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John, I also did a BFR and IPC with Bob in early Feb. I needed to get back up to flying speed in a new to me M20F. It was a great experience. Did you all have BBQ at Llano? Hope you enjoy your new J. -Mark

I did a search for any newer posts on this prop and found nada. Does anyone have more recent experience with any of the spinner issues with these props? -Mark

I looked at All American Aircraft (Jimmy Garrison), Strategic Aircraft (Tim Lundquist), and Delta Aviation LLC (Mark Woods). All of them have scaned copies of all the logs books and photo albums of the aircraft. They all seemed willing to get information too me as requested. I as able to build a well documented history on each aircraft I was seriously interested in. Jimmy Garrison ended up having the aeroplane which ended a long search. It was a great experience and the reputation of All American Aircraft stood the test. Both of the other dealers seemed to be honest, but I unfortunately don't have the $$$$$$ to also buy the other two aircraft they had on my list. I, as others here have also mentioned, recommend Jimmy based upon personal experience. I would recommend him as a benchmark and if the dealer you are dealing with is not up to that standard then....... I hope you get a smokin' good deal. -Mark

Immelman, Great write up! It is fun to see what outsiders think about the Great Land, and quite a refreshing look a why those who are here stay after what has been a verrrry long winter. Thanks for the reminder of the reason we put up with winter to make it to summer. Hope to see some other Mooneys up here this summer. Legend holds that a bad winter typically greets a great summer. I hope it holds true in 2012. -Mark

Like everything in aviation it depends. On the maintenance side the Johnson Bar may be a bit less expensive, but the gymnastics to put the gear up and down may make passengers nervous. My wife, sister-in-law, and mother definitely vocalized a preference for the electric gear. Since my wife is a voting member my current aircraft partnership her opinion on the little details is worth a little extra maintenance cost. The knowledge of gear up verses down is the same is more or less the same with the only difference in the mechanism which moves the gear, your arm or an electric motor. On my F like the C, once the little green light is on and the red one is out the gear are equally likely to be down and locked be cause the squat switch changing the lights is the same. A gear could break off and you could still get a down and locked indication depending on exactly where the failure happened, but that is why we buy a slightly over engineered Mooney and not a soda can. Both are an excellent choice for different reasons. -Mark 1967 M20F

I just bought an F formerly owned by Mr. Wilkins. I was having a hard time deciding between the aircraft I bought and the aircraft I want in the future. The biggest factor I settled on was a holistic look at the anticipated cost of ownership. The actual purchase price getting me within 90% of what i need was important, but not close to the whole picture. Paying more for the aircraft is a right decision if you do it for the right reasons. Your mechanic will appreciate any fixer-upper you might get. After 6 months of looking I ended up with a very well maintained aircraft that was fresh off an annual at Maxwell's. I bought the plane sight unseen based off my research on the logs and the reputations of Don Maxwell and Jimmy Garrison. After almost 40 flight hours last week I am a very happy, new to me, Mooney owner. If you don't want to fly to Cali to look at planes I would most definitely recommend a trip to TX. Also remember, the economy doesn't suck in TX, ND, and AK as we have a boat full of black gold. Good luck with your search it can definitely be rewarding on the other-side! Thanks Mr. Wilkins for the torch you carried for a while on 477T. -Mark

231 Flyer, There are several points to consider on this trip. AOPA and the FAA have a couple of good sites with information on the international flight portions. Also check out the Alaska State DOT site for the specific survival gear requirements. The gear listed is minimalist and having spent a couple nights doing Arctic Survival at a balmy -25 I would recommend a little bit more cold weather gear. My new bird is currently sitting in Protland until the weather gets better this spring. I plan to run the inland passage around the same time in an F model.

Great discussion. I am looking at doing my ERAU project on the newly certified electronic ignitions by ElectroAir. There is a very nice section on thier website under Technical Support - Reports where the CAFE test data from their Mooney with electronic ignition was tested. There are some very technical data for several power settings, altitudes, ROP and LOP with several different ignition configurations including dual Bendix mags. -Mark

Does anyone have a recommended Mooney mechanic in Alaska? I am looking to bring a Mooney to Anchorage, but need to see if there are any recommended A&P IAs in the Anchorage Bowl or the Valley.