bonal

Very nice video but sadly I didn’t see any Mooney aircraft either flying or in the background.

You didn’t provide an option for member or non member that is neither happy with or unhappy with AOPA. I support them with membership but don’t spend any time dwelling over their operations on a day to day basis and weather they bring me happiness or sadness

Started my membership as soon as I began training for my PPL 17 years ago and was very proud to be part of the flying community. I met Darren when he hosted a town hall meeting at LVK last year and was very pleased with his presentation and especially his enthusiasm for the real pilots in GA you know folks like you and me. I was disappointed to hear this news about the termination and can only speculate that it was really about differences he had with the board. I agree with those who feel the board is more in support of the kerosene burning community as opposes to the grass roots flying population. I intend to keep supporting with my membership as I believe they still support GA overall. For instance any airport closures hurt kerosene burners as much as the rest of us. I guess in closing I would ask if any of you that canceled your membership before Darren was hired started supporting AOPA with renewed membership after he joined their team.

Yep, fortunately my first instructor was a stickler for stick and especially rudder. They don’t climb well but they do descend well that way.

Fair enough

Trouble accepted

Early on in my Mooney flying when I had to do my first unplanned go around. It was a bounced landing and on the second bounce I fire walled the throttle the trim was way up and the nose shot straight up and it caught me by surprise yes I had the strength to push the yoke forward but it took some effort but mostly it was the suddenness and if I had reacted any slower I’m certain it would have stalled and slammed down onto the runway. This is now locked into memory but at the time with so little experience I consider it lucky I pushed as hard as I did

To me run up and pre flight are two separate things. At the hangar I do an in depth walk around checking everything down to the fasteners oil, belts control surfaces prop blades tail play on and on. I wish the Mooney had an easy open cowling like the pipers and others if they did I would open and do a thorough inspection as it is flashlight looking into the hatches and into the front opening. Just wanted to be clear about my procedure

This has been a very interesting and educational thread that has stayed mostly on topic. I’m surprised that it hasn’t drifted into the AOA indicator debate, oops. As for my pre flight run up routine I like to use the CIGARS controls checking for full deflection elevators aileron brakes and rudder (which is confirmed during taxi) Instruments, including a full scan and setting of all Gas set for correct tank. Attitude this is where I confirm trim and desired flap setting.. Run up 1700rpm includes magnetos prop cycle and carb heat. Safety seatbelts door check. I guess this would fall under the flow category I’m sure I will receive criticism for this but it works well for me. I remember flying my 150 and doing lots of stalls and what I thought were spins it was pointed out by my instructor that I was actually doing diving spirals and it wasn’t until I took an unusual attitude and aerobatic syllabus that I learned how aggressively you had to move the controls on a 152 aerobatic to get into a proper spin. when doing my flight review my CFI likes to get me to stall buffet by using the above example where you are slow behind the power curve with a slight nose up and pull back this seems to be a more likely situation compared to the radical climb into the sun approach which I can’t imagine anyone flying like that unless you’re flying a full on aerobatic plane

Agreed it’s good to see anything new that adds choice to our heavily regulated airplanes, just curious what country are they manufactured in?

Certainly not a good thing and I wonder if has anything to do with the emails advising about the requirement for iOS 18…. To run the program moving forward. My iPad is still in a 17 and I can’t run the update due to insufficient storage or whatever the correct terminology is. I haven’t received the email but I’m sure I will at some point. Back when I was shopping for a flight planning app I also checked wingx is anyone using it and if so what are your thoughts on it

I can only speak from my personal experience and am only basing this off my single CHT gauge. On hot weather days if I climb at 2700 I see the indication at just above 400 reducing to 2600 made no visible change to the temperature but reduced to 2500 I can definitely see the needle indicating just below the 400 degree mark. Now I know the original gauge is not calibrated but it’s accurate to itself and the reduced temperature is consistent every time in climb. WOT full rich mixture 120mph IAS and as noted before this gives me around 600fpm with Two and full fuel plus fully loaded with goods from Wallyworld. I know this goes against new age technique but then this is an old age Mooney.

I get 2700 on TO roll but after gear and flaps I turn down to 2500 due to cylinder temps this keeps me just under 400 degrees and I still get about 6 to 7 hundred feet per with two on board and full fuel at 120mph indicated. BUT, taking off is a very controllable action. Getting caught in an unexpected down draft you’re going to want every bit of available climb performance you can get. That one or two percent might be the difference in the outcome. Not really a problem until it really is.

First things first, you need to confirm your tachometer is accurate. There are optical sensors that can do this I think they can be found on apps for cell phones. You may have already checked this and are moving on towards correction. Governors are usually not too hard to adjust

A suggestion for a separate mission from the LA area would be BVU Boulder City NV. nice airport nice town and close to the Hoover dam. Definitely worth a visit as it’s one of the most impressive examples of engineering you can explore. And not from a distance as you can wonder all around the facility even take a tour down into the damn thing. A short hop to the Grand Canyon from there as well. Easy to access under the Vegas air space and ATC is real easy to work with.

Agreed see my post above, remaining cabin looks pretty much like original shape

Ahh, trolls don’t bother me much matter of fact the Little Timmy was some of the funniest shit ever.

Last flight for 2025 was a few days ago. Local weather today is totally socked in. Hopefully more flights this year looking forward to seeing all the posts from all of you. Happy new year and wishing all safe travels and smooth air.

Just finished a fantastic prime rib and lobster tails with alfredo fettuccine dinner. Damn can I cook! Happy new year to you all. Resolution, to fly more in 2026. Be safe out there

This is truly a personal choice and there are only right answers for the individual. For me I went a different route and chose the DC proX on ear with ANR. they are super comfortable and only weigh 7.5 ounces which is just over half of some of the other popular brands. Also zero interference with wearing glasses. The NR is pretty amazing and they cost a lot less. Can’t stand putting anything in my ears no matter how comfortable again a personal choice. Another advantage is they fold up real small and take less space in the flight bag. The proX 2 has blue tooth but personally (there’s that word again) the last thing I want is music playing while I’m piloting to me it is very distracting but to each their own.

I remember many years ago I used to work at a performance shop that did tire and wheel upgrades and we had contracts with a couple of the local Ferrari dealers. I had the enviable job of picking up and delivering the cars in for modification. Anyway after we finished the job and to be honest I can’t remember which model Ferrari it was I couldn’t get it to start. While making another attempt my co worker came out and shouted they converted it from injection to Weber carburetors. Oh, three pumps on the pedal and it fired right up

Based on the two images above I would say just the opposite of your conclusion. It is quite apparent that there is no deformation of the cabin above where the rear seats are located. It also looks like the cabin was cut away most likely by rotary saws used by fire and rescue crews. Also in one of the images you can see what looks like the center post at the front of the cabin area and it looks like it’s still in alignment with the roof line. In fact I would suggest that the baggage door that is showing would probably open normally. since both images show the top completely removed the images are inconclusive

Don’t think of it as criticism as I said very educational. But I think in my humble opinion more productive without the stone throwing.

Seriously, this has evolved from a guy that was unhappy with the EFB Garmin product. Unfortunately a fair bit of ego bruising but for an VFR only pilot like myself has been very educational.

WAIT, WHAT!