plane at the right price. The usual negotiation was required and somewhat annoying, but in the end, I was left feeling like we were dealt with completely fairly. Feel free to pm me if you want more details.

Anyone have any experience good or bad? Got a recommendation from an A&P, and seem to know their stuff talking to them, but thats no substitute for someone that has actually had work done on their plane.. Any experience? I have a couple of tricky squawks and I need a good shop. g

you wrote: Newer Ovations have 12V at the cigar plug (voltage converter hiding in the tail cone). -a- Don't all ovations? My 96 is 12v in the plug...

Quote: jetdriven With training and even more so, proficiency and recency, IFR with no autopilot is not such a big deal. Especially in this plane with its heavy ailerons. This plane flies like a cabin class twin in cruise. However, without a standby attitude indicator on a second power source, you are betting your life on a 250$ vacuum pump. Thats the real hazard here.

Quote: danb35 I'm glad I didn't know how reckless I was being to fly in IMC without altitude hold! I'll admit I'd like to have it (and glideslope coupling as well), but that's going to have to be another airplane--can't justify $20k+ to add it to mine, when that plus the current value of mine gets me well on the way to newer and faster (with the better autopilot).

Quote: rob GSengle, I think you misunderstood what I wrote. When I say that I don't think you can argue that a VFR pilot has only a portion of the skill of an IFR pilot, it is to mean that there is no counterpoint to that statement. Your post agrees with mine.

Quote: rob I'm currently a VFR pilot. This hasn't stopped me from making several flights well over 1000nm. I am a real pilot and I fly a real travelling machine. I rarely get in the airplane if not to go on at least a hour long flight. That said, I find that I drive lots of 2-3 hour drives because I am VFR only. I don't think anyone can argue that a VFR pilot has only a portion of the skill, knowledge, and capabilites of an IFR pilot. I intend to get my IR as soon as time and finances allows. I'm confident that I will come out of that a better, and more capable, real pilot.

Hate to stir the pot, but although it is perfectly valid to be a VFR only pilot, your capabilities are at that point a SUBSET of the capabilities of an instrument rated pilot. And since Mooneys are fast, many of us get them to go somewhere, and once you have that mission, the ability to deal with more weather is real useful. I find that it is the return flight that gets ya. So yes, an instrument rating makes you more of a pilot in a real way - but so what? All depends on your mission.... There are many ways to become more of a pilot... aerobatics? I may pick up rotorcraft... It is all good as they say!