LANCECASPER

You might list the model number of the part of the Mooney that it fits.

I agree completely on the switch to Concorde. I stopped counting the number of Gill batteries that I bought. Batteryminders help and of course flying a lot helps and moderate climate helps, but I'm not sure I ever got more than 2.5 years out of a Gill battery.

There shouldn't be W & B change. Your '89 J Model is 28 volts. The Gill 243 weighs 28.8 pounds. the Concorde 24-15M weighs 29.5 pounds. If the weight and balance difference is less than a pound you don't need an A & P signoff, just a logbook entry with your signature.

The G1000 and G500 panels are vastly different. The G1000 is part of the Type Certificate. If later on you decide to put something else in the panel, you can't. The G500 is an aftermarket glass panel replacement of the analog gauges. Later if something else comes along that you like better you can change it over.

The Concorde is just as easy for you to replace as the Gill.

The -15M is called for in the Parts book for an M20R (or a Gill G243). They are interchangeable in size and weight, but definitely not quality and longevity.

On a Cessna 182 a very hard landing will put a serious dent in the firewall, but not sure if they do the same thing to the firewall on a Mooney.

The weights are the same. The old gills showed weight without the acid of around 27 pounds if I remember correctly. Then you add the acid and you're up to 29 pounds. The Concorde is sealed and it's 29 pounds.

Go with the -15. The price difference isn't much and you get more capacity

Beautiful airplane, but I would have a hard time putting any confidence in an engine with 1900TT that's never had a graphic engine monitor. Just my opinion, but the first panel upgrade anyone does to an airplane should be an engine monitor. You can get to your your destination with older avionics, but not unless your engine is running.

I like the climb performance of the M better than the R once you get past 10,000 ft. There is a 2004 Airworthiness Directive (http://mooney.free.fr/Mooney SB SI/283a.pdf) on the Turbo Clamp which was the failure in that fire. The clamps were improved so that they were now riveted together instead of spot-welded and the maximum re-torques is now two on the clamp before it has to be replaced with a new clamp. The A. D. also addresses the plastic brake line and heat shield for the firewall.

As a side note while the cowling is off I would have them seriously inspect the exhaust system with a finetooth comb, especially if you've had backfires. On my first annual we discovered an exhaust crack. The tailpipe needed to be replaced. Make sure your shop knows about the V-clamps on the exhaust on the Bravo as well. They can only be re-torqued twice before they need to be replaced at $500+ each (piper has the cheapest prices on the clamps). An exhaust failure on the Bravo means that the 1600 degree exhaust goes through the firewall and burns up the airplane and its occupants. There has been one person that has survived this with an off field landing after take-off (see .pdf below). The other three that I have heard of all resulted in the death of all occupants. Not to scare you, but the exhaust has to be right on this airplane. N101PB NTSB report Bravo Engine logbook.pdf

The pendulum swings back and forth . . . https://www.aopa.org/go-fly/aircraft-and-ownership/aircraft-fact-sheets/mooney-eagle "In mid-1997, Paul Dopp and his investment firm of AVAQ Partners bought a controlling interest in Mooney; previously, a French consortium owned the majority of the company. Dopp is no stranger to Mooney Aircraft. He owned it and Aerostar Aircraft in the early 1970s. Dopp's new management team shed the unprofitable subcontracts and set about recapitalizing Mooney. In mid-1998, Dopp's son, Chris, was named president, and he has been running the operation ever since."

It's good to put these post under the Bravo specific forum so in the future Bravo owners can reference them. This post in the Bravo section may shed some light:

Occasionally a J or K model comes up that has inadvertent de-ice (FIKI not available on a J and only available on 28V K's with dual alternators). In that part of the country it would be nice to have just in case. On the used market the TKS adds a little to the price (10,000 - 15,000 ??) but how many times would you have to use it to get out of icing conditions to make it worthwhile?

Clearly he doesn't want the job. If he did he would have looked over the quote. The ES upgrade is $1200 not $12000.

I was gonna say partially blocked fuel injector, but it looks like you checked that. Maybe pull a plug and borescope the cylinder to see what it looks like.

http://airnav.com/airport/L18 I agree with Don, 2160 ft. is too short for a Bravo. Plus it says "NO SAFETY AREA AVBL DUE TO ABRUPT DROP-OFF EACH END OF RWY". You have zero margin for error there.

Check your install date

That was a great deal on what looks to be a well maintained 231.

I've had 6 Mooneys over a 25 year period (in order 231, M20M, M20M, M20K (encore), M20R, M20M). The M20R Ovation (310hp) was the only non turbo charged of the Mooneys I owned and I missed the turbo. I am back in a Turbo Mooney. When I get over 10,000 ft and decide I want to go up higher I like 1000 ft per minute climbs and as beautiful as the Ovation was I realized soon after I bought it that I was not going to be satisfied without a turbocharged airplane. I like flying in the teens with a cannula where the air is cool and smooth and there is hardly ever any traffic. The Bravo is perfect for that.

If I understand correctly 10.2 was finished and went off to the FAA before the Garmin 500 update came out. They couldn't have known what updates Garmin had in the works before sending it off to the FAA. Granted the FAA didn't approve 10.2 until March 6.

I agree, we don't have a lot of prop clearance, also the clearance on those main gear doors is not much. I'd feel more comfortable on a well maintained dirt strip than grass, but I don't plan on either. This discussion reminds me of a trip in 1997 to Oshkosh. I flew M20M N9153Z from Texas to Minnesota with a couple of older flying buddies and picked up my brother. We got up early Saturday morning for the short flight from MN to WI and I decided to land in Fon Du Lac since I didn't want to be part of the Oshkosh airshow. They marshaled us out to park in the grass off of a distant taxiway. Here's a picture of us just after we tied down before we caught the shuttle bus to Oshkosh with no other airplanes around us. (I'm the skinny 34 year old kid on the left) As the bus was taking us out to the airplane late Saturday afternoon for the return flight to Minnesota and we got closer I saw a lot of people up ahead and airplane parts strewn everywhere. An airplane two planes down from me had forgot to untie the tail when he wanted to leave and kept adding power until the tiedown finally gave way at full power. He took out five airplanes (one on each side and three across from him - Vtail bonanza, C182 and three Pipers), thankfully there was one in between me and him. i didn't get a scratch. That was my last experience even parking on grass . . lol

Or maybe the shop shouldn't have installed the latest G500 software until they found out whether it was compatible with Avidyne 10.2. Others are using 10.2 with their G500 successfully - they are just cautious to update the G500 software only after it's been tested by Avidyne first.

Wow N9153Z gets a colonoscopy!