LevelWing

Count me in.

If my plane comes back up I'll go anywhere in Texas. Or regionally. It also depends on the dates. Mid-late May would be good but I'm mostly open.

There was an old one that came with the plane when I bought it which was straight out of the POH. I took that and added a few additional things that I liked and then typed it up and had it printed and laminated. It turned out well and I really like it. I've also started moving the checklists over to ForeFlight to try that out, but always keep the checklist in the plane with me.

Yes. I wonder if they started the push-to-release in 70?

To open the oil compartment on the cowling. I have a small screwdriver in the back I use instead of this key, though.

I have that as well. It's part of the leather casing that the keys came in. This is my spare set and I keep this tucked away so it doesn't get ruined.

Congrats on the sale and I hope you enjoy retirement. I'm looking forward to continuing to see LASAR stay around. Enjoy your vacation!

I have been looking for one of these for a while. I started a thread several years ago asking if anybody knew where I could have some made. Glad to see some of these still floating around. I may pick one up (seller says he has multiple) though I'd rather have a darker one to match my other set. Thanks for sharing.

I've been looking to do this as well. I figured an iPhone App would be the way to go. I'll have to give Genius Scan a try.

I just tried and the link works for me: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdj-PF1UNoTkoLSN-XpodyNJ8MNvNnc8XKM7aX-Ut4vl-hY3w/viewform?c=0&w=1

I posted something similar in the thread in the General Mooney Talk forum. One thing to note on your prices for the TruTrak is that the price listed on their website is for the experimental versions and TruTrak is saying the price will be approximately $5,000 with installation kit once it's certified. Additionally, with the Trio you'll have to purchase the GPSS separately for $500, according to their website.

I live in west Texas and go to the east coast several times a year, all VFR. Do all the usual route planning and obviously keep an eye on the weather and it should be fine. I cruise between 9,500 and 11,500 regularly without issues. I do not have an IFR GPS. Pick up flight following for added safety. I would avoid flying directly over the Great Lakes and would prefer to skirt the coast in case of engine problems, but that's just me. As for flying out west, you may want to look into hiring an instructor for a mountain orientation flight if you aren't familiar with flying in the mountains.

Perhaps but I may also not have all the data accurately captured. The list of features came from the TruTrak site because they actually clearly list them. I had to hunt around the Trio website to try and find theirs which is why I may have missed some.

I was browsing through both websites and decided to throw together something simple and quick to see the differences since there were some big ones (such as GPSS being standard with TruTrak). Attached is what I put together but if anyone sees big changes, let me know and I'll update it. From this, it would appear that TruTrak is the better option, but I may have some data incorrect on this. APComparison.pdf

I'm leaning this way myself but am certainly open to seeing what Trio has to offer. If I'm reading their websites correctly, TruTrak offers GPSS as part of their standard package while with the Trio Pro Pilot you have to pay an additional $500 for it.

This is the autopilot they're working to get certified. Throughout the few threads on this particular autopilot some questions have been raised about additional features. Hopefully we'll get some answers to those soon. http://trioavionics.com/ProPilot.htm

I was thinking the same thing. It would compliment the G5 nicely, especially if they priced it right.

Living in west Texas it's hard to go anywhere in a car without it being a several hour drive. The Mooney is great for weekend hops to wherever we want to go because we can get there fast and be back at work on Monday. Friends who don't fly routinely discuss trips that they want to take but need to wait for 3 day weekends or vacation time. We are spoiled by the perk of flying ourselves to begin with, but more especially with owning a Mooney for the speed and efficiency. We travel to the east coast a few times a year and it's about 10-11 hours of flight time plus two fuel stops. A little longer heading back to Texas. We can pack whatever we want, leave when we want and with the ability to hook up the iPad, we have free in-flight music and movie service and complimentary food (or at least significantly cheaper than a commercial flight).

It looks like this is now posted in General Mooney Talk, here and Avionics/Panel discussion. Maybe we can get them merged?

I don't monitor guard but perhaps I should. I've been asked to tune it in a few times by ATC to confirm if I'm hearing the same thing but I don't normally monitor it. It's unfortunate that this happened. I'd be interested in seeing the preliminary report from the NTSB.

What does the cost look like for their Pro Pilot Autopilot system? I see the prices for experimental aircraft on their website, but not the certified aircraft prices. By "firm commit", does he just want an email or is he wanting money?

I know that I'll have my plane for several more years (5+, likely). On one hand, I can see the argument of not wanting to spend $25k on upgrades when that $25k could go towards another plane. However, while I still have the current plane and am flying it, I'd like to make my trips safer and more enjoyable. I'll upgrade as I can. In the end, any upgrade I do will help sell the plane in the future and my return on investment is my satisfaction, enjoyment and safety in the mean time.

Thanks for the explanation, it all makes sense. Browsing around on the Avidyne site and looking at some videos, the IFD boxes seem to be really user friendly (though my experience with Garmin is limited to the 430W and that's still pretty limited). I understand your point about the transponder and redundancy. The GPS and transponder would take care of that issue. I'm less concerned about the ADS-B in with the Lynx or others simply because I have the Stratus box but if the GPS can add that in there for little to no cost (such as the Avidyne solution), then it makes sense to do it. It's starting to look like I'm going to spend $10-15k either way and it's more a matter of which route I take to get there. Thanks for the feedback. I'll post pictures of the painting when it's done.

Your list makes sense, though I've done things in a much different order than you listed. The first "major" upgrade we did was paint the plane but that was because a deal fell into our laps that we couldn't turn down, cost wise. Obviously you've responded to my thread about what to upgrade next and you made some excellent points in your post. I think a transponder is more important for me right now than an engine monitor with the upcoming 2020 mandate. As you know, I live in and am based out of a Class C airport so this is big. For me, starting with getting a standard 6 pack is the basis for all future upgrades (unless my train of thought is wrong, which is why I made that thread). Having a standard 6 pack makes the scanning easier and puts all necessary instruments in my view (in the picture in my thread you can see that the manifold pressure/fuel flow gauge is on the far right side and is hard to see with that raised, fake wood panel). With a standard 6 pack I can then upgrade as necessary. I agree with your reasoning in each of your points and it's driving part of my thought process for what comes next.

I have a few follow up questions for you. Which transponder route do you recommend? Why do you prefer the Avidyne solutions over the Garmin ones? I'm leaning towards the L-3 Lynx transponder but I'm not sure that it's worth the cost. I could get a GTX 327 and something like the FreeFlight RANGR Lite and be ADS-B compliant. I already have ADS-B in with my Stratus box.