Nice demo. Best I’ve seen. As an owner of a 1966 E model that I’ve owned for 30 years I love the Johnson bar gear. Initially, I would have paid more for the manual gear for the sheer simplicity and reliability of the system. From a personal standpoint, I take great pride in taking off and retracting the gear without the traditional ’bobble’ that typically happens with manual gear retraction. The only aircraft I’m aware of with retractable gear that doesn’t have a backup for emergencies. Good job!
I had a 66 M20 E super 21 with the Johnson bar never had one problem with it and the fact that its the only plane I know of without any type secondary gear extension system it HAS GOT TO BE GOOD! It took me a few times to get the technique down then its just second nature. I flew the 21 for 5 years then sold it and got a 201 and in some ways I still missed the manual gear extension. Good video and its amazing just how many people have never even heard of manual gear operation!
I've been flying a '64 M20E for almost my entire time as a pilot. I have to say I am impressed by how well you managed the Johnson bar on your second day - I promise it gets easier with practice! A peice of advice: it helps to do the "mooney roll" as we call it at my airport. Give yourself a slight pitch up when you are retracting the landing gear (or lowering the bar). I can get the bar to latch in the gear up position with no arm movement (except for unlatching the bar), not that I recommend this way of operating the part, it is just a sign that you can operate the gear very easily if you employ this trick. I have to say I was imporessed by your verfication of the gear after latching. A downside of the Johnson bar is that it sometimes will latch but not lock. It can be very scary to be on the ground and give a push forward only to hear a click (i.e. the gear locked). Checking/double checking the gear is critical! :) Great video.
First- LOVE your NEW (to you!) Mooney 20C Mark 21. Super impressed with the condition and cleanliness of the panel and gauges. It's your second day, so- unless you had a sleepless night, someone took the time to clean everything up nicely. I think it takes years off of the age (54- heck, I'd marry that!) Can't wait to see more videos of you flying, and, I noticed that comms are much newer & up to date as well. Love learning the way pilots manage complex flight planes- you seem to have your new Mooney completely under control already! Congratulations.
@@FlywithJim Then, thank you for the great Johnson Bar knowledge, I DO think it'd impact my decision on buying a vintage Mooney. Also, I hope that the new owner is very happy with this beautiful example- new comms for safer IFR & RNAV flight, yet some classic operations in a very clean and well maintained craft. Sweet ship!
Very impressive Jim, especially considering that was literally your second day in the Mooney with the Johnson Bar manual gear. I struggled with the gear initially, but now it has become muscle memory to put the gear up or down. As someone mentioned below, there aren't very many videos that show the operation of the Mooney gear, so it was good that you posted it. I a lot of videos Pilotfun101 and he put one up not that long ago. Anyway, thanks for making the video and sharing.
It's been a while since I've flown a Mooney with a Johnson bar but one thing I had to learn to overcome was the tendency when raising the gear to not let my left hand tug/pull against the yoke as my right arm was pulling/pushing the bar into the up and locked position. It is an acquired muscle motion to do smoothly but as the video demonstrates the gear can retract/extend in a second or two, pretty impressive for the ground observer!
Don’t forget the Mooney nose dip after takeoff. Climb out of runway environment and dip nose as you retract gear. Much easier using the nose level/slightly down pitch aerodynamics of the aircraft
Same thing happened to me the first time I flew Solo in my 1962 mark 21. Didn't realize the passenger seat belt needs to be buckled otherwise it gets in the way of retracting the landing gear and getting the Johnson bar to lock into place. Took me all the way till I was back on the downwind to get the seat belt out of the way. A little unnerving when you're doing your first solo in the Mooney. After about 15 or 20 hours of flying I am perfectly comfortable retracting and extending the landing gear without issues but it took some time.
Thank you Michael Fischer. The panel was beautiful and very functional, but I wanted to add a couple updated avionics instruments that make it even more practical for actual IFR flying. Maybe I can get Jim Pitman (My Instructor) to do an updated video with one of our upcoming lessons to show the improvement.
When I did my checkride the FAA examiner didn't fasten his seatbelt and smoked through the entire flight. Literally from the moment he closed the door until the flight was over, a cigarette was in his mouth. 😂
@@FlywithJim Would have told the instructor, and the FAA guy, the same thing (nicely). "Please put on your seat belt." If they would not, then "it's all over - taxi back to parking and try someone else. You have to be responsible for your passenger's safety - YOU are PIC.
HEY JIM great vid mate And yes make sure you grab the gear leaver and mal=ke sure she is home 100% , At 3:43 it looks like you oil temp is a little high mate The one i fly every now and then the needle is almost straight up , Anyhow great vid , Rob PPL NSW Australia
Nice demo. Best I’ve seen. As an owner of a 1966 E model that I’ve owned for 30 years I love the Johnson bar gear. Initially, I would have paid more for the manual gear for the sheer simplicity and reliability of the system. From a personal standpoint, I take great pride in taking off and retracting the gear without the traditional ’bobble’ that typically happens with manual gear retraction. The only aircraft I’m aware of with retractable gear that doesn’t have a backup for emergencies. Good job!
Thanks for the positive feedback!
I had a 66 M20 E super 21 with the Johnson bar never had one problem with it and the fact that its the only plane I know of without any type secondary gear extension system it HAS GOT TO BE GOOD! It took me a few times to get the technique down then its just second nature. I flew the 21 for 5 years then sold it and got a 201 and in some ways I still missed the manual gear extension. Good video and its amazing just how many people have never even heard of manual gear operation!
Thanks for the feedback!
Great, concise and to the point, nice camera angles, thanks Jim!
You're very welcome. Thanks for the positive feedback!
I've been flying a '64 M20E for almost my entire time as a pilot. I have to say I am impressed by how well you managed the Johnson bar on your second day - I promise it gets easier with practice!
A peice of advice: it helps to do the "mooney roll" as we call it at my airport. Give yourself a slight pitch up when you are retracting the landing gear (or lowering the bar). I can get the bar to latch in the gear up position with no arm movement (except for unlatching the bar), not that I recommend this way of operating the part, it is just a sign that you can operate the gear very easily if you employ this trick.
I have to say I was imporessed by your verfication of the gear after latching. A downside of the Johnson bar is that it sometimes will latch but not lock. It can be very scary to be on the ground and give a push forward only to hear a click (i.e. the gear locked). Checking/double checking the gear is critical! :) Great video.
First- LOVE your NEW (to you!) Mooney 20C Mark 21. Super impressed with the condition and cleanliness of the panel and gauges. It's your second day, so- unless you had a sleepless night, someone took the time to clean everything up nicely. I think it takes years off of the age (54- heck, I'd marry that!) Can't wait to see more videos of you flying, and, I noticed that comms are much newer & up to date as well. Love learning the way pilots manage complex flight planes- you seem to have your new Mooney completely under control already! Congratulations.
Thanks for your comments David! It's not my plane though. I was just helping deliver it for one of my clients :-)
@@FlywithJim Then, thank you for the great Johnson Bar knowledge, I DO think it'd impact my decision on buying a vintage Mooney. Also, I hope that the new owner is very happy with this beautiful example- new comms for safer IFR & RNAV flight, yet some classic operations in a very clean and well maintained craft. Sweet ship!
Very impressive Jim, especially considering that was literally your second day in the Mooney with the Johnson Bar manual gear. I struggled with the gear initially, but now it has become muscle memory to put the gear up or down. As someone mentioned below, there aren't very many videos that show the operation of the Mooney gear, so it was good that you posted it. I a lot of videos Pilotfun101 and he put one up not that long ago. Anyway, thanks for making the video and sharing.
Thanks for the video. Just bought a 1968 Mooney M20C. Restoring it now 👍
Best Demo of the J-Bar I have seen, thanks!
I am an A&P, used to work on electric or hydraulic operating gears but I love Mooney’s Jonson bar.
Flying a buddy's M20e home for him next week with the J bar. My F is electric. Thanks for the insight on the J Bar process. Should be fun.
It's been a while since I've flown a Mooney with a Johnson bar but one thing I had to learn to overcome was the tendency when raising the gear to not let my left hand tug/pull against the yoke as my right arm was pulling/pushing the bar into the up and locked position. It is an acquired muscle motion to do smoothly but as the video demonstrates the gear can retract/extend in a second or two, pretty impressive for the ground observer!
I saw that plane in an ad at American Aircraft Sales Last month... You beat me to it... Congrats! Beautiful Airplane!
Small world in aviation :-)
Jerry Maggio, what did you end up getting?
1965 Mooney M20C (Electric Gear/Manual Flaps)
1965 Mooney M20C (electric gear)ruclips.net/video/_XVHikH8SEY/видео.html
Thanks for posting that-- looks more difficult than it should be. Perhaps the gear down torque it more than it should be. Paul L.
Don’t forget the Mooney nose dip after takeoff. Climb out of runway environment and dip nose as you retract gear. Much easier using the nose level/slightly down pitch aerodynamics of the aircraft
Same thing happened to me the first time I flew Solo in my 1962 mark 21. Didn't realize the passenger seat belt needs to be buckled otherwise it gets in the way of retracting the landing gear and getting the Johnson bar to lock into place. Took me all the way till I was back on the downwind to get the seat belt out of the way. A little unnerving when you're doing your first solo in the Mooney. After about 15 or 20 hours of flying I am perfectly comfortable retracting and extending the landing gear without issues but it took some time.
My kind of landing gear. Simple, not much to go wrong with it.
Thank you. Been wanting to see this for decades! Saved to “Airplane Education” playlist!
You're very welcome :-)
Great demo. Nice Panel on that M20.
Thank you Michael Fischer. The panel was beautiful and very functional, but I wanted to add a couple updated avionics instruments that make it even more practical for actual IFR flying. Maybe I can get Jim Pitman (My Instructor) to do an updated video with one of our upcoming lessons to show the improvement.
Excellent. I try to always pull against the Jbar too to confirmed it’s locked. Beware of the passenger’s seat belt. 👍
Great demo and explanation, just seems safer than electric or hydraulic systems. Good mechanical/manual tech rarely fails.
Thanks for this.... I'm about to close on a F model, and this helps a lot before I have to fly it.
Glad I could help!
At 4.10 do you say "put the wheels down"? Then put them up? Confused 😕
Yep. I corrected myself in the video description shortly after I posted it :-)
I love my Mooney M20C. Thanks for sharing!
1:53 were you solo or was your instructor sitting in the right seat without a seatbelt?
Solo.
When I did my checkride the FAA examiner didn't fasten his seatbelt and smoked through the entire flight. Literally from the moment he closed the door until the flight was over, a cigarette was in his mouth. 😂
@@FlywithJim Would have told the instructor, and the FAA guy, the same thing (nicely). "Please put on your seat belt." If they would not, then "it's all over - taxi back to parking and try someone else. You have to be responsible for your passenger's safety - YOU are PIC.
HEY JIM great vid mate And yes make sure you grab the gear leaver and mal=ke sure she is home 100% , At 3:43 it looks like you oil temp is a little high mate The one i fly every now and then the needle is almost straight up , Anyhow great vid ,
Rob
PPL
NSW
Australia
Thanks Rob! It was a hot summer day over Texas :-)
Simple and easy... nice.
You make it look ez.. just bought a Mooney with the Johnson bar, I don’t find it so ez.
Thanks for the compliment :-) Keep practicing!
Harder when you let the airspeed get higher, look up Mooney Dip, also a technique that can help.
I would have just flown it from the right seat!
Uh.....no thanks.
It's not a Johnson Bar.
What do you call it Terry?