Bob - S50

Agree. Our plane has two GTN650's and an Aero 796. Getting the OnePack lets us get ALL the databases AND charts for the 796 for about what it would cost for just the Navigation Data for the two GTN650's.

Just the Navigation Data PROVIDED you have the current approach plates either on your tablet or printed.

On the other hand, if I need to bend the wings to save my ass, the Boeing will let me. The Airbus will not.

Like almost everything else in life, it depends. If I'm going out to fly practice approaches at TIW, OLM, and then come back home. I will usually put transition fixes between airports. Something like this: S50 KTIW BOSTO KOLM CIDUG S50 Then when I'm done flying the approach at KTIW, I can request direct BOSTO for the RNAV 17 at KOLM. When they give me cleared as requested I can select it and go direct. While I'm headed to BOSTO I can clean up the flightplan and get it ready for the approach. I could do the same thing for my alternate. Only problem with that is it messes up the distance to destination display. But if I'm getting close to my destination, the weather isn't looking as good as forecast, and I think I might need to divert; I'd go ahead and add the transition fix for my desired approach at the alternate, followed by the alternate to my flightplan.

Ya, but the Airbus has no flight controls, just voting devices. The pilot puts a vote in with the stick/rudder/brakes and the airplane decides what it will really do.

Unless you use your GTN650 to control a remote transponder, you can change the function of that area of the screen. That is, the area below the frequencies that displays the transponder code. You can change it to take you to any page you like. For example you could set it to Flight Plan. In that case, when you are on the default page you could have the 'map' button that is provided by that page and a 'flight plan' button to take you directly to the flight plan.

Not all damage is covered by insurance. They might operate the airplane improperly and cause detonation damage. They might spill something on the seats and ruin them. They might scratch the paint or window. A deposit would be to cover the deductible or any other portion of damage that is not covered by insurance. Then of course if you actually file a claim, your premiums will be higher if you are even able to get insurance.

Personally, I would require a fully refundable deposit of $5000 or $10,000. If they damage the plane or fail to pay their monthly fees or hourly charges, then it comes out of their deposit. If they are good stewards of the plane then they get all the money back when they decide to leave.

I don't think it's quite that straight forward. If NJMac has a Class 3 physical he can act as a required crew member and can thus be a safety pilot. In that case, any time the other pilot is under the hood, NJ can log PIC time and so can the pilot manipulating the controls. If NJ only has Basic Med, he cannot legally act as a Safety Pilot unless they do what you stated and designate NJ as PIC even though the other pilot will be doing the flying. However, that may or may not be an issue with the owner's insurance. Or I may be wrong. Here's a link to AOPA: Safety Pilot PIC Time

7 on our J, but there has to be enough fuel in the tank to float the bulb. Thus you need 11 gallons in there before you will get a reading.

No complaints yet. Fairly smooth but not as smooth as I thought it would be. Then again, it has 2600 Hobbs hours on it but all the indicators are still good. It did have a top overhaul several hundred hours ago though. Even though it has a constant speed prop, the plane is really more like an overpowered C172. No separate prop control so you essentially just work the throttle for power and mixture to optimize power/fuel economy. When you first pull the power lever back, it has NO effect on MP, it just reduces RPM. Once the RPM is back at 2500, THEN it starts to reduce MP but it seems to take a lot of movement before I see any reduction. It does all that through the use of a slotted cam with both throttle and prop control cables connected to it.

Maximum 'demonstrated' speed is 133 KIAS but there have been successful deployments above that speed. According to the safety guys on the COPA forum, so far, if the chute is deployed at or below that speed and above 1000' AGL, they have a 100% survival rate.

I said I would come back and give you my impressions of the Cirrus SR22 (2004 - G2) after I checked out in it. I now have 5 hours of dual (insurance requirement), 3 hours flying time for my leg to bring it home, and several hours in the back seat while my partners flew either dual or as PIC. 1. Walk around. Mostly easy since there isn't much to look at. However, there are FIVE locations to sump in the morning instead of two. That's a lot of time on my knees for an old man. 2. Getting in/out. So far, more difficult than the Mooney. Can't step or kneel on the seat because it might crush part of the impact absorbing material built in for a CAPS landing. Not too hard to get in, and maybe not too hard to get out for someone younger and more flexible, but I'm still trying to figure out the easiest way. 3. Ground handling. Still trying to get used to no nosewheel steering. Easy to do while rolling straight or initiating a turn, but trying to figure out the lead time to release the inside brake so it rolls out in the right direction. I still have to use outside brake to stop the turn. However, with a free castering nosewheel it will turn pretty tightly. 4. Flying. Actual hand flying is about the same as the Mooney as far as control forces go, maybe a little lighter in pitch. However, both roll and pitch controls are spring loaded to the trimmed position, so in order to roll or pitch you have to overcome not only the aerodynamic forces but the spring forces as well. Still, the total is about the same as the J. One nice thing about that though is that if I hand fly IFR and look away from the AI, I'm less likely to inadvertently roll into a turn. 5. Ours has the DFC90 autopilot. Better than the KFC200 we had when we got the Mooney, but not as good as the GFC500 we installed. Only took me a few minutes to get used to the DFC90. Has a few minor quirks, but not bad. 6. Systems. More complicated, but kind of nice. Two batteries, well technically three. One 24v battery for the main bus and two 12v batteries wired in series for the essential bus. Two alternators. Number 1 can power everything so if number 2 quits you haven't lost anything. If number 1 quits you have everything until the battery dies then you lose the main bus but still have the essential bus which powers the PFD (AI/HSI), #1 GTN650, and autopilot so I have everything I need to get down. If both alternators were to die then I'm down to battery power. 7. Speeds. It weighs about 1000 lbs more than the J. During the flying we did with 3 people on board, up around 10,000', it seemed to get about 167 to 172 KTAS on 13.5 GPH. On my leg home I also got about 161 KTAS on about 12.5 GPH. The final approach speeds taught by the Cirrus training program are 80 KIAS for full flaps, 85 KIAS for 50% flaps, and 90 KIAS for no flaps; but I think those are all too high. Using those speeds we all floated merrily down the runway for quite awhile before we touched down. Being the nerd I am, I'm thinking I'll end up using a system similar to what I did in the J (58KIAS + 1.5 KIAS for each 100lbs of payload). For the SR22 I'm thinking 67 KIAS instead of 58 KIAS. I'll slowly work my way down to that to see how it works and see if I'm comfortable. Using that system we should have been using about 77 to 79 knots for the flying we've done so far, but if I fly solo and low fuel it might be closer to 72KIAS. Also, we are supposed to use 50% flaps for instrument approaches and we were taught 90 - 100 on final until runway in sight. That would make us Cat B for approaches which makes the minimums 120' higher at the home drone. Since we are supposed to fly 85 on final for a flaps 50 landing I don't see why I can't (and plan to) fly 85 to 90 on the approach and use Cat A minimums. 8. Landings. Easy. It's a little more pitch sensitive than the J so I got multiple small balloons while I held it off, but all three of us essentially rolled them on staring with the first landing we made. AND we can actually hold the nose off and slowly lower it to the ground. 9. Things I don't care for, some of which are particular to our plane. a). No manual trim. If the electric trim motor dies you have no trim control. b). Trim button location. The plane has electric pitch and roll trim actuated by a cap on the stick. However, with where they placed it, we all had problems inadvertently actuating the roll trim when we were trying to adjust the pitch trim. We then had to go back and adjust the roll trim. It will take some getting used to, but had they placed the cap a little bit further forward where the AP disconnect button is, I don't think it would have been an issue. c). Our plane came with SkyWatch. Hate it. Much prefer ADS-B traffic. While the SkyWatch will see traffic ADS-B won't, the da*n thing just won't shut up in the traffic pattern and you can't turn it off without pulling the CB. Overall, I like it. I'll get what I expected. A plane with a parachute for those very rare times when I can't make it to a runway or for my wife if I become incapacitated, and a little bit more speed than the J at the expense of about 3 or 4 GPH. Also much more comfortable than the J. My butt never got sore even on the 4 hour leg from DVT to O43 (up to 40 knot headwinds). Also, quite a bit more elbow room.

No. That isn't available until several years later and a couple hundred thousand dollars more. Ours has the inadvertent ice system. Kind of useless in my opinion, especially since it costs about 50 lbs of payload when the tank is full. However, I guess it will be nice to have if I ever screw up and encounter ice. From what I can tell, other than pumps and tank size, the main difference between the FIKI and non-FIKI is that the FIKI version covers the entire wing while the non-FIKI doesn't quite reach all the way out to the wingtip.

You bet Gerry.

Uhhh, no. If peak pressure is before TDC the engine will try to run backwards. Ideally peak pressure will happen about 15 or 16 degrees AFTER TDC.

I'll come back and let you know.

I've enjoyed being here and I've learned a lot. But next week my new partners and I will be picking up our new to us Cirrus SR22. One of our other partners will be buying us out of the Mooney and moving it to S43 (Harvey Field) just east of Everett, WA. One share still for sale, by the way, for $37,000. I've loved the M20J but I will also enjoy the added safety of a parachute (especially for my non-pilot wife) and a little bit more speed, even though it will be less efficient. Take care, be safe, have fun.

The way I look at it. Running either ROP or LOP will slow the combustion process, which moves peak pressure further past TDC which reduces CHT. At peak EGT, because the fuel air mixture is not perfectly distributed, there is both unused oxygen and partially burned fuel going out the exhaust. By about 75F ROP, I've added enough extra fuel to effectively use up all the oxygen without significantly slowing the combustion process so I get maximum power. I've now got even more partially burned fuel going out the exhaust but essentially zero excess oxygen. Any rich than that and I'm just wasting fuel unless I'm doing it on purpose to avoid detonation (full power takeoffs/climbs for example). By about 30 - 50F LOP, I've done just the opposite. I've now essentially used up all the fuel with more unused oxygen without significantly slowing the combustion process. Any leaner than that and I'm losing power for two reasons: less fuel to burn and slower burn rate, both of which reduce CHT.

Don't go to a parts store, go to an auto paint supply shop. Take a clean panel that is the same color you want. If the chips are down to the aluminum then let them know that. They'll tell you to get a self etching primer to get a firm grip on the aluminum and then you can paint over the primer. We needed to do an entire panel so we asked them to put the colors we needed into spray cans.

Probably the least expensive way to get an accurate fuel gauge is to buy an Aerospace Logic fuel gauge: AL Fuel Gauge for use with Cies floats $879 current price. And Cies floats: Cies for Mooney $455 each (4 required) for digital output to go with the AL gauge above. $2699 plus installation. You'll know how much gas you have within a fraction of a gallon.

I see from your website that on certified aircraft, it is not allowed to make announcements below 5 feet. The calls at 2' and 1' would seem to be most useful.

So removing antennas like those for the NDB or Marker Beacon, and burying as many others as possible can make a big difference?

I assume you checked the plug gaps?

I took the time to look up the reference. It is actually a response to my letter to the Editor in the June edition: Antenna Drag - See letters to the editor