That was a fun airplane post a few weeks ago, wasn't it? Let's keep talking about that.

Our airplane was built in 1965 in Kerrville, Texas by the Mooney Airplane Company. They still make them today but they are much fancier than they were in 1965. (As one might expect.)

Mooney airplanes are known as "low wings" which means that you step up on the wings to board, rather than ducking your head underneath.

See? Low wings on our airplane:

And, a Cessna with high wings:

Our airplane only has one door, which is totally annoying, but it does cut down on the weight and make it more aerodynamic. (Or so I'm told. I have many internet degrees but Aerospace Engineering is not one of them.) We also have retractable landing gear that Chris manually pulls up and puts down with a lever. It is very 1965. See the flap under the wing up there? That's a panel that the wing gear goes up in. It's not mechanized like on a 767 where you push a button and the gear comes up automatically. Chris has to put some muscle into it.

This sounds like a pain in the butt, but it's actually kind of okay because fewer mechanical parts = less shit to break. And, believe me, when you fly something built when LBJ was the President, you are very interested in limiting your "shit that can break" window of opportunity.

When things break on our airplane, or have to be replaced because they've simply reached the end of their lifespan, it can get expensive pretty fast. Did you know that if you attach the word "airplane" to anything it suddenly it costs more? It does. For example, last Christmas one of the blinky lights on the belly of the plane stopped working. It's just a red blinky light, one of six on the aircraft, that lets other aircraft see us when we're flying at night. If you want to get real specific about it, it's called a "positioning light." Anyway, the blinky light was out. Simple. This sounds like it will be cheap, right? Perhaps a light bulb needs to be replaced?

Wellllll, not really. When we replace things on our plane we always try to find an old part that has been salvaged from another plane. It's way cheaper to get old stuff than buy new. In this case, we could not locate a used blinky light because it was made in 1964 and the motor that makes it rotate? Nobody makes that any more and they stopped a long time ago, so there wasn't a salvage option. We had to buy a new one.

One blinky red light: $500. For serious.

After we had it installed I told Chris, "Oh, Merry Christmas. I hope you looooove that blinky light. Let's go admire it right now, actually."

We don't need a blinky light to get airborne, but the FAA mandates the blinky light so...fine. It's one of the costs of ownership. Sometimes, things break and we have to fix them. It's a known factor when you buy an older aircraft.

Our Mooney is 46 years old, which is rather elderly to me. I mean, who wants to be flying around in something with 1960's technology? Well, a lot of people do. The mechanics of flight are pretty elementary and you don't need a lot of fancy whosits and doodads. Planes built in the 1960's fly just fine today, provided they have been properly maintained and the engine and other parts replaced at scheduled intervals. There have been some upgrades to ours over the years (most notably the addition of GPS) but none of these are FAA mandated. They are simply for pilot ease.

Chris does not have to renew his license every year or take a new test in twenty or anything like that. Once you earn a pilot's license, it's yours for life (unless you break the rules or something and then the FAA can yank it). You have to take a medical exam every year to make sure you're fit to fly (again, per the FAA) but other than that, it's fairly low maintenance. Chris does have an actual, physical license, issued by the FAA and it's kind of a cheap looking bit of paper. I think two or three years ago they upgraded to plastic. (FANCY!) You're supposed to carry it when you when you fly in case you get ramp checked by an FAA agent. But, Chris has never been ramp checked and he doesn't know anyone who has. (He carries his license like a good pilot should.)

Every year we send the plane to Tom, our mechanic, for an annual inspection. (Also FAA mandated. They are quite fond of rules over at the FAA.) He strips the airplane and the engine down and examines it in minute detail, performs Mooney-issued maintenance and tells us if we need to replace anything. This is how you get 50+ years out of an aircraft. If you stripped your car down to its cylinders every year and performed mandated maintenance as outlined by the manufacturer then it would probably last longer too. Aircraft are also designed to last this long. They're designed with the knowledge that some parts will wear out and be replaced but others will need to last longer (like the frame). So, it might be old, but it's not ancient (yet) in aircraft-speak.

This year, there were no blinky lights to fix, but our transponder and emergency locator transmitter (ELT) were busted. The transponder is what talks to air traffic control (ATC). When they sweep us with radar, it pings them back with our tail number and altitude. It basically tells them who we are and it made sense as the past few times we'd been up ATC had mentioned that they couldn't "see" us and they asked us to cycle the transponder on and off. That seemed to work, but at inspection it was pretty kaput. This is an important part and we can't fly without it. We ran into the same, "They haven't made this for a loooooong time" problem and we had to buy a new one. That kind of sucked.

The ELT is what they look for if we go down, to find where we landed or, um, crashed. It basically sends out some sort of ping so if we're in a mountain range or a desert they can find us, rescue us, render medical aid, etc. It's not important until the moment you need it and ours was so dead they couldn't hear it with the reciever right on top of it. We had to replace that too.

One ELT and one transponder: $800

Oddball stories that have no narrative thread, but I want to tell you about anyway:

On the radio we often hear about "jumpers in the air!" That means that a skydiving plane is nearby and everyone has jumped out. I have always wanted to see them plummeting towards the earth or see their chutes, but I never have. I think ATC (wisely) gives jump planes a wide berth.

Remember how I explained why we do not have air conditioning? Well, Chris found this device that will actually air condition the plane except it will take up ALL the cargo space, which means no luggage. Not feasible for us. But, the cool thing about it is that it's removable! So, in the winter when you don't need it you can take it out and recoup that space and weight. Neat, yes? It costs $5,000. FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS. This is why we don't have air conditioning in our plane. It's heavy, it takes up too much space and 20 minutes of discomfort on the front and back end of a flight are not worth $5,000. No thank you.

It turns out I only had two oddball stories. Hmm, this is all I can think to tell you about the plane. If you have any questions, pipe up in the comments. Chris positively loooooves to answer your curiosities on this topic.

Comments

[Life of a Doctor's Wife]

I am fascinated by this! It is so super cool that you guys have this plane.

$5,000 for an air conditioner DOES sound kind of wackadoo.

[Nothing But Bonfires]

Agree -- this is super fascinating. You are the only person I know who has a plane, which means I am going to call you My Fancy Friend. Even though, as you explained in your last post, having a plane does not actually make you all that Fancy. Still, just let me pretend!

[Jessica]

Mad Men came to Netflix yesterday, so I'm very into the 1960's right now. Do you serve cocktails and cigarettes on your plane?

[Amy M (lncsmom)]

I happen to be one of those "jumpers in the air". I agree, skydivers are quite cool to watch (even cooler to actually be the one jumping) but unless you fly into the space where we are jumping (which we appreciate you not doing since that could....ahem...kill us!) it is unlikely you would find us in free fall from your aircraft very easily. But do look down from your position in the sky and you are likely to see parachutes under 3000 feet (5000 if they are tandems)...just look for the pretty colors.

I'm so totally jealous of your plane BTW! I would LOVE to have that freedom. I just know the expenses you have mentioned are not within our budget! Blue skies!

[craftyashley]

I love to read about the plane stuff too! Will you, at some point, upgrade? Is plane shopping fun? Where do you even begin to buy a freaking plane?

I would also like the echo the Fancy Friend sentiments. You go right up there with the friend who married into money and got to design a gorgeous modern mansion. With pictures I drool over.

[Dr. Maureen]

Yes, fascinating! I don't know anyone else with a plane either, and it's just really interesting.

[BigP's Heather]

I love reading this stuff. Keep the stories coming!

I used to be TERRIFIED of flying but then due to several deaths and weddings, I ended up flying quite a bit and now kinda enjoy it. I have recently been thinking of taking lessons because we have a tiny airport in my town and a friend's husband recently took a lesson...

The more you tell me the more inclined I am to consider getting lessons!

[A'Dell]

Ashley - Ohhh, good idea! "How to buy a plane" would definitely be an interesting next topic in this series. Basically, you use the internet (as you do for everything these days). There are plane selling websites that you shop around on.

Our plane came from a nice guy in Ohio. Chris had to fly up there commercial and he flew it back home. There was an inspection, a loan, signatures and a closing. It was kind of like the process for a house.

[Chris]

@Ashley - Yes, buying can be an interesting experience. I have several websites that send me email alerts when aircraft are listed that meet my criteria.

I had to narrow our search to an aircraft that was best for our sub-500 mile typical mission with 2 kids and better than anything I could rent locally for a given flight.

Our normal mission doesn't jive well with the rental model because we typically fly out 1-2 hours, stay 2-3 days, and then fly back those same 1-2 hours. A rental aircraft can make money about 6 hours a day doing flight training. They would charge us extra for not flying enough on our typical missions to meet their minimums for a 3-day trip.

So, with one or two models to focus on, it took me about 6 months of reviewing available inventory all over the country before I found ours.

At 40-some years old, there could be dozens of upgrades and differences between two otherwise identical aircraft, so you end up looking at a bunch line-by-line for just the right one.

Our Mooney had been well-loved and the previous owner put alot of equipment into it, which meant less time in a shop later. Also, long-time single ownership indicates a dedicated owner and I pay more attention to those listings.

Delivery went something like this:
I talked to the owner on the phone, flew up to Ohio the next weekend and flew it with him, made an offer that he accepted, sent it to a Mooney specialist shop that inspected it very thoroughly, fixed a few issues that they found, arranged financing, flew up commercial the next week with my long-time flight instructor buddy, signed papers in the morning, cranked it up, and flew 9 hours into the night from Ohio to Texas.

[Chris]

Actually, we have been talking about upgrading lately, in theory at least. Of all the Mooneys, ours is the smallest in cabin space and engine power.

Fore-aft space in the back seat is a big issue. Claire has very little leg/knee room due to the car seat pushing her forward. The next model up the line adds about 5 inches to the legroom in the backseat.

The next model in the line also adds 20 horsepower, fuel injection (which we don't have right now), and are about 10-15 years newer. All good things.

[HereWeGoAJen]

You know, I bet if I sent these to my dad, he'd go buy a plane immediately, since he's wanted one for a while. It all sounds so doable. Of course, my mom would then disown me...

[sarah]

I loved your last airplane post, just didn't get around to commenting... My husband has his private pilot's license and we are kind of at the stage (2 v young kids) where it's not really worth the expense. Having said that, in a couple of years I want to be just like you :) traveling with our little family. Looks like so much fun and so much easier than commercial flight. I'd like more posts on your adventures!

[beth]

tell us about trips you've taken in it or where you'd like to take it!

[Elsha]

No questions, but my experience flying into LAX on Allegiant yesterday pretty much makes me want to own a plane and never fly commercial again.

[Meghan]

Love these posts! I'd love to have my pilots license and a plane. Apparently living around DC makes it tricky though. All that restricted airspace and you need an additonal license or certification type thingie.

You guys should definitely pay a visit to the air and space musuem out by Dulles. Sounds like you'd love it

[Sarah in Ottawa]

I LOVE hearing about the plane. Thanks for the additional info one purchasing it. Like so many things, it sounds so reasonable and not at all daunting. But it's so amazing.

Chris - for how long have you been flying? And to where would you like most to fly?