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Approach plates? Sectionals? How 20th Century.

Had another special delivery yesterday. Momma and daddas work schedules get a bit crazy around the holidays so our little one is spending some quality time with her favorite aunt. Beautiful VFR Day (visibility was over 100 miles) for a trip from Raleigh Exec (TTA) to FYJ in Virginia with my favorite co-pilot. Blue ridge mtns visible 100 nm off the left wing - got the smoke stack next to the field at 60nm and the field at 40 nm!! The best part was that my little one kept trying to tell me something and I have her plugged in to the rear headphone jack so that radio transmissions from ATC will mute her. The frequency was quite busy - so much so that she was muted for probably 3 or 4 minutes but she kept trying to ask something over and over. What she was asking was - “daddy can I steer the airplane”. Like music to my ears. Not only could she steer, but she maintained altitude and could go left or right. She couldn’t see out the front at all, but kept on looking at the AI and told me it said which wing was tipping over. I’m sensing an instrument rating by 16 and a half. She even got a little cheeky with her commemorative photo. Now you know why I got a little teary-eyed when I watched that UPS video. Till next time -B

After three weeks of no flying due to weather and back breaking honey does to get ready for winter. Two full weekends of cutting fire wood and hand splitting it made me feel my age. But six loads in we should be warm for the winter Saturday we got to go for a real flight to Troutdale to see family. I heard Mooney 06W on frequency and had a fighter jet fly under me on his way to McCord. While we were at KTTD an A5 came in and got to talk to the pilot and get up close to it. It’s pretty cool looking. But she said it takes two fuel stops to get to Seattle from northern Cali I stick with the Mooney. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Perfect flying weather for a hop to WLW been having some problems with our com 1 Narco 12d on the transmission being very garbled seems intermittent will have to look into it. Otherwise a very nice flight with not a single bump. Return with 100 pounds of groceries full fuel and 3 on board giving us 700fpm at 120mph.

Did it a few times starting out, haven't unlatched anyone's seat belt in a long time. Of course, the "S" in GUMPS is seatbelts, gives you a good excuse for checking them prior to landing. and before anyone else spots it: Gear Undercarriage Make certain the damn gear is down Put your fool hand on the gear lever and make certain its down Make Sure the gear is down!

BI-201 Magnetic Heading Sensor 42 / 62

Set prop to 2400 or 2500, and throttle to maintain the airspeed you want, usually 140 KIAS in the terminal environment, and 120 getting vectored for an approach, and 100 on the approach. Dont make it harder than it needs to be.

Did a mercy flight today, picking up an elderly woman in Rochester MN, flying her to Sawyer (Marquette). A/P heading mode went T.U., sending the plane the opposite way every time during vectors to 3 different ILS Approaches. My hand flying skills got a work out today. I've been on a intense 2 month push getting final bodywork done on the Lancair so only a couple Mooney flights in that time. I kept trying to call the Bonanza either a Lancair or a Mooney. Anyone listening had to have been laughing. Saw some really interesting clouds on the way to Sawyer. They had different twists to them, almost looking like fiber. Tom

Thanks, Yea, I have screen shot all my check rides. I show them to other students who may be preparing to go for the same rating and it seems to help them know what to expect. But, it's false... As I mentioned earlier, I expected we were going to do the ride at another airport that is uncontrolled... I had not planned any of it, but just rolled with it. I nearly blew it on my forced landing. I had practiced many many times on various smaller 3-5k foot fields in the area, but I had never practiced it at my home base before (2 mile charlie airfield). I always knew the big runways will trick you into thinking you are closer than you really are and this time it did. I realized pretty quickly that I wasn't going to make it, so I told him that the size of the runway environment had tricked me and I had not practiced it there before and that I would like to make this landing my short field spot landing and he said ok... I'm glad he let me go on that... The following forced landing attempt, ATC kept wanting to vector us on a five mile pattern. I was about to key ATC and ask to fly a tighter pattern for the simulated forced landing, but before I did, the examiner told me to just fly over there.. At the time, I didn't compute that when ATC instructs to turn down wind, it is not a heading assignment. Now it makes sense, but anyway, we got closer and did the forced landing successfully. For the commercial ride, you have to touch down within 200 feet of the intended landing spot. Again, I didn't know this until the oral an hour before flying. It would have been nice if I had clearly understood that ahead of time, but I was able to get my steed in ground effect and float to within 200ft of touchdown. Again, at this airport, I usually touch down just after the numbers, but on short final, I realized he was expecting me to land on the aim point runway marking, which is another 1000ft or so.. I floated as far as I could and made it inside the allowable limit and the examiner gave a little cheer.. Other than that, it was piece of cake!

As long as you don't reweigh it. -Robert

Gotta get that rating! I hope you enjoy my article about finally attaining the instrument ticket. 2018 will be my commercial and CFI. Happy Thanksgiving everyone https://blog.aopa.org/aopa/2017/11/20/gotta-get-that-rating/

A well maintained grass strip is easier on an aircraft than concrete/asphalt. A buddy has a grass strip at his house, looks like a 2500ft putting green

It's part of the Brittian auto pilot

Had a meeting this morning at the Eugene airport, so I decided to fly. The 20 minute flight took 1.3 hours since when I got there the promised improvement in the weather hadn't materialized yet and it was still RVR 800. So I waited, and waited, and waited a bit more. Finally reached minimums so I shot the approach and landed with 0.1 Actual Instrument logged(Tops 1100, bases 600). Then when I came home it took 0.6 hours VFR, so at least I got to go Mooney speed for part of the day.

Yesterday, I went on my commercial check ride. Nothing really went to plan. ATC was busy and they kept vectoring us to kind of an unreasonable distance and over rough terrain before letting us maneuver. Anyway, it worked out and I passed, but this is what a commercial checkride looks like.

Stopped by the avionics shop today and got to play with the new G5’s. They were completing the reassembly and just lacked the calibration and setup. They later called and told me to come get the plane. It’s done. If the weather holds out, I mean VFR, then tomorrow I’ll go bring her home. I don’t think it would be wise to go jump in the soup with a brand new AI. Anyway, one of the big questions I had was how do you select between HDG and GPSS mode on the G5. I took out an stec gpss steer computer that had a simple switch on the panel to go back and forth. Today while playing I found the answer. The G5 has one knob and a click of th knob and you get a menu acros the bottom. Nothing new with that except with the Gad29b connected, the menu has GPSS. A few clicks to the right and it’s selected and then a press in and its active. Then both displays show gpss and also show the heading bug X’ed out. This selection can be made on ether G5 as this selection cross fills. At this point, I’m not sure what else might crossfill. The only other thing I tested at this early stage, I mean on the ground before they were done, was to engage the autopilot and rotate the heading bug and confirm that worked. It was a beautiful thing. As you can imagine, I’m pretty pumped about flying tomorrow and playing with my new toys. I have two trips of over 1000nm planned by Dec 1st so more PIREPS to follow.

I'm used to seeing those as a separate line item on the bill, just like tax and handling fees. More places to avoid. Just wish I could learn about them in advance . . . .

That is the magnetometer, which would replace the King KMT112, likely in your left wing. You'll need it. You might get lucky and it could drop-in the same location,, perhaps with a connector swap. Sent from my LG-US996 using Tapatalk

The G5 + GAD29B would replace your entire KCS55 system and GPSS module, so you'd lose the mechanical gyros and some extra weight. GPSS is included in the G5 box natively, so no need for the add-on module. If you have a good backup, you could likely remove your vacuum system too. Sent from my LG-US996 using Tapatalk

With my aging eyes, it's nice to be able to easily zoom in on the electronic charts to read the fine print. It's also easier/quicker to find the correct chart rather than flipping through binders. The plates that I use regularly don't get torn out of the binder from repeated use. When I'm using a sectional chart, I don't have to wrestle it open and then try to refold it over the area that's useful. I never forget to grab the latest update that just came in the mail, the iPad is always up to date. I can't think of a single reason I'd go back to paper charts or plates.

I had the manual gear C and now an electric gear K. I wish I had the manual gear in my K. Waiting for an expensive gear part to go out, is like waiting for your engine to give it up. You know it will happen, just not when it will happen, but when it does, it will be very expensive. The manual gear is just simple, solid, and virtually bullet proof. Manual gear Mooneys are often cheaper to annual as well. Verifying the gear is down and locked is as sure as if you could reach down and give the tire its self a swift tug. It's a sure thing and not dependent on indicator lights. Once you learn how to operate it, the j-bar is very light touch and very easy to swing requiring virtually no effort.

I'm using the Avi AXP322 remote transponder and the Skytrax 100. Make sure they wire in a 9 pin serial port when they do the Skytrax. There isn't any other way to configure it if you need to. Mine isn't displaying weather and so I have to go back to get them to wire in the port so I can change a simple config setting. The traffic is working fine as well as the ADSB in and out. The more I fly with the IFD, the more I like it.

All of the USB battery packs that I have saw have a switching boost regulator inside them so they are going to be producing some level of noise also. The actual battery voltage in them is usually 3.6 volts. Attached is a picture of our anechoic chamber at work we use for all our radiated emission testing. The part under test sets on a table that rotates while the antenna is raised and lowered. We have close to $1M invested in it. It's not a fun place to spend the afternoon alone. The reference antenna on the end of the boom is over $10k. It got a small ding in it last year and had to be replaced.

Thanks Eric for the links. I will connect through LinkedIn when I have a chance. I am also a consultant but as stated changed for software along the path. I did teach at college level telecom stuff before I made the switch. All this because I love flying. It went pretty close for me to become involved with Software Defined radio stuff. I got an offer to work for Zeligsoft (that I rejected) when I was with IBM. Several guys there (when they were triving) came from Rational / IBM like I did. I am causing a thread shift now so let’s talk more about airplane stuff:-) Jerry’s device is the proof that when you put your mind into it that you can devise some device that will be EMC. It will cost more but seems to be much more reliable. Jerry, did you check your thing with a spectrum analyzer? (or check all receivable channels) It is always possible that your invention does generate stuff but you did not run into it yet. Yves

It is a remote compass sensor mounted on top of the tail cone.

Ah maybe I’ll come in December! FYI me please.

Is she out of the shop and ready to run??? Come on down this way, it's warm out, or it was--we have a Freeze Warning in effect tonight, but it'll be near 70° tomorrow and all week.

I'm no stranger to grass. I can't wait to try my new tires on the grass

In auto fuel we see some of the same issues... NJ has limited some of the taxes... Exxon and others have very competitive manufacturing facilities... Self serve doesn't exist... Prices can change on the hour or as rapidly as they want to update the price electronically... Supply and demand based on futures pricing on Wall Street... RBOB is the ticker symbol... West Texas intermediates, WTI and North Sea oil are priced in dollars per 35gallon drum? Want to have a heated discussion..? Talk heating oil pricing, as winter approaches, to a Dad in the Boston area... Interesting market forces come in the variety of improved horizontal drilling techniques, transportation costs, pipeline construction, train capacity, that kind of stuff... The world economy is improving, even people in China are driving cars... Billions of people enjoying some form of capitalism... even in communist countries... Capitalist PP thoughts only, not an MBAer...(unfortunately) We have a couple of MSers in the oil business. Best regards, -a-

Hey there..congrats...as far as dipping your feet in actual...coastal ovc at 700 ovc is about as benign as I can think of.June gloom on the socal coast is now a thing of the past...never any danger of turb or icing and living where you do ,your instrument ticket just doubled your utility...take it easy over the Sierras though...always get good tops reports and avoid frontal crossing for now...

It was discussed here many times and you can search different topics. People like to use MAPA manual numbers. I also started with those and then simplyfied my procedure. I plan descent pretty early. No speed brakes. I want to be at the IAF altitude ( before I reach the IAF) around 120 kts - 20" usually 2300 RMP. Speed still bleeding off in this point. As I reach IAF I usually go 18" and 2300 RPM ( RPM setting from the cruise. Sometimes I go 2500 RPM in preparation for missed. No real difference here). It slows me down to 115kts. I keep this on my descent to the FAF. At the FAF I drop the gear and first notch of flaps. It slows me down to 95-100kts and gives me 500 fpm descent with nice attitude. And I go all the way down. Full flaps if not too windy. I used to slow down ( 13-15" MAP) before I reached MAP but I don't do it anymore as I figured out that there is enough time and room to slow down to 75-80KTS even from the minimums to the runway. Works for me.

I too had trouble with noise from USB chargers in the cigar outlet. The gadget also tended to back out of the hole and disconnect itself. Annoying cheap stuff. So I created an “owner produced part.” It contains a switch mode regulator operating near 1 MHz that drops the 28 volt power to 7.5 volts which then goes to a linear mode LDO regulator to create the 5 volt 2 amp source for the USB cord. The whole thing is in an aluminum die cast Bud box for shielding. I put excessive ferrite and capacitive low pass filtering on the wires in and out. A classic of over-engineering. But noise free. The battery pack approach is easier.

I am with Mike on this. Those are my only real non-starters. Since you can now do more, you have the opportunity to exercise the best learning license in GA. Congrats Buttercup......

The only way to achieve that is to block Tommy from your feed.

I removed the old chain by disconnecting the master link. I laid it on a table beside the new chain and tape measure. The old chain was worn and "stretched out". (for the nit-pickers, yes, I know the metal doesn't actuallty stretch. The wear allows links to move apart. But figuratively, stretch is easier to visualize). The #25 roller chain is 1/4" pitch. The second pic show the new chain with 1/4" pitch and the old one was longer. A close up in picture 2 shows the old chain closer to the tape measure and the new chain below it. The new chain is not "cut" to size in the photo, I rotated the link at the same number of links as the original. Both chains are even at the beginning, but by the 1 foot 4-3/4", the new chain still maintained 1/4" pitch. The old chain was an 1/8" longer. I installed the new chain with the same number of links as the original and voila, it was able to be adjusted properly. Yea, no more slop. I tightened the 4 mounting nuts on the gear box, and then the mechanic inspected the finished assembly. DONE!

Nice day guys...

Your statements are nearly identical to my own 20 years ago. Boy, was I wrong! If the job really were all that bad, nobody would want to do it. And we don't fly between the same airports 5 times a day. For one thing, that would be unsafe because it would breed complacency. And like Jim said, TSA isn't so bad. What was bad was immediately following 9/11 when every airport had its own security that all had different standards. The life of a corporate pilot isn't that great, by the way. On call 6 days with one day off, and you get called to work on the 7th day. No thanks. Or how about making a 1 hour flight at 7am, then have to sit and wait in an FBO for 8 hours because the boss says, "Make sure you're ready to go at 4 o'clock!" But then he doesn't show up until 6:30 and doesn't have the decency to call and say he's running late. No thanks. Or having to help load bags, or deal with catering the airplane because the boss refuses to leave without his Perrier bottled water and gets pissed off at you if it isn't right. No thanks. Or being threatened with getting fired because you don't want to fly an unsafe airplane, or go below minimums on an approach. No thanks. The life of the fractional guys isn't too bad, until they have to fly on an airline to meet there airplane. And they don't have priority going through the line or, like Jim said, Known Crewmember access. And they don't get flight benefits. It is true that you have to "pay your dues" at a regional airline. But here's the secret: It's still a hell of a lot of fun doing that! Doing what you enjoy doing with a bunch of pretty decent people, most of whom you actually enjoy hanging out with is worth low pay initially- but even that pay has come up ALOT with the pilot shortage as it is. PM me if you want some info about what my life is like on a week to week basis. Flying started out as a hobby for me and now it's my full-time job. How lucky is that?

I'm in the same boat. My TSMOH is 1480 hrs. However, the bottom end was redone 510 hours ago because of a case issue (can't recall exactly what right now). Brand new case, new parts to factory specs. Top end was replace 160 hours ago. All brand new cylinders. But, by the 'book' I have just over 500 hours to recommended overhaul.

I have a suggestion. Buy a nice Bravo, (which is within 10-15 knots of an Acclaim) for 175K-200K and build up some retractable time. The hull value will be less so you'll pay about half the insurance premiums and you will go through less cylinders on the Lycoming than the Continental engines. No starter adaptor to deal with on the Lycomings either. Your avionics options are wide open on pre-G1000 Bravos and aren't tied to the type certificate.

Annual is starting on the 27th. Stay tuned for another episode of "All my Money...I mean Mooney"

For how cold at that altitude and not have any shrinkage. The Navy should be impressed.

So, I wrote a letter to my congresswoman Karen Handel on this issue, as urged by AOPA. I did actually receive a direct response, which I found pleasantly surprising (the fact that she responded). It reads thusly: Thank you for contacting my office regarding H.R. 2997, the 21st Century Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts on this issue. Over the past three years, members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee have debated the need for comprehensive air traffic control reform during Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization discussions. What’s clear is that America’s air traffic control system is in need of modernization to accommodate growing air traffic demand. While there may have been legitimate concerns about a version of this bill that was proposed in 2016, the current version of FAA reauthorization differs significantly from the prior legislation. The 21st Century AIRR Act guarantees that no user fees will be levied on any segment of general aviation. It also aims to maintain parity on the governing board and protect access to airspace for general aviation users. Further, the bill ensures the long-term sustainability of the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which is the main source of funding for our small airports. The 21st Century AIRR Act is currently awaiting action from the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Please know that I will continue to follow the progress of this bill as it moves through Congress, and will keep your concerns in mind should it reach the House floor for a vote. Again, I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts and concerns with me. To stay up to date on Congressional and district happenings, please visit my website at handel.house.gov to sign up for my weekly newsletter, or follow me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RepKarenHandel or on Twitter at @RepKHandel. Sincerely, Karen C. Handel Member of Congress I found it a surprisingly good example of political double-speak. She doesn't come right out against the bill, and seems to favor its provisions, but leaves the door open. I guess I won't be able to tell whether or not to vote for her again until there's actually a vote in Congress!

Dreaded bladders? Dreaded bladders? I just received the kit from Griggs to extend my O&N bladders (installed 1997) to 64 gallons. (@kpaul Each 5 gallon bladder is labeled 2.5 pounds.) We'll be doing the install as well as the CiES level sensors right after Thanksgiving. I expect it to take a week. In my hangar while JPI is updating the EDM for the CiES. My point: the bladders will likely outlast the pilot and the airframe. Bladders can be installed by many shops, near home, in less time that reseal, and all in, including travel, price competitive.

I think there are advantages to paying cash for your airplane and having a minimum of $30,000 in liquid reserves available so that if you get caught with the engine job right off the bat, you can afford to get it and done properly. That is about the worse case scenario for a new owner. I have seen people buy airplanes that they really cannot afford to own, operate and maintain. One example stands out with a guy who needed to finance the purchase of his airplane. He has a loan payment, hangar rent and insurance bill before he even gets off the couch at home. One of his wing tanks started leaking so he just stopped using that one as he couldn’t afford to get it fixed properly. Later on the other tank started leaking which led to a very expensive repair bill. He ended up financing those repairs. Not long after that was done, he had a bad vibration in his engine. After inspection, it was overhaul time. That plane has not flown for more than a year while he is scrounging for dollars to pay for the overhaul job. It is a sad and expensive cycle to witness. Others will disagree, but for the average guy, I think that if you cannot afford to pay cash for the airplane, you probably cannot afford the airplane in the first place. The sad truth is that you would be better off renting and walking away from the problems and costs of ownership. There are also owners that don’t spend a nickel on the airplane that will tell you how affordable it is to own one. Their plane will have a thirty to forty year old faded and chipped paint job on it, a ragged out interior, crazed glass and avionics that the Smithsonian is looking for. They don’t stop to realize that the airplane’s value has diminished beyond the point of economic repair. Unfortunately, our airports are littered with examples of this type of ownership. Owning an airplane is one thing, operating and maintaining it are a whole different story.

Whats funny is how many drivers consider themselves to be very good or excellent drivers. Since we dont fly in such close proximity as we drive and as I have such a limited amount of exposure to other pilots i wonder if the percentage of delusianal pilots that think they are gods gift to aviation is as high as there are drivers to driving.

No Don, all G1000 models of any plane have the G1000 elements as part of the Type Certificate, so that is the point of contention. It does make it harder to add piece-parts to your panel the way you can if you have separate radios, PFD/MFD, etc. So getting updates to the system relies on both Garmin doing the programming, and Mooney certifying it for release. So far, Mooney has actually been a leader in keeping its older G1000 planes updated, with (now) reasonable availability of WAAS upgrades, ADS-B compliance, etc. The Cessna/Diamond/Beech folks are still struggling with these issues in their older G1000 planes. As I've stated elsewhere in these pages, my next quest is to rid myself of the last vestiges of spinning gyros in my panel. This means replacing my backup AI with the new Mid-continent SAM module, which is in the Ultras. I think this can probably be done without further approval but I just haven't investigated it in detail. Beyond that, I'd like to replace the S-TEC 55x (driven by a hidden electric turn coordinator with spinning gyro) with Garmin's new GFC600 autopilot, but since this definitely integrates with the G1000 that will need to be blessed by the Garmin/Mooney Duumvirate (yes, that's a word...I looked it up!).

Yesterdays night landing (returning home) to KRST ILS 13 approach down to 100’ and 2400rvr. Never had it where I could t see the tower after landing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Pilots-n-Paws flights from a couple weeks ago. Thomas – PilotsnPaws – Stockton CA to Phoenix AZ

We fly Mooneys for the MPGs and mission capability. I'm sure the feeling is mutual with most people here, if we had $750k plus to drop on a plane, we would not be looking at either a SR22 or Acclaim. Where is the Cirrus forum? I'd love to go on there and start a thread on MPGs and pick on people why they aren't flying a Mooney. (sarcasm implied).