Bob - S50

How about using just: Flying It Forward Fly it forward it telling others to do it. Flying it forward is actually doing sol Nearly the same but different. Bob

Personally, I just wouldn't fill the wing up unless I needed the fuel. Since you have a J, you have 64 gallon tanks. Do you really need 7 hours of fuel on board? We (4 partners) park ours with 30 to 35 gallons. If we need more we add some before flight. Since my wife doesn't like to be airborne more than about 3 hours without getting out to stretch, that's only about 30 gallons plus 10 reserve. Filling to the 50 gallon tabs is more than enough. About the only time I add more is when I fly someplace that has cheap gas. I'll buy enough to get home with the 30 to 35 I'm supposed to park with. Let's see (taking off my socks so I can count on my toes) park with 32, 3 gallons to get airborne and climb to 8500', that's 35 gallons. Subtract from 64 leaves 29 gallons for cruise. Divide by 6 gives me 4.8ish. Times 100 equals 480 NM. I can fill the tanks, fly 480 NM (over 3 hours) and still park the plane with 32 gallons. Even if you end up filling the tanks to do that, they won't stay full (and leak) for long. And if only one wing leaks, burn from that wing first. Bob (Not just cheap but lazy too!)

Also yes. Had to go to a locksmith though. Like you, the hardware store couldn't find a match. Bob

I would not install a GNS 430. If you want WAAS/LPV approaches, get one of the newer boxes; Garmin GTN 650/750, King KSN 770, or Avidyne IFD 440/540. As others have said, why spend money on old technology that will become unsupported sooner. I think Garmin has finished ordering replacement parts for the 430/530. When the parts are used up, they will no longer repair broken units. If you don't care about WAAS/LPV, and you are happy with what you have, save the money. Bob

We have a KFC 200 and we have no such placard. We do have one (but probably shouldn't) saying the KNS80 RNAV function is for VFR use only, even though the KNS80 meets the requirements for IFR use. Bob

I'll throw in a couple more possibilities. For the low tank. When you fill it that close to the top, the inboard portion should be full to the top. However, there are ribs in the wing. I believe there should be little 'vents' in the ribs that allow fuel and air to pass the rib. If those little holes are plugged, you'll end up with trapped air in the top of the inboard portion of the wing. If these holes are still there but very restricted, the wing could appear to be full when you put the cap on. Then, over a period of time (minutes? hours?) the fuel finally displaces the air and your apparent fuel level has dropped. This is your true fuel level. I don't know the F, but if you have fuel tabs at 50 gallons (25/side), try filling it to the tabs, then see how much more it takes to fill the wing. If you have 64 gallon capacity and you can't fit another 7 gallons in, I would suspect trapped air. For the high wing, as someone else suggested, did it rain? If so, did you sump the tank to see if there was a bunch of water in it? Could be the cap was not sealed properly allowing water to enter the tank. Then as the fuel expanded from heat, it began to vent and started a siphon. Good luck, Bob

Will your flights take you mostly north/south or east/west? If you plan to fly north/south between say Eugene, OR and Bellingham, WA, you will be able to fly most of the year. If you plan to fly east/west over the Cascades, icing will keep you grounded a good portion of the winter (November - March or April). There will still be a few opportunities to cross the mountains, but a lot fewer than in the summer. I've got a J at Auburn, WA and it works fine for me. Unless you plan on getting a plane with 'known ice', keeping your IFR currency up, and don't mind sucking O2; a K won't do you much good up here in the winter. If you are fine with all that, the K will let you get a little higher, better winds eastbound (worse westbound), and maybe a better ride. Personally, I'd rather get a well equipped J than a K with less capable avionics. The K will also have higher maintenance costs (turbo Continental rather than NA Lycoming). Bob

Tommy, Yes, the GTN can drive the KFC-200. That's what we have in our plane. The autopilot just takes its clues from the flight director system, not directly from the Nav radio (regardless of which radio that is). So you just hook the GTN up to the HSI as the nav source and the KFC will track either a GPS leg or an ILS. Bob

You have to think in three dimensions. I have to do the same thing when I fly into San Carlos (SQL). You cannot avoid the San Francisco Class B laterally, but you can avoid it vertically. I have to do the same thing every time I fly into and out of my home airport in Auburn, WA. Fly below the Seattle class B even though I'm smack in the middle of it laterally. I've looked at going through the LA area too for a future flight from Arizona to San Louis Obispo. Following airways close to the mountains on the north lets you stay below the class B, above the Class C's and D's, and still be at a reasonable altitude. Bob

I avoid USPS with anything of value or importance. I usually use UPS. I'll go one step further. I don't trust any government or quasi government agency (except the military) to do their job properly.

However, if you are not in range of a ground station, and you don't have a dual frequency receiver, you will only see traffic that transmits on the band you have (direct air to air). Good news is that it seems most receivers are dual band. Bob

I'm planning an Angel Flight S50 (Auburn) to FHR (Friday Harbor) to BFI (Boeing Field) and back to S50 on Wednesday. I'm planning on taking off about 1330 from S50. I'm supposed to pick up the cargo at 1445. Hope to be back to S50 by about 1630 or so. I am hoping to find a safety pilot so I can fly part of it under the hood and log an approach at FHR and BFI. One of my partners says he 'might' be interested in coming along but won't commit until Monday. If Wednesday works for you, would you be interested in being a backup in case he can't make it? Bob

Same with the GDL39 and several other portables. Bob

I think what you are trying to say is that there are some UAT ADS-B boxes out there that include a GPS WAAS source. If someone does not have a WAAS GPS, they only need to buy one of those boxes for a few AMU rather than spend a fortune on a fancy pants GPS. If so, I agree. Bob

If it was up to me I'd have the TT31 installed already but I have to convince 3 other guys to spend the money. It would be nice to have. I've flown into San Carlos a couple times and our airport is less than 5 miles from the Seattle Class B surface area. When I'm close enough to somebody who already has ADS-B, I've been pretty happy with the traffic display on Garmin Pilot. Bob

The problem with the GDL88 or any of the UAT solutions is that you are ...adding... something (and weight) to the aircraft. You still need the mode C or S transponder. If you have a WAAS GPS and a Stratus or GDL39 already, ...replacing... your mode C/S transponder with a KT74 or TT31 you get 1090ES which will be good everywhere and pretty cheaply, especially if you already have the KT76A. I would just as soon see my traffic on the tablet rather than the GTN650 anyway. Our plan is to comply with the mandate about a year before the deadline. If the KT76A dies before then, I'll try to talk my partners into installing the TT31 at that time. Bob

The WAAS is required for the out. Bob

Be sure to check out the aft CG on that Bonanza. Useful load doesn't do much good if it all has to be in the front two rows. Bob

I hate to be a killjoy but I for one would not use it. I don't care if I set a precise power. I just climb to cruise altitude, set either MP + RPM/100 = 47 or WOT, 2400 to 2700 RPM depending on how fast I want to go, and then lean to LOP. I don't care if it turns out to be 55% or 70% as long as my CHT's remain under 400. Bob

I called Garmin. It was a server issue. Charts and plates for Garmin Pilot are now available. Bob

As of last night (Tuesday) the next set of charts and plates were not available for download into Garmin Pilot even though they are set to expire tomorrow, Thursday, May 28th. I was able to get the new set for Naviator though. Is it just me or is that the case for everybody? Bob

I disagree somewhat. Sometimes (more often than we care to admit) the brain hears what it wants to hear, not what it actually heard. Controllers frequently do not listen to the readback because they are busy formulating their next instruction to someone else. With a text message, you can go back and read it again. With a voice radio call you cannot. When flying overseas, it is easy to misunderstand a controller's radio call. I found Russians to be pretty easy. Same with Japanese. I had a bit more trouble with Koreans and believe it or not, British and French. I could not for the life of me understand the Chinese. Texting removes that problem. Bob

Something you might consider asking your partner (there are four of us owning our plane). Our agreement allows members to own different percentages of the plane (technically the LLC). As a matter of fact, I own almost twice as much of the LLC as the others do. I did that to allow us to get a nicer plane. We all still pay the same monthly costs ($250/month) and operating costs ($25/hour dry). The only time it will make a difference is if we sell the plane. When that happens, I'll get a larger share of the sale price that is proportional to the percentage I own. Our agreement calls for a majority vote to install or upgrade avionics. If we pay extra, that is, a one time assessment, our stake in the plane in terms of dollars is increased in proportion to dollars spent. However, it also allows that with the group's permission, fewer than all members can pay for 100% of the install/upgrade if they wish. If they do, their percentage of ownership increases in proportion to the cost of the upgrade. So in your case. Let's say you each have $50,000 invested in the plane. You each own 50% of it. You want to install the JPI 930 and it will cost you $10,000 to do that (just picked a number for simplicity). If your partner allows you to do that, but only if you agree to pay for it, you would then have $60,000 invested and he would still have $50,000 invested. You would own $60,000/$110,000 or 54.54% of the plane and he would own 45.46% of the plane. Nothing else would change. The percentage would only matter when you agree to sell the plane. You both get the benefit of the new equipment and your partner gets it for free. You have essentially given him an interest free loan and will get some/all/extra of his money when you sell, depending on how much you sell the plane for. Bob

What do a pilot and a controller have in common? If the pilot screws up, the pilot dies. If the controller screws up, the pilot dies. Bob

+1 I usually try to do this but as often as not the ATC computer changes my route away from the transition fix. Bob