FloridaMan

+1 on Bruce Jaeger. He knew my airplane for 20+ years and the owner for longer than that.

I'm going to guess that a $15k factory overhaul was not had recently.

Be patient. I know that's tough at 17; it was tough for me at 30. I would also call MSCs -- Don Maxwell, LASAR, All American, Willmar and tell them what you're looking for. Mine never made it be listed when I found it. I don't think the owner wanted the hassle of people calling and kicking tires.

My opinion is that you should be able to find a 1967-70 M20F with a GNS430, six pack panel and a mid-time engine for around $40,000. Here's an example: http://www.lasar.com/w/id/236/new-plane-details.asp ; Newer plane, some damage history, GPS -- the price seems about what you'd expect for someone who is seriously interested in selling. I think a lot of listings out there are from people who don't want to sell their airplanes. Either their wives are putting them up to it, or it may be for tax purposes to claim that they're in the business of selling aircraft to save taxes, et cetera.

I had a magneto coil fail once. The mag would fail intermittently. I'd switch mags during the RPM drop and see if the engine tries to quit on you. I've heard of "morning sickness" being a symptom of failing valves, but what you're describing doesn't match the description I've heard.

When it comes to major decisions like purchasing an airplane, especially as a new owner, never be afraid to walk away. My airplane had 1300, around 18 years SMOH and 20+ years of MSC maintenance. It flew between 50 and 100 hours a year and was clearly very well maintained. I am now 1900 SMOH and still going strong. At the time I purchased it, I was going through the process of buying a $40k M20F with a GNS430W that got sold out from under me. Mine showed up and was significantly more and I couldn't turn it down. Ironically, the M20F that I missed out on didn't sell because the buyer couldn't secure financing. I am partial to the 67F. They made a ton of them that year; they have the ultra-reliable mechanical gear; and their age is reflected in the price. Also, as far as life expectancy; I am 20 years and 1900 SMOH now and the engine is still going strong. I'm of the opinion that an engine with several hundred hours that is regularly flown and has consistent oil changes is a safer bet than a low time engine that sat or a "0" time engine with no warranty.

Higher by how much? That should probably have been readable in the accident airplane. The 30kts over the ground is something of a concern as well. The winds aloft I believe were 60+kts at 6000ft and the winds at the surface were 19G23, which means that there was a 40kt gradient. Stall speed was likely between 50 and 60kts, given that they were light on fuel. I'm thinking there may have been significant wind shear that he might not have carried enough speed for and that, in this case, flying the localizer slowly in the "washing machine" may have contributed to being knocked off course alongwith significant vibration of the instruments. Old needles in turbulence might've been unstable. Factor in a gust or drop in winds that could have facilitated a stall and that makes for a situation none of us would have wanted to find ourselves in. The what-ifs in my head include wondering whether if it would be best to haul ass down the localizer for directional stability until you had the runway in sight and then chopping power. This is something I've been meaning to practice on ILS approaches.

It's 65$ for the radiotelephone (RR) and 165 for the "AC" one; does that sound right?

Ok; this made it easy: http://www.nestflighttraining.com/#!how-to-obtian-fcc-license/c1b7y

Doesn't the airplane need its own "radio station" certificate as well?

I guess if I'm going to be flying out of the country that I need to update my airplane's radio station and get my own operator's license. How does one go about this? The FCC site seems like it has pages of information that has to be sorted through.

I had the same problem. My solution was to take a 1/2x1/2 inch piece of foam insulation glued to the inside of the top of the cowling with red RTV.

The gauge When I bought the plane, it read at the top of the green. About a year and a half later it started to creep past the red.

The reason I asked is if it is the factory gauge is that when mine failed, the indicated fuel pressure started to creep up until it exceeded the redline eventually and would indicate in the middle of the green with the engine off.

Is it the factory fuel pressure gauge? Does it read the same with the boost pump on and off? If it is the factory gauge, what does it read with the engine off?

That looks more like the view from the cabin of a Gulfstream.

Also, this is for the IO360 people, I've heard it said that on the 4 cylinder injected lycomings that it's "always* the #3 injector that gets clogged. The mechanic that told me this theorized that maybe it was how the fuel circulates in the spider and that it's #3 that gets the debris. Can anyone confirm this? And is there a similar pattern on the 6 cylinder engines?

I should add a footer to my account with a standard disclaimer that I am a rank amateur and don't take my word for anything, but... And this may not be the issue with your own engine, it's still something that I'm cautious about. I've been told it's generally a bad idea to run the engine for very long with the cowling off. Think of it like pouring water through a comb. There is less resistance for the water to go around the teeth and not through them. While you may attribute this to surface tension, the analogy still stands with engine cooling. The area above your cylinders with the cowling on is at a much higher pressure than the area below and the air is forced through the cooling fins. Just the same as how the fan on the radiator in your car has to turn on to force air through it, the airflow from the propellor is not adequately channeled through the cylinder fins without the cowling.

One thing to be careful of is after you land and the rollout. Make sure you don't get lazy with your aileron input after touchdown and crosswind taxi. I have around 600 hours in my Mooney; a couple weeks ago I landed on a gusty night and on roll-out it was like it rolled up onto the nose and one of the main wheels. and started towards the side of the runway. Fortunately it was a 150ft wide runway and I recovered, but I have never experienced anything like that. I remember thinking that if I had been in a taildragger, I believed I would've ground-looped it before I knew what happened.

What did that cost you? I have the LoPresti cowling on my M20F with the Hartzell Prop and am nearly certain that we have the same spinner bulkhead. I've seen this issue arise a handful of times. The Hartzell replacement kit is 2400$ and includes a spinner as well. Make sure that spinner is on tight.

From what I've heard from mechanics and other pilots, a used or remanufactured cylinder from anything other than my own engine is a chance that I would not take to save $1000. I'm not sure of the compatibility, but one example was the cylinder that had 5000 hours on it through abusive management of a turbocharged engine. You simply don't know.

People said the iPad would fail too and had similar thoughts about the iPhone when it was first released. I think it's a version 1. The iPhone didn't really become something that I wanted/needed until the iPhone 4. I can see all sorts of people having use for the watch, such as people who can't easily access their phone during work or class. People spend money on shit they don't need all the time. And, for Apple, I don't think the manufacturing, R&D and marketing costs impact their bottom line all that much. If the product ultimately and absolutely fails in the market place, it's not like the company bet the farm on it.

Steam panel? EI and Aerospace logic make aftermarket gauges. Granted, my plane is a lot older than yours, but I replaced all of my engine instruments with a JPI EDM-900 with one of the motivating factors being sourcing a replacement sensor or gauge.

Mine does that sometimes too. Sometimes it sounds like it struggles a little, but it's always done that.

This shit is awesome: http://www.amazon.com/Aviation-Laborarories-Clear-Promo-AVL-CV-PROMO/dp/B005G5RB1U/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_0_0 Works great on the windows too.