Subscribe and Fly Along with me! Decided to do a walk around on my Mooney M20C. Loving this bird! E-Mail - PilotFun101@gmail.com GoPro - GoPro.com (Hero 5) Facebook - PilotFun101
We have a Mooney M20C with the manual Johnson bar landing gear system. It is counter-intuitive for the new user because when the bar is down flat on the floor the landing gear is up. And when the bar is up and locked in the vertical position, the landing gear is down. There is an easy way to remember and confirm whether your gear is down when you do your final gear check on short final. Just say to yourself "we have a Johnson" when the bar is vertical. Then you will have a happy landing.
Interesting ship. I have a French SUD GY80 Horizon. It has a lot of similarities to the Mooney, like steel safety cage around the cabin. It also has a few differences, like 2 doors. It is a 1964 edition, Lyco 160, fpp, carby, semi-retracting u/c, 4 seater. I believe there are only 2 in USA. Greetings from Australia!
Wow, nice plane! This brings back some great memories. I used to fly an M20C (from 1967). If I remember correctly, the step actually retracts when the engine starts. I could never figure out how it worked, probably some sort of vacuum system. The one I flew had a bunch of speed mods, including the 201 windshield and wing tips. You could trim it so well that we didn't have to touch the controls at all. We would bend forward and the plane would slowly pitch down and then bend back into our seats and the plane would just go back to a perfect trim. Starting this thing in the winter was not much fun, especially when parked outside with 3 ft of snow on it! We had a connector installed on the left side of the engine cowling where we could hook it to a car battery to boost it. I just totally hated having to go unplug that thing because it was so close to the turning prop! In -25C, with your feet on ice and the wind from the prop... a bit chilly! That was some time ago as I remember using Loran for navigation! I actually found a photo of that plane: www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled/Mooney-M-20C-Mark-21/2388040/L
I got my complex endorsement in a M20C. Very nice airplane. Cockpit was snug with two big guys shoulder to shoulder. Love the landing gear. You knew it was up or down from the bar. Great video
There is a crank handle to retract the step. --- When trimming the elevator, the entire tail section pivots, the vertical stabilizer is Not always as you see it on the ground, it angles back when the elevator is trimmed for cruise fight. The fuel tanks must be manually selected every 10 minutes during cruise flight.
I'm pretty convinced that the Mooney M20C is for me... I had a local mechanic tell me about them. I didn't know much about them until recently. Thanks for posting. I look forward to watching your in flight videos. ~J~
You're Mooney came about 88 after mine, N6753N. Very similar, from the factory and similarly upgraded. Yours is in nice condition! Interesting to see the EGT gauge there in the center, mine has a clock there.
78heloman the clocks on the yoke typically don’t work and hard to fix apparently so other move the clock to the panel. But mine works great. I use it mostly for switching fuel tanks. Thanks for the comment!
Nice plane! Would you recommend an M20 for a new private pilot? I've been flying 172s and Piper Archer IIs. I've started looking for an airplane and the Mooney's have always caught my eye.
Random Projects I think ones you go up with an instructor you will be fine. It’s a complex plane but you will get use to. The Mooney is a great plane. You can check out my other videos if you like at RU-vid.com\PilotFun101 congratulations on the private!
Hermann Kaindlbinder hope all is well. I typically get around 145 knots at about 75% power setting burning around 8.5 to 9 GPH. Great plane all the way around. Thanks for flying along!
Beautiful plane. It sounds like your best fuel economy is at 75%. What is your speed at a little richer mixture? I live 550nm from family, and I’d like to get there quicker. I thought that older Mooney’s did more like 170 knots.
@@RickMcClain We have a 1964 M20C with the manual gear. 180 hp as well. We constantly do true airspeed calculations using the Garmin 530W. At about 6,000 ft. at 24 squared we normally true out about 145-148 kts. We assume a fuel burn rate of 11 gal./hr. as a safety factor, but I've seen burn rates as low as 9 gal./hr with lower power settings. I like to save fuel and I don't care if the trip takes 10 minutes longer, so I'll cruise at 22/23 or so. Afterall, don't we fly to stay up in the air? Also, there is no harm in flying "under square" meaning you can fly at 23 in. and at 22 h-rpm. Check the owner's manual, flying under square is a good way to save gas. It was proposed by Charles Lindbergh and taught by him to the B-25 Bomber crews to extend their bombing range during WWII.
PilotFun101 Oxford was caught up in a lawsuit that put them out of business. Google them and you see the details. I believe they painted one or more of the AOPA giveaway planes and I have seen their work firsthand. Very good quality. Would love to know who manufactured your cowl covers. I’m tired of dealing with blankets and straps. 🤣
Marauder92V Crazy. Their website is still active. I’ll look it up. It’s a shame they did great work. Yes. I’ll get that to you. My Mooney is currently getting its annual done.
PilotFun101 They have been in bankruptcy for a number of years. If there site is up, I wonder if there is anyone operating the business. This is a good time to get the annual done. I’ve been up to Orange County a few times on Pilots N Paws missions. Is the restaurant still open?
Marauder92V I just called the number and it’s not in service. I guess they are closed. Website is still love. Wired. I would love to do a Pilots N Paws flight. I’m registered but never seem to get anything close enough unless I’m doing something wrong. I would love to add a flight like that to my channel. Good time for an annual for sure. To cold to really go anyway. 🥶 The restaurant is closed they’re going to make that building into a pilots lounge at some point is what I’m hearing.
Johnny yuma thanks for the comment. I can email you some pictures if you would like. He has a Comanche 180 and my other buddy who I am going to Oshkosh with this year has a Comanche 250.
