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Showing content with the highest reputation on 07/16/2019 in all areas

  1. Hi MooneySpace gang. I haven't been around as much as I've wanted over the past year and a half and want to give an update, both as to why, and what I'm looking to do moving forward. First - yes I'll be at Oshkosh and look forward to catching up with many of you. I'll be camping in the North 40. I'll be by the Caravan tent for the BBQ and the Social. Also, the Mooney forum on Tuesday at stage 8. Second - yes - still working with Mooney Summit and we have a great event planned for September in Florida. The wait list is huge - we were not able to get a larger facility this year due to numerous reasons including the hotel we wanted to hold it in is still closed from the Hurricane damage. It should be open in September, but we can't take that risk. Funding is the other part. Airport day is the last Friday of September at ECP. That's unlimited in capacity. Come on down for that regardless of the rest of the weekend even if you haven't registered. We'll have the PROTE unit from the FAA - test out your hypoxia recognition skills. Third - Now that I have a 2 and 4 year old life is just BUSY - I've been part of MooneySpace since 2009 (bought my first Mooney in July 2008), got married in 2014, had kids in 2015, and 2017. My son (2 year old) had a rough first 18 months but seems to have turned the corner. We have a lot of work ahead of us and a great therapy treatment plan (we don't feel it's time consuming, but when we chart it out - it is intensive!). He's a happy kid and we'll catch him up. Lots of low muscle tone issues and thus non-liner and non-synchronized delayed development. Again, he's a very happy camper and my daughter and he both really enjoy airplanes. Family time and along with growing my business, has just taken a ton of my available resources, and I can't jump on MooneySpace as much as I used to. It's amazing how you are dead tired after putting the kids to bed vs then working into the wee hours of the morning. Aviation wise, as many of you know I earned my commercial rating last summer and was soon hired by a part 135 operator, Open Air, out of KGAI, and fly as a part time charter captain in Cirrus SR-22's. We may be getting some other aircraft in the near future. I'm planning to earn my multi rating in August. That said, I miss posting and reading on Mooney Space. It's fun for me, therapeutic, I love airplanes, and I love the community. So to sum it up, I'm just reaching back out, saying hello, and looking forward to seeing many of you at Oshkosh and Mooney Summit. To those I missed introductions for or have joined while I've been kind of inactive - hello and welcome! I hope to be back posting again a little more often. I hope to make it some of the NJ lunches and mid-Atlantic breakfasts again. Still LOVE my Mooney Missile and should we have a third kid I may need to seriously consider a larger airplane. For now it fits the family perfectly, and should for a while. Happy Flying!! -Seth
    6 points
  2. Wow. Forgot I even started this thread. Here is a quick update 6 years later. Found a partner Got my IFR. Wish I had done it a lot sooner! Partner left after 5 years At the point where I need to overhaul or sell. Looking at selling and buying newer, faster instead. Thanks to everyone who told me I would not be happy going slower.
    5 points
  3. From Jenny today 7/15 Update - Mark still stable mike elliott, Jenny Brandemuehl has posted a new announcement for Family & Friends of Mark Brandemuehl. Hi All, Mark had a good night. His heart rate remains stable, his blood pressure still good and being supported by medication but at a reduced level compared to when he came out of his first surgery to remove fungal tissue. (He was in bad shape - lost of a lot of blood then). The good news is that his white blood cell count is in the normal range. His kidneys are still in need of a lot of support from the dialysis machine. The doctors are doing their morning rounds today. I plan to talk with his doctor about Mark's current prognosis now that we've gotten through the weekend. The nurses can't assess the state of the fungal infection on his exterior body nor the skin grafts on his front torso. I am a little anxious about what we'll hear from Dr. Peck today. We weren't able to see Mark yesterday until 4 pm. Steve, his brother played a guitar he borrowed from Jeff Dempsey and we sang a few rock songs in Mark's room - Steve, Rene, Michelle, Susan, Adrian and I. It didn't matter that Steven hadn't played in a while, I know Mark felt the energy and heard the music. Because they had to heat Mark up with heat lamps (he gets cold with dressing changes), what felt like a sauna became a sweat lodge! We also played the music from a concert Mark sang in years ago when he was a member of the California Bach Society. Really beautiful music. I hadn't attended church in a few years and yesterday, I made it to All Saints Episcopal (thank you Gwin for referring Rev. Reed there). Amazingly, the sermon was about the good Samaritan. It was a reminder to me of everyone who helped Mark live when he could've so easily died in his plane crash, in particular Thomas who got Mark out of his burning plane. So many miracles that day. You are receiving this message because you are a member of this community. You may unsubscribefrom receiving announcements at any time. Thanks for all you do to help others, Your friends at Lotsa Helping Hands © 2019 Lotsa Helping Hands | 118 N Peoria 2N Chicago, IL 60607 Hide quoted text ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jenny Brandemuehl <jenny.brandemuehl@members.lotsahelpinghands.com> Date: Jul 15, 2019 10:32 AM Subject: 7/15 Update - Mark still stable To: mike_elliott@HOTMAIL.COM Cc:
    4 points
  4. Dynon Avionics just announced this morning that their SkyView HDX AML has been expanded to include 592 different single engine airplanes, from a Luscombe to a Cessna 210, including Beechcraft, Mooney, Piper, Cessna, Maule, etc. single engine models. The STC price is a flat $2,000 per airplane. The equipment cost is unchanged from their experimental prices. The auto pilot will be added to more models as they do the engineering for them, but everything except the auto pilot is available now for all of these models. For those going to Oshkosh, stop by the Dynon booth to see, and touch these great systems, or go to www.dynoncertified.com for more details. The basic system starts at $9,630 with the STC plus installation. With installation at our shop (a Dynon authorized installation center), a 7” single system starts at $15,500 with installation or $16,800 for a 10” basic system. These are basically out-the-door prices. You can add engine monitor, ads-b out, ads-b in, Com radio and a second or third screen. An auto pilot can be added as it is developed for your model. Drop me an email at jesse@saintaviation.com for a price sheet. The STC fee is a one-time charge per airplane for whatever options you decide to install, both now and add-ons down the road. The STC has been issued, and the PMA should come in the next few days. Another affordable glass panel option is now available for your single engine plane.
    4 points
  5. I'm with @KSMooniac on this. The only thing certain about the release of anything new and STC'd for our Mooneys, or any certificated airplane, it that it will take a lot longer than forecast. I'm of the opinion that the autopilot is the most important piece here. For example, if Dynon had announced the release of a full featured 2 or 3 axis autopilot today, and said stay tuned for a glass panel coming in the future, but for now you can drive the autopilot with your steam gauges/GPS. They'd have sold 100 of them by the end of today. As it is, I'm not interested unless it fully drives my KFC150 today, or until the autopilot is approved/released.
    4 points
  6. I understand the frustration, Bob. The nice thing is that you are frustrated about the best way to upgrade your panel to synthetic vision, moving map, weather, traffic, engine monitor and auto pilot, and not on whether it is worth putting in an HSI or a new CDI. If you continue to wait a little bit, then you could possibly get everything at once. If you trust the history of a company of making good on their promises (yet possibly not quite hitting the estimated release date), then you can start to build a system with plans to add the rest later. This is basically the Auto Pilot at this point. The TruTrak will get some data from the Dynon, but it isn't available quite yet for your Mooney. It will probably be the next one released, however. The are a lot of differences and very few differences, depending on how you look at it. They both offer 10" and 7" displays, while Garmin's 7" is portrait and Dynon's is landscape. As for features, they both offer ADS-B in and out, both offer engine monitor, both offer auto pilot on some but not all airplane models, both have synthetic vision and moving map. They are both excellent systems. I have yet to hear of someone installing either and not being happy with it. The Garmin is a little bit more expensive with some options, and similar in price with other options. Their wiring philosophy is substantially different, but both work well and are robust and have certain redundancies built into the wiring architecture. In short, the G3X is made by Garmin and the HDX is made by Dynon. The fact that there are 2 systems like these available for our certified singles is a win for airplane owners.
    3 points
  7. Thinking Ovation. Faster then my 231 below 12K and I hardly ever go over 10K. The rare time I do go over 12K it has O2 and still performs OK. I did fly home from FL a few months ago at 11K, doing 231 MPH, which was really nice but the exception. No turbo so easier maintenance. Newer body and interior. A big jump from 1980 to 1995 or later.
    3 points
  8. Had to take a patient getting back surgery tomorrow from Houghton, MI ( KCMX) to Milwaukee (KMKE). Had some weather to navigate between Green Bay and Milwaukee, going both ways. Here's some photos from the trip down. We were at FL230 until just before the picture. We were descending through FL200 when I snapped the picture of the G3X screen, more to show how altitude sure helps navigating around weather. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N994PT/history/20190715/1515Z/KCMX/KMKE https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N994PT/history/20190715/1645Z/KMKE/KIMT Tom
    3 points
  9. Fellow aviators, Welcome to the Safety page dedicated to focusing on safety-related topics that will make us safer aviators. In order to do this, we'll need some ROEs, to follow shortly. I am the safety moderator and as such, I'll need your help keeping the threads in this section on point. Threads that drift from productive safety analysis to non-helpful conjecture, name-calling, etc. will be deleted or closed. The purpose of this section is to use facts, NTSB data, and eye-witness accounts to analyze Mooney accidents so that we can collectively learn and apply to all of us Mooney flyers. General safety article links, safety best practices, safety topics to discuss, are all highly encouraged. I will try to post a safety topics of the month for general discussion and Q&A. Thank you for being a part of this and please PM me suggestions or issues you see. We are better and safer as a collective group than as individuals. I look forward to our discourse! Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
    2 points
  10. If you haven't yet, and want to do so, please keep Mooney Summit in mind as your charity for Amazon shopping. Go to Smile.Amazon.com and select your charitable organization of choice (hopefully Mooney Summit). Especially now that Prime Day is going on! -Seth
    2 points
  11. Have you discussed Continentals documented procedure for the differential compression test with your mechanic; as previously specified in TCM SB03-3 now superseded by M-0? That should be enough for him to sign off on an airworthy annual. But if he still won't budge there is an easy solution; especially now that you already have a second opinion. 1) ask the mechanic to sign off on your annual inspection with a list of discrepancies. He should give you log book entry that reads verbatim with 43.11 (5) that will say he gave you "a list of discrepancies and unairworthy items dated ...." rather than the more common entry in (4) that just says "was determined to be in airworthy condition". The list of discrepancies is not in the log book entry but a separate piece of paper handed to the owner/operator signed and dated by him. 2) Now with your list, you merely need the second mechanic to sign off on each item in his list using a "maintenance" log book entry per 43.9 . With each item signed off with whatever actions he took, your annual is now complete! Since you already have a second opinion from an A&P, all you need is him to document with a maintenance entry in your book behind the annual inspection. This procedure is how an inspector (IA) just does the inspection and then you have one or more other A&P's correct the discrepancies, and this is the preferred way to resolve exactly this kind of issue you are going through. In summary, you DO NOT need him to sign off on an airworthy inspection. Just have him sign off the annual inspection with a discrepancy list and use the process I outlined above to resolve the list of discrepancies and then go fly your plane. This is how we keep anyone from holding your plane ransom with an annual.
    2 points
  12. I ended up calling one of the mechanics in this thread, who brought another mechanic to double check him. Did cold compression checks and got good results, high 60s / low 70s. They borescoped it and didn't see anything. They said there's nothing wrong with the engine and to put it back together and fly it. Now I need to try to figure out if I try to convince mechanic #1 to sign off on the annual, or just cut my losses, put it back together, get a ferry permit and take it over the hill to HND or VGT.
    2 points
  13. Hi Guys, Acorn Welding is the RAJAY Authorized Service Center for exhausts and waste gate repairs/overhauls. They have the RJ4010 and RJ4002-41 tooling and drawings provided to them by RAJAY. They also have everything needed to work on the RJ4013. You can get the shipping information from their website at www.acornwelding.com Tom
    2 points
  14. Check out this baby. I happened across it at KHNZ (Oxford, NC) yesterday on the way home. I was quite enchanted! Despite 95F and humid - I stayed and just marveled at it. A modern built tri plane, from drawings, not a kit, using modern materials (e.g. Nomex covering, modern radial engine, etc) (what if the Kaiser had Nomex for his Air Force fleet?). I cannot tell if the air foil is modern? It seems to use modern aircraft grade Al in certain critical places - for strength. That tail - true to historical WWI style - is miniature - can you imagine the rudder authority on the ground for that tail dragger, or cross wind landings? Someone made a real beauty - But it is an actively flying beauty. I wish I coulda seen it fly! Looks dangerous... but wow! I bet it is slow slow slow and gorgeous in flight. I like the paint scheme - but I woulda painted it red - with a snoopy on the little tail. And by chance or wardrobe selection yesterday - my shirt matches.
    2 points
  15. I can share what I have seen work in my area. I work with probably the largest non-profit non-equity club in the country and also instruct for some equity clubs and have also worked with small non-equity clubs that aren't really clubs but rental arrangements. I have only seen equity clubs share fixed operating expenses via monthly dues, non of the non-equity clubs have worked that way. I've seen two approaches to the non-equity side. First and most common for an owner adding a non-equity renter is to have the renter pay the their fare share to be covered for the year or remainder policy period. Then the hourly rate reflects a pro-rata share cost of the fixed and hourly operating cost. The obvious reason for not putting all the fixed cost expenses into a monthly dues is that majority of renters will not want to pay more than their equivalent share based on hours operated. Splitting all cost equally when the operating hours are far from equal isn't a popular approach. So instead all clubs I know have very limited monthly dues. The exception is equity owner partners that are buying an equal share in the aircraft and expecting to get an equal share in access to the plane. But even that doesn't appear to be the norm for equity partners either but not entirely un-uncommon. You most likely don't need to start with a full on club either, which requires much more expensive insurance to allow adding and removing club members with a just a completed club application form. But starting out real small you can keep insurance cost affordable by just paying to add one or two renters as named insured to your policy; paid by the renter. I expect that when you inquire about a real club policy that you'll find the insurance is cost prohibitive until you have enough renters lined up ready to pay it. Starting out small though you should find you can get by with just a few long term named pilot additions that at least insurance cost won't frighten away prospective renters. I've been told different underwriters allow different numbers of limited named insured on a policy but none allow more than a handful till they require a more expensive club policy. If that would work, then you can come up with an hourly rate, wet or dry, to help spread all the plane expenses based on usage.
    2 points
  16. The wing sight gauges are only "accurate" on the ground. The factory gauges are only "accurate" in the air.
    2 points
  17. This is a tough problem since you need a welding jig to make these parts. Making the jig costs as much as making the parts, but then you can make all the parts you need (under owner fabricated parts, without PMA and for your airplane only). Ray Hussman made parts for me back in the 2004-2007 time frame. He had the original RaJay welding jigs but became seriously ill. You could use a salvage engine block for some of the jigging. I also recall that some of the stainless exhaust pipe stock are made of odd radiuses which may be difficult to obtain. Check with the various welders and see what they may be able to do. John Breda
    2 points
  18. This! And this! I spent $1200 on a pre-buy for my first Mooney. The second one I pretty much did the pre-buy myself. But by then I knew what I was looking for. And I don't think a list of things to look for is all that helpful. Because if you haven't seen it before, you really can't know what good vs. bad looks like. $1000 or $2000 for a pre-buy is cheap compared to the cost of owning one of the Mooneys on my infamous list. Someone here once said, "There's nothing quite as expensive as a cheap Mooney."
    2 points
  19. I feel that way about my Missile. I love Mooney's but even when I fly a M20J, or even a Cirrus SR22 for that matter, I think "My Missile Cruises Faster." It has ruined me to an extent. However, the fuel burn, speed, mix, everything about the J east of the Rockies makes a lot of sense. It may be one of the best all around airplanes ever. -Seth
    2 points
  20. I too plan to take a hard look are their system next week and go to their forum. I did visit them 2 years ago when it first came out, and they told me then they were 6-8 weeks away from the STC. [emoji3] Not quite. Hopefully getting over this hurdle will allow them to crank thru autopilot work more efficiently. Unless it can connect to my lowly STEC-30 I won't install it until the A/P is ready to go with it. Hopefully they don't sucker someone into committing without an A/P ready and they end up flying for years without one before it finally happens. Sent from my LG-US996 using Tapatalk
    2 points
  21. From http://www.ifr-magazine.com/issues/33_7/features/A-Date-With-AIRAC_1248-1.html: “The AIRAC date occurs every 28 days on a Thursday. Each country determines the exact time of the switchover to coincide with low air traffic volume. In the U.S. it is 0900 Zulu or 1200 a.m. to 0400 a.m. local depending on time of year and zone.“
    2 points
  22. I refuse to do business with any company that sells a product but can't put a price on it. I was looking for a part on the Cessna, found one (NOS) on Controller, no price listed so I called the company and was told to email them for a quote, I told them I wasn't able to email them and I just wanted to purchase it, they wouldn't sell it to me unless i emailed them a RFQ. Their loss not mine, found one later that evening when I had a computer vs. my phone
    2 points
  23. How fast are you touching down? If you do a full stall landing, the rollout is pretty short and slow. I know with the Rocket it takes a lot of back pressure to hold it off, but you can still do it.
    2 points
  24. When finances come up I always tell my wife that I can sleep in my plane, but you cant fly a house.....
    2 points
  25. There's also an entire thread here on LED recog light replacements. Have your hangar elves read this. The original recog lights are $10 Sylvania projector lamps which Whelan hacked with custom shaped reflectors and now sells for $150 a pop - if you can get them. And then they still melt your lenses at $250 a pop, not counting the work you now have to do to trim them to fit....
    2 points
  26. @Net you also got a response from our RayJay guy... Now you have Two resources for comparison... Best regards, -a-
    1 point
  27. Etz, It may help to explain what you are expecting to get from your arrangement... Having four or five people share the plane during the week is great... I usually want to have the plane for the weekend... every weekend... Best regards, -a-
    1 point
  28. http://www.mainturbo.com/
    1 point
  29. Peter, Each tool has its own strength... 1) Old fuel float based fuel level sensors and gauges did the job at a minimalist level... just barely, and not very good... 2) FF and totalizer with its K factor calibrated is a great way to know how much fuel you have burned... but doesn’t have a high quality back-up... to compare to in flight... 3) Wing gauges are a great way to know how much fuel you have before you leave... 2.5 gallon accuracy 4) Calibrated Ceis gauges supply an accurate back-up to a calibrated Fuel totalizer... 5) other benefits... leak detection in flight, forgotten totalizer reset before flight... using most of the fuel and not sure how much is left in the tank as you go into your reserves... Just another cool tool to have... because it works and is available... Similar to having a GPS linked to the JPI and FF sensor... PP thoughts only, my plane is not that well equipped... Best regards, -a-
    1 point
  30. I'll look at my logs and see who did it for me about 15 years ago.
    1 point
  31. I can tell you with 100% certainty that there was no training whatsoever (not even an hour) on airplane purchasing and ownership when I did my CFI, CFII, MEI or ATP training. A flight instructor is taught to teach flying, not buy airplanes. How many airplanes has your CFI owned ?
    1 point
  32. The CiES senders will give you a pretty accurate estimate of what is in each tank based on the float position (which represents what is actually in the tank). A totalizer only tells you how much fuel has flowed through the transducer and a computation of total fuel remaining. It's not a big difference, but it is a useful one. My left tank has a small leak toward the top. I don't top it off if it's going to be sitting for a while, and if it does get topped off and sits it'll leak down a bit. An accurate sender tells me what's actually in that tank, the totalizer can't know.
    1 point
  33. I have CIES fuel senders and EI CGR30C works great . Also just got done installing a CGR30P working getting and learning fuel functionality. The biggest problem that I had was the logistics getting all the fuel out and filling back in an accurate manner. Plus learning another user interface. Last but least where most airports (that I have been at.) Don't allow de-fueling in the hangar. Ah political rhetoric you get to deal with when you don't own your own hangar. Wasn't too bad. Both companies Cies & EI extremely patient and helpful. James '67C
    1 point
  34. Warren, I asked Bill Wheat this question years ago. He told me that they build up pressure in the floor area to prevent co concentrations. The main entrance are the flaps linkage cut-outs of the bottom fuselage. Later with the Cs they sealed the floor better. I'd keep it (in the right direction )
    1 point
  35. If you have an Aspen, you can pay a couple amu for a software unlock, with no external sensor needed. Supposedly this works quite well, even has indications that account for flap position, whereas most others don’t. We hear the AV-20 version of this is not so great. I think the new MAX version will even push the nose down hard for you if it thinks you’re screwing up - oh wait that’s software on a completely different aircraft. ....too soon? I’d really like the idea of a HUD if I were ever to get an AoA sensor - not really an option on my Aspen. For now I think I’ll just leave some decent airspeed margins, not bank steeply at slow speed, not jerk the plane around, and not try to squeeze into any tiny strips in the backcountry.
    1 point
  36. Ah, the Texas hog tied look
    1 point
  37. It would seem that as long as you can confirm that your factory gauges are functioning properly, that overhauling the original senders makes the most sense...until you are ready ($$$$) to upgrade to something like the JPI. Whe the time comes to upgrade, there will no doubt be plenty of people willing to buy your old sending units to help offset the cost f the CIES units. Just my .02
    1 point
  38. I like the idea. But the more I thought about it, the more I became concerned. Hard to miss on a pre-flight, but as someone who has missed the wheel chocks before, I thought I better not. --And I know I am not the only one. Anyway, the consequence of missing the device on a pre-flight seem substantial. --And no good way to tell its there from the cockpit, until you retract the gear. Maybe a velcro loop attached flag would be a bit safer.
    1 point
  39. Texas is neither East nor west. It’s Texas. Just ask em.
    1 point
  40. You have to agree that 103° is a tad warm, I don't do the heat index or the feels like temps, and generally don't even want to hear what they are....
    1 point
  41. Here's the first video in the series...
    1 point
  42. A friend of mine bought a home with a 60 x 60 hangar attached to it. Since he's single, he spent "several thousand" on a BigAss Fan for the hangar instead of furniture for the house.
    1 point
  43. The short bodies are funny birds. They can carry a lot of weight but not a lot of volume - having higher density possessions may be the way to go if you own one . Aside from opening a portal to another dimension from within the aircraft, I'm not aware of any other solutions. Oh - one exception - Some of the old ones didn't have hat racks, and it is possible to install one. Mine was installed during the troubled final days of the Nixon administration. I rarely wear a fancy hat that needs storage, and you can't put much weight back there (10lbs), so its utility may be a bit limited. I use it to store my canopy cover, life vests, and aircraft documents. It's best to put stuff back there that wouldn't kill you if it were to hit you in the back of the head someday...
    1 point
  44. Welcome aboard Time... @Bryan has been keeping the list updated... Stand by For Bryan to stop by... Best regards, -a-
    1 point
  45. You have all that correct. This is a nutty bad location for the fuel line to run and probably even worse to have a bunch of fittings and a mechanical sensor. I have no clue what motivated the original installer. (Incidentally, the reason I created this thread was because I couldn't find the FF transducer...and I was not looking for such a device right next to an exhaust riser.) I noticed that there was just a tiny bit of blue dye on the inner fire sleeve material when I took it off but nothing to indicate a real leak. More like stuff from installation time. That said, the fitting on the outflow was barely finger tight. Yes, I could have loosened it by hand. So the lack of a leak was just good timing in a game of Russian Roulette. I will see about getting my A&P to relocate this thing entirely but in the mean time, I will clean all this up and use Adel clamps to get it down and away from the exhaust riser. There's a good chance that this sensor has been abused beyond salvage...I'll find that out once I fly a bit. All I know at this point is that the setup doesn't leak and that the Shadin computer now reads fuel flow. Cliff
    1 point
  46. All the airports on the list will have density altitude challenges well discussed. But the only truly challenging airport on the list IMO is MMH. I probably have a few hundred landing and takeoff's from Mammoth Airport - all from being a avid skier there and a season pass holder. We even kept an airport car there for over a decade till parking expenses pushed us to move the car down to Bishop. Flying into MMH is easy till you have to go around. The winds, which is the typical reason for going around, will give anyone far greater difficulty on the go around approaching on 27 with rising terrain in every direction on the go. Landing on 27 is definitely preferred, you just don't want your initial Mammoth experience to involve a go around trying to land on 27. Consequently I would advise not trying it for the first time in a NA aircraft without only very mild non-gusty winds. You don't want to get forced into going around. You can pick up the ASOS well before you come in for landing, and if the winds are gusty or with a significant cross wind (typically from the south), my advice is go to nearby BIH ( as Skip mentioned above) which is much lower with 6 long runways and you won't have near as much turbulence MMH is famous more. If you are landing on 27 and it is bumpy with a crosswind, suggest heeding the advice you'll hear on the ASOS to skip the first thousand feet or two landing on 27. There is hill right past the threshold of 27 that when the winds are right can make for a very interesting ride when you are about to flare or thought you just did and surprise! Its easier to land a bit uphill to west on 27 and take off to the east on 9 which is a bit downhill. I'll always take off to the east even with a tail wind since you'll be taking off in the direction of lower terrain over Lake Crowley, winds have to be over 10 kts before I start considering taking off to the west. Most mishaps if not all that I am aware have been with NA aircraft taking off to the east. Even with my turbo, a westerly departure is always exciting since with winds in the mountains there is almost always turbulence and with turbulence your airspeed is diminished which significantly diminishes your climb rate till you are able to get higher into smoother air. With a NA aircraft I would want to wait till a easterly takeoff was safely doable. My personal rule is to arrive before noon or an hour or two before sunset. The worst time to arrive is in the early afternoon but on windy days that window expands to include before noon. Following that rule, only twice in my years of flying in did I have to divert to BIH, and one of those times I was able to get into MMH after just the time we spent to divert for fuel at BIH without any further delay waiting out the winds. The other time, we took the last Inyo shuttle (4pm?) from BIH airport to MMH airport. These were all winter time trips as summer is typically milder with many beautiful wind free days. But should you find the need to divert to BIH, take advantage of the fantastic Thai food restaurant right on the field, and cheaper gas (but consider Hot Creek will charge a county landing/parking fee waived with a small gas purchase ). The only other thing worth mentioning is the Owens Valley turbulence. Its by far the worst turbulence I've ever encountered anywhere but for the most part very predictable and well forecasted in the G-Mets (aviationweather.gov). To fly it safely in turbulent conditions one really needs to learn about predicting where the rotors are and how to avoid them when they're not visible. Easier said than done, but wind direction wrt terrain is just as important, if not more so, than wind magnitude. With nice weather, my most scenic flying ever, till flying in Alaska, has been flying the Sierra ridgeline from south to north at 16.5K heading up to Mammoth; especially after a recent snow dump. The Sierra peaks are spectacular and the Yosemite park area with the glacier polished rock faces just north of MMH is breathtaking as well. Have a great time, we all know you will!
    1 point
  47. Part 2 involves flying from Goose Bay to Iqaluit with a stop in Kuujjuaq.
    1 point
  48. If you did descend to 2700 feet with a 3000 foot altitude clearance, then you technically did not commit a violation. An altitude bust requires at least 300 feet. So there’s that too.
    1 point
  49. I’m selling the IFD540 right now for $12,500, and it does include an AXP322 ads-b out transponder and gps antenna. The Skytrax 100B is $2,000 added to that. If budget is really tight, I have a used 540 newly updated by Avidyne for $9,000 with antenna, but no AXP322. I could throw in a new lynx with he used IFD for $4,000. A G5 HSI would also be a winner option, especially since you need an indicator anyway.
    1 point
  50. I don't think any of this was an accident. I think he intentionally gave you multiple haircuts because he felt compelled to prove something...what he thought he was proving I have no idea. I have seen this behavior before on the ground and in the air. Similar vibe to the one I would get from some of the guys I've encounter driving new WRXs, modded civics etc when I am enjoying a some stick time in a geriatric Porsche. Many wanted to race off a stop light and others would do absolutely bat guano crazy stuff in traffic just to be a few vehicles ahead of me. Once in the descent to State College I jogged by a Cherokee six while we were about 15 miles out. It was evident that as soon as he realized he was being passed, he firewalled everything to reduce the speed differential just enough to create spacing discomfort upon reaching the pattern. You were the bigger man for not engaging him on the ground. I'm not sure that I'd have been as virtuous.
    1 point
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