201er

What kind of stuff have you had fail on you in your Mooney in flight or on the ground (but not counting just sitting or during preflight)? What is the worst problem you have experienced and the outcome? What can we learn from this?

I'm planning on staying around for the Mooney Lunch Fly In at San Marcos on Saturday October 5th. I'll have my parrots and books for anyone who is interested. Otherwise just check out the extended range, aoa equipped, 201.

Larry, I don't think this is true (but don't have the experience to prove it). You see even with the gear down I have to pull throttle to idle on mid to short final with any hope of actually coming down to the airport. Without the gear down, I'd imagine you'd be forced to go idle to avoid overshooting the airport even sooner. So I don't think the issue is that the warning is too late. If anything it's that the overwhelmed/shocked pilot has tunnel vision and cannot see/hear things going on and tunes out the warning. What's interesting about this poll is that checklists seem to be the least effective measure at preventing gear ups. When a pilot is in a situation to forget to put the gear down, he's even more so in a situation to forget to do the checklist! So a gear warning or a buddy do seem to be the more likely saviors. What is scary is that 10% have had a gear up and that 45% have at some point forgotten to put the gear down but something helped them eventually remember. Odds definitely stacked against you in the long term.

If it makes you feel any better, I keep getting problems with mine too. Finally had it fixed after spending a ton overhauling the trim motor and having switches replaced. It's a wild goose chase.

Well with your new Pilatus, I would think you'd have no reason to chicken out of another race.

Bring it on

11AM Sunday, Blairstown, NJ - 1N7 for lunch. See ya local pilots there. I may rent a cub and give a ride to anyone who's never experienced flying with the door open and the wheels on the right way

For the "those who have" category, I have a good question for you. Do you feel that now that you have, that you are more likely, less likely, or the same chance of forgetting again? I know it feels like a lesson learned and that you can never forget from that, but given that most gear ups aren't from just forgetting but some kind of strange circumstance, do you feel that under another strange circumstance you are just as likely to run through the same?

I wonder how many of you have had a close call and what saved the day? What is the most effective thing at saving you from forgetting? The thought and shame of it? Someone who flies with you with a watchful eye? Or have your checklists/warnings made you realize that you are good at not forgetting in the first place?

More like an M20F is a wannabe J!

Thanks for the offer. I will in fact be going by Memphis but I won't be stopping for another 4 hours.

Do we need a poll of when you guys like to crack open your stash in flight?

How about uncoordinated + turbulence? How many drops of water does it take going through the fuel line itself to stop the engine? Or will the windmilling prop force it to clear itself out when fuel delivery resumes?

Apparently IOS7 isn't making people feel better. More like sick rather: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/09/27/is-apple-ios-7-actually-sickening-users/?intcmp=obnetwork

Cool, thanks for letting me know. Unfortunately, mine's too new to be considered vintage

Hey folks, I'm gonna be taking advantage of the free (or near free) gas at San Marcos so I'll be flying my birds out to Texas in early October for some book signing events. For those of you who have parrots, wish you did, or just like things that fly, come see us in Dallas or Fort Worth on Oct 12/13. Also expect to be passing through San Marcos and San Antonio around the 5th of October. Exact dates still being ironed out but will post soon. Might be fun to meet up a little with some of our far out Mooney buddies. Will be in Phoenix as well and possibly Las Vegas and San Diego. If you're in the area and might wanna meet up or come to an event let me know. Performance schedule being updated here.

You wanna know how I know my Mooney's a she?

NEVER let that make you get complacent. I've never had water in my Mooney until I did! Luckily I had learned to be diligent checking for water in Cessnas and continued the practice. Just one day one of my O rings was shot and after a rain storm got a ton of water. It was at night. I sumped a sample and it all looked uniform (usually when a little water you see the bubbles so I'm looking for variation). Under my red head lamp I couldn't assess the color but I sniffed it as I was taught. It didn't smell pungent enough so I began to doubt. I shot my white light on it and it was looking more clear but still can't tell easily at night. So I sumped another tank for comparison and the new stuff immediately floated and demonstrated the color difference between gas and water. I continued to sump about 6 cups out of the tank till I hit gas gain. Got the ring changed on the cap and all was fine. You won't know your rings are bad until you find a cup of water!

That's expensive. I'd only consider it if my insurance offered to cut premiums in half by having one.

Wait a sec, it's not April 1!

That is where that diet topic really comes into play!

Anyone ever contemplated what it costs to move stuff with your Mooney? What I mean is, if you are traveling some place and have a lot to bring, is it cheaper to ship it ahead rather than fly with it? Anyone ever looked into this and ended up shipping stuff that they could have taken on board? So given you're within weight and balance, how much extra fuel do you have to burn per extra pound you carry?

How much weight and drag savings are the following? DME Marker Beacon Antenna Step Electric Trim

I don't think this is so. While the FF will define your HP (at least in theory), it will not define how far from peak your EGTs are. As altitude and possibly other factors change, as well as rpm/mp combination, the same FF can be putting you at peak vs 100LOP in different conditions. Target LOP EGT ensures detonation margin, cooling, and best power to economy ratio. Who can explain this better?

Might be a nice thought, but what good is it if pilots aren't informed of where and when they are?