Leaderboard

I thought I would start a thread and hopefully other Caravaners will join in. What a fricken blast. 51 of us descended into OSH with Ride of the Valkyries on EAA radio and we had a commentator, Mike Jesch [also my CFII] and a photographer and videographer. Mike told about the history of the Mooney Caravan as well as formation flight and the mass arrivals. At the last minute I was able to get to land in formation on 36L [big runway] which was the thrill of a lifetime. My professional photographer friend Jim Koepnick snapped some great photos. Thank you to the Caravan and all the volunteers who help make this even happen safely every year.

The KI300 opens a lot of possibilities for those that want to keep things mostly steam and for those who want the new cheap(er) glass but want to retain their current AP. However, I've lost faith in the BK company as a whole and the only way I'll put one in my plane is if I can send the unit to Sandia for repairs etc.

I did post on a general thread. The Caravan was a blast. 51 of us. Got a little rain on the way, but all landed safely. I was able to arrange for an announcer/photog. plus EAA radio covered.

Today's flight was averted. There was some yucky haze. Practiced some steep turns when home and landed.

Check out Mike Busch's webinars at EAA.org. His argument is that a high-time engine has fully depreciated in value, but may run longer. A low-time engine has not depreciated but can pose problems from lack of activity. He suggests getting a near-TBO engine--the engine will not lose any more value and may run much longer. Even if it dies, the money to overhaul it would have been money you would have to have spent for a low-time engine anyway. Of course, I went out and did the exact opposite and got a factory overhauled engine that sat around a few years turned out ok so far, though

Had to make another run for supplies and as always Snoopy was a fun time saving way to do it. Flying home in near 100 degrees at takeoff and was pleased to see a drop of 15 degrees in oil temps since replacing the vernatherm in identical conditions as when it rose to its highest ever. As we were crossing Clearlake (which is a funny) name since it gets so much green during the heat of summer we passed over this bloom that was quite unusual. Never seen it get that color before. In its defense I must add that Clearlake is considered the oldest lake on the Western Hemisphere possible that it's over 160k years old. Very shallow water so sun penetration reaches the bottom makes things grow. It's also one of the best large mouth bass lakes in the country. As always good to be flying.

Some of you participated last year. It was a first for us to get this going. - Lessons learned: Buy more pizza, buy some beer. We managed last year to collect donation money for the MooneySpace site AND the Mooney Caravan safety foundation. After paying for the pizza and the tags, the remaining money was split evenly between the two. From memory we had TWO donators who donated $50 USD each: Hector and Drapo. Thanks for this folks! I I forgot someone, please let me know. I am asking you folks how much interest we have. This is what we are looking at: When? Monday July 24th Time: 6:30 PM (No End time) Location : Mooney Caravan Tent, North 40 Pizza will be ordered Beer will be purchased Name tags (cheap ones but they work) with MooneySpace call sign will be prepared in advance We will ask for donations again to pay for the Pizza and the beer. Any remaining money will be again distributed evenly between the two entities mentioned above. Please let us know if you plan to attend and how many persons. Yves and Ned

Climbing in the heat of South Texas will be easier in a Turbo, especially if you're gong into Northern Mexico where you'll have some higher elevations.

Thanks Andrew. I've had a member reach out to me and we're going to see if we can't find a way to get it back in the air

Erik, I am in this boat as well. Paul @gsxrpilot told me his solution/thoughts, and I agreed. To me, removing the standby vacuum system gives me the most weight reduction and leaving the engine driven pump only for the speed brakes allows me to remove the dependency on a pump in IMC. If I lose my vacuum pump and the only thing it affects is my speed brakes, I am okay with that. Yeah, I could spend >$5 AMU and replace the current ones with electric, but I cannot sell myself on the thought of doing so at this point. Perfect solution? Not quite, but meets my CB criteria. Just FWIW.

Aggie, you need to update your profile to include your C... Having the R in there may confuse somebody about the plane you are discussing. Cruising at 6.5 gph is just un Ovation like... Add the C's picture too while you are in there! Best regards, -a-

You always need a chunk of money laying around just in case. You pay your money, you take your chances... and cross your fingers you don't have to tap into that chunk of change.

Tony, you must have got some credit... those iron man guys swim, run, bike... none of them fly! Best regards, -a-

Similar experience except I started with Goodyears and they just didn't hold up. Went to the Air Hawks and realized much longer life. Never looked back

Wishful thinking , you are at least 30 K light on that ..

@Hank Here are some pics. I doubt the hole is factory now as it sure doesn't line up with the screw very well. Turn in to make horn sound earlier in your throttle pull, turn out to delay horn.

First solo flight accomplished! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpzayJPM2-g

Hello Everyone, I just wanted to introduce myself! I have been lurking around here for some time and decided to join up today as the reality of aircraft ownership has gotten more serious. I am an entrepreneur from about an hour north of Houston and am currently enrolled in flight school. By the time I am finished with training I will be instrument rated and complex trained in a Saratoga. It has always been a huge dream of mine to learn to be a very competent private pilot and also own my own aircraft for business and fun with my wife, and eventually kids. My work demands that I spend time in Austin, South Texas, Northern Mexico, Dallas, San Antonio, and all over south of Houston which, as Im sure some of you folks from Houston could attest, can still take 2 hours in a car. The advantage with Houston, its a good Uber city and there are lots of little airports. Denver and DC are my only real long haul needs. With all of that said, I decided to dive in and research some airplanes that could fit my missions. Efficiency and speed within my skill level is paramount. I have always looked at 172's and Warriors as training or just for fun planes VS a viable business tool. I like Bonanzas and Malibus, but the space is unneeded at the moment. I landed on the idea of a M20J or M20K with fresh annuals and recent major overhauls. It can be uglier than sin as long as its mechanically solid because I will want to have a fresh paint job and some upholstery work done to make it my own. Mooneys seem to strike that perfect balance for what I am looking for in an airplane at the moment. My dream airplane if cost was no option, and hopefully one day it isn't... A TBM 930. Im excited to learn more about these beautiful airplanes as I work my way to and through ownership. It is great to be here! -Kyle

That seems like an incredible deal for someone. I'm surprised at the low prices on some Bravos, this one in particular.

So far Dynon hasn't added Moony to their STC listing, but I suspect they will in the not too distant future. As I posted earlier on MS, I've had several years flying behind their older SkyView glass screens, and found them to be excellent units. It will soon be even more interesting if and when Garmin decides to STC their G3X in more aircraft (currently only the certified Carbon Cub - see the announcement). A choice between the new Dynon SkyView and the Garmin G3X would be difficult for me, at least. Either way I would remove the vacuum system including the backup electrical vacuum pump in the tail one. I think I could save over 25 pounds when all the piping and wiring are included. I would also replace my KAP 150, with its trouble prone servos, and the expensive to repair BK AI. I could also remove my Icarus SAM GPSS steering unit, making for a simpler panel. To be consistent in presentation the LifeSaver electrical backup would be replaced by either a G5, or D-10. Just when I thought my panel was complete for my needs...... But, realistically I can't even start until Garmin and Dynon expand their approved lists to include M 20Js. As much as I like Dynon, I think that at a reasonable price differential I would go with Garmin simply because my current panel includes a Garmin GTN 750, GTN 650, remote Garmin transponder, remote Garmin audio panel, Garmin GDL 88 ADS -B in/out, Garmin FlightSteam 210, and a Garmin 796 in an AirGizmo panel mount. I do prefer ForeFlight to Garmin Pilot though, and FlightStream works just fine with ForeFlight. I have a tentative November booking with my avionics shop if the Garmin STCs are in place by then. I guess I'm just an avionics "junky". But I do think all this data integration makes for a safer, more redundant panel. TIS-B traffic alerts sure are a great augmentation to looking out the windows. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

the ADSB/fan controller doesn't turn the fan on until 50c, mine hardly ran at all. The pi can happily run to 80C, in fact I have one in my attic running piaware that is currently at 78C because it's so hot up there. No problems. After 80 it'll throttle but still run.

people say the turbo is costlier....Probably is, so far I haven't seen it, other than a bit higher fuel burn and an extra $100 bucks on the annual to inspect the turbo. But yeah, it has extra parts and 2 more cylinders, so eventually there will be a cost. The plus side is I can climb to 24,000 feet if I need to; I haven't needed to yet, but I usually cruise at 16,500 to 17,500, if I'm going any distance, which is above the weather, above the turbulence and above the heat. Plus, the cruise speeds up there are usually pretty phenomenal. The K has extra range over the J because of bigger tanks and more speed, plus, on average, they're better equipped. It's also nice to not have to worry so much about density altitude; with the turbo, I can take off from Tahoe or Mammoth in the middle of the day in summer without a problem, which is really nice. If you couldn't tell, I really like my plane

the website, though it specifies for the 172, we could be more

I'm an expert in developing UI professionally. Those aren't merely following the same standards. It's the same display, with some color changes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

just hide the tools in the pairs of shoes she bought without telling you.

Graphics for AIs are pretty standardized, they all look alike.

My POH says my stand-by vacuum system is 12.04 lbs. I'll take 2 gals. of 100 LL extra at the pump. I think your numbers are, unfortunately, probably close. I would assume much of the work would be in small places with no light and lots of opportunity to break other things, i.e. not anything I would attempt even with my IA watching. The new ones are 3 lbs. lighter than the older vacuum-driven ones, but I am good with just getting the 12 from the stand-by system.

Idle setting is an important and well documented setting.... any mechanic should be able to set it based on Mooney Maintenance document(?) 1) Too low, the engine dies when you pull the throttle out for landing... 2) Too high, the amount of energy put in while trying to land, leads to long floats over the runway... 3) just right, engine barely runs but never quits when the throttle is pulled all the way back... 4) actual rpm setting 6 or 700 rpm? Idle on the ground... PP thoughts only, get help from your mechanic to verify these details... Best regards, -a-

https://lasar.com/about-us/

Yes, I found the thread on the PPI checklist. I also plan on getting it done at a Mooney Service Center with plans to turn the pre-buy into an annual per other recommends I have found on this site. I have a spreadsheet to keep track of info on each plane I am looking at to determine if I will contact them or not. Then after more info I will decide if I am going to pursue or not.

Carusoam thanks for your thoughts, I don't know what normal is but maximum case pressure for big bore TCM is airspeed < 90 mph per TCM SB 89. Based on my research the higher the case pressure the more oil goes out the breather. On the ground at full power (36" MP and ~2550 RPM) my Rocket shows 60 mph. A brand new engine would probably read lower but its got 1400 hours SMOH. As I mentioned in my last post my breather hose (1-3/4" scat) is connected at the Airwolf air separator and runs about 2 feet to vent 4" up from the bottom of the engine cowling so inside the cowling as specified by Airwolf. There is no tube like with the stock 252/Rocket breather tube. Airwolf says it usually takes several trials to properly locate the vent side of the hose and they warn against placing in slipstream (negative pressure) to avoid a Venturi effect which doesn't let the airsep do its job. They do not mention the opposite problem which is positive pressure but told me the higher the case pressure the harder it is for the airsep to push the oil back into the engine. Here's probably the most thorough discussion of the airsep functionality from a respected Lancair owner: http://lancair.net/lists/lml/Message/63034-02-B/Engine. Weather is looking better this morning so going to fly to Ft Myers and back at altitude with engine cowl open all the way to see how much oil comes out, hoping none!

Ah, yes, the throttle is a little low in idle position, I think the idle setting is just a little low in general...should be easy to tweak. I adjust the throttle for ~1000 after startup and it works fine. Once it has warmed up, it idles fine in the full idle position. I did not have Don do an annual, but I might have had him do it if I could go back in time. Honestly the whole process of purchasing a plane was so new, and I was so anxious to transition my PPL training to the Mooney that I only gave it a moment's thought. I will probably have Don do the annual when it comes due in January. I do plan to add a GPS once I check a couple of other boxes off of my upgrade/maintenance list! Thanks Steve....yes the ice was a shock :-) I will definitely consider coming to the Mooney Summit as soon as I've completed my PPL and the extra hours my insurance requires before flying passengers. The beach option for the wife sounds like a win/win.

There is much written about airframe corrosion as well on this site. I'd consider that a research item when looking at a an aircraft build in the Kennedy/Johnson era. One frequent poster here found it under tank sealant on his wing spar.

Rigging, gear hanging down, inaccurate instrument(s) or combination there of. Verify the tach, ASI and VSI are correct, sometimes what you see isn't what you get

Keep in mind your indicated airspeed won't tell you your effective ground speed. I took a new to me C up this weekend, took off around 95*F at 4000' msl, about 3/4 full tanks and climbed to 11,000'. The last 1000' was at about 300'/min. Once cleaned up and leaned out, I was indicating 137 mph (115 kts) at 7.5 gph but my ground speed was almost 173 mph (150 kts). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the reference Brad! Looks like the POH still calls for a no flap landing with an inch or more ice on the Acclaim. Not trying to sharp shoot, just trying to remind the collective group. John

everything in: 2700 rpms MP 23 climb rate 300ft min temps were close to 400

You need that significant chunk of money laying around regardless unless you are buying a new plane with a warranty. The risk exposure is real and one is better off renting till they are prepared or could handle an unexpected engine overhaul anytime. Read around here and you'll see the engine is not the biggest risk either. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, I'm not sure if it's any different besides sidewall strength. $60 less though!

Wonder what the price tag will be to install a set of Garmins to get the same capabilities as Dynon Certified? And I was also reading 16k installed but I doubt it! Let's see what Avidyne can bring to the table! BK is truly behind the ball in this game.

I have this system too. It will sound the verbal repeating "CHECK LANDING GEAR" even at a high power setting if you descend below 150 feet AGL. It uses a microwave transmitter on the belly to sense ground proximity. It also replaces the stall "horn" with a verbal repeating "STALL" The factory throttle switch still activates the "CHECK LANDING GEAR" as well. As long as this system is operational I can not imagine anyone would land gear up with a lady screaming "CHECK LANDING GEAR" over and over in their ears.

Made a quick hop up to Burlington, VT KBTV to pick up my son and daughter in-law then over to Lake Placid, NY for some lunch and wandering around. I failed to preflight the social calendar for Lake Placid and found that there was a Ironman race going on. That would have been really neat except the course ran past the airport on the only access road and had the route totally closed to vehicle traffic. So we enjoyed a 2.4 mile walk each way. Still managed lunch but the wandering around was spent hoofing it back out to the airport. The worst part was I felt like I couldn't even complain about the walk with all of the competitors going by.

Not sure that's entirely accurate. Dynon claims $16,000 installed price for a system in a C172. Can't see it being that much more in a Mooney. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but $25,000 installed is more in G500 territory but that would never get you ADS-B in and out, a back up AI, an EDM or AP so at $16,000 that's a lot of value for your CB dollar.

Solid competition Rocks! KOSH gets all the newsworthy products on the stage. Best regards, -a-

I bit the anti-CB bullet and bought a Stratus 2S on the Osh promotion. Sitting in my study and playing with it (iPad FF) I was surprised to see it locked with GPS from a window. This thing is robust.

I have a pingefb on our stratux and the reception is much better than the low power sdrs. I didn't think it would be worth the extra money but it was.

C-X every two years while my C was parked outside... The stuff knows how to seep into tight spots like rivets. Makes them look like they are smoking. A quick wash cleans them up. Best regards, -a-

Holy crap, a Mooney with a rotor on it.