BigTex

I agree with this statement at so many levels... and it's not because I own one. But again, it's all personal preference. If you love manual gear, simple carbonated Lycoming engine and hydraulic flaps, simple to fly then this plane if for you. But if you want a fuel injected engine, flying LOP, have electric gear and want to squeeze the most speed from your plane, you might want to look at other models.

My KN64 DME display is on the fritz... Any recommendations on where I can get it repaired?

Looks like what I use every 28 days... That's a great price.

one word... BatteryMinder... or is that two?

Jerry Manthey is no longer doing the MAPA clinics. If Don Maxwell would pick up where Jerry left off, that would be great but I wouldn't hold my breath. He's so busy with his day job it might not occur until he steps away from his business. On a side note, Jerry didn't attend this year's MAPA Home Coming. He's been a staple for years so it was strange not seeing him there. Hopefully he's doing well.

Contact Jerry Johnson. You can't find anyone better.

My noise only showed up at cruise RPMs. If you can turn off your generator, that would pinpoint the issue.

Same thing with my plane. Turned out to be the alternator. Turn off your alternator and see what happens.

The delta in price between the F you have and something to carry the 1500lb useful load could be $100K. Not sure how many flights a year you'd have all the seat full but that's a lot of money if you'd only load up the family a couple of times a year. I'd personally think about keeping my F and then for the rare occasion you need all four seats full, look at renting something.

Brian, you have one special C... I officially have temp envy.

...and we thought LASER pointers were bad!

Wow... What's the maximum range of these things? I didn't think the transmitter was strong enough to control it that far away... Maybe it wasn't and it went rouge. Unlike back in the day with RC planes that crash when you loose radio contact, these seem to just hover waiting the next command.

That may be true but some of us have challenges with our roll cages being magnetized to the point that only a SIRS compass will work.

I had the same thing I fought for months. It started out as an occasional tick. It turned into as best described as bacon frying. For me it was only present when the engine was at cruise rpm. Mine went away when the intercom was put in ISO mode or when the alternator was turned off. Turned out to be a bad alternator.

Have you given the gauge a good rap with a knuckle? My right fuel gauge will sometimes report full on power on. A good rap usually fixes it.

George, I thought the same thing when I went from my KMA24 to my 7000B but it didn't work out that way. I ended up having to completely rewrite my plane. the PMA7000B is great but only if you rewire it.

I'm sold... All I need now is some AMUs.

Guys, There's a great extended article in the May 2015 issue of AOPA Pilot going into the restart of the Kerrville factory. Also a nice picture of the new Ovation 3 on the cover. Very good read.

Dave, I'd not give up that easy. I just saw your post on Barnstormers and it looks like you've got yourself a really nice C. I know the news is pretty depressing but before I throw in the towel, I'd get some estimates on what it would cost to repair. I'd also shop around and see if you can find a set of wings from a parted on plane. I bet you could spend upwards of $20K on repairs and still be money ahead with that plane.

Very nice panel! A general comment about these new panel upgrades. When did we stop putting in glove boxes (or whatever you'd call them) into our panels? You see these new all glass panels that freed up tons of space and folks elect to put almost nothing on it over installing a storage container of some sort. Folks worried that it might date their panel and reduce the value? Just curious...

When I went through my transition training, my instructor said that when you're ready to descend, just push the nose over, trim it and reap the rewards of a high performance aircraft. As long as you're below Vne, in smooth air and your passengers aren't green, enjoy the ride.

Sure... Aerospace Instrument Support (AIS) 1750 Westcourt Rd, Denton, TX 76207 (940) 566-8079 Website: http://www.ais-inst.com/

Other than the additional 20 HP you get with the IO-360, take a look at the price difference between the O-360 and the IO-360 at Overhaul time. Depending on the hours on your engine, this might help you decide.

There's a drill my instructor likes to do which is basically come in over the numbers and at about 2-3 feet from the ground, fly the length of the runway holding it off until you're out of runway. It's pretty amazing how much better you get an controlling your plane after doing this a few times. It's also a lot of fun!

I'd personally not purchase a Mooney (or any other aircraft for that matter) until until you have your PPL and know what type of flying you'd like to do. If you're looking for a time builder, go out and get yourself a Champ or J3. They're a heck of lot more fun to fly and costs a fraction of what you'd spend on a decent Mooney. There's so many different types of missions out there, make sure you really think through how you'd use the plane and buy accordingly. Maybe you'd like to fly upside down? I know I did... early on, the last thing I wanted to do was to use a plane to go from point A to point B. As for the difficulty of flying a Mooney... I personally find landing a constant challenge to be able to roll it on. At least for me, it requires a good bit of practice and finesse... Especially if I don't fly for a couple of weeks. With that airfoil, when the wing decides it's done flying, it drops like a rock so you better be within a few inches of the runway otherwise you'll make one of those less than perfect landings. It's not like one of those Hershey wing Pipers that you have to work at making a bad landing.