Jamie

Anyone have a source for a scale model of a mooney? Doesn't have to be high quality... I just want something to put on my desk. A quick google turns up lots of stuff for Cessna, Beech, Piper, etc. We're apparently ignored.

Uh, guys, n00b here, but I've been studying the POH. Do NOT try to bend the tab. It even warns in the POH that it is tempered metal and will most likely break. I forget the exact wording, but remember this because it was an explicit warning about this very situation.

That's a good idea. Next annual I'll ask about it. Might do it incrementally, maybe, as the bulbs go out.

Ok, now I need a shot like that. I sold the 'vette (it was getting very expensive... something was always breaking) and bought an '06 Mustang (coupe, not a GT ) in black/black. It's been a great little car, and makes me not miss the 'vette quite so much.

I'm told it's a landing and taxi light. You can't see the other one, but there's one on each side. There are actually two bulbs in each. Detail attached. I was going through the paperwork that came with the plane and found some pictures (real, old school film prints on photo paper) glued to some form concerning these. Some sort of mod / upgrade done after purchase, I guess.

Awesome. Thanks. Has anyone ever done a FAQ for this site? Any interest in one? I'd be happy to compile it if there was some place to post it and interest in having it.

Search turned up nothing. I can't be the first... I'd like to get copies made of the door and ignition keys. Can a locksmith do this, or do these use a special key blank?

Tim showed me one sitting outside on the ramp while I was waiting for my pre-buy to finish. Looked great from a distance. Up close, it looked like someone took a sandblaster to the leading edges, then heavy grit sandpaper to everything else. Sad.

thanks. Nope, but I'll get some this weekend. The interior is in pretty good shape. The entire plane seems to have been well cared for. The records I've been going through (wow, I wasn't ready for all the paperwork that goes with a plane) supports that. Carpet's good, looks like a fairly recent seat recover, etc.

You're the very first person to see it my way. Everyone else I've shown the airplane to loves the current paint scheme. At first, I thought they were just being nice. But then I started hearing second hand how much so and so liked the paint scheme. I don't think of updating the colors and design as wanting to be like the modern moonies. I think of it more like you did... kitchen remodel. If you're going to paint it anyway (and this one needs it), why not go with something a little more stylish than brown, tan, beige and orange?

Yup, it has the 390 upgrade. I wouldn't have paid for it, but it came with it, so... The recent factory overhaul and upgrade was a major factor in the decision to purchase this plane over another. I'm not crazy about the paint, but it had the 390, which even if there was zero performance increase, meant that lots of stuff firewall forward had been upgraded (including the prop). I just flew for 45 minutes this afternoon, so no speed info yet. My CFI is also a Mooney owner, so when we both have more time with the plane I'll definitely report back. I'll just be happy if the internal upgrades mean I actually make TBO with fewer problems.

Thanks to everyone for all your help with beginner questions leading up to the purchase. Not sure how anyone managed to buy a plane before the internet. To anyone looking for a plane, I highly recommend Tim Lundquist at Strategic Aircraft (http://strategicaircraft.com/). Tim was a pleasure to deal with and went the extra 849 miles (KBDH->KHSV) to make the sale. Amazing service. First flight was today. It handles even better than I'd hoped it would. Reminds me a lot of my corvette, both in terms of seating and handling. It's like the sports car of airplanes. Can't wait to get the insurance hours flown off and start going places.

Subscribed. Thanks. The only reason I asked about the process of flying in is that I googled it and found a california airshow that said something about "due to demand, a limited number of spots for transient aircraft have been made available. Call to reserve yours before...". I can see where parking could be a problem, but I don't know. I hope we can make this happen. It's like chocolate and peanut butter... flying to an airshow.

This would be great. How do we do this? Just post a meet up thread in this forum? Logistics-wise, can one fly into an airshow? I mean, obviously not while a show is in progress, but do they close the airport before / during / after? If so, for how long? The web site of the air show appears to be: http://wingsovernorthgeorgia.com/ No schedule yet, but it cross checks with the Thunderbirds schedule at: http://afthunderbirds.com/site/show-season/ If we need someone to coordinate with the airshow people and no one else is better connected, I volunteer.

Looks like the Thunderbirds are going to be at KRMG (Rome, GA) in October. Anyone ever fly into this airshow? It looks like a big one. T-Birds are there for two days.

Thanks. I keep forgetting to look for these, and usually just check the main 'toon.

I've been going through the archives. Just found a few threads on nice-to-have toolkits to keep in the airplane. Did a quick search and found no references to the Equipped To Survive site, and thought some might find it interesting. http://equipped.com It's NOT a survivalist site. I believe it started off as a site to help educate pilots on what to carry on board aircraft for survival if an off airport landing was necessary. It has equipment reviews, a "Gear and Equipment" section (http://equipped.com/toc.htm) with recommenations for what to carry and why, a lively forum, etc. I've hung out there for 10 years or so. It's why I now carry a knife and flashlight on me wherever I go.

guys, thanks again. I'm in the process of buying (not looking... money is changing hands) a 'J'. Hopefully (hopefully) I'll take delivery in the next week or two.

This would be on an '81 J. I'm not sure if it uses screws or rivets.

I admit I didn't consider the (now, completely obvious) three step process. If I had infinite money, soooooo many aspects of airplane ownership would be simple. It's more of a budget thing. For stuff that's arguably cosmetic, it'd be nice to spread the cost out over a couple of years. New glass, new paint, new engine monitor (I lump that in cosmetic because I just want the new digital display), etc. So. If you -had- to do one before the other... would it siginficantly complicate the painting if the glass were already new?

I keep getting conflicting advice about this. Is it better to get the window plexiglass replaced before a paint job or after? The "do it before" argument seems to be that doing it after will result in damage to the new paint. But if you replace the glass after the paint job, there's less risk of the paint stripping process damaging the windows, and you don't leave stripper in the window seams. Thoughts?

The Nexus 7 is easily upgraded to a version of the operating system that allows more control over the tablet. It's mainly for geeks, but you do get some additional capabilites not found in the stock version of the software that may or may not matter to you. http://www.cyanogenmod.org/ Actually, "easy" is probably relative. But... still. Garmin Pilot works under CyanogenMod without any problem. (I have a Galaxy Nexus phone and the non-phone version of the Nexus 7. I put cyanogenmod on my phone which allowed me to enable it as a wifi hotspot for free. Then, I can connect to the internet using wifi from the nexus 7 through my phone's 4G connection. Having cyanogenmod on the tablet wasn't required for this, it was just fun.)

I'm running Garmin Pilot for Android on a Nexus 7 and really like it. Leaving aside the "Apple vs Android" argument, I really like the size of the Nexus 7. Goldilocks... not too big, not too small. (It's running fine on CyanogenMod 10.1, btw. )

I called Tim today. Based on that call, and the recommendations here I'm most likely headed to KBDH next week. thanks, guys. How'd people buy planes before the Internet?

Great! Thanks, guys. The generosity and knowledge on this board is amazing. If ya'll find yourself in HSV, I know a great BBQ place.