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My advice would be to chalk it up to experience and never go back, and explain to them exactly why you won’t be back. No need to raise voices or argue just let them know that you expect a good job and they are apparently unable to deliver that, so you will be taking your business somewhere else.

Finally got home from work and spanked all these spammers.

I just had my tanks done at wetWingologist at KFXE. he told me he needed four weeks and that’s exactly how long it took. there was another plane in process when I dropped off so it was easy to see exactly what they are going to do. he redid my wing walk, changed both sump assemblies and it was exactly the amount he told me it would be. this was hands down, the best service/upgrade experience I have ever had in aviation. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

The Dynon HDX supports multiple navigation sources beyond just GPS. It integrates with VOR, ILS, and other traditional navigation systems. You just need to include a GPS with NAV/COM or another NAV/COM radio. You won't need the display heads. Although its legal to fly IFR only with GPS, i personally things its nuts! The GPS signal is very weak and easily jammed. I may laugh at losing GPS signal from someone jamming while VFR but when it happens in IMC its a very serious matter, No way am I launching without it. Only my opinion but it seems careless and reckless to place such confidence in GPS always being there for you.

I received an email from John (COO) at LASAR last week, they receive the first quote back from the gear manufacturer and awaiting a secondary quote as the first manufacturer's lead time is considered excessive (didn't say how long). Will keep everyone posted. V/r Matt

I just tested my G5 battery. It is from 2017. It said it had 6.5 hours left in it. FWIW. I got my second class yesterday. I just finished all the inspections and the plane is legal. I’m going to fly it tomorrow. 3 months after my shoulder replacement.

In an effort to mitigate the ever increasing pressure on insurance rates, we at Mooney Pros, Inc. have partnered with the FAA to provide FITS based scenario transition training and IPC's Mooney Pros, Inc. Named FAA Training Provider, Offering Enhanced Mooney Pilot Training Programs [Tampa, FL] – May 6, 2025 – Mooney Pros, Inc., the leader in Mooney specific aviation training, is proud to announce its designation as an FAA Training Provider. This prestigious recognition underscores the company’s commitment to excellence in pilot education and safety. Effective immediately, pilots completing transition training with Mooney Pros, Inc. will earn credits toward the FAA WINGS Program, including Basic, Advanced, and Master phases. Additionally, clients who complete an Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC) with Mooney Pros, Inc. will achieve the Basic WINGS phase. Both programs also fulfill the requirements for a Flight Review, streamlining the currency process for pilots and enabling lucrative insurance underwriting rates “We are thrilled to partner with the FAA to offer these enhanced training opportunities,” said Mike Elliott, CEO at Mooney Pros, Inc. “Our programs are designed to elevate Mooney pilot skills and safety while providing clear pathways to FAA WINGS recognition.” For more information about Mooney Pros, Inc.’s training programs, visit www.mooneypros.com or contact Mike Elliott, mike@mooneypros.com for a custom program tailored to your needs. About Mooney Pros, Inc. Mooney Pros, Inc. specializes in high-quality Mooney aircraft aviation training, focusing on safety, proficiency, and personalized instruction for pilots of all levels.

You are very right. I believe the vast majority of IFR accidents are exactly those pilots that take such a casual attitude towards their training and currency claiming they only need to be able to fly in "light IFR". Of course there is no such thing. The bottom line is that pilot that isn't current and proficient has no business filing IFR and launching on an IMC flight. They should get with an instructor (or safety pilot if able) and get IFR proficient before flying in IMC. What we see is that they are often only one unexpected event away from having an accident. Many of the accidents we see are pilots that are far from being IFR legally current and of course no where near IFR Proficient. Doing 6 approaches in the last 6 months, despite being IFR legally current, its no where near enough to be IFR proficient; especially for a low time IFR pilot. But we see instrument rated pilots try to keep their head in the game by filing IFR as much as they can - which is great practice but no where near enough. They may feel they can rely on their autopilot for some "light IFR" if needed but then for whatever reason the pilots finds conditions more challenging than expected, fall behind and have a loss of control. Take this twin accident for example which happened in my local area. The pilot was so confused by the circling maneuver at MYF, which is a common occurrence anytime a low moves through giving us a good surface wind out of the south. It really makes you wonder if he ever circled to 23 as a VFR maneuver without a ceiling before the tragic flight. Its clear though on the radio that his anxiety of how to circle to 23 and expecting he needed a clearance to land on 23 before he started the approach distracted him from getting established on the ILS for 28R. (only the tower can clear you to land after you've crossed the FAF and talking to them - not the controller). I have essentially the same panel he did and it should have been easy to get all that set up on the AP. It was after all an approach he had done many many times - but per his logbook he had never practiced a circling approach with his equipment even though its an IPC requirement. But the distraction allowed him to fall behind the aircraft. You'd think the conditions shouldn't have been that challenging because it was mostly broken ceilings in the accident area, (he had already done the hard flying over the mountains). But going in and out of the clouds and be very distracting and allow a low time pilot to forget the need to go back to basics and focus on the instruments to level wings and hold heading. It can sucker you into looking out the window wondering if you might be able to get down VFR. While he was losing control unable to heed the controller instructions he never thought to use his Blue Level button on his Garmin AP to level the wings; especially right after the controller just instructed to level the wings and climb (he had terrain higher than him very close). The more recent accident in Simi Valley is an example of an another pilot that appears wasn't even IFR legally current from reviewing his flight aware history. Since January, the pilot had done 7 IFR flights but only 2 of them included approaches, with two each totaling 4 approaches in the last 5 months. But we have no idea if any actually counted or whether they involved any actual past the FAF or if he was under the hood with a safety pilot. Of course we don't know if he may have logged some approaches on a sim to be legal, all we know is that he wasn't proficient enough to get established on the approach; somewhat similar to the Doctor flying the twin. Instrument flying is the fastest pilot skill to perish. The shorter the experience level of the pilot the faster the skills are lost and harder it is to get them back since the basic instrument skills are not as well engrained. Getting an instrument rating is very large undertaking, but its just a license to learn since keeping current is then a life long endeavor of constant practice. The FAA places virtually all of the requirements for maintaining currency on the honor system. No one will care or even notice if a pilot is not maintaining currency until the accident investigation, and then it will mean nothing if the pilot perished except for your heirs being sued. If we're going to fly in IMC conditions we need to take our proficiency seriously; not just currency.

This is a no-no for me. Never ever leave something halfway done. Period. Hand-tightening things that are supposed to be torqued, whether it is an oil filter, nut, or whatever, and leaving it like this, is asking for disaster.

While the training value of the unexpected "failure" of the AP during the practice flight cannot be denied, I believe that safety pilot should not interfere with the aircraft systems without prior consent of the pilot. Your intentions to enhance the training experience of your colleague may have been good, but your actions agruably crossed the line if you have not discussed with the pilot in advance that you would engage in such simulations. Unless I am on a training or proficiency check flight with an instructor or examination with DPE, the person in the right seat is a passenger, no matter how experienced they may be and how many rating they may hold. Part of my pre-flight passenger briefing is - "Do not touch any controls or switches unless I tell you to or become incapacitated" and I expect my passengers to follow this to the letter.

I just wish I had a DME to go with the VOR for approaches. Actually, long term, I wish Garmin would come out with a DME module that gave DME capability to the 650/750 PLUS could hop channels and do DME/DME or DME/DME/DME nav in case of GPS outage, spooking or jamming.

I think one thing poorly understood in these debates is how likely your airplane is to lose GPS signal, vs. availability of the GPS network overall. The reliability of GPS as a system is very good, legitimate stories about jamming and spoofing not withstanding. There are many redundant satellites, the receivers have excellent discrimination, and overall hardware and software availability is very reliable. Widespread outages are essentially unheard of - any such thing would immediately make national news as shipping deliveries were disrupted, Uber drivers didn't arrive, etc. Because of this, there's an understandable tendency to think a GPS-nav-only airplane isn't a big deal. But GPS nav failure in an individual airplane is a different analysis. Antennas and cabling break, faulty COM radios generate harmonics that disrupt GPS receivers, etc. You also get the occasional, rogue interference in a small local area (sometimes near your airport) from some moron trying to disrupt tracking by his employer or parole officer, or whatever. I won't say these sorts of problems are frequent, but they're not unheard of. Most of us that have used panel-mounted GPS in a variety of airplanes for many years have seen an incident or two. When it happens, you can ask ATC or the CTAF or whoever, "Hey, what's going on with GPS?", but all you get is the verbal equivalent of a shoulder shrug, and reports that it's working for others. That's a pretty lonely feeling in VMC, can't imagine what it would feel like in IMC.

It’s that time of year for me to go to Casper, Wyoming on our annual business trip. According to ForeFlight it is 699 miles from KLXT to KCPR. Myrtle was at the top of her game today. I filed for 150 kts and 10,000’ because the winds were not favorable at our normal 15,000 - 17,000’ From engine start to shutdown was 4.2 hrs. That’s is an average ground speed of 175mph or 152kts. Did all that and only used 42.1 gallons of fuel. That is ~16.7MPG. Myrtle does a great job.

We actually are talking about two different things here although both have to do with the safety of the flight. The safety pilot announcing he is taking the controls to avoid traffic or the gourd, or directing the pilot to maneuver the aircraft to avoid traffic or the ground is both the job of the safety and expected role of the safety pilot as a crew member. Surreptitously failing systems such as the autopilot or flight instruments when not expected or briefed, especially when performed by someone other than a trained instructor can result in undesired aircraft states which may result in the loss of the aircraft or life. I have seen several instructors and line check airman lose their positions because of such actions. These actions have no real training value without proper briefing. They may have value in checking and testing but under such circumstances the pilot being checked knows the rules of engagement and expects a failure, just not when which is how we should aviate anyway. Simply put, pulling the A/P c/b as a safety pilot is a checking function of which most safety pilots are not prepared to deal with the adverse consequences since restoration of control would be beyond the expected portfolio of a safety pilot and could result in control confusion.

Although I realize your response is focused on not enabling your safety pilot to get creative while your flying - I get that. But your prohibition of the safety pilot manipulating the controls is way over zealous and perhaps overly discouraging a safety pilot from performing their most important duty. Remember even when your safety pilot may have suggested you turn a bit right or left for traffic (so far meeting your rules) but then all this fails (maybe traffic turns towards you) its vital that the safety pilot grabs the controls to evade collision. Their responsibility is to monitor the surroundings, maintain situational awareness, and intervene when necessary to prevent accidents. We just had midair at DCA and many people blame the instructor for not taking the controls and the pilot flying for not moving left as suggested by the instructor - but I don't think we know for sure if the instructor saw the airliner till it was too late.

While I agree with the idea that it isn’t the place of a safety pilot to unexpectedly fail systems I would also like to make the point that a safety pilot IS NOT a passenger, they are a required crew member while the other pilot is under the hood and have certain duties that must be performed for the safety of the flight. It is always a good idea to have a conversation about these duties and what the expectations are before the commencement of the flight. I would expect everyone involved to confirm to those expectations. Failure to conform would be a serious issue for me.

So folks have probably seen articles about random people looking up contact information on FAA aircraft registry after tracking them via ADS-B aggregators. AOPA worked with FAA to provide a way for owners to request opting out of showing the owner information on the aircraft registry. Just went through it and submitted my request - takes about 2 weeks apparently for the review to be completed. Site: https://cares.faa.gov/home The process was a bit confusing as trying to login to "Aircraft Services" takes you to the FAA MyAccess sign on page which folks may already have accounts on for their "Airmen Services" portal. I had to sign up again using the red "Don't have an account? Sign up" which then connected my previous account and verified my address. Once you are in - you may or may not see your aircraft listed. I didn't. But I followed the steps that appears on a yellow banner on the top of the site (good ux there...), here it is again broken down neatly: To submit a request through CARES, Log into your CARES account Select Get Started Select Aircraft Services Select Submit Other Aircraft Documents For Request Type choose Other Supporting Documents For Document Type choose Other Upload File (see template below) Select Continue Complete Attestation and Submit. I asked my AI friend to generate a template, it looks sufficient and drives the point home. I filled in the right information including the [Insert N-Number(s)] and [Insert Full Name as Registered] in the middle of the document, then saved as PDF and uploaded it to the portal where it requested to upload file in step 7. ---------- [Your Full Name] [Your Address] [City, State ZIP Code] [Phone Number] [Email Address] [Date] Federal Aviation Administration Aircraft Registration Branch, AFS-750 P.O. Box 25504 Oklahoma City, OK 73125 Subject: Request for Withholding of Owner Information from Public Dissemination Reference: 49 U.S.C. § 44114(b) To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to formally request that my name and address, as a registered owner of aircraft, be withheld from public dissemination in accordance with 49 U.S.C. § 44114(b). I understand that the FAA permits private individuals to voluntarily opt out of having their ownership information made available to the public, and I wish to exercise this right. Please consider this letter my official request to have my personally identifiable information—including my name and address—removed from all publicly accessible databases and records related to aircraft registration, to the fullest extent allowed under applicable law. Aircraft Registration Number(s): [Insert N-Number(s)] Registered Owner Name: [Insert Full Name as Registered] If additional documentation or verification is required to process this request, please contact me at the phone number or email address provided above. I appreciate your assistance and attention to this matter. Sincerely, [Your Signature (if mailing a hard copy)] [Your Printed Name] ---------- I hope this helps some folks. Good luck! And yes, I am still giggling at the title... Shawn

I don't know, what could possible go wrong trying to power up and lift off after the prop has been digging holes into the runway? Pretty much no body gets hurt in a gear up landing, but a great many have died trying to go around after a prop strike, here is an article that discusses a few: https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article/go-around-didnt-go-well/

I mean, he’s also pretty far down the runway …. If there was really inhospitable terrain right off the departure end and he would go sliding off a cliff or something on the belly, I guess maybe I could see someone arguing that it’s safer to go around. But imo unless the floor is lava right off the departure end, you’re always better off to slide it in, call the insurance company and hit the pub. This guy was in reptilian brain mode.

I wouldn’t like to be judgmental. But I guess I am. I imagine the decision to open the throttle was reactionary and instinctive. I imagine I would do the same. However, thinking about it over a cuppa, best to close the throttle.

I wanted to share a positive experience I have received from MooneyMover.com I received a flyer in the mail for a lower cost powered tow bar starting at $650. I was able to convince the wife to let me order one. What impressed me is the battery selection for the powered tow bar. These are built to order, so if you have tools of Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita, Ryobi, ect you can order a towbar that will fit your existing batteries. I ordered the 40volt Ryobi version (they also have an 18volt version). You can also order the towbar with a battery and charger if needed. It took a little longer than I expected to receive the towbar because the parts were on backorder. However, I received constant communication from Bernie about the status of my order the entire time. The towbar is well built and seems very solid and it has some significant torque to it. I did have an issue with the handle being a little short and hitting my spinner. (When you have a G model its almost expected) and not fully seating on my nose wheel. I explained the situation and provided some pictures and Bernie took care of the problem immediately and sent me a longer handle section. I am extremely pleased with the quality of the towbar. If your looking for a reasonably priced powered Towbar, take a look at MooneyMover.com

Had any experience with courts? The judge probably has nil experience with mechanics, so you have to explain it to him like he/she is a small child. And you aren't an expert opinion, so you'll need to find an authority to write a report and pay for that. You'll need proof that nothing was damaged before. Then prove it was the shop etc. Not defending the damage, just strongly not advocating courts

Nice thing about a Continental is you can pull a lifter and look at the cam without pulling a cylinder. If you are concerned about corrosion, start with a borescope of the cylinders then look at the cam from the lifter holes.

Just to update this story, we ordered and received the LW-15473 pump, and our mechanic installed it today. Ground ops are normal, fuel pressure gauge shows 25 psi with just the engine driven pump, increases to about 27 with the boost pump on, all looks good. Test flight will have to wait for better weather, but I don't anticipate any problems. At the (small) risk of affecting my core trade-in, I disassembled the old pump to look at the diaphragms. Comments from @cliffy and @N201MKTurbo seem spot on - it would not be difficult to self-overhaul the pump if we could get a kit to do so, but the combination of market and paperwork makes that a hassle. Anyway, while I was not able to actually find a breach in the main diaphragm, it was clearly on its last legs - the outer edges of the diaphragm were brittle, with a consistency more like cardboard than rubber. Lousy piece of junk only lasted 31 years, guess they just don't make things like they used to.

Mine shipped from airpower today! I ordered in January, and they estimated end of year at first, but then updated to end of may. There’s light at the end of this tunnel!

The footwell damage normal. Only for idiots that don't know what they are doing. My right side is damaged from before i bought mine, just haven't fixed yet. Any mechanic that says something damaged is normal, run, because they will eventually kill you.

Foreflight takes a guess at the altitude where I would find the best speed, but I would rather have a few extra thousand feet between me and the rocks and lose 5 knots.

Being a transplant myself I can relate to what you are feeling, there comes a point where you have a subcutaneous sensation that you do not fit in any more, man, moment, machine. I left Europe over 30 years ago, cold war was over, the Messerschmitt company (MBB) got acquired by Daimler Benz with the goal of downsizing the defense business, by boss who was the CEO got fired with pretty much the entire board, as chief of staff, fifth wheel on that wagon, I went with the ticket, party over, got on a plane the next week to the US and moved in with a friend whom I had sold an airplane 10 years earlier and started a US job search from there. There are many places in the US where the small town America feeling still exists, a one mile airport runway connects to anywhere in the world. In order for an aviator to fly he needs a place to come home to, that place better feel good, therefore: 1.) Find job, everything else will follow suit 2.) Find common denominators, especially for the wife, ways to build relationships around the home The location is almost irrelevant, what counts is the people. The older you get the more difficult it becomes to leave everything behind, family, friends from high school, military service, college, places where you worked. Today my business is almost entirely run over the internet and via phone. My wife is from Virginia, her family is here, college friends, work acquaintances, doctors, car mechanics, builders, cobblers, yard guys... I typically work 6 six days a week, 60 hours and change, without my wife having her social infrastructure I could not keep going at that clip. In a nutshell: There is an unlimited number of suitable locations, the $1 million question will be how well and how quickly you and your wife will be able to connect based on what you have in common with the people who live where you go. Safe travels, I keep fingers crossed!

I won’t takeoff on a cross country trip in IMC with a non-functional autopilot. Hand flying 3 hours in IMC doesn’t seem like a good idea to me. I did my instrument training in a plane without an autopilot, so I learned how to hand fly, and I do hand fly over half my approaches in order to maintain proficiency. Using technology to make us safer seems like a great idea. Technology becoming a crutch seems like a bad idea. When I was getting an IPC at a MAPA class my instructor told me he didn’t like giving IPCs to Cirrus pilots because as soon as he failed the autopilot the pilots all failed too.

I was lucky to notice the wear on mine before the tube was too far gone. My A&P added a teflon 'bushing' to the hole and 'wrapped' the tube which stopped the wear.

I would document the changes you want to do. Most likely using the parts from a later model Mooney. And have your IA send them to his principal inspector for their opinion. Send a cover letter stating why you want to make the change and your basis for approval is the design changes Mooney made in later models. And see what they say. The inspectors here have stated that they hate it when somebody does a mod, then sends in the paperwork for approval. They would much rather you talked about it before you do anything.

Quick update: although I didn't receive any email from FAA, I decided to randomly check this evening and my aircraft ownership information was hidden on the FAA N-Number registry site. Small victory.

Hector at Aero Comfort did this for my yokes 2 years ago. Very happy with his work. Around 1 AMU if I recall correctly.

Since you have different Keys for the baggage and door, that's something your locksmith can fix for you by re-keying one them so both baggage and door use the same key. I should add a cautionary reminder for all on their ignition key. Folks need to be careful duplicating their ignition key. Its not legal or airworthy to use a generic HomeDepot/Lowes/Etc key blank, it should be done only with a Bendix key blank for a Bendix ignition lock. This has actually led to some fatal accidents over the years including one at my home field with a flight school, which is how I learned about this. The issue is that some of these duplicated keys may allow removing the key without it being in the Off/Locked position. If so, eventually the key will be removed without turning the ignition off and then you or someone moves to the nose and moves the prop before pushing or pulling the plane with the p-leads still ungrounded and the engine fires with prop causing lethal injuries. Be sure to check your duplicated keys for this danger and discard any that allow that.

The irony is flying an airplane that’s older than floppy disks. Who would have thought they would still be great airplanes …

I'd recommend that you don't mention to either of them that you are posting here... especially important for keeping the wife happy, I would think

Not true! The F-15E does everything better! Well, ok, except landing on a ship.

Well, Napoleon stayed there just before Waterloo in 1815. He must’ve trashed the place.

I asked ChatGPT to tell me about Brussels South Charleroi airport (EBCI) and it told me that it was important to note that it wasn't located in Switzerland.

They can be very helpful during training and for maintaining proficiency. But they don’t count for logging training time nor for currency. So most, if you’re going to spend the time on a sim anyway, would prefer to use a sim legal for logging approaches like a Redbird. I have had several students that own a Redbird and it really helped them. I also teach an advanced IFR class at the local college on the Redbirds so i really believe in there use. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We had the Colorado Springs Caravan Clinic 2 weeks ago and wound up with more experienced pilots than newbies. Plus we had Lu and Dusty as our visiting photographers that got to capture a lot of the cool flights we had over the weekend. Regardless if you would never fly formation, you have to agree that Mooneys in flight are just amazing! Figured I'd post a few cool photos from the weekend. Thanks to Lu Chandler, luchandler097@gmail.com for the photo session!! Great clinic and thanks to SAR for organizing it!

I stopped by today to see the plane in person, at the famed Maxwell shop. After seeing more Mooneys in one place than I've ever seen before, and seeing the Maxwell shop, I asked them if they could do the Pre-buy. I'm no expert, and have not seen everything, but after meeting Don and Paul and seeing the planes in their shop, and just the general atmosphere.. I think I would be nuts to take it anywhere else!

Approach vectored me for a right base to Rwy 3, which meant keeping me at 10,000’ until he called my base which put me about 4,700’ AGL on right base. A bit higher than I am accustomed to, and I couldn’t have done it a couple of years ago, but I threw out the speed brakes dropped the gear and some flaps and intercepted the glide path on a 2 mile final on speed. Those MAPA classes have really paid off. BTW - I highly recommend Aero Center Casper. Rock star line crews and service.

In my view, this is all about context. If I am flying a few approaches for currency and I need a safety pilot, I expect you to keep your hands off of everything unless we are fixing to bend metal. If you are preparing me for an IPC or my CFII then I would expect you to throw in a few curves. Just my .02

The safety pilot's job is to look out the windows and assure visual separation while the PIC is under the hood. That allows the safety pilot to log simultaneous PIC time while the pilot is hooded. Pulling breakers and causing failures is the job of a CFII, and should be discussed on the ground prior to flight. No discussion means no creating problems, lest I create some once on the ground and out of the cockpit. A "friend" doing this to me while being a safety pilot would certainly strain the friendship, and he would be allowed into my aircraft again only under duress and at my own great need. But I cannot envision a need for a second pilot in my Mooney . . .

YUP Moved west with the migration :-) Glad we did Didn't have any coffee houses in Page :-) :-) Nor doctors!! Im here until Im drooling in my soup.

Flying IFR to minimums doesn’t scare me at all. Flying in wet bumpy rainy clouds can get scarry.

Both autopilot and hand flying requires proficiency and you should be equally adept at both modes. You cannot monitor the A/P performance if you are not proficient at hand flying and you cannot properly manage A/P modality and engagement if you are not proficient in hand flying. You need to be ready to hand fly when A/P gives undesired states or failure. The biggest failure I used to see in Line checks is sticking with the autopilot too long when undesired state occurs due to poor flight guidance management. If you have a flight director bars, you need to be able to fly through the bars when guidance is in an undesired state until you can clear the bars. That all said, I believe in the Part 135 standard which is a functioning A/P is required for dispatch into IFR conditions single pilot so if it is broke, depart VFR only. If it fails enroute, complete the mission unless you become fatigued. In that case land.

Thanks for bringing this on the table ! You are never happy with performance of single pilot hand flying IFR Unless one is flying some usual instruction sector or local procedure at home-base, it always feels “sub-optimal” when going elsewhere. So one have to accept that they will be “behind the aircraft” and “not happy about precision”, no matter how good they are I am fine hand flying but those flights require lot of currency and preparation which I can rarely afford on higher minima while being very familiar in easy airspace, while on auto-pilot I can push things further: complex airspace, plates minima, brief and prepare inside aircraft… I can fly radar ILS in complex airspace usingcoupled (or HDG/VS modes) on autopilot doing 180kias with all config and speed changes on short final doing to typical system minima but on hand-flying I would ask for procedural and 90kias final fully configured at FAF/FAP, stick to easy airspace down to typical circling minima. Same I would not fly long cruise without auto-pilot, the arrival and procedure while being tired of chasing needles for 2h tends to be interesting Go-Around and preparing diversion without auto-pilot is another nightmare.

Thats why a prebuy and an annual are not the same. You should spend more time looking for corrosion and damage and skip the servicing. Since most people are not following the factory checklist, and not looking at it too in depth, this stuff gets missed.