M20F

Same

With a lot of replaced cylinders and accessories over those 5000hrs. What constitutes an overhaul is very misleading and you can actually end up with a crank/cam worse then you took out and still have TBO reset. Mike Busch and others are essentially talking about IRAN when it comes to engine management which is smart. TBO is sort of pointless on just about every level in terms of of what to do and when to do.

TBO is a misnomer at best as is what an overhaul is. You can fly an engine for thousands of hours past TBO but you are probably going to replace cylinders and accessories during that time period. Really the only thing that is going to cause the case to be split is the cam wearing down, true a crank can go but odds are the cam will go first. Compression check and inspection of the crank/cam is going to give you an idea of how long you can go. Generally you can see pitting/wear and other issues associated with the plane sitting. Personally I would never pull a whole engine off and redo it. You can monitor all the parts easy enough (exhaust valves and compressions on the cylinder) and replace as needed. When you pull a cylinder to can check the internals easily enough. When it comes time to do the cam I would keep the existing cylinders if they are good. On a Lycoming as example to overhaul you need to replace exhaust valves among other things. If you have 4 cylinders with 100hr each as example and the cam goes are you really going to pay the expense to replace the exhaust valves just so you can zero the TBO? The only place TBO has any meaning is for resale which if you don't intend on doing then it has little impact.

Depending on how bad the paint is just a very aggressive wash, clay bar, and then some wax may bring it back as well. Some pictures in my gallery of the after on mine and I ended up not needing to use a cleaner wax, claying an airplane I have to say really sucks. Dawn works great to strip off old wax and mineral spirits for everything else.

If you get a Reiff pre-heater for a couple extra bucks they give you a pad to heat the oil cooler as well. I have never had any issues in keeping oil temp up once pre-heated. Anyone looking to fly when it is cold should really invest in a Reiff or Tannis system as it isn't just the oil that needs to warm but all the differing metals in the engine as well. Quick, easy, and well worth basically 1 AMU to purchase and install.

Just going to add to this and Piloto's comments which is for most a turbo is a waste because their mission simply does not require it. The specific reason I chose a M20F-TN as opposed to a 252 which I could have afforded is that I just don't fly far or high enough often enough to warrant the capital cost and additional wear/tear expenses. For the couple long trips I do take if it is advantageous I can get up over weather or get those FL tail winds along with 160-170KTAS. When we go on a breakfast run I am about two minutes behind my friends turbo 310 and I burn 8 to his 25, when we go to Florida in beat him because he generally needs to stop for gas and I dont. If we both go non-stop I am about 40mins behind only. Mission is everything in making the decision to me, not so much cost. If you need it, you need it but most don't and just add a lot of cost and complexity for something they would never use. I am putting in a G500 which I will use and appreciate a lot more than I would the cost/benefits of a 252 as example.

I have a TN M20F and after about FL210 the controls get real sloppy. I can get 65% to 17000-Fl180 depending upon the day so could probably push into FL270-280 if I wanted. Highest I have been is FL230 and to be honest anything really above FL190-20 is diminishing returns, just don't get enough TAS for the manifold you give up.

Mooneys offer many great things, a heater though in my experience is not one of them.

Is there a site where you can look up 337's on file with the FAA? I know about ordering them via CD but wanted to see if there was a way to search/view online.

If your reason for wanting new caps is because they are leaking water replacing the two o-rings generally fixes that.

Would echo the comments that an Ovation would be a much better choice imho if you are very rarely or never going to be flying higher then 9000ft.

I put a Hartzell Scimitar on when I got my M20F and it also required a new spinner as well due to having SWTA cowling. That got discovered after the prop was hung so a bit of a last minute surprise/expense so make sure when you switch there isn't additional hardware needed.

The top M20F is in almost a 2000fpm descent, I noticed the same thing :-)

The key is finding the right one which if you have no experience in what to look for, it can end poorly. For every story of getting the perfect plane there is one where somebody doesn't. The other reality is a good chunk of people (and not meant to discourage OP) who start their PPL never finish or once they do they stop flying all together shortly thereafter for a variety of reasons. You can make the argument a lot of differing ways but for most just working with a part 61 school is going to serve them a lot better than going the owner route, especially if they have no real aviation experience or local real life support to guide you.

I would add learning how to own an airplane is almost as much work as learning how to be a pilot. How to handle insurance, maintainence, etc. takes some know how (buying is complicated as well). Better to get yourself through at least PPL and then start looking, having to focus on all the challenges that come with ownership (there are benefits as well!) on top of training is just going to be a distraction for you. From a cost stand point you really need to fly 100+ hours a year to get any kind of cost savings versus renting as well. Owning really is more about conveience and bragging rights than it is about saving money.

Functionally mine looks like Bob's, though nicer because it's all wrapped in leather :-)

I have only used Prist cans a couple of times and it was with Jet-A. Despite best efforts I generally made a mess and would get sprayed. I don't think it will kill you but it certainly isn't great to jump in a plane smelling like kerosene, but again more me being messy than anything else. It is important that you use the right mixture when you do it, otherwise it can turn into goop at the bottom of the tank with Jet-A, would assume same is true with 100LL. I am leery about additives of any kind because really not good data on what they do to gaskets, tank seal, etc. I find good cap gaskets and sumping regularly works for me. If you do get a bit of water in tank it usually mixes around enough in flight to not be an issue. Where I have had water issues (including a frozen sump) has come from sitting and you can resolve it just by sumping the tank. It takes a lot of water to cause a problem and generally that lot of water is pretty apparent when you start up (if you forgot to sump) and the plane wants to shake apart from running so rough. I would be curious to know if anyone has actually had an ice issue in the tanks while flying after they sumped the tanks.

I don't have a good picture of mine but SWTA built a little box for PTT and Autopilot controls when they redid my yokes. It is screwed I to the old yoke and works really great. The yokes were $750 to recover both but no idea exactly what it cost to pull them off and put them back on as it was part of a large group of things I had done two years ago.

I would reccomend the best Reiff system with the oil cooler heater which installed is going to be I want to say about $1000 and works great. While you have a heated hanger at home, you may not at a lot of places you fly to. Airplane engines are made out of all differing kinds of metal and that is what you are looking to heat more than the oil. A Reiff system turns the inside of your cowling to about 60 degrees if left on over night with a good cowl cover. I flew out of KJMS once at -10F and my cylinders were 70 degrees prior to start. A heater pad will heat the oil but it isn't going to do much to heat the cylinders, case, or oil cooler. This to me is just one of those things where spending a little bit of money pays out in the long term. If you are going to mess with Prist buy protective gear and get somebody to show you how to use the cans. You have to aerosol it into the fuel stream while fueling, you can't just dump it into the tanks. It is also as Erik points out used to eliminate water not act as a deicer so if you come out and your sumps are frozen it isn't going to fix it. If you are getting a lot of water in the tank replacing the o-rings generally fixes it and they are cheap. A hanger fairy replaces mine 2x a year but easy enough to have done at annual as well.

Hi - i don't know for certain but would think putting Prist into 100LL is probably not a good thing. 100LL freezes at -58C which is beyond I have to think anything anyone would encounter in GA.

I elected for a M20F with a Rayjay. I do 2-3 long trips per year which the turbo gives me versatility in terms of weather and speed but for the majority of my flying it is short hops. I looked at 231/252's but couldn't justify the need. I took the initial purchase savings and spent it on upgrades and getting the ship I bought in top shape then spent the rest on a lot of gas :-)

When I got mine they gave the installer (EI dealer) a one use code to reset anything that was off, we didn't have any issues to where we needed it. You can adjust a fair amount of stuff with the generic set up code.

Moisture in the engine is mostly a by product of using it. If you change the oil, ground run it every so often to sling the oil around, and change the oil every couple of months that is going to be effective. There are other considerations though such as lubing the prop, gear, etc. when planes sit for awhile tends to be things other than the engine that suffer the most.

Sole ADSB user as both are really just for replacing easily what you can get from Flightwatch. Once I get a picture any picking I do is going to be minimal and supported by the guys on the ground who can guide you through. Far to many people (not saying on this thread) view either product as a tractical resource as opposed to a strategic resource.

I chose a 67F in part for space but there are a couple things that will hold true on the E of the same year. It was the last year for awhile that the wing was flush riveted which looks nice and adds speed, manual gear which is light and cheap to maintain if you grease it (and almost failure proof), and hydraulic flaps which again are cheap to maintain and almost failure proof. The Mooneys after 67 up to the J just got heavier, slower, and more expensive to maintain from what I can see. If it weren't for the need of back seat room I would have gone for the E which is 2 passengers is your requirement, no better plane out there IMHO.