M20F-1968

Regarding the question whether you should have O2 with you, I would say yes. Long flights like this, even with the best of avionics and autopilots can be tiring. The use of O2 above 8,000 or 9,000 feet will help hold off fatigue and will help with night vision. Go onto e-bay and buy a used 2 person system. Get it checked and filled. The cost will be negligible compared to the costs of the rest of the trip, you will feel better after longer legs, and if you want to go higher to avoid weather or rocks you will be able to. John Breda

Last year of the manual gear was 1968. Gear speed = 104 kts. John Breda

Original Cleveland

Are there any preferences regarding Cleveland Brake rotors: 164-02000 Standard steel rotor (for E,F,J) 164-12000 Stainless steel rotor (for E,F,J) I need to change rotors at next annual, and bought 1 164-12000 stainless rotor on e-bay for $80 ($256 usually SkyGeek) I plan on purchased the second rotor by usual means. Any reason not to use the stainless rotors? John Breda

If they are a Garmin dealer, Garmin needs to know of the wrong advice given to you. I expect that Garmin will insure that the matter is corrected to your and their satisfaction. John Breda

I need to update this list. The cowl cheeks have been sold. I have a panel and can post some pics. I do not have cowl plugs. I believe I have interior door handles. I do have the exhaust pipes. I will look for this stuff and get back to this post with current information. You can call me at (617) 877-0025 or e-mail me at john.breda@gmail.com John Breda

John, Check the detail on the O’tow bar... there should be a collapsible extension that fits inside the nose gear... When extended... there is a hole to allow for a lock. A cool way to lock a hand tow bar for the plane.... probably still need a sign... hand tow only! The problem with leaving a tow bar attached is that I use a York gust lock when I park the outside on trips. The picture of the one attached is for a Piper. The Mooney one is very similar but the hooks attach to the rudder vertical tubing so the hooks are horizontal, 90 degrees from what is pictured. In any case, the rudder pedals are locked as are the ailerons and rudder. I do not want anyone attempting to tow the plane when it is locked like this. Provided the plane is left alone, the gust lock works well. FYI: This Piper version is for sale if anyone knows a Piper owner who needs a gust lock.

I agree. I never had a vernier throttle lock-up, but when I rebuilt my plane I made sure I stuck with the friction lock style originally on the vintage Mooney aircraft. One must be able to make small throttle corrections on landing which seem cumbersome with a vernier throttle. On landing, I loosen the friction lock to insure I can make small changes easily. John Breda

Hopefully, we have confused white HDPE for Teflon.... There is no gluing Teflon...without at least some significant surface pretreatment... Corona treatment or sodium bath? If Teflon was actually used... get ready for plan B... things don’t want to stick to that super slippery surface... Best regards, Teflon can be glued but it has to be etched first. I used to buy teflon sheets that had been etched on one side, and use them on woodwind instrument keys in place of cork. I glued it on with contact cement. John Breda

I am making from PVC a pipe with a plug on one with a "Do Not Tow" banner and a small lock on the other. When put into the nose gear the plane cannot be towed. As for the tow bar, I bought an Ovation tow bar. They are twice as long, easier to pull and probably easier to push and fold in the middle. They come with a fuel cup to check for water. From the factory the cup is not firmly attached and usually comes off, but with some ingenuity I was able to fix that. There is a sliding extension that goes completely through the nose gear tube and I put a lynch pin on the end so the bar stays in the nose gear when being used. I can send some pictures when I get to the hangar. John Breda

I cannot comment on the upper latch on the C model because I took the vintage hardware out of my airplane. Took the outer skin off my door, and installed the Ovation harware. I have the flat type outer handle and a clothes-pin type latch on the top that pulls the door into the fuselage. Much better arrangement than the hook on the vintage planes. However, I also installed a fixed pin on the door that holds that part of the door against the fuselage. You and every one else should install it. It is easy to install, but you need to take time fitting the hole it latches into in the door frame so it is tight when closed. Call Dan a Lasar and he can get you that part. John Breda

Can someone post a picture of where this screen lives on the plane? I do not believe I have one. I also have a a 1968 plane that sat from 1968 - 2003 until I took it ll apart. Thus, the AD probably was never complied with and I changed it to a Weldon pump. Just want to make sure I am not missing something. While we are talking about screens. I understand the finger oil screen on the rear of the engine never gets looked at. I am told by some that in order to pull it you need to pull the engine forward. Others say they have gotten it out without loosening the engine at all. What is the real story and doe this screen need to be looked at? John Breda

When I bought my plane it had the S-TEC servos, controlled and turn and bank installed, but the flight computers had been stolen. I purchased a used S-TEC 6-2 from Dallas Air Salvage and sent everything back to S-TEC. They advised me that the servos that were in my plane were too old be to rebuilt. They were able to rebuild the ones I purchased from Dallas Air Salvage. I asked S-TEC to go through everything and make one good system for me. I was one of the last people they were willing to change configurations for without paying a ton of money. The used system I purchased came from a Bonanza. The servos were converted to the Mooney configuration and rebuilt. I have an extra controller and S-Tec turn co-ordinator which were rebuilt at the same time on the shelf. At the time, I spent about $3000 for the used system and $3000 for S-TEC to do the work. You can not touch those prices today or even get the work done at all. This was back in 2004.

If you but a plane with an S-Tec autopilot, you can upgrade and keep your old servos. Just make sure the S-TEC servos you have are compatible and are new enough to be rebuildable. The older ones have motors that are not rebuildable.

Yes, I bought mine on e-bay. The seller (a Dallas A&P mechanic) had been talking to Don Maxwell who had made an offer, but the seller wanted more money. I won the bid, and then negotiated to look at the airplane and do a pre-buy (which was done by Russel Stallings). The plane had been in a hangar in Dallas for 26 years in pieces. I guess it is easier to take apart an airplane that is already mostly apart, and assess its condition, knowing you planned to rebuild everything. John Breda