Cris

Here is the Mooney factory link http://www.mooney.com/aircraft/overview-of-aircraft.html which shows the Ovation 2, 3 & Acclaim. For the Ovation 3 ( 310 HP STC ) it has a useful load of 1107 lbs with standard fuel of 100 gals for 1860 NM range with reserves. The long range Monroy tanks ( 128 gals ) 1000 lbs of useful load provides 2400 nm range with reserves. My 310 HP Eagle has a useful load of 1124 Lbs by way of comparison.

Would you be able to post a picture of what that pixie hole look like? Thanks

I've got one just removed for an update. Looks great. $185 delivered.

Quote: N4352H I'd toss in John Palente and Wayne Fisher. Wayne is a Master CFII in the desert SW and Palente is a career Nacca guy, so you learn a lot about the inner workings of ATC. John (last I recall) was based Atlantic City. Both teach high Alt. John keeps his J model hangered at Cross Keys (N17) airport NJ although I am sure he is back and forth to the FAA in ACY.

Quote: Hank All I do is write it on my kneeboard. I have yet to be asked to descend more than 4000', and when they ask for an expedited descent I pay much more attention to what I am doing. When they ask for the next descent before I've finished the first one, I just scribble it down. Climbs are the same, write it down and go there. Other than the initial climbout to cruise, they don't take really long.

At the moment all is well. My annual in Sept was a "no issues" which was really great as the airframe/engine have very little time & I was expecting that I might have some gotchas. A/C that don't fly sometimes have more issues than those that do but I came away pleasantly surprised. All AD's & SB's were also completed. I simply do not fly enough & need a new mission. I'm sure something will come along.

Inputing flight plans, modifying/changing checking for doglegs, overlaying weather on the MFD verifying traffic uodating the portable Garmin, Ipad etc etc. What happened to simple! Change the VOR freq & fly the airway or occasionally push D on the GPS and call flight watch after a check on the stormscope. Adding still another device to monitor & adjust goes to the info overload issue and as Jose' points out is just not really that helpful in an NA plane. Even so look at the early Malibu (turbo)issues where the KFC autopilots decoupled with full up or down trim & were not caught in time to prevent the brutal endings. Maintaining climb/decent alt is one way to remain engaged with the A/C & the flight envelope. While we all believe GPS has made flight easier it has added an amazing amount of heads down to our flying especially if you do not have cross fill or use differant boxes. Recently I actually had a controller give me a change with the comment I'll give you a couple of minutes to set up the new course! He was of course being helpful but it amazes me that it takes so long today to be more safe with the new systems than with the basic systems. BTW I'm a big beliver in a capable autopilot but preselect I don't think it helps or is really very desirable especially with the possibility of an inadvertant stall. That may be why the airlines need an extra crew person. They need one to fly the A/C & the other to cross check & input/manage the systems. Next we will need an Ibot for our Mooney's.

Sneaking into Linden under the Newark umbrellla already basically qualifies you for your IFR ticket. You might just as well take the ride right now. Ok So let's pick an airport & all show up some Sat. It obviously needs a resturant so I'll suggest a few in the NJ area that have suitable ramp space and anyone else can just chime in. Flying W, Medford, Milleville which also has an air museum, Ocean City ....

Hangers are great & work especially well as an alternate man cave. It boils down to availability & cost. I have been on both ends of the hanger & tie down issue. I keep my airplane at a great big airport with great facilities but no hangers- period. it is 20 mins from my home & 10 mins from my office. To hanger I'd have to go 45 mins from my home to fields with higher approach minimums & less watchfull eyes. I bought the Bruce cover & am now buying the wing covers for the winter. I have electric for my engine heater and battery minder at the tie down. If I beg I can get the A/C in the jet hanger for the occational hurricance. The $'s saved like carasome points out help me justify the new paint job every three years or the next new whiz bang avionics gizmo. I initially got a hanger years ago to avoid the issue of snow on the A/C. Then I could not get the A/C out of the hanger because of the ice & snow build up in front of the doors. At least I could get the snow off the plane when it was outside. Go figure. So there are legitimate reasons for both options.

Mine is installed on the right side of the dorsal above the N number closest to the tail. It is a thin wire so I would think that it does not reduce the speed much if at all. I would think the directions would indicate where to best place the antenna so as to maximize satillite reception. Antenna placement can be a real issue for performance so I'd be cautious in burying it inside the fuselage/fin. Hope that helps.

What is it that you want to know? Mine came with Ameri-King mdl AK 451 2

One point for those who have upgraded to the Ipad OS 5 operating system is that if you have the cloud backup activated it will automatically backup the data files from Wing X, Foreflight, EFB etc. You may quickly use up your cloud storage. To prevent that possible overload you can go into cloud setting, manage & uncheck Foreflight, Wing X or EFB. Also according to Wing X they have written their latest release to take advantage of the dual core processor in the Ipad 2 & Iphone 4S so the screen refreash rates are faster than in the Ipad one & Iphone 4.

I do not know which Mooney you fly but The Ovation came with a legal & optional 5th seat arrangement. It included three across in the rear most suitable for kids & small folks. Check it out. http://www.controller.com/listingsdetail/aircraft-for-sale/MOONEY-M20R-OVATION-3-GX/2007-MOONEY-M20R-OVATION-3-GX/1209509.htm? Maybe it can be adapted to other Mooney's

In the past I had a couple of Sibirian Husky's ,a male & a female who flew with me at differant times. The female was very well trained & would lay in the front seat of the J model if the wife was not on board. The wife hated to fly so the dog got the front seat. The wife would take the car to wherever & meet me & the kids which gave us no cost auto transportation. The two kids would be in the back in their car seats & occasionally the dog would sit between them rather scrunched up but Ok if the wife deemed to come along. That worked fine until the female finally passed on & we eventually got a new male Sibirian Husky puppy. For a long time that dog did not fly as it would go with the wife & the kids would fly with me. It also was no where near being trained to the level that the female had been. Husky's take a long time to train & act like puppies for four or five years. After about a year I introduced the dog to the plane & he was fine in the back seat but one day the kids & dog went with me from Caldwell NJ near NYC to Atlantic City by way of Maguire Airforce base's airspace. This dog looked like the other one & my head did a disconnect & so I let him lay in the front seat but now he was bigger & did not fit that well. His paws lay over the seat edge. After we got airborne he jumped into the back causing me to trim the A/C down & the kids to holler since he sat on them. By now I was in Maguire's airspace & so I grabbed the dog to move him upfront but he jumped into the front seat & slid to the floor with his nose stuck between the rudder pedals. The A/C immediatly headed down & I hit my head on the roof. It really hurt so I yelled at the dog who promptly jumbed into the back seat & these oscillations got repeated several times with my head in great pain & the controllers asking why I was deviating my altitude as there was numerous jet traffic above & below me. I finally said to the kids who thought this was the funniest thing ever to hold on to the dog or I was going to toss him out the door. They did hold him & I did recover but I learned that not all dogs are equal. And... the wife was not happy.

Hey Maybe we could get the moderator to retile this thread "Political Opinions" or perhaps have a forum just for that purpose like the new "Mooney Bravo Owners". Like every one else I believe in free speech but seriously this thread keeps getting hijacked & those that might actually have an interest in "State Tax aircraft" are left to keep looking at the latest political view. Enough already.

Thought I'd close out this topic with the final outcome on my project for those looking for an inexpensive Robotow. There are many older ones available at modest cost as the 28 V lead acid batteries die & the cost to replace is very high. The problem is that Robotow did not make a Mooney version until recently so the older units are for those "other" planes. First & foremost thanks to Jose' (Piloto) for his assistance with the measurements & pictures of his nice new Robotow. I've attached images to show how this came out. You can compare those with the images I originally posted. First step is a call to the Robotow factory to buy the Mooney adapter. They may tell you it will only fit the current version but it fits the older model perfectly. For those with welding ability you can probably make this up inexpensively but I chose to buy it premade as I don't weld & only paid $40 for my used Robotow. Then I used a hand grinder to cut down the lead acid battery box to about 3 inches so as to have something to hold spare fuses & hex key- not necessary but useful. Next, using the grinder I cut the handle in half close to the motor & ground down the wall of the piece next to the motor to make it easier to fit into the angle bracket. Take apart the red handle & the wires are marked & easily removed. I then had fabricated a 1 1/4" square piece of steel tube welded at a 135 degree angle. As you can see the tube has holes drilled in it so that the steel handle & motor can be easily positioned to extend the arm as required. Again not really necessary once one figures out where it works best but Jose' recommended that I make it a bit longer than the factory Robotow. A trip to the hardware store for a plastic handle wire & connectors is required. I used the electrical pieces from the battery case to enable a plug & socket (within the angle piece) arrangement so that the handle can be removed for travel. It now fits nicely on the baggage floor. There are plugs from radio shack at the other end of the angle bracket in the event I want to remove the angle bracket all together. Finally it is wired to a 15' coiled cigar plug to access the 24 V ships power. The picture showing the wheeled gizmo supporting a Robotow is from someone else's Robotow. I included it to show what the factory thought would be a good way to move this thing. I suspect with the battery pack & dolley it originally weighed close to 60 lbs. Now it is around 35 & could be made lighter with a shorter angle bracket. In my case I started off with a wheeled cart shown in the initial pictures which works great & doubles to move stuff to the airplane. But to travel I wanted more protection so I got a wheeled 22" tool case from Harbor Freight which fits the motor head/adapter part & is great to protect the airframe. It also matches the A/C paint color BTW- LOL. Total cost was about $275 with the biggest part of the cost being the adapter and angle bracket. I keep this Eagle tied down outside & I have to move it up a serious incline & over a couple of bumps to get it into its assigned parking spot. Full fuel but empty it still weighs 2800+ LBS. It is way beyond my 155 lb frame & even the line men used to run when they saw me come in to park. Now it is a breeze. I also added a Battery Minder since I do have access to ac elec. next to the A/C but moving it 30' or so does not seem to draw much at all from ships power.

Quote: Mooneymite Before you spend money on your problem, I'd check the boots on the servos....if one is leaking too much, the vacuum system can't compensate and the aircraft turns. Usually, the boots have been sealed with tape; either the tape has pulled away, or the boot has a crack in it. Re-taping is pretty easy if that's the issue. Don't forget to check the ones in the tailcone!

While I reallize that locking the baggage door may be the prescribed method I have often wondered if that might be an issue for emergency personnel trying to gain access. Hence I never lock the door.

Quote: docket I want a new Mooney with pressurization and a PT 6.

duplicate

Quote: orangemtl If you don't live in Florida, and don't work there, and have no commercial operations there, and the plane isn't based there, isn't the defensible answer that they've no jurisdiction over you, the plane, nor your finances and should therefore go p--s off?

Good points, thanks but has anyone had any actual exprience with being an out of state purchaser/resident who received such a demand letter? How was it resolved. Thanks

Marlboro Ma. (9B1) is a real trip- 1659' @285' elev. with a fence at one end guarding a road that regularly gets hit by departing A/C. Used to take my J's in there but every landing was a short field approach. I'd be very reluctant with a long body.

What would you do? I also just got a letter from the Fla State Revenue Service demanding that I pay sales tax. In my case the A/C was purchased & delivered in Michigan in late Jan. I live in NJ & the A/C is a Dl. Corporation. I then flew it by way of Miss. to Ft Meyers Fl. for the 3 day MAPA PPP. At that point I left Fl & returned to NJ. I am not & never have been a Fl resident. I have not been back to Fla. since. The "very nice" lady to whom I spoke demanded to know if I had paid sales tax elsewhere on my Deleware Corp. since they cooperate with other states. I said nothing except to say that I am sick & tired of being harrassed by any state that wants to find an excuse to tax small business. Imagine if we had to deal with every state tax bureau that we landed within!! To prove my case, I am being required to forward all hanger receipts since purchase to prove the A/C has not lived in Fla. since purchased. Although she did not say to me that I had to prove in which state I resided I am sure that will be the next shoe to drop. I suppose she will want my personal income tax forms or mortgage statements next. I am so tired of our goverments trying to find any way possible to harrass us that I really do not want to provide anything to this "very nice" woman who obviously does not have my best interests at heart. Seems the old owner had a place in Fla. which is what triggered the letter although he lives in Michigan. What would you do?

One possibility may be the brakes. If one side is not fully releasing it may cause that condition. Check to see if both sets of pads are the same thickness.