rockydoc

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a "travel board?"

I certainly don't know the intimate details of your relationship with the mechanic. But, having been in similar situations in the past in my life, let me share what my experience has taught me about resolving these types of matters. First off, it doesn't really matter who is right, who is wrong, who did what, who didn't do what. What you need now is to bring a totally unacceptable situation to conclusion. That being said, go to your mechanic, hat in hand, and make a sincere apology to him for anything you have done to cause such a horrible break down in communication between the two of you. Praise him, build him up and accept 100% of the blame yourself--laying it all on "bad communication." After all, isn't that what most of life's problems get down too. i.e. bad communication. Tell him that it is important to you that you treat him fairly and appeal to his sense of fair play to tell you what he needs from you to get your airplane, log books, interior, etc. out of his shop. After all, what have you got to loose by using that approach. You're getting NOWHERE now. Good luck whether you do it this way or not.

Thanks for your approach. It is appreciated.

I find the judgmental comments very interesting. I have over 6000 hours in all sorts of equipment from C-172 to Citation 1SP and pretty much everything in between. I am a person who likes being prepared for any event--including exiting from a box canyon that I inadvertantly wandered into. I never said I planned on doing hammerhead. just like the previous poster shared with us...shi_ happens sometimes. Although I'm instrument rated, at my present age and only flying a couple of hundred hours per year, I don't fly at night nor under IFR conditions. But, one of us, seems to think that wanting to be prepared for an unplanned event is the same as being careless enough to be "flying IFR in icing conditions" and seeing "how close to a thunderstorm" you can fly. What can I say other than, don't be so judgmental. Accept the fact that we are all in this together and just doing the best we can to benefit from the experiences of our fellow forum members that are kind enough to share. Oh, on another note, while I have purchased an M20B because I have always thought a Mooney to be a great single engine high performance airplane, i don't even take delivery of it for another two weeks. After the comment was made about me having a "50 year old speedster" that might not be suited for mountain flying, I would be VERY interested in comments from the rest of you about the reliability of a well maintained "50 year old speedster." Since I live in Mexico, I don't have a Mooney Service Center at my disposal. I purchased the "50 year old speedster" because i thought it would be an extremely reliable old bird. Am I wrong? Thanking all of you in advance for your constructive comments and positive solutions, i remain, Rockydoc1

Thought provoking comments. Thanks for expressing them.

Great article. Gave me a whole new perspective on living throught a "tight." Thanks for sharing. i printed it out for my aviation library.

An OBLIGATION

Being a law abiding citizen who carries many credentials, I make certain that they are all organized and ready for presentation should the need arise. However, my point is that, as Americans, we have certain rights like having an attorney present during questioning, being innocent until proven guilty (not having to take a lie detector test to prove our innocence) and delaying a ramp check and refusing entry to our aircraft--should we so desire to do so. Government officials use intimidating tactics ("What are you hiding? If you have nothing to hide, why are you objecting?") to pursuade us to relinquish our rights. I think that, as Americans, we have an OBLIGATION

Yeah. You got it. We'll be put on Homeland Security's watch list. They'll monitor key words in our emails. Bad think about Homeland Security is that you don't have the right to have counsel present and no one will be told you're being held. Now that's REALLY SCARY.

GREAT video. Thanks for sharing. If this doesn't make the point, nothing will!

Do you tip your urologist also? After all, he's one person that you want to be on your side! lol

Thanks for the articles. Scary thing, eh? I have dual Mexico/USA citizenship and have lived here for nearly 20 years. Although, I have never had a bad experience, I am well enough connected through my business (I own a hotel) with great legal representation that anything that comes up I can take care of.

When I used to fly the "smugglers choice" airplane (Cessna 310) in and out of the Carribean and Mexico every couple of weeks, I was placed on the government's "Watch List." I can't tell you the scrutiny that I was put through every time I passed through customs--until post 9/11. Then they stopped even looking at me. i suppose they had bigger fish to fry. i live in Puerto Vallarta now and fly all over Mexico. At first I was worried about my airplane being stolen, then about drugs being planted. But, for what its worth, I've never had a problem.

Why don't you repost this under "Ramp Check." There is a looooon thread (48 posts) on this topic. It appears that most of our forum members don't understand that this type of abuse is growing. Thanks.

Good question. My Dad died and left me his WWII service pistol. I have been planning on flying to FLA to pick it up and bring it back. I never thought about your question. Maybe someone can answer it authoritatively for us. i.e. one of our Mooney law enforcement officers. Any volunteers officers?

Without a doubt, good flight planning to do everything in your power to avoid a box canyon. But, I love to explore the mountains from Colorado to Southern Mexico. In Mexico there are no VFR charts available. I've been flying the mountains for years, but always in a high performance twin. My M20B is the first single engine I will have every flown as a "daily driver." I want to be as prepared as I can. Years ago when i first started flying, I took an "unusual attitude recovery" course to better prepare myself. Since a stall turn is so inherently dangerous, I want to learn how to do it in my own airplane--my Mooney M20B.

Most box canyons don't have enough room to execute a Chandelle.

Since I fly a lot in the mountains, I was looking for a Mooney CFI to teach me how to do a Stall or Hammerhead turn to use in the event that i wind up at the end of a box canyon with no room to reverse course. I was told that since the Mooney is not certified for acrobatics that it would be illegal for them to teach me this procedure in my Mooney. I want to perfect this turn in my personal airplane and not in a rental aerobatic plane. Any ideas from you guys will be welcomed.

So, I guess I am the only guy on this forum that finds it interesting that apparently NOT ONE person here has exercised their right to opolitely tell a ramp inspector to come back at a more convenient time and/or politely tell him that you do not want him to go inside of your airplane. However, from the PM's I have received from some of you, you have privately agreed with my point of view! Interesting, eh? VERY interesting.

Sorry you don't see the relationship. I certainly don't mean to offend you or anyone else on this forum. Accurate information is my only goal. Cheers.

Jim, on a related note. I have correspondence from Homeland Security that unequivically states that any U.S. citizen that presents themselves to a port of entry at a U.S. Border and can prove that they are a U.S. citizen will NEVER be denied entry--even if they don't have a passport. It further states that they may be delayed while immigration satisfies themselves that they are a US citizen, but they "would never be denied entry." So, there you have it, eh?

Happy to oblige you Jim. I have an email from Homeland Security discussing this very thing that i will be happy to email you if you send me your private email address so I can attach it as an attachment. As you can see by some comments of others, no one believes you have to have a US Passport to LEAVE the USA. Here is the cite: "CFR 53.1 Passport requirement. definitions. (a) It is unlawful for a citizen of the united States, unless excepted under 22CFR 53.2 to enter or depart, or attempt to enter or depart, the United States, without a valid U.s. passport." Hope that helps. This just confirms my point that as loyal citizen pilots, we too readily relinguish our right to tell a ramp inspector to come back later because we are afraid of him causing problems for us. In my mind, that is not the way it should be. If I had my druthers, every single pilot that was approached for a ramp check would exercise his right to have them come back at a time convenient for him--not because all of his credentials aren't in order, but for the same reason that you should ALWAYS have an attorney present when you are being questioned by the police. thanks for asking the question Jim. I'm not a b.s. er. But, like you, because of my professions I know things the average Joe doesn't know.

While the regs and laws regarding ramp checks may not have changed, the fear and intimidation that we are afraid of if we ask that our rights be respected HAS changed. I am a J.D. and M.D. I carry federal narcotics license, pilots license, driver's license and various medical licenses. Meaning, i am a law abiding citizen. But, as i said, history repeats itself. Just look around you. If you DARE to ask a ramp inspector to put off the ramp check or to not go into your airplane, you are afraid it will result in a tougher inspection--that's simply not the American way. We used to value our rights. i.e. innocent until proven quilty. Well, try that if you're stopped for a traffic stop and have a wad of cash laying on your front seat. The courts now use the warrant to "Appear and Show Cause" why the money isn't ilicit. I suppose you think that is "innocent until proven guilty" eh? Our fore fathers came to this country because they didn't believe in debtor's prison. But, if a judge orders you to pay and you don't pay, he'll issue you a "Contempt of Court" warrant and imprison you until you pay--or a family member pays for you. I suppose you think that isn't debtor's prison. And, while I'm raving. Let's look at a similarity between Russia, Cuba and the USA. I don't know of anyone who is aware that it is a violation of Federal Statute for a US citizen to leave the USA without permission first from the US government (in the form of it being mandatory that you have a US Passport TO LEAVE the USA. I guess you think that is OK. Personally, I don't. Like i said, I have never had a run in with the government, but that doesn't keep me from being sad that as American's we are voluntarily giving up our rights. Democratic Germany elected Hitler to office because the people were afraid of the lawlessness and crime that was rampaging the country. He promised them a solution. And, we all know what his solution was. Wow! That was some rave, eh? Sorry about that. Thanks for giving me the freedom to express these feelings in this forum.

Yes, I agree totally. I am very careful NOT to alienate those that have authority over me and conform to society's demands for conformity. But, that being said and also it being said that I AM NOT a conspiracy theorist, I know that history repeats itself. i remember how Hitler got elected and what followed. i see this same trend having developed in our great US of A. It saddens me deeply. i think if people insisted on standing up for their US Constitutionally guaranteed rights that the authorities would have to change the way they deal with us. But, with everyone being so eager to give up their rights because they are "innocent" and "law abiding" it is dooming our way of life.