M20F

I thought about flying today on 1/1/25, it was a glorious day in ATL. Then I decided eating left over charcuterie and drinking dredges of wine, champagne, and other fruitful drinks was a better way to spend the day. I promise on 1/2/25 to do better.

I was just with my mechanic Carl Spackler (he also takes care of the grass runways). I told him no tip but on your death bed you will have total consciousness. He seemed to be appreciative, it isn’t always about the $$.

If it is a clear coat you won’t till you cut through the clear coat. If it is single stage you will get color. Polishing removes swirls and scratches by grinding the surface to flatness and that requires portions of the surface to be removed.

Polish is an abrasive by default it is going to remove things to make that shine. I would be very careful with polishes and polishing pads in general. One shouldn’t really be using polish except for extreme cases.

The same way the lottery fixed education funding?

Paintbrush seems a great solution ;-)

It’s like pornography, you will know it when you see it…..

We each set our own minimums but the whole point of FIKI is to dispatch into ice. If it is 1000’ overcast with a 3000’ layer of light/moderate ice to CAVU on top, I am going and that is what FIKI is for.

You will want an autopilot and will regret not getting one.

Your average 60yr old Mooney flap has been stepped on @ 1600 times.

Anyone who won’t sign up for this assuming you are using a known MSC or otherwise respected AI, is trying to sell you a dog. I wouldn’t agree to Boots Malone AI service as example to sell my plane but would have no issue with the good folks.

I bought my plane from Jimmy when it was All American. Don Maxwell annual and they paid all airworthy. I wouldn’t buy a plane that didn’t come with an annual from an AI that I was comfortable with. A pre-purchase inspection is toilet paper. An annual is somebody’s license/livelihood. This topic has come up many times here with folks saying you will never buy a plane, they would never sell under those conditions, etc. I assure you that one can get this condition and it is worth doing. My two cents only.

I will let smarter people than me comment. If your vacuum AI is working per normal and your right speed brake works fine, I would say not a vacuum issue.

Main turbo for RayJay overhaul. I wouldn’t mess with the exhaust unless it is actually giving you a problem. Mine as at least 2000hrs on the exhaust.

Your speed brake (vacuum) on the left retracts slower than the right? What does your idiot light say? Do you have any vacuum instruments? If so how do they work?

I just had a 30 minute FaceTime call with somebody using the $250/month sub. His two kids were streaming movies at the same time. No drops in audio or video, was same as if a land based connection. Great time to be alive.

I mean why don’t you call or email him directly versus posting on a public forum?

You have a leak, smoke test it.

Scoring is caused primarily by three things. Piston gets very hot and expands (or barrel is cold and you whack in the power). Lack of lubrication. Dirty or leaky injectors. I would check your injector, if it is the issue very easy and cheap to fix. Monitoring CHT & Oil temps in all phases of operation is a given. The sad cause of cylinder scoring in a Lycoming is the lifters or cam going bad. You can measure valve lift easy enough to check the cam. For the lifters you have to pull a cylinder though I have heard there is a way to do it through the dipstick though I have never done it.

Two key things. 1.). As others point out first step is determining if it is a leak that needs to be addressed. 2.) Determine if it can be patched. A link on Maxwell doing it is provided. He patched my left tank for I want to say $800 two years ago. I will echo you need to find somebody who knows how to do it. It is an art not a science. For whatever reason tanks are like engines (one cylinder has compression of 68 should I top or overhaul), everyone wants to go the whole distance without even trying the smaller things.

Do you have anything in a mauve?

Taxing in and out of OSH is about the most stressful thing I do in an airplane.

Nothing beats a six pack of tall boys on a long trip.

I rarely fly my G650 because honestly the ease of entry, exit, and overall space of a Mooney is just better. I like my F but reading some of these posts, wow….