New Member, Very Close to Buying C Model

[MBDiagMan]

Thanks very much Moniac!  I will keep trying to find a solution.  It doesn't give a problem every time.  Nothing worse to troubleshoot than an intermittent problem.

[cliffy]

MBDiagMan

I found my Cessna 140 (after 15 years gone) out in Levellalnd, Texas!     Somewhere out near you?

Your N number on the 140 seems familiar to me it just hasn't sync'd in yet. 

[MBDiagMan]

No, unless 2414V was in the panhandle in the fifties when it belonged to a pipeline company, it has never been based there.  She was restomodified in the late seventies in the California wine country.  A fellow poured TONS of money into the project and gave the plane to his wife as a birthday present.  She then got her instrument rating in the plane.  After him the plane ended up in Missourri and then Texarkana where I purchased her almost six years ago.  I am in NorthEast Texas about a hundred miles North East of Dallas on the Red River.

I am not sure if I will keep her after buying the Mooney.  The big problem is finding a hangar for both.  I have a box hangar currently and if I can't fit them both in the hangar, the 140 will have to go out and then be sold.  I can't make myself leave her out permanently.  She has been hangared continuously since the restoration project.

[cliffy]

You know I might have run into it in Calif as I spent a lot of time in the wine area of Paso Robles CA  in the 70s.  Like I said, the number is familiar to me. 

[MBDiagMan]

Prebuy inspection/annual scheduled for Monday.  If no sqwauks from the prebuy, he will go ahead and annual the aircraft.  If all That goes well, we will start looking for training/ ferrying weather and bring her home.  Until my training is finished I will be tying her down outside.  This really bothers me, but I don't have an alternative.  Once I can move her around myself, I will put her in my hangar at another airport and maybe put the 140 out.  It is a box hangar and I think both of them will fit.  My new hangar is supposed to be finished in 90 days.

I will check into one of those cloth covers that covers the entire cockpit area.  Anyone ever use one?  They are expensive, but I want as much protection as possible.  It will be nice to have when tying down on a ramp while traveling.

it really looks like this is going to happen.

[Joe Zuffoletto]

I have a cloth cover like you describe and it's definitely worthwhile. I always use it when traveling.

[carusoam]

MBD,

you might be able use scaled drawings of your planes, cut up like paper dolls to see if you can fit them into a paper scaled box hangar...  scaled drawings can often be found in the POH of your plane (or a more modern version of your plane)

i used to move machinery around factories this way.  Typical CAD layout drawings are static, and don't show all you need to know when moving things....

Search for planecovers there are two main suppliers to the mooney community, and a few other ideas may show up...

Best regards,

-a-

Edited February 7, 2017 by carusoam

[gsxrpilot]

I ordered a cover the same day I bought my latest airplane. And I have it in a hangar. But as Mooney's are for traveling, it often spends nights away from home, out on the ramp, and thus the cover.

But possibly even more important are some window shades. Get a roll of this and cut out your own. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Reflectix-24-in-x-25-ft-Double-Reflective-Insulation-with-Staple-Tab-ST24025/100020855  They easily stay up on the inside of the windows without any fasteners. They weigh nothing and so stay rolled up in the back of my plane. It will keep eyes out of your cockpit and the sun/heat off your electronics.

[MBDiagMan]

I have done some measuring, but havent done any templates in a box.  It is a three dimensional fit that require tail over/under wing or wing under wing.  I was looking at it again this morning and I

give it a 50/50 chance.

[cnoe]

Clarence is the resident expert on putting multiple planes in small spaces. Look for his pics which involve accentuating the vertical separation.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Wildhorsesracing]

10 hours ago, MBDiagMan said:

I have done some measuring, but havent done any templates in a box.  It is a three dimensional fit that require tail over/under wing or wing under wing.  I was looking at it again this morning and I

give it a 50/50 chance.

That's what I did as well - and once I got everything to fit smoothly I painted lines on the ground extending out from each plane's wheels so I can quickly and easily roll them back in.  I'll take a pic of the lines next time I am at the airport, I even have a note - "tail clears" written on the nose wheel paint line when the Mooney tail is clear of the wall and I can start the turn.

[MBDiagMan]

Thanks horse racer!  My hangar is a box rather than a T.  Do you happen to know the width and depth of your hangar?

[Hank]

1 hour ago, MBDiagMan said:

Thanks horse racer!  My hangar is a box rather than a T.  Do you happen to know the width and depth of your hangar?

His T-hangar is a darn sight bigger than either of the ones I've had . . . The first one gave me almost 18" of clear space off each wingtip, the second one was just over two feet. Now I'm the 1st spot on the left inside the 50' wide door of a community hangar, the only structure at the airport. But it's OK, there's now a 2nd plane there being brought back to life over the next few months, it's last flight having been c. 2008.

[MBDiagMan]

Yeah Hank, I wouldn't be surprised if that hangar is close to fifty feet wide.  Mine is 41' wide and I think 33' deep.  I wrote the. Dimensions down, but they are still in the hangar.  I also wrote down the plane dimensions in the same place.  I think the Mooney is 35' wing span and 23'6" long and the 140 is 33' wing span and 21'6" long.

I will be out of pocket until Wednesday and won't be to the hangar before then.  The prebuy might be done by then.  Once the plane is home I will be tying down outside at a different airport until I am checked out.  Then I will put it in the hanger for longer periods when I am not flying.  My new hangar will be finished in early May.  My 140 May have to be out some until then if they both won't fit.

[MBDiagMan]

A tedious prebuy is going well.  Being done by a very knowledgable and highly respected retired Mooney employee in Kerrville.  He has said many good things about the plane such as "amazingly corrosion free," and "I would buy it myself."  He is going to finish the prebuy tomorrow by removing seats and checking the tube.  I felt very good about the plane to begin with, but now that he is closely scrutinizing it, I am feeling even better.

Looks like she will be mine.  Starting to work toward setting up the transition training.  I have been doing a lot of reading here and other good sources.

[cliffy]

Again, don't let the transition get to you. It is after all just another airplane. Think speed on final and are the wheels down crossing the fence and all will be OK. Everything else will take care of itself with time and experience in type. 

[carusoam]

Covering all the bases is a good way to play it...

Best regards,

-a-

[MBDiagMan]

Among all the other things I am involved in, I will need time to learn the 430W.  Is there software that will generate an Instrument flight plan and then make a file that you can plug into the 430 with the corresponding waypoints?  OR........ Will I needt o enter waypoints manually on the 430 panel?

Edited February 17, 2017 by MBDiagMan

[carusoam]

Find the thread for the FS210 and FS510?

This is where the magic Garmin boxes connect your iPad, internet, and airplane together...

It may take a ton of money to make this happen.  Keep both eyes open if you are buying stuff.  The new technology has some Short coming related to transferring all data to all devices.

Best regards,

-a-

Edited February 17, 2017 by carusoam

[MBDiagMan]

Yes, I have wondered if the 430 is new enough technology to support Bluetooth.

[MBDiagMan]

GREAT!  I googled flightstream.  It looks like one or one and a half AMU's will give some amazing connectivity.

You guys on here are awesome!

[gsxrpilot]

You'd be surprised how quickly you can enter and/or edit a flight plan on the old GNS platform such as the 430 or 530. Once you do a few of them, you'll get pretty quick at it.

[MBDiagMan]

Yeah, gsx, the best approach in the beginning, I think, is to develop the flight plan in Foreflight and then get practice entering them on the 430 panel.  Even if I do go to the Flightstream later, I will not only have a better understanding, but also an alternative method.  I will be watching lots of 430 videos while waiting for him to complete the annual and finalizing the purchase.

I talked to the transition trainer in San Antonio today about possible scenarios for training and getting her to her new home.  Because of his schedule, we will probably take this approach:  he will fly it to my home field one morning and spend the remainder of the day with me before I take him or send him home.  I will then finish up my complex endorsement/transition training with my local Mooney guru flight instructor.  The gentlemen doing my prebuy/annual is not feeling well so it might be the end of next week before he is done and I finalize the purchase.  Might even be longer.  I am hoping to get the plane, get the endorsement, get in the insurance solo time, all before Spring break.  I told my girlfriend that I will fly her to Galveston for Spring Break.  Certainly would be a quicker trip in the Mooney, rather than getting the taildragger in the air and wait for the Earth to rotate underneath.:)

Now that the purchase appears imminent I am getting excited.  Natural I suppose.

[gsxrpilot]

My first Mooney had a 530 in it. It was very stressful the first few times and I watched lots of videos trying to learn how to use it. But it turns out its pretty easy and you'll love having the unit.

On and BTW... it's your airplane, so you can most certainly get the hours in.

[MBDiagMan]

Well, I am now waiting on the IA that did the prebuy to go ahead and finish the annual.  He might be done this week.  I have to fly my girlfriend to Austin tomorrow, 209 NM, so we will be putt-putting in the 140.  Sure would be an ideal trip for the Mooney!

Now that the purchase is imminent, I am like a ten year old waiting for Christmas.

I was putting a new tailwheel tire on the 140 today and a few friends dropped by.  They all said the same thing, "Don't get rid of the 140.  They all also said that both planes will fit in the hangar.  I hope their eyes are all in calibration.  I give it about a fifty fifty chance.  

The broker that sold me the Mooney said to fly the 140 there, pick up the Mooney and leave the 140 for him to sell.  Not sure yet if I can part with it.

SO....... Looks like I will officially be joining your ranks as a Mooney owner.