Buy a Mooney Acclaim between now and December 31, 2009 and cash in on great tax incentives.  This is your last chance in 2009 to buy a great Mooney airplane and see instant tax benefits.  By acting in time to take advantage of the Bonus Depreciation Incentive, you can take an immediate deduction of 50% as an acceleration of the typical depreciation over the Mooney's designated depreciable life.  This incentive will not only allow you to see instant tax benefits; it will present tremendous opportunities for tax planning in 2010.

 

Although Mooney Airplane Company strongly encourages you to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity, we recommend that you consult with a tax advisor/consultant, such as Advocate Consulting, to fully understand how this would affect your specific tax situation.

 

To learn more about these incentives, click here.

 The Mooney Factory Service Center is exploring new options to offer Mooney owners.  Among these are retrofitting our great older Mooneys with the G500/600 glass cockpits.  If you would be interested in this, please click here.

 

A second potential offering is a Lycoming IO-390-A3A6 engine upgrade for Mooney models M20E, M20F and M20J.
If you would be interested in this option, please click here.

 

by Birgit Vogelbruch

 

Flying across the North Atlantic is every pilot's dream.  For us, the dream came true this summer.  Rainer and I flew a beautiful Mooney Ovation with TKS deicing.  We joined a group of 18 planes from Germany to Oshkosh and back.  Three of these planes were Mooneys - all members of the European Mooney Pilots and Owners Association.

 

On July 17, we started in Egelsbach near Frankfurt and flew to Norwich in England.  A cold front had just passed and the weather was bad so we stopped for the night.  The following day, we flew from Norwich to Northern Scotland.  Because of low ceilings, we landed in Aberdeen and waited before heading north to Wick.  Early morning on the 19th, we donned our survival suits and took off to Iceland, a distance of 670 nm and the longest leg over water.  Because of clouds and a freezing level of 9000 ft, we flew 8000 ft all the time.  Sometimes we were in clouds and sometimes we could see the water below.  As we had tailwinds, we arrived in Reykjavik in 3:40 hours.  We gained two hours in time due to the time shift, so we had an afternoon to walk through the city. 

 

 

 

July 20th we took off for Greenland.  A clear, sunny day, we could see the coast of Greenland 150 nm ahead.  Getting closer to the coast, we saw many icebergs in dark blue water and ice covered mountains - an impressive and very beautiful view.  After 2:12 hours, we landed in Kulusuk, a gravel runway which is the only airfield on the east coast of Greenland.  The approach to Kulusuk between mountains is fantastic.  We refueled our Mooney and after a short walk to the water to enjoy a closer look at the ice floes and icebergs, we took off again to cross the ice cape.  We climbed to FL 170 due to clouds and ice.  After 2 hours flight time, we realized the white clouds beneath us had disappeared and we saw nothing but white ice.  Further ahead, we saw mountains and water again.  We came into a beautiful fjord and flew to Nuuk where we landed after 2:42 hours.

 

We flew from Nuuk to Iqaluit at Frobisher Bay in North Canada.  Below us we saw millions of icebergs in the dark blue, Atlantic waters.  After 2 hours, we reached the coast and saw glaciers between round, brown mountains.  After 2:53 hours, we landed in Iqaluit. 

 

We crossed the North Atlantic in our Mooney!

 

One of the least understood systems on our Mooney airplanes seems to be the vacuum system. Some time ago noticed that my vacuum gauge, which has always shown about 5 inches Hg, was beginning to show something less each flight, and would fall off as I climbed. At 16,500 ft the pressure was 2.8 inches, but would again increase as I descended, settling at about 3.8 inches in the traffic pattern. About two years ago I had all of the system hoses changed because of a leak, so I discounted the possibility of another leak. I spoke with several local A&P's, and the consensus seemed to be that since a leak was unlikely the most likely solution was to adjust the regulator. Don Maughan, Service Supervisor for Crown Air, our Mooney Service Center at San Diego Montgomery Airport (KMYF), didn't buy in to the regulator adjustment solution and insisted we check further for a leak. He suggested checking the line from the vacuum pump back to the standby pump, and the line from the pump back to the speed brake actuator. Since this would require removing the side panels, and being very human, I put off the project for another day.  
            A day or so later I was in our local hardware store, and happened to be wearing my Mooney cap. This guy walked up to me and asked which model Mooney I flew and I very proudly told him a "252". He said he knew the airplane and thought it might be the best Mooney ever built, so I immediately liked the guy. He introduced himself as Ralph Heysek, and I remembered meeting him in the late 1980's at one of the Mooney Homecoming gatherings in Kerrville. As we delved further into our past meetings, it came out that at the time he was a representative of Parker-Hannifin, maker of the Airborne Air Pump and various vacuum/pressure system components. Most of you know I'm sure; the Bonanza has a pressure system as opposed to our vacuum system. Same principle but simply reversed.  He has since left Airborne and started his own company, Aerotech Components, Inc., manufacturing the "Clear View" Inline Air Filter, used on numerous other types of airplanes, and used on all Mooney airplanes equipped with a vacuum system. I distinctly remember Ralph conducting seminars on vacuum systems and I remember how impressed I was with his articulate delivery of a complex and unknown subject. How fortuitous that I should meet and be talking with a neighbor, the Guru of vacuum systems, in a hardware store in Carefree, AZ.
 
            I described the problem I was having with my system and the suggestions proffered by some A&P's. Ralph's immediate response was "Don't touch the regulator"! He offered to stop by my hangar with his vacuum test kit to see if he could diagnose my problem, so we arranged a meeting within the week. Ralph dropped by a few days later, hooked up the test kit to analyze the system. It took him about one minute to discover the problem. It seems when they changed the vacuum hoses they changed all but one-a short line from a tee fitting to the vacuum gauge. It was the original surgical tubing Mooney used on all production at the time my airplane was built, 1989. I don't know why this short piece wasn't replaced along with the rest of the tubing, but as you can imagine, the tubing was destroyed by dry rot. We replaced the tubing, retested the system and all was normal. Subsequent flights show 5 inches Hg and it holds it throughout the flight.
            I have since had numerous conversations about vacuum/pressure systems with Ralph, and am amazed at his depth of knowledge and understanding of the subject. One of our discussions concerned the common tendency to adjust the regulator without further diagnosis, and the very detrimental effect this has on the pump. In a proper operating system, the air pump will create about 1.5 in. Hg more vacuum than the reading on your vacuum gauge. This is the result of air flowing thru the gyro instruments and also entering the system through your vacuum regulator. If a leak develops, the pump still draws the same amount of total air, but less flows through the gyros, which is reflected in a lower reading on the vacuum gauge. (The gauge in the panel is connected "across" the gyro instruments, and displays pressure drop created by airflow through the instruments). If the regulator is adjusted, or closed down, to get inches Hg back up to normal, the pump will increase the psi and will work harder to draw the additional needed air through the gyro instruments. At a nominal 5.0 in Hg, a vacuum pump should last about 1000 hours of operation. However, if the pump is regulated to provide 10 in Hg, the life expectancy of the pump is cut in half to 500 hours. Further increases in pump requirements will proportionally decrease pump life. A pump regulated to cover for a significant leak can cut pump life to only a few short hours.
 
            What are the lessons learned from this exercise?
                       
1.     The panel vacuum gage does not indicate pump pressure.
2.     Surgical tubing, either flesh colored or black, should be replaced.
3.     A gradual decrease in inches of Hg during climb usually indicates a leak.
4.     The regulator almost never needs adjustment!
5.   The "Clear View" Inline Air Filter should be a must for all Mooney   
      vacuum systems.
 
Fly Safe!
 

 Juan Vargas

     Juan has been a Mooney employee for over three years.  He is a master craftsman in all areas of assembly, but specializes in assembly of the main wing.  If you are the recent recipient of a new flap, aileron or elevator chances are it was built by Juan.  Juan's contribution reaches far outside the factory assembly building.  He can often be found in the Mooney Factory Service Center assisting with the removal of a damaged wing, or in the warehouse pulling parts so an order can be shipped the day it was placed.  His knowledge, speed, and dependability are unmatched.  He is never hesitant to take on a job or provide assistance when needed, even when the job falls outside his normal scope of work.  Juan sets the standards high for himself and others.  His can-do, will-do attitude make him Mooney's November Employee of the Month.