David Mazer

Glad your okay and worry not about the plane. There are others when you are ready. Don't wait too long to get back in the air even if you need to go with someone else. Anxiety can creep up on you.

I believe this is being interpreted differently at different airports. There was an article in some magazine, I can't remember which, about the FAA demanding all the tools be removed too. You could put a plane in the hangar and nothing more and nothing less. I tend to agree that a hangar at an airport should be used for aviation if someone wants to use it for aviation but, at my airport, there are unused hangars and leasing them for other uses makes sense to defray costs and keep the rent down. I'm for reasonableness. Something that is generally impossible when the government is involved.

I doubt you have to worry about a deluge of purchase requests. The market has been pretty soft for the last 6-8 years. Personally, I wouldn't fly it to another field for this initial annual. From a distance only, I've heard of too many planes that have crashed as they were ferried to another field for inspections or repairs after a long idle period. I believe all the M20Ks have one battery unless they are Rockets. The 231 is 14v and the 252 is 28v.

Glad to hear Formation HY had success with the hot start procedures. It works for me every time. Jeff H - yikes! Not a Rocket issue as far as I'm aware. I did know of a 252 that had an engine failure while turning right during taxi. As odd as that may sound, it was a known problem and solvable. I'll see if I can find the information about that for you tomorrow. Yours may be some variant of that but I'm pretty sure it would take a real emergency to get me in the air with that problem unresolved.

If your looking for a Rocket, mine is for sale, http://mooneyspace.com/topic/10618-fs-1986-252-m20k-rocket/?hl=%2B1986+%2Bm20k I have the built in oxygen (1+3) and recently took a 4 hr flight at 18,000, 1050 miles, 4:21 min and used about 400 psi of 1600 with one pax.

If this is a hand pump, how is it you knocked out other issues during the draining process?

I don't know of any Rockets without the aux tanks but I don't know if that means they were added during the conversion or at another time. The mains hold 40 gal each and the aux 14.5. Total 109 with 104 usable. I've seen different total fuel capacity for different Rockets. I'm not sure what that means with respect to timing or installer.

For what it's worth, I just flew a non-stop 1050 nm flight from NY to FL with a passenger and bags in my Rocket (a modified M20K variant) at 18,000 ft in 4:21 and used 82 gallons of gas. I landed with 22 gallons of usable fuel and had the power set at 65%. I could have easily flown at a higher power setting, used a little more fuel and spent a little less time in the air or reduced the power and reversed that equation. My plane doesn't have TKS. The list of questions you haven't asked is enormous and you might find a mentor or trusted broker helpful since airplane ownership can require financial fortitude to deal with the unexpected (I'm not sure why I use that term because it really is expected somewhere along the way). The Mooney is a great XC airplane but there are others, depending on your budget. The T210 is a great airplane, I've had one, and so is the A36 for comfortable travel but neither are as efficient. We are partial to Mooneys here and I think you would be happy with one but I would want to research all options before I made this type of commitment.

This is probably out of your way, but, I've been using Chris Reilly at KSFB AMC and he has been great. Quality, safety, and compliance are his primary focus. He works hard and on weekends, work is done on time, prices are more than reasonable, and he works on avionics also. For others looking at this in the FL area, I suggest considering him. Here is his website: http://www.ksfbamc.com

I've flown an M20F here in FL in the middle of summer and was barely climbing 500 fpm at 7,000. I've also taken off in the middle of summer from LMO in Colorado, 5000ft, and climbed at 1000 fpm in my Rocket. The turbo, as well as the extra 105 hp, makes a huge difference.

The problem is always in the left seat and regular is a relative term. I've had zero in 20 years of flying in other planes (including other Mooneys other than the Rocket) and 2 in 6 years, all after the brakes were fixed, in a Rocket. Still the pilot's fault but there maybe something about a Rocket, my Rocket, or a change in me that is contributing.

I've noticed a lot of comments by Cs and Js and I think there are major differences in those vs a Rocket in terms of weight (momentum) and speeds (even though landing speeds are pretty close). As I mentioned, I don't recall ever putting a flat spot in a tire until my Rocket. Also, I never had a flat spot in my Rocket until after my brakes were "fixed" with replacement of the 25 year old brake lines and them finally actually slowing the plane down and holding it still during run up. Always a trade off, isn't there.

I can tell you from experience this happens to me all too often on a Rocket (and I don't recall ever on any other plane). I keep a spare tire in the hangar. All it takes is the slightest extra pressure when the plane is still light, one tiny, short squeak, and the tire is gone. What I have learned is to brake later in the roll out rather than early. Sometimes it takes more brake pressure but I've never damaged a tire once I'm fully down and slowed some and many tires if I brake shortly after touchdown.

And shortly thereafter they were substantially above me. We avoided the bulk of it but there was 20-30 seconds with a pretty wild ride and very light rime.

Flying back from NY to FL at 18,000 ft last night I happened to notice the sunset on one side and the super moon on the other. How could I not.

Attached are the specs for the dehumidifier. Total cost, maybe $50. Engine_Dryer_Sport_Avi.pdf

I always open the oil door, remove the dipstick, and replace the cap with a different cap that I have drilled to hold a tube that flows to my dehumidifier. The dehumidifier returns to the breather tube.

Credit where credit is due. Erik did bring this to my attention some time ago. It was not my intent to imply that I developed this technique just to spread the knowledge. IMO, it is harder on the starter because it usually requires longer starter operation when I do it. I'm always careful of battery use/drain. I'm never confident that a battery won't fail unexpectedly. Everything on a plane seems to fail at the most inopportune moment and in the most expensive way possible. I suppose I'm just sensitive to it all now. Whatever I can do to baby it and cause as little damage as possible, I do.

What Erik is describing is the traditional hot (vs flood start - open throttle, mixture off) start. It will work most of the time but is harder on your starter and if your batteries are marginal and the attempt fails you may not get a second chance to use the method I described. I haven't found the 60 sec delay to be of any significance as I'm always doing something else anyway so I make it my normal hot start procedure.

Okay. This is actually an easy problem to solve on the Rocket. It works for me every time (including today in 95 degree weather). 1. Full lean - THIS IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT STEP FROM A SAFETY PERSPECTIVE 2. Throttle closed. 3. Low boost on for at least 60 sec. At least. More is okay. 4. Low boost off 5. Prime for 3 - 5 sec (until about 25 gph on the fuel totalizer) 6. Cold start with a little more throttle than usual and a couple extra turns. Done.

That is way cool. I can't wait to hear more about this.

X04 has great fuel prices but the runway undulates up and down. Especially on 33. I usually try to land just past the threshold and let it come up to meet me. Then I have to ride the downslope and let the plane lose speed and fully settle onto the ground. The ground run is always longer than other airports because of this but the runway is long enough. Once on the ground, the taxi has a slope up on the runway side and utility boxes on the other and large drains at each intersection. I end up taxiing all over the place to weave in and out always watching the runway side not to hit the slope. I go there pretty often, and I seem to run into a fair amount of traffic for a small uncontrolled airport, but I'm not sure I would recommend it for transients other than the great fuel prices. Oh, the people are nice and there is a descent A&P with Mooney experience there but the FBO has no real amenities other than a bathroom. There are other airports around with more services, closer to town, better runways, and higher prices. Orlando has a lot of options. Depends on your goals.

There are a number of us with Mooneys at SFB. At which airport do you reside?

I can't say anything about those two airplanes but, if your budget allows, AA has my airplane available also. http://mooneyspace.com/topic/10618-fs-1986-252-m20k-rocket/

My 252 Rocket has them and they aren't particularly cheap considering what they look like they should cost. I think they're about $35 each.