Mooneymite Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 1 hour ago, atrosa said: BTW I'm 50 years old and in great health. I notice that a manual gear on your C is one of your preferences. Like you, I was 50 when I bought my Mooney 22 years ago. I wanted a manual gear Mooney, but decided a newer ('74) C with a standard panel was the way to go. I reluctantly accepted the electric gear and flaps. Now, I'm no longer 50 and I am so glad I have the electric gear. When my bursitis flares up, the gear still goes up...pain free. Don't exclude an electric gear Mooney out of hand. They're great and mine has been completely trouble free for 22 years. I know a lot of folks on Mooneyspace love the manual gear, but there are reasons Mooney stopped producing manual gear Mooneys. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydvrboy Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 3 hours ago, atrosa said: The right one will have: 1) no corrosion - ABSOLUTELY 2) sealed tanks - Meh, a reseal can be priced in and then you know it was done right. Old sealed tanks can become leaking tanks with a single bad landing. 3) midtime engine - Again, this will be priced in. The best deals are high time engines that are priced as run out. Any time you get out of them is "free" time. 4) no Prop AD - People put way too much emphasis on this. It's just not that big of a deal in either cost or time. Bonus if you find one, otherwise don't worry about it. 5) Manual Gear - A nice to have, but not a show stopper. (Please add to this list) #1 thing I would add... flown at least 75 hrs per year for the last 3-4 years. Engine Monitor - Some will say not to worry about this because you can then add the engine monitor you want. To me, the engine monitor is some reassurance that the last guy managed the engine properly. Six pack panel - Expensive to change and you won't get your money back. Same goes for any avionics you want. If you are OK flying just VFR, then the avionics don't matter much. But if you later want to fly IFR, it will likely mean a different plane or a lot of money you won't ever see again. I bought mine thinking I would just fly VFR, but when you have a plane that can fly half way across the country without refueling, you realize how useful that instrument rating is. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrosa Posted March 31, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 This would be my forever plane. MOONEY J • $87,000 • FOR IMMEDIATE SALE • MOONEY FOR SALE 1979 Mooney 201J, AFTT 4436.1, ESFR 802.4, Three blade Hartzell 430.5 SOH, IO-360-A3B6, Comp 79/78/78/77, Gami’s, Tanis, New vac pump 6/18, New tires and tubes 5/18, Slick mag rebuild at 4407.1, Sealed tanks by Weep No More, Good glass, Stand-by Vac, Elec trim, Alt air, 3M scope, 530 WAAS, 430 WAAS, Panel mount 696 (Serius XM), Garmin 330 ES w/ Ads-B out, TIS- in, JPI-700, 406 ELT, Century 21 AP, Strobes, DC 4plc Intercom, all AD’s and SB’s, Fresh annual with sale. Honest Airplane, 8-9 in and out. First $87 K owns it. Serious buyers only. • Contact Thomas Speerstra, Owner - located Battle Creek, MI United States • Telephone: 616-262-8721 • Posted March 31, 2020 • Show all Ads posted by this Advertiser • Recommend This Ad to a Friend • Email Advertiser • Save to Watchist • Report This Ad • View Larger Images 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 Welcome aboard Atrosa! It really helps to see as far down the runway of life as you can.... There is always going to be bumps and cracks, viruses and recessions... during your ownership.... It’s how we handle them that counts... +1 Get trained in whatever trainer you are using... the more you learn one plane... the better you will be at learning/understanding the next one... Having a good baseline for comparison makes your Mooney flying skills even more precise...it all counts, it won’t be wasted time... +1 If you like precision over just having a fun time... flying into short fields are great... Many MSers live on short fields, some with grass... About me... near 100 hours in a C152 before getting the M20C... don’t get the cheapest C... do get the IR... CT is a long state... to fly over... NJ-MA was 1.5hrs in the C instead of five by car.... 200nm... Imagine going to NH for lunch, then being home for some family occasion later the same day... Often, it takes near a year to figure out what plane you want, how much to spend, what details you want to have.... find, buy, get transition trained, and keep your day job... 20 years later... you will be writing this memoir for somebody else... Enjoy the flight! Best regards, -a- 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviatoreb Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, atrosa said: I'm currently training at 4b9 simsbury, ct. I will not be based there once I get my PPL. I will either move to KMMK, KHFD or even 42B in Connecticut. After my last landing I'm not sure I should be flying a kite let alone an airplane. It was the 3rd time with me on the controls, CFI on them too. I got it (C172) down fine, but on the roll I touched the right brake... yeah brake, I know I know and it started to dart to the right. I didn't like the response so I stopped touching the brake. I was also making a radio call at the same time so over the CTAF airways you heard a student pilot say " Simsbury traffic N5169E departing runway 3...oh sh!t you driving this thing" looking for my CFI to take over. Thank goodness there is no LIVEatc for my friends to make a ringtone out of.Honestly, I have done some much studying and prep and mental flying up until then everything was coming pretty easy to me. GSXR - I wouldn't say money was no object but I budgeted for this. I'm in no rush but I'm ready to move for the right one. The right one will have: 1) no corrosion 2) sealed tanks 3) midtime engine 4) no Prop AD 5) Manual Gear (Please add to this list) BTW one of my missions is to fly from CT to my place in New Hampshire. 250 miles away, 4 hours by car or 1.5 hours by Mooney.(plus drive to and from airport, preflight/runup, chit chatting to the airport bum.... ok it is about the same time but jeeze your flying who cares) I know that field 4b9. My inlaws live in Bloomfield nearby. I have gone by car to inspect 4b9 to see if I might like to fly out of there when I visit Bloomfield, but I decided I prefer HFD. Now my plane is a bit heavier and faster than an M20C, but for my own sake I consider 2200ft to be really right at the margin of what I will fly comfortably and I usually set arbitrarily 2500 ft as what I like as an arbitrary line in the sand. 9 times out of 10 if I work hard to stay on speed I can be on the ground and stopped in 1200-1500 ft so 2200 should be no problem right? There are trees on one side of that field and a row of hedges on the other side if I remember right, and well, I decided that since HFD is just not much further by car then why not just go to that 4000ft field instead of 4b9. 2200 is the shortest I would contemplate though with my airplane - again faster and heavier - so its not quite the same story. If it had been that 4b9 were actually the only field around then yeah I would operate out of there during the 3 or 4 flights a year I take to the Bloomfield area. Or if I lived right there like you do, I bet I would try and operator out of 4b9 on a regular basis, so a bit of what I say is born a bit more from being unfamiliar. BTW the last 2 thanksgiving trips in a row, the day I wanted to go winds were something like 30kts almost perpendicular to the HFD runway so I flew to KBAF instead despite the 45 min drive, since 30kts isn't so bad if its straight down the runway but I ain't gonna even try if its perpendicular to the runway. KBDL is reasonable for that too but the fuel is crazy expensive. Anyway, with a short runway it is well advised if you are returning home, that for those few occasions if the wind is huge, that with a very short runway especially, to go ahead and suck it up and fly somewhere else nearby with a more favorable runway. Edited March 31, 2020 by aviatoreb 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrosa Posted March 31, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 There are some pretty big twins that land there and I shake my head. The A&P there Pete has a pretty good reputations so owners land things that I would want a arresting cable to even consider. My buddy flies a Sovereign Jet out of Oxford. That is a great airport and if someone burn the Turkey when visiting for Thanksgiving and has a great restaurant on the field. I'm smack between Meriden and Goodspeed. BTW Meriden has very cheap fuel. Meriden has no hangers available and Goodspeed does not have fuel. In CT we are bless with many airports. Either way 4B9 is not close to my house but close to my office. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviatoreb Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 1 hour ago, atrosa said: There are some pretty big twins that land there and I shake my head. The A&P there Pete has a pretty good reputations so owners land things that I would want a arresting cable to even consider. My buddy flies a Sovereign Jet out of Oxford. That is a great airport and if someone burn the Turkey when visiting for Thanksgiving and has a great restaurant on the field. I'm smack between Meriden and Goodspeed. BTW Meriden has very cheap fuel. Meriden has no hangers available and Goodspeed does not have fuel. In CT we are bless with many airports. Either way 4B9 is not close to my house but close to my office. Right - and like I say - I can do it with my rocket. But just because I can doesn't mean I should. So take what I said as a rambling discussion. Your M20C will handle the shorter field a little better than my heavy k. So I was just throwing out some of the things that factor in my aeronautical decision making when choosing fields. And if you go there, definitely be willing to go to other runways depending on conditions of the day. I haven't been to those other CT airports. Ive been to khvn. All Mooney's are terrific - and the C is terrific in its way - you'll love it! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeOH Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 6 hours ago, atrosa said: This would be my forever plane. MOONEY J • $87,000 • FOR IMMEDIATE SALE • MOONEY FOR SALE 1979 Mooney 201J, AFTT 4436.1, ESFR 802.4, Three blade Hartzell 430.5 SOH, IO-360-A3B6, Comp 79/78/78/77, Gami’s, Tanis, New vac pump 6/18, New tires and tubes 5/18, Slick mag rebuild at 4407.1, Sealed tanks by Weep No More, Good glass, Stand-by Vac, Elec trim, Alt air, 3M scope, 530 WAAS, 430 WAAS, Panel mount 696 (Serius XM), Garmin 330 ES w/ Ads-B out, TIS- in, JPI-700, 406 ELT, Century 21 AP, Strobes, DC 4plc Intercom, all AD’s and SB’s, Fresh annual with sale. Honest Airplane, 8-9 in and out. First $87 K owns it. Serious buyers only. • Contact Thomas Speerstra, Owner - located Battle Creek, MI United States • Telephone: 616-262-8721 • Posted March 31, 2020 • Show all Ads posted by this Advertiser • Recommend This Ad to a Friend • Email Advertiser • Save to Watchist • Report This Ad • View Larger Images Dang! That looks like a pretty decent deal, right there! If everything checks out, I'd be all over it....man if I didn't already have my F. (The 'fresh annual with sale' always disturbs me...wonder how little it's flown in the last couple of years??) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 With short runways... Learn the judgement skills to Go-around... Some low time pilots have messed up the decision... After that you get two choices... 1) Run off the end of the runway under control... 2) Take to the sky with not enough energy to fly... 3) An extra 10kias on short final costs an extra 1k’ of runway going by... 4) Losing the first 1k’ to bad judgement... doesn’t leave much room to land and stop on the remaining 1k’... 5) On windy days... the wind speed can change a lot from TPA to the ground... 6) It may take a full approach to see how things will shake out... if the wind dies down, your apparent air speed will be fading away... 7) The first approach gives you the info required to make the next approach properly... 8) Twins can weigh a lot... getting them slowed down from their landing speed can use up a lot of distance... 9) If selecting a short field be ready with your go-around technique... 10) Forcing the nose on the ground while whizzing past the numbers... causes a known porpoising effect... 11) Arriving at the numbers, on speed, with proper descent rate, and the power pulled back... you will hear the sound of angels... Mooney angels sound very similar to the brief beeep of the stall horn, followed by a set of tire chirps... They applaud your effort... Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M20F-1968 Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 20 hours ago, Mooneymite said: I notice that a manual gear on your C is one of your preferences. Like you, I was 50 when I bought my Mooney 22 years ago. I wanted a manual gear Mooney, but decided a newer ('74) C with a standard panel was the way to go. I reluctantly accepted the electric gear and flaps. Now, I'm no longer 50 and I am so glad I have the electric gear. When my bursitis flares up, the gear still goes up...pain free. Don't exclude an electric gear Mooney out of hand. They're great and mine has been completely trouble free for 22 years. I know a lot of folks on Mooneyspace love the manual gear, but there are reasons Mooney stopped producing manual gear Mooneys. My reasons for endorsing the manual gear are: 1. Simplicity of maintenance 2. An independent system much less prone to failure 3. Much less concern over parts availablity as the airframe gets older John Breda 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooneymite Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 35 minutes ago, M20F-1968 said: My reasons for endorsing the manual gear are: 1. Simplicity of maintenance 2. An independent system much less prone to failure 3. Much less concern over parts availablity as the airframe gets older John Breda Yes. I know that the manual gear is beloved for the reasons you list. My intention was not to resurrect any of the manual vs electric gear threads. I merely wanted to point out that for me, the electric gear has been a big plus. A newer C will have the electric gear and the much better electric flaps that don't crack the rear spark like the earlier hydraulic flaps are prone to do. A newer C should not be ruled out solely because of the electric gear. As in every issues, there are pluses and minuses on both sides. I think it's fair to point this out to a prospective C owner. My post was not an attack on any aspect of the manual gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsxrpilot Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 5 minutes ago, Mooneymite said: A newer C should not be ruled out solely because of the electric gear. I prefer the manual gear as well... but on my "wish" list, it was pretty far down the list. So I'd agree that electric gear shouldn't be a deal breaker. Maybe more of a mild preference I will add that I had a manual gear C and after 50 hours or so, swinging the gear became effortless. It would almost swing it's self. But the first 20 flights or so, it was like wrestling a python in the cockpit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy95W Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 26 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said: it was like wrestling a python in the cockpit. I really don't want to know what you do in the cockpit, Paul. Or why you've nicknamed it "Python". 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mufflerbearing Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 Such good information and personal experience exist here at MS. My search for a Mooney came long before getting my PPL. There was a challenge at my flight school with planes (read, other people wrecked them) so my search for my Mooney became more urgent. After studying so much on this site and listening to the wisdom here, the perfect plane for me came available and I snatched it up. I finished my PPL training in it and took my check ride in it with great success. I won't speak to length of run way because I don't have experience with short runways yet. I have landed only 3000' plus lengths with no problems. All I can say is, train as you can and if your unicorn airplane shows up, be ready to snatch it up. Learn as much as you can to know what your unicorn plane looks like so when you see it, you will recognize it for what it is. Also, being the first student pilot to take a check ride with your DPE in a Mooney is pretty cool. I think mine was mesmerized by the dash and the speed that he didn't pay too much attention to anything else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrosa Posted April 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 Elect Vs Manual isn't a deal breaker, I'm just thinking how to save a few bucks in the annual and Maintenance costs. None are deal breakers though. I love that J I posted but I'm not ready to part with 87K. If it was 60K I would have the tail number in my signature an my 8 year old will train for his private in one cool bird. (When he is 16) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 I can’t think of many things more challenging than primary training in a 310hp, light weight, Eagle..! Re-learning to fly in an O3 powered O1, pales in comparison... Way to go MufflerBearing! Nothing changes faster than when the throttle gets pressed all the way in. True for a C152... more true for a Screamin’ Eagle... Be ready in advance. PP thoughts only, not a CFI... Best regards, -a- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 Manual gear Mooneys just got even better recently... One of the biggest causes of GU landings was a worn down lock block... the gear would appear to be down and locked, when it wasn’t. Recently, a bunch of new OPPs has taken the wear issue off the list... Even with new parts... always verify down AND locked... Know what DMax’s thumb nail test is... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic or CFI... Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooneyMitch Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 Hello Mr atrosa. I just saw the below information on another Mooney forum. Might be worth investigating. Good luck. “Can I assume that this is probably the worst time to try to sell a Mooney???Since I have not flown in a while I am exploring the option of selling mywonderful 1962 M20C. I have owned and maintained it for the last 20 years.4300 some Hrs TT. 350 Hrs since Major Overhaul by Chuck Ney. And lots ofnice stuff.David FischerMooney N6223U the "TiggerMobile"KSVC Silver City/Grant County NM575-538-1002(C)david.fischer "at" Q.com” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrosa Posted April 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 You know I offer visitation rights and some left seat time to a seller that lives close by. I don't ever want to buy from someone and them walk away disgruntled. I want this to less of a purchase and more of a transfer of stewardship. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrosa Posted April 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 19 minutes ago, MooneyMitch said: Hello Mr atrosa. I just saw the below information on another Mooney forum. Might be worth investigating. Good luck. “Can I assume that this is probably the worst time to try to sell a Mooney???Since I have not flown in a while I am exploring the option of selling mywonderful 1962 M20C. I have owned and maintained it for the last 20 years.4300 some Hrs TT. 350 Hrs since Major Overhaul by Chuck Ney. And lots ofnice stuff.David FischerMooney N6223U the "TiggerMobile"KSVC Silver City/Grant County NM575-538-1002(C)david.fischer "at" Q.com” What other Forum was this from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooneyMitch Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 1 hour ago, atrosa said: What other Forum was this from? mooney-tech@aviating.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrosa Posted April 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 1 hour ago, MooneyMitch said: mooney-tech@aviating.com Request progressive taxi.... I have no idea what forum site that is 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooneyMitch Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 http://lists.aviating.com/mailman/listinfo/mooney-tech See if this gets you there. Hope this helps you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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