Cyril Gibb

Is there any way to get the cell phone data, radar info (last radar ping, direction of travel, speed, etc.) and any other assistance to see where the search has been covered? I would assume (hope) that the rescuers followed whatever information was available, tempered by local aviation expertise of potential routes and the experience level of the pilot. Perhaps I'm somewhat skeptical because I had a very annoying experience many moons ago spending a few hours searching for a disabled boat on Lake Ontario as a storm was moving in. After the fact, I found out the Toronto controllers knew the approximate area where the guys in the boat were. They had a cell phone and apparently gave a pretty good location description. However, the controllers steered me 10 miles further east because they didn't want search aircraft in the approach path to Toronto Intl. P*ssed me off no end. (Fortunately the guys were rescued a few hours later).

Knoxville is one of our favourite overnight stops. It's got great pubs being a university city... And if you aren't adverse to exercise, we find the island airport is only about a half hour walk to downtown.

Jose is correct re: impedance, however from the GNS530 install manual: (cable length matters, italics and bold added for clarity) GPS antennas in Table 1-3 require a cable loss between 3 dB and 7 dB. The coaxial connectors and adapters, such as TNC to BNC, add additional loss to the cable and should be considered when computing the cable loss. A typical loss of 0.2 dB can be used for each connection. To maintain integrity of the WAAS signal, the GPS antenna coaxial cable must have a minimum of two shields (e.g. RG-400 or RG-142B). If RG-142B or RG-400 is used, 1.5 dB equates to a length of approximately 6.5 feet of cable with a connector on each end. RG-142B or RG-400 cable can be used as long as the length is less than 35 feet. For longer lengths, use low-loss double or triple shielded 50 Ω coax. For very short runs, where the loss is less than 1.5 dB, additional cable should be used to increase the loss to within 1.5 dB to 6.5 dB.

Is the coax double shielded (eg. RG400) as required in the install manual?

11-09629 LED lamp from spruce... and make a new Lexan cover from the Home Depot aviation aisle. Really bright.

My 75F has the retrofit kit from Mooney. It's a single printed circuit board with the two relays soldered in. So it seems there's some with socketed relays and some with not.

I checked that part number spec. Those relay contacts are rated at 5 amps. What's your flap circuit breaker value? I recently burned out a retrofit (supposedly more robust) relay, where the normally closed contact is rated at 10 amps and my flap circuit breaker is 15 amps. It seems that the relays are under spec and will blow before the circuit breaker pops if the flap motor is under heavy load often enough. Poor design to have components with lower power ratings than the breaker protecting them. Whipping up a replacement circuit board with 20 amp relays would only be about $30Cdn in parts (less in $Usd). I assume that would require a PMA and piles of paperwork to make up your own. Could that be considered to be an owner supplied/manufactured part in the US?

It depends. When you energise the down relay to provide 12v to the actuator, the up relay has to provide ground to the other side of the actuator via its normally closed contact. Opposite is true when you actuate the up relay, the down relay provides the ground. So you can get motion in one direction but not both if either of the up or down relays has a problem with the normally open or normally closed contacts. In the case of 1975 Mooney flap relays, the active contact (NO) is rated at 20 amps and the ground (NC) is unfortunately rated at only 10 amps. Ask me how I know. And that’s the retrofit replacement.

indulge: to allow unrestrained gratification When someone with an annual income in the millions considers an annual vacation for his parents to be "indulgence", I'd hate to think how he'd treat them if he were being miserly. Sounds to me to be less "grounded" and more Ebenezer.

How would you prefer your hat? Smoked, boiled or baked? About 18 years ago, driving my pristine Fiat 124 Spyder on the way to work one winter morning, I crested a hill heading to work. The conditions were unfortunately optimal to melt the snow on the road in the south facing downhill where the sun was, but froze the running water in the shaded area farther down the hill. I was sliding down the hill at about 30 mph initially and accelerating slowly with the brakes locked up. There was a school bus unloading kids farther down the hill. I chose a telephone pole. No more Fiat 124 Spyder. I gave that example because I experienced it.

Re: the Tesla fatal accident fallout... I'd say it's too soon to predict public reaction to autonomous vehicle fatalities. The Tesla driver was probably considered by many people to be a form of "test pilot" with the known risks associated with it. According to the police report, after the car went under the semi, it continued through 2 fences and didn't stop until finally clobbering a utility pole. In many urban areas, that would have taken out a few innocent bystanders. I'm betting that the public reaction will be very different when the inevitable technical malfunction kills a few kids crossing the street. We'll see... With the current level of technology autonomous vehicles are better than some drivers but not as good as others. I do agree that it will continue to improve.

I really can't see a future for self-driving cars unless the technology improves beyond imagination and the legislative framework changes dramatically. Technology: I'd love to see a video example of how well the sensors would adapt to being salt and slush covered at night in blowing snow through a construction zone where the lane lines crisscross. Add to that our neighborhood in downtown Toronto with pedestrians jaywalking, cyclists not paying attention, motorcycles driving between lanes of traffic and electric wheelchairs buzzing about. What about a self-driving car tooling along at 60-70 mph on a multilane highway getting a technical error. Does it just stop? Carnage. Legislative/Liability: When a self-driving car is sliding on ice with a choice of running over a bunch of school kids or hitting a telephone pole, which does it choose? Somebody somewhere has to write that decision tree. When people purchase a self-driving car, will they be able to select either altruistic software (hit the pole) or selfish software (hit the kids)? Would you buy a car that chose strangers over your own family? I realise that some (many?) human drivers are even worse but it's clear who's responsible/liable for accidents. Inevitably, a self driving car will kill an innocent person. Who is liable? The car owner? Th programmer? The sensor manufacturer? Before these are allowed, somebody will have to step up to being liable... tough call.

Make sure you post this pirep to AirNav and Foreflight (if you use that).

Correct. no need to cancel it. And no need to change if the arrival time changes... you only need to resubmit if the date, arrival location or passenger manifest changes.

IFR flight plans in Canada or the US is essentially the same with the tower or controlling authority opening and closing. VFR flight plans in Canada open automatically at the planned departure time. VFR flight plans in the US have to be opened "manually" by calling flight service or doing it online. Both countries require manual closing of VFR flight plans. Yesterday, I left Kansas City VFR after filing a VFR flight online and then opening online. I almost always use flight following when going long distances VFR. The weather turned sour so I got a popup clearance on the way back home to Kitchener. The VFR flight plan apparently magically turned into an IFR flight plan that the tower closed when I arrived. Important note: cross border flight plans either direction must be ICAO format, not US domestic format. Important note 2: file your eAPIs the day before you arrive or depart in case there's a problem with the system... password expired or whatever. If it turns out that you don't arrive or depart on that date, the eAPIs just expires with no need to cancel. It just drops off the system. Submit another eAPIs for the new date of of arrival or departure.

We went to KRAP last year. Ramp tiedown with your own ropes is free at the Rapid Fuel end of the ramp, or you can use the grass. When you get self serve fuel, the code to get through Rapid Fuel building is on the bill. Check with Rapid Fuel to make sure that’s still current info. If I did it again I’d use the grass to get some protection from the screaming wind that damaged my paint with the slapping canopy cover.

Unless you have a loooong runway, as @shiny moose says above, you're not going to get down to the runway and stop before running off the end. Engine failure almost guarantees you will make an off airport landing, just accept it. I get my gear up as soon as possible and accelerate in ground effect. Flaps up at at 400' and fuel pump off. I use the climb profile as covered in https://www.advancedpilot.com/articles.php?action=article&articleid=1842 For the reasons given in the article, I think it's safer and easier on the engine.

Air is 79% nitrogen. Oxygen (19%) leaks out faster than nitrogen. Each time you fill (assuming you don't empty before adding) you increase the % of nitrogen remaining. Fill a few times and the resulting nitrogen % won't be much different than filling initially with 100% nitrogen. I haven't had any issues with moisture from an air pump during the winter. I'm not sure what difference high altitude cold would be over winter cold, since the cold at altitude would only be temporary anyway. I use Camguard, so maybe that's the difference.

Flew from Taos to Las Vegas via the Dragon corridor today. Thanks @gsxrpilot for the suggestion. That route takes you over the Colorado 4 times. Spectacular, BUT I’ve done that now. I’m sure that the engine sounded a little off each time we flew over the edge, similar to when we fly over lake Michigan in the winter. The mind plays tricks....

What’s the most scenic corridor crossing if coming from Albuquerque to Lost Wages?

When my Mooney was new to me, the biggest improvement in elevator stickiness was TriFlow on the bungees where the shaft runs through sleeves at the elevator.

I regularly fly over inhospitable areas. If I had to choose between spending my money on a well equipped survival kit and a 406 ELT, I’d go for the ELT. If you’re injured, you probably can’t take full advantage of a survival kit. Getting help is the most urgent requirement. If you’re not injured, other than than water, warmth and dryness, you don’t need much equipment. The average person can be just fine (although hungry) for at least a week with no food. Unfortunately, if you’re not found in a few days, you’re probably not going to be found. Getting help is again the most urgent requirement. I have a 406 ELT that I’d activate immediately on the way down, in addition to 7700. Even if the ELT was pranged, there should be enough time for the 406 satellites to register a location. For a 121.5 ELT, airliners may hear it, but there’d be no way to locate the signal source within 100s of miles. If I were conscious and able to get a view of the sky, I carry an InReach satellite thingy with an SOS feature that provides a GPS location within a few feet. Soak torn out upholstery in engine oil to get an impresssive smoke signal going. My survival kit is the mandatory first aid kit, few space blankets, a woolen blanket, a folding camp saw, waterproof matches and a few litres of water. I could also use the canopy cover as a tent if I had to. Just keep warm, dry and hydrated.

I could have worded my question better. I in no way intended it to be flamer, just a learning experience. When I read about an incident, I really want to hear if there was anything I could do to avoid the same issue.

Not clear here. After fueling, dId anything show up in the sample while sumping those two occasions? Or did you not sump?

I'd really like to hear what the noise levels are (Db and Dba) with that firewall pad. On the other hand, retrofitting that would only be possible with an engine removal, and even then a pile of work.