AlanA

The plane is sold.

1979 Mooney M20 J 201 $48,900. TT 3498 SMOH 1130 TP 1085. Great cross country plane. 400 hours flown in last 3 years. 3-Blade McCauley prop. Garmin 430 and Garmin 396. NEW SkyTec Starter. NEW Alternator. NEW EI Fuel computer. NEW EI digital ammeter. NEW LED landing light. Digital engine analyzer and digital manifold gauges. Paint 5/10 -slight hail damage only seen in certain lighting. Good looking leather interior 7/10. Chrome spinner. SUPER Low asking price due to 1" hairline crack in crankcase. I need to fly every week. I would rather take the loss than be down for repairs, plus I'm ready to move up to something faster. Possible trade for Mooney 231, 252, or Bravo. I spoke with Jewel Aviation in MO and they estimated $17K to remove, overhaul - zero time engine, and reinstall. Other estimates from $17K to $22K. You could spend alot more a for M20J and not know what you have or you could buy this plane, overhaul it and know exactly what you have including a warranty, and zero time engine for much less. Plane in Livermore, CA. Owner - • Contact Alan Anderson, • Telephone: 435 224-2211 Alan_Mooney.MP4

17900 ft in my J. The last 2000 feet can be slow. That was with just 1 soul on board. Much harder with more passengers. Living at 6000 ft in Utah and commuting to California over or around 14,000 feet mountains, the altitudes between 11,500 and 15,500 are my everyday altitudes. Watch your oil temp. If the oil temp starts to get a little hot then stop climbing for a few minutes and the oil will cool down. Then when your airspeed comes back up then climb another 2000 feet. Sometimes I will go up 11,500 and level off for a five minutes or so. Then jump up to 13, 500 and level off again. Rinse and repeat for 15, 500 and 17,500. I feel like the sweet spot for Mooneys is 12,500

To answer Helium's questions: Either 2 or 4 seats are ok. Experimental is fine (at one time I was building a Vans 7A - but sold it to buy the Mooney. VFR only is okay. I don't have any tailwheel time but I'm sure I could get comfortable with some training and practice in a tailwheel. I'd prefer a cabin not an open cockpit. Thanks

There is a chance my weekly Utah to California commute "mission" may be changing. My M20J has been the PERFECT plane for this mission but that may be changing. I may be looking for a STOL plane. The new mission may involve frequent landings on a short (1000 ft) gravel runway. I don't know much about STOL planes. I could sure use some advice on which planes to consider. My requirements would include: 2 or 4 seats, cruise speed 150 mph, range 500 miles, price $100,000 +/-. The only plane I know much about is the Maule. What other choices are there? Thanks in advance!

After 70 hours in a Cherokee and new PPL, I bought my first plane - a Mooney M20J. Insurance required 10 instruction. I didn't find the transition any big deal. What was the 2nd plane I bought?....... another M20J. Best advice I ever got was "if you bounce hard, or twice automatically go around. I just got the renewal for my insurance ---- $980 That's with 720 PIC time. Here is my two cents worth of advice: -- if you will be flying over mountains then get a Mooney -- if your flights will be longer than 300 miles then get a Mooney --If you will be landing at long, and asphalted airports then get a Mooney

Kevin, I fly over the mountains in the SW almost every week. By going the southern route you will get much less weather. Don't worry about going high. I've had my J up to 17,500 on a couple of occasions,. Watch your oil temps and expect to ascend slowly - especially if you have passengers. But normally flying 12,500 or 13,500 will get you over just about everything safely. At those altitudes no matter the season (but always in the winter) there is a potential for icing if you are in the clouds. There might be a few peaks you jump up a little higher or go around. Generally speaking you get better ground speeds if you fly westward in the mornings and eastwards in the afternoons. Almost all of the mountiains ranges run North to South and are not very wide. There are big wide valleys inbetween. If you were to have troubles you would just land in the valley on whatever side of the peak you are on. I try not to fly at night much over some of these areas because airports are few and far apart,but on the plus side there are many flat spots you could put down safely if you need to. Don't run low on gas - there are not many options for earlier stops. The hardest part will be the mountains by Alberquerque because that mountain range is tall AND wide. After that it gets easier. There are some big MOA's and Restricted areas. Often, especially on Sundays, they are not "hot" you can get clearance through them. If the weather is good - which it usually is in that area- you may find it one of your easiest and prettiest flights ever. Good luck and have fun!

Some of you were right, the problem was more involved than previously thought. I had a repeat of my earlier event - only the battery didn't completely discharge this time. The mechanic checked it out again and determined it was a bad alternator. I'm getting that done now. Hopefully that takes care of the issue.

I have a over 500 hours over the the tallest mountains in the western states in a J Model. My flight altitudes is routinely between 11,000 and 13,500, and occasionally between 14,000 and 17,500. Yes if the budget allowed I would spring for a K model but I do just fine in my J. If my mission took me frequently over the NORTHERN Sierras or in frequent IFR I would probably upgrade to the K. Fortunately, I fly mostly in drier areas and the J works great!

The linemen at the airports are familiar with these tabs. Just tell them to "fill it to the tabs" and they will fill it until the fuel is just touching the bottom of that metal tab in the fuel tank. Now you have 50 gallons.

I had an interesting commute home yesterday. First my autopilot stopped working. I tried to troubleshoot and and eventually just pulled the circuit breaker. But when my Garmin 430 died I realized I had a bigger problem. Pulled out the emergency check-list and again tried to trouble shoot without success. Reduced electrical load as much as I could. I was in the middle of Nevada without many choices so decided to keep going to my final destination. No radios were working when I got there. No strobe or landing lights. Thankfully this was all in the daylight. Had to use the emergency clutch to lower the landing gear. Landed without problem. Interesting though as I taxied to the ramp my electrical came back. The mechanic looked at it today and found a loose alternator belt. He tightened it and all ok now. He said the plane had been flown 141 hours since last annual and so he was not surprised that it was loose. So I mention my experience for three reasons: 1) Just to let others know that the plane flys just fine with a dead battery, 2) That finger checking the belt on pre-flight won't catch this, and 3) I wanted to ask the question if removing the cowl and checking and tightening the belt is a maintenance item that others of you do on a routine basis? Epilogue: I bought a new handheld radio today (My old one doesn't charge anymore). If this would have happened at night how would I have turned on the airport lights? And of course no radio communications for position reports or weather.

I purchased a Bruce cover about a year ago. Fits my J perfectly. Material is thick and seems to be of good quality. The snaps make it easy. It was a little more expensive than some of the others that I was looking at, and I almost went with a cheaper one. However, after seeing the cheap cover my buddy has I am glad I spent the extra cash for a cover I think will last.

I had 68 hours when I bought my first M20J. 0 of those hours were in Mooneys. I didn't yet have my private license, or hours enough for insurance so my instructor accompanied me on the flight to bring her home. I never, ever regretted buying a Mooney as my first plane. My only regret is that I sold it when I didn't need a plane anymore. A few years later I bought another one just like it. I love the speed and economy, and the safety of the Mooney.

Congrats! You are going to love it.

The pilot who had planned to fly in with me to Oshkosh had last minute work conflicts and can't go. Anyone want to share a ride and expenses to OshKosh from the Utah area? If you are a CFI, we can work on my IFR training on the way and you can deduct your instruction fees making your share really cheap. Actually I can accommodate two passengers if you have a friend, or there are two of you who want to go. It'll be a fun trip. I am going either way but would love to have some company. Planning to leave Saturday or Sunday and return on Friday, but days are flexible.

Brad, I may have a spot in my Mooney J. I'm just planning on myself and one other person, but that other person may not be able to go now. I'd be coming from Salt Lake City area. Where abouts in Colorado are you? Are you IFR rated? Message me.

I love having the fuel flow computer but it doesn't show what is in each tank, only the total fuel on board. On a long flight I keep track by switching tanks every 5 gallons, however when I come back to the plane a few days later, or after a few small flights I don't always remember which tank I started with. I would just like to know how much is in each tank. And this is why I have the question about the annunciator panel verses the fuel gauges. If the annunciator panel is still accurate even when the fuel gauges are not then I probably won't bother installing new gauges. At least I would know that when I am down to 2.5 - 3.0 gallons in the tank. However, if the annunciator panel is inaccurate as well, then I may decide to install the Aerospace logic gauge.

Like many older Mooneys, the fuel gauges in my J are not very accurate. My question is, are the fuel low annunciator lights still accurate even if the fuel gauges are not? Question #2 : I have a EI fuel flow, Would there be any integration problems if I installed the Aerospace Logic fuel gauges also?

Very pretty plane. Excellent choice! Welcome!

Here is a question for those of you who use Corrosion X prophylactically : What parts of the plane are you spraying? How often? How are spraying the hard to reach areas like inside the tail section? I don't see any corrosion on my J, but it seems like a simple, inexpensive, prevention strategy. If I live in a dry state, and the plane is hangered would you still recommend it?

My J's 12 year paint is needing some touchups. The log book says Acry Glo Mattahorn White was used. I have found the same paint at AeroTouchups.com. Here are some questions I have regarding doing the touch ups Your collective expertise and experience would be greatly appreciated. 1. After 12 years, will ordering the same paint be the best match or will it have faded and changed so much that doing a paint panel match at the auto store be closer? 2. The Acry Glow is a urethane paint which requires mixing with a hardener. Is this the best way to go or will auto paint in a can be good enough for touchups? 3. If the aluminum is NOT exposed do I still need to etch with a self etching primer or can I just sand and paint? 4. Have you tried Acry Glow in the Prevail spray bottles? Did you have to thin it and if so with what did you thin it with? Thanks!

On a recent flight in my J my passenger ( a bigger fella) leaned on the headrest as he reached to the back seat, and snapped the aluminum rod that holds the headrest in the seat. Has anyone else had this problem? Is it easy to fix? In some of the old posts some people mentioned that they have removed their headrests but I couldn't determine if they were talking about the front seats or the backseats. It seems to me the only purpose of the headrest is to have the Mooney logo embroidered on to them. I don't use the headrests and don't think anyone is going to rear end me. Wondering if I should take them both out.

I was in your shoes 10 years ago. I bought an older J. Never regretted it. In addition to getting a Mooney Instructor, my one big recommendation is that you make sure you get one with an autopilot that works. It will be very helpful on those dark texas nights, and a nice safety feature as you learn more about weather.