MB65E

Gear extension speed

Lancair just announced they are ending Legacy production. Such a sweet airplane!! The last one will be the full carbon fiber, with some Reno mods. -Matt

I was there this weekend for the Luscombe fly in. Absolutely beautiful place. Was "Always" filmed there? Landed just before a cell came thru, it was an hour before sunset. Started raining, didn't feel like walking down a wet runway. The guys were probably already enjoying their adult beverages. cool place, I'll try to make it.

Plastic media blasting will be the best. Sand will leave silicon behind and imbed itself in the material. I fear chemical strip in the wells too. On mine, one of these days I'll tackle my landing gear buy pulling it out and refinishing everything. Until then it's scotch brite and a rattle can. I have had good luck with the "epoxy appliance paint" it's super tough, application/coverage is great, and the white dries really smooth and glossy. -Matt

Don't replace the skin! Not worth it. You will do more damage, oversize holes, possible oil canning, etc. I think tapping it out and filling it in would be the best bet. Then maybe see if you can shoot the entire wing? Probably not with that either. I recently had some paint cracks repaired on an airplane. The Sherman Williams Matty white that blended really nicely. The paint was 5yo and in good shape. Color was perfect. If it was mine, I'd hire the most recomended paintless dent repair guy in the area, then polish the scratches. Have the shop pay the bill. Don't get the insurance involved, they might want to replace the entire skin. Might ask the shop for a few years of IFR certs. -Matt

Now that was a King Stack if I've ever seen one!! Sweet clock on your yoke in the 1st pic! Garmin does it right I think. The update process with the GTN software could be more user friendly but the data that is managed there is crazy detailed. I hope our 530W lasts forever! I'm happy with it. -Matt

Sorry for the loss. Frustrating GA losses lately. Well on a V-tail most goofballs need to carry about 20" to park the thing it seems. I'm sure the gear warning system only works when it's close to idle. The V-tail has so much drag I can see a gear up as a real deal. The mooney is still incredibly a real deal, but I'm always trying to slow to gear speed, it's hard to decent with out it down. Rip, -Matt

Really pretty! I have always liked those piel airplanes. I'd love to build/rebuild a Cap 10 or something similar. I really preferred the wood wing Super Decathlon vs the metal wing ones. If that helps with your decision making process. -Matt

Had a great flight today. LA-Bay area-PHX! Airplane did great! Marine layer is back in LA...Super choppy from Gorman all the way past hollister. However, it only knocked my headsets off once. Later I had time to trouble shoot some rear seat comm's my girls were having issues with.Turns out the mic's are dead in back...go figure. Good news was my #1 comm is rock solid again. The angled right angle coax B&C fell apart in my hand when I went to check the issue. I installed a new B&C and it is really clear again. I guess 51 years is enough for the little guy. Fresh oil drain now too. The CCB-37000 is now approved (per Curtiss) for oil. Spruce's website is not up to date yet. They just received approval this year. Anyone else having trouble posting pics lately? I cleared a bunch of memory in my phone and I think it might be taking higher Rez pics now. Who knows. Looks like only 1 loaded. Have fun!! -Matt

Sounds like a great instructor!! Have fun Sam! -Matt

Hi Paul, Dump the oil, put fresh stuff in. You could remove the battery. Maybe have your tech monitor it at his shop on a charger etc. Or just treat yourself to a new sealed concord when you get back. I would not leave it plugged in while you are gone. Take care, -Matt

I thought Spark plugs originally? Ohm them out. Could be a cheap solution. Seems to be a rash of bad plugs showing up again. We used to run a ferry tank in the front seat of a Pitts special. Anything above 9.5k while on the AUX tank the engine would stumble. Pump on at altitude and it would run fine. I imagin you are sucking something other than fuel...See what your fuel P is before and after you slect the F pump. Running the F pump at altitude is not normal but could indicate a engine driven f pump issue or another fuel distribution issue. Or change R&R with an IO-720! -Matt

I would be peeing myself if those photos were in flight!!! Do the gauges work, I hope you were on the ground! 1450 seems hot, but your cylinders are still in check. Hope you find the deal soon. Cheers, -Matt

What's the fuel pressure change with the pump on. The ever so famous champion spark plugs? could be something partially blocking the spider.

the roll pin is external and probably fell out of the airplane during flight. It can't be in the pan if the cap was on. I wouldn't worry about it. Actually, I'm not convinced it's a roll pin. A cotter pin should work, but might get bloody fingers on each use. .040 saftety wire pigtailed nicely? I used scotch weld on mine to pick the slop up, painted the cap real nice yellow again, used black paint for te lettering. I was so proud of it! Then I dropped it on the ramp!! Or you can buy a new one from Lycoming for probably $800. Lol. -Matt

Congrats!! Keep it up and finish strong!! -Matt

Once an autorotation clicks in your mind on what's going on, it's the coolest feeling you can have. Stringing several autos together is even better. They were hard to grasp. "Flare" has about 3 meanings. Once I figured that "flare" also meant arresting the forward speed and stopping things came together better. Robinson makes an amazing helicopter that really holds up well in the training environment. I had a great opportunity to finish my rating early this year. Coolest thing I've ever done! I thought It requires the about the same skill/concentration sets as landing a Pitts in a 10kt crosswind. Auto rotations are like landing the Pitts with a 20kt crosswind. Highly recomended! -Matt

So 122.0 is done? Or will someone still pick up at Lockheed? I remember reading it was going away. Btw-I really like the MOS on foreflight. -Matt

Glad to have you Rod! Good luck with your training this summer and hopeful purchase of a new to you Mooney!! The experience here is really above par for the industry. Welcome, -Matt

Somebody give this guy a better budget! Good for him!! -Matt

It's a strange market. What's the reason to a J? My gut says it sounds like a current airplane that might need some worn in the next 5 years. I would price the work vs price the airplane. The airplane is worth 45 let's say. But to get 50 for it you might need to Reseal the tanks and do a few other things. I don't think you'd find a J for anything close to 70k that didn't need the same amount of work that you need on your E. Personally, I'd keep the E, save the time and effort on the J. Put it back into the E with some nice upgrades. 15k would go pretty far on the Old E! (Says a 65E owner) Or go do what you wanted to do in the first place, spent 100k on a nice J and post pictures of how excited you are!! Good luck! -Matt

34, that's interesting. So it's not just a normal T/O clearance? I do remember being on a txp code, with spicific instructions. "Cleared thru class delta, maintain cloud clearance requirements report clear of class delta." But it sound like you are providing separation services. That's neat! I've never heard the other side on that one. Thanks for your service! -Matt

I'll need to read it again, but if you are waiving a cloud clearance and visibility requirement with the SVFR in a take off or landing phase wouldn't the "congested area" be a mute point? In the LA basein, I guess controllers are used to the marine layer. I ask for a SVFR about 3-5 times a year. The current IFR approach into SMO has the same 1000ft VFR mins currently. The city so far has refused to move an obstacle on the Missed approach. It makes it interesting. -Matt

If it ever goes to print, I'll take a gray size large, and One med white. I like the way it looks here too. Accents the tail... -Matt

Keep it up Sam! That extra time in the seat of another airplane will surly be worth the SWA ticket. -Matt