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One aborted takeoff story I will share.. Departing from Gastons, Arkansas (3M0), a grass strip. It's a nice grass strip, but more bumpy than concrete or asphalt. Just before rotation speed, I hit a bump, and my seat slid backwards about two notches. I had apparently scooted it up, but failed to make sure it locked in place. Luckily, I could reach the rudder pedals with my toes (although not the brakes) and kept the plane headed straight down the runway. It was plenty wide anyways. I cut the power, scooted my seat back up, and taxi'd back for a safe departure. Ever since then, after I scoot my seat forward, I place my feet firmly on the brakes and shove backwards to make sure the seat is firmly locked in place. I'd encourage you all to do the same. It's never happened again, but could have been bad.

Lake of the Ozarks. Tons of lodging options. Three airports - h21, k15, KAIZ. About 2.5 hours from KDFW at Mooney speeds. Recommend the Lodge of the Four Seasons.

Antares - check your PMs.

You will most likely need to run a quiet title lawsuit on the plane, or better yet, get the seller to do it, since it is his problem. Consult with an aviation attorney near you. Should be a reasonably quick and easy process, since you are correct you are probably well beyond any statute of limitations.

Take a look at Venice - KVNC. Both runways end about 100 yards from the beach. Self-serve AVGas usually under $4.50. Great Mooney Service Center on the field.

Over 10k I start to see a performance decrease. Climb rate drops to 250-300 fpm if you are near gross. Stays around 500 on a cold day with one passenger and half tanks though. I recently did a long cross-country at 12k one way and 11k the other trying to top turnulence. I got about 130 knots true instead of my normal 140-145; however, I got 7.5-8 gph instead of 8.5-9. Economy was about the same. I tried leaning some for the climb but my CHTs shot to 450 very quickly. Ended up full rich. Your mileage may vary, but I would not recommend trying to lean much without a 4-cyl engine monitor and a close eye on the CHTs.

The grizzled old pilot that did my IFR checkride suggested that, for currency, the best thing to do is schedule an instrument proficiency check with a CFII every 6 months. That way, you never have to check back through your logbook to see if you are legally current, and you never go too long between somebody checking to see if you are practically current. I put it on my calendar. It doesn't seem like a bad idea.

Quote: sreid Parker, Jack, What TAS and fuel flow do you get in the 3000 feet range? I really like the 252, but it's not uncommon for me to have to fly trips VFR at low altitude in the winter, stuck below an overcast with icing conditions. Steve About 150 KTAS and 13 GPH at 3,000. Closer to 160 KTAS as you get up to 7,000 or 8,000, with about 12 GPH. The plane really likes to fly high. I haven't flown a J, but easily believe all the other posts I've read that say one will outperform a K below 10,000.

In the 262 (which is a M20k 231 with the engine and various airframe parts of a 252), I usually see: 10,000-12,000 ft, ~75% power (28 MP 2500 RPM) 11.5 GPH, 175 KTAS 14,000-16,000 ft, ~75% power (28 MP 2500 RPM) 11.0 GPH, 185 KTAS I lean to peak TIT, which is the recommendation from ModWorks in the POH supplement for the 252 engine conversion mod. Haven't had it up to the flight levels yet, since I was lacking the instrument rating. Now that I have the rating I'll give that a shot next time I'm headed east.

Got mine two weeks ago. Great training, every pilot should do it, whether they use it intentionally or not.

Quote: M016576 I disagree about the "sterner stuff" comment. I've seen some real steel in my peers both flying around the carrier, and on the ground in the middle east.... It's all a matter of perspective, but I still think its more of a cost issue than anything else... Oh, and video games/high def movies and special FX... They tend to make "fake flying" more "stimulating" than the real thing!! (J/K on that last part!)

I haven't bought a plane yet (I am fortunate enough to have two Mooneys in the family already) but I thought I would share my insight on the young pilot problem. I got my private last year at 25. Almost all of my peers think I am crazy for flying in a small plane, especially one made in 1968. I have explained that they get annual inspections, unlike a car, and that we maintain the planes to the highest standards, but they just dont seem to get it. I've had several turn down a free scenic ride out of fear. My honest opinion is that my generation isnt made of as tough of material as the older folks, generally speaking. I'm pretty disappointed in us.

I flew into Gaston's last fall in the C model. The runway was in good condition. The above posts are good cautions, but no need to be afraid to fly in there. They land to the west, take off to the east due to terrain. After takeoff, make a right-hand crosswind and follow the river as you climb. If you turn left, you have to climb at a stiff rate to top a mountain ridge. The fatalities there, from what I've heard, are from pilots who didn't quite make it over the ridge. It's not "roughing it" by any means, but very cool cabins on the river and a very nice restaruant next to the runway. Very popular Saturday/Sunday brunch buffet for pilots.

In IE, try running the page in compatibility mode. That has resolved some, but not quite all of my issues. Still have to refresh sometimes to get rid of strange text displays.

Quote: 201er I've been thinking about one of those charger things! However, my cigarette lighter port doesn't put out current unless the master is on. I think it's a good guess that it wouldn't recharge without leaving the master on (which I'm not going to do)? Is there any easy way to bypass the master for this kind of setup?

We use a solar panel battery trickle charger in our boat that plugs into the cigarette lighter. It actually puts out quite a bit of juice. You can buy them at reasonable prices at any marine store these days. Might be a good way to keep your battery topped at a field with no electrical, and to charge it for this flight. Put it in the sun inside the plane and it would even charge while you fly. Great for running the boat radio with the engine off in a cove. Put me in the gear down camp. No reason to risk the plane and your own safety to save a few bucks on gas.

Florida Flight Training Center at Venice, Florida (KVNC) has a C model available for rent. Last I checked it was somewhere around $150/hour wet. Manual gear and flaps, for the full experience.

That's 2400-2500 RPM, WOT, 7k-9k feet, in a carbeurated C model, like the other posts have been talking about flying. Can't get this to show in the post above for some reason.

Quote: Shadrach

1500 EGT gives me about 380 on the cylinder temps and I believe is closer to max economy than the numbers described by Iahso. At those same MP/RPM settings that will do around 9 GPH instead of his 10. Either setting works just fine, his probably gives a little more power but less economy. If you don't have a full EDM to show the cylinder temps you may want to stick with the richer setting, to make sure you arent cruising around at 400+ dF on the cylinders.

Highly recommend you not fly 100nm at 1000-1500 agl under a cloud deck, if that is what you are describing. That kind of scud running is a great way to get a close-up view of a cell tower or hillside. Also, if the ceiling drops 500ft you may find yourself trapped with nowhere to go, or in IMC without the rating. If that's the weather, best to wait for another day. Your engine will do fine. Probably will have to reduce MP to stay out of the yellow arc of your airspeed indicator.

I flew into Pagosa Springs (KPSO) about a month ago for skiing at Wolf Creek. Flew over Taos on the way in. Taos is down in a big, open valley and easy to get to. Pagosa, not so much. You'll want to fly up the river valley from the south. This takes you between peaks of 10k-11k while descending to the airport at 7.6k. On approach to the airport, you're flying directly at some 14k peaks. Runway 19 is the preferred there for both takeoffs and landings. I'll just tell you from my experience - the river valley to PSO looks wider on the sectional than it does from the cockpit. Use caution. I would not fly there on a windy day, but YMMV. All that being said, the skiing was fantastic, the most powder I've ever seen in late November. The town was not memorable, and I'll second that the hot springs seemed less than impressive. However, I had a good experience at the FBO. They filled up my tires for free after the plane's first trip to a cold location for the year. They do not offer engine pre-heat, which I found surprising, so be ready for that. They did offer a jump cart for $30 or so after I ran my battery down trying to start the plane at 25 d/F. Have a good trip and be safe. I'd strongly recommend waiting for a severe clear, low wind day to head up to Durango or Pagosa.

Same with mine, down to 0 degrees F. Check your fresh air vents - especially the overhead.

In my experience, the C model is a great plane for flights with one passenger. Two adult passengers is not bad - the one in the back seat can sit "side-saddle" and has adequate leg room. It works perfect for me, my wife, and our one small child. Four big adults makes for an uncomfortable ride for everyone involved - even the front passengers are crammed up next to the dash. You also can't carry more than a couple hours of fuel with reserve, but then again, everybody will be more than ready to get out after 2 hours. Useful load on mine is 950lbs, and unless you're packing in 4 big adults, you won't have any trouble staying under. The other non-Mooney models people list are fine alternatives, but you will be going slower or burning more GPH. You can find very nicely equipped C models right now in the $40-50k range. Best of luck with the PPL. Zane, N6811N, 1968 M20C Ranger

Fair enough - just thought I'd throw it in for discussion. Edited it out. To be clear, I don't think there's anything wrong with the plane inquired about, other than the asking price. Not sure that's "negative campaigning." There are plenty of nicer equipped planes out there with a lower asking price, IMHO, not just mine. Happy shopping.