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I've owned N48176 for close to a year now and just cut some (to me) big checks for my first annual, so I figured it was time for an official introduction. I bought N48176 off of Wings of Hope in St. Louis. A member of MS actually donated her a few years ago when he upgraded. I've enjoyed every minute of the 90 hours I've flown her so far and feel good about the upcoming flying season. The annual was done at the MSC in Peoria, IL who, while not cheap, is very good. I've attached some obligatory pics below. She came well equipped with some cool mods (201 cowl, tips and windshield, speed brakes). The avionics are lacking but will be upgraded over time. I just put a G5 in after the old AI went sideways cruising back to Chicago from Cape Cod just prior to the annual. Next will be ADS-B and then hopefully a GTN 650 when the budget allows. Everyone always says to expect a 10AMU first annual. I of course didn't think that would happen to me, but here we are 9AMUs later... Major items that came up: decided to replace all of the landing gear pucks (2.3AMU), right magneto 500 hour (1AMU), filing 337 and getting missing field approval for 201 cowl (1.1AMU). AD compliance and all of the other first year-annual stuff added up too. The G5 and replacing my compass were on top of this. Learned a ton so far from this forum and look forward to learning more and contributing.

Guys, thank you so much! I have done as instructed and put myself in there until I finally figured out what was making the sound and causing the resistance. Turns out it was the control bar going through a kind of fairing in the panel. Really only required some lubrication... Gotta admit, it felt and sounded like something much worse.

There's a reason these are called "uncontrolled" fields by the FAA. A lot of pilots ignore AIM recommendations. The only thing you can count on is the unexpected.

I have adsb in/out for about 4 years . I am convinced most traffic near misses we never saw or knew about before with the looking out the window alone method. I am convinced it happened all the time and only good luck and big sky saved us. Adsb doesn't replace but it does augment looking out the window.

40 years ago I put a rajay on a 66E. no n number specific for the stc. .Just mooney 200hp. Flew it for years trouble free. come from Borger Texas, where I was bidding on a Mooney that had lost part of a prop blade, to Morristown, Tn in 4 hours. average 225 mph fuel burn 10 gph. I sold it but found it sitting derelect a week ago. did something stupid and bought it back. couple years should restore it I think.

I've had ADS-B traffic for almost 5 years. (GTN 750, GDL 88) It is amazing to me, and more than a little scary, to realize how often there is traffic which I can not get a visual on even knowing where it is.

The sky around airports is small, smaller around fly-ins, and smaller yet around fly-ins without so much as a theoretical frequency to use. Personally, if departing from such a situation, I'd pretend I was Doolittle getting out of Tokyo and would have skipped the customary pass. There's a video somewhere on youtube of a midair that occurred from aircraft leaving a fly-in I believe off a dry lake bed in CA.

Article was not very interesting. I've been using ADS-B for the past 3 years, and while the controllers may not have it under control, the benefit to me as a pilot has been nothing short of fantastic. I see all the traffic ATC sees, and with TargetTrend from Garmin can instantly tell on a screen of 30 targets whether anyone is aimed at me. The cost was minor compared to the safety benefit. The rebate program is a farce. You have to pay tax on the $500, so for a lot of work you net $250. Not worth the time it takes to apply.

I got a sweet rig yesterday. It came with the table, motor, controller, extra parts, different feet, and all for $600. the guy threw in 4 big spools also.. This thing is sweet.. It can go one stitch at a time... I'm just having trouble sourcing the exact leather or faux leather that I'm looking for... I'm want to go for the vintage English pub distressed dark brown shine with champagne stitch... I found one or two options, but not with a flame standard... I bought a half yard of marine vinyl to expierament with, but finding what I'm looking for may be the biggest challenge... My backup plan is to go King Ranch with my interior... I have a supplier who can sell me actual leather and vinyl from the Ford King Ranch dark brown interior..

We are all free to post Airnav comments listing the fees we paid on a specific visit. I try to read all your comments to ferret out the sneaky fees. However, the really evil FBOs do not allow any comments on Airnav. If you see blocked Airnav comments for an FBO, rest assured they didn't get blocked because people said nice things.

On the chatter... G1000 sure looks nice, until it doesn't light up. Then, back to Garmin to fix and figure $10-20K to get the TV back on. Components easy to plug and play for repairs. Also I'd say the average recreational (IFR) flyer has a MUCH easier time in a non-glass environment, all those fancy glass features two and three menu levels deep are very easy to forget and difficult to remain current and proficient on. GFC 700 for sure a nice autopilot, that would be a nice to have not need to have. My KFC-150 with altitude pre-select works quite nice however I still prefer hand flying approaches. Similar with GPSS, I have the GPS part, steering for me not why I go flying, again prefer hand flying, even in the Boeing. If GPSS is desired an Aspen will provide it at a reasonable cost and my guess is Garmin will soon announce an analog autopilot interface for the G5, maybe a better solution. Couple of G5's for A/I and HSI will be a fantastic and economical solution with a LOT less power draw than G1000's. Cirrus, Columbia and other plastic airplanes nice, but I think easily $100K more on the low end, upwards to + $300K. Worth it? For sure I would like A/C though. "Like" vs. "need" with this topic also. On fuel burn, my opinion is it's a non-issue. Think I average 15GPH but who's counting. Average flying of 100 or 200 hrs a year, not a consideration. If you need to ask the price... you probably can't afford it. Mooney vs. ANY twin, twins are: twice the maintenance, twice the cost, twice the training, doesn't fit in a standard T hangar, etc. Nobody making new twins for a reason, except specialty mission and training aircraft. In general, Bravo's are the best value on the market, just an opinion.

well at $10 each... that is $80.00 per plane A foot of 3/4" derlin rod is $4.05 from Amazon. 45 minutes and I have saved a side tank of AV gas and bought myself 3 more hours of zooming around the sky with a grin on my face.

If you have to ask the question, you will never understand the answer...

You're preaching to the choir. Foreflight and other apps display fuel pricing, but it would be better if they could post fees too. I always look at their "comments" section before choosing an FBO as there will often be a poor review of bad service or high pricing. When I get good service I try to post a positive comment myself (see GTU Jet at KGTU). It does piss me off that I have to call prospective FBOs to get their full pricing scheme which could (should) easily be posted on their websites. When you've got something to hide I guess you hide it. And keep in mind this isn't a GA Piston Single thing only. I know that the guys in TBMs, Pilatuses, and VLJs are getting ripped off much worse than us.

I think these lists are done to give scared and gullible American's an excuse to stay home. I've traveled to more so called conflict zones than I can count. (BTW always as a private citizen, never a govt employee of any kind.) I've never felt afraid or worried in any of them. I was just in Ethiopia last night, and actually traveled to the south where that orange circle is, with my family. We had a wonderful time. We're in Kenya now and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. The kids and I are heading home tomorrow night and my wife is continuing on her own to Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, then back to Kenya before getting home at the end of the month. Shit can happen anywhere, but for some of us it's much more important to get out and see the world. And kudos to Brian for fearlessly taking his M20K right around the world regardless of silly travel advisories and warnings.

You are right, but it goes both ways. I also prefer self serve. If I use a truck I like to be there when they are doing it and I ask them to leave the caps off. I have had the caps put on so crooked that I needed a screw driver to pry the tab up and had to straighten the flange when I got home. You are also correct about them stopping an inch from the top, they do it every time. my other pet peeve is the lycoming oil dip stick. Everybody over tightens it. Sometimes so tight I need to get a tool to get it open. This sometimes loosens it at the engine end no matter how tight the lock wire is.

I've had my Bravo for 25 years. Been through one engine replacement in 2004. At that time my all in cost for a remain installed with all new hoses and refurbished engine mount was $65,000 with the engine costing $50,000. Expect a new remain now to be in the neighborhood of $60,000 plus remove and replace plus new hoses and refurbished mount. So I'd plan on spending $75,000 if you want a reman. For an overhauled engine figure about $7,000 less. I wanted the zero time engine so went with the reman. Yearly annual typically runs about $6,000 at a Mooney Service Center if you don't have anything major wrong. The proper inspection alone is supposed to take 31 hours. The G1000 airplanes are great as long as they belong to someone else. I like the option of being able to upgrade my panel to my liking when I want. As mentioned above you cannot do that with a G1000 airplane. You are at the mercy of Mooney and Garmin. I did update my panel 3 years ago, and I think it is still a state of the art certified airplane--not one legacy instrument. And there is a lot going on behind that panel like Stormscope, GTS 800 Active Traffic, GMA35c audio panel, GDL 69A, GDL88, FS 210, FS 510, GAD 43e AP interface with Altitude Preselect and DME. A dream panel to fly behind. The only thing that would be nice to have is the GFC 700 Garmin AP. With it there would be no need to adjust altitude with altimeter setting changes.

I found out after the fact that they do use 122.9 but one of the guys with a handheld on the ground said he did not make any radio transmissions. We still have quite a few fabric and wood NORDO aircraft in this state. "Prob shouldn't have been doing mild aerobatics". YHGTBSM... Mild aerobatics is going 90 degrees of bank in an aggressive overhead break at pattern altitude, not a 3G pull from 10' AGL straight up and over to inverted within a few 1000 feet of an aircraft you didn't see at an airport that you didn't clear. I won't bother to list the violations. Legal does not equal safe and vice versa. If you're the kind of person that's going to knowingly piss all over the regs, at least be good enough to attempt to mitigate the risks... Of course clearing the airport before performing high speed, low level aerobatics isn't nearly as cool because you lose the element of surprise.

Not a Garmin pilot user but you should be able to download all the charts / maps before you leave home. Not sure what setting you need to change on your unit.

I was flying the other day with some people and I was in the way back seat of a Cherokee 6. I was watching traffic on my IPad and I saw a plane coming the other way at the same altitude. I couldn't see out the front window. I yelled at them to look out the window and to turn left. They both looked down at their IPads. I yelled again to look out the F'in window! They both insisted that they didn't see any traffic. They were both still looking at their IPads and hadn't turned yet despite my yelling for them to turn. The plane passed the right wing tip about 30 feet away. I have never Felt so helpless in an airplane. Both of their IPads were not connected to the Stratus that was turned on.

No, it's not normal and it is potentially dangerous. It sounds like some portion of the control linkage is catching on either wiring, SCAT tubing, or some other hose behind the panel. You will need to lie down on your back with your head on the floor (or near to it) looking up behind the panel. Using a strong flashlight, manipulate the controls forward and aft and look at the different linkages as they travel. Look for where something gets "grabbed" by the controls. After about 5-10 minutes you will probably 1.) identify the source of the resistance and 2.) have a much greater respect for the mechanics that work on airplanes. I suggest you have a mechanic reroute whatever the controls are contacting.

I'm still trying to figure out which cover fits the best and who can make it. The laser etching would be icing on the Klixon cake. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I often shorten Pilot Discretion to just Discretion. As in, Discretion to 4000, N201CB.

Turns out if you have some spare RG58 cable and replace the corroded hardware with fresh clean stainless nuts / washers, DeoxIT and scrub the rust from the threads, and hook up that bent wire to your Yaesu, you get really good TX/RX range! Current (this week, hopefully) config: Existing rooftop antenna -> SL30 Ugly ass antenna -> handheld (backup) Phase 2: Existing rooftop antenna -> switch box -> SL30 and -> handheld hookup (emergency) Ugly ass antenna -> garbage bin Belly antenna -> GTN-650

Completely agree with you. And if the only way someone's attention can be caught is through legal action, well, probably it will be a waste of time. Maybe satisfying, but likely expensive. And probably not that satisfying. I just would like to believe we have more consideration for the other pilots in the air than to behave as if a public airfield is our private playground, FAR's or AIM not withstanding.

I think it is not breaking any specific FAR's at an uncontrolled airport to do such. I am not defending its adviseability, but most of the AIM is advisory, not regulatory. Perhaps the huge net, "careless and reckless", but it would be hard to get a conviction unless there was a conflict. Uncontrolled airports are...well, uncontrolled.

LASAR rollers are made of Delrin, pretty much the ideal material. 10$ each. They are flat, however, the rail is convex so there is minimal contact area. Pretty much an ideal design already.

Amen. A salute to Brian for having incredible courage and fortitude. I have "The Viking Route" to Europe on my bucket list, but what he is doing is just, well, Earhart/Lindy worthy!

My last 3 trips to Austin have been to KGTU. "GTU Jet" has similar service to KEDC but with a bit less glamour. They offer cars from either Hertz or Avis and run about $10-$15 less per day than at Austin Exec. Same overnight tie-down fee ($10). GTU is adjacent to I-35 and though a bit further out of town it only adds 10 minutes driving time due to the close proximity to the interstate. Both facilities are great in my opinion; I've only recently chosen to use KGTU due to the significant savings on rental cars.

Speed check for Brian: at 15:53:23 Z he is at 144 knots. Yves

Youre misreading my statement. When the rollers wear down in the middle, the ends of the seat track pins hit the rail and wear out the holes, when you slide the seat. .

You really do see more traffic in if you're adsb out.

I've been flying behind ADS-B for about a month and I am just amazed at how many planes I see now. At least 10 of them would never have been found if it wasn't for TIS-B telling me which direction to look. Would they have been issue if I didn't see them? Obviously not or we would be talking about a steady stream of mid-airs. But the fact they were within a couple miles or less of my location didn't leave me with a lot of warm and fuzzies. The "look out of the window" purist would have you believe that the human eye can detect these better than the technology. After seeing this technology at work, I'm doubtful. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

I don't think Mooney started riveting trays in until the 70's but I could be wrong. Either way, here is what we always used for tray installation: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/hapages/04-00151.php?clickkey=3024976

Sounds like an ignition issue, Shower of Sparks and/or a Magneto?

Go to Home, Downloads, Garmin Pilot Downloads, US VFR Sectionals, CONUS, select from the map which ones you want to download. Go to Home, Downloads, Garmin Pilot Downloads, IFR Enroute Low Charts, U.S. IFR Enroute Low Charts, CONUS, select from the map which ones you want to download.

The problem would be with the pitch trim servo.

+1, but maybe consider wiring an external antenna plug also

Yes, KFC 150

My thought was just that ADS-B offers the opportunity to fill in all the low-level areas that are shadowed in a regular radar system. If you're worried about shadows, radar has *WAY* more than ADS-B will ever have, because one of the things ADS-B is designed to do is fill in all of the low-level radar shadows (which are substantial). So I think it is correct to say that if you're worried about ADS-B shadows you should be terrified of radar shadows.

We have a couple of T-34s at the local field that fly like jackssses. Pulling high speed overheads to breaks in the pattern pretending like they're the Red Baron. One departure they weren't taking on the CTAF and one pulled a break. Looking down in final nothing there. As I'm about to rotate a T-34 flies right over me and pulls up hard. Then makes a radio call after I call him in the CTAF. Almost most tragic (as a local tells the story) is a flock of RVs departing in formation and the lead turns on his smoke as they were rotating. One ended up in the weeds but fortunately no injuries. I'll excuse the forgot to call or wrong frequency snafus to some extent - even though they're just as potentially hazardous. But the purposeful idiocy is on another level.

One way to see a country in detail is to travel by train. Like the Eurostar (London - Paris) or the TGV in France. I took my family from London to Paris by train (before the Chunnel but hovercraft) and was very impress with the TGV speed and comfort. The big windows view is impressive and the food delightful. The train drops you right in the center of Paris so you just take a cab to your hotel. We stop at Le Bourget for the Paris Air Show and then went to Montpellier via TGV to switch trains to Barcelona and Madrid. We had a real good time. José

Looking good Paul but I question your decision to leave it with Sandman and Chocks. On my way to Austin yesterday I swear I saw a Mooney flying inverted as I passed the ELA VOR![emoji15] Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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I'm weary of the "safety" speak. And I'm stepping up on my soap box. For people with deep pockets, the cost may be minor. For the rest of us, not so much. And if there is to be another government mandate every decade with dubious benefit (I'm sure I'll get flamed for THAT), it becomes essentially a tax to continue flying. What I'm trying to say is that it IS possible to be duped into a perception of a needed safety improvement through mandated available technology. If we wanted to eliminate all risk of running into another airborne object we would never leave the ground. Another way to look at it is, how can we possibly continue to drive cars that don't have automatic braking sensor systems? Just because the technology is available doesn't mean it should be mandatory, nor does it mean that its necessary. I'll admit to not being well informed about any increase of mid-airs in recent history, and concede that the addition of UAVs to the calculus is going to increase the number of objects in the air and hence the probability of running into something. But having info displayed in the cockpit does not mean that you are safer, nor does it mean that you're seeing everything that's out there. SoCal traffic can be a bear, I get it, but I need some data on what REAL safety benefit is being realized. I have ADS-B In/Out in one of my airplanes because I had to replace a failed transponder, and its a nice warm fuzzy to see on a display what's being called to me by ATC. If I were VFR and not talking to anyone I could see some benefit in not being surprised by a late visual pickup. But again, I'm not aware of an increase in mid-airs or near misses, and the cockpit display of traffic can be a real eye magnet when the threat to be avoided really needs eyes out to be detected. Voice warning is a help, but so is the radio. We'll see what happens as the 2020 deadline gets closer. Seeing as how the system can't even implement the ICAO flight plan requirement on schedule, I have my doubts about the ADS-B mandate implementation schedule holding firm. Cheers, Rick

Maybe he was single pilot ifr. You know, under the hood.

After several trips the Cutter folks made up to my plane plus a couple of phone calls for reconfiguration, I passed ADS-B Out. I'm using a Stratus/Ipad for ADS-B In. I wish I could say it was easy and cheap but it wasn't. A ham handed technician broke my coms wire after coming up to try and remedy the situation; another trip up to repair that and "verify" all was working....except it wasn't. A phone call for reconfiguration followed by a flight and another phone call for reconfiguration before a successful flight and verification. My take on ADS-B for those still researching a solution; there doesn't appear to be anything cheap if you don't already have a WAAS box....Garmin gets $4k to" WAAS you" plus a transponder...upgraded Garmin 330 to ES is $1.5k plus labor, shipping, tax. Stand alone ADS-B transponders seem to be between $5-8K plus install. The least costly ADS-B compliance I have heard is $5k for a Stratus transponder but the owner already had a Garmin 430W. The installation folks were extremely apologetic and were very quick to try and solve the problem sending a technician on a four hour round trip drive twice plus numerous phone calls. Bottom line is I am good to go and learned a lot.

I used the measurements on page 2 of this thread. There is a link for Derlin rod also listed on page 1. Mine came from Graingers via Amazon. I did not even need to replace mine. Just made them for the fun of it.

Ditto here. I wouldn't keep a vacuum system if you're planning a G500 install. Spend a little bit more and consider an ESI-500 Genesis from L-3 Avionics...you won't regret it. This installation removed both my vacuum systems; so with two alternators, two batteries, and a battery backup in the ESI-500, its far more reliable than any vacuum system, so take the opportunity and get rid of your vacuum system while you can. Steve

Only time will tell, I think that based on all the posts I have read including my own this is a tough room when it comes to Gill quality. I hope you have good long service from your new bats. Gill will have to prove itself a better choice than Concord and only time will make the difference. I wish I could install an automotive bat in mine much cheaper and way more power.