M20F

What myth, didn't you get a decoder ring when you bought your plane?

Fly away gear is on the load sheet of every freighter I have worked and on occasion it comes off to squeeze on a bit more cargo and they pick up a new set down line.

I have a set hidden on the airframe but in a pinch it isn't all that tough to hotwire an ajrplane. Simplest and least safe being just running jumper cables from the battery to the starter. At some point I want to replace my key start with a button like you would see on a twin just to make things a lot easier. After reading this thread odds are I will now lose a set of keys.....

It is all a function of TAS +/- winds. For a normally aspirated airplane flying above the altitude where you develop your cruise power setting (i.e. about 9000 feet to get 65% in a normally aspirated Mooney) generally is almost never worth it, unless some awesome winds. Even then you have to factor how long and how slow you are going to go getting high. The book is relatively accurate in terms of TAS and climb rates + forecasted winds, just do the math and you can make the determination as to what is going to get you there the quickest. Key thing to keep in mind is forecasted winds do change. I have a Rayjay so a bit more practical to get up high, in order to keep cool in the climb I need to do 120-130mph which means 500FPM. Nothing worse than spending 40 mins climbing up and figuring out the best winds actually were 6000 feet below FL190 after you get there. Even worse than that is deciding to go back down to 13000 only to find the winds at FL190 were 30kts better given your current position :-)

Dawn is going to strip off any wax you have so wouldn't use it unless that is your intent. A good wash followed by a waxing (I reccomend Collonite 845) is what you want. After flying use generic lemon pledge and a microfiber cloth, the bugs will slide right off.

I have an EI MVP-50 and the totalizer works great. The individual tank gauges are the same as the analog ones, fairly useless once they burn down. I would guess your experience will be the same. I have been very happy with my EI unit for 3yrs now.

It seems from looking through the various websites that Ovations sell faster and hold their value better than the Eagles as well. Nothing scientific to back that up, just the impression I walk away with.

Was a new cam installed when it was overhauled?

The airplane was out of rig :-)

Good choice Maurader, I really like mine.

Would second this. Land a little rough, land on grass, etc. and they go. In the grand scheme of flying a led replacement is cheap and then you can just leave it on all the time. My two cents anyways.

The easiest way I have found to keep the filter from making a mess is just bring a cheap plastic shopping bag. Cover filter with bag and twist off. Works great.

The only problem with the mile high club and a Champ is you have to get out and push to get to 5000 feet ;-)

I keep mine outside and if I had chosen a hanger in the past five years the difference between that and a tie down equates to 50% of the aircrafts value. Nothing against hangers but if the idea is they protect an investment, it isn't a very cost effective insurance policy. Most people I know in hangers spend more on their hangers than on gas flying in a year. The best things for airplanes is to fly them, lack of that more than anything causes expense. As others mentioned being 40+ minutes away limits the greatest preventive thing you can do, which is fly. And isn't that the point? My two cents.

Without budget hard to comment but given you are looking at C's guessing the vintage era. If you never fly with somebody in the back seat go for an E if you ever want to carry people in the back go for the F. Whichever I could find in the best condition/radios that is TN would ultimately decide it for me. Nothing against C's and earlier but the $/benefits ratio of an F/E is far greater so unless I found the most awesome C ever, just wouldn't consider one.

Skiing is dangerous

Compression and oil consumption are only two of many factors in determining engine health. Wear on the cam, valves, etc. shows up in oil analysis when aggressive in nature but you can have a cam or valve wear over time that will give no indication until it breaks off. Visible inspection is a key tool especially when things get old and when you don't know the complete history of how the plane was maintained and flown over decades. Time is at some point going to cause a sudden failure of a part and in many instances there will be no indication prior from a normal operational sense. We all need to carefully balance the idea that while a set of mags could operate for 5000hrs with no issue, at some point logic needs to dictate perhaps digging deeper in inspection or replacing before that items failure leads to a much more costly problem.

i would consider pulling a cylinder and looking at the cam given the years/time. Engines sometimes make some metal, run rough, or otherwise indicate a problem is coming. Many times though they suck in a valve, chop a ring, have a lobe break off, etc. when everything was perfect just five seconds before. I believe in IRAN but the key is really being aggressive when it comes to the I part.

Jimmy/Dave keep their word I know it first hand, couldn't reccomend them more.

If weight and volume are of interest hard to beat a 206

I torque spark plugs mostly because I bought a torque wrench (Craftsman) and it is fun to use, for the most part though really not a lot of use in normal pilot maintainence (obviously if you are gluing an engine back together it's a bit more exact).

Yes they do and in a 747 those numbers differ in double digits, in a single engine airplane it differs in the tenth's.

The single best thing to clean the belly is an air compressor, sprayer attachment, and mineral spirits. Your mileage with the FBO and personal convictions may vary on that but it will strip/clean everything with no issues. I use a heavy sudsing of Dawn dish soap and water afterwards as that works well to strip the remaining grease/oil away. Certainly other products you can use but for getting rid of exhaust and oil, nothing works better than jet blasted mineral spirits that I have found.

I bet you think Oswald acted alone ;-)

But what if the plane is on a treadmill....