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Hi Guys! Relatively new Mooney owner here...been meaning to post an intro for a few months now. Picked up my new-to-me J model back in May and absolutely love it! Some of you may have seen it on here with the previous owner. It's an immaculate, low-time aircraft. I keep it in Columbus, OH, so if any of you are from that area, let me know! I'm on this site quite a bit, but still learning more and more about Mooney's so I may not be the first to jump in to answer a question on here. There's quite a few beautiful planes on here and look forward to meeting all of you. Blue Skies

Well, for one i dont think i want to take out any of the clubs planes ever again. I took the other SR20 this time and it was also broken, to the point where it shouldn't have been flown. Basically the fuel gauges in the center console are shorting out. They either read full or empty or bouncing between for both gauges. So either loose connection or shorting. I didnt notice until later when i went to switch tanks as I had full tanks when i left and thought 'yep i have full tanks'; On the way back both were reading empty and i was like.. uh i know there was at least tabs in each tank.... Anyway, extra anxiety on the way back. So here it goes! The day before i met with my CFI to go over my XC to KSAC and back (just in case the results weren't what we were expecting); He signed off my log book and made some suggestions to change on the flight plan.. All good. The weather was predicted to be sunny with light winds 9kts from the south, a cake walk.. The weather was even predicting a early burn off of the marine layer; So far all is going as planned. My CFI said to not count on the marine layer burn off. It was cloudy that morning and would probably happen the next day. So to CYA, I emailed the DPE and said 'hey there might be some soup in the morning, might not get out of here until 10am' (the check ride was for 9am); Got a email back that said 'no problem just let me know when you are in run up'; Surprisingly i fell asleep early, dont know what it was but woke up the next morning at 7am and saw pea soup out the window. Normally this is where the stress would start, but because this guy had been so accommodating i shrugged it off and did some work from home. 8am... Soup continues. 9AM still soupy... At this point i start getting nervous; I check the weather and damn if everything didnt flip. They were predicting clouds until 11am now and winds at ksac at 12g20kts... crud..... Magically at 945, the sun poked out and i started for the airport. Ran into the normal bay area traffic (surprise surprise) and ended up sitting there. During that time the DPE called 'hey are you going to make it out this morning'; Me 'yep, looks like things are finally starting to break up, i should be headed out your way by 10-10:15' Him 'ok, well i have some bad news, i messed up my schedule and i have to pick some people up from the airport at noon. Can we postpone until 130?' Me 'sure...' I got to the airport and my CFI just happens to be in the parking lot. We talked for a minute and looked at the clouds. He said i would be fine, if anything just climb up in the blue part, get on top then head over (since the marine layer ends at the Pass and doesnt go above 3500'. 'Good idea' (though didnt need it); I took my time getting the plane ready. Talked with people. Then thought i should just go and on the way do some maneuvers. Everything went great; Clouds cleared up; On the way there i adjusted my flight plan to 3500 from 5500 because of all the traffic coming in above me, i figure i might as well do it before norcal does it for me. Ended up with a 17knt tail wind and was doing 165GS in a SR20 at 60% power on 8.5g/h... I was floored. But with how windy it was, i was afraid the winds would shift and instead of coming down the runway at KSAC would end up with a XW, so decided to just get there. Get to the airport and fly the best pattern i think i have ever flown. Everything was right on, spacing, speeds, approach everything. Landed the plane right of the CL because i caught a gust at the last minute, but over all landed then thing as softly as can be overall a good omen. Go inside and talk with the DPE (it was about 1130 at this point and he was about to leave); We started working on the paper work when he asked to see the last discontinuance. I said i didnt have one... He said.. 'uh, you have to have one'. I then told him the story on how the guy stormed away etc. etc... He was shocked... He said, with out that we need a new IACRA and the CFI has to sign it... I was like 'crap' how do i keep getting screwed by this guy!. Anyway, he logged into the computer system and said 'oh wait, at least he uploaded it. It says here that there was a severe mechanical failure with the plane?' Told him the story... 'Ah who cares.' he said. 'You're here now and the plane is fine right'; me 'Yep, this is the better one. Everything looked good!'; him 'Ok, then no worries, red alert off, we are good to go. If you want go get some lunch, we will be heading straight out and doing air work over Franklin' me.. 'wheres Franklin?' DPE '10miles south, dont worry if you get confused just ask, there is nothing wrong with asking'; At this point i was like... who are you? Where have you been?. He goes off to pick the person up from the airport. I spent the 90 mins in the terminal looking at the map, looking at the info on fraklin and sadly looking at the weather. Winds now 16g23 from 200. Franklin is rnwy 18... so i was looking at some pretty steep XW. He calls me and asks how do i feel about the wind. I said i feel uneasy. He asked if i wanted to call it off and dont worry, i will return the check if you do. I said 'no, lets do this' mostly because the winds aloft at 3000ft were 12knts and that for airwork it's fine. I figured if i screw up on the 1 landing i have left, then so be it, at least i only have to test out on that 1 landing. He gets back and says, ok now give me 15 more minutes, i need to run to the hanger and tell the guys to get my plane ready... I guess he was heading out in a C150 to kRHV after the check ride (i learned that later); He comes back. Ready? i said lets do this! Worst case is i come see you again'. We get in, we do the run up we take off and its bouncy until about 800ft and then it smoothed out. We get about half way to Franklin and he said, 'steep turn now' ok, clearing turn, steep turn. My right turn wasn't great, because i was figuring out how much more power i needed with the extra wind. I kept getting slow and dropping and needing to add power. So it was up and down. Rolled out right on the numbers, Left turn was to commercial standards. He said i need to 'treat this plane like your bitch, be more aggressive, i know it's a check ride, but you dont need to baby it with me... Look' he took the controls and rolled right into a 60' bank. He was uncoordinated, stall horns started going off. I'm like dude! he goes 'relax, you can feel when you are getting slow when you do, just add power, or level the wings. I can feel the skipping, or buffeting and can correct'; I was impressed; he literally flew that plane like he owned it. We go into slow flight, which was some of the most stable slow flight i have done. Went under the hood, at one point i was more than std rate and said oppse more then std rate. he said, 'well you saw and corrected for it, but if you have the confidence to do more then std rate im not going to knock you for it'; i said 'well my speeds weren't dropping and i wasn't approaching a stall, so yea, feel good'. 'Great' he said 'look down. I looked down and he began the unusual attitudes.... I am guessing this guy has a military background because i have never been whipped around like i did just then. 'recover' I look up and we are going down. This was my first and only mistake as i added power... As soon as i started to pull up and felt the g's i knew i messed up 'crap, i was supposed to take power off' and cut the power. 'Ok lets do another' same thing felt like i was going to puke 'we arnt upside down are we?' 'do you want to be?' 'Fuk no!' 'recover' This time we are up, i do it right. 'one more time' again down and i recover again correctly., 'take off the foggles' took them off 'Your on fire', 'Thanks!' I said.. 'No your on fire' 'I heard you the first time..........OH you mean the plane is on fire' proceeded into a nose dive per the POH. 'ok recover if we weren't at 3000ft and had more time what else could you have done?' went though, mixture off, pump off, fuel tank off, maday on 121.5, sqwak 7777 IDENT, fly it to the ground or pull the chute. He take the contols and we rocket back up to 4000ft. 'Ok, pull your engine...' Pulled engine looked outside and were were now at 4000ft right above Franklin... 'Well, normally i would try a restart, but theres a airport right below us, so i am going there' At 4000ft i put flaps in right away, and drifted down. Ended up having to slip from 2000ft to the runway because the 17knt winds kept me higher than i thought. He liked that i slipped all the way to the runway. But he had to help with the rudders. The winds shifted to be a direct crosswind and i wasnt giving it enough. We landed kind of rough, and he said 'good enough, do you think we can take off from here?' i said i didnt think so. So we back taxi'ed and took off again. 'this time land on 27 soft feild' again the winds shifted' well 27 is a T with 18. by the time you take off from 18 you are already in the down wind from 27. He said, i dont need to see you fly a perfect pattern, just make it happen. 'er.. ok' never made it to pattern, but kept making the calls on CTAF letting them know we were being sloppy. No one was around to hear us, there wasnt a single plane on radar or on the radio. Came around and landed, this time a lot better. As soon as we touched down he hit the brakes... I was like 'did i do something wrong?' 'nope, i saw enough, think we can take off from here?' 'i think so? run way is 3500ft we used about 1500ft. so yea, but it would be a short field because there are power lines at the end', 'perfect, do it!' did a short field take off, at first i didnt think we would make it, we had about 500ft of runway left and were still 5knts slow of vr. But magically it jumped to 5knts over vr and off we went. With the wind we climbed fast and almost stayed put horizontally. I was amazed; 'Got kind of worried there' him 'i wasn't, i dont like losing and we were fine, you didnt need to look at your interments, so much, just look outside more and you will be fine'.... He said ok your done.... Get me home safe and i will give you your license.... 'i was like, what? i thought i busted out like 4 times' he said 'nope, you know what you are doing, its not ideal conditions and you made solid decisions, so thats good enough for me'. Got back to KSAC, the winds were howling, i had a ton of confidence at this point, so i man handled the plane down to the center line. We ened up catching a gust at the last second and ballooned up; I pitched up a little and add a shot of power as we came down and she landed nice and smooth. He said 'perfect, exactly what you should have done, most people push to the runway and end up bouncing, or pull but dont add power and end up braking something, perfect'. Taxi back and end up going down the wrong way in transient parking... I asked him... 'uhhh, did i go the wrong way? because all the T bars are facing the wrong way'. 'Yep but dont worry about it, you know how many times i've gotten lost at a airport because of crappy signage? just pull a bitch and park this thing' I was like dammmmmnnnnn, you my hero!; Idled up the engine pulled a 180 right into the T spot.... Shut down the engine and we were done. We went inside and did the paper work.. I asked why i didnt bust. 'you know the maneuvers, you are going to make mistakes, your judgement wasnt off. Sure i could bust you for the 1 unusual attitude, but you knew what you did wrong and tried to correct, thats all that madders. This is a license to learn and you will keep learning, so while this test is to make sure you can do certain things, its more to make sure you dont kill your self or the people around you. I didnt see anything today that would indicate that you would do anything like that. The conditions were challenging and you worked hard, so you deserve to pass., What kind of ahole would send a person back to retest because of 1 maneuver that they know you know how to do?''... me 'well i can think of one....' him 'yea... dont fight that fight.... you will lose. Just tell your story to other students and CFI's, if you take it to the FAA they will probably side with him and then you will have a bad name in the DPE world. I know it sucks, but its the world we live in'. Me 'ok, i agree, i just wanted a fair ride'; him 'i had the same problem with my interment, so i speak from experience, keep learning.' He had me sign my temp license, we went over the paper work and 'now if you EVER need me, call me. I can answer question or give advice. I am here for you! dont feel like you are alone in this world. If you dont know something you can call me. But dont advertise that I am a DPE; I run this business, I fly a commercial helicopter service, i do the DPE thing on the side and i want to make sure that i give good rides so i dont over book my self up or advertise. I only give rides to people that find me. oh, if you give out my phone number i will come and get you!' me 'lol ok, i am in IT i understand!' him 'now if you excuse me i have a flight to reid hillview' me 'oh you taking the chopper?' him 'nope, the c150'.... me 'You are taking a C150 in 17knt head winds for 70nm over mountain ridges?!' him 'yup, i dont expect it will be fast or comfortable!, Stay safe on the way back, the winds are no joke out there' me 'yea i might chill here and see how it plays out'. We then parted ways. I called my CFI and messed with him for about 2 minutes before saying i passed. At which time he exploded... I was still in denial! The winds back at my airport were 17, but right down the runway, the plane was due back at 6 and the winds weren't going to get any better between now and then. So i decided to head out. About 15 mins in i get a txt from the DPE 'winds are no joke take your time!' me 'roger'; The ride back at 4500ft weren't bad. I did have a 17knt head wind the whole way, only doing about 105knt GS. This is when panic set in, i look at my fuel gauges and saw they weren't working... 'crap!' i check the fuel right? yes, i visually checked the fuel. The right was lower than the left, ok switch tanks to balance out the plane... leave the right tank as reserve. The avionics says i have 35gal left, more than enough.. dont trust it. lean back pull power; Got it down to 8.5g/h; ok, tabs is twice that, i should have 2 hours to get back on the 1 tank, should be fine..... Plane to ditch at KLVK if you are unsure. Get into air traffic land and the drama continues. 2PG traffic 12'o west bound 500ft above same direction, additional traffic 11'o west bound 500ft below. 2pg, turn 10d left to avoid traffic. 2pg is traffic in sight? me 'dude i am looking right into the sun i cant see anything, please advise!' nor cal 2pg level 3500, stay course, will advise when traffic has passed'. About 20 seconds later the sun hits both planes at the same time '2pg both traffic is in sight' norcal 'roger contact palo alto' called palo alto. Palo alto tower '2pg, do you see the traffic 1/2 mile off your right wing 500ft above same direction' me 'yep, he is crossing towards me' them 'enter mid field down wind' me 'i cant im at 2700 ft and descending that would put me in the the class charlie for SJC at above 1500ft. them 'expedite your decent'; Well that wasnt working, i was up to 140knts and going down 1000ft a min, i was about 2000ft from the class 'c' and ended up adjusting my course to trim around it. at the same time the traffic called in and he was also landing at palo alto. So between the 3 of us we worked it out. He was coming in at 100knts and i was blowing past him at 140 something. So i was able to cut in front of him at a lower altitude and make my way in. tower '2pg #2 behind the Cessna, cleared to land rnwy 31, declare when traffic is in sight' me 'the sun in hitting me in the face, i cant see anything, please advise on traffic' tower '2pg traffic is no on right base' luckily the sun hit his wing and flashed me, so i stated the traffic was in sight. I managed to slow up just in time to enter the pattern at 100knts. Winds were now 290 16g20 for rnwy31... Crud thats some XW, plus i was still worried about my fuel. Went ahead and switched tanks just in case it was a go around, but i had a new found confidence. I man handled that plane, any time i would get blown away, i would add a little counter trim, and fight it back. Once i was in ground effect the bouncing stopped and i was able to put it right on the CL, probably the best landing of the day. Taxi'ed back to parking and once shut down. I immediately looked at the fuel in the tanks..... THANK GOD, both tanks were well above tabs, there was nothing to worry about... Good thing i filled it to the top before i left that morning! Filled out my log book as PIC and ordered my Victory Pizza! And that's how this chapter ends! I am sure there are more details that i just cant remember right now... But i am still in disbelief... Im just wanting for the FAA to call and say that the other DPE is blocking my pass, or some other crazy thing to happen! Until that card arrives the mail, i dont think it will set in that the drama is over and i can go back to flying for myself! Edit: He asked how i liked training in the cirrus; I said it was a crappy trainer, but i stuck with it. I think that bought me some brownie points, he agreed and said i would probably not get a fair check ride in a cirrus because its seen as learning in a sports car. He also said he wouldnt use the chute until he was in a spin as thats the only reason why its there. I kept my mouth shut and just agreed with him. Again, brownie points

I was the test pilot for the new glass panel in my plane. It took me 10 solid hours and most of it with an instructor buddy to get comfortable with a plane that I owned for 22 years prior to the upgrade. Some of it was due to the buttonology of the GPS and new features available. Others were due to how the new technology functioned over the old stuff. A good example was the usage of the AI. A 10° climb on my mechanical AI was a lot less dramatic looking than on my Aspen's AI. Another adjustment was flying using tapes. It was a real adjustment to look at real numbers and not the mechanical analog version. I eventually needed to cover the ASI up to make the transition. After 3.5 years, I am using the tapes exclusively. There are some major benefits with glass. The information is all there in front of you. How long before the next way point? It's there. Am I in icing temps? It's there. What are the winds aloft? It's there. When I hear people talk about glass as something that isn't needed, that's fine. But making that jump for me was the best thing (aside of the STEC 60-2) that I installed in the plane. Just adds so much more awareness which I find extremely beneficial in IFR flying. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Great weather. I don't think I've seen a cloud since I've been here. Mike Elliott and the whole summit crew have done another great job! Didn't get an exact count of mooneys. The line guy said it felt like a thousand. Lol

Hey guys, just a heads up that the EAA asked me to present a webinar on Engine Loss in your GA single. This presentation mirrors my new book, and is free! I'll be discussing: Glide ratios and calculations, Emergency procedures and critical procedures, sight pictures, glide estimations, energy management, landing site selection, the gear up/down debate, and more. You can register at the below link. It's on 26 October. All you have to do is log in and check it out! https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-education-and-resources/aviation-videos-and-aviation-photos/eaa-webinars I hope you can attend! Thanks! Buster

I suck at night patterns. The first one was fine, the next two approaches not so good.

I'm in denial, but it appears i passed!!!! More later once i wake up.

Evidently time to start a new topic.

But I have to hand it to the Panama City tower/ground guy. All by himself for a while and did a spectacular job. Never heard him get upset with anyone no matter how many of us were trying to catch him. Kudos to the staff there and at SheltAir.

I thought it was funny as we were leaving about 1:15-1:30 today, the controller at Cairns AAF said, "all I need is a few more Mooneys right now." Poor guy . . .

Yes, the weather could have been better. KLNS was broadcasting 800 OVC with light rain and good VIS. 20 miles out, running down hill in IMC with rain, approach tells me the tower is reporting rapidly deteriorating conditions, rain, fog, and 1/4 to 1/2 mile Visibility. The wife was outside and picked up the rabbit around 100 over mins. As we're parking I notice a crowd standing in the rain along the fence. Then they begin to cheer. I turn around just in time to see Trump landing. We left at around noon today and it was much less eventful. [emoji41] I'll certainly give you a call next time I'm in the area. Do the same if your ever around Richmond. I'm SW at KBKT. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

It depends on your preferences, priorities and budget. Paint will last longer and look nicer with a hangar. If you always use a cover, it is unlikely your interior will suffer too much. For me, the biggest advantage of a hangar is a place to keep my stuff, and a place to work on the plane. If I don't get everything buttoned up, I can just leave it until I get back. Would I delay my oil change if I had to do it outside a hangar? Maybe. So, no, you don't have to have a hangar. For me a hangar is well worth it, but if I was in a place with only $600 hangars I might feel differently.

I've been doing quite a bit of research myself on this. I'd love to eventually have an all glass/electric bird without a vacuum system. So here's what I understand... One Aspen panel - remove Turn Coordinator and DG/HSI Two Aspen panels - remove VSI Extended battery backup for second Aspen - remove Altimeter and ASI Backup electric AI - remove vacuum AI and entire vacuum system The G5 will work as the backup electric AI. Something like the L3 ESI-500 can serve as the backup electric AI AND the backup Altimeter and ASI therefore eliminating the need for the extended battery on the second Aspen.

This is my flight last Saturday, but I figured I better get it written up before I go fly tomorrow. Check Ride Stage Check First things first, I have my actual check-ride scheduled! October 15th. Today was my stage check with a different CFI, just to see if I'm ready for my check-ride. It would have been a great day to fly a glider, more on that later. I left home a little early to make sure I wasn't running late. I wasn't completely sure what to expect, but thought the worse thing that could happen was a list of things to clean up. I got to the school and chatted with those in the lobby for a few minutes. They were talking about how busy it was out there today. One of the CFI's said that they did 360's for a few minutes on their way back from the training area before they finally got a chance on the radio to contact the tower. We went and sat down at the CFI's desk. He asked if this was a full stage check and I told him it was. He took out a piece of paper, started asking me questions, and making notes. The oral portion took almost two hours and went well. I have to remember to 'just answer the question.' A couple of times I offered more information than he was looking for and that led to further questions. There were a few things that I looked up, a few that I just didn't know the answer to, and a few follow up questions that I asked him which he had to think about. We finished up that portion, he gave me the notes with the subjects to go home and brush up on, and then we headed out to the plane. He left me to pre-flight the plane and by the time he came back I was already done. CFI: "You're already done?" Me: "Yep" CFI: "Everything look good?" Me: "Yep" CFI: "Okay, let's go fly. If there's something you feel really good about we'll skip that today." Me: (With my foggles in hand) "Are we doing instrument flying, unusual attitudes?" CFI: "How do you feel about it?" Me: "I'm good to go, unusual attitudes are easy and I just did an hour flight beginning to end under the hood with my CFI. We took off and did unusual attitudes, then flew a triangle from Paradise to Pamona, then south and back to Paradise before shooting the ILS." CFI: "Sounds good, we'll skip that, anything else?" Me: "We just did stalls and I feel good about them. I was shallowing out my right turn on steep turns and I need work on my soft field take-offs, I keep flying right up through ground effect instead of staying in it to build speed. Next week when I fly with my CFI we are going to concentrate on short field and soft field take-offs and landings." CFI: "Well, we can fix the soft field take-offs today." I went through the rest of the start-up checklist, started the plane, and then we started our taxi. Just before we got to the end of the hangar row another plane from the school was coming around the corner. There's not enough room for us both so he turned around and went back to an intersection so we could get past. We stopped, I got the ATIS information, and then it was about a 3-4 minute wait to get my chance to talk to Ground. It was still a busy day. On the taxi out to the run-up area he asked what I was having problems with on the soft field take-offs. I told him that for some reason I just kept popping through the ground effect, that I just couldn't get the right sight picture. He said to think about it, the wings are about where the bottom of my feet are and that the ground is only a couple feet below that, so it is flying about as high off the ground as if I was just standing up. I think I still just need to see it... I went step by step through my run-up checklist and then talked through the different abort procedures (if there was still enough runway left I would try to stop on the runway, if we had just lifted off but under 600' AGL we would be landing straight ahead in the fields, if we were above that we would try to come back and land on runway 3 or in the fields to the south of the airport). The winds were coming a little from the right, but not enough to be considered a cross-wind. It was a warm day, and the plane was not climbing well. KCNO is at 650' and the traffic pattern is 1,400' because we are below Ontario's airspace. Normally I start my turn at 1,100' but we were well past the point where I normally turn and just barely reaching 1,000' when the tower asked me to start my turn. We got about two miles south of the airport and what had been about a 300' per minute climb suddenly became more than 1000' per minute. Sometimes the thermals can be your friend. He asked me how high I was going to climb and I told him 2,500 to stay below Ontario's 2,700' shelf. As we were approaching 2,400' I pushed over for what I thought would be a typical leveling off. I don't have a ton of hours, but I have enough that I know what the sight picture out the front looks like in level flight. In fact, I use what is outside the windows to know how I am flying and glance down at the instruments just to verify. (It is Visual Flight Rules after all). I looked at my altimeter, it wasn't slowing down as much as it should have been and the vertical speed indicator (which has a little lag to it) was still showing the climb. I drifted up through 2,500 and finally got the climb to stop at 2,550 with a nose down attitude. That thermal that had been helping me out was now working against me, and I didn't want to bust into Ontario's Class C. Remember that I said earlier that it would have been a good day to fly a glider? It wasn't long before we had moved out of the thermal and I settled in at 2,500' nice and level. We crossed south over the 91 freeway and began a climb to 4,500' but with the heat we were climbing so slowly that we gave up at 3,500' and decided to do maneuvers there. (We were about 2,000' AGL which is more than what is required). First up was steep turns. I did my clearing turns and the rolled into a left bank. I came out of it right on heading without gaining or losing any altitude. I then rolled into the 'not so friendly right turn' but managed it just fine. As I was rolling out I was close to 100' below my starting altitude, but not quite, and let it come back up to my starting altitude. CFI: "So if you are losing altitude in your turn what could you do? You already have full power because it's a hot day. You can pull back on the yoke but that will also increase your speed." Me: "I guess shallow out my bank just a little?" CFI: "Exactly, not much, because you are supposed to be in a 45° bank, but just a few degrees will help." From steep turns we went into slow flight. I stayed coordinated and did everything he was asking. I was a little slow in my recovery from slow flight so he gave me a few pointers. After that he needed an "emergency" to get us down lower for ground reference maneuvers. I was waiting for the engine failure, engine fire, or cabin fire. That's not what I got... CFI: "Okay, here's the scenario. I'm having a heart attack so we need to divert to Riverside and get on the ground. But first, I think I want to see some s-turns over the 15." Me: "That's creative." I pulled power and pushed the nose over alternating back and forth between right and left 45° banks to lose altitude faster. CFI: "So how fast do we want to get going?" Me: "Well, we can't go faster than 171mph (pointing to the red line on the airspeed indicator) but as bumpy as it is today I don't want to get any faster than 140mph." CFI: "Why don't we keep it under 120mph." Me: "Oh, is your heart feeling a little better?" CFI: "Yeah." Once we were low enough I brought it around to make some s-turns over the 15 freeway. I made three nice s-turns, rolling wings level right over the freeway before starting my next turn and keeping my altitude dead on. CFI: "Those look great, but you don't have to make them so tight. Let me have the controls." He began to make a lazy s-turn to the left. CFI: "See, this is just fine for an s-turn, we are constantly turning and it gives you a lot more room for mistakes." He finished the turn and then said "Or you can make an s-turn like this" as he threw it into a 60° bank to the right. He rolled out of that turn and said "But that leaves you no room for error. Take us to Riverside." I got the ATIS information for Riverside and then called up the tower. Me: "Riverside tower, Cherokee 5800Uniform, over the west end of Lake Matthews at 2,500, inbound for touch-n-go's with information Echo." Tower: "Cherokee 5800Uniform, report over the auto center for a left base for runway 27." Me: "Will report over the auto center for left base for runway 27, 00Uniform." To the CFI "That's the auto center right over there right?" CFI: "I don't know" (Yes he does) "What does your chart say?" I pulled out my TAC and took a quick look. Me: "Yep, that's the auto center." CFI: "What would you do if you couldn't figure it out?" Me: "Tell the tower I was unfamiliar." CFI: "Exactly. When we land I want a short field landing and touch down on the top of the 2." (We're coming in on runway 27) I called up the tower when we were over the auto center and was given clearance for a touch-n-go only. (There was someone on a straight in final behind me). I was lined up on a nice stabilized approach, 80mph, when the tower called up. Tower: "Cherokee 5800Uniform, make best speed possible." Me: "Will make best speed, 00Uniform." I nosed over a little and added some power. CFI: "Let me have the plane." I gave him the plane, he took out the flaps and went full power briefly, then pulled power back, put flaps back in, and gave the plane back to me. At this point we were coming in faster and very high. CFI: "Go ahead and make your touchdown point the 1000' marks now that we are high." Me: "I was just going to put it into a slip and try to hit the numbers." CFI: "Sounds good." I was able to slip the plane down and almost touch down at the previous point of the top of the numbers. Immediately after touching down it was flaps up, full power, and we were off again. the tower had advised us of a police helicopter working off the southwest end of the runway so we watched for him as I was going from my crosswind to my downwind. The CFI asked me what I could do if that same situation came up on my check-ride where the tower wanted me going faster. I told him I could just go around which he said would be perfect. CFI: "Okay, on this one give me a soft field landing followed by a soft field take-off." Me: "So do you want a stop and taxi back?" CFI: "No, we can do it as a touch-n-go. How many notches of flaps do you use on landing?" Me: "Three." CFI: "How many notches for a soft field take-off?" Me: "Two." CFI: "Good, after touching down, just remove one notch of flaps and then do your take-off. Then take us back to Chino." The tower gave us a touch-n-go only, which was what we wanted anyway, and I brought it in for perhaps my best soft field landing I have ever done. As the nose settled down I took out the one notch of flaps and went full power, keeping the yoke back. We were airborne almost immediately. As soon as we were off the ground he said "Hold it right here" and he gave it some forward pressure on the yoke. I was surprised to see how low were were leveled off at, which is what I needed to see. Now that I have seen it hopefully it will be easier to do. I'll find out when I fly with my CFI next week and we work on it. I had previously told the tower we wanted to depart straight out for Chino and had been given the clearance, as well as to watch for the police helicopter. I told the tower we had him in sight and I was told to maintain separation. Riverside gave us a frequency change so I dialed in the ATIS for CNO, got the information, and called up the tower asking for a full stop. All the activity at the airport had died down and we were given a straight in for 26R, #2 to land. CFI: "Your choice of what kind of landing you want to do." Me: "How about a no flaps, I haven't done one of those in forever." CFI: "Sounds good." I carried the extra speed that I needed without the flaps down, floated it a little and settled down a little left of the center line. Me: "I think I can still make the first turn off." CFI: "Oh yeah, no problem." As I turned off on taxiway Delta I felt pretty good. I had made the first turn-off which is at the 2,000' point on the runway after coming in on a no flaps landing. I called up Ground for my taxi clearance back to the school and then the CFI gave me his review. CFI: "Well, if I could sign your ticket right now I would, that was great." Me: "Seriously, I felt like I was pretty sloppy today." CFI: "You're not going for a commercial ticket, this is just for your Private Pilot. Sure you drifted a little left on that last landing which wouldn't pass commercial, but this is for your Private and that was good enough." Me: "Great, thank you." Hopefully my Examiner has the same philosophy. I guess I'll find out on the 15th

Paul-- Feel free to use this. That's me taking off.

I use 100W with CamGuard. When I open a case of oil I add 1.6 ounces of CG to each quart and mark the bottles to indicated the CG. At oil change I fill with 6 quarts of pre mixed oil and carry a qt or 2 in the plane for adding on trips.

What it's all about! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Glad you asked, yes there is. This is like your car tires, the tire manufacturer recommends a maximum normal inflation pressure, then the car manufacturer sets the actual values as installed on your car. I can install the same 6.00x6 6 ply Flight Custom III on a 172 or a 182. Depending on the operating weight of that airplane, the recommended pressure by the airframe manufacturer is different. The idea is, you always want the same amount of tire tread touching the ground, so if the Gross Weight of the aircraft is higher, the PSI in the tire has to be higher so the sidewall is not rubbing. Over a given pressure, you need a thicker sidewall to accommodate the PSI required, hence the step up between the C and F. For reference, some Turbo 210's have a 5.00x5 10ply nosewheel tire running at 90PSI. . . Those are a little alarming to fill the first time.

Yes, 100W (Winterized) is fine. They are even backwards compatible to the point that you can add a quart of 100W to 15w50 without ill effects. Depending on your flying habits, there are plenty of reasons to use or not use Camguard, 100Plus, 15w50, or Philips XC. All the differences have to to with additive packages. I have recently switched from 100w in everything to Phlips X/C in everything, my cost/benefit analysis brought that on. I fly weekly though.

Several days of minor setbacks. Today I was informed that since we decided to remove all the vac components there was an oversight from a IFR standpoint. We are now going to have to have the new Garmin G5 installed. The shop admits the oversight and knows I'm getting frustrated with the delays, so they we are doing the G5 installed at half the dealer cost. Total installed should be about $850 +/-. I wasn't really liking the way the panel came out with the modern style Mooney logo in a vintage bird above the GTN750 so that looks like a good spot to install the G5. I also plan to apply a matte or satin to the finish of the panel instead of the high gloss of the clear. The clear has too much uneven glare. It's been quite the project, but feeling proud of the outcome. Really anxious to get it ALL finished. I should have the plane back tomorrow (Sunday) for test flight of everything else. The shop had preordered 2 G5 units and delivery is expected next Thursday. Install is pretty straight forward so they will install in one day the following week. Reseal of the tanks and calibration was a slower process than they expected for the JPI. On the brighter side the tanks are re-sealed..Going to keep an eye on the fuel senders and see how well they work with the JPI. One is lagging slightly, might be time for a rebuild on them...time will tell. We are closer to the finish line though. Test flight tomorrow afternoon. -Tom

My main reason was looks first, stop having to repair cracks in the ARI mod second, decrease CHT temps third, and if I gained any speed, fourth. Priority to me was in this order. If I purely was going for speed, I would have done something different, but then it would have been another unaffordable mod for a vintage Mooney. Mine is a compromise. It's not perfect but will be affordable for vintage Mooney owners to upgrade the looks of their airplane all while getting the engine a little cooler and gaining a little speed. I prefer to call it a mod and not a patch. Thanks, David

It's off to a great start!

I called EAA today to ask what the progress was on adding the Mooney line of aircraft to the STC AML for the Dynon D-10A and D-100A. I was lucky enough to but connected with a guy who's actually on the project. He said they are working on adding the Mooney and Bonanza line of aircraft to the AML and the time frame is about 3 weeks. Therefore, we can expect the D-10A to be available to us in early October. I also asked if the SkyView sytem was in the hopper. He said it is but more in the long term time frame. As he explained to me, the recent FAA policy change was to allow us to replace our attitude indicators with systems like the D-10A, G5, ESI-500, etc. Getting the FAA to buy off on replacing the entire set of primary instruments seems to be more challenging and since you can't install a hefty Dynon SkyView or Garmin G3X Touch without removing most, if not all, primary instruments I get the feeling we won't be seeing approval of such systems for a while. So those of you who are holding out on those big box systems you might be waiting a while. If you're holding out for the D-10A like me, our time is about to arrive. Keep in mind the 3 weeks was an estimate. So don't charge the EAA HQ with pitch forks and torches if you don't hear the announcement by Oct 8th or something. Steve

Renting a hangar lets me sleep better..... Thunderstorms and windstorms don't wake me up and make me wonder if I tried the plane down well ( and did the guy parked next to me do the same ) ?? I don't worry much about vandalism , either. mike

I have a crappy hangar that is expensive-ish ($400) but still find it worth it and would have a hard time giving it up. Granted I do live in a wetter, colder climate. But beyond protecting the plane from the elements, the advantage for me is having a convenient place to keep tools an consumable goods for the plane, do basic maintenance on it, and work on small problems as they come up. It also lets you plug in things like engine heaters and battery minders, leave the cowl off and come back the next day to finish the oil change after it drains overnight, etc. Mind you I'm no A&P. But having it to do even basic work seems essential. I also find myself paying much closer attention to issues on my plane and taking time to learn more stuff than i would ever have patience for if it sat outside. And a mechanic can come work on it more easily if you can't move it. Also it decreases the chances of it getting damaged by weather or a carelessly taxiing pilot, plundered for avionics, etc. There's an insurance savings associated with this, though not nearly enough to offset the hangar cost.

100% agree! I am just stating the current options at the club; It seems like its either all steam or all glass. When you own your own plane you can customize it as you like

Easier said than done. When one guy in a slow airplane makes a huge pattern, that's going to mess it up for EVERYONE behind him for a while to come. If the guy in the light sport makes a pattern that leads to a 2 mile final, the cessna behind him will be forced to make a 3 mile final not to overrun him, and the mooney behind the cessna... well he's just SOL. If only people would fly the traffic pattern appropriate to their aircraft, the rest of us can work with that.

I do the same thing. I also add "PGNA" on the label. Just to remind myself it is "Peter Garmin Not Approved". [emoji3] Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm really looking forward to glass. I'm in possession of the Aspen PFD 1000 Pro and will be getting it installed in the next few weeks.

Close. You can remove the VSI with a single Aspen. You can remove the turn coordinator with one Aspen IF you don't need the TC for the autopilot (us STEC owners need them). The big question is the AI. I elected to keep the vacuum AI in. I'm fine with the vacuum system in the plane, but at over $600 for a new pump, if it fails I will most like move to a glass backup. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

This AC was next to land. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Nice approach into Lancaster yesterday afternoon. https://vimeo.com/185209486

According to them the G5 will meet the requirements..He gave me the option of the Garmin G5 or the Sandia. He was leaning toward the G5 so that was what I went went with. As far as the Aspen and the back-up/extended battery..yes we did do that so we have that base covered. They just had the oversight on the requirement of the separate AI. I was surprised when they hit me with that about the G5, but they admitted and apologized for the misquote. hence the discount he offered. I'm not really sure how the oversight happened, because they do Aspen installs on a very regular basis.They have been in the avionics business since before most of us were born. I think what threw the wrench in the mix was the fact I had all the vac instruments removed. Not something that is done all the time. They also had a twin in the shop they were also taking all vac components out and they also notified the owner of that plane about the need for the extra G5 requirement. They were just getting started on his so he opted to keep the vac components and not go with the G5. Not sure the shop extended the discount since they were just getting started and his still had much of the vac system still in tact. It's early and only one cup of coffee so if this runs on or is not making sense..I'll re-read after cup three. Trying to wake up so the owner of the shop and I can meet up this morning and give it the flight trail. Absolutely nothing in the plane is the way it was..all the way down to yokes, interior, panel and avionics..I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't a little apprehensive. Probably need to cut the coffee to 3 cups instead of my usual Sunday morning 4-5. lol -Tom

Tom - I saw your new panel picture. I didn't see an ASI or altimeter in the panel. Does your Aspen MFD have the extended battery in it? If not, you have another issue to deal with. In order to remove the mechanical airspeed indicator and altimeter, the MFD is required to have the extended battery. This is an issue since the MFD with the extended battery is $1,000 more and requires a special mounting of the battery external to the unit. Sorry if this is bad news. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Congratulations! Feels good to know that two CFIs think you're ready.

If you visit the facility their or If you had asked me before I left China I could have brought one out. But its very expensive to ship things between US and China. Best chance would be when a few of them are coming over here to bring one. I sent a small package USPS International Priority with 2 week service which was $67. The 3 week service is $57 which is the cheapest service I know of.

Start the engine with both alternator field switches in OFF. After engine start, the important part: Turn the #2 alternator field switch to ON FIRST. The #2 Alternator is the belt-driven alternator, which doesn't much mind the jolt which comes from suddenly picking up the load of an at least partly discharged battery. Even if it does develop problems, the #2 alternator is a relatively inexpensive & common 24V belt-driven alternator which isn't as expensive to repair or replace as the #1. The #1 alternator of a 252 is another of those rare, expensive bits living forward of the firewall in a 252. In addition to being expensive itself, about $800.00 to replace as of five years ago, the #1 alternator, being gear driven off of the engine back case gearing, also has an extremely expensive coupler, about 1 amu+, that you don't want to jolt with the startup load. After the #2 output has stabilized, usually just a few seconds, then turn the #1 field switch to ON, and then fly with both in ON. If your charging system is setup correctly, you should observe that most of the load is carried by the #2 under nearly all load conditions, even with both alternators online. The #1 is pretty much just a backup. This said, something I do at runup which I'd recommend to other 252 owners is to check the pickup of each alternator separately during the runup. To do this, at runup RPM, with the engine monitor on bus voltage, turn off each alternator separately, and check that each alternator alone maintains the expected bus voltage of about 28.5-29.0 volts. Return both alternators to on before takeoff, and then leave them there the remainder of the flight. If you don't check the alternators separately at runup, it's real easy to miss a dead #1 alternator, since it normally doesn't carry much, if any load. Enjoy the 252--one of the best Mooneys built. --Paul Keller CFI-IA '89 M20K @ RLD

As we told you before, a check ride with a good examiner will be more of a learning experience than a pass/fail test.

Here is something similar that I use on my 67 C works pretty reliably and consistently without spilling. It about 3 ft long aluminum angle. Just remove the scat hose works like a champ. Put container on floor to catch oil from the filter. Hope this helps. James '67C

What's camguard? JK...

I think the funniest part was when he was getting frustrated that i was babying it do much, he said 'you are such an abused child, what did they do to you over there'.... I cracked up because i thought that was probably the best description of what i had been through. It was good to know that i was in good hands. We even bonded over the game 'pilot wings'. Remember pilot wings? that game was awesome, now fly like that! Im still cant believe its done... The weight that has been lifted from my shoulders is insurmountable and i am still waiting for the 'gotchya!' moment. But yes... To close the thread... He came, He flew, He conquered Good Luck Skates! Your turn!

And so to close this thread, the answer is yes, yes he will. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Woohoooo!!!! Glad you passed and hanks for writing it all up. Hopefully I'm just two weeks behind you.

Throw in a little glass! This is the left side of my '65 C.

Great photos, gents! Best regards, -a-

Yes, but it is better than Timmy

The weather could not have been better. Us Florida folks get a little excited when we first see a little cooler weather.

I'm the 15th.

Nope, cancelled again. Trying again on Friday. In the mean time I took advantage of my business trip to chicago to meet my CFI in VA and we did a Ferry flight back from Richmond VA back to the Bay Area. 17.2 hobbs in a sr22. Plus i got in about 4 hours to put towards my IFR and a few interment approaches. Plus we ran into that line of thunderstorms from Texas to Canada on saturday/sunday. My first real IMC experience where we had to divert 60nm south from ABI to SJR and spend the night there. In the morning we did a IFR departure in a tiny window of opportunity and managed to get out of the line of thunderstorms. If we had stayed there was another massive storm rolling though and we would have been stuck there until tuesday! But running into that line was crazy. It was all smooth air and then WACK, like we ran into a semi truck. You could see the ground track of a individual cell coming right at us, lightning started flashing all around and we high tailed it out of there. I learned a TON. I mean I thought the planes traffic scope was broken because we flew maybe 8 hours and didnt see a single person!. We flew over the desserts of AZ and Cali and I learned all about the rising/falling air which was crazy. Saw first hand clouds ascending as the day went on and how easy it could be to get stuck on top. Over all I learned an obscene amount in 2 days. I mean, this was real flying.

I did quite a bit of playing with total fuel burn at cruise altitudes ranging from SL to 12,000' using book numbers and no wind. What I found was: 1. Out to about 200 NM it really doesn't matter what altitude you pick, the difference in burn will probably be less than 1 gallon. 2. At about 300 NM, the edge goes to an altitude of 8000 - 12000 but the burn difference between that and SL is still less than 2 gallons. 3. Way out at 800 NM: A. The difference between SL and 12000 is about 7 gallons. B. 12000 is less than a gallon better than 10,000 and only about 2 gallons better than 8000. That's only about a 4% difference it total burn. To my mind, the best altitude is around 8000' +/-. It is always competitive range wise. It gives me a higher cruise speed than up high. I find it is easier to keep the CHT's down because the air is thicker. It's high enough to get above the thermal turbulence as long as it's 6000' AGL. I don't spend forever in a high power, high noise, low ground speed climb. Just my opinion of course. Bob