It Never Ceases to Amaze Me

[bcg]

2 hours ago, Shadrach said:

There is only so much to be said about certain subjects. This is not a technical thread, it’s philosophical.  The nature of philosophical conversations is that they tend to meander.  

I thought you had a better sense of humor than that...

[Hank]

3 hours ago, Shadrach said:

There is only so much to be said about certain subjects. This is not a technical thread, it’s philosophical.  The nature of philosophical conversations is that they tend to meander.  

And here I thought we just responded to one particular post, and once we scroll past the title, we don't remember what the discussion was supposed to be about, only the part that we each want to respond to . . . . .

[hubcap]

22 hours ago, Pinecone said:

Hmmmm, NO.   

252/Encore is the best Mooney.

 

This may be true, but You've got to love the one you're with!

So, I'm just gonna keep on lovin Myrtle!

 

[cliffy]

27 years in the same D model at @ 90 hrs / yr

Does everything I need in a traveling chariot.

Coast to coast - north to south- Calif to FL- Texas to WI

155 smph (TAS)  at 9.5 g/hr  year after year. 

1,000 hrs on my own garage overhaul and purrs like a kitten. 

Never had a speck of metal in the filter-NEVER and- NO oil leaks anywhere. 

Can't beat it. 

[bcg]

4 hours ago, cliffy said:

27 years in the same D model at @ 90 hrs / yr

Does everything I need in a traveling chariot.

Coast to coast - north to south- Calif to FL- Texas to WI

155 smph (TAS)  at 9.5 g/hr  year after year. 

1,000 hrs on my own garage overhaul and purrs like a kitten. 

Never had a speck of metal in the filter-NEVER and- NO oil leaks anywhere. 

Can't beat it. 

Is it a converted D or do you still have the fixed gear?

[bcg]

4 minutes ago, Greg Ellis said:

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it is converted.  I don't think a fixed gear D model would get 155 mph TAS.

I get 165ish TAS in my C so, it could go either way.  I'd expect more than a 10MPH penalty from fixed gear but, I've never flown one so I can't say.  I'd also expect a converted D to be as fast as a C.  Most of the ones that have been converted seem to get referred to as Cs now so I figured I'd ask, it would be cool to see one still in the original fixed gear configuration.

[cbarry]

In my opinion, the philosophical basis for neglected items is fairly simple.  It falls right smack in the middle of the :  “it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it” mentality.  It’s no different than the prevalence in ownership of four wheel drive vehicles, a tv in every room of the house, 4,000+ square feet mansions for two, the flying off of the shelf ED medications, or you fill in the item and someone thinks they win if they can lay claim to being able to do anything because they’re “equipped”.  It’s part of a mindset that I loosely call  the global consumption model.  Until midlife, accumulation of crap is seen most often as symbol of success.  After midlife, midlife is not always recognized by the accumulator and, thus, the accumulated items become: “I’ve been doing this for forty years or back when I learned to do….” stories that is nothing more than an exercise in futility of trying to stay relevant in an ever-advancing spectrum of time.  Goals and aspirations are great, but contentment is still a virtue.  By the way, I’m beyond midlife…

[cliffy]

1 hour ago, bcg said:

Is it a converted D or do you still have the fixed gear?

Converted --  IIRC, only 3 Ds still survive unconverted

CG has a big affect on TAS in Mooneys  Mine is way fwd due to me :-)

With 80 lbs in the baggage I gain +6 mph with a 3 blade up front

But I'm satisfied as it is. I've been known to go clear across the country at 1500 AGL!!

Just enjoying the ride. 

It flies hands off very well without an A/P 

[JayMatt]

Got a guy on our airport that falls into this discussion. He owns a plane and a hangar but doesn't have a PPL. Never did. I honestly have no idea why he's there. He talks about flying but that plane hasn't moved in year. He talks like he just flys without a ppl or he hires someone to fly him around. You get the impression he annoys everyone at the airport and yet he's still there letting a plane rot. People are odd but at the end of the day, who cares what other people do, I don't understand why most people live their whole life Godless and roll the dice on eternity... to me a plane has very little significance compared to that. 

[aviatoreb]

There's a rotting citation jet at my airport.  hasn't flown in years.

[MikeOH]

1 hour ago, aviatoreb said:

There's a rotting citation jet at my airport.  hasn't flown in years.

Ah, but the owner can honestly tell anyone he meets that, "I own a jet!"

[EricJ]

Deer Valley has a pretty large fleet of derelicts.   Stories abound, and there are several patches of multiple airplanes that each all belonged to the same person.   Airplane hoarders, I guess.

There's a Learjet on the south side that has gradually lost all parts of any value.   The engines are long gone, interior, avionics,  one tip tank, etc., etc.   One of the avionics hatch covers on the nose disappeared several months ago and there is no equipment left in there of any value.   Somebody is paying the tie down fee for it, which is probably less than what it would cost to have somebody come and haul it away.   So it just sits there and once in a while loses another part or two. 

It doesn't seem to be an unusual story.

[Danb]

Someone at our airport shares tasks for other tasks eg. someone may do financial or tax work for say a contractor who may do quality decks or roofs, same idea.  I’m sure if this occurred they’d both pay there fair share of tax, just saying help each other out if practical.

 I personally don’t know anyone doing it even though bartering is quite legal.

[carusoam]

Significant changes in life occur every few decades…

if we are fortunate… we are caring for a nice forever-plane… and those changes don’t affect the ownership experience very much…

 

what issues could possibly occur…?

health

wealth

children, too many can be an issue…

staying current

Regaining currency

Airworthiness challenges

regaining AW

 

Sense of time passing….

there is always a possibility that whatever challenge an owner is experiencing… will get solved over time….

 

If you don’t have a sense of time passing…. You won’t notice cars and planes rotting outside…

if the machines are indoors… wait another month, see if anything changes…

 

i’d like to thank the MSers and others that helped me keep things organized over the years…

 

Life is short… Fly fast!

Best regards,

-a-

[Minivation]

I think owners of these kinds of planes largely fall into three categories:
1) Didn't realize how involved ownership is, couldn't handle it and ended up burying their head in the sand
2) Used to fly it actively but life got in the way (family, business, etc) and they just don't have the time anymore
3) Have both time + money but no interest but wants to keep it as a "financial investment".

The first group are usually found in the rural airports where tiedown fees are dirt cheap or don't exist, thus keeping the airplane "there" doesn't have immediate costs. The third group is rare but I've seen them before. It takes them a few years until they finally dig into the numbers and realize their mistake.

I've ended up becoming good friends with some in the second group. Basically, as an A&P, I offered to restore them to airworthy condition and keep working on them on my spare time (they pay for the parts), and in exchange for my work, I'm named insured and fly the planes whenever I want for oil + gas as long as they're not flying. And whenever they want to fly, they have a turnkey plane. As a result, I'm babysitting three 172's which is more than enough to keep me busy.

I'm not an owner yet but it is my hope that I'd find one of these kinds of planes and make one my own.

[carusoam]

20 hours ago, Minivation said:

I think owners of these kinds of planes largely fall into three categories:
1) Didn't realize how involved ownership is, couldn't handle it and ended up burying their head in the sand
2) Used to fly it actively but life got in the way (family, business, etc) and they just don't have the time anymore
3) Have both time + money but no interest but wants to keep it as a "financial investment".

The first group are usually found in the rural airports where tiedown fees are dirt cheap or don't exist, thus keeping the airplane "there" doesn't have immediate costs. The third group is rare but I've seen them before. It takes them a few years until they finally dig into the numbers and realize their mistake.

I've ended up becoming good friends with some in the second group. Basically, as an A&P, I offered to restore them to airworthy condition and keep working on them on my spare time (they pay for the parts), and in exchange for my work, I'm named insured and fly the planes whenever I want for oil + gas as long as they're not flying. And whenever they want to fly, they have a turnkey plane. As a result, I'm babysitting three 172's which is more than enough to keep me busy.

I'm not an owner yet but it is my hope that I'd find one of these kinds of planes and make one my own.

You need to find a Mooney owner in that category… !!

-a-