pjsny78

Quote: rbridges Was it a bunch of stuff that the previous owner let slide? I don't see why a mooney would be so much extra to maintain. Maybe a few hours extra labor here and there. My IA complained about how tight it was by the firewall when changing the engine mounts. He had to remove a few extra things to gain access to them.

I can only speak on my own personal short lived experience on owning a Mooney. I think the myth of high maintenance costs on a Mooney is confirmed. This is not the most mechanic friendly machine. If I knew how much money I would have paid and continue to pay on maintenance, I would never have bought my Mooney. At the same time it is a love/hate affliction. I do not want to fly anything else as far as single engines go. I have heard that cirrus’s may be the worst culprits as far as maintenance go.

NICE!!! sure beats my accord and i keep it next to my Tie Down spot. im Jealous...

Quote: donshapansky My Avionics Shop absoltuely hates the open face vertical compass, he showed me a box of them all with a hammer put to them so no one would be tempted. He insisted on the SIRS compass and after 800 hrs and countless high altitude forays I have to say it is the most stable compass I have ever been around. Several pilots have also commented as they watched it perform in turbulence. I just looked up the compass you mentioned and WOW! I am really impressed with it. I have never heard of this compass before but it looks like a very high quality piece. I also like the fact that it is cheaper than this P.O.S. Vertical Card compass I have. I completely agree with your avionics shop, as I stated previously I downgraded compasses when I purchased my plane back in June because I did not like looking at a leaking ball in the middle of the windscreen. What a mistake. Your compass really does look great.

i had the same problem with my "J". you may have a different auto pilot than myne (KFC 150) but what i did to fix the problem is simply pull out the autopilot cpu and plug it back in. fixed the problem permanently. this was reccomended by my avionics shop.

I don’t know the exact composition of the plastic, but I can tell you with age and UV Exposure the plastic will break down and become yellowish and brittle. Plane plastics makes a plastic that is thicker and adds a UV protectant in their plastics to hold up over time better than the original. I just went to their facilities last week and got a tour and it’s kind of interesting. I can tell you that plane plastics ships globally and I honestly do not know about the import/export process but they do make a fantastic product.

Plane Plastics has the best new plastics you are going to get. If they don’t have your piece in stock they can make it from your molds at no additional cost. They are thicker and better than the original plastics. I cannot recommend them do the install though. I just went there last week to have my plastic reconditioned and the plane looks worse after than before. However if you are looking for new plastics you can’t beat them for that. As far as leather yokes go try aero comfort in TX. They are the best in the business. Their price as of last month was $500 for both yokes and could go up to $600 if you want some options such as a logo or something but they are easy to talk to. You can mail them your yoke and they will mail them back to you. I am thinking of going with them for my yokes as well.

Quote: dmc Thanks guys, I guess the real question I have is, can I buy a decent F for $50k or less and hopefully go 500 hrs or more without having to put 10k-20k more into it to be a safe flyier. $40k to $50k seams to be at the low end and I was wondering if at that range most expect to be putting some additional money into the plane. And I'm trying not to get into to big of a hurry I cannot comment on the F model. But I bought a J Model in June. I have put on more than 300hrs since then and I have spent close to $25k in repairs after getting a clean bill of health when I purchased it. This was my first plane and never anticipated repair costs to be like this. It kind of feels like I am building another plane.

In my "J" I have a DAC GDC-31 GPSS Sterring unit installed. it works great, and will work with your standard instruments. i just push a button and can go from GPS to HDG mode. i love it.....

When I bought my plane in June I immediately tossed the wet compass for a vertical card. I have had nothing but problems with it since. It can’t go more than 2 weeks until it needs to be adjusted. It also has no cover on the bottom so there are exposed gears that I think could cause a problem. What a P.O.S!! I wish I had the old ugly wet compass back.

Quote: colojo I just applied for mine for an upcoming trip to Mexico. Expensive little bugger... $160. But it's good for life. Here's the link to the appropriate FCC page to obtain one online: http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/index.htm?job=home You'll also need a U.S. Customs decal for your plane ($27.50 per year) and an eAPIS account to notify Homeland Security when you'll be crossing the border both outbound and inbound. There are links to all these sites on the Caribbean Sky Tours website: http://www.caribbeanskytours.com/links.html Timely question... I just went through all these applications this morning.

I have a bit over 300 since June.

You need it for intl operations. I make some intl trips and I am required to have it. It is good for life (or at least it is now). You You also have to have your airplane issued a certificate as well. this is good for I think 20yrs. And I have never been asked to show either document ever. Hope this helps.

Quote: laytonl I recommend pulling the sidewall carpet back at the edge of the rear seats and checking for leaks around the fuel sender. Could be a leaking sender, a hose, or a fuel tank leak in that area. Lee

I just Got a silicone gasket that is good forever. No leaks since. It's a great product and not very expensive.

I fly alot and just started noticing an intermittent fuel smell in the cabin. I just had a few inspection panels resealed but I don't think that would cause something getting in the cockpit. Has anyone had this problem or know what may be wrong?

My airport kfrg rents a glass cockpit J for $200hr. The name is air east. But I will have my airplane back from painting nxt month. I'd be happy to show it to u.

be prepared to change the engine.

I was originally going to go to don Maxwell’s but there were some areas of severe weather along that route Monday. I decided to get my tanks sealed in Willmar and I am glad I did. Paul at weep no more is a great guy and did a fantastic job on my tanks. Also it cost the same to do 3 inspection panels that I paid a MSC to do 1. Im very happy. I am now stuck in ALVA, OK for the last 2 days getting some work done on my interior plastics from the folks at Plane Plastics. So far so good. I hope to be in Albuquerque tonight and then to Sin City for the weekend.

I'm on my way from NY to Artcraft in CA. Making a few stops along the way for maintainace. Should be there by sat or mon. Depending on how long I succumb to the temptations of Vegas.

Redskins...Ouch!!!

Quote: hobbies001 Hi guys. Just joined the site last night while looking for some flap switch info. My flaps went dead in flight in the up position the other day. Test light, 2 hrs. , a good mech, and we had it figured out. Switch in cockpit, 2 relay switches in belly next to flap motor, and a few limiting switches on moving parts. One of my relays were bad, googled #... 4$ online w/3$ shipping. (most places were 20$ tho) I do not have the part # for the limiting switches with me, but they are standard industrial switches that I would bet are under 10$. I was going to replace all of them but my mech. recommnded not as they very rarely go bad. So, hopefully be in the air shortly. btw...anyone have a service manual pdf for m20j's? Thanks.

Quote: sreid It sounds like yours might not be working correctly. At least on the R model, and the one J model I fly, it does not turn off completely with nav lights on, but does get very dim. There is a guy who flies out of my home airport, who was new to Mooneys. He took off in the morning, in night conditions, with the nav lights on. Flew about six or seven hundred miles while the sun came up, and had the tower at his destination send out the emergency trucks because the gear down annunciator looked like it was off. It was actually working fine but was very dim and the sun was bright in the cockpit. Steve

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I have a 28v ship. after some research, I use my ipad with a charger I got from bestbuy. its only one of a few that will work. I have used it for several hundred hours in my plane and not 1 problem. you are going to need a cord however. i purchased an extra standard length apple cord and roll it up on the yoke when not in use. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Belkin+-+2.1+Amp+Micro+Charger+for+Apple%26%23174%3B+iPad%26%23153%3B%2C+iPhone%26%23174%3B+and+iPod%26%23174%3B/1232905.p?id=1218239487283&skuId=1232905&st=ipad car charger&cp=1&lp=1