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It’s been some time but wanted to share with you the painting I did for last years silent auction at the summit. I Don’t know if the winner is someone that visits Mooneyspace but wanted to thank them for their contribution to the Gilliland (spelling corrected) foundation. Was very nice working with them and I was very happy with the results of my work as were the recipients. They run Cadillac aviation in Michigan. John

For your entertainment and viewing pleasure, I will be presenting Anthony @carusoam on display at the Dean of Mooneyspace Lunch Fly In at 47N Central Jersey airport at noon on Saturday 4/20/24. Free autographs on a first come first serve basis. You might even have the opportunity to buy him lunch. $5.35 100LL self serve. Park on the main ramp and a very short walk out of the airport to the restaurant on the corner of the road leading into the airport. Don't let the name "Pizza 'n Pasta" fool you. This place has Stromboli's, Calzone's, and other Italian delights such as Anthony Caruso. Need I say more?

The Story: I bought an Ovation last October that needed some attention. My son and I are going to travel in it and he is building time for a flying career. It had a new and very nice glass panel in it but everything else was well used. The airplane flew about 35 hours in the last 5 years. The paint was very oxidized, carpet old and dirty worn through and the seats looked like a frat house couch. Both wings had fuel leaks. It had been well maintained but it was tired when i bought it. I used the Winter months from then until now to refurbish the airplane. I tackled a bit more than i wanted to but my thinking was to fix everything now and fly it versus fly-it-and-fix-it etc….. So, this is what we did: Firewall forward is all new. Every line, hose and connector. Factory new IO-550. New engine isolators. Stripped and painted the engine baffles. Prop Governor Overhaul Prop Overhaul to include new internals. Compete external light conversion to Whelen (WATT) LED’s. New wingtip and taxi/ landing light lenses. New tires and tubes. New batteries (2) New O2 bottle and fill. Polished the spinner and took the dents out. 18 hours with a buffer and ceramic wax to bring the paint back to life. Complete fuel tank seal scheduled for this year. New Interior. (I started with the just carpet but I had to take the seat out to take out the carpet………and one thing led to another and i just took everything out). I also removed most of the old adhesive, cleaned every inch of the inside and added insulation and sound proofing to the interior. FIRST FLIGHT: Accomplished the first flight and first two hours of engine break-in yesterday. The new engine and prop are powerful and smooth. Everything else mostly worked as advertised. After the first hour I landed. We took the cowlings off to inspect. No leaks. We adjusted the prop governor for full take-off thrust and the gear warning horn on the throttle cable. We flew another hour and I got two more landings in since it had been awhile in GA for me. I would have added 4 more hours to the break-in except i was limited to lower altitudes and high power settings for the break-in and it was VERY windy. TAS was 176-178 on 24/24 at 3500” so I am guessing 180-185 higher. It was a rough ride. I have a fuel pump that needs overhauled so that is going out. I also have a small box in the avionics bay that controls glareshield and panel lighting that needs overhauled. Maybe one EGT probe as well. Otherwise, for the amount of work we did on the airplane……everything went well.

Also remember that the stall speed will be lower in ground effects. It's kind of hard to look out the window to make a good touchdown and look at the airspeed indicator at the same time, but if you are trying to hold it off for a full stall landing (which I do), you will probably find that it settles to the runway at lower than 55 KTS. I check the airspeed on final, but after I'm over the runway I just look out the window. There is nothing inside that will make your landing any better.

I was playing my daily crossword puzzle and it occurred to me if you rearrange the letters in Mooney C you get economy.

Couple flies from Germany to Australia AND back in their Mooney This is a very detailed long read https://euroga.org/forums/trips-airports/15530-down-to-oz-and-back-agin-the-whole-story?fbclid=IwAR1apQ8rnMdHiskPhuUPdIRDUyMV9X6CMrhD-iIrbI-RfFOqHMiy0YhwG3E_aem_AZp_IhINaL9hczkSFgErtgEAK-PdBuWee6SbC2lmBZRuuYn1rnRWrj9ch9djQMK2DhVQk3H9rzK4aZ5muUbCEjJ4

Is there any evidence the lack of medical was the cause of the crash? The NTSB didn't think so. Is your contention he should be denied insurance despite the fact that the rule he broke was completely unrelated to the cause of the crash? If so, why stop there? What if he was fleeing from robbing a store but was otherwise legal? Should he be denied coverage because of that? After all, the crime is unrelated to the crash but he did just break the law, not just an FAA regulation. Or, is it just 'anything' you decide is related to aviation? So, if you knowingly fly one day out of 90 currency and crash should you be denied coverage? How about if you knowingly fly 1 pound over gross and crash due to running out of gas? Heck, there is a reg about carrying sufficient fuel so why isn't that a deliberate violation... I mean, you must have been cognizant fuel was low but deliberately and knowingly continued on anyway. Deny that coverage, right? Flying to your annual a few days after your old annual expired because of a weather delay? This guy, even per the NTSB, didn't crash because of lack of a valid medical but from spatial disorientation. Why do you feel he should be denied coverage for something unrelated to the crash? A better argument would be that he was out of instrument currency. So, we are back to who is the arbiter of how far out is too far out before coverage is denied? I'm comfortable with the insurance companies making that call. I guess I'm just tired of all the holier than thou Monday morning QBs looking for any reason to deny insurance coverage so their precious premiums don't go up. The worst are the ones that want to deny coverage for gear ups! But the moral high ground argument (oh, he broke the 'rule' so DENY, DENY, DENY!! I'm so righteous.) are tiresome, as well. Ever knowingly drive over the speed limit? Think your auto insurance should be denied if you crash while speeding? How about someone injured by your illegal actions, be they in an auto or an airplane? Should they be denied compensation from your insurance because you broke a rule or law? How about your example: you let someone drive that isn't licensed and they injure someone in a crash and you don't have assets to cover since the insurance denies coverage? Does that seem just? Change it up a bit: your unlicensed hypothetical driver is in an accident that is NOT his fault; he's sitting at a signal and is rear ended at a stoplight by an uninsured driver. You okay with your insurance denying coverage? How about if someone else in your car is injured? Still okay with coverage denied? Be careful on that high horse; the fall may hurt more than you might think.

I did four cowling modifications initially when I started my project. I’m still working on two different cowlings but am in the process of moving right now. Many other issues with composite shops have hampered progress for quite a while but I am too far into it and too much money invested to walk away from it. Thanks, David

I just closed on a J Mooney that will be based in SWFL. I'm attaching the obligatory airplane and panel photos. I'll get the 2 hour insurance checkout tomorrow and then I look forward to enjoying my new, to me, airplane around and meeting other members. Happy Easter! Paul

You must have quite a battery :-) -dan

Some nice views from a recent flight down/up the east coast. As well as my favorite waypoint of the trip.

A low(ish) pattern, overshooting final, heavyweight, unexpected return, new owner, distraction from wind/noise… there are lots of things stacked against them. None of them should be fatal by themselves or even together, but they do increase the risk.

Bringing the plane for maintenance and practicing my new commute yesterday. Nearing the Crazy Mountains, between Livingston and Harlowton, in south-central Montana, 13K.

Totally subjective at this point, but if the base leg did have a 10 knot tailwind, then with some anxiousness to get on the ground, an overshoot of final (and from the track that looks to be the case) could have caused the classic cross controlled base to final stall? Just hypothesizing with no basis in fact... Obviously, we need the final accident report to shed more light on the situation. The pilot seemed pretty calm initially about a simple return for landing and closing the door.

Mooney N58089 $175,000 OBO 1985 M20K 305 Rocket Serial 25-0872 Based at: KHEG (JAX area) and 6D6 (Hastings, MI) TSMOH: 602 TTAF: 2894 TTE: 2000 Prop: 602 Annual due: 11-2024 IFR Cert Due: 04-2025 Empty Wt: 2230.4 Empty Wt CG: 42.87 Useful Load: 969.6 Avionics: Garmin GI-275 Engine Monitor, Garmin GNX-375 GPS w/Transponder, PMA-8000 Audio Panel, Garmin GTR 200B VHF Com, Garmin G5 HSI, Garmin GNC 255 Nav/Com, King KAP 150 Autopilot w/297 Altitude Preselect. Full IFR panel makeover 9-2022, USB port included. Detailed Description: 1985 Mooney 305 Rocket. 2894 TT, Turbo Continental 520, Garmin GI-275 Engine Monitor replaces all engine instruments, Garmin GNX-375 GPS with Transponder, Monroy Long Range Tanks, Speed Brakes, Four Place Oxygen. Misc: All logbooks digitized, extras include instruments removed from panel upgrade in 2002, LED landing light installed 2021, nose gear landing pucks replaced 04-2024, Mike Busch books, customized aircraft cover & accessories, 2 lightspeed headsets, and various other aircraft consumables. Currently subscribed to the Savvy Aviation maintenance concierge program which is transferrable. Additionally, I have a Garmin database subscription that expires 10-2024, which may be transferrable. Extra SD card included for database updates (handy!) Note: I bought the plane 3 years ago and installed the new panel, as well as cleaned up some deferred maintenance items. The plane is a beautiful, fast cross-country IFR platform that burns approx. 18 gal/hr at cruise of over 180kts. It has a 100+ gallon fuel capacity, and 4+ hours range. Unfortunately, due to health issues in the family, and a change of mission, I need to sell it. Google drive link for all logbooks, pictures, etc. More pictures to come! https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oTd_xgbmIGT7MtCUBK49v5czTQ8zBwwZ?usp=drive_link

I try not to ascribe duplicity to any situation where ignorance or dare I say, stupidity will suffice...unless I have firsthand knowledge that suggests otherwise. I did not know this pilot, but I also find it hard to believe that he did not understand that the undisclosed medical conditions for which he received treatment were disqualifying without an SI. However, I never underestimate people. I met Mooney owner just last week with a beautiful 201 that he said "cruises at 180-190kts, depending on the wind". He did not pick up on my confused look at all. The conversation did not last much longer but what remained of it convinced me that I often over estimate intellect.

So the pilot of the Cirrus that spun in at Love Field in 2016 was at 25 months since her last flight review so just one month out of currency. One could make the argument that her unfortunate lack of airmanship might have been corrected prior to the accident had she received a proper FR in the weeks leading up to the accident flight. It's no stretch to attribute that accident to task saturation and poor airmanship, the very reason we get a flight review is to identify and rectify deficiencies in our performance. Legally out of currency and a fatal accident attributed to poor airmanship. Should her insurance have denied to cover that loss? The same case could be made for the Mooney accident. Much easier to make the case that his lack of instrument currency was causal when compared to the medical issues. I'm sympathetic to your view point, but I think that the professionals in the industry have repeatedly encountered this situation and found it preferable to err on the side of paying claims in spite of bad boy/bad girl acts. In the case of this Mooney accident, you appear to be implying that there was intentional and deliberate fraud with regard to this pilot's policy renewal. I don't think we have enough information to be sure of that but it's certainly a strong possibility. In such a case, I think it's prudent to pay the liability claims but the pilot and their heirs do not collect.

Update, the belly pan came off and the chain was sitting there with the connector link missing its retainer lock thingie. With the help of this group I was able to find a replacement connector link on Amazon. I showed it to my mechanic and he said that will work perfectly. I got four of them for five dollars. It has to be the cheapest aircraft part I’ve ever bought. I have three now available for sale at $250 each if anybody needs one.

+1 that Varsol is essentially a brand name for a particular (supposedly purer) type of mineral spirits. The brand is currently owned by Exxon Mobil. Stoddard Solvent is similarly just a particular type of mineral spirits. It's like "Kleenex" or other brands that have become product names; unless there's some reason to believe otherwise, they mean "mineral spirits". Stoddard Solvent was branded as a dry cleaning agent. There's nothing special about it for aviation use, other than it is less flammable than gasoline so safer as a general solvent. Another thing that is often used for ring flushes is Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) which is usually available at places like Wal-Mart or auto parts stores. People often use MMO straight without mixing it with anything. FWIW, MMO is mostly mineral spirits but also has some other interesting stuff in it. If you want you can cut it with your favorite motor oil, but it's probably fine to use straight. Whatever you do, after the ring flushes are finished, don't run the engine until the oil is changed (probaby goes without saying, but is mentioned for completeness).

Hello Mooney world. When the time comes to seal or repair your wing fuel tanks I highly recommend working with Edison and Wet-Wingologist East (KFXE) as the THE place to receive high value for your investment and excellent results! My previous PIREP was after Edison resealed the tanks in both wings in March 2016 for my 1990 J Model. In that PIREP I recounted my high satisfaction with the value delivered and results achieved. This update covers my recent warranty leak repair experience, 8 years later, during which Edison worked my airplane into his rather full schedule on a Saturday morning, charged me nothing the, and had the airplane ready for pickup by Sunday. If you prefer short PIREPS, you can stop reading now. Otherwise, below are additional details in the spirit of contributing to the knowledge of the Mooney community. After the initial, reseal the right wing periodically (and inconsistently) developed minor seeps in 2016 and 2019 in the same outboard tank area that would not last and I could not find the conditions to replicate them. In each case after discussions with Edison, I decided to postpone taking the airplane to him and continue to monitor instead. Edison was always ready to schedule the in-warranty repair without question. There were no signs of leaks between 2019 and late 2023. During the November 2023 Annual Inspection, my A&P/IA found signs of a small leak at the bottom of the outer right wing fuel tank, none evident on the outer wing skin, and we could not determine for certain if it was old or fresh. I called Edison, who suggested letting the airplane sit in the hangar with the right wing filled to where it could take no more fuel. After a flight that started with full tanks and included left/right steep turns and maneuvering flight, I topped of the tanks as suggested. After a few hours in the hangar with the right tank completely full the leak was evident in the area my A&P/IA found. Edison thought a sealant bubble at the top of the outer tank had broken and was allowing the fuel to leak when the tanks were left sitting and completely full, and that it would require a small repair. I confirmed this by draining fuel to where the fuel level was 1-2 inches below the fuel cap, and the tank did not leak after a day of monitoring. Following discussions with Edison, and setting a date for the repair, he called me back a few days later to explain the leak could also be coming from the fuel sensor gasket located on the vertical outer wall of the outermost tank. Before taking the airplane down several days for repairs, and the added cost of the trip to/from KFXE, Edison recommended that my A&P/IA replace the sensor gasket and check again. After replacing the gasket and topping the tank, the leak returned after a few hours. At this point I decided with Edison it was time for a repair, and we agreed on an earlier date than planned provided I could get the airplane to him the next Saturday morning. I flew to KFSE early Saturday morning and taxied the airplane directly to Edison's shop; Edison started work immediately; the airplane was ready on Sunday, 8 years after the initial reseal; Banyan Air Services towed it to their ramp late Sunday; and I picked up the airplane on Tuesday 4/9/24. My assessment is that the source of the inconsistent seeps in 2016 and 2019 was the same repaired by Edison in 2023, with the fuel just finding its way out to the bottom wing skin by the path of least resistance. Finally, fuel is expensive at KFXE, but Banyan gives a discount to Edison's customers, so I added the 10 gal minimum they require to wave some of the ramp fees, and flew the airplane home early Tuesday afternoon. The folks at Banyan were a pleasure to work with. With dry wings and in great appreciation of Edison at Wet-Wingologist.... Hank

The tbm is a really nice plane. It is a completely different class from any piston, and even the meridian. It is built like a military plane. It is solid and quality everywhere. I was surprised at how tight it is for the pilots, and you miss the position of the Mooney as well as have limited recline on the backs of the seats, but I logged some time in one, flying to Alaska and back from south Florida.

Interesting side note. Statistically this pilot was super lucky. The fatal accident rate for the Lancair is 10X the GA average and ~ 40X that of the ubiquitous C172. That data came from the Lancair Owners and Builders Organization.

If there were no injuries and everyone walked away I wouldn't second-guess anything you did. Good job! You did everything right.

Not as much as Americans, here is a 5 seconds summary Cousin Avi (Snatch film, Guy Ritchie)

After a two year wait in line to get my Ovation painted. I picked up my Mooney back from Lancaster Aero in Smoketown Pa. I am pleased with their workmanship and their timeliness. The downtime was one week less than I had anticipated. I chose to stick with the original paint scheme and colors. It feels good to get my wings back. Norm N995K

Years ago I was flying home and while planning my flight realized there was a 70knt tailwind at 25k, directly on my tail. Pretty hard to pass up in a plane capable.. I was alone, had the nice blue silicone mask with a microphone, so I filed for 25k and off I went. I was cruising along and I looked down in my lap and saw this little black disk. At the time the plane I was flying was an ultra with the precise flight conservers, and I thought the disk looked like the adjustment dial on the outside of the unit. After a few seconds of fiddling with it, I realized I was trying to put it back together, but it wasn’t apart…. By the grace of god I realized that what I was doing made no sense whatsoever and I engaged the vertical descent for 1400fpm and still to this day do not recall the next two or three minutes. What I do recall is being level at 8,000 ft with atc calling me asking intentions. I hit replay on the g1000 and listened to me responding to them and taking instruction. I did not sound like myself, but I was responding. I do not remember any of this… After my wits were about me again I looked down and realized my arm had gotten wrapped around the o2 hose going to my mask and had inadvertently pulled the grommet out of the front of my mask at 25,000ft. The disk was the grommet, and if one was completely cogent, would never had mistaken it for anything else. I don’t know how long it had been pulled out, or how long it took me to notice something was wrong. The flight recorder only goes back about 2.5 minutes on a constant loop, so that’s all I could listen to. I don’t know how long the entire event lasted, but I did realize how close I came to being a bad story. There is certainly more elevated risk at those altitudes, and one must be very vigilant, aware and have some routine to check yourself very regularly. I personally stay 19k or below if I am alone, and will only go to 25k with someone else and if we pick up enough time to really make a difference. This isn’t my recommendation or suggestion, it’s merely a personal minimum in my Mooney, or any non pressurized airplane. Things can deteriorate much quicker than you would like to believe… Last thought on this story… I was embarrassed by this. I felt foolish, like my arrogance and confidence led me to a bad choice that could have killed me. I finally opened up and told the story to a pilot friend of mine and he told me I should share, because perhaps someone could benefit from hearing my mistake. I sure hope it does, because I still feel foolish.

The only case of insurance denying a claim due to pilot false representation (claiming to hold a valid medical, claiming to have completed policy-mandated annual recurrent training) that I personally know of (and I know only because I knew both the pilot and the lawyer representing the insurer) was due to the pilot’s pattern of willful misconduct and not simple neglect or innocent errors. With two fatalities and total loss of a nice Citation the potential claims were not small, either. Generally speaking, insurance companies do pay regularly for the dumb pilot stuff we keep doing.

You are still in the normal range, but something is somewhat different. If it were mine, I'd just watch it, and if it doesn't get worse, I'd see what happened after the next filter/oil change. If you are worried about it, you could just change the filter and see if that makes a difference since that is the only part that was changed.

God help me if I ever track my expenses. The airplane would be up for sale the next day.

Call Herber Aircraft. They are a Lord distributor and consistently have the best pricing on Lord products. Their parts people are very good and will be able to help. A bonus for you is that they are in El Segundo.

My fear is always about the power lines that you can't see until you're right on top of the road.

There is a little chain that connects to the trim wheel. The chain can pop off if it isn’t properly lubricated, and when it pops off the wheel will spin freely. Definitely talk to an A&P because you’ll want to rule out a need to lubricate the trim jackscrew. But this might be a 5-minute fix.

Y’all are not true CB’s. I use the packing paper in Spruce boxes to making an oil drain channel. Since the paper isn’t rigid, it is easy to push up under the oil filter. I also usually wait a day to remove the filter. Lee

Just to update those who haven't checked, but the dates (from the website) are September 27th and 28th. My wife and I plan on arriving on the evening of the 26th so we don't miss the first half of the event like last year. Registration is open! -R

I flew my F model today for the first time since annual was completed last month. My plan was to do a timed climb to 10k and gather speed data. It was 81° so I opened the vent in climb. To my surprise, I was blasted with high heat. It was like running a heat gun in the cockpit. I closed the center vent, but by 4500’ the heat radiating from the duct itself caused me to RTB. On the ground I started trouble shooting. It turns out, the cable mount was disturbed while reclocking the prop governor. This prevented the internal flapper valve from fully seating in either the open or closed position. A simple repositioning of the Adel clamp holding the cable rectified the situation. Those of you with heater issues would do well to simply ensure that the valve is moving over its full range of travel. As you can see the heater box and the seal are in fine condition even at 57 years old. The seal material look like table tennis racket rubber. Heat on heat off Adel clamp after repositioning.

Just outside Hangar A!

Posting a little late, but here’s a little write up from the trip to Arkansas to meet up with @0TreeLemur to watch the eclipse… https://wordsaloft.substack.com/p/flying-far-for-four-magical-minutes Hats off to Fred for picking the winning destination. Clear skies, ramp space, and a fresh grilled lunch courtesy of the local maintenance shop.

Figured I would dust off the cobwebs on this thread. Still own the old girl. Many avionics updates, fuel tank reseals and everything in between. 380 hours logged now since this thread started. The biggest question everyone was always worried about and asking….”is it still the same original engine? Yes. Top end was overhauled as a precaution a few years ago. However, No metal. And SOAP sheets are looking good still to their day. Flew her into Sun N Fun this past week for the first time. What a great product we all have and get to play with! #teammooney Will post some before and current pics of the panel. Thanks for following along. before: After:

I have seen this airplane in stages of completion and it is a “better than new” Ovation in every possible way. With Steven’s attention to detail and Brian’s workmanship you will not find a better Ovation on the planet. You couldn’t come close to duplicating it for the asking price.

My interpretation (I'm an engineer in the industry working on new products) is that the IA has the authority to determine major/minor according to the regs. Using factory approved and produced parts goes a long way towards nudging many things we're discussing towards minor... such as adding the wing sight fuel gauges. They are supplementary, and independent of the primary fuel quantity system, so that should be a slam-dunk minor mod, especially using the Mooney parts. (Weep No More added mine during reseal long ago with a logbook entry). NORSEE was written with this kind of logic too for safety-enhancers like AOA systems that are independent of the existing pitot-static system. Adding later model Mooney factory seats also falls into this category...they're already certified, they fit, so just install them with a logbook entry and W&B update. We did this with my throttle quadrant deletion modification... I took all of the factory Mooney parts from an 81 J and retrofitted them into my 77 J.... minor mod. I did NOT engineer new engine controls or do other crazy contortions, I just used factory parts. It should be the same way IMO for a J cowl retrofit, although at that point there might be a minor nit using J parts going on to an E or F... but I suspect many IA's would be fine with it. With the VARMA regs and the unobtanium ram air duct, you could perhaps twist some logic into supporting the mod to delete ram air and use the more efficient J airbox and cowl without the ram air hole, which Mooney even deleted themselves towards the end of the line. That is a safety and reliability improvement in my mind to get rid of a leaky duct that will pass dirt into your engine and perhaps clog a fuel injector.... For those that are on the never-ending path to improving our great vintage airplanes, I encourage you to not give up! There are logical reasons to do so, and there are still (almost) reasonable paths to accomplish it if you're using the right mindset, and have a good relationship with your mechanic/shop/IA. It helps to be a DIY-er too b/c paying for a lot of it does NOT make economic sense. It is a hobby for me, and (mostly) enjoyable so I don't mind doing the work myself with supervision. I also don't do anything crazy or stupid. The regs were not written to keep our planes stuck in the 60s or 70s until they become completely unsupportable and unairworthy.

The gathering on April 8 for eclipse viewing at 42A (Melbourne, Arkansas). The crew of that large grey military airplane (single engine turboprop) landed just before the totality started. They landed long and filled the air with tire smoke as the pilot slammed on the brakes with the end of the runway rushing towards him. I've never before seen an airplane fishtail like that! There were four Mooneys in attendance, including @Pasturepilot and family!

Took theses with my iPhone from my driveway today, totally blacked out here:

Many keep it very simple: Full throttle and full forward prop pitch for takeoff and climbout. For cruise, pull the prop back to 2500 rpm. Lean as desired. Throttle stays full forward. Reduce power as necessary for descent and pattern entry, prop goes full forward once power is pulled back enough in the pattern to not affect rpm.

Today flying from Eastern Maryland back to Alabama, I was forced by icing to take a more southerly route. Took this photo looking south-southeast towards the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The Patuxent NAS is lower right. Horrible turbulence and headwinds all they way to the GA-AL border after which things smoothed out a bit. The shocker of the day happened when CLT approach allowed me to fly over the field at 5,000.

Maybe you're having difficulty with your landings because you are too concerned about your airspeed indicator. Sure, check it on each leg, but once you get 50-100 feet above the ground, just look outside the plane and fly it. Slowly add back pressure to round out just above the runway and then hold it there as long as possible. It will land when it's ready at whatever speed is right for the given weight. On the flip side, you can almost guarantee a bad landing if you are checking your airspeed while over the runway.

Flew Rouen (LFOP), France to OldWarden (EGTH), UK for the Easter Bunny Flying and visit the museum collection Propper British grass root flying: soggy, wet, grey with greasy food…the Mooney hates it, the kids love it

Another simple, rough-ish starting point to check flap rigging is just to put a straight edge down the top of the wing. The upper surface of the flap should align reasonably well with the back portion of the wing surface. That'll give you an idea if something is significantly off, and be able to compare the two sides. This works anywhere along the wing, but obviously isn't a precision measurement.

Hmmm . . . Premiums went down for Shadrach and up, but went up for Meshach. What happened to Abednego? Sorry if those jokes are getting old . . .

Installing the MVP-50 was one of the best decisions I made with my upgrade. In my opinion it is the best stand alone engine monitor out there. Yes, JPI is worthy, but the MVP-50 has more versatility for my usage. I've attached my worksheet to show how I set mine up. With the M20C you won't have TIT. The small box between the MP and RPM turns red and shows gear not down, if the gear is not down below a certain MP. There is an extra register on the fuel page that displays trip totals and resets on engine shutdown that I find extremely useful. There is the ability to set 2 automatic fuel levels when adding fuel; in my case 89 gals to the bottom of the neck and 100 gals topped off. There are too many other benefits of the unit to mention in this small space. At the time I upgraded my display the cost was a little over $1,400. If you are buying new, you will get the new display. The functionality also increased with the upgrade, in particular the ability to see time to destination instead of time to waypoint--to me a MAjOR improvement for trip planning. and execution. MVP-50 Worksheet 8:23:2013.pdf

Add to that… they may well have had a full bag of gas, which is way cheaper at St. Augustine than at Homestead. Speaking only for myself…. I seldom land at max landing weight and NEVER at 3368 MTOW. Stall speed really goes up at heavy weight and high bank angle. 57 KIAS at a normal wings-level 3000# landing vs 72/85 @ 45/60* bank and MTOW. AOA warning, if installed, would have been screaming if this is what happened. -dan