What a Long Strange Trip It's Been...Then & Now in My E

[scottfromiowa]

Very satisfying to fly home from Willmar (Weep No More) today with the left tank seal completed.

When I bought my tired hanger queen 12 years ago it had:

-Wood Grain Panel

-Narco Com 120 radios

-No engine monitor...beyond original six pack with one cylinder temp and exhaust gas probe

-No auto-pilot beyond basic PC

-An ADF

-No decent panel lighting

-No GPS

-No weather

-No music

-No Stereo Intercom

-No Accutrac

-No Accu-Flite

-A busted clock

-No Fuel Flow

-No Volt/Amp Meter beyond the basic six pack worthless piece of #$@^ gauge...sorry stranded me...

-No updated voltage regulator

-Frayed skat tubes everywhere

-Tired Carpet

-No headrests

-Tired headliner

-Cracked plasstic

-Crazed side windows

-No HID landing light

-No landing light fairing

-Original Engine

-Original exhaust

-Original Oil Cooler

-Original hoses firewall forward

-WEEPING TANKS

-Mushy Brakes

-Flaps that didn't work

-A loose nose bushing

-clamshell gear doors

-Multiple panel belly

SIGH....

12 Years of making her mine. Finally Squak Free....But No ADSB

OUT....The list goes on.

Life as a Mooniac...It's a beautiful thing

[bonal]

Second year of ownership. New exhaust OH bendix mags new fuel lines new oil lines OH carburetor rebuilt air box rebuilt Sky tech starter new volt reg rebuilt motor mount assembly with new rubbers entire hull and wings cleaned of minor corrosion and sprayed with anti corrosion. Flap hydraulic lines replaced and new tires I did install the LASAR landing light cover though.

The good news is nice paint nice new leather seats and new bladders and working Stec-30. First upgrade will be fuel flow meter and 4 way CHT and EGT. Hopefully next years annual will be routine.

Hopefully.

[MB65E]

Nice work Scooter!! I feel the same way!!O/h on the prop this week...

[triple8s]

Get that GTX 330ES and then you'll be ready to trade her off! :-/

A friend told me this stuff is a disease, I think he is right.

[Spenscot]

Keep Truckin'!

[scottfromiowa]

A "Long" trip ... I can see that .... I guess you are telling us new owners what we can look forward to? (Here I am thinking we are done until ADS-B.)

But why "strange?"

Ask Spenscot...

Just a "Dead" reference, (song)...and since based on my bringing her back from the dead...or at least a long Coma with the previous owner not really flying, but merely keeping her on life support AND the frequent "Strange" gotchas of....Oh, the brakes don't work right, oh, the flaps don't work right, oh, I lost all my electric...in the pattern in Lansing...Oh, I have oil on the top of my cowl and windscreen...Oh I am sliding on my belly...Oh, I am out of money and she is not done...I need a partner...Just your basic strange trip

[scottfromiowa]

I really meant it as being....NOW...very satisfying to have a squak free aircraft after years of "not being there". If you have the long game in mind a neglected bird with a %$^& ton of money, sweat equity and time can be "better than new" for function, safety and performance. I do a lot of warning of "would be" bargain hunters because, Out of necessity, I WAS one of those guys. Two young kids and a job that did not allow pouring money into an airplane project. Like the military service, looking back I don't know, if I know now/after what was involved (commitment, time, money, sweat, pain, frustration, fear, fatigue) what I was in for if I would do again...but since it didn't kill or bankrupt me...It was a good experience. I have learned a lot. I look forward to enjoying my Mooney for the next decade, vs. struggling with her. My trip home yesterday was a little choppy, but I had a smile on my face looking and thinking about where I had been and how far I have come. I guess in life and with the plane.

[KJATCt]

Best of all you know YOUR airplane tip to tail. That is worth a helluva lot! This Mooney disease is a beautiful affliction.

[aviatoreb]

I have only had my Mooney for 3.5 years.  But on regard to chasing all the demons out of your new-to-you airplane - watching my friends buy planes and through the two airplanes now I have owned - now matter what when buying a new-to-you airplane there are always demons to chase.  For me this becomes a huge incentive to bring your own airplane to turn key status and then just keep it for a long time.  I don't understand folks who buy a new airplane every 2 or 3 years. I understand a little bit because that is exactly what I did with my first airplane - it was an upgrade in capability.  And yes sometimes I go to controller and look at the twin Barons, and the turbine Bonanza - but hey - its just nice getting attached and keeping a marvelous squak free airplane that you road the path to get there - and my path was not nearly as involved as yours Scott, but its cool to sort of become attached to a particular airframe and tail number for a long time.

[scottfromiowa]

Here's looking forward to "squak free"...Left strobe was not firing...Took off the bulb to get the part number...decided to peek at the power supply. When the altitude hold control was installed in empennage Brittain zip tied their pneumatic lines to the existing strobe power supply. Low and behold one connector had come loose. Plugged 'er in and she fired like a champ. $73+ shipping saved and "squak free" for another day.

[bonal]

I am planning to keep my current airplane for many years it has only 700 on the motor and I put 100 of them on it myself. Needs a few items to do but is a very sound aircraft that I love to fly. But I must say as a 50 year old Snoopy does like to aggravate me from time to time.