Hector

Just had my biannual with a new CFI. Very thorough and during the ground portion asked me a series of questions where essentially I admitted I don't do a lot of slow flight and stall in my Mooney. He said "good, then that is all we will do today". The next hour was spent in slow flight and all manner of stalls. It was a non-event. Granted, I made sure I was in coordinated flight, but all stalls were perfectly predicable and well behaved. Had not done so many stalls in probably 4 years, but was glad to be reminded again that my bird is very well behaved if flown properly.

Thanks for the PIREP

I saw the 1970 manual, but that's part number 1203, and I'm looking for part number 1189 (from the Mooney publications status list). I'll certainly grab the 1977 version, but I really want the specific manual as a starting point… Send me your email and I'll get it to you

Going to be in the middle of my annual inspection.

I naturally evolved into this semi-two step process. I unlatch the bar and slow it down a bit as it comes up to the seat buckle and I push the buckle out of the way with my thumb as i guide the bar past it. All with my right hand. It's almost second nature and i don't even think about it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I 100℅ agree. Cirrus has a significant marketing advantage with the BRS system. Money needs to negate that advantage. Heard someone in Oshkosh say that Cirrus had sold 30 planes during the show. There is a reason they are selling very well. Comfort, modern design, good useful load, good speed, and yes, BRS. If you can afford to pay nearly 1M for a Cirrus I suspect you are not overly concerned with the cost of maintaining that system. In fact, I suspect you are more than willing to pay for that LAST option.

Always had a thing for Swifts. I just think they are great looking birds.

My c also 2 knobs one for the air scoop the other for the overhead torpedo lights. Mine requires a little bit of force to close in the air against air loads. Works freely on the ground. It's the knob closest to the pilot Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

White iPad mini on the yoke all the time with the knee vent pointed at it. Has never overheated even in direct sunlight. I don't use a case and use the mini RAM which is fairly open on the back and let's the knee vent work efficiently to provide cooling. iPhone is my backup. Has worked really well for me. If I stop somewhere I take the iPad off the yoke and place it in my flight bag until I'm ready to depart Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think I'll wait for Sabremech's cowl. I've seen it up close and I've met the man and shook his hand.

Met up with Supercop at Oshkosh this year. We were parked a couple of rows apart. Very nice guy. Maybe he will see this and give you some feedback. I own a 67 C model and love it. The best advise I can give you is figure out what you need/want and get it all on the next plane you buy. Don't buy with the intent to upgrade airplane or avionics later if you can help it. Much cheaper to get it all in your next purchase. You have one of the best Mooney shops anywhere in your backyard . Don Maxwell Aviation. Get him to do your pre-purchase inspection to make sure you are getting a clean bird with no nasty surprises later. Just have him annual the bird as part of pre purchase with the seller paying for all airworthiness problems. If seller not willing to do that then keep looking. Lots of decisions for you to make depending on budget. If budget is modest you might have to decide between a later model Mooney that is not so nicely equipped or an older Mooney that may have all the bells and whistles. Always a tough choice. Search function is a good start but if you have specific questions don't hesitate to post. There is never a shortage here of people with opinions. Welcome aboard.

Very sad!! Beautiful airplane.

Congrats Mike!!!

You have virtually the same setup I have. I have a GX60 with a KI209. The GX55/60 sends a very small voltage differential to the CDI. I think the voltage is in the range of 0-250 milli volts depending on CDI deflection (250 milli volts being full CDI deflection and -250 milli volts full deflection on the opposite side). If you have a KI209, and your GX55 and NAV radio are both connected to this CDI then it is relatively simple. The KI209 has an autopilot out (I believe pins 16 and 17) and you can connect NAV 1 of the Accutrack there. The Accutrack will now track the GPS or the NAV radio depending on which you have selected. You don't need any other boxes. Just connect nav1 of the Accutrack to pins 16 and 17 of the KI-209. Next, you will want to go into the settings in your GX55 and set the CDI sensitivity to maximum (I think is .3 miles full CDI deflection). This way the Accutrack will start correcting as soon as you start deviating from the magenta line. If you don't do this the Accutrack will be very sloppy wondering left and right of the centerline up to a couple of miles. My typical flight goes like this. I climb to my cruising altitude by hand flying. Once at cruise, and with PC on, I trim for level flight and trim aileron as well so it tracks straight. I will already have the GX60 tracking to my destination but at this point I press direct to and enter and this will center the CDI. I then immediately turn on the Accutrack and let her keep the CDI centered. It works remarkably well for an old system. You have my number so don't hesitate to call me with question.

Rocky, if you want to sell the G502A separately I might be interested

Very cool!!

Done If your plane is not ready I can pick you up on the way there. It's on the way.

My 67C came with it. It's where I keep the airplane cover and emergency tool bag. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I hope he still not out there. If he is I will seriously launch a rescue mission.

That might be a problem given that your Brittain AP works off your TC gyro.

Cheapest route if you already have a functioning PC wing leveler is the Brittain AP. You need an Accutrack and servo control valve (BI-805) and you can slave this to a GPS and a VOR. You could add to this an Accuflite unit with a DG with AP outs if you want a heading bug. You can further add altitude hold from Brittain as well. The parts occasionally come up for sale here and are relatively inexpensive and reliable. After that you are looking at an STEC 30 but that is substantially more expensive.

Sat on at least 3 ADS-B forums at Oshkosh. In all cases even the FAA guys said you needed a WAAS GPS source and specifically mentioned that a non-WAAS source would not be acceptable.

The newest Garmin transponder GTX345 is also an all in one box with built in WAAS GPS (it comes in two versions one with built in WAAS GPS and another without it in case you already have a certified WAAS GPS).

Spoke with them as well. They are going to start with Cessna and pipers but he thought in 2 or 3 years they would get to Mooneys and Bonanzas. Also sat on a Forum with FAA folks discussing the part 23 rewrite and they specifically mentioned Autopilots because of their potential impact to save lives. I think Trutrack will be successful given they already have a proven record in the experiment community. Walked away from those forums cautiously optimistic that we will see a full function AP for my Mooney in the next few years for well under 10K.

John, I know you were still dealing with this issue in Oshkosh. Just curious how this got resolved. Did you replace the generator or was it something else?