Mooneymite

On my '74 C, the plenum drain tube is at the end of the overhead panel just above the back seat.

'74 C......Just under 2 seconds to extend? 20220317_102006.mp4

Here's a picture of the flap drive on a '74 C. I don't have a picture of a hydrualic flap mechanism, but if someone else does maybe we could compare the two? It does not appear that the electric flap drive touches the aft spar at all. It is mounted on a heafty fuselage bulkhead and links directly to the flaps.

Depends on what time you want to record. Master switch "on" time. Engine oil pressure time. Weight on the wheels time. Airspeed above 40/50/60 knots. For engine time, I think only flight time counts toward TBO on our engines, so while oil pressure tells you how long the engine has run, it may not be an accurate record of flight time. The Garmin 430/530 (and I suspect other GPSs as well) will record time when ground speed is above 40 KTS, so that would be a good indicator of flight time, as well. Lots of choices.

When Mooney went to the electric flaps, it changed the flap mechanism. The old hydraulic actuator was attached to the aft spar, so if/when the flaps were stressed, the aft spar could crack....something to always have checked on a PPI on a Mooney. On hot days, Mooney CHTs were hard to keep in the green, so Mooney changed the engine baffling design. The cylinders are encased in a "box" to direct cooling air better to where it was needed. If the doghouse is kept in good repair, it works great which was probably the reason Mooney switched to fixed, rather than adjustable cowl flaps. However, many dog houses have deteriorated and do not do the job they were designed to do. My C has the doghouse and even climbing out on a hot day in Atlanta CHT stays in the green. A subsequent engine cowling design did away with the doghouse. There were just a few years that incorporated them. There are several threads on Mooneyspace dealing with these two issues.

In the manual versus electric gear discussion we should also mention that from about 1969, Mooney changed more than just the gear retract mechanism. Years prior to the electric gear had the shotgun instrument panels, hydraulic flaps that were prone to crack aft spars, lower yellow arcs, baffles...not a doghouse (for a few years) amongst other differences. The POH was also improved in about 1969. The electric gear was available as an option for a few years, but once all the C's were built with the electric gear as standard, the C was modernized in lots of ways. While some of the improvements (dog house, throttle quadrant) are just about as controversial as the gear, the 1969 and subsequent C's and E's were the precursors of the 201. Mooney never looked back. So...it's not just about the gear. Pilots of the more modern C's were also younger and better looking than the troglodyte manual-gear guys.

...on 2 gph.

Mmmmm. I dunno. I think Frank Robinson may have a better scam on his life-limited helicopters!

I used to feel pretty smug on threads about hangar rental costs because I live with my plane in a fly-in community, but recently the costs of building a hangar have gone way up! A hangar that cost $50k to build 20 years ago is over $100K today....if you can get the local building inspector to approve it! The cost of building materials is up, but the cost of complying with all the regs is WAAAY up. People who are trying to build hangars in my community are not having fun.

Yeah, baby! Electric gear and a throttle quadrant.....just like a real airplane.

Hey! Wait just a minute. I thought it was a rule on Mooneyspace that claimed speeds NEVER had to be verified, nor would they be questioned. We are "brothers-in-truth. Everyone knows that speed claims are always understated on Mooneyspace. And yes, my C easily goes 200 knots climbing on a hot day.

Check all the SB's, not just the AD's. Here's an ever-popular repetitive inspection.... https://www.mooney.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/SBM20-208B.pdf

Nice!

Rusty ashtrays? Now there's a deal breaker for sure! Little things can sometimes tell big stories.....

I'm glad to hear it's "someone else". I still hope you and your beer drinking dog will move down here! I guess the insurance man may show both of us the way to give up those views soon enough with those horrific rate increases. My broker told me I have about one more year...maybe two of insurability of a retract on grass.

Ah.....nope. "If it isn't nice, don't say it", does not = "Be nice at all costs". Not at all... as anyone who ever knew my mother could tell you. My mother could tell you to go to hell and you'd look forward to the trip. I wish I had her ability.

Chris....? How well do you know this guy who is thinking of selling his F? I hope it's not you! (However, it would be a lucky buyer.) Gus

I agree with this! I'll take a high hour older airplane that has been hangared all it's life over a low time newer airframe that has been a ramp rat all its life. I don't know if a formula has ever been figured out, but I'm guessing 1 year tied down on the ramp near the ocean = 10 years in a nice, dry hangar. Maybe that's conservative? How does one verify hangar history of an aircraft? That's the tough part.

Absolutely! Find the Mooney you like and either gear system is fine. My C has the electric gear, I originally wanted the manual, but bought the C because it had everything else I wanted and "accepted" the electric gear. Flash forward 23 years: my bursitis now is extremely grateful for the electric gear and other than the AD (which is really just routine maintenance), the gear has been completely trouble free. There is probably a reason that Mooney moved away from the manual gear.

Atlanta is a big place. Lots of Mooney drivers around. I'm on the south side of KATL, where are you?

Ha! Since I own one of these gems, I agree with you. I used the term "lowly" to bring attention to the $80K for an early model Mooney. However, "lowly" is in the eyes of the beholder. I suspect that the jet crowd would consider ALL Mooney's "lowly", primitive, or use other derogatory terms. Happily you and I know the C is the top choice for discriminating Mooney buyers. The "lofty J" is just an overpriced, stretched C. Of course, true Mooney lovers would only own a Mite.

My landing gear aural warning was becoming quirky. Occasionally, it wouldn't sound at all, but most of the time it would, but when the throttle was pushed forward, it would take almost full throttle before the horn would stop. Something was not right. My 74 C has electric gear, a throttle quadrant and uses a squat switch, not an airspeed switch in the warning circuitry. There are lots of iterations of the landing gear warning system, but if yours matches mine, I hope you find this of use. To make a long story short, there were simultaneously two issues: 1. The throttle micro switch had gone out of rig. 2. The sonolert was failing. I took some pictures while I had the quadrant apart and found that there is a small access to the micro switch from the left side of the quadrant under the panel material. One does not have to open up the entire quadrant to get to it, but only minor adjustments can be made through the access hole. My aircraft has two sonolerts. On the pilots side is the stall warning horn. On the copilot's side is the gear warning horn. it is a Mallory SC628P. I found new ones on eBay for less than $15. I uploaded the pictures to Mooneyspace at: