IvanP

I see...

Very sad story, indeed, and hopefully an oportunity to learn for all of us. The gizmos that we have in our planes can be very distracting at times. I recall a situation when I had a brain fart and could not change flightplan in my new GNS 430 (yes, it was many years ago) in IMC when ATC amended my approach clearance. I asked for vectors to final, admitting my difficulties with the nav gizmo and the controller was very helpful. Once established, the approach was non-event, albeit close to minimums if I recall correctly. There is no shame in asking for help from ATC when things do not go according to plan. Just out of curiosity, your plane goes into 30deg bank and 400fpm descent in 15 sec if you let go of controls in smooth air? Rigging issues? Once I am trimmed for straight and level flight in cruise, I do not experience changes of this magnitude if I let go and not touch anything for 15 sec in smooth air.

Congratulations! Trip of a lifetime. Glad you were able to do this.

Squandering of taxpayers money druing COVID rose far more than overall inflation did. The govt simply used COVID as a magic phrase to justify just about anything, regardless of whether it was actually related to the pandemic or not. Unfortunatley, it seems that majority of voters buy the "its for the children", or "it is necessary to protect public health" phrases included in various bond measures on the ballot and blindly vote for whatever spedning is served to them under the guise of public safety. The erroneous perception of elected officials and general public that all arcraft owners are filthy rich and therefore should pay more for everything does not help either. Airport fees will certainly not help GA - training will become even more expensive, etc., Yet another attempt to regulate and tax GA out of existence. Those folks who fly GA in Europe know this all too well. Too bad this is making its way to our airports.

Bravo is a very capable machine, but as much as I love flying my Bravo, I would probably not consider it suitable for the mission you describe. I did take my prior Mooney (E) to Cabo San Lucas few years back and it was a nice trip, but there were no time contraints or work schedules involved. While none of us probably enjoy flying commercial, I have to admit that for fligths of this length to countries with questionable availability of parts and reliable services I would go commercial, especially if any kind of scheduling pressures are involved. At my age, I am not too eager doing 5+ hour legs in a Mooney. If you can swing first class, it is tolerable on most airlines and faster than Bravo or Acclaim.

The fact that the plane is out of annual and has not been flying since 2022 will probably make it hard to sell for what you are asking. However, if sale is not feasible, you could explore teh possibility of donating it and taking a tax write-off. Talk to your accountant, he/she may have some ideas on how to get some cash out of it, albeit that would not be immediate cash in hand.

One potential drawback of overinsuring, aside from high premium, may be that in the event of a mishap you may essentially be forced to repair plane that you may no longer want to keep. If you insure your Eagle for 1 mil (assuming someone would write such policy) and have a mishap that is not bad enough for the plane to be scrapped, the insurance will probably not total it and give you 1MM check. They will likely tell you to get it fixed which may take very long time in the curent world of part shortages, etc. On the other hand, slightly underinsured craft may be totalled by the insurance and you can go buy another plane. Granted, you will have to add some money, but you will not have to deal with the repairs and frustration of hunting down parts, etc.

They are usually pretty good with that. I changed routes few times on account of smoke and never had any pushback from ATC. To the contrary, they were quite helpful in finding routes and altitudes with minimal exposure.

Flying in smoke is no fun. Not good for you or the engine (check the air filter). We had fair amount of smoke in NorCal last few years. If able, I try to fly over the smoke or change the route. How high was the top of the smoke layer?

Summer temps in the 100 - 110s are common in Nor Cal. Mostly dry heat. Flew to L.A. last weekend - it was 109 on Friday when we landed at KWHP and muggy. It was close to 100 when we were departing on Sunday. I usualy plan early departure, if possible, and climb high. Bravo has the advantage here. Still have to deal with the heat when coming down, though, but that is not as bad as doing pre-flight and fueling in 110 heat.

Having to adjust rudder trim in flight is common, depending on power settings and phase of flight. I have the rudder trim on Bravo almost all the way to the right on take off and in climb, retrim on leveling off and again with changes in altitude as necessary. On descent under power, rudder trim goes quite a bit to the left and then back to center when configuring the plane for landing.

And smaller and closer to each other for that warm and comfy feeling sardines get in their little cans . I remember the days when flying economy was tolerable. It was never great, but at least not as uncomfortable as it is today.

It seems that most mainstream media writers and producers consider general aviation to be the evil activity of "rich people" destroying the environment and the future of our children that should be taxed and regulated out of existence while, of course, exempting themselves from any such taxes and mandates. Meanwhile, the same media blissfully ignores the many deaths and other harm caused by drunk drivers, fentanyl overdoses, gangs, etc. It is nothing but cheap sensationalism, but it does get attention of the folks reading this garbage on various social media sites.

Good outcome. Note to self - stay away from tribal lands. Not worth the risk.

My guess is that mowing the heavy seats to the middle, while sound from the CG standpoint, would make the boarding process rather awkward and the in-flight service a bit challenging for the crew, but it could probably be done. Putting them all the way in the back would probably not solve the issue, just revese it, resulting in tail heavy plane. Another option would be to split the first class - half in front and half in back. (boarding and service logistics may make this not a feasible solution, though).

Good one The seats look nice. My experience with Swiss airline has always been very positive, unlike some of US based carriers. Gotta love CNN. They just could not go without a dig that flying first class is "most environmetally damaging".

Nice looking plane. Hope it will work out for you. Jimmy is a good man to deal with. Although I did not end up buying my plane from him, I like his candor and honesty.

Interesting points. I guess that the tribe could also install some SAM launchers to shoot down those pesky small planes that dare to overfly their territory without permission. That would really show those arrogant pilots who is in charge here. For a tribe that lives off tourists, this seems to be a rather boneheaded move. Regardless of the alleged lack of permission or what not, this situation should be a non event that people with common sense could resolve by respectful communication. We may not know the whole story, but I doubt that the pilot had any ill intent toward the tribe and their land.

I would be curious about the purpose of this airport. It does not seem to be used much. Flightaware free stats show 5 landings in last 3 years, most recent one on May 30th, 2024 - possibly by the individual who started this thread. I am not curious enough to purchase the full report, though. AirNav shows that it was activated in 1991, not too long ago. Why would the tribe build and airport that nobody is using? We can all get our imagination going about what could be happening at this place, but that would be pure speculation.

Glad to hear that he got the plane out of there in one piece. At least we know where not to fly. So much for trusting a spoken word of government officials these days, tribal or otherwise. Did anyone who inadvertently busted Bravo airspace or VIP TFR get his plane seized by the feds or zealous local cops? Even if he landed without the permission, seizure of the aircraft would seem rather disproportionate to the magnitude of the offense.

Preferrably none, but that may not always be feasible. UT25 (Monument Valley, UT) is a nice example of one-way in and one-way out airport, regardless of wind direction, due to terrain. Landed there with tailwind (probably less than 10kt) in my E model few years ago and it was a non-event. Did not try tailwind landing in a long body yet. Did couple of tailwind T/O in Bravo (about 10kts or so) with no issues.

Update on the Trim/Flap Indicator box - after today's flight both trim and flap indicators show UP position, regardless of actual position of trim or flaps. Trim indicator was OK on take-off, but after about 1 hour it went dark. After shutdown, I turned the master on again and the LEDs in up position on both are on, but no movement. Definitely will have to take the box out and get it fixed, but I have a trip scheduled later this week. I can eyeball T/O flaps without problems, but the trim is a different story. Does anyone have experience with setting the trim for T/O without the indicator on a long body? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Well said. While this product may not be suitable for everyone's needs or wants, there is no reason for attacking the vendor. After all, thee is seldom a solution that fits all needs in aviation or life in general. The decision on what battery or other equipment will be installed is up to each owner/operator who will have to live with the consequences of his/her decisions.

I put the two-blade Hartzell scimitar on my 1970 E few years back when it was time to overhaul the old prop wtth 100hr AD hub. I was very happy with the result. Quieter and smoother operation and better climb rate. The RPM restriction was not a factor on N/A engine - never seen more than 24in MAP at my usual crusing altitiudes (11-14k). I recall that I paid about half of what Hartzell quoted you. The price is steep but may be worth it.

Can you identify any patterns of this indicated fluctuation? Do you have a secondary MAP indicator for reference? It could be some interference with the sensor data transmission that could cause the indication to fluctuate when, in fact, your MAP may not. I have exprienced similar situation with JPI 900 - my MAP indication on the JPI goes up every time I transmit on the radio. The old fashioned MAP gauge next to the JPI is rock steady. After spending quite a bit of time on troubleshooting, adding shielding to wires, etc., to no avail, I gave up and learned to live with this little gremlin.