cnoe

Time for an LED. No burn-outs and very little movement of the ammeter. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I thought I’d share an interesting experience from my latest trip into southern Colorado from my home base near the Texas Gulf Coast. For anyone flying over mountainous terrain this will demonstrate the awesome effects of wind over a mountain ridge and the resulting mountain wave effect. The phenomenon may extend many thousand feet above ground and may affect those flying turbo’d planes as well as normally-aspirated. FYI, on this flight I was in my normally-aspirated M20-J. Departing Durango, CO (KDRO) on an IFR flight plan I climbed to my requested altitude of 15,000’ to top an overcast sky containing light snow with temps just below 0C. Icing was a possibility but pireps were positive so I kept a vigilant watch for any accumulation as I climbed briskly through the clouds. I broke out around 14,000’ without any trace of ice and was given a clearance for Direct-to the Albuquerque VOR (ABQ) shortly after leveling off at 15K. The winds along this route of flight were quartering from my rear at around 50 knots and the ride was fairly smooth. I experienced a few noticeable airspeed changes as my autopilot (altitude hold) eased up or down to hold the assigned altitude. After several minutes on course I requested and received a clearance for Direct-to CNX (the Corona VOR) southeast of Albuquerque. As I approached the Sandia Mountain ridge that borders Albuquerque on the east I recognized a modest updraft as my airspeed increased nearly 20 knots while maintaining altitude (see photo Wave1). At this point I was at ~9,800’ AGL and on course to pass a few miles north of the highest peak (10,678’ MSL). Less than two minutes later I was again in straight-and-level flight a bit above 15,100 MSL with a typical cruise airspeed of 150 knots TAS (see photo Wave2). Then, over the next minute-and-a-half my airspeed slowly eroded as the autopilot gradually pitched up more and more in an attempt to maintain the assigned altitude (see photo Wave3). At 18:47:35 Zulu I was still at 15,032’ MSL but experiencing a descent rate of over 450 fpm. My plane was climbing through the air-mass between Vx and Vy airspeed yet starting to lose actual altitude. I was nearly 7,300’ AGL and was not in any imminent danger but at that point I disconnected the altitude-hold and contacted ATC requesting a “block” of altitude due to the mountain wave. After a very-brief “stand-by” ATC returned with a block clearance of 15,000’ down to 13,000’. As my altitude crossed below 15,000’ four seconds later (see photo Wave4) my rate of descent was passing 500 fpm. It wasn’t turbulent and I simply pitched to maintain airspeed. With still more than 7,000’ between me and the ground it was nothing to get excited about but was instead an event of great interest to me. Had I crossed the ridge at only 1,000’-2,000’ AGL it would have certainly been a bit more hair-raising. Twenty-one seconds later my altitude had decayed another 128’ while my rate of descent was passing 750 fpm; I was obviously just “along for the ride” (see photo Wave5). Thirty-seven seconds later my rate of descent reached a maximum of 868 fpm, all while in a full-power climb at 85 knots IAS (see photo Wave6). Just over one minute later my flight path bottomed out as the descent stopped approximately 1,000’ below my original altitude. The entire ride lasted approximately three minutes and 45 seconds. A few minutes later ATC requested a Pirep which I gladly provided and upon reaching 15,000’ again I cancelled the “altitude block” request. I experienced some less pervasive wave activity over the next half-hour, none of which exceeded the performance capabilities of the plane. My lesson learned in this was that adequate ground clearance (altitude) over the mountain ridge made this essentially a non-event. But with winds aloft of nearly 50 knots at my cruising altitude I would not have wanted to cross the ridge at only 2,000’ AGL or lower. Even at 3,000’-5,000’ AGL I believe the ride would have been alarming.

I greatly prefer to reinstall my own fuel caps anytime I take on fuel, but sometimes it's just not feasible to be on-site during the filling process. If I return to the plane and find this (see below) I first document it with a picture and then bring it to the attention of the FBO management. Not to be a dick but I've had to pry the locking lever up more than once and the repairs can get expensive. If a line-person breaks my cap I expect the FBO (or their insurance) to pay for the damages.

Ask a fellow pilot to assess the quality of your transmissions from another plane while airborne. This has annoyed me too in the past but isn't necessarily a serious issue. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

To clarify... IIRC you cannot select both "Com/Mic" buttons simultaneously, but you can select one "Com/Mic" and a "Com" (receive-only) at the same time. I too have some degradation of sound quality (in my own headset) when transmitting on 1 while also monitoring 2. This seems more pronounced while on the ground. I've been told that the close proximity of the radio antennas may be partly to blame and I believe it's exacerbated by ground reflection/interference. I also believe that others' reception quality is unaffected by this phenomenon. This may not be your situation but it is simply my experience with a similar (though not identical) setup. I have no comment on your music issue. I also don't know if a different audio panel would change anything. Not sure my comments help. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Following the last two posts I suspect that you and I are the only two individuals still reading this thread. LOL. Perhaps you should post a pic of one of your favorite ladies just for good measure.

Nope he's banished to the rear seat only, and I sewed up a custom Naugahyde seat cover just in case. So far he's been accident-free, though last week he passed a seriously-offensive bolus of gas that worried me for a minute. Either that, or my wife was lying when she blamed the dog. PLEASE don't let her see this post.

Happy Birthday Truman! Are you logging the time Mike? How much? I log Eli's time on the iPad and he passed 180 hours last week just a few months shy of 5 years old. He particularly enjoyed his visit to Washington DC! Still I'm betting that Truman's got him beat by a wide margin!

Here's how the setup looks in a stock '78 J. The "cover" referred to in the placard has never been in my plane but I'm fine with the exposed handle and pull-pin. I'm thinking that a retrofit with J parts would be fairly simple.

Funny 'cause thinking about it I have 6 separate GPS receivers available in the plane on every flight. I'm not sure how the Garmin could disable reception on all those but I'll certainly keep that possibility in mind. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Good to know. Thanks. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I LOVE my iPad/Stratus combo and geo-referenced plates BUT... Just this past weekend my Air2 shut down mid-flight due to temperature while it was charging and getting some sun exposure. It doesn't happen frequently but it does happen occasionally. OTOH my GNS530W has never even denied me an LPV/glideslope approach. Having an EFB does not make one's plane a /G no matter what Mike's lunch-buddy says.

I logged ~13 hours in my J this past week with my new Sensorcon leading the way. When taxiing with various winds I witnessed the CO level passing 35 ppm a couple of times with the lights flashing and alarm beeping. Surprisingly I actually HEARD the beeping during taxi, even with my Bose A20 headset in place. In cruise it never registered more than 0-1 even with the heater fully open. I'm a happy (and more confident) camper now!

Leave the baby at home and the rest of you will fit fine. JK of course. Leaving the dogs behind may/may not work for you but as mentioned above you're pushing the limits without a 6 pax plane. Maybe a LB would work but that's triple your budget. Even with only one pup (95#er) there's not enough room on the seat for a car seat (or anything else). Sorry.

Thanks for reposting. I'm surprised if there wasn't an increase in iron on the oil report at some point.

I use one of these with good results. Also available at Aircraft Spruce.

I'm sorry to see that this post was deleted. Others might benefit from seeing exactly what the fuss is all about. I, myself, am curious how much metal you were seeing without having it show up on the oil analysis. No joy though.

Having never flown a twin I have a question... Can any/most/all light twins be trimmed to fly straight (feet-off) with one-engine-only at full power (when above Vyse)? Or is it a continual fight all the way to the ground? I'm just curious. It seems like a (one-engine) twin would greatly extend one's (engine-out) range as long as controllability wasn't an issue. Thanks in advance for the input. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Good catch. That is exactly what made scrubbing the obvious choice.

"Did I remember to pay the insurance? Did I remember to pay the insurance? Did I remember to pay the insurance?"

Thanks for chiming in guys. The forecast was looking good until yesterday when the jet stream dipped a little further south than expected. I appreciate your replies. As altitude increased the headwinds were getting ridiculous so I just ruled out 14,000-16,000 even though I have oxygen. I was hoping to make it into Pagosa but that's looking like low-IFR so the diversion was to Durango. The landing didn't concern me but those winds just didn't look good. I'm afraid even in the 252 you'd have been looking at headwinds of close to 100 knots along that stretch east of ABQ. I hear it sucks when the 18-wheelers on the ground are passing you. I'd love to hear that story sometime.

I had to scrub this morning's flight across New Mexico into southern Colorado. Winds are across the ridges at ~50 knots and up to 70 knots at my flight level (12,000 msl). Airmets are in effect for low-level wind-shear. Oh well, I HATE flying my Mooney long distances at "maneuvering speed" anyway. Would any of you made this flight?

I'm late to the discussion but in answer to your question... yes, the Jepp Skybound card-reader/programmer WILL NOT work to program your GNS data-card. You have to buy a new programmer from Garmin for $70. Also, a couple of years ago the WAAS capable cards were updated; the new (navdata) cards can be identified by having an "orange" label. At that time Jepp also updated the programmer such that the old programmer WILL NOT work with the newer cards, but their newer programmer WILL work with both the newer and older card versions. Jepp navdata isn't such a bad deal if you renew at an event where they'll give you 3-4 months free, but since I'll likely miss SnF this year I'm thinking about switching my GNS530W data subscription to Garmin. $440 with Jepp vs. $299 with Garmin is a big difference!

LOL. Perhaps I should clarify that this photo was captured during the go-around on a practice instrument approach. I'm actually a "flaps down entering downwind" sorta guy.

Mine is 7,000' x 100' with lots of open space at both ends. Sometimes I'll land, then change my mind and take off again, and then change my mind again and land. Just kidding, but I COULD. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk