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[SkyTrekker]

I've been trolling here at MooneySpace for many months now, and have recently made a few posts and received direct, helpful guidance.  But I've never properly introduced myself and wanted to take a moment to say hello and share a little background.

First, I have to echo the sentiments of so many before me and express how grateful I am for the contributions of the individuals who make MooneySpace the excellent resource that it is.  The camaraderie here is palpable, and the occasional spirited debate and difference of opinion notwithstanding, the helpfulness and sense of community of this forum is unmatched, in my opinion.

I've been an aviation nut since I was very young, and the first thing that I wanted "to be when I grew up" was a pilot.  I was always putting those 75 cent balsa wood airplanes together and flying them, breaking them, frankensteining them back together in strange combinations, and flying them until there was nothing left.

In my late twenties I had a tandem hang gliding experience that was amazing.  About 20 years ago I was introduced to skydiving which gave me another perspective on flying (9 solo jumps before I moved on to other things), and then I got into the RC flying hobby.  First a big gas wooden trainer, then collective pitch electric helicopters, then tricopters and quads, and finally remote audio/video piloting on all of the above (insert hundreds of hours of crashing, ordering parts, and rebuilding various flying things, oh and maybe a dozen hours of actual flight time :-).

About a year ago, during one of our frequent family trips from central Texas to San Antonio to visit parents, my wife and I started talking - half jokingly - about how nice it would be to if we could fly that recurring trip and cut our transit time in half, not to mention improve the view along the way.  Of course I had always fantasized about flying my own plane, and all of a sudden we were contemplating doing just that!  A couple of months later we were meeting with CFIs, and in October of last year I started taking flight lessons from my excellent CFI based at ACT, about 15 minutes from my home.

I started training in his J3C cub, hand-propping and learning the basics on the stick and rudder.  At around 10 hours we transitioned to the C172.  By this time I'd decided (thanks to all of you folks and a ton of other reading) that I wanted a Mooney.  I started searching in earnest, and in May (and with my CFI's help and involvement), purchased N9440V, a 1970 M20E with ~200 hours SMOH and ~2600 hours TT. I had completed my pre-solo written test and was about to solo the Cessna when I took delivery of my E, and needed to insert 15 additional hours of instruction in the E before I could solo (per my insurance terms, not to mention my own peace of mind).

So here I am, about 15 hours later, about to complete the pre-solo written again, and just around the corner from my first solo flight in my own Mooney.  There is no way I'd be this far along and as informed as I am without the wisdom and guidance found on these pages.   So thank you MooneySpace and MS contributors.  I know I will continue to learn from you, and I hope I can give back in my own way to help others who land here, looking for wisdom and insight into these special flying things we call Mooneys.

-Sia

[gsxrpilot]

Congrats Pilot!  And all of us here will sleep better knowing you went to a proper Mooney shop, (Don Maxwell) for the pre-buy on your E.  I won't have to add you to my list of Mooney owners with buyers remorse.

Get your certificate then come fly formation with the Caravan Texas Wing...

[SkyTrekker]

Thanks gsx!  Yes, Don's is definitely the place to go (at least in my area) for a pre-buy.  My goal was to stay off of your list ;-)

I have to say, as far off as flying formation seems for me right now, it sounds really, really fun.  I hope to take you up on it as soon as I've got some hours under my belt.

[gsxrpilot]

3 minutes ago, SkyTrekker said:

Thanks gsx!  Yes, Don's is definitely the place to go (at least in my area) for a pre-buy.  My goal was to stay off of your list ;-)

I have to say, as far off as flying formation seems for me right now, it sounds really, really fun.  I hope to take you up on it as soon as I've got some hours under my belt.

Where are you in Texas? It's a big place.  You can always come meet us and ride along in the right seat for an up close view of the fun. You can also take the controls and try your hand at "station keeping".

[steingar]

Flying formation is a blast, you just need to get good training and be ready to fly the numbers.

[MBDiagMan]

Great move and welcome to Mooneyspace Sia!  I too bought my first plane while a student.  It is a great thing to do.  Once you get past the checkride you will be ready to fly at will and be comfortable in the plane without having to transition to a different aircraft.

I am one of your fellow Texans, so maybe we will meet up at some point in the future.

Enjoy!

 

[SkyTrekker]

4 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

Where are you in Texas? It's a big place.  You can always come meet us and ride along in the right seat for an up close view of the fun. You can also take the controls and try your hand at "station keeping".

I'm in Waco, so not too far at all.  Family and work keep the calendar full, but I know I'll be able to free up one of these days to come ride with one of you guys.  Thanks for the invite!

3 hours ago, steingar said:

Flying formation is a blast, you just need to get good training and be ready to fly the numbers.

That is exactly what I'm working on these days...flying the numbers.  There is a lot to that.

3 hours ago, MBDiagMan said:

Great move and welcome to Mooneyspace Sia!  I too bought my first plane while a student.  It is a great thing to do.  Once you get past the checkride you will be ready to fly at will and be comfortable in the plane without having to transition to a different aircraft.

I am one of your fellow Texans, so maybe we will meet up at some point in the future.

Enjoy!

 

Thanks MBDiag. Yes, that was part of the appeal for me, get to spend significant time with my CFI learning in the plane I will be flying.  Would love to connect one of these days.

[Raptor05121]

Welcome! Great looking E!

[tony]

welcome welcome welcome

[carusoam]

Way to go Sia. You have a strong sense of logic!

 

One day, back in 2008, somebody else had the same idea... 

A few other intros pop up every now and again...

Interesting to see who is still here...

I stumbled upon MS about a month after it was launched... while looking for information about IO550s used in Mooneys...

Good place to learn real information.

Welcome out into the open!

Best regards,

-a-

[rainman]

Welcome Sia, I'm in Boerne (5C1) near San Antonio. Very convenient if your parents are on the north side of town. Let me know if I can be of any help or if you just want to meet (T82) for lunch at Fredricksburg (there is a 50s style diner on the field). Also a former skydiver with lots of jumps.  Ray

[McMooney]

Welcome Skytrekker, CONGRATS on n9440v, it's the plane that hooked me on Mooney's; thing takes off like a bat out of hell.

I think I must've test flown it the day before you came and looked at it.  I'm at KDWH, maybe the hangar next to where you got n9440v.

 

Edited July 15, 2017 by McMooney

[Yetti]

Welcome,

Mrs Yetti asked if there was a place to eat in Waco?

I see a Cameron Tx Mooney food run in the near future.

 

Edited July 15, 2017 by Yetti

[gsxrpilot]

Unfortunately July and August are "no fly" months in Texas.

[KLRDMD]

39 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

Unfortunately July and August are "no fly" months in Texas.

Sure you can, you can fly in AZ then too. All you want. From 5AM until 10AM.

[Yetti]

8 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

Unfortunately July and August are "no fly" months in Texas.

Get up earlier or go to bed later......   Hop in and start the fan

Edited July 15, 2017 by Yetti

[SkyTrekker]

On 7/14/2017 at 1:48 AM, carusoam said:

Way to go Sia. You have a strong sense of logic!

One day, back in 2008, somebody else had the same idea... 

A few other intros pop up every now and again...

Interesting to see who is still here...

I stumbled upon MS about a month after it was launched... while looking for information about IO550s used in Mooneys...

Good place to learn real information.

Welcome out into the open!

Best regards,

-a-

Dang it!  I would have added my intro to the existing master thread if I'd noticed it.  Duplicate threads bug me :-)

On 7/14/2017 at 2:13 AM, rainman said:

Welcome Sia, I'm in Boerne (5C1) near San Antonio. Very convenient if your parents are on the north side of town. Let me know if I can be of any help or if you just want to meet (T82) for lunch at Fredricksburg (there is a 50s style diner on the field). Also a former skydiver with lots of jumps.  Ray

Hi Rainmain. Thanks for the invite, and I hope I can take you up on one or both offers one of these days!  I've been looking at 5C1 as well as Bullverde and New Braunfels as possible airports for the frequent weekend trips to visit the parents.  Seems like there are a number of good choices. My mother lives about a mile from T94 (Twinoaks) in San Antonio.  Anyone ever used that strip?  It is tiny, with homes on all sides, deep in San Antonio suburbia. I drove by and looked at it once.  Runway is in great shape, but only 2200 feet long!  Too exciting-sounding for my blood at this early stage in my Mooney career :-| 

 

[SkyTrekker]

11 hours ago, McMooney said:

Welcome Skytrekker, CONGRATS on n9440v, it's the plane that hooked me on Mooney's; thing takes off like a bat out of hell.

I think I must've test flown it the day before you came and looked at it.  I'm at KDWH, maybe the hangar next to where you got n9440v.

 

Thank you McMooney!  So cool that you've had time in my E!  She does jump off the runway, and climbs like nobody's business. Don Maxwell recorded compressions of 79s and 80s during the pre-buy!  Were you thinking of buying her?  I know the previous owner said that some of the lookers were really wanting a GPS and the fact that 40V didn't have one was often an obstacle.

11 hours ago, Yetti said:

Welcome,

Mrs Yetti asked if there was a place to eat in Waco?

I see a Cameron Tx Mooney food run in the near future.

 

Yetti, we have plenty of good eateries in Waco. Would love to have you folks visit.  Once I have my PPL and 10 hours of post PPL solo flying burned off, Mrs. Trekker and I would love to meet you two in Cameron for a bite!  I flew my first cross country a couple of weeks ago to Cameron and other points along the way.  Much fun.

[carusoam]

With 2200' available it requires good airspeed control.

Practice a lot...

To really know your plane...

Use something like a skyradar (ADSB in and WAAS GPS) and CloudAhoy (app) to measure actual T/O and landing performances.

Don't forget to have Plan Bs lined up...

Best regards,

-a-

[Yetti]

Cameron T35 is 3200 feet.   Big long runways just make you sloppy.  

[gsxrpilot]

+1 for CloudAhoy 

It's a great app to use to get actual data on your short field technique while practicing on a long runway.

[Hank]

5 hours ago, Yetti said:

Cameron T35 is 3200 feet.   Big long runways just make you sloppy.  

Yep. I learned and bought my Mooney on 3000' obstructed, spent a year with 5000' and had to practice before going back to visit. We moved comfortably into 3200, loving the open approaches.

[SkyTrekker]

12 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

+1 for CloudAhoy 

It's a great app to use to get actual data on your short field technique while practicing on a long runway.

I'll try recording with CloudAhoy on my next flight.

[carusoam]

The waas receiver will give very accurate detail, if you have one.  

My non waas, internal iPad GPS receiver only has a few points on or near the runway, not good enough for actual measurement...

Best regards,

-a-

[SkyTrekker]

First solo flight accomplished!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpzayJPM2-g