cnoe

I'm okay with registration. That way I'll know who to send the repair bill to if one smacks into my J. And I'm pretty sure that "drones" aren't protected under the 2nd amendment.

No. Even though my GNS530W is coupled to my Century IIB it does not have roll steering (which I lust after). It does a semi-great job of following the magenta line and will track a precision approach to minimums. During procedure turns and holds use the heading bug to follow the dotted line on your 430/530 display. Not having true GNSS is a compromise but is way better than a wing leveler on no A/P at all. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have hell with quotes on Tapatalk.[emoji4] Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Quote: And if there is a gripe I have about the 60-2, it is the rate based climbs. I would much prefer to set an indicated airspeed and let it climb at whatever rate it can get. This is the reason I use the VS function on my altitude hold for "descents" but almost never for "ascents". It can climb you right into a stall if you're not paying attention. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Quote: Often the post-repair aircraft is superior to its pre-gear up condition: fresh overhaul, new prop, new step, often a one piece belly conversion. And other annoying squawks often get fixed while it's in the shop. Reply: This may in fact be true, but you still must compare apples to apples. If there were two identical planes (i.e. the non-GU plane had a fresh overhaul, new prop, new step, 1-piece, and squawk repairs just like the GU plane) I'd opt for the NDH plane every time. To me (layman) it looks better on paper and affords me more peace of mind. Many contend that simply landing on old pucks is detrimental to fuel tanks so I have to wonder how landing on NO pucks affects tank integrity. I'm pretty sure I've experienced turbulence comparable to a GU but all that scraping wreaks havoc on my psyche.[emoji4] Now I'm 100% certain that there are many GU Mooneys out there that are WAY nicer than my non-GU plane, but my personal purchasing experience was that GU planes came with a modest discount. Sellers will argue that a GU has no effect on price but buyers would argue otherwise. Just my opinion. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

On second thought I guess I understood that the vital element to roll steering is what the GPS outputs rather than what the A/P inputs. If my GPS weren't WAAS capable it would be a bigger concern to me considering ADS-B requirements. In the meantime holds and procedure turns still require a bit of thought, which might not be a bad thing. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hmmm. I wasn't aware you could get roll steering out of an old Century. Are you referring to mating with new systems like the Aspen, Avidyne, or similar? I'm comfortable with my GNS530WAAS for now but would consider an upgrade if we ever get pricing inline with experimental guys' equipment. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Mine came with the Century IIB and had an STEC PSS60 altitude hold system added on later. In good working order it will: Hold the wings level (or your preferred bank angle). Follow a heading bug. Follow a GPS track or VOR radial (keeps your indicator needle centered). Track in LOC mode on approaches (keeps needle centered with greater precision). Track a LOC back course approach (reverse sensing). ... and with the altitude hold it will also: Hold an altitude within ~20 feet in good weather. Hold an ascent or descent rate to <100 fpm in good weather. Intercept and lock onto a glideslope on an ILS or LPV approach (keeps your GS needle centered on indicator). I will admit that it will fly a precision approach to minimums better than I can, though I still practice hands-on. What it WILL NOT do is follow a procedure turn or hold automatically (use your heading bug for that). Also, you have to turn the heading bug to match your GPS/VOR course changes. And I don't have auto-trim so if I get out of trim it flashes a light telling me to trim up or down if necessary (easy enough to do). Sure, I'd love to have a newer system with GNSS (roll steering functionality) but until the FAA gets the Part 23 rewrite completed I'm not paying $20K-$30K to replace my perfectly functional A/P. Hope this helps.

I once had a drunken U.S. Border Patrol agent call me a "peanut-headed a$$-wipe" because I wouldn't allow him and his buddies to interrupt our research site to go swimming. To this day I still look back and wear that moniker with pride.[emoji4] I heard some time later that he eventually got in trouble for pulling his sidearm on some poor undeserving citizen. Probably lucky I didn't get shot. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I can understand the reluctance for MSers to post things like "Gearwrench Gary is an incompetent idiot" but I'm having trouble understanding why it would be taboo to say "Mechanic Mike did a great job on my oil change and it was a good deal at $175". I'll stick my neck out and state that the Parker Aircraft guys at KAXH were super a few weeks ago when my right main inner tube shed its valve stem on taxiway alpha on a busy Saturday morning. Without a new tube and tire in stock they quickly located lightly used replacements and then drove down with a wing jack and a portable compressor to perform the repair on the spot. Two workers and 30 minutes later I was on my way on my original undamaged tire with a like-new (free) tube. They charged me $75 total labor. I offered to pay for the tube but they wouldn't accept it. Great service at a great price. P.S. I bet they're fair on oil changes too.[emoji6] Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

All good advice. Definitely the simplest solution is to install a rear 12V lighter adapter and a quality charger/cord combo such as the Belkin unit. I've tried a few different cords and wall warts (chargers) with the Stratus and it will not accept power at all from some. Luckily the Stratus battery really does last ~8 hours once you get it off the glareshield (thus minimizing the internal fan usage). I rarely plug mine in while flying except on a long multi-leg flight. One more thing... I talked to the Appareo (Stratus) guys at Tullahoma on Saturday and was told that we'd be receiving a firmware update shortly that would put Stratus 2 owners on par with the new Stratus 2S. It should slightly improve fan/battery and reception performance. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Don, I'm quite sure it's 5 volts as commonly supplied by USB chargers but many good quality cords work. Contrary to what was said earlier I frequently use a non-Stratus cord. I've had good luck with Mediabridge cords off Amazon. 2.1 amps from your lighter adapter is necessary. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

This is exactly what I did as well, but with the Davtron under the right wing and the JPI under the left. I was told that mounting in the vent opening would be just a bit warmer though I can't confirm that. The Davtron readout is not adjustable but mine read 32 F in ice water prior to installation. The JPI is adjustable and is matched to the Davtron. Let me add that if you're doing this yourself or assisting, keep all the probe wiring as far as possible from the ignition leads or you'll end up with jumpy EGT and CHT readouts on your display. 6" seems to be enough separation. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My 8 probes (CHT & EGT) all read within 1-2 degrees of each other when cold. But they are less than a year old. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Engine time and condition? Prop? Governor? Mags? Hoses? Starter? Alternator? Pucks? Tires? Brakes? Paint? Interior? Nosegear? Mains? After all that (plus more) is sorted out, buy the plane for $60K. Then... add tank reseal $8,000, WAAS GPS $12,000, ADS-B transponder $5,000, decent autopilot $20,000 and you're already well north of $100K. And don't forget the customary 10% of selling price in squawks that were missed in the pre-buy. As noted above it seems that each plane should be valued on its own merits. It really just depends on what sort of plane you want. To validate my opinion I should state that I bought my '78 J about 2 years ago and paid a good bit more than $60K... and I couldn't be more pleased with it. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thought I'd add my $0.02 since I've been flying in, around, and under the Houston Bravo for 5 years now. My house is actually in ground level Bravo airspace. Coming from the north (Dallas) they will absolutely vector you around KIAH which is MUCH busier than Hobby. Usually it's to the east over Lake Houston. There is no route from the north that will take you direct to KHOU VFR. But if they know you're landing at KHOU they will likely direct you across downtown once you're clear of IAH. Usually the winds are from the SE so I can't say for sure how they'll set you up for landing but they'll find a slot for you. With normal winds the 12L approach is really cool coming in over the city. Try not to make your arrival early in the morning (busy with departures) or early in the evening as SW flies over my house about every 2 minutes on the 04 approach (evenings). Hope any of this is of some value to you.

My annunciator was going tango uniform with various symptoms recently such as incomplete indications pushing the test button during pre-flight. I was aware of the SB to replace resistors on the board to make the low-fuel lights more reliable, but that wasn't necessarily going to solve my other problems such as erroneous intermittent vacuum and voltage indications. Having a nice JPI 830 I have no plans to install a new "primary" engine monitor and toss out the original annunciator anytime soon (or build out a new idiot-light system). I wanted to keep my annunciator, but to suit me it needs to be functional as I'm of the mindset that if it doesn't work it needs to be fixed. I'm not a big fan of "inop" stickers. So I began weighing my options. A couple of used annunciators were available for ~$250-$300 but how long would they remain functional? On another MS thread or two there were discussions of self-service repair, non-aviation electronics-shop repair, and returning the unit to International Avionics Inc. for OEM repair. While I'm pretty handy with a soldering gun and can certainly pop a new resistor onto a PCB I'm no electronics wizard. I can run a multi-meter but not an oscilloscope. Next, I have a qualified electronics shop that repairs my music amplifiers etc. but they don't have schematics for my annunciator and I couldn't log the repair even if they got it right. There were conflicting posts about the manufacturer (IA) with one quote of $1,200 (IIRC) for overhaul and another person quoting $600 but stating that they had a serious personality conflict with the technician they spoke to over the phone. I certainly didn't want to pay more than a AMU for a simple repair but then again I liked the idea of getting it done right. Plus as somebody else put it "it's nice to know that IA is still supporting these aging Mooneys". I decided to give them a call (they don't have a web presence) to inquire about getting my unit serviced and was quickly transferred to the person who would be doing the work (Kenneth). This person was a bit aloof I will say but he was not rude or condescending to me as one poster suggested. We discussed my issues and he convinced me that an "overhaul" would be in my best interest as the annunciator was 37 years old (1978 M20J) and he couldn't guarantee that it would be reliable otherwise. So I inquired about pricing and he said he could bring it to like-new condition for $550.00 + shipping. It sounded fair to me and I don't mind giving a little support to people who help keep our birds in the air, so off it went. About a week later Kenneth called to say the unit was ready to ship and offered to ship it on my UPS account number which saved me a couple of bucks. The bill was exactly as quoted at $550. When the unit arrived I opened it up and was very pleased to find that the "overhaul" was an entirely "new" unit with the exception of the enclosure. The PC board assembly had been replaced with a brand new board and electronics. The bulbs were all new. The graphics strip ("gear, vac, fuel, volts, etc.") was new along with a new lens. The faceplate was original. And it seems to work perfectly so far! It takes <15 minutes to remove/install including removing the glareshield so even with A&P labor it should be an inexpensive job. Often times you get what you pay for, and in this case I got an essentially new annunciator, from the original manufacturer, including installation, all for less than $600. I found it to be a good deal. YMMV.

At my new home base Texas Gulf Coast Regional (KLBX) just outside Houston they've been working on the self-service terminal all week. After 3 flights this week without refueling, my tanks finally reached the point where "sticking" them didn't tell me anything (down to about 16-20 gallons total) so I broke down and called for the fuel truck on Unicom. They drove over to the hangar and topped me off at the "truck price" of $3.84/gal. After my $0.25/gal tenant discount it came to $3.59/gal for FULL SERVICE. I've got no complaints.

I'm no attorney and it's just my $0.02 but I believe this would be considered a "standard part" when installed in a non-critical application such as this. Refer to AC21-29 (http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/65e4b3e6dea39d4886256a650070a095/$FILE/ac21-29Chg1.pdf). Many domestic manufactured o-rings are mil-spec already. I would not, however, recommend using standard o-rings in fuel servos, etc. for liability reasons. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks for your efforts to make this training/experience available to the community. With a service ceiling of 17,999' my J doesn't visit the flight levels but I found the course to be quite valuable nonetheless. I would encourage everybody/anybody to go through this training. I'd like to add that as an avid snowboarder I seem to fare quite well with high altitudes but will still monitor my O2 sats when in the 10K+ range and will break out the nasal canula when needed. But what hasn't been said is that (my) O2 numbers will drop significantly when breathing is relaxed and shallow. Simply taking a couple of deep or deliberate breaths will raise my O2% by ~5 without any supplementary oxygen. If nothing else the pulse oximeter reminds me to take a deep breath once in a while. Similarly my wife reminds me regularly to do some calf pumps to prevent throwing a PE (also not a bad idea).

I do appreciate your observations. As a late bloomer I'll never reach the level of experience attained by many on this forum but I'm doing my best to learn all I can along the way. I'm just glad to be hanging around many active pilots and perpetual students of flight. I am encouraged by what appears to be a trend of significant decline in serious/fatal GA accidents. "Something" is apparently improving flight safety, but alas the world still remains an imperfect place. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Without trying to be disrespectful I have to wonder what group of pilots you're hanging out with. Your statements above seem to ignore the MANY pilots I encounter regularly attending safety meetings, seminars, training courses, etc. There's been a tremendous effort by local and distant participants to develop and train Formation Flying groups across the country with one of the BEST right here in Texas. If I'm not mistaken the Mooney Summit sold out again this year. And don't forget that the very subject of this thread was enroute to attend a Mooney PPP. I for one am always seeking more knowledge and experience, and I suspect that there are many many more like me. There are certainly pilots who are slackers, but hopefully not in the numbers you imply. Keep training for sure, after all it's only a license to learn. Cnoe Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

They did a course here in Houston a couple of years ago at NASA (Johnson Space Center). I signed up through FAA Safety but I believe it was organized through a local group. We did the whole 25K mask-off problem-solving routine as well as an explosive-decompression from about 20K in a smaller chamber. Very interesting and informative. The best part was we got a private tour of the NASA's NBL (neutral buoyancy lab) where they train astronauts for spacewalks. The water is nearly transparent compared to your local pool (see photo). If I see it come up again I'll ping you.

Thank you to all who took action on this! In case you missed it, AOPA just sent out the following note: "As you may know, your Senator Ted Cruz is now a cosponsor of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2! If you are among the tens of thousands of AOPA members who contacted their elected officials and asked them to support PBR2, thank you! Your action has made a tangible difference in the fight for third-class medical reform and protections for general aviation pilots." It's about friggin' time! Cnoe

Love that video! Thanks for posting. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk