PMcClure

I have halos, a Bose, Zulu and 2 sets standard of DC's in my plane. Everyone who gets in wants a different headset. I prefer the Zulu but find I get a headache from clamping force. So I use the halo's on the 2nd leg of long trips.

Pledge works great and is cheap. Lemon seems to work best. I find it works best to use one side to polish and the other side to wipe any residue off. It also works great getting the bugs off the leading edge and cowling. Key is to have a soft, clean towel.

More of a Chevy man myself, but gotta to say that is one nice mustang! Think I'll keep my Mooney! Good luck!

Yeah, I put the blame on the criminal.

Left KPLR on Saturday with my daughter down to Destin, 1:11 enroute instead of the 6.5 hours it took the three cars also driving down. Katelyn is a great co-pilot and we had a few hours together before the rest of the folks came dragging in and complaining about traffic. HAHA I enjoyed taking my nephews and brother in law up for a site seeing tour along the beach, including a simulated rocket attack on the condo. (having convinced my nephew that the giant red button on the yoke was for heat seeking missiles). I also took my mother in law and niece and nephew on their first plane ride. My son had to come back to work, so we left Tuesday after dinner and landed in time to see the fireworks show at the lake. Put in a full day work on Wednesday and made it back to Destin in time for a dinner date with my wife. I departed this morning and after landing at KPLR, I washed the plane then flew couple of practice approaches. Kudos to the folks at Lynx at DTS. Amazing amount of arrivals and departures came in and out and they managed it all very well. A few pictures below This one is my niece doing the "astronaut" walk out to the plane. Dodging afternoon storms. Looks like it is raining sunshine. Sunset over the pass Nephews My daughter, AKA- Loopy Larry Breaking out at 3'000 for a view down the coast Sunset from the water

Thanks for the suggestions. That is the ground outlet for clearance delivery that I spoke to in the FBO. 132.1 is for departures. But it would have been a good try as they could have relayed the information form departure (I suppose).

14 departure is hidden behind trees and buildings. I had no problem at 32 or immediately after departure. Jets didn't seem to have trouble but my little antenna is only about 6 feet off the ground. Looks like the tower will open Nov. 1 based on news articles.

Now accredited with the Destin course. Thanks for the recommendation. Seems like a known issue at Destin. With as many departures and arrivals that are typical at Destin it is surprising that the issue has not been corrected.

Thanks, that is a good read. But I don't see my exact situation. I could not receive on the assigned frequency on the ground. On an earlier flight this week, I had the same issue with 14 departure, but was finally able to receive, but very broken. This time, I did hear Eglin departure say "...how...now....". But that was all I could make out after several attempts and several minutes. Reading Chapter 2: "VFR Outbound Flights The main thing to remember about departing Destin VFR is that the Part 93 Airspace starts at the surface and goes up. Thus you need to call Eglin Clearance Delivery on 121.6 BEFORE takeoff and get departure instructions, a discrete squawk (if so equipped), and a Departure Control frequency." I believe this was a safe departure. But was this a legal VFR departure? I had contacted clearance delivery, had departure instructions, a squawk code and departure freq. Thanks a lot - this is the number for Eglin Departure? I'll keep it handy for my next trip.

Yes, all VFR traffic must contact Eglin clearance and have a code before take off. I did have a code and had contacted clearance and did have instructions. The problem was reception at the end of 14. I could not reach departure on 132.1 as requested by clearance and did not have a number to call Eglin. I thought about taxi back but this would not have been possible either without taking the runway. Since I had a code, departure freq and instructions (maintain RR heading, below 1600'), I think it was a legal VFR departure. Other planes were having trouble raising them as well.

Hi guys, long time no post. Busy life for sure. But still flying! I have a question about an experience I had this week. I was in Destin, FL and departing to come home IFR (VMC conditions). The procedures are a little unique in the area as it is special use air space and under control of Eglin Air base. I contacted Clearance in the FBO and was give a clearance and asked to contact Eglin again on 132.1 when I was #1 for take off and Hold for release. After start up and taxi out, I joined the conga line including Netjets, cessna 172's, helicopters, and every other type of plane. Reception was a problem and I could not receive transmissions from Eglin. After several requests and no answer I departed VFR and called departure, reported 300' for 1,000 and noted I was VFR and requesting clearance, which I received. The controller rolled right into the next departure and didn't seem to mind. I didn't seem to be the only one having problems as departures were going very slow. It was legal VFR and you are not required to contact departure before departing VFR. That is only required if IFR. Any comments on my procedures? What would you have done?

It's life. People make up their minds without facts all the time and then look for information that reinforces their point of view and ignore that which does not. Personally, I try to live in reality.

That partnership always was considered 4 places. In the case when one partner bought out another, they picked up their share of fixed expenses too. You are right, it isn't fair. But it was his choice instead of allowing another partner in. I think that partner was angling to take full ownership or at least half in the long run. We had an up front conversation with him that his 50% share didn't trump other owners rights, which was fine with him. We just worked everything out. In the case where we paid for upgrades, and another partner didn't, we split equity but not fixed expenses.

However you do it, it seems important to have a rainy day fund set up and funded. Without it, every decision will be a discussion and potential disagreement. Some costs are fixed and some costs are variable. To me, it seems logical to keep those separate. All partners pay fixed expenses based on ownership share (or agreement) and then pay for actual use (fuel and hours). There is less to argue about that way and you don't have to care much about the flying or fuel purchasing habits of other partners. Some like simple, some like to track details. Having a system that works for all the partners is what matters. Plenty of room for things to go wrong, no matter what the system is. Some people can't be in a partnership and its important to weed that out before you get in with one. Sometimes I miss the partnership I had in the F. Good times and lots of experience to learn and share. For a new or financially challenged owner, partnerships can be great. But if the people or goals are mismatched, there are a lot of trouble spots.

The way we ran our F was as follows: 4 partners - 2 regular fliers and 2 part timers. 1 partner was responsible for keeping all the records and communication the status of accounts. One partner was responsible for maintenance on the bird. The other two flew less than 1 hour per month and helped with annuals, washing, etc... Everyone paid a monthly overhead fee - about $150-$200 per month. That paid all overhead costs (Taxes, hangar, insurance, etc...). This was adjusted each year. Everyone bought their own fuel and left the plane as the found it. Usually we left it at 50% full. If something was wrong with the fuel truck, etc... we just took care of it the next day. We paid a major maintenance and overhaul fee of $20/hour. That was kept in reserve for... major maintenance and overhaul! At the time I got out, we had over $20,000 in reserve. I heard they just replaced the engine last year and the fund paid for almost all of it. 2 partners had access to the account. Any out of pocket expenses were reimbursed by the accounting partner. From time to time, we would agree on additional assessments for planned upgrades, etc... This was a little tricky to handle with the part time fliers. But generally we worked it out. For example, we put in a $12k A/P and the two active partners paid for it and reduced the equity of the other two by some. If someone wanted to take the plane overnight, they just let the partners know. Special requests for holidays were written on a white board in advance for others to consider. No written agreement, no hard schedule. No LLC. Just 4 good ole boys trying to make it work. Never had an argument or a problem. I got a lot out of this partnership. Friendship, experience owning an aircraft, cheap flying ($60/hour all in), easy access to a plane, etc... Eventually one of the part timers moved away and the other regular partner picked up his share. I sold my share to a new pilot and move on. The F model value and partnership arrangement limited upgrades that I wanted. More than the money or documentation, I think the most important thing is to know who you are getting into a partnership. If one guy is a jerk or deadbeat, a contract will help handle him. But ideally, the partnership should work naturally. If I were to do it today, I would be a little more concerned about liability than I was then. However, an LLC or corporation doesn't give you as much coverage as you thing. Having insurance and making sure you are covered to limits allowed takes care of most things.

I always thought he merlins in the p51 were supercharged with mechanical boost?

I always thought he merlins in the p51 were supercharged with mechanical boost?

Sounds like Dr. Dyer! But, I think the physics is different for IC engines. Higher delta T should mean higher efficiency. Also, fuel is more dense in addition to the denser air = more horsepower, in theory.

Your experience pretty much mirrors mine (2002 Ovation 2 280HP). Except for a lucky few of us, most 550's I see need a top mid term, unless it is a turbo. Then plan on one at 500 hours. I made it to 1350 hours and was burning 1 quarter per 3 hours. Occasional plug fouling on 2 cylinders. Good bore scopes. Low compressions across the board and a defending trend on all of them. I decided to top the engine. Oil consumption is back to 1 quart every 8-9 hours and TAS up 5 knots.

What is the red staining?

I have been told that width matters more than length. We are talking airplanes, right!

Looks like he didn't have enough fuel when he took off and skipped two fuel stops.

“[The pilot] trivialized other people’s lives,” said 38-year-old Juliana Cózzer, who runs a hardware store in the city. “If you need to fill the tank, you need to fill the tank—lateness doesn’t matter. Now they’re never going to arrive.” http://www.wsj.com/articles/miscues-doomed-brazilian-soccer-teams-final-flight-1480726672

So how much medical do most folks carry on an aviation policy? A quick look at my policy has relatively high liability including property and bodily injury and relatively low coverage for medical. All I am saying is I believe the hull and liability coverage is driving the cost of insurance, not medical costs. As a matter of comparison, Insurance cost for me in a Cirrus was double a Mooney.

Maybe but how much coverage do aviation policies offer or payout for loss of life or medical. I think the limits are pretty small. Liability and hull drive the cost don't they? Life insurance companies may care, but I have never been asked by them if I have a fixed or retract hear. Pilot is scary enough for them.