kevinw

Thanks Alan. I'm feeling more and more confident about this trip. We'll be lightly loaded with just my wife and I and average luggage. My J is pretty well equipped including inadvertent TKS. Great advice that I will definitely remember! Thanks.

Thanks guys. Sounds like good advice. When it gets closer I might look for a little more advice. I appreciate the help.

I would like to know your route. Please let me know. Thanks!

Do you stick to the airways if it's VFR or just get high enough to clear everything?

i do have a tank and cannulas that came with the airplane when I bought it two years ago. I've had it up to 11K and once I get above 9 it sure seems like a workout. I'd like to do this without O2 if possible. 12K or lower. Thanks for the help. Good to know a J can get that high.

I'm thinking of making a cross country trip with my wife from west central Iowa to Southern California in May of 2015. Here's the deal; I'm a 500 hour pilot with an IR flying an 82 J. I'm planning a SW leg to an airport in the Albuquerque area for the first leg. Next head west to my final destination of Carlsbad, CA (CRQ). Might have to break it up into three legs. Flying in the flat Midwest I rarely use airways as we simply fly direct everywhere. I have zero mountain flying experience so I'm trying to figure out away across the lower mountains in NM, AZ and CA that is safe with my limited NA aircraft. Ive been messing around with the maps in Foreflight and the lowest MEAs are in 9k range and that makes me a little nervous. I've read some posts from some of you guys that have experience flying the area of the second leg route and would appreciate any advice. Thanks -Kevin

with a history of collapsing on hard landings. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Very cool. This has me thinking... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the great information. I think I'm going to go ahead with the EA100. My installer called today and told me about half do it and half don't. I'm leaning towards the single tube aspen but I sure like how you can switch AP sources. I assume your MFD has backup PFD capability (aspen 2000). The only reason I'm still considering the dual screen is there's a $1500 rebate on the 1500 series and $2000 on the 2000 series. Thanks for the help! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He said by installing the EA100 he could remove the century gyro that currently drives the autopilot. If there is ever a problem with the PFD the autopilot would kick off whereas if the gyro malfunctioned the autopilot would follow the erroneous data. Aspen also touts better reliability. I'm just wondering if it will capture approaches better and perform better overall. It's not mandatory he said, just recommended. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm seriously considering installing an Aspen PFD in my J and the installer is recommending the EA100 adapter that provides digital to analog data conversion from the PFD to the autopilot. I have a Century 21 AP with an S-Tec Pitch Stabilization System in the airplane. I understand how the box works but wondering how much of a difference it will really make in the overall performance of the AP. Do you guys think this would be money well spent or not? It's a $3500 add with labor. Kevin

Great video. Nice work!

I'm in for both doors as well if this happens.

I think you were right on your first post. Because the timing advance is based on atmospheric conditions and rpm I don't think pre-set timing matters at altitude. The EI is going to fire at the peak pressure point. Here's an excerpt from the installation manual online: At any altitude, a cylinder on the intake stroke draws in fuel and air. At lower altitudes, on the compression stroke (as the piston moves up) at the preset degree before the piston reaches the top of the cylinder (TDC), the spark plug fires lighting the air/fuel mixture. The objective is to reach the peak pressure point (as a result of igniting the air/fuel mixture) by the time the piston reaches 11 to 17 degrees past TDC. As altitude increases, thinner air reduces the oxygen available for the proper fuel-air mixture creating more space between the air/fuel molecules. When the spark plug fires at the preset degree before TDC, the thinner air/fuel mixture will burn slower. Therefore, the peak pressure point occurs much later than 17 degrees past TDC, and hence there is a loss in power. By advancing the timing based on RPM and atmospherics, the peak pressure point can be maintained much closer to 11 to 17 degrees after TDC.

It would be easy to have it reprogrammed back to 25 degrees. As Byron posted, then I would need the correct p/n mag and restamp the data plate. Just wouldn't want to go through all the work if it didn't make much of a difference. I'm going to look into this further. Thanks for all the advice guys!

The unit is set from the factory to 25 degrees but my engine is set for 20. The installer called electroair and they had him send the controller in to be reprogrammed for 20 degrees. Perhaps we shouldn't have done that. Did I just give up some power by doing so?

Yes I did. Originally he was going to install two on top and two on the bottom but I questioned it because all of my research said to do it the way you describe. After talking about it he agreed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great video. Always wondered how securely attached to the aircraft these cameras are but after reading the previous posts now I know. I think I know what I want for Christmas this year. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The installer discovered this during installation and sent the unit back to be re-calibrated. In hindsight I could saved some time and ordered it from the factory with the correct calibration (had I known). Problem is, the system is about $400 less at aircraft spruce than from the factory.

Well I finally broke down and installed the electroair EIS41000 electronic ignition system in my '82 J. First a little history on this plane; I bought this after a pre-buy with another buyer discovered a crack in the engine block. The buyer and seller couldn't get together on price and that was the end of it. I stumble along and like the airplane but the problem is I can't fly it. Trusting the broker who knows the seller well and has flown the airplane dozens of times, I buy the airplane for what I believe a very reasonable price. I converted the engine from the A3B6D to the A3B6, overhauled the prop and govenor, installed a JPI EDM700 and off I went with a zero time engine and prop in my new airplane. I'm going on two years now and the airplane has lived up to nearly all my expectations and has given me few problems. The reason I bring this up is the true airspeed. Both the broker and later the seller told me this airplane has a TAS of about 155. Since I've owned it I'm normally around 150-152 tops. I've often wondered if the A3B6 is the reason because the mag timing is set at 20 degrees BTDC. I also know I'm losing about 5 knots because of the TKS. Today I flew the airplane for only the second time since installing the EIS and I have to say I'm pleased. First of all starting is much easier than before. I've had problems previously (probably pilot error) but those are now a thing of the past. The first thing I noticed is the engine makes a distinctly different sound; it's not only smoother but just different. Because the weather changed significantly from the time it went into the shop to the time I got it back performance is a little difficult to compare. Taxiing out to the runway I find I can have the throttle completely out and the engine runs smooth at about 700 rpms. Before the EIS it would sputter a bit, even when aggressively leaned. Run-up is normal except now when I do the mag check I first kill the EIS with a second red Mooney rocker switch that was installed in the panel, rpms drop about 100 and I turn it back on. Takes a second for the EIS to fire again. Then I turn the rotary to R which shuts off the remaining left mag. I see a drop of maybe 20-25 rpms; hardly noticeable. Then back to both setting and rpms come back. After finishing the checklist I'm off. Full throttle and once again, clearly a different engine sound at the higher rpms and much smoother. The rate of climb is better but I honestly believe that's due the the colder temperature. At 3500 ft I leveled off for the short flight. CHTs and EGTs seem to be the same as before but once again, it's 30 degrees colder now. What I did notice is the TAS of 155. That was a nice surprise that I didn't expect. I'm wondering if this system increases the speed/performance more in the A3B6 than the A3B6D. I'm not a mechanic or even close but the D has the timing set at 25 degrees BTDC versus 20 degrees in mine. Perhaps someone with more of mechanical background can try to make sense of this. Fuel burn was the same as before but it will be interesting to run this at 8-10K feet and see how it does. One last thing. Today when I took off the airport manager, who is also my instructor, was walking outside and said the engine noise was noticeably different than before from the ground as well. He said it was not only smoother, but also quieter. I know this upgrade will never pencil out dollar-wise but I didn't expect it to. I simply wanted an airplane that was easier to start and ran smoother and I definitely have that now. Last year I had my prop dynamically balanced and that took care of a lot of vibration. Now that I've added the electroair my J is the smoothest running piston single I've been in. So far I'm very pleased and looking forward to giving more pireps when I put more hours on it. Kevin

I had the same issue when I bought my J. Looked all over for it. Turned out the light was actually on, just very dim and unnoticeable in daylight.

I read a similar article today on foxnews.com. Sounds like they don't want banners towed over their precious theme parks. Time to lift these bans.

You need a turbocharged model or an Ovation if your budget permits. I fly a J and while I can get it up to 12,000, It's too much of a workout. The J lives at 7-8,000 so I rarely go higher. Love everything else about it!

I just noticed the second pic in the gallery (the M10J) isn't real; its been photo-shopped. The aircraft leaves a shadow to the left and the hanger leaves a shadow to the right.

Mooney published more pictures of the new M10 recently. http://www.mooney.com/who-we-are/media-gallery/