Mooneymite

Wow! Impressive. We hate to hear about all the European regulation because we could follow suit in the US if we aren't proactive in keeping the bureaucrats at bay. Enjoy your certified panel!

Try fltplan.com. The wind matrix is given for every 50 miles on a direct flt for multiple altitudes. It makes wind optimization easy. Generally the wind info is right-on accurate if you update within an hour, or two of departure. (Click on "Winds aloft Matrix" at the bottom of the flight log page, otherwise the info is limited.)

I've been real happy with my EI FP-5. http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/33954-fuel-flow-panel-installation-m-20c/ They go on sale from time to time. Sun n Fun is coming up. It took me about 8 hours, spread over three days, to install it, but I suspect someone who's done it before can install it a lot faster. Last time I fueled up, the FP-5 said I'd burned 31.1 gallons, but it took 31.2 gallons to fill the tank. It will interface with a Garmin GPS and give you all sorts of fuel burn information. When you buy it, you have to option of buying an "aux" function.....might be some other parameter you want to display.

What? And spoil all the fun of pontificating each and every time? Heresy! Besides, why would anyone read FAQ's when they can post an ever-popular question?

If you buy a $15,500 '62 Mooney and pour a ton of money into it, you will still have a '62 Mooney. There's only so much "book value" you can add to an elderly airplane. I am a big proponent of "buy the airplane you want to end up with". Every used airplane on Barnstormers and Trade a Plane is being sold at a huge discount compared to before the great recession. However, Aircraft Spruce, Mooney AirCraft, Garmin, King, and all the other parts sources still get full retail for the stuff you need to repair/replace/"up-grade". If you just want to do stuff yourself, have a blast, but understand that it's going to cost you more in the long run. Buy a plane that someone else has already poured money into and save yourself a headache and some cash.

Run, Forest, run!

I was going to do that, but the extra 60 kts hardly seemed worth the work.

When I removed my long-wire ADF antenna, I gained over 200 kts. Removing the tie-down rings added another 50 kts. I'm thinking of removing the engine and prop because I think they induce a fair amount of drag. Has anyone else tried this?

Ha! The hardest part about flying is affording it.....which is why he stole planes. Our tax assessor keeps telling me that because I own an airplane I am rich and should pay more than my share of taxes. I keep telling her that because I own an airplane, I'm poor. She continually declines to purchase my plane for what she assesses it at.

Congratulations and welcome aboard! Once you get the plane home to Smithfield, do you have a nice "first cross-country" planned to introduce the plane to family?

Actually, I've been looking for a '74C POH. This site doesn't have it (that I could find). Can you tell me where you found it? I can buy a paper replacement, but not for my serial number.

Yeah, but think how much spare money you'll have now!

Yeah! I hate to speculate on crashes where the black boxes have been recovered...way too much factual information. I far prefer mis-haps like MH370 where my guess is about as good as anyone elses!

On a friend's plane, the vents had been shut off by mud dobbers. No external visible evidence, but a wire passed up though the vents confirmed impacted mud.

I haven't used a TAS computer in years. For my operations I just double my altitude/10000 and add that number to my KIAS. There is actually a more accurate formula/rule of thumb, but for my operations, this is close enough and simple enough even I can do it! :-)

What is not said in this ad is probably more significant than what is described! Three gear up incidents! 91, 92 &95......Gee! I suspect those were the reason for the bottom overhauls. The top overhaul was just due to time on the cylinders. I would consider the engine at core value. The basic airframe looks pretty decent with lots of Laser mods...assuming the belly was properly repaired. The radios are all old, so plan on spending a lot on upgrades. This aircraft would warrant an extensive PPI including a very careful review of the logs.

Use Fltplan.com and file ICAO for either domestic, or international. It takes the guess work out. Very simple. This is not to say there aren't other options, but why bother?

Modify that to read, "Some American kids...." and I'll agree with you. Certainly not all. We still have parents who teach good values/morals to their kids and take their parenting very seriously. God bless them!

Advice here on Mooneyspace is great, but take the time to read/study the POH. Pretty much everything you absolutely must know/do is in there.

I discovered MS long after I bought my plane. In truth, had I been a follower of some of the advice here on MS, I might not have bought this particular plane. There were several things about it that a lot of Mooneyspacers would have condemned: Missing log book. (74-80) Damage history (a gear-up). It's a "dirty wing" model. Electric gear. Now I've had this plane for 17 years and none of these items has been an issue for me. In fact, I love my electric gear and the dirty wing performs about as close to the POH as any Mooney of that era. As a newbie, I probably would have been intimidated by popular opinion on some of these issues and missed what has turned out to be a wonderful, reliable plane. On the other hand, most of the advice on MS is excellent.....just not all of it.

Impressive VSR!

Hmmm. I really don't want to start a long discussion that usually ensues on this subject, but under certain installations/conditions, it may be legal to shoot a GPS approach as long as the individual approach in your database is current even though your entire database is not current. Some installations are quite specific that the entire database must be up to date. Is anyone familiar with an accident attributed to shooting an approach with an out of date database? I can't recall one attributed solely to approach data.

I'm seeing quite a few accident reports where accident aircraft are located by triangulating on the owners' cell phone signal. This is more prevalent near population centers where cell coverage is not a problem. If you fly in remote areas, 406 is the way to go.

True. I don't think Britain does the actual overhauls. They send them out.

Over the years, I've discovered the tricks for the "dripless oil change" on my 'C'. However, cutting open the oil filter and inspecting the filter media is still a mess, even after letting the filter drain for days prior to opening it.