VetRepp

Looking for advice, opinions or experience on Child's headsets. My Co-Pilot just turned 6, He tends to be a little noise sensitive. I'm in need of getting new headsets anyway. Any recommendations for a child's ANR sets?? Thanks Roger

I got mine thru Bruce's custom aircraft covers - Pricey but no other complaints

The Watsonville Mexican restaurant (Zuniga's) is closed.. sadly - it was good. ' Ella's at the airport' is there now - just opened - have not tried it yet. However Watsonville and the Monterey bay area is a fun place to fly into. However may have to time coastal fog layer clearing - so lunch / dinner may be better.

Thanks for the replies. I have called Midwest twice in the last 2 months, each time received voicemail instructing to contact thru Web site / email and have thus far not had a return call or reply. I thought I saw in a previous post that #2 STC's were needed - 1 for prop and 1 for Gov changes and so I thought I would only need one. But I guess it costs the same either way. Does it land any differently and would you do it again , was it worth it? Thanks Roger

I'm' considering the jump to O3. I already have the correct prop, And as I understand it, putting in the Tach rpm change is just a matter of settings selection on a G1000 reboot - Which I'm sure I'll need anyway when I acquiesce to the FAA ADS-B mandate and will combine the work at that time. I'm in No. Cal.. I think all I'll need is a new governor and pay for the STC. (I think there are 2 STC's - 1 for the prop which I shouldn't need and 1 for the governor) Am I missing something?? Lasar doesn't do it and Top Gun is looking into it but they don't have prices for conversion w/o the prop or new tach. Does anyone have an idea what it should cost; or pitfalls to avoid, or A&P to consider for the work Thanks in advance Roger

Looking for expertise. Our sons school does an auction to raise money - it is a 501c so therefore tax - deductible. They get several items donated for the auction. Last year helicopter ride was a big item so my wife suggested a ride in our Mooney. My question: I am not commercial rated, Will the FAA consider this compensation for hire (i.e. Tax Write-off) and therefore illegal. It is publicized enough that I want to be by the numbers. Any thoughts? Thanks

Thanks for following up and keeping on top of this. Being in your same situation, I really appreciate it !! I assume WAAS approaches would not be an option with the remote WAAS gps unit, and would need to 'go crazy' and get the full WAAS pkg to get approaches. But the news is encouraging

I'm based @ 20 nm away from SNS, and will probably go, but will likely drive - Since its only 20 min away.

I've had similar conversations with Mooney and Garmin over the last year. I'm waiting for Mooney's solution, before I decide. Garmin has always said it's not my problem - talk to Mooney - because Mooney has the type certificate (?) on the G1000 installation in their aircraft. (While at the same time they greedily try to charge you >$500 for a simple $10 SD card) I suspect the solution will likely be a GDL 88 w/ built in WAAS, and upgrade the transponder to GTX330-ES. This would satisfy the ADS-B req'm, for in and out and will interface with the MFD; but those G1000 aircraft that were pre- WAAS - will still not have WAAS approach capability. Still hoping

I've been one of those that have asked them about this a couple times this last 6 mo. It would be nice for an affordable, compatible and integrated solution giving us WAAS. But I suspect the solution will be to upgrade the GTX330 to the ES version (A relatively simple fix @$1500) and STC the GDL88 (w/ internal WAAS). We still won't have WAAS approaches but we will be ADS-B compliant. This will still be a chunk of $$ to comply, bcs WAAS antennas will be needed and so it won't be a drop in solution. But I'm still hoping for more without having to take a 2nd mortgage.

Thanks to all for your input. I'm embarrassed to say the problem was MY STUPIDITY. There were no markings as to which was Batt#1 or Batt#1 in the tailcone. So I looked in the POH which said that Batt #1 was L/H battery. So I was testing the Battery that was prominently marked L/H. (It didn't seem right that it was on the Copilot side - but looking in the tail cone it was L/H). So I was testing the wrong Battery / solenoid all along. I replaced the real Batt # 1 and all is well. It seems an A&P a while back switched batteries for some reason, and I assumed he marked them so others wouldn't have a future problem. DOH DUH BTW - The starting procedure is correct - The Master needs to be on to get engine gauges on the G1000 - there is no Avionics master.

I need some help understanding my battery / electrical problem. I have a 2006 Ovation 2 GX. I went to start on Battery #1 as usual - It fired up the G1000 and even raised the flaps, then when I tried to start the engine, all electronics shut off and everything went black. Turning off and on the Master had no effect. Except for possibly a slight flicker in the STEC55x (suggesting some current?). I switched to Battery #2 and everything worked as normal - There was also no indication of any problem prior to this- I went Flying and checking both batteries in flight (We're now on engine Alternator - electricity). They both seemed normal Voltage and each drew only a few mA from the alternator. Back on the ground, I used jumper cables to connect the 2 batteries in parallel. (My thinking was this would tell me if the problem was the battery or the Battery#1 circuitry) -- Everything worked normal when batteries were connected. So now I thought it was the battery. (I use a battery minder but I found out it is just connected to Batt #2) I have a volt meter but no way to check amperage. The Voltage of the bad battery at the time was @ 20 V I called Concorde and they said it was an unusual way to fail and suggested I charge up the battery overnight. - This brought the Voltage up to 26V But still did not solve the problem. To avoid unnecessary expense in case it was not just the battery, (especially since they are $510 a piece) - I sleuthed further. With the master switch on, I tested the voltage across the Solenoid. It was 25v on Batt side and @ 5-7v on the other terminal. Repeat testing the Solenoid with both batteries connected once again in parallel as before, resulted in 25V across the solenoid and all electronics fired up normally once again. Since I had no way of testing the amperage, I assumed the Batt even though charged up to 25V was unable to produce sufficient amperage to work the solenoid without the help of the current from the second batt when hooked in parallel. This made sense to me and the Mooney Tech was pretty sure sure it was a depleted Battery. So I bought a new battery, to no effect. My questions: If this is a Solenoid issue, what I'm trying to understand is 1) Why am I getting Normal reading across the solenoid with the help of the other battery hooked in parallel? - Is there some other way the circuit is being completed except for across the solenoid? I thought the two circuits (Batt#1 and Batt #2) were independent. 2) When the problem originally started, If the solenoid switch worked to open the circuit for the Avionics to fire them up, why didn't it stay open when the Starter was engaged? Before replacing a Solenoid, I would like to understand better - Any thoughts or help would be appreciated Thanks Roger

My Battery went dead today as well - At least I hope it is the battery. I have an Ovation 2 w/ dual Concordes RG24 - 15?'s and maintain them always on the Batteryminder. They have lasted longer than the 'Manufacturer expected replacement times'. Anyway, I went thru all pre-flight start up w/ the G1000 and even raised the Flaps (I keep them down when hangared so my 5 year old won't step on them) and everything went fine, Then I started to crank and all power was lost - G1000 shut off , no engine turn over - nothing. I cycled the master - still nothing, I then switched to Battery #2 and everything went fine, as normal, Plane flew well on Batt #1 - alternator power and the ammeter read normal voltage and charging on both batteries. But if I shut off alternator on Batt #1 --> Power lost. Batt #2 Did OK. My Question: I thought batteries usually died by losing ability to hold charge or crank power, Not sudden death. are the concordes somehow different? or does this sound like a different problem? Solenoid or connection? I'll check it out tomorrow, and if nothing obvious perhaps switch batteries to see if it is indeed the battery before popping $500+ for a replacement. Any Ideas? (Didn't mean to hijack the post - If it is proper protocol to start a new post - Let me know) Thanks Roger

Another aid for these 'upside down' filters showed to me by my A&P is to puncture a small hole in the top of the filter and wait til all oil is drained from drain plug before removal. - I do also wedge a paper towel under filter mount before unscrewing just in case but I get very little to no spillage this way. I'll also often start the draining at the end of the day and let it drain overnight - then button it up the next day.

The Mooney is a very stable instrument platform and the basics of IFR flying can be taught by any CFII, but If you don't plan on flying a lot of other planes in the near future, and both are strong CFII's , then YES, why not get a Mooney specific CFII and use him to learn as much as you can about both Mooneys and Instrument flying. My 2 cents. Good luck on your IFR - It is very much worth it !!

Mooneys Reply (and in <30 min)....... -------------------------------------------------------------------- Roger, I can offer a few thoughts, but no definite plans. The Garmin rep is correct. Mooney is introducing new aircraft with new software/hardware to include ADS-B out, however even this project is not complete as of this writing. That said, I would not look for the software to be available to the field before 2015. When production certification is complete, aircraft with existing WAAS may be able to simply install the GTX33es and upgrade software to meet the mandate but even this is tentative at this point in time. Non-WAAS aircraft will require a Mooney certification program to include additional equipment and software upgrades. At this time, it is still a thought. This program schedule does not have a firm start date at this time but several options are being discuss for the upgrade. Bottom line, right now as you said, Mooney is busy with the restart and everyone here is excited about getting the production line spooled up. Mooney has not forgotten the field and there are many questions just like yours coming in daily so stay tuned… Regards, Paul Kehner Technical Support Engineer ---------------------------------------------- So I'm waiting longer as originally planned , and hope I don't get caught scrambling Roger

Just received a response from Garmin - (perhaps they monitor Mooneyspace?) - See Post #29 Now to see what Mooney Says, I Guess.

Stupid question but ... I have an Ovation 2 - IO550G, What does the white box on the EGT between 1400 -1450 represent? It isn't in the Manual and Garmin didn't know at the last AOPA mtg, so I guess it's a Mooney IO550G specific marking? See attached thumbnail Thanks Roger

I plan on waiting a couple more years - and naively hope Garmin will do right by its customers (I'm being delusional I know) On a related subject - 1) Does any one know if the GDL-88 will interface with the G1000? 2) Does anyone know what is involved in the upgrade of the GTX 33 to a GTX33 ES - Is it a software or hardware upgrade? {I asked Garmin those questions and they seemingly didn't even look at the question before passing the buck saying it is up to OEM when upgrades are done (OK I get that but they could at least answer the questions) I like the Garmin product, but not their greed or terrible customer service, OK rant over - I guess you can tell I'm one of the forgotten G1000 owners.}

I know 'hydrate' wasn't PC (...proper chemistry ), but I couldn't think of the right term. Anyway thanks ChrisK for the concern, I do always keep enough fuel for at a minimum of 1 hr flying, In fact the most I've ever put in was @ 80 gal (102 gal tanks) But still at $0.75 - $1 less per gal on cheap Sat - it adds up.

Distinguishing the Mooney Pilot (from the Comanche - or any other) would be easy, They would be the ones getting there much faster, in style, and with a big smile on their face.

Thanks to all for the quick responses. Now I understand, It's not the Drying out that causes the cracks or leaks - it is a sustained Temperature problem; and the fuel is helping by acting as coolant not a hydrator ? (Fortunately I'm always hangared at a California beach airport where the temp is rarely below 40F or above 80F) So the consensus is to keep saving the 15-20% on the Cheap fuel Saturday and be even that much more efficient than those other poor pilots. Thanks Again Roger

This may be a re-hash of an old topic. I apologize if it's old stuff, but ... I used to always keep enough fuel in my tanks, so that 4 average people could get in and take-off without being over max gross weight, should we need to. Lately my homebase airport has cheap gas every 2nd Saturday of the month - as a promotion that has stuck, so I'll let my tanks get as low as safely possible (close to that day) then fill up to tops- which saves @ $70, but I've recently heard it's best to keep tanks fairly full to keep sealant wet and last longer. And now I'm wondering if keeping tanks low for up a week will have a negative effect on the tank sealant or future leaking. Anyone have any thoughts on how full the tanks should be when not in use (for sealant or any other reason) ? Thanks Roger

I had them on my 231 - (My Current plane - Ovation 2 has electric). The manual speedbrakes were nice because you could partially deploy them to 'fine tune' the Engine and VSI descent rate numbers on ILS approaches.

Anyone have any experience with getting installed or editing/customizing the checklist file on the G1000 for an Ovation2 ? (Mine doesn't have it installed - Would like to if I could make it useable) Thanks