M20F-1968

You should get rid of the sender type that is in the first picture. The newer ones are more reliable. John Breda

FYI - That looks to be an F without flush inspection panels and without flush rivets. John Breda

But will the J be equipped as well as your E? John Breda

196 mph = 170 knots I routinely can get 168 knots with everything forward at 10,000 ft., 160 kts at 10,000 ft at 75% power 100 degrees ROP, and at 17,500 I get 175 kts 70% power 100 degrees ROP. Highly modded to be essentially a J without inner gear doors. John Breda

My airplane was signed off in very early 1968, so although the paperwork is 1968, it still came to me with all of the factory enhancements installed before the large changes that were made after it was my airplane was delivered. John Breda

Or you can reskin the airplane from the baggage compartment forward as I did. John Breda

I have a 1968 F and because of my extensive rebuild have opened up every crevice. The factory spent some extra time and money during those years. It has flush rivets that the 69's and later did not. They tried to do some sound deadening internally (which was later abandoned) but attempts were made to continue upgrading the product. Those efforts were all abandoned in 69 and were only to be started again when the F was cleaned up and transformed into the J. I believe the Johnson Bar is an upgrade that has been abandoned. It is mechanically simple, fast, relatively easy to operate if rigged correctly, and bypasses the springs, gear ratios, unavailable parts, and expense of the electric gear. I much prefer the push-pull vernier cable controls versus the throttle quadrant. The hydraulic flaps are a bit of a PITA to rig until you have worked through it. The system is messy to work on but works reliably provided it does not leak. But, when buying a used airplane, you are limited to what is available and what you can find... John Breda

I am not sure that the limitation would affect a third party making a claim against a person's liability policy such as an umbrella policy, which is meant to extend liability broadly to protect the policy owner. One needs to look at the policy itself to determine coverage. Usually, a person purchases such a policy to limit their own exposure should the unlikely occur. John Breda

There are other kinds of insurance that are worth looking into, Does the Gyrocopter pilot have homeowner's insurance or an umbrella policy that provides liability coverage against which a claim can be made? John Breda

There is always more to do if you want to. I was pretty much forced to do it all at once because when I bought the plane it was apart, no nose, interior out, after-market panel which was useless, etc... I needed to strip everything out and build an airplane in a hangar. To be honest, I expected a 2-3 year project. It went on much more than expected. When you modify a flying airplane you can control how much you do all at once. John Breda

The rest is shown on my Album page... I have many, many more pictures detailing the work done in each stage of the rebuild. Sometimes I use them to remind myself what is hidden. John Breda

Richard, Congratulations. Russell Stallings said to me in the middle of my F model project that the paint job makes a Show Plane. I won the same Outstanding Mooney award in 2018 and then came back in 2019 and won a Lindy Award - Best Class II Single Engine (161-230 HP). I had no idea whether my plane would place at all. I just did the work with attention to detail. You can enter again if you are competing for a higher award than you have already won. John Breda

My panel was installed with an instrument panel bow from a 1998 Ovation. It is in 3 pieces, Pilot's panel, Co-pilot's panel, and fuse panel. The fuse panel comes completely out and has a long enough service loop so that it lies on your lap. Behind each of the other panel edges is a wide piece of verticle aluminum bar fixed in place. The panels screw in them, and the avionics racks screw into them as well. The avionics trays come out creating a large hole in the panel for work access. No need for external panels that can leak water. John Breda

It should be the same as on my F model, but I do not remember the number. I should be able to tell the number of teeth on my F from the starter madel and/or serial number. I'll keep you advised. John Breda

Mine was for Lasar and I think I paid about $3000 ten or more years ago. The real "cost" is in the labor to install it. It is definitely worth having. It likely adds some speed as the belly is cleaner. I is much easier come annual time. The installation is not trivial and is more time-consuming than you might expect. John Breda

Suffice it to say this system is a bear to work on. Once it is. working properly it is reliable until you have a leak. My approach to this system has been to always have an overhauled flap pump known to be good to swap out when the system is not working. Aside from the flap pump in the rear actuator, everything else is just plumbing and needs to be clean and leak-free. The flap-pump needs to be overhauled properly and it is. best if you have a test bench to check it before installing it. Of course, no one has these except service centers. The other thing I did that was helpful is to make up two pressure pots with hoses that terminate with AN fittings that will fit directly into the various connections in the system. One is a pressure pot purchased from Aircraft Tool Supply and the other is a approximately quart-sized pressure pot that is. meant to be a sprayer but can be fitted with a hose to be connected to the reservoir fill tube. Some people try to fill/purge the system of air from the front, others do so from the back. I tried both and neither were completely successful. The former manager from Lasar made the only suggestion that worked and that was to disconnect the front hose coming into the flap pump and back-fill it from the pump forward until all the air is out of the line. There are gyrations in that line that are hard to clear of air. Then quickly attach to the pump and tighten. Then fill the line again with the small pressure pot from the brake fluid reservoir fill tube clear to the rear of the system. Then close the system. Test it. You will likely need to fill, bleed and test the system many time filling from the front and letting out air at the rear. Read the manual on this. This is a system that, if it works, leave it alone. If it does not work, do not try to do anything to it until uou have all the pressure pots, lines, connec tors, flap pumps, sufficient brake fluid, many rags, and a change of clothes that you will need. You get the picture by now I assume.... John Breda

I have not read this whole thread, but I do have a comment.... If you take your plane to any shop, MSC or not, you do not know who is actually doing the work. Yes, there are very few A&P/IA's that know Mooney aircraft very well. I have such a relationship and find it provides the best situation as I know who is doing the work, I can assist if it is within the scope of something I can do well, and I can be there to learn, observe, and know that the plane is put back together reliably and responsibly. As a community of owners, we need to support the individual mechanics that have this level of skill and knowledge. John Breda

You might check with the factory. The G may have the same structure as the F already, but not the same documentation. It may not be kile the upgrade in Useful load in the leter J's which had the steel change alteration installed to support the increase in useful load. The G and F were made during the same model years and along side each other. I doubt there are diifferent. Just a guess and suspicion. You will need to verify it with Mooney Engineering. John Breda

When I did my rebuild, I used many parts from a 1998 Ovation with DER approval. I installed the Cleveland Master cylinders in both the pilot and co-pilot positions, used the No-shuttle valve brake line configuration, and used the Ovation parking brake. No problems what so ever. John Breda

Who knows Hartzell propellers and/or has a repair facility that can address small concerns about my prop? I have some questions about prop maintenance, criteria for repair of a couple of very small nicks, and a referral to a prop shop where I may be able to get a small quantity of the 2-part Hartzell epoxy paints. John Breda

for corrosion in the steel cage and wing spar before you buy it though to make sure there is nothing on the airframe that cannot be corrected in an economic way. If no issues are found, buy and ferry it home. You can get a DER to issue a ferry permit. ? Better avenue than the FAA as they may take a long time. For purchase price purposes consider the plane unairworthy until you have bought it, and once you get it home consider it unairworthy until you investigate everything. Take a look at the pics of my project 68F and you can see what can be done to upgrade these birds if you are so inclined. John Breda

What model airplane are you doing a prebuy on? Brian Kendrick will work on Ovations and newer Mooneys. He is exceedingly knowledgeable, works hard, is thorough, careful, can do anything on the plane, and is everything you want and need for a prebuy. He can come and do the prebuy on location or at McKee's Hangar in San Marcos Tx. He should be your first choice. I have known him for over a decade when he ferried my airplane to San Marcos from Dallas. That was its first flight in 26 years. John Breda

It was recommended to me by a high-time Mooney pilot that he uses speed brakes regularly on landings, particularly cross-wind landings. I have tried that several times and found that the landings with speed brakes have been some of my best landings. By design, you are forced to carry more power for the same airspeed. The plane feels heavier and seems more stable. Any thoughts, positive or negative? John Breda

Depending upon the thickness of what you are bending/straightening you may want to look at hand sheet metal seamers. https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Inch-Straight-Metal-Seamer/dp/B01M22HF9K/ref=sxin_16_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.fdcf0922-3645-4367-8fef-7b209ee72614%3Aamzn1.sym.fdcf0922-3645-4367-8fef-7b209ee72614&crid=3SYQXG54Y8AOY&cv_ct_cx=sheet+metal+tools+bending&keywords=sheet+metal+tools+bending&pd_rd_i=B01M22HF9K&pd_rd_r=bc0dfcd2-1b25-4fe4-995a-742725fd4d8d&pd_rd_w=ghng1&pd_rd_wg=oSknK&pf_rd_p=fdcf0922-3645-4367-8fef-7b209ee72614&pf_rd_r=ZFME10R33DZFZE01A9EF&qid=1686464613&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=sheet+metal+tools%2Caps%2C185&sr=1-4-f198e6a3-f8ba-40fc-adb1-ef5348fd130e-spons&psc=1&smid=A1UMBRA5ZTBCX8&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyWUFYRlVVUU9IVlZJJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODExNzkzMjRRV1VLM1VUNk5XWCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjU1NzE2UU8wTVdHMU1aTThZJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3Bfc2VhcmNoX3RoZW1hdGljJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ== I think I have also seen them with nylon-protected jaws. John Breda

But what e-mail was it sent from? I need that to search my e-mail. John Breda