jabodine

Hello Matt: Plan to be at hangar today, will try to get photo when there. Thanks. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

This weekend while doing the annual on my 1968 M20e I found that the spinner bulkhead is cracked. This is the piece behind the prop, bolted to the flywheel to which the spinner is attached. I believe it is part # D3338. Any thoughts or good ideas as to where I might source this part? I am AOG until I find a suitable replacement. Thanks in advance for your help. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

Mine is a 1971 M20E with speed upgrades and the Butler tail. It is white over maroon. Next time I'm in Reno I'd like to make contact. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

A little update: My wife and I finally took the trip to Santa Maria and back. Filed IFR all the way both directions. Stopped at KTWF both ways and had good service. Also stopped KRNO going and coming. For both flights out of Reno I was given the Mustang 7 SID. Although climb rate is not the Mooney's strongest suite, I never did have to climb in the hold over FMG. ATC in Reno was superb. Parking at Santa Maria (KSMX) was outside the Raddison which controlled access to the tie down area. It was a great experience. Thanks for everyones input/help. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

Tentative route: KRNO, FMG, SWR, HNW, LIN, ECA, PXN, ROM, PRB, MQO, KSMX. If you have suggestions regarding better routing I am all ears. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

My wife and I plan a trip to Santa Maria, Ca in the near future with overnight stop in Reno. Seeking recommendations regarding GA friendly airports at both locations. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

I am planning a trip in my Mooney to Billings, MT July 29, staying for several days. Looking for hangar space to rent. Anybody have same or know of same at a reasonable price? Thanks for your help. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

I recently had Aerotronics replace my fuel flow meter with a new JPI unit. They did a very nice job in a short period of time. Since they are about 180 miles from me transportation to and from is not always trivial, especially considering our recent weather. Nonetheless they accommodated my schedule and weather interruptions. Additionally, on departure when I got high enough to retract flaps the flaps would not retract. Of course I called tower and went back. Aerotronics dropped everything to get me going. As a result I got home that day rather than having to leave the plane and drive back another day to pick it up. What Great Customer Service. I highly recommend Aerotronics. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

Good Morning All: I'm in need of the switch to raise and lower the flaps on a 1971 M20E. The service manual shows a part number of 12TS147-70. Any ideas on where to locate one? Thanks in advance. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

Thanks for the info/ideas. Currently it looks like we will fly Butte - Ogden - Henderson. A couple of days later to Montgomery (San Diego). Returning via St George and Wendover then back to Butte. I will try to have a short Pirep or return. Thanks and Best Regards, Jonathan Bodine

My wife and I are planning a trip first to Henderson, NV from Butte, MT in mid April. We would like to make a pit stop about half way, in the Salt Lake City vicinity. Seeking suggestions for a GA friendly stopping point in that area. The flight will be IFR so no trepidation regarding class Bravo airspace. Subsequently we plan to leave Henderson for San Diego, CA. Again any suggestions for a GA friendly airport that we can put down in for a couple of days? Of course the trip will be in our Mooney. We would like to make contact with local Mooney owners if time allows. Thanks and Best Regards, Jonathan Bodine

I have an M20E and may in the near future need the two assemblies noted in the title or info on or sources to rebuild same. Your help is always appreciated. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

It is great cheese and we like to fly. And my mistake it is Washington State University, my apologies, no intention to offend anyone. Flew into Lewiston, ID. Stout Aviation is great; so is the tower crew at Lewiston. Pullman is non-towered and has a landing fee. It was a blue sky day but I usually file IFR. My feeling is that especially in this terrain it never hurts to have a second set of eyes watching. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

Tropical Montana

My advice would be to make those changes which satisfy your need for situational awareness and enhance your safety. In my M20 I have a Garmin 430W, KNS80 DME, traffic collision avoidance, and a second com. It is not the fanciest panel on earth but gives great navigation information and situational awareness and a good level of redundancy and backup. I feel comfortable flying it nearly anywhere. Opinions of others may vary. I hope this helps. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

My wife wanted some "Cougar Gold" cheese. It is made at the University of Washington in Pullman. Much of the year they won't ship due to the temperature. As a result we took our Mooney to Pullman on Friday. The MEA's out of here are quite high so we had to fly at 14,000 going. The M20E made between 140-145KTS (ground speed per GPS) on the way with about 18" MP and ram air. On the return we were at 10,000 until Missoula where we had to climb to 13,000. At 10,000 we made about 150-160 KTS ground speed with 21" MP and ram air. It was about 2.1 hours there and a little more back (we took a longer route). Going we used about 14 gallons of 100LL. What a wonderful, fast and, relatively speaking, economical airplane. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

It turns out that the fuel flow meter is named FUELGARD. The face dimensions are 1" X 3". It is 4 3/8" deep with what appears to be a mini D connector on the back. On the bottom it says SILVER INSTRUMENTS INC., CONCOND, CA. SER.No. 213, MFG. 9/81. Does anyone have any info on this unit? Is it just junk that needs to be replaced? My guess is in the affirmative, that the cost to troubleshoot and repair would be prohibitive and that a modern replacement would be competitive in price and be much more capable and feature rich. Any experience with this unit. Thoughts or insights? Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

Brad: When I get to the bottom of it I will let you know. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

Thanks for all of the info. I'll be at the hangar this weekend and try to investigate further with this info in mind. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

I'm relatively new here having been an owner of a 1971 M20E for just under a year now. Up until recently my fuel flow meter gave believable output. Recently when coming home from California it started registering 00.0 at all times: idling, taxiing, climbout, cruise. Has anyone else had a similar experience and/or advice regarding possible cause, troubleshooting, repair. Thanks in advance for the input. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

Oh, and thanks to all who gave me advice beforehand (Mooneygirl, 47U, Thinwing). Your insights and advice were right on. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

My wife and just got back from a trip to the Sacramento area and back in our relatively new to us Mooney. Flew from Butte, Mt. to Lincoln, Ca. Friday last and returned Sunday. What a great experience. The environmental catastrophe of the forest fires is very evident. We were in essentially IMC conditions a majority of the way; worse on the return on Sunday. It makes you wonder how many millions of trees had to burn to fill the air for hundreds of miles from ground level to 15,000 MSL with enough smoke and particulate to create essentially IMC conditions over this area. Nonetheless the trip and flight in our Mooney was great. The Lincoln airport was superb. There were new hangars to rent for very reasonable prices per night. We were treated quite well by both Dave at the FBO and the airport manager. Flights both ways were instrument; all controllers, Salt Lake Center, NorCal Approach, Oakland Center as well as Twin Falls Approach could not have been nicer (no horror stories here). To a person all were appropriate, pleasant and very helpful. This was my first trip of any distance therefore I had no prior experience with controllers outside of Salt Lake; I will have no reluctance to repeat this trip or make any similar one in the future. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

Good Morning Mooneygirl, 47U, and thinwing: Thanks for the benefit of your experiences, information and advice. It is going to be a great help to us as this is our first planned trip both so far and into these uncharted waters. I hope to return the favor someday. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

Good Morning Jolie, Thanks for the info. I will check them all out and will talk with my son and see which is nearest him. We plan a little wine country visit with him and his fiance. It is our first long distance trip in our Mooney and really looking forward to the experience. If you have other pointers I am all ears. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine

My wife and I plan to fly to the Sacramento, Ca. area August 30, 2013 returning to Butte, Mt., September 1, 2013 such that we can visit our son and his Bride to Be. Tentatively planning MYV or LHM. Requesting advice, especially from anyone local, as to best airport, FBO, tie down/hangar, things I need to know about local airspace, local customs, approach, etc. If convenient I would like to meet up with local Mooney owners. Your input and advice will be appreciated. Best regards, Jonathan Bodine