TWinter

This thought holds lots of value..I often thought I would like more room, more power and newer...but the real value comes in because you know YOUR current plane, you know what feels right (and what doesn't), when you look at the gauges you know what's normal and so on, you know what you have serviced and what's coming up. No way to put a price (or trade-in) price on that. When looking at vref there will never be a box to check for that option. Back on topic..For the asking price of the E in the ad I could only imagine based on my theory of value of intimacy and knowledge of the plane..The owner must be married to it. Yes, she sure is a "purty" bird...but wow, that's a big price tag for the E. -Tom

ChaChing....Looks very nice though. I'd be curious what $ come in at. -Tom

Oh my..but I want to play..GDL88 and remote audio..Best part is I've finally learned how to use it all and it only took a year..most of it anyway -Tom

From one E owner to another..Congrats..Good looking bird. -Tom

Welcome to the site. Great colors and welcome to my world. Here is a pic of 7741M when I first got her. Looks like we had the same paint line. Then a few years later and a few dollars less. Mine is Serial #0024. Yours is #0040. Probably on the line together at one time.

Wow..I know I haven't been on the forum as regular lately, but I never saw this coming. Looks great! Very clean and great choices. Looks like the folding bikes did not put you in the poor house or dog house for to long. Very nice -Tom

Glad you shared this experience... Thanks much!! -Tom

Congrats on the IRating. I'm still plugging along with it. Still trying to get the new avionics to play nice and also make sense to me at the same time. It has slowed my pace, but I look forward to getting mine as well..The puzzle is slowly making sense..working approaches weekly with a buddy that is Commercial rated. My regular CFI is getting ready to retire fully (mild stroke two weeks ago) so I'll be in search of a new one. Ready to earn the IFR so I can work on the next. The tint makes big difference in the heat. Not hard to do and well worth it. Just take your time. Using 35% is the best to keep safe visibility and still get the job done. Well done and congrats again -Tom

There is a nice little airport right near the Bass Pro Shop (Pyramid) that is very convenient if you want to get into Memphis downtown area without the headache of Memphis International.. M01 General Dewitt Spain if you ever feel the need for Memphis BBQ or a quick trip to Bass Pro. It was pretty much just to my left in the pics. -Tom

Found the one that are USB powered with dimmer built in-line. I think I had it rolled pretty bright here, but roll the dimmer down and they work perfect. This was the only pic I had, but the roll goes all the way across the dash and just sticks to the bottom of glare shield. -Tom

Yesterday was a great day to fly in Tennessee. Took a trip up the river side skirting Memphis class B and got a good pic of the Memphis Bass Pro Pyramid. Continued the flight to Tunica, MS. We were smart enough to resist the temptation to land at Tunica and avoid the casinos. My buddy took some good pics of the Mississippi and Memphis Bass Pro. It was one of those days that God made just for pilots..beautiful and calm.

Cool in the summer, warm in the winter..Had them 5 yrs ( two separate sets). Can't beat them. -Tom

I have these, they work great. Mine have a dimmer though. I fly at night a lot and these work perfectly. http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x-Waterproof-Flexible-Flash-USB-Cable-LED-Strip-Light-5V-30CM-Lighting-String-/172636519097?hash=item2831f03ab9:g:4ZEAAOSwkShY-hDM -Tom

Keep the skills sharp and prep in advance..just like night flying. Had to fly two family members home the other night for a family emergency at 10 pm, this was a very dark field... Heading home from in the middle "no where" Tennessee back to Dyersburg TN. Serious dark sky this particular night. Pre-flight, planning and safety is key. Far from flying in clear blue daytime VFR airspace.., but very legal.

I've said it before and will say it again..(even though I did not word it as eloquently you, well I caught some minor flack of VFR vs IFR). VFR is great..you can pretty much go anyplace a IFR pilot can go. You just have to be more flexible on your schedule. I did three trips from TN to New England last year and only once did I have to reschedule the trip home. This caused a 3 day return delay..Rescheduling not a big deal other than the fact we went to LL Bean on one of the rainy days and my other half managed to dent my credit card pretty good. Still fantastic trips. Here is where I got some forum flack and it was okay, I'm a big boy and it was taken in stride..I've flown with some really good IFR guys and some really crappy IFR guys. The rating is stamp that you have trained and completed requirements. You have demonstrated proficiency maneuvers. There is no reason a VFR pilot can not be as capable as a IFR pilot. I am now back in the saddle and picked back up on my IFR training after some major panel upgrades. Took time to get the hang of all the goodies, but I'm feeling better. At this point I feel like I'm in better control of my Mooney than I have ever been, of course it has taken me 5 yrs, but I can say with confidence I am comfortably flying ahead of my plane and rarely feel like the plane is flying me.The equipment change up last fall pushed my IFR back quite a bit, but now I'm feeling warmer and familiar with all of the new install gear. The bottom line is... If you have the time, with proper planning and can be somewhat flexible you can fly VFR all over the place as well as a IFR guy. IFR is great if you really want to put your plane to work for you and run a much tighter schedule. Example: I'm heading to Gulf Shores Friday to take some friends down for three days. Their personal vacation. I might stay or might come back to TN. It's only 2 hrs +/-. I've been watching weather all week so I don't screw up their plans. Since the Tennessee weather is looking "iffy" Friday I told them to be sure to have a back-up plan in case we get weathered in and can't go. Am I tired of checking weather every day hoping for Fridays forecast to change? yep, GShores looks pretty good all weekend so no problem there, Tennessee not so great..If I was IFR rated this would be less of a issue, but it is what it is. I'll continue to monitor today hoping for the best. I'll make the decision tonight. If I was IFR rated..no brainer and we would be ready to roll Friday. Few clouds, would be no issue, as it is I've got to keep glued to the weather. Bottom line..it's all about the planning and flexibility. VFR is still very capable flying, IFR is just allows more opportunity when things look "iffy". Just my .02 -Tom

Trip home was good..a few cells to work around, but well worth the trip. Good luck!

I have family that live in Paris, TN and I fly to KPHT pretty often. Looks like M34 is just a short trip up the KY river. I have a E you are welcome to check-out. Maybe grab a bite at Pattiis. I've never been there, but hear good things. Other option is to meet me at Henry County KPHT. PM me a phone or contact and I'll give you a call Mon or Tues and touch base about meeting up.. -Tom KDYR Dyersburg, TN

I've tried the squelch on the 750 and even kicked it over to the old radio and still not picking up any better. The email the FBO sent out was sent as a generic email to all local pilots even before I mentioned it. So it's not just me having the problem. I think they have had a few pilots reporting bad reception and short range. I'll be curious if it changes or they get the feds back out to check connections. I was actually more curious if any other folks noticed a reduction in range. Just an observation...I can live with it, I know something is not right, but thought it was worthy of a topic post. -Tom

Here is the email sent out..Something obviously not right. Good Morning… KDYR AWOS telephone service is now fully functioning. Also, the new AWOS Radio broadcast has been tweaked to 2.4 watts increasing reception range about 20%. The old AWOS wattage was almost 4 watts. This has been reduced at all stations by FAA/FCC (???). Just as a reminder, Summer FBO hours starting Monday April 3 is 7 am- 7 pm Monday-Friday. Sat., Sun., and holidays 8 am-5 pm. Thanks,

They just finished working on it Friday. When I was on the ground departing Friday I thought nothing of it, other than the fact it was nice to have it up and going since it had been down most of the winter. The broadcast sounded different, but no big deal. When I was returning I flipped to our AWOS frequency and heard nothing at about 5 miles out..kept listening, getting closer and still nothing. I started checking my frequency thinking I might have hit a key and was off channel. Finally as I'm announcing my inbound intentions and nearly to the field I finally start to hear the broadcast..It's useless as is. I am planning on calling the FBO City Manager tomorrow and following up. The FBO manager did send all the local pilots a email stating the AWOS was up and certified last week. He also mentioned the lower power settings per the FAA.

Our local airport just had the AWOS reworked with what they claim as new top of the line equipment, however, all of the local pilots including myself have noticed a BIG decrease in the reception. It is literally a radius of about two miles max. Today I was already setting up for landing when it finally picked up. Several of us have mentioned it to the FBO Manager and he said the FAA has recently mandated that the power output be reduced to a lower wattage (2.5 watts) compared to the old 4 watts.. Something like along those numbers. Apparently the FAA will be ordering a reduction in all AWOS transmitter output over a transition period of ? time. Anybody heard of this? I really think this is a bad move..Altitude was not a big factor in the reception. Still very poor and nearly useless no matter how high. -Tom

Anyone have a picture of a fuel sending unit for 73 M20E or of one that was used in this series of Mooney. Not sure if they were all the same. I bought a set off of EBay to send in for rebuild so I would not be out of service with my OEMs. The auction indicated these were from a E model. I've never had the ones in my plane out so I'm not quite sure for comparison and these do not have a part number stamped. I can vaguely see what I think says "AC" stamped. they are 5 hole. Just want to make sure they are correct before I send them in for the rebuild. I'm 95% that they are the correct ones, I think Bob posted a picture a while back looking in the forum search. Here is a quick picture. Do these look correct for M20E? Hate to send in the wrong ones for a rebuild. Mine are okay, but looking to get more accuracy out of my JPI. Thanks in advance, -Tom

A small oscillating 12v electric fan purchased at your favorite auto parts store and clipped to the clothing rack near the hat rack in the rear and then facing forward toward pilot/co-pilot works great. Use mine every summer and moves air nicely. I have a 12v power-port in my hat-rack area that my shop installed and connected to the master. Turn the master on and the fan runs. Beats the Tennessee heat in the summer for short flights when you don't feel like messing with the B-Kool cooler. You can also use any portable 12v source to power the fan.. The Gila static cling tint works great as well. I did mine a few years back and it made a big difference. I have a B-Kool and have actually never used it. The fan and tint make a huge difference. -Tom

Thanks anyway..Guess I'll have to dig through the moving boxes for my service manuals. -Tom

Anybody know what bulb is used the gear up window. I just had my panel redone and sold a bunch of bulbs and sockets..Imagine that I was not smart enough to save a few bulbs as extras. Go figure.. Anyway, I have service manuals deep in my closet, but in the middle if a home move so digging them out might be a challenge. My gear up transition bulb is out and I need to order one. Anyone know part # and best source? 73 M20 E. You can see in the picture the configuration. Gear Down, Gear Up, Boost etc,,Right below the gear knob. Just need the bulb reference and best source. Thanks in advance, -Tom