Andy95W

From a safety standpoint, it is pretty insignificant. I'm not sure about the regs, but the shop may be required to fix it to finish your cert. You may have to change your name to "mooneyflyfaster" when it's done.

I understand your point about the unprotected wire. The safety I was referring to was the redundancy of a second switch to provide power to the avionics bus. It would suck to lose all avionics because of a single $40 breaker switch.

Iambic pentameter is kinda overkill when most of us here think in dirty limericks. "There once was a man from Kent...".

I think your estimate of 54 amps is excessive, considering modern avionics' current draws. Regardless, the 35 amp breaker switch doesn't control a relay, it provides current directly to the avionics bus. The second switch is for redundancy/safety, not "cool factor". I've been seeing more avionics shops using this rationale for supplying current to the avionics bus for modern radios.

From what I've seen thus far, you will never be on anyone's ignore list. Getting kicked off the CB list is much easier, however...

D-bag and master publicity seeker at it again.

I probably lose that much in poor pilot technique.

That's strange, when I was redoing my interior about a year ago, I gave them a call. Someone called back right away and tried very hard to sell one to me. I'm still considering it. The el cheap one I put on is fine, but the Fields I had on my last airplane was incredibly quiet.

The rationale discussed 28 years ago when I got my instrument rating was that more altitude was always a good thing, and that you should climb when you had the chance. When your wings and prop are all iced over, there’s a good chance your only option is to descend. So grab the altitude while you can, and there is also the good possibility that you’ll get out of the icing conditions. Simultaneously doing a 180° turn is good insurance as well.

If you want geo-referenced taxi diagrams, try FltPlanGo. Also- it’s free! (Until Garmin starts charging for it, at least)

LASAR repairs/rebuilds them, reasonable cost, excellent quality. They do such a nice job, I don’t think it even matters how bad the damage is, they can repair it.

On the 1964 and earlier models with the gazillion screws holding the cowling on- it’s worth it. It’s the difference between removing one piece of cowling versus the whole thing.

Eric- had no idea- thanks! I've hated working on cars ever since they got more complicated than my old 1967 VW Karmann Ghia.

Not to play devil's advocate, too much, but isn't the deal with automotive fuel pumps to just get the gas, at low pressure, to the engine? The engine driven pump then gets the required psi for the fuel injection to work. The electric pump on the IO-360 has to be a fully functional backup to the engine driven pump in case of inflight failure, and must put out 30psi on its own. The electric pump on the carbureted engines only have to put out 6psi, and seem to last much longer.

⬆️ My experience exactly.

I like the paint scheme- part original, part later style.

Chris- I have an STEC 50. My first M20C had an STEC30, my Piper Aztec also had an STEC 50. They were all very comparable to my current one, which was just at the factory for overhaul about a year ago. The 30 and the 50 are really less expensive versions of the 60-2 and have no vertical modes other than altitude hold. In perfect conditions with no wind and a strong localizer signal it does really well. Anything other than that and it hunts 5° left and right, even in APPR mode. Of course it's worse tracking a VOR signal far from the station.

My STEC scallops a lot when tracking a localizer. I think the GFC500 autopilot using GPS to smooth the signal tracking is a brilliant solution that doesn't cost $30K.

Electric rudder trim is available, and has been for more than 20 years. Fully STC'ed and only $995. http://www.aerotriminc.com/id2.html

⬆️ ⬆️ THIS ⬆️⬆️ 1.3Vso for a normal landing, 1.2Vso for a short field, based upon your landing weight. In my Mooney, with half fuel and by myself, that's about 65mph. With more fuel and a passenger, about 70mph. Make your aim point about 2 runway stripes short of your intended touchdown point. You'll feel like you're going too slow, but then you'll be surprised at how much elevator authority you still have in the flare. And of course, never try to force a landing in a Mooney by pushing forward on the yoke- it'll fight back, porpoise, and you can catch the prop. I got my commercial about 20 years ago in my first M20C. Goood luck!

Optimally, yes, they should just barely touch the underside of the wing. But I definitely would not worry about a 1/8" gap. High pressure on the underside of the wing will likely push the gear and doors further into the wing while in flight. If you and the shop have the time, they can probably get them adjusted in 1 hours' labor. If your airplane is done, I would wait until next year, IMHO.

The SlickStart is a great unit- but pricey! Like $900 freakin' bucks! The standard Shower of Sparks works great if it's kept in good shape. Change the condenser, file/clean/gap the points, and that's about it! TCMIgnitionVibratorManual.pdf

⬆️⬆️ I also don't know the technical and official reason why, but I have seen an autopilot "snatch" at a twitchy glideslope when I hadn't noticed the note.

I do get it- I'm just not there yet in my life. As I tell my dad who retired to Florida, I still enjoy the cold weather. But I admit I may very well change my mind 10-15 years from now.