Leaderboard

I flew a Mooney years ago with a friend, was always a Cessna trained and raised pilot. I didn't think there was any other airplane for the type flying I do. I've said it before and it's worth repeating. I was privilaged to fly Betty Jane , P51C when the Collings Foundation came through. I knew the second I took the stick something I had experienced years ago , a superiorly crafted piece of machinery. I was detemined to get a Mooney. If a Mooney had a tail wheel , and a stick I would simply own a P51 that burns 10 GPH instead of 60 GPH.

Excellent point I believe Dr. Fang is a recent LOP convert, having done extensive investigation (i.e., soliciting instruction, off-line, from some MooneySpace members).

Actually what Byron said is not quite accurate. I also read the Marketing Directors comments in Flying magazine which somewhat mirror Byrons. Never, listen to someone in marketing about financial analysis or the financial well being of a company. True, Goldman and Onex purchased Beechcraft from Raytheon in 2006. However, RAC (Raytheon Aircraft Corp) was for sale for several years. RAC was quite a drag on Raytheon's consolidated margins (Operating, EBITDA, you name it) and was happy to shed the business. This drag was somewhat opaque as RAC was not nicely split from the rest of Raytheon's consoliadted financials, so you will have to trust me as a former insider. As things headed south for the Hawker Beechcraft Aquisition Company, LLC, there were multiple times Goldman and Onex could have taken the company BK. 11/2009 when the company was going to blow its lev covenant was one of those times. Instead, Goldman actually went long and provided part of the $200MM incremental term loan that took out part of the revolver. Usually, equity holders try to minimize their skin in the game. Who knows if they sold their debt position. Although that move would probably be a money loser given the debt was trading at a discount. By YE 2009 Adjusted EBITDA (good starting measure of operational income and cash flow) was $26MM and the company was cash flow positive thanks to shrinking adj. working capital. So, while debt was somewhat high, Adj. EBITDA was nearly nil. By end of 2011 Adjusted EBITDA was quite negative ($481MM by my calcs). The co. had shrunk working capital (one of their largest generators of cash) as far as it would go. The company was lighting cash on fire at this point. Obviously, even without debt or dividend payments this company could not survive financially. Note, up to this point, no divideneds were paid. That was partly restricted by the bank group which was agented by Citi. This is all in the company's issued public financials. SEC.gov is your friend. Not sure what is meant by the equity holders getting paid by the senior lenders. However, I am sure Goldman and Onex are making good bank with advisory fees trying to sell the business this year. But as an investment, this may have been an overall money loser for them and the senior lenders. I'm guessing that's the case since the senior lenders converted to equity as well. Plus, think about it. Break up value on a small aircraft manufacturer is probably pretty weak. Who really wants to buy wing jigs for a Bo? Don't think they would work to build Boeing 787 wings. Anybody need an enormous factory in Kansas? Just look at the assets. Not a lot of room between PP&E, Goodwill, Intangibles, Inventory and the debt balance. But hey, what do I know, I am just an Investment Banker with 13 years of corporate lending including experience with several work-outs. Sorry if this got too financially technical. But debt was not the main problem with this company. Operationally it was weak before the PEGs got ahold of it. Byron, you also have it reversed, you use the BK filing to get the concessions. William

I'd have to go with something like a RV-10.

What blasphemy!

I choose my oil based on bottle color... I did use the gold bottles of Exxon Elite but blue is my favorite color so I switched to XC 20w50. Camguard comes in black bottles which looks good with blue so used it as well.

hes got a really impossible schedule...says he needs a 276 nm flight from abq to phx after about 700 pm in feb.Thats so he can leave the bookstore after a meaninful interaction(after work crowd)and make a early morning nyc arrival for another morning bookstore appearance.Even if he had a g4 at his disapposal that is tough to do in winter...he does say he has to feel confident in plane and pilot and I dont blame him.Night IFR in winter over mountainous terrain on a tight schedule is asking for cellestial intervention!!!

After take off let's say 1000ft agl I pull the red knob until my fuel flow goes from 17gph to 10.4-10.8. You will feel a slight power loss but not much. Prop and throttle stay forward for the time being. After 3k feet or so ill pull the prop back to 2600 rpm as the motor is more efficient and when lean of peak you don't lose as much power reducing rpm as you would if your rich of peak. I might even ricen a bit to bring the fuel back up to same flow as when at higher rpm setting. One thing to note is the heads are about 10-20 degrees cooler with trail flaps high power lop than they are ROP with full flaps!!!!!!!! If your at 4k full throttle 10.5 gph just a few degrees lean of peak and you cht start to get warmer than 380 just note your current fuel flow at the current power setting and then increase your rpms 100 but use your mixture control to bring your fuel flow back down to your previous fuel flow and the cht will come down because there is less internal pressure and your spreading the same amount of energy (fuel) out over more combustion cycles. Rop is opposite. I wish I could take some people flying to demonstrate how to safely operate a engine LOP as there is so much to learn. Aaron

Let me chime in here about the 201 and Rocket....as I currently own and fly both. I bought my 1982 201 in 1989 and have flown it almost without fault and is as reliable as a Cessna 150. After 23 years of ownership, I sort of got the mid life crisis and wanted something more powerful and sexy . Of course I'm speaking of airplanes (happily married for 25 years) so last year I took a quick ride in a Rocket and instantly fell in love with it. Gosh, you almost need a cervical collar to prevent whiplash when accelerating down the runway. Amazing performance, so I decided to go on my hunt for my "red Corvette convertible" immediately after landing. After a few months I found an average equipped Rocket with average interior and radios but with excellent paint, metal, and engine and bought into a 1980 231 Rocket conversion. The price was right with a 30 hour Victor overhaul. And so I spent my remaining budget on new interior from Aero Comfort and a completely updated panel from Ron Collins Aviation in Henderson, KY with Garmin 750 GTN, Aspen EFIS, JPI 830, and everything else I could fit into the panel. When I got the plane back, my midlife crisis was over! Hangar flying is back again on those rainy-snowy cold winter days, hanging with my pilot friends of yesteryears. Every flight in the Rocket is a new experience and a learning experience for a relatively low time turbo charge pilot. So, back to original question, my 201 is used for local flying on those days where you just want to escape and witness the beauty of our planet, going for the $500 hamburger, and extending our home radius to 200 miles or so. I fly it once or twice a week to keep the corrosion at bay (yes, that is the biggest detriment to our engines). The plane is a joy to fly and requires little pampering. 25 hour oil changes, engine preheat with a Reiff system, and Mooney Savvy annuals and the thing flys all day long. Its been a part of me just about as long as my wife and can never get rid of either! The Rocket" Wow, what a difference. The Rocket is a never ending learning experience with multiple power settings, altitudes, O2 levels, wind and weather variables, turbocharging and temperature considerations, % HP settings, speed reduction demands, turbulance factors on speed, and of course fuel expense. The Rocket is not cheap to fly. If you have to ask how much fuel consumption ROP (which is how I fly) it costs, you don't need a Rocket. If you think the $500 hamburger is expensive, you don't need a Rocket. If you think training is unimportant, you don't need a Rocket. But if you think divorce or marriage counseling is cheap, you ABSOLUTELY need a Rocket! I use the rocket for extended trips to Florida with my wife and kids, business trips and those special escape excursions you take after a major successful event in your life. And after 27 years of flying I still have the thrill of flying my first Cessna 150, my first take off and landing and the embarrassment of cutting my T-shirt, and of course my excitement of my first date with my wife way back in 1982!

Paul Says: Most commonly it's a simple fix at the master switch-- the alternator field side of the switch. all that is necessary is to clean the spade connectors contacts on the back of the switch. You can usually see results by touching the connectors with your fingers while the engine is running..