RangerJim

I am considering replacing my stock six pack with a JPI 900 and wonder if, for planning purposes, anyone would care to disclose a ballpark figure for the all in installation or perhaps the labor hours required. PM at rosser.james@gmail.com or 435 559-4566. 1968 C. Thanks, jhr

I too had a similar experience in my early days and learned the hard way about the perils lurking within tires that "look okay". Chronic under inflation causes the majority of tire problems and can be eliminated with a cheapo gauge from an auto parts store and an extra 90 seconds during preflight. Keep a portable air tank in your hangar or car trunk and save that long taxi to the maintenance hangar that will inevitably be closed up tight when you are trying to get over the river and through the woods to grandma's house for that family get together, or crucial client meeting, or fishing trip. Take it from me that you don't want to be stuck in a place like Barstow/Daggett CA over a long holiday weekend chasing down a tire, tube and air compressor. Glad this one worked out.

All good advice as you climb the learning curve, gain confidence, and move into heavier equipment. But in the last analysis takeoffs are always optional and landings are always mandatory.

Looks pretty gnarly Bobby. Based solely on these photos, I would recommend that you have a competent and conscientious A&P/ IA with Mooney landing gear experience and proper tools, jack the aircraft ASAP and inspect and lubricate the entire landing gear system including all three wheels and brakes. Be prepared to replace wheel bearings and races at the very least and participate in the process as much as you can to learn what to look for. This is not an area to cut corners or cheap out. The safety of you and your lovely lady is paramount. Good luck.

Upon the advice of my local A&P/IA, who is very experienced and competent, I give it a shot of Triflow every twenty or so starts. No starter problems in 500 hours/five years. Can't help you with the noise or disassembly questions. Good luck.

A lot of excellent advice here on issues that we each have had to deal with at some point in our aviation endeavors. A useful technique that has helped me with a variety of high wing, low wing, and tailwheel aircraft landings is the "thousand yard stare". As you began to flare try to shift the focus of your vision down to the far end of the runway and pick up your height above the runway cues from your peripheral vision. This helps me avoid the temptation to relax the back pressure on the yoke or, even worse, push the nose over on to the runway. One day you will find that your landings seem to work out just fine with no drama, with or without flaps, and regardless of loading. You will have a hard time remembering what all the fuss was about. Hang in there.

How goes the search?

Citabria, Beech D95A Travel Air, Mooney M20C current ride. Would consider trading up for another one hundred horsepower,

An interesting discussion. I wonder if any experimental pilots have tried it on a spinner?

San Antonio Propeller Service advised me that Aeroshell 5 and/or 6 are okay for the "B" prop hub and and mixing the two is not detrimental. Get expert advice on how much to pump in and the correct procedure. Not even one complete stroke on the grease gun as I recall. I'm advised that too much grease risks internal seal damage. Resolve any conflicting advice by calling the facility that last overhauled or inspected your prop hub and follow their recommendations. It's great to see owners making sure that their planes receive proper lubrication - imho the single most positive maintenance procedure we can perform under the FAR's.

I just finished up an owner assisted annual at Lasar last week and saw boxes of inspection panels on hand from their recent acquisition of the Lone Star inventory. Call Dan at the number above an be done with it.

Try Strategic Aircraft (Aviation?) in Willmar, MN. The last time I checked their website it advertised what appeared to be an attractive prospect. I have no previous experience with either the company or their listing. Keep us posted. I'm beginning to think that their is nothing wrong with my C that another 100 hp wouldn't cure.

Try calling Dan at Lake Aero Styling and Repair (LASAR) 707 263-0412.

It is great to see Mooney back in the game.

I have purchased floor carpets only from Airtex for several different makes and models over the years. Give them a call to get the sample brochure coming your way and discuss your needs. Or go to a local custom car interior shop with your worn pieces as patterns. Airtex sells burn certified carpet by the yard. A recent copy of Trade-a-Plane will turn up several vendors. Wouldn't hurt to at least get a quote from your on field jet shop for comparison purposes.

While recently reviewing a Light Plane Maintenance publication (Basic and Advanced Light Plane Systems Maintenance, Second Edition, Belvoir Publications, Inc) I was struck by the following statement on page 59. "In a thermistor type CHT system (as used in virtually all post Eisenhower era aircraft) the instrument movement actually consists of a voltmeter or ohmmeter, calibrated in degrees Fahrenheit instead of volts or ohms. The readout will vary with line voltage (and hence charge rate). When the charge rate is high-as following a hard start- system voltage may be as much as 10 percent higher than normal until the battery has come back up. Ten percent of the CHT scale is about 30 degrees. Under high charge rate conditions CHT may thus read 30 degrees high. Conversely, under low voltage conditions CHT will read falsely low." This naturally has me wondering just how much credence to put in our factory CHT gauge readings. Are the low 400 degree readings often seen on climb out really an area of concern or an artifact of the system voltages until the battery has fully recovered from the start? Do those who install modern CHT measuring equipment observe a decrease in CHT readouts solely as a result of better measuring technology or is today's superior equipment similarly affected by system voltages? Are we getting sold another owt on "those tightly cowled hot running Mooneys? Perhaps our technically astute colleagues can weigh in here. I am always amazed at the depth and breadth of knowledge and experience on this forum and learn something new almost every time I check in. Thanks, Ranger Jim 68 C

Thank you for a superb writeup. I have rafted and hiked past the site without knowing it was there. Lends credence to the statement that many of the FARs are written in blood.

To the contrary, that was an excellent question and I learned a lot from the replies. Thank you MooneySpace.

Strong work! File early and often.

Gear ups are not necessarily major damage. Matt's advice is sound. Definitely worth a look see.

I believe there is an AD that requires a lubrication at i00 hours or annual, whichever comes first. Given the expense/hassle of opening the plane for lubrication you may wish to consider biting the bullet and going ahead with an annual. I am basing this on experience with a C so you might call a nearby guru MSC such as Maxwell or Dugosh for a professional opinion. No doubt more informed opinion will chime in on this forum. You have one of the most drop dead gorgeous ships out there by the way. Might as well maintain it that way.

Take extra care not to cross thread the lead nuts. Don't ask how I know this.

I experienced a similar situation about a year ago. My carb equipped Lycoming O-360 A1D , normally one of the easiest starting engines around, gradually became harder to start at ambient temperatures lower than the mid 50's F. The Champion massive electrode plugs, harness, and mags had accumulated approximately 320 hours over 3 years. In the past I have routinely run Champions to 400 hours with few issues and changed them only as a precaution. I was aware of the internet debate and Savvy Aviators position on internal resistance increases in Champion plugs but initially suspected some sort of marketing skullduggery by Tempest. The mags and harness had checked out okay. Nevertheless a change to Tempest massive electrode plugs eliminated the problem. Unfortunately I trashed the Champions without checking the internal resistance but I now suppose some QA problem at Champion has given Tempest an opening.

Pre buy inspections have been covered many times on this forum and the search function will allow you to read posts by some incredibly knowledgeable and experienced old Mooney hands. You will quickly learn the ins and outs of a pre buy and how to expand it in to a complete annual/100 hour Inspection. This is free tuition and worth every second of your time. The MAPA, LASAR, and Don Maxwell websites offer superb advice as well. Typically the pre buy is at your expense and will uncover any deal killer items and/or airworthiness discrepancies that should be the sellers financial responsibility to make right or you walk (run) away sadder, wiser, but not much poorer. Non airworthiness discrepancies will be your responsibility to negotiate with the seller. In any case since the M20C you are contemplating has 80 hours since the last annual/100 hour maintenance and inspection you will be money and time ahead paying to turn the pre buy into an annual since an AD requires an extensive lubrication every 100 hours or 12 months. The aircraft will already be partially open and on jacks at your expense so you are already much of the way there. You will then have 12 months or 100 hours to enjoy your new craft with at least a modicum of peace of mind that you have done your due diligence. Learning this stuff is at least half the fun of aircraft ownership and you won't find a better crew to work with anywhere in general aviation than right here. My initial impression is that you are on to a keeper but you still have to do this right to protect you and yours. Good luck and be careful out there.

Perhaps the N number was changed during the (strikingly cool) paint job to suit a new owner. Jimmy and David are indeed straight shooters and they have it priced according to what they think it ought to bring, but they are not in the charity business and you aren't either. Get a for real MSC (Maxwell or Dugosh are in range) pre buy that can be negotiated into an annual and if it checks out go ahead. You won't be able to build one up like that for the nearly the same money. Kick some tires while you are at the AAA candy store and discuss your mission with the guys. Get the MSC's opinion on the logs and damage history and follow Dave's and cliffys advice to the letter. That bird does make a very nice first impression.