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I just splurged on a Ram-mount-x-grip thingie for the yoke to hold my (manly) black iPadMini2, aimed the overhead vent at it, and haven't had a problem with it overheating since, even in this August Carolina sunshine we've enjoyed. Yes, turning the backlight down a little helps a lot. This setup works ever so much better than keeping it on my lap or in the cobbled-together unventilated former yoke mount. Every time I get sentimental about how wonderful the good old days were, how fun it was refolding sectionals that would rip down the creases at the worst time, when I remember fondly how triumphant I felt being able to get a sensible answer out of that Korean War era E6B, marveled at how fast I could find an obscure intersection for that amendment to my routing on the second IFR chart that was aimed at a strange angle and different scale from the currently-in-use one, I just fire up my little iPad, take a deep breath, and a look at that big, bright picture, and suddenly, I'm over the nostalgia.

It seems from my seat as an inconsistent position that you say you hate big government but you want government to have a rule that says you should spend money for someone to arbitrarily say you are healthy or not, and then an intricate FAA system manned by lots of other bureaucrats so that you can spend lots more money so that will consider if you might get an exemption back. I fail to see how keeping the 3rd class medical will harm ISIS. Or Al Queida or Shabob. Or how cancelling the 3rd class medical would hurt the world's efforts to defeat them. Just like I fail to see how keeping the third class medical will predict who might spontaneously drop dead during the next 24 months. Let's drop the 3rd class medical and spend our time and money worrying about some of the other things that you mentioned. That's what smaller government is - less rules that do nothing.

The original post indicated his insurance carrier was involved. I wouldn't waste my time trying to convince the mechanic. Work on the insurance adjuster.

It is a vehicle used for recreation. Why does it matter if it is within the confines of his property? My neighbor has a Winnebago in his driveway behind my house. It has not moved for years. It is covered in tree filth, lichen and all other matter of funk. I have a brick and glass greenhouse that obscures it from view for the most part, but I still hate that winnebago. However, I would rather live a life disliking that Winnebago than one where I could use the state to force him to remove it. He's a nice enough guy and I can get over it. It's his castle.

Today I took my old man out to go look at it and we chatted some more with the owner. As of right now, we are in the beginning stages of talking about flying her home (40 miles) and get a PPI done. We are treading very carefully, but if nothing major comes up, this may be our new bird. I'll update when I have more info.

Dunno why I didn't mention, we are planning to go VFR and do the Hudson River tour of NYC on that day as well.

Apple became more aggressive with auto release memory management in 8.3+. In the app my team supports, we had some crashes that never happened until 8.3. In our case we had a button that some code was trying to set a style on that had been inadvertently released from memory. iOS immediately kills your app when this happens. I bet it's a Garmin bug exacerbated by iOS updates.

I can give Sam & David a good reference (see my other posts). Just picked up our M20C at their shop this morning.

I've had Sam and David Jewell do all but one of my Mooney annuals since 1995. Just picked up our M20C at Kennett today. They are streight shooters and very up front. Never had them do an engine O/H, but have had a couple of cylinders rebuilt. They did a rebuild for one of us Mooneyspacers recently, as well as for a friend's C140, and both seemed happy with the results.

Finally had the time to review past posts. I came up with a great way for me to protect my fuel vents while at the hardware store. On the checkout counter they had plastic tips used for storing open caulking guns. It fits the vents perfectly. They were 1.00 each. I attached two long 'remove before flight' banners. No more worries when in Florida for the winter.

Getting ready for the longest XC of my short flying career in a couple weeks. Should be close to 6000nm over roughly 2 weeks in my Mooney with one of my friends. We have a number of destinations picked out along the way, and a few things we'd like to see but still could use a little guidance or local knowledge on some of them. Here's the basic plan. Day1. Fly Carlsbad, CA (KCRQ) to Moab, UT (KCNY). I know the area well and have friends that live there. Day2. Fly KCNY to Chicago/DuPage (KDPA) Again, have family in Chicago, but will need to find a lunch/refueling stop somewhere in the middle. Omahaish? Day3. Chicago to Dayton Ohio to see the National Museum of the USAF. Since I'm assuming we cant just land at Wright-Patterson AFB I could use some intel on what the most convenient place to land would be. After the Museum we'll be flying to Pittsburgh, and could use suggestions on landing locations there as well. Day4. Pittsburgh to 5B6 (Falmouth, MA) Will be spending a few days with my family on Cape Cod. Day5. Cape Cod to Myrtle Beach. Will be doing some scenic flying along the way and will probably need a refuel somewhere enroute as this is right at the edge of my fuel range if we fly direct. Day 6. Myrtle Beach to Marathon Key. Again will probably need to refuel somewhere along the way. Day7. Marathon to New Orleans. Day8. New Orleans to Carlsbad NM. Will definitely need to refuel enroute. Day9. Carlsbad, NM to Carlsbad, CA. Home stretch, and I'm fairly familiar with options along the route. I've only included the flight days here, but we will be spending some time in a few locations. Chicago we'll be spending a day in the city, we'll be on Cape Cod for several days, and we're thinking of spending an extra day in Marathon and Carlsbad NM as well. Mainly though I'm hoping to get some suggestions on places to refuel (cheap and with good food hopefully) and in some of the busier areas which airports will be more convenient for getting to hotels or attractions. Thanks guys!

But hey! It ain't no RV. It's a Cessna...

would you also make plane sounds with your mouth?

Engine all looks good (476 smoh), shotgun panel (but I like steam gauges), wouldn't want to fly hard IFR, but the avionics will get me thru the layers.

Most of my flying requires at least one intermediate fuel stop. Much of it involves threading my way through some weather system. I live in a thicket of military airspace. The GNS530w is fine, but the wealth of additional information, all there at a glance,reminds me in fuel dollars saved and hazards avoided, how little I miss the good old paper days. But if I rarely strayed from the local area, even more rarely encountered a cloud, I, too, would be entirely content with a sectional chart in my lap.

My experience at Jewell has been limited to the 20 annuals that they've done on my M20 E & C. When I first went there in 1995, I was drawn by their local reputation and a less-than-satisfactory annual done by a shop here in Memphis the previous year. Their base fee for the M20E annual was around 60% of the Memphis shop, and they didn't nickel-and-dime me the way I had been treated in Memphis. Between 1995 and 2015, I skipped taking my Mooney to Jewell only one year. I brought my E to DMax's in 2001, since I wanted an MSC to take a close look at my E after years in a non-Mooney shop. I also had Don do mods that required specific Mooney expertise. Don reported no deficiencies that I could attribute to the initial 6 years of Jewell annuals. I attribute their lower cost, to a large extent, to the rural Kennett location away from the Metro area and the relatively low overhead. BTW the fuel at KTKX is consistently lower priced, maybe for the same reason?

PM me when you are in New Orleans we can get together and have a beer and I'll play tour guide or use it as an excuse to go around town. Flight line first is good at KNEW.

http://www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources/Safety-and-Technique/Accident-Analysis/Accident-Statistics/ePilot-Reports/airship-tether-severs-cessna-wing-killing-three

Stop for fuel wherever. I'd go direct CTY -> KARTR -> KEYW. Carry life vests, a PLB and only make the trip in VMC at high altitude; I think it comes to about 10 minutes that you are outside of gliding distance of land. I watch for boats in case I have to ditch. Keep in mind that dangerous thunderstorms can appear out of nowhere in Florida in less than 15 minutes. For that last leg of your flight from Naples to KEYW, if there is any doubt, Ft. Myers Beach is a nice place to spend a night and get up and continue to KEYW the next day. My favorite FBO anywhere is at KFMY; cheap fuel, nice facilities and 2-hr crew cars.

In Pittsburgh KPIT may be about the Light GA friendliest Class B I've encountered. VFR practice approach in sequence with the jets? No prob (see attached photo documentation from this week). AGC is the local satellite, fine FBOs and not ridiculous fuel pricing. FWQ is a bit out of the way but nicely lit well maintained runway and an on airport restaurant. Gas was 4.90 there this past weekend. have fun and stay safe. This sounds like quite an adventure. BTW my first date with our NA mooney about 0 hours after competing my checkout was from Fresno to Boston. I took the southern route FWIW. -B Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Back from the hangar and a very close inspection looks like I lucked out. Need to put the inspection plates back on then I can get to it and put this one behind me but not forgotten. Thanks again every one for all of it.

The same way we navigated before we got a GPS; adequately, but not near as easy, and sometimes not as well.

You'll like the medical right up to the point you have an issue. You want to hear medical horror stories? I have one and I'm sure many others on this site have them as well. Would you walk away from aviation if you had to pony up $6K to have testing done to document (not prove) something medical specialists treating you say are not needed because you're fine? Well that crap happens with the FAA medicals system. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Robert -- you can try these. They come in different sizes and are attached by static. Moveable to where you need them. I think I got them from Aircraft Spruce. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

4th Fighter Squadron, 3rd Air Commando Group. Black with vertical strips around emblem (b,w,b,), Not invasion strips(w,b,w,b,w) Tail paint solid upper portion , offen with letters Black strips on wings New Guinea and Leyte around 1944 Hmmmm.who is Little Joe Miller ?

Since you will be going right by it: First flight KFFA

I have your fix!!! It's a New Acclaim with that ever so cool A/C switch!!

CLICK HERE to download & read the August Issue of The Mooney Flyer 1. ADS-B Has Some Warts 2. Multi-Tasking - All Pilots need this Skill 3. It Only Flew 30 hours Last Year - So What 4. Airspeed Indicators 5. When the Time Comes - Darn, Gotta Sell 6. The Mooney Flyer Quiz Plus Upcoming Fly-Ins, Ask The Top Gun, Product Review of Cleano, and Have You Heard the Latest? Fly Fast, Fly Safe, Phil & Jim

Ok so we agree to that. Yes, fewer entrants hurts terribly. But what has changed - I take it that this stupid medical has always been useless, since the beginning, but GA could afford to chase off eager flying pilots when there were plenty to spare. Now there are not, so we need to conserve. Think of it as switching from regular to LED light bulbs. What has changed? We have less to spare. That's a fair position, although I disagree. If you like the medical then fine. That's different from saying that it is not hurting GA.

wait, bad landing ? I land like that all the time .

Factory overhaul engine with 400hr. It's used a quart every 6-8 hours since it was built. Yes we run the oil level around 6

The best guard against corrosion is flying often, changing the oil regularly, and storing it in a dry hangar. I also believe Camguard is helpful and cheap insurance if nothing else. I wouldn't sweat moving the prop 1/4 turn before parking it. Running a dehydrator rig in the hangar is likely very helpful too. None of those measures will save a cam made from crappy metal, though...but there is nothing we can do about that aside from making our own which is fairly impractical.

Few questions... Do you have an instrument rating and on-board weather? Indispensable for a trip like this when you'll be flying across weather systems. Do you have portable oxygen? It helps with high altitude flight of course, but it is equally valuable on very long trips like this to keep you fresh. How high have you flown your C? Do you have any mountain flying experience? Your course from Moab to Chicago is asking a lot of a non-turbo C, especially in the summer. You're guaranteed to have pretty significant clouds and turbulence over the Rockies in the afternoons. I'd consider taking the southern route unless you know what you're getting into. I assume by the comment "short flying career" that you likely haven't ventured into/through/over the Rockies yet but perhaps you have. Flying over the Rockies entails a lot more than just climbing high and following the magenta line. If you get in the clouds you'll likely get ice, even in August. airnav.com is helpful for finding cheap fuel, and www.fly2lunch.com is a nice cross-reference to find places to eat during en-route stops. New Orleans Lakefront is an easy airport. I can't remember which FBO I used, but there are a couple of options. Between New Orleans and NM I'd consider College Station and Pecos for fuel stops. I'm sure there are plenty of other options. CLL has a car and lots of eating options within a few miles of the airport. Pecos is a legendary fuel stop in a desolate location. I'd make a plan for hydration and the associated draining during long flights. Hydration will keep you sharp, but there are side effects. My preferred relief nowadays is a gallon ziploc with diapers inside it. Easy to stow, and even I can't fill one up in one session. (I drink a LOT of iced tea and water) You might bring a small cooler with snacks too, or at least some snack bars. Bottom line, be safe, be flexible, and have a great time! You'll gain so much valuable experience on a trip like this, and have a blast while doing so.

I used a Speck ant-glare when I had an iPad 1 and it worked pretty good. The iPad 3 with the retina display was an improvement. While there is still plenty of glare, it's been good enough that an ant-glare screen was a cure worse than the disease. I'm hoping Apple comes up with a decent anti-glare screen when it's time for the next one.

Yes, but I couldn't tell you brand name, mine is a standard plastic shield that fits over the entire face. It doesn't eliminate direct glare from the sun but does take out secondary reflections. Basically a flat finish piece of clear plastic, bought if off Amazon

Sure wish my wife was a CFI.

Oh, there are definitely things that paper is better than a tablet for. https://youtu.be/UR4mlLiyjYo

I notice after fresh oil change my consumption goes now, as oil gets old it goes up, anybody else notice that?

Buying a plane is like passing Obamacare, you gotta pass the bill to see what is in it. (Nancy Pelosi)

Good call! You can sleep in a plane, but you cannot fly a house.

I carry a girly iPad too... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm turning into a skeptic..... I wonder if both the AOPA and EAA are just using this issue as a way to collect more money. I'm becoming very disillusioned with both...... so far nothing but talk followed by fund raising and then...more fund raising. I'm seriously considering not supporting either of these groups until I see results....maybe that will motivate AOPA and EAA...mike

Get familiar with R-2916....a cabled surveillance balloon that sits at 14,000 feet just northeast of Key West NAS.

Stay away from the GB engine. It's antiquated, runs hot, was Mooney's first shot at turbochargng and will cost you more in the long run.

Damn! twice in one day. I agree. I've had the gear horn come on twice on me, both times a quick downward tug on the bar released it. Now I don't let go of the bar until I've given a couple of sharp downward pulls to ensure it's seated. If it's locked, it's locked.

Annual just completed and got the report back. I had to replace a tire. Stinkin' thieves! There was plenty of good tread around that flat spot:) CrownAir MSC at KMYF has always been fair and I recommend them. Even when the reports haven't been as good they have never created work or billed excessive hours.

You can all drool over those displays, dials and gadgets, but the one switch that I would love to have the most is the one labelled "Air Conditioning".

A couple of guys did it in a cessna 150 are you saying a 150 can make it and a m20c or e can't. Perhaps you high power flight guys need to get back to your roots