ncdmtb

Thanks for the input. I just read some of the reviews on amazon. They all sound like great books! Now I have some reading material when I am not out flying ;-)

I have recently read two good books related to flying. "The Cannibal Queen" (a great true story about a flying adventure) and "The Airplane" (history of flight). I enjoyed both books very much. For my next book I would like to (again) read something related to flying. Any recommendations?

Which multi-tool/leatherman do folks carry in their flight bag? I currently just have my fuel tester with the screwdriver on one end (fortunately I haven't really needed than that). Now I am reorganizing my flight bag and what to added to "real tool". I looked on amazon and there are so many different "types" of leathermans. Any recommendations? What do others carry?

Thanks for the quick and excellent feedback! I am very glad to have found such a knowledgeable group. He told me that flaps are not really required (runway lemgth) and - if I recall correctly - he also told me something about the plane rotating smoother; he does most his flying in Pilatus, King Airs and Challengers, and claims that the Mooney w/o flaps has a flight profile more similar to the bigger iron. I am definately going to give the "flaps" / "no flaps" comparison test to see the difference in forward visibility.

The guy I bought my '66 M20E from is a CFI. He checked me out in the plane and I did my complex endorsement with him. He told me, that as a rule he never used flaps on take-off and recommended I do the same. I have now almost 50hours in the airplane and followed his advice. I never really felt, that I was missing out by doing no flaps take-offs. I have only been flying on paved runways. One of the shortest runways I have taken off from was a 2.800' paved, slightly up hill, at sea level, with trees and a sloping hill on extended. (so nothi g too demanding so far) For that T/O I briefly considered setting flaps, but the decided to go w/o and had no issues. What do others do? Advice/recommendations?

Surprising to see "automation" pick up ypur video. What song was it? ;-)

That's exactly what went through my mind when I realized what I did (or rather did not "do")

I have a trimble 2000 with which I fky IFR in Europe. I'd be interested to hear how many others fly with a Trimble? I bougth the plane in January and didn't know what a Trimble was until then. It took me so e getting used to, and now I fly in IMC with the Trimble, my yoke mounted Garmin 550 and my ipad. Any other with similiar antiquated equipment? Experience? Best practices?

I wanted to watch your video, but it is "blocked" in Germany. It appears you may have use music which needs to be licensed from the publisher. FYI - maybe you can post w/o, then I could watch too ;-)

Today I flew with two of my sons. My eldest wants to become a pilot. He has had lessons i.e. dual in gliders and C-150/172s. He did the takeoff (together with me). I was so focused on his rotation speed, climb speed, rpm etc that I forgot to retract the gear. After about 30min of flying (at slow speeds ;-) I realized I forgot to retract the gear. Has this happened to others? This is the first time this has happend to me. Typically I pull shortly after T/O. Once I realized the "bar was up" (I was wondering why we were so slow, but I attributed it to the strong winds which I had from my weather briefing), I slowed down to about a 120KIAS and retracted (Johnson bar, two hands needed ;-) May I have done damage? Anything I should check in particular on my next preflight? Has this happended to others? Any best practices to avoid in future?

* In addition, the deadline for converting third country licences was extended by 12 months to 2015. What exactly does that mean? After 2015 US citizens living in EU flying N-reg aircraft, will not be allowed to fly IFR in EU w/o the conversion?

I have learned a lot from the interaction on this board with other members. This is the "first place" I come to, to learn more about flying (my Mooney)!

Thanks. I will check out the instructions and give that a try.

So what would you recommend?

Does fylng LOP require GAMI? I have a 64 M20E and fly about 100F ROP. I watched the Mike Busch Webinar on leaning. After that I am almost tempted to fly LOP even w/o GAMI. Is that a good or bad idea?

Do you have any mods installed? GAMI?

I am a new Mooney pilot/owner. I have owned the aircraft since January and flew approx 40hrs to date (so still fairly novice to the Mooney). This is the first airplane I own, so I am also new to the maintenance "stuff". I am picking up the aircraft next Friday, fresh from the annual. The magnetos had their 500hr check and the rubber gear donuts where replaced. It is a 1964 M20E; it has an EDM-700 with FF What should I look out for? What should I be attentive for? Any advice is much appreciated.

What is "WOT"?

I have seen some 430W 28 volts. Does anyone have experience with a DC up converter? Or is it possible to have Garmin change the power out to 14v?

I am looking for a used fully functioning Garmin 430W.

What do you mean with "cowl closure"?

I am looking for cowl plugs for an M20E. Any advice on where to order/which to get? I live in Germany. So a European source would be ideal, but I can also order from a US company.

I live in Munich. The airplane is based in Augsburg. So I have a good 45min drive :-( Germany is not very GA friendly and it not trivial to find "airports" and hangar space. But at least I can fly IFR approaches there ;-)