whiskytango

I don't know much about 3-D printing, but I would be concerned about manufacturing a part where I cannot duplicate the specific metal alloy used and/or any post-fabrication heat treatment applied in the manufacture of the OEM part.

^^^^^^This. I was an independent consultant, and my clients didn’t care how I got to the job sites as long as they weren’t charged for commercial airfare above Coach, or charged for long (8 hour) trips by car. Of course the clients knew that I carried liability insurance on my aircraft, plus my consulting firm had E&O plus general liability insurance, so if things went south they could point the Plaintiff attorneys at me. I enjoyed those instances when my colleagues who arrived at a site by commercial air would complain about how their departing flights were delayed for hours due to flow control, Wx, etc. I was happy to tell them that my flight was on time, and would be departing shortly after I arrived at the airport.

Signature plays hardball. In my case, one of their ground vehicles was left unattended, rolled backwards and hit the engine cowling of my plane, which was tied down in a shadeport at the time. I personally witnessed this happening, as did a Signature employee. Signature eventually paid for the cost of an inspection and repairs, but only after I signed a release that said they disputed my description of the incident (in spite of the photos I took that showed their vehicle in contact with the plane), and they had no responsibility or liability whatsoever in the incident. Good luck!

I agree with @Huckster79 and @Jim Peace. Back in 2005 my previous K model was on the ramp after having its annual performed. A hail storm rolled through and did major damage to the wing, elevator and fuselage skins. The insurance company included stripping and resealing of the main and aux fuel tanks in both wings as part of the hail damage repair. The shop that did the work assured me that they had done other Mooney fuel tank strip and seals and knew what they were doing. Big mistake. They took MONTHS tracking down multiple leaks that they created as a result of their strip and seal job. When I needed to have the tanks in my current K model resealed I used Wetwingologists East. The job was done perfectly the first time and came with a 7-year transferrable warranty.

As @GeeBee mentioned, you were NORDO on a heading toward the SFRA. Also, your destination KILG is the area of the VIP TFR, so you were making ATC nervous. That doesn't mean you did anything wrong. There are some areas on the east coast that I frequently fly that are virtual dead spots for the frequencies I am assigned. The ATC transmissions get so weak in these areas they become unintelligible. There have been times when I never received a hand-off because I was in a dead spot for the assigned frequency I was on. This may have happened to you. The VHF communications system ATC uses is not perfect.

+1 on having the vice grips in the plane. My door handle pin broke on a hot summer day with the sun blazing. Not much fun.

I made a landing on a road after an engine failure on my previous K model. It turned out OK with no injuries to anyone, and damage limited to my left wingtip and the A-pillar of a car that didn’t quite get out of my way. I would never do it again. Due to wires across my intended flight path, I had to change to a much more dangerous landing spot than I had originally intended. The outcome could easily have been tragic with the slightest of changes in conditions (my touchdown and ground roll took me through a intersection with a green light!). Faced with similar conditions (no fields or other open surfaces within range), I will mush into trees and hope for the best rather than subject innocent bystanders to a situation that is potentially life-threatening, with little they can do to affect the outcome.

The FAA will put you on Double Secret Probation.

I used GATTS and was very happy with the training I received, in fact it was probably the best training I have had in all of my flying. I don't know if they still use this technique (I got my IR about 20 years ago, when vacuum gyros were prevalent), but they covered the Attitude Indicator for the entire training, so pitch information came from the Altimeter, and roll information came from the Turn Coordinator. All practice approaches and the full Checkride were flown with partial panel. It really gave you confidence that you could safely handle real partial panel if needed. They also used simplified methods for Procedure Turns. All of their training methods were about simplification and safety. Another thing that impressed me is that the CFIIs were not kids building hours toward an ATP and airline job, but were very experienced and effective instructors who enjoyed instructing. I went back to GATTS to get my Commercial ticket.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^This. I was once asked by ATC to do a short approach for high speed traffic on extended final. Flying the mighty C-150, abeam the numbers I dropped all 40 degrees of manual flaps, turned base, dove at max flap speed and did a forward slip rolling out on final. On a draggy plane like a C-150 it is amazing how fast you can get on the ground. ATC appreciated it.

I will add to the "improve it until it is worse than before" discussion with my beef about ECMs (Electronically Commutated Motors). These are the replacement for PSC (Permanent Split Capacitor) motors used in HVAC systems, and can operate as variable speed, constant CFM or constant torque fan motors. ECM motors do save energy by matching motor output to actual load. The problem is that the integral module that controls the motor seems to have a very short lifespan (at least in my case). I installed a new HVAC system in 2018. The air handling unit fan ECM motor module failed in 2021. I replaced it, and it is now failing again in 2023 (2 months after the end of the warranty, of course). The motors are ridiculously expensive compared to PSC motors, so people are now replacing failed ECM motors with "inferior" PSC motors. ECM motors are supposed to last for 10 years, versus 8 years for PSC. That has not been my experience.

Your experience with Lucas Electrics was different from my Austin-Healy. Like many others, I referred to Lucas as the Prince of Darkness.

An electrical engineer buddy once told me that electrical systems are like oil burners: You adjust them for minimum smoke.

I am surprised that YouTube does not block posts by content creators who used YouTube to monetize activities that resulted in criminal behavior. Like @ArtVandelay, I certainly will not give him any clicks.

I have gotten into the habit of renting a Tesla whenever I am on a business trip. I really enjoy driving the car, and the engineer in me likes converting kinetic energy to battery capacity with regenerative braking, rather than waste heat in the brake pads and rotors. The rental company (Hertz) has been pricing the rental rate for a Tesla less than a comparable ICE car. If I have time I will stop at a Supercharger to put a charge on the battery, but even if I don't I haven't seen a line item in the final bill for battery charging.

I agree with @GeeBee that attempting to land at night with no runway lighting is a really bad idea. A long time ago I regularly flew into KEZF in Virginia to visit my girlfriend. On one flight the weather was closing down rapidly, I was low on fuel, and was not instrument rated. I keyed the mic to turn on the PCL and nothing happened. After repeating this several times with no effect, I decided that I "knew" where I was, and would line up with the runway approach end. Suddenly the runway lights came on and I realized I would have hit a maintenance hangar on the heading I was holding. I went around. After I landed and pulled off the runway a truck raced up, and a guy (the airport manager) with a gun pointed at me started screaming that the airport had been NOTAMed closed for night landings due to drug traffickers using it as a transfer point. He had seen that I was about to crash into the hangar and turned the lights on. I made a major mistake in failing to read the NOTAM, and then compounded it by attempting to land on a runway with no lighting in a rural area. Never again.

I don't know anything about GAMI either, but it would be interesting to know how the testing they conducted to get the STC compares with the "real world" experience of UND with UL94. I would think that the producers that GAMI would sell the rights to produce their fuel to would want to be reassured that there are no unpleasant surprises ahead. For that reason GAMI may want to duplicate the UND operational program, assuming that they haven't done so already.

I am already at 75, gusting to 76, and just got a quote for renewal. There was a 10% premium increase, which I attribute more to the current hard market than my age, and no additional requirements other than the Flight Review every 2 years and valid 3rd class medical. I did not see any increase other than inflation when turned 75. I have been with USAIG for about 15 years. YMMV.

But there's this: "The 9000 series is the most reliable computer ever made. No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake or distorted information. We are all, by any practical definition of the words, foolproof and incapable of error." HAL never promised that he would always be rational.

I think I see the TV set in there too.

Before cataract surgery my uncorrected vision was 20/450. After surgery my uncorrected vision tested at 20/20, but I had really poor close vision. I have been using "bifocal" readers (clear glass on top) but would like to avoid the head movement needed to focus on close objects. It sounds like Shamir progressives are worth a try.

If you are a Part 107 drone operator you can apply to the FAA for a waiver to operate in controlled airspace on a specific flight basis, so there is accountability for those operators. It is the non-Part 107 operators that I suspect are creating all of the problems. As others have mentioned, some of them have no idea what they are doing with regard to airspace regulations. These guys will continue to fly their older drones with no Remote ID, no accountability and will continue to put aircraft at risk.

Once Remote ID becomes a requirement, you can use an app such as Drone Scanner to get the real-time drone altitude, location, pilot identification, pilot location, and location history for any drone that you see. The FAA will also get that info, so hopefully drone operators will be held accountable for bad behavior.

Per FAA mandate, as of September 16, 2023 all drones weighing 250 grams (about 1/2 pound) or more were required to be registered with the FAA and have Remote ID. The date for compliance has been kicked down the road until March 16, 2024, due to complaints by the drone manufacturers that they could not get enough Remote ID modules to equip the fleet. It will be interesting to see the level of compliance once RID is mandatory. Many drones made by DJI already have Geo-Fencing built into the firmware to keep idiots from flying in controlled airspace.

To the OP: The best source of information on MS concerning 231 operations is @jlunseth. Read his posts and you will get a wealth of detailed information on 231 engine management.