cbarry

I bought my first Mooney after owning a Cessna Cardinal (thin wing 1968) for about 250hrs. I learned airspeed control in the Cardinal which really helped transitioning to the Mooney. Airspeed control is much more basic when flying other traditional production aircraft (at least Beech, Piper and other Cessnas). For example, in a 172 you can pull the power and point the nose down and still slow down and go down. That's not as easy in a Cessna 177 or a Mooney. Because airspeed control is where a lot transitional Mooney drivers have tough time setting up for the approach to landing, I would encourage you and your instructor to practice airspeed control with all of your maneuvers (turns about a point, slow flight...). Congratulations on your pursuit of happiness (same thing as Mooney ownership)!

Try adjusting your headset mic gain (usually a dial on the mic itself) to lower its sensitivity. Of course, there's also a mic gain adjustment on the audio unit as well that may have not been adjusted during the install.

Try driving any ground based vehicle at Mooney speeds and then try to carry on a conversation in the ground based vehicle as easily and relaxed as you can in the Mooney with decent headsets!

I'm sure you can sharpen a pencil enough to make yourself think it may be an economical "jump ball," (hangar versus tie down), but it's often the unexpected event (hailstorm, sun damage over time, the wind blowing oil all over the place if you try to change the oil outside--not to mention your cowling damage when the wind flips it over,...that makes you think twice about the money you have "saved." On top of all of this, it's a Mooney and deserves a hangar!

I agree that tower should be contacted, at least on the secondary radio, while listening to ATC on the other radio. Or you could just buy a slower plane giving yourself and ATC more time to make contact!

Why don't the two you go fly to get lunch. You fly one leg and him the other and you can readily trouble shoot engine management habits and have a great time while your at it.

Call me crazy, but I've purchased the Mooneys I've owned sight unseen. This not to say that I haven't had my share of frustration as well. However, I believe if you really know what you're looking for, what to watch out for, follow the proper prebuy procedures and realize that even if the plane appears to be "well maintained" you should still expect the unexpected. Planning to buy is not that different than planning a flight in that the best laid plan still needs flexibility. The procedure I take is: 1) Know the aircraft that fits your mission--both flight mission and money wise, 2) Research the values of the existing aircraft as well as the cost of what you would like to change about it (avionics, interior, paint...), 3) If the aircraft is still in the running at this point, then make an offer contingent on a satisfactory prebuy at a service center of your choice, 4) Roll the prebuy into an annual regardless of how recent the annual was completed, 5) Negotiate the final purchase price based on any squawks whether airworthy or not, 6) Hire a qualified pilot, preferably affiliated with the shop doing the annual or the broker offering the aircraft, to fly the plane to you for delivery. Stay patient and have faith that the right one will come along. After all most of uncertainty is behind you because you looking at Mooneys!

I believe it's there for cooling purposes. I formerly had an F model on which this type of smaller scat tubing was positioned to cool the engine mounted fuel pump.

If you happen to be on a smooth enough floor to use a shop creeper this is what I do. ( Of course after removing the upper cowling.). I start by delatching the intake fasteners, then the fasteners across the bottom of the cowling leaving just the sides fastened. I'm doing this while sitting on the creeper directly in front of the nose wheel--so I'm basically under the the cowling. By positioning this way, I can reach both sides' fasteners. While loosing each sides' fasteners (from bottom to top) I'm providing support for the cowling with my free hand. Once it's loose, I simply lower the cowling enough that I am able to roll directly back and away from the nose. I agree that this design is not the best.

SprayWay's Crazy Clean and shop style paper towels work well. I spray and area about two feet square at a time and the grime will wipe off with no scrubbing required. I've been using this method for about ten years and have tried several other methods before without nearly the results as this.

I should have given an example: heim joints versus fuel selector valves...versus panel switches...

It's hard to go wrong with buying "stock" in what you use and others are likely to need to use--especially if in short supply. I think the trick is to discern "what" is most likely to be needed.

Congratulations on being your "F's" new owner! I know I really enjoyed the F I had! I really like the vintage look. It reminds me of what the Mooney on steroids( the M22 Mustang)looks like, but just in normal size.

I know American Flyers has an accelerated ground school. It's 2 1/2 days long and then you can sit for your written as soon as the class was over.

...was the tach...

Are you sure it's the transducer? I thought I had a similar squawk on my Eagle 2 (same gauges). In this case it waste tach giving erratic readings. Yet I came to find out it was simply a electrical connection that was solved by replacing the connectors between the mag and gauge. I have found it pays/saves to always check the simple stuff first.

It sounds like that channel on the monitor went offline. Try temporarily switching a probe and it if #3 comes alive, it's not the monitor.

Make sure all of the screws are there that are located around the speed brake housing. I had a partial retraction on one of mine and noticed that the brake that was not fully retracting had two screws missing. I replaced them and have not had another problem since. Maybe coincidence but then again maybe not.

Make sure all of the screws are there that are located around the speed brake housing. I had a partial retraction on one of mine and noticed that the brake that was not fully retracting had two screws missing. I replaced them and have not had another problem since. Maybe coincidence but then again maybe not.

I have successfully downloaded Garmin Pilot App from the App store. Try to search simply under Garmin Pilot and it should show up as both an IPhone as well as an IPad App.

Jerry Johnson is who I asked when transitioning fom an F model to an S model recently and I was very pleased. He is a true professional. He is based out of Denton and you can find him on Mooneysafety.com

IFR--yes. Earning additional ratings is a permit to keep learning.

I believe they are made by Comant and the part number is CI-120-400.