'67F vs '97J ...

[DCarlton]

This discussion has helped me sort out my thoughts.  The folks that have said put money into what you know, echo the smart thing to do.  The folks that have said don't trade unless you move up to something with additional capability make sense too.  I'm going to put money into what I have for a while and try to enjoy the process.  I haven't seen one M20 ad lately that wouldn't result in spending another 25% to achieve pride of ownership.  They all need something.  Parts are on the way to get my F back in the air; total downtime should be about three weeks.  Then I've got an annual, another 3-4 weeks.  A newer old airplane won't solve the weeks of down time associated with unplanned maintenance or the weeks of downtime associated with every annual.  It won't solve the lack of hangar availability and the resulting difficulty in doing any work for yourself.  It won't make it any easier to find a SOCAL shop that you can rely on repeatedly to do good work at a reasonable price in a timely manner (they're all buried with flight school work).  It won't make me feel any safer in the air; it'll just create more unknowns.  Hopefully I can get back in the queue at Willmar after missing the appointment and get my tanks resealed then do some paint touch up; then maybe some panel work.  During this discussion, I've found myself looking at Cessna (177 & 182), Commanders (114B), and Beech (F33) and end up circling back to the Mooney.