kevinw

I have the Century 21 AP with the S-Tec 60 PSS (Pitch Stabilization System). While I have electric trim it didn't work with the AP so I had to manually trim in flight. This wasn't a big deal in level flight; it was a little more of a problem when shooting approaches because as soon as I intercepted the glideslope it went significantly out of trim. With my system a light would come on indicating trim up or down and I learned to anticipate it on approaches. However, I finally broke down about a year and a half ago and added the S-Tec autotrim. It was an option the previous owner could've added when he installed the PSS but he didn't do it. It works very well and it replaces the entire trim switch on the yoke. I'm sure if you contact S-Tec you can add electric trim to your AP. Here's the bad news, like everything in aviation it doesn't come cheap. It was a little north of $6K to add this to mine but I have no regrets.

There's a '68 C for sale on this forum. N6905N. Looks like a nice plane that might be worth looking at.

I'm currently 2020 compliant and have the GTX330ES. I wish I would've waited because now the GTX345 is available; that's the route I would go today. Ads-B in and out in one box...no brainer for me. Also, I could be wrong but it's my understanding that the U.S. is the only country that uses the 978 Mhz UAT and that makes me wonder if that will go away someday.

Next time I'm in KC I'll be there!

I have flown in to MKC and I agree, it would be a good spot if you're planning on staying in the KC area for a bit. If you're just fueling up and taking off I recommend Lee's Summit (LXT) about 15 miles south of MKC. I use to fly into there quite a bit a few years back. It's non-towered, has cheap fuel and most importantly for you, it has a crosswind runway. Just remember right traffic patterns on runways 11 and 36. Here it is on airnav. http://www.airnav.com/airport/KLXT.

It's like watching a slow, painful death.

I'm sure many of you have seen this Accident Case Study of a stall/spin of a Cirrus in Florida.

Terrible news. It can't be emphasized enough how important it is to stay coordinated and make shallow turns in the pattern. Every time I read about an accident like this it makes me reevaluate my skills and decision making and hopefully makes me a safer pilot.

Count me in Don. M20J. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's actually tied into the Tanis heater so it's only hot when the Tanis is plugged in. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sidewinder. Just got it a few weeks ago. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here's what I do in the cold Iowa winters and I've never had a problem with starting. I leave the engine plugged in 24/7, use a Kennon Cover, a battery minder and finally a portable heater kept on low to keep the cabin and avionics warm. For those of you that have TKS, the battery minder plug works well in the TKS door. I also installed a Concorde battery last year. My Gill wasn't very old but I wanted the extra cranking power and the Concorde is noticeably better.

How much would one of these engines run $$$? Ball park.... About $31K at the time. The shop offered the engine at cost as they were making it up on the labor. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The front ones are easy; Mine are below the panel snug to the sidewall. The rear get a little tricky. Mine are installed in the hat rack. The idea was they're less likely to be accidentally broken off. To be honest if I had to do it again I'd probably install them somewhere closer for rear passengers to reach them. Sorry, no pics at this time.

Here's a four minute youtube video that walks you through setting up ForeFlight but it has some good info for Garmin folks also. It's essentially a video version of the blog.

Looks great. Nice work! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've wanted one for a couple of years and finally broke down and ordered one last week. Haven't seen any used ones out there but I'll bet they bring good money. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Kevin. I'm not an A&P but I do know the systems. When the gear goes from up to down and reaches the limit, it depresses the down limit switch. The down limit switch is a dual-pole switch. One side is NO and the other is NC. As luck would have it, I can also tell you that particular switch costs $210 from Mouser electronics! The NC side opens when the limit is reached and stops the current to the motor and the motor travels slightly more and the gear goes overcenter. The NO side closes and illuminates the light. So yes, The gear CAN be down without the green light as long as the floor indication indicates that it is. Of course, if you have this, there is a problem in the system somewhere. I believe Mooney says the floor indication is primary and the green light is secondary. Not sure where I heard that, but it makes sense. I look at it like this... the system is pretty fool-proof. The only way for the light it illuminate (outside of an internal fault with the switch) is to depress the down limit switch. I am comfortable using just the light for gear-down confirmation. Thanks for sharing your expertise. This is great info to keep in mind. Always heard how great the Mooney gear system was just didn't know the details as explained. Much appreciated. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would sure like to know from a Mooney CFI, perhaps our friend Don Kaye, or an A&P if what I was told is true. That if the gear down indicator light is on, gear is down and locked. If not, it doesn't necessarily mean it's not, but now it has to be checked with the floor indicator as it trumps the panel light and indicates to the pilot for sure if it's down or not. I've only owned a Mooney for about three years so I'm fairly new to the systems and would like to know if this is correct or not. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There is another school of thought that disagrees with the floor indicator check. The obvious reason is what you brought up, vertigo. I was taught, perhaps wrong, to follow the gear indicator unless the the green gear down light doesn't illuminate and/or the gear unsafe light is on. If that happens then check the floor indicator. I'm not advising my procedure, just passing on how I was trained to do it; to keep the head up to avoid vertigo. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have been in a G500 that was off quite a bit once. Same issue I am sure. If I had to guess, it was setup with the plane on its wheels as level, not its' level flight attitude. Your shop guy is right, your plane with a couple of Mauraders' chicks on board in the back will definitely be in a nose up attitude, and should reflect this on the attitude indicator. Depending if the girls in the back are reaching back for another cookie or leaning forward to give me a kiss, I get these indications on my Aspen: Is this a problem? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Now that's some funny sh*t! Lmao!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice ride. A Bravo with an Aspen Evolution 2500 in the panel. What a cross country machine this setup would make! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Personally I like the idea of buying an airplane with an engine in need of overhaul if the price is right. The new owner can convert the engine to an A3B6 with roller tappets and also have the comfort of knowing exactly how it has been operated. That's what I did with mine and I have no regrets.

I just got my plane out of the shop and he corrected it. I was told they level the aircraft on the ground and then adjust it. One thing I found interesting is that he told me that the Aspen and also the G500 can be slightly off based on how the aircraft is loaded. For example if there are passengers in the rear seat, the display may show a slight climb because the aircraft is slightly pitched up due to the weight / aft CG. I'm going to watch for at different loading configurations.

I have the same setup with the same results. Metro areas only.