pinerunner

I thought about an F and then got an E. I'm really happy with my E and have never regretted not getting the extra legroom for rear seat passengers. Have only had the opportunity to carry rear seat passengers once; they were teenagers and fit fine. The F has the full length rudder and so has a little better control I suppose and also for some reason it's redlined higher. My 183 mph redline doesn't seem like much of a problem in practice; if I really want the speed I go higher. Often I go for the lower fuel consumption possible at lower power settings so I'm not even in the yellow. I think if you want comfort for four people on long trips in GA you probably have to spend a lot more, anyway. If I suddenly came into 50K I might trade up to a J but I think I'd sooner stay with the E and really trick it out.

I can't think of a better way to be remembered.

Thanks, I didn't know that.

My understanding is that a factory remanufacured engine is basicly a bunch of parts from separate bins, all of which then have unknown time on them. I'd just as soon have one that has been overhauled by a good, meticulous, mechanic with new parts where indicated.

Nice to see a post about them doing something right. I don't buy into all the hype these days that anything the government does must be wrong, though we should keep an eye on them and put their feet to the fire every once in a while. I do suspect the FAA is being pushed to make things more complicated in pursuit of perfect safety.

I'm glad mine is manual. As I think of it though, a few times I haven't bothered to put it back down again when I stopped for gas it was so easy to just step/hop down over the flap and step back up again that I think, in a pinch, that fixing it in the retracted position and doing without a step is a viable option. You'd have to be careful about your passengers of course but I think we do anyway. Dave

I'd date a lady A&P, IA in a heart beat, hoping for services rendered. Don't tell my wife.

What they said. I guess E owners are on a tight budget. I really like my E but if I had an extra 50K a year I'd likely have a J. Mines grounded (engine pickled as described in MBusch vid) while I pay down a credit card, replace carpet, and now I'm also checking that rear spar. I expect to be back in the air in a couple months.

I wonder if it might be due to over-tightening the spark plug. I think learning to change and inspect our own spark plugs is a good thing; but getting the torque right is important. IO-360 cylinders are about double the cost and around $2000 new. I thought long and hard about it and decided to get an E model anyway.

Check out Bruce Jaeger's interior panels first. I'm also planning on them along with a new carpet.

You were featured on the cover in the UK too! Was it "The Rolling Stone" ? Any other magazine covers? Did you buy 5 copies for your mother?

It certainly shows they have class and good taste.

OK so to answer your question straight up... On my M20F I have to go to 1900 RPM to cycle the prop during run-up, 200 RPM higher than I use to check the mags, etc. Its been like that since day one and was in the check-list from the previous owner. No special problems with using too much oil. Hope this helps.

Does this statement mean that the oil pressure was low until you went to full throttle on the take-off run? That got my attention!

It looks like you've checked and know that, as an owner, you're legal to change plugs. Since the head is a softer metal, aluminum, be picky about the torque. I recall a Busch or Deakin article mentioning that, if you drop a plug, trash it and replace with a new one because damaged plugs can break and provide hot spots that can lead to the dreaded pre-ignition much quicker than getting your LOP wrong. He tells a story of old-fashioned mechanics in the piston hayday beating up a fallen plug with a ball-pien hammer so no one could make the mistake of reinstalling it. They also give the example of a plane that they worked on (with pictures) that went into pre-ignition on take-off, and burned a hole in the top of one piston; the culprit was a plug gone bad shedding bits of ceramic that provided hot spots. I think its worth it for us owners to change our own plugs but take it very seriously. A little homework and you can be right up to speed along with your mechanic. Inspecting your plugs can give you cheap feed-back on how well you're treating your engine.

My advice? Go flying! It makes everything feel better.

With your extensive background I can't imagine you'll have any trouble. I took about 7 hour getting my biannual as an introduction to mine after having laid off flying for more than a decade. It seemed a lot like the Comanche (180hp) that I got complex time in back in the 70's which didn't seem like that big a deal compared to the Cherokees and Cessna 172s I mostly flew. The Mooney's sit lower in ground effect than those other planes and that explains much of its reputation for floating. I guess its reputation for speed leads some to disbelieve the published approach speed numbers and tack on an extra 10-20 kts in which case its no wonder they use a lot of runway. Some of the best fun for the buck for serious pilots these days.

Please follow up on this and tell us how it works out in the end. I found them a while back and was thinking about using them too. http://sealpakcoinc.com

Say should I be envious of those squared off windows? Or do the rounded windows make my M20E Vintage with a capital V? Maybe I'll install elegant curtains! That would come after redoing the really crappy carpet.

Yes I'd to know more about that. Can those little gauges be replaced individually? What about that funny combo gauge with the manifold pressure? Is it Mooney specific? can it be replaced with a new one? Are they expensive and a bunch of trouble just because they're unique?

If you've only got one story like this you must have very lucky over the years or not have flown that much. We had another thread/post along these lines. After any maintenance you should do the best preflight possible, even if was done by a fantastic shop. They work on so many different ltems that a stupid little human error type mistake can't quite be eliminated. I'm beginning to believe that the easiest parts to catch, like a loose nut at the end, are also the easiest to overlook. Kind of an end of the job, finish line in sight, letdown. Those kind of mistakes can usually be caught by a pilot going over it well during preflight. Your experience may not mean that this MSC is one to be avoided.

I suspect the IA who has been approving this for the last few years will be involved in responding to this, whether he likes it or not.

The elevator looks ugly of course but I'd worry more about the wing. The thing is: a big part of a wing's strength is in the skin, not just the spar. So when you start getting dents and/or corrosion its hard to know if you're losing any strength and how much. Since your dents, etc were way out on the tip I'd worry a little less. I look for loosening rivets on my old bird as a sign that things are getting a bit weaker and starting to "work" a bit. I'd probably dare to fly it since you've been and no problem. If I were shopping I'd pass on to the next candidate. While I'd not an A/P my dad was and I spent a good part of my teenage years bucking rivets in his rebuild projects (Cessna 180's). We (read that as he) stayed away from wing work because its a pain to get at the rivets. The expense will be in the labor.

I've been using Camguard almost from the start when I got my plane two years ago based on Mike Busch's vid on oil. I don't quite take everything he says as gospel but I guess close to it. I envy him a bit. Wish I was set up ($$$) so I could fly a 310 enough to take two engines well past TBO. I use Aeroshell 100 and add camguard or occasionally Aeroshell 100 plus which MB says has the same additives just a bit less. In winter (Maine) I did switch to multigrade but ended not flying it (M20E) so switched again to Aeroshell 2F pickling oil and dessicant plugs. The Avweb oil vid is pretty good.

I work in Boston but have never flown in. Norwood KOWD would be my choice coming up from the south. Its about a mile from an Amtrak station which would be a good way to get in (parking is a pain in Boston so I avoid using my car there and take the rail). I've always heard that its no fun flying into Logan International with a small plane. There is an FBO that get very mixed reviews. Punitive landing fee of about $70. Enough to keep me away. If you want the challenge of going into a major busy Class B airport Logan has a stop on the subway system (blue line). Boston is an annoying city to drive in (not laid out in grid; lots of one-way streets; too much traffic) but with a bit of homework and reconnaissance its doable. Parking at premium. Not a bad walking city so I use subway and hike about. Used to drive. Lots of young people with all the colleges and universitys. Good pub crawling.