New member and not a Mooney owner.....YET.....Hope to be soon - comments please

[ShermAv8tor]

I bought mine after 75 hours. I was 50 when I got my ticket. I have a E and am very happy 1974. In my case I wanted a 4 passenger plane and have found 90 % of the time it's just my wife and me. I'm not in the back seat so whatever:) I would get a good inspection on the engine and frame. I did the interior myself and had it painted for 7000. I bought an ugly one that had decent working electronics.

I don't have auto pilot but I never have had it. The wing leveler I really like. It flys like a dream. There was a guy in Green Bay that was selling his for 29000. Interior ok paint fair mid time engine. Needed some maintainance stuff but not bad. Everything is doable. Only in America can you have some version of anything. Good luck. Here's me flying on Saturday

http://youtu.be/GXIt3t5lC48

Great video MooneyPTG.....looks cold in Green Bay.....great flight flight though. I have purchased a half share for now in a 65C model, and it needs some TLC but mostly solid. had LASAR look it over and 6K later the gear is all back to normal. New truss, steering horn, almost all hardware and bushings went oversize, the gear tensions were way high on mains and really low on nose. One of the trim torque tubes was almost worn half through from sloppy linkage and rubbing in the lightning hole (it was replaced) The IA who has been maintaining this bird last 12 yrs admitted he never checked gear tensions during annual, (doesnt have the tools) and now is being reluctant to provide us (well me I'm asking) the AD listing which I cannot locate in records, IA states its not reqired...I ask how do you know its airworthy if you signed it off and didnt research AD's? So I'm trying to get it straightened out, looks like I may be contacting my local FSDO for some further evaluation of the last annual. Yes I will probably do the interior myself.....Where did you purchase your interior carpets and kit from? Finished my solo cross countries and now down to night and simulated instrument, some other small things, but hopefully get my ticket by Mid march prior to spring break using the C150.

[MooneyPTG]

Call me at 920 621 347three

It would be easier to explain on phone the process.

It cost me about 2000 for the interior. Lots of work but worth it

[ShermAv8tor]

Just getting back to checking to forum......MooneyPTG I will give you a call when I get the chance, things are really busy right now, but I will call. Thanks for sharing, the interior looks great!

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[ShermAv8tor]

Finally able to upload a photo using tapatalk as suggested

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[DXB]

Congrats!!  I am not much past where you are in your progression.   Got my '68C along with my PPL in December, now 7 hours into complex + transition training.   The plane is great, handles beautifully, blazing fast on same fuel burn as the warrior I trained in, or can slow it down to trainer speeds and burn 6gph.  Contrary to expectations, really very easy to land.   It's maybe a tad harder to keep off speed on final, but not hard.  Learning to manage power settings and descent profile with the clean wing have been a tad more work.  Still trying to get hang of Johnson Bar, but once the gear is down at 120, it acts mostly like a docile trainer again. The flaps certainly don't seem to do too much compared to Cessna or Piper- I once forgot to push the tab down before working the pump and hardly noticed a difference when I landed unknowingly with no flaps.   Carb heat issue seems no big deal- am using continuously starting with descent, unless/until I learn to be more nuanced.   Hardest part for me frankly has been managing maintenance questions and sorting out the paperwork, but as an A/P you're way ahead there.   Will be curious to hear of your transition progress as I'm dealing with pretty similar stuff....

[AndyFromCB]

Here is the deal. With most of the older airframes, you either need to be able to swing the purchase price at any moment again on maintenance or you need partners. Partners make sense unless you absolutely hate dealing with others. So if you're looking at a 40k plane have another 40k in the bank. Maintenance can add up. i would say that 3x the fuel cost is correct for anything old and out warranty. But that's an average. 100 an hour for a&p adds up pretty quickly. More expensive you go the cheaper it becomes percent wise. But yes, you can blow 20k first year you own it. Don't forget Ikarus.

[Conrad]

There are people with 40k maintenance stories, sure, but very few people in there have no regrets about how they handled the prepurchase process.

 

The plane looks beautiful BTW! I hope the inside proves as reliable as the outside is good-looking.

[ShermAv8tor]

Just wanted to announce that I received my ticket on Friday the 13th! Feels great to have accomplished this, and thanks for all the info and suggestions here on my post. I did not train in the mooney, but finished it up in the 150. I am now focusing on transitioning into the Mooney, and getting familiar with it! I am really excited about getting this done. Insurance requires 10hrs dual and 5 solo before I can carry pax and be covered. I think I found an instructor, will keep you posted.

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[DonMuncy]

Congrats. Well done.

[carusoam]

Way to go Sherm!

Feel free to cut the tail off your signature line, add PP?

Best regards,

-a-

[bonal]

Congratulations well done. Are you flying out of Byron or Buchanan. Make sure your instructor has Mooney experience. keep us posted on your progress and your Mooney life.

Very nice looking Mooney by the way.

[ShermAv8tor]

Bonal, I'm out of Byron C83.....Thanks!

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[ShermAv8tor]

So I changed the oil & filter (pretty easy) put a new nose tire on & repacked bearings, put in new ELt battery & ops check (due by calendar) then I finally flew it for 1st time yesterday with an instructor.........WHEW that is busy.....prac prac prac - my left thumb was sore from pushing the PC button so much, but I'm sure its not the norm, since we were doing training.....working the manual gear for the first time was intresting to say the least, I had to give controls to the instructor and work it a few times to get the hang of it....LOL.....1st time I couldnt get it unlocked to put down....oh yea slide handle down....duh......then it wouldnt lock in floor, kept trying like 6 times, then looked down and saw pax seat belt belt missing and not attached.....AHA!.....I think I actually unlatched it whenIi put the handle down first time.....MY BAD......bad spot for the pax buckle....ha....need to get the whole landing trim to speed thing down.....played with AP......seemed to be working well, need to study up.

Does anyone know why there are no limitiation markings on the MP gauge? POH AFM dont show anything either.....just curious if there are limitations?

Instructor did mention he thought it was pretty fast since were just shy of 2500 RPM on prop and set at about 22-23 on MP, and hitting 150 MPH with a slight headwind about 45 off the nose at 20ish.....IDK I don't anything to compare it to other than a cessna 150!

This thing takes way more right rudder input than I was used to

noticed alot of yaw action back and forth going on, then i remembered reading need to rest foot on pedal then that seemed to stop....is that the norm?

Need to find a nice kneeboard checklist for takeoff/climb/cruise/descent/landing/after landing checks

[gsxrpilot]

Yep, was right there with you a year and 120 hrs ago. The good news is that just like anything else, practice makes permanent.  And all of these things, the manual gear, yaw control, approach/landing speed and configuration, etc, will become second nature.

 

If you come to like your C half as much as I like mine, it will be the best money you ever spent.

[Hank]

Sherm--Welcome to the fun! Mooneys are quick, slippery little buggers, that's what makes them so much fun! I just fixed a few problems at annual that I didn't know I had, and all of my power settings are now changed, had to spend an afternoon relearning speed control. I've have a 3-blade prop and now see 145-150 mph at 23"/2300 when practicing around 3000 msl. This weekend enroute at 21-1/2"/2500 I was indicating 145 at 8000 and 140 at 9000, which is nice until you see the groundspeed and realize just how strong the headwinds are.

I made up my own checklist, going through the Owners Manual. Then I rearranged things to fit my own idea of proper flow. Word has a printing style called Booklet (check the Help section), which printed it In landscape format, front and back of the sheets, without needing a double-sided printer. I soft-laminated the pages, stacked them in order and folded them in half to get my own kneeboard-sized checklist booklet specific to me and my plane. Because each sheet of paper becomes 4 pages when folded, I was able to type in abbreviated Performance Tables to save wear and tear on the aging, browned original booklet, which lives in the seatback pocket.

There are no limits on manifold pressure unless you have a placard or a turbo model. Mine says something like "no sustained operation below 15" at so many RPMs" right there between the gages. Every takeoff is with all three levers fully forward, landings are always Full Prop, Full Rich and Throttle Idle (unless visiting out west, when the mixture must be pulled back some). You should still hear the stall horn just before the wheels touch. Even 1/4" of accidentally leaving the throttle forward will cause lengthy floats down the runway at 3' agl; NEVER push the yoke forward if this happens! That will lead to Pilot Induced Oscillations--go around to save the prop!

Have fun! Fly safe!

[carusoam]

There are two muscles to work on, thumb button muscle and right arm...

Or skip the lopsided work out and go with technical solutions...

Keeping the floor clear is always good. Something important will inevitably fall in there and get crushed...

There are two known solutions to hold the button down. One uses a 35mm film canister (if you are old enough to know what this is) and the other is a large rubber band.

Know that there are two speeds that you will like. One is best for raising the gear. The other is for lowering the gear...

The next fun M20C experience you will gain is with a passenger... You will start to lower the gear and Accidently disconnect their seat belt. This is a subtle sign the airplane is getting slightly ahead of the pilot. When you know it is coming, it's easy to take precautions...

Ideas that come to mind,

-a-

[Conrad]

When I bought my E the previous owner mentioned the problem with the seatbelts getting unlatched during gear swings. His advice, which I have been following is: connect the buckle so that the release faces inward. Seems to work great! My bird also has a panel mounted PC disconnect, which puts the PTT on the yoke. I would love to be able to comment on how well this works, but my PC system is inop so I'm not enjoying it yet.

[carusoam]

The panel mounted switch/valve is the coolest update if one can be found....

Better than the film canister and rubber band!

Best regards,

-a-

[Yooper Rocketman]

So I changed the oil & filter (pretty easy) put a new nose tire on & repacked bearings, put in new ELt battery & ops check (due by calendar) then I finally flew it for 1st time yesterday with an instructor.........WHEW that is busy.....prac prac prac - my left thumb was sore from pushing the PC button so much, but I'm sure its not the norm, since we were doing training.....working the manual gear for the first time was intresting to say........

I noted on another thread that my F model PC could be disabled until I wanted it by simply lifting the over ride button up on the yoke, out of the pocket a little bit. Not sure if that was an anomaly or if all yoke mounted buttons can be raised up, but it was sure easy to disable if you don't have a panel mount switch. Just used my finger nails to raise it up a 1/4".

The manual gear will become second nature after you use it enough.

[gsxrpilot]

"The manual gear will become second nature after you use it enough."

 

And you'll love it.

[Hank]

I noted on another thread that my F model PC could be disabled until I wanted it by simply lifting the over ride button up on the yoke, out of the pocket a little bit. Not sure if that was an anomaly or if all yoke mounted buttons can be raised up, but it was sure easy to disable if you don't have a panel mount switch. Just used my finger nails to raise it up a 1/4".

The manual gear will become second nature after you use it enough.

Yeah, that works.I don't pay the button any attention unless I'm practicing maneuvers or something. On a regular flight, it's never touched. In the pattern, the extra resistance is my reminder to not overbank.

[Yooper Rocketman]

Yeah, that works.I don't pay the button any attention unless I'm practicing maneuvers or something. On a regular flight, it's never touched. In the pattern, the extra resistance is my reminder to not overbank.

Mine must have been stiffer, because it took a lot of force to override it. In the 1300 hours I flew that F, I doubt more than 10% of the hours were with it enabled. I just used it as a primitive AP on longer cross country flights.

[ShermAv8tor]

When I bought my E the previous owner mentioned the problem with the seatbelts getting unlatched during gear swings. His advice, which I have been following is: connect the buckle so that the release faces inward. Seems to work great! My bird also has a panel mounted PC disconnect, which puts the PTT on the yoke. I would love to be able to comment on how well this works, but my PC system is inop so I'm not enjoying it yet.

Yes that is what I was thinking of doing! Move the PC button to panel, and I want a PTT switch there instead........got to get these 10 hours dual and 5 hrs solo in first......

Yes I know what a 35mm canister is......LOL.......also shake it like a Polaroid picture!!

Question is do you remember 8mm film or what a 45 is? (music not weapons) LOL!

[Yetti]

You can put a disconnect on the panel, but you would need paper work from Brittan Industries which they will help you with.   Only some models can do this and it basically a switch to ground the system.  

[MyNameIsNobody]

Brittain makes an electric solenoid that cuts off P/C. I installed later yokes that have this toggle switch on the front of the left yoke handle. PTT is on top of right. Map light in the center. The solenoid is reasonably priced (around .1AMU). I like it a lot vs. old manual push/hold down of PC pneumatic cut-off.