DrBill

I've read somewhere what the solvent that the pros use. They pump it in and have a sprayer in the tank and it drains out the sump drain, filtered and them pumped back in. They let it go 24 hrs a day for a few days and it gets 90 percent out. Good luck. BILL

Mine are new (2012), 27.4 per side, verified and again with PATIENCE. I think it takes about 20 mins to get the last gal or 2 in it. I have the raised caps (see my galllery). The nice thing is that they have locks. It was all pretty much usable in level flight. Bill

Save your effort for a more satisfying job on the airplane. Get it done ONCE, RIGHT and Professionally. I elected to go bladders when I compared prices and longevity. I actually gained a couple of gallons with the new style caps(pics in my gallery). I expect my bladders to last 20 years. I don't hear that from any re-seal job. The guy in the hangar next to mine has now re-sealed his Grumman 3 times in 5 years. Good luck. Bill

CLT is really great to work with. They have published SLOW TIMES and will work with you to use the runways during the slow times. Just don't use the FBO and you will bypass the landing fee. A great stop is the Aviation Museum where "The Miracle on the Hudson" is on display. You can fly into CLT, ask for taxi to the museum and if you let them know you're coming at least an hour ahead, you park outside the museum and they open the doors to let you in. I believe they charge $10 per person for the day and there is a LOT to see. I was invited there for the 1 year reunion of the incident with the passengers and crew and flew in. Had a great time. A 15 min flight from my airport to CLT. http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/atct/clt/documents/airport_slow_times.pdf Bill

I too bought a Mooney USB Thumb Drive (has logo on it and all the docs in it) direct from MOONEY. Bill

I do 3 approaches and holds every 3 months and it seems to work out real well. I vary the airport to get some different approaches as well as use ILS and GPS to keep up with the skill of setting up the radios. Right now I'm good til the end of July but will go for 3 more after my plane comes out of annual so I'm really good for my OSHKOSH trip. BILL

If you have not read the book "UPON SILVER WINGS" about the Round the World Journey of Carol Ann Garrett in an M20 do so. . I was lucky to have been to a FAAST seminar where she was speaker about preflight, and bought her book. She's done it at least twice now. Some of the legs were really intersting and some of the stops were really close to extortion! http://www.earthrounders.com/cgi/archive/garratt/index.htm Bill

I use the Oximeter that was on sale at Aldi for c $25. Works great. At 11K, my 02 was 83-84, put on oxygen and 15 mins later was 93-94. I use O2 over 9K all the time. BILL

I've looked all over the AirVenture site and NOTAM. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO : A: Park and Camp in the Vintage Camping AREA ? B: Park (mulitple nites) in the Vintage Parking Area ? Thanks BILL

if you have a 406 mhz elt be sure to notify them of your ownership change. call the 800 number they will have to contact the previous owner on record to verify the plane has been sold Bill

That's a great report of Pulse Demand Systems...For the newcomer, here is the definition of Pulse demand systems which are the latest technology and the highest price: From the report page 1 Pulse oxygen systems deliver a pulse or bolus of oxygen during inhalation through a nasal cannula or oro-nasal mask. The design and function of pulse oxygen systems contains elements of continuous flow and diluter demand oxygen delivery systems The old style system, which I use is constant flow From page 3 regarding the current technology: In general aviation aircraft, either continuous flow or diluter demand oxygen systems are generally used to provide supplemental oxygen. In continuous flow systems, the use of a nasal cannula for oxygen delivery is allowed up to altitudes of 18,000 feet MSL, and oro-nasal masks are permitted up to 25,000 ft MSL. You can read more about the flow rates etc on page 3. This is a nice piece of reference material. Thanks to BUMPER for posting the link ! BILL

Speed and Cost of flying must mean a lot to him. BILL

You really need a regulator with 4 ports so that each persons tube is at a constant pressure. With an "E" your flying will not be high enough to require a mask so cannula is the best solution AND OXIMIZER cannula use about 1/4 the O2. You can buy the regulator separately to add to your tank. I would not fly with a system as you describe where you're sharing a single output line unless I was alone and pinched off the mask. I have a 4 port system and 4 oximizer cannula. Each cannula has a valve to reduce the o2 flow and you adjust the valve based upon altitude OR need (I have a pulse Oximeter to monitor blood O2 level). Without the valve, I got about 4 hrs out of a 30 cu ft tank. BILL

How about the latex asphalt sealer ? I've used it on my old garage floor with a squeegee to apply and "smooth" the surface. You can get it in colors. Bill

Cold Start (found somewhere on the web).. works flawless for me and an "F" owner on airport. Throttle and mixture full rich. Electric pump on for 6-7 seconds (NO MORE). Throttle at 1000 rpm position (about 1/4 in in). Mixture at CUTOFF. Start When catches, mixture full rich.... Hot Starts... KEY: Mixture to cutoff with ideling at 1000 rpm and then LEAVE ALL ALONE> Get in , Master -on, DONT TOUCH ANYTHING ELSE Clear and start... When catches advance mixture. Here's a good article I read before purchase: http://www.mooneypilots.com/mapalog/HOT%20STARTS.htm BILL

My mechanics have always been on their own. So in the past I've usually given them either cash ($20 or $50) depending on the job or in the last case, it was a husband and wife team that did my prebuy and annual for 2 years, I always gave them a $50 gift certificate to Olive Garden which I knew they both liked. They have moved on, (he tends his folks farm now in E Tn) but we are still in touch via Facebook. If they were part of a bigger business, I don't think I'd do that. Their shop rate covers all the O/H and then some. BILL

Mine are all identical. Fit great. BILL

I typically rent from Hertz due to deep discount from employer. I ALWAYS do a walk around and anything that is NOT perfect, I take a phone picture. Any dents, deep scratches, I'll go get the agent IF it's not already noted on the rental agreement (usually it is). Only once, in 30 years, have I found a dent not on the RA and had them mark it up and initial. Never had a problem. It's 30 seconds of time well spent. Now, with all my rentals I'm a lifetime "GOLD" member so the light is good and most of the walk around is dry even when raining. BILL

What is the discount and therefore payback quantity ? for $0.10/gal, that's 400 gallons. At 10gl/hr that's 40 hrs. So about 6 months for me. That's IF I bought all my gas at a AirBoss station. Since I should buy some at my local airport to support them, (say half), then I'd never get to 400 gallons. BILL

When I have passengers on board and am about to go through a cloud I announce: "HOLD ON< WE"RE GOING THROUGH" !! Sometimes the hold on is no BS as it is usually bumpy going through. For currency I fly 3 approaches every 3 months w/hold and every flight over 50 mi is filed IFR. I'm sure we'll meet up sometime, perhaps on a PNP flight. BILL

WAY TO GO !! I was at CPK a few months ago on a PNP flight. Real nice airport.. Took the car to a local eatery and had a good time. BILL

Here's my take on price, unless the ad says "FIRM", 10% is given, anything is possible. I made an offer at 84% with explanation (needed to stay below X with prebuy, taxes, etc). With a FIRM ad, I'd say 5% is the most you're going to get. There are some, perhaps many, people who take a low offer as "insulting". I've always been a business man and if I think there is reason to make a low ball offer, e.g on market for a year or more, then to me that's BUSINESS, not personal (e.g. Godfather... "That's busness Sonny") Some people will not make a counter offer if they feel they were "insulted". Another way to look at it, it MAY not hurt to go low but all in all, I made an offer what I could afford and labeled it that way.. He did NOT have to sell to me. BILL

I agree with JimR, use boost pump sparingly. It is probably NOTspecificated for continuous duty (if it's a DUKES) and could be as much as $1000 to replace. Also agree with N601RX so depending on your DA lean as needed. BILL

I purchased mine 2 years ago. Here are the parameters that I found affect price the most. 1: Avionics. 2: General Condition 3; Engine Time 4 Total Time 5: WHat the owner thinks he needs to sell it. Sometimes 5 becomes number 1. My plane was on the market for about 6 months at 10k more than what I paid. He slowly dropped the price and then I made a take it or leave it offer with reasons. He took it. My requirements were quite strict, must be within 2 hrs flight time, and E or F and GPS with Autopilot. Took me about 8 months to find my plane. BILL

I did not take the front seats out.. I moved them full forward. The bottom is as Bob says. The back: Two bolts on each side top. Hard to get to, easy to lose nuts and washers. Have magnet ready. 3 bolts on the bottom of back. One each side with seat belt One in middle with seat belt. As Bob says.. BE CAREFUL when removing seat not to shred your side panels with the brackets that are on the top of the seats. I think it took me 40 mins for each... removal and install and I was NOT in a hurry. (double the time if you are). I took mine loose to take an air compressor to Fl. Then needed the seats in there to give rides after arrival. BILL