Mooneymite

I add 95% water to my avgas. The fuel economy is incredible. I'm on the same tank of gas for the last 13 years.....since the airplane won't start!

. Living in a fly-in community, my handheld gets a fair amount of use.....on the ground. On the occassion when I tried it from the Mooney cockpit, I was disappointed with the very limited transmission range. If you're serious about a hand-held for back-up comm in flight, consider an external antenna splitter. I don't have one, but I should! .

This is exactly what I thought about on the two occasions that I intentionally ran my tanks dry...."What if the selector won't move when the engine stumbles?" Landing off-airport with plenty of fuel in one tank hardly seemed like adequate compensation!

Amen, Brother! Amen.

I've run my left and right tanks dry once each at altitude to verify the gauge does, in fact, read empty. Engine stumbled, switched tanks, engine smoothed out...non-event. I do not subscribe to the idea that this is a routine way to manage fuel.

Whenever this discussion comes up, someone usually points out that the Navy starts newbies out in fairly complex aircraft. Since the Navy is interested in the most efficient way to go from zero to "fleet ready", there must be something to it. However, it may not be the cheapest way to go unless you have Navair's budget. http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.displayPlatform&key=1F548950-1B70-4720-B526-C81619FA087A .

Actually flying the approach is a function of currency and proficiency. When I started this thread, I was asking about filing minimums. Hopefully everyone who files IFR can successfully fly an approach. .

Yay!

No. You are not crazy. Buying a plane to learn in isn't all that unusual. I know several people who did exactly that. However, not all student pilots are created equal. If I have a suggestion, it would be to find out what your instructor thinks. If he thinks you have innate, natural ability as a pilot, will learn quickly and not be over-whelmed by the features of a Mooney, then let him make the recommendation. Otherwise, you're chosing a tougher route. I would agree with those that point out the disadvantage of making student-type mistakes in your own plane. The advantage is you won't have to transition to a Mooney later,.

Nah....that light is always a red one.

Any damage to your nerves?

Someone who has neither the will, nor the means to purchase, but likes to waste your time to weave a day-dream.

This just popped up on Barnstormers. I called the gentleman...he sounds like a really nice older fellow who just wants out of his plane. He said he'd consider offers down to $22,500! If I were looking for a C, this would go to the top of my list at that price. It had a gear-up back in '88 and the comm radios both went out at the same time, so there's possibly some "common" element that needs work. It's a '69, the paint is great, the interior is okay....and it's got bladders! Put a $10,000 Garmin GPS/Comm in it and get on down the road. If you're looking for a C model, look at this from Barnstormers.com: MOONEY M20 • AVAILABLE FOR SALE • 3,300 TT, 1,350 SMOH, elect gear/flaps, bladders. Damage history. Out of annual. Needs radio service. Stored since 2011. 23 hours since annual. Portable radio and GPS included to fly it home. Sold as is, where is. Located X-61-Zellwood Fl. Make an offer. Gordon 407-252-6294 • Contact Gordon A. Cauley, Owner - located Tangerine, FL USA • Telephone: 407-252-6294 .

FWIW, I looked into various "screw kits" from Spruce, but decided I was going to get a lot of what I didn't need and too little of what I did need. I guess if you're committed to replacing all the hardware at once, it may be a good deal, but I ended up just ordering what I needed. When I compared, there didn't seem to be a significant saving with the kits.

Personal minimums for filing IFR is not as simple as it sounds. I agree with Marauder. Single engine IFR and night ops are pushing the safety net pretty hard. Add 'single-pilot' and the net is pushed even harder. As we all know, under part 91 one can takeoff with weather as low as zero-zero, or you can be smart and wait for VFR....I like to think somewhere in between there are take-off numbers that mitigate risk to an acceptable level. Presently I use 500' ceiling and 1 mile, but the availability of a "good" takeoff alternate is also a consideration. I once took off from our grass field in worse conditions, but it was patchy ground fog with VFR all around. As far as destination weather for filing, I look for general weather patterns. If my specific destination isn't too good, but the surrounding area has plenty of options, I might file to as low as published + 200'/+ 1/4 mile add-ons. If the whole area is LIFR, I'll probably wait until the weather improves. Enroute, I like to see ceilings generally 500', or higher. That will provide "some" time to pick the site of the accident should the engine fail, or I have an inflight fire. These are my "filing minimums". Once in flight I deal with reality. In one case, I boldly struck off for the east coast based on conditions improving to VFR at arrival time, but when I got there, the whole coast was at, or below minimums. So much for "personal filing minimums"! Comments?

When I file IFR, I use minimums somewhat above the published minimums for take-off, approach and enroute weather based on the fact I have only the stock PC and my IFR equipment is rather basic. I was wondering what others use as their "Personal Minimums" and how they came to those numbers. In reality, my numbers are somewhat arbitrary and un-scientific. In my case, I actually have two sets of numbers, one set for myself (solo) and another set for flights where I carry passengers. For you guys who fly IFR, what do you use? Why? Thanks for helping me evaluate "my minimums".

After several attempts at buying aircraft "away" from home, I now give about a $3000-$4000 advantage to aircraft that are close to home. I'm lucky to have a lot of aircraft to choose from in the SE. I gave up on a bi-plane in TX that was just what I wanted because it was so remote, it was a full day, each way just to inspect the thing.

If the radio calls from the big flight school students in FL and AZ are any indications, we have no domestic flight students...only foreign! Some of the radio transmissions are completely unintelligible to me, but it's obvious the controllers have a lot of experience deciphering the jibberish. I don't think this has anything to do with third class medicals unless they incorporate a basic English test. Instead of D E F P O T E C, perhaps the eye chart should incorporate "See spot run"?

When the engine fired up after being submerged, I couldn't believe this wasn't a spoof. Nope. That's just what happened.

One of the things I always look for is hangar-history. If you can find one that has been hangared its whole life, it is usually a better airplane for two reasons: it's been out of the weather, and secondly, it shows owner pride/care. I also always consider the owner. The airplane will be a reflection of his personna.

You're doing the right thing by being picky about details. The "right plane" is out there, but you have to find it. Kind of like looking for a wife; the time for fault-finding is BEFORE the wedding!

I feel your pain. Countless hours and dollars have been wasted travelling to see mis-represented aircraft. However, after about the fourth trip, I began to understand the questions that need to be answered and the documentation that must be provided BEFORE buying that airline ticket! Good luck. Education aint cheap.

And there's the rub. We can all see why "some" should and "some" shouldn't, but everyone has a different reason and draws a different line. If a rule were to be made to drop the physical exam requirement, it should be for pilots of aircraft requiring two qualified pilots. What's the chance of two medically incapacitaed pilots? Whereas single pilot cockpits have no backup. For ease of administration, "All pilots", or do away with them completely.

Caution. Thread creep. Speaking of Bader, this one of my favorite videos of that airport: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIPvs_sJMXM I understand the aircraft was salvaged and the pilot still has his license, but I'm not sure about either fact.

Well the 737 is very simple to fly. This would have never worked for a Mooney. Too much confusion about when to use flaps for takeoff and LOP operations require a degree in rocket science. :-)