M20F-1968

I am confused by your comment: It’s more than just a hex bolt. It’s actually a pin with a slot, a hex nut and cotter key with a couple washers that need to be installed in the right order to not allow slippage and smooth operation in flight. I have the same Scott dual regulator assembly (removed from a 1998 Ovation). When I last had mine overhauled, we changed the slotted screw to an AN machine screw and used the same binder nut. We did this to allow a phillips head screw which was a bit longer to allow for easier application of a screwdriver and wrench to loosen and tighten it. The original was nothing more than a machine screw. Am I mising something here? John Breda

Now the question is do you trust that the work is being done properly giving the shennanigans with the bill! An improperly rigged gear could give you some expensive problems. It should only be done by mechanics who are very familiar and do it all the time. John Breda

I used the yokes and shafts from an Ovation, but also had to change out the bellcrank. The aft connection to the bellcrank has bronze bearings that are not on the earlier versions. Of course to to this I had to pay for a DER to confirm the engineering and sign of the application from approved data. John Breda

I have not gone out and tested critical altitude but I have had it to 18,000 ft and did not have problems retaining manifold pressure. The old RayJay Manuals, as I recalled, indicated different critical altitudes, the lowest of which was 20,000 ft. I should take it out and do some experimenting now that I know the plane better. John Breda

Turbonormalized. It can be brought up to 29" MP (or 27" to be a bit kinder with temperatures). At that MP, %HP will be > 75% where it is not advisable to lean and thus will be burning full fuel. I try not to run it that way however there are people such as Bob Kromer who said to us (as I recall) at one of the Mooney Summits, that these airplanes and their engines were designed to be flown with "everything forward." If he is there again this Sept. I will confirm with him. Run that way it is 168-170 kts at 12000ft. The plane as been lean of peak, at 17000 ft, burning 8.5 gallons per hour with TAS of about 172. John Breda

Highly Modified 1968 F (essentially a J) TAS 165, 77% HP, 2400 RPM/23.8 MP, 11.2 GPH, 17000 ft. Obviously at higher MP it would be faster. This was flying back from Oshkosh in July. John Breda

Likely the best mechanic is Air Mods in NJ. There was a Mooney Service Center in Bedford, MA years ago. They relocated to Nashua, NH, ? under a different name. John Breda

There was a lot of work that went into the plane before the 2009 ferry flight. I bought it as a project airplane. I sat in a hangar in Dallas for some 26 years in a non-flying condition. The prior owner reportedly wanted to do a bunch of modifications but never pulled them off. Fortunately, he did no damage to the plane and I took it fully apart, stripping it to a shell and made a modern airplane out of it. John Breda

Bob, When I pulled into the parking space and saw your plane (not knowing it was you), I figured it was my competition. John Breda

We have to keep getting the Mooney name out there. These are highly modifiable birds and make for a pretty unique plane when updated. John Breda

Just got back from Oshkosh. Flew over Friday morning to enter 954N into the Vintage Aircraft Competition and came home with an award in the Contemporary Class. John Breda

I just flew from Central TX to Appleton, WI with one fuel stop (over 1100 nm) and Appleton to Eastern MA non-stop (800 nm) in my highly modified F. I filled the plane (90 gallons) in Appleton and had 30 gallons left over when I landed. Appleton to eastern MA took 5 hours. The highest level flight speed on Foreflight at 16,900 feet was 192 kts (perhaps 20 kt tailwind). Fuel burn was 10.5 to perhaps 11 gallons per hour 100-125 ROP. It makes for a pretty respectable retirement plane. John Breda

I put an original J model cowling on my F. The advantage is that the cowling can be removed quickly, but it does take 2 people to do it safely. It also eliminated the "chin" on the original cowling which cuts into speed improvements. I bought a used cowling for $2000 and rebuilt it completely for $8000. The installation costs are more since you need to install a new cowl deck (with 201 windshield to do it right), cut the thickness of the firewall flange and install cowl flanges which the 201 cowl rests on to keep the cowl flush to the airframe. All the J mode updates to my plane make it a 160 kt. airplane at 9000ft and 175 kt airplane at 17000 ft. John Breda