bonal

Vernatherm don't usually stop working and was told very unusual for them to stick. Common problem is a worn seat in the engine or a worn plunger on the valve. But still would give you consistent temps albeit higher temps.

Was my first thought, I took vernatherm 101 at LASAR and its not likely going to give you variable temps and if it were stuck open and no flow was reaching your cooler your temps would not come down and would likely be higher than 240

Sorry to both you and Steingar about losing your pups. They truly are amazing wonderful creatures our Magneto is only around two and God willing we will have him for many years to come.

Hopefully your cercumstance will change such that you will be able to join the party. You certainly have all the enthusiasm for the make. Best wishes to you

So Mr. McStealth I was just wondering when you were going to stop standing on the edge of the pool and take a head first plunge into the Looney, I mean Mooney bin and join the rest of us nuts.

Good choice you have a C that has good bones and a new to you Commanche or Bonanza will be an unknown and certainly more expensive to own and operate. As for the (high) temps we all know that our C's run hot I don't stress about being just over 400 on the cylinders in climb as its below redline. Have you replaced your vernatherm if it's old I Can almost guarantee you will see lower oil temps if you replace it. We replaced ours and see an average of ten to fifteen degrees cooler. What kind of shape is your dog house in lots of potential to lower temps there if it's a bit ragged. And of course new paint isn't going to improve your performance but will certainly make you feel better about your C.

Fair enough and I certainly don't have your amount of experience. But I really don't feel like dragging my gear at 120 mph for a long long descent. A lot of the small fields we fly to are surrounded by mountains and I like to have as much altitude for as long as possible when flying over dangerous terrain I'm sure you would agree with that. I also like to have the destination airport within glide before I throw all that energy away. This will require me to drop power to the preset gear warning which I then silence by adding back a bit of power. this is a pre determined descent plan I would respectfully say it is well planned. Just to be clear I don't go from cruise power to 12 inches MP in one big pull, it's a gradual process an inch or Two as needed to maintain a stable descent. I kind of think having an airplane that is challenging to slow down makes it sort of an unplanned safety feature as long as one thinks that the challenge is to achieve "gear" speed as your objective when descending while slowing down.

While I agree with the comment on an inadequate plan for descent when you are flying in the flat lands but that does not always apply when flying in and around mountain terrain. As someone that will always try to fly as high as practical for maximum safety is very common to have to drop a lot of altitude with not a lot of distance to do it in. This requires pulling power way back and with a steep descent you get a lot of speed. This brings me back to my comment about my ASI as my primary gear down instrument as the challenge is to get it to gear speed. My reduced power will always go to the point where the warning horn comes on but as soon as it does I will add just enough power to shut it off so as not to diminish its effectiveness.

GUMPS is my routine but my primary gear down tool is my ASI I should re name it the gear down instrument as I'm always working to get it to 120 on approach its my number for OK to drop the gear. As I'm trying to get it slowed down I have only one thing on my mind get it to 120 so l can drop the gear then it's at least twice I say gear is down green light is on accompanied with a check on the J bar to make sure it's locked in place in the block. I know none of us is infallible but if your primary thought is slowing down to achieve gear speed and having an airplane that is hard to slow down it really makes you focus on that all important step.

Congratulations on making the decision to become a pilot it really is a great endeavor. A lot will depend on the flight school you have available to you and the availability of the airplanes. We purchased a C150 before I took lesson number one giving me access whenever I wanted. It also provided a different kind of training that of airplane ownership which can be as big a learning curve as learning to fly. It proved to be a great airplane to learn in and after we got our Mooney we sold it. All in all was a great way to go.

Here in CA it's the damn DMV fees that really are outrageous. Just got a renewal for my 2002 Yamaha fz1 for 123 dollars. Really for a motorcycle. Used to be as they get older the cost would go down. Doesn't seem to be the case any more.

We made a trip to VCB to do some Christmas shopping at the nut tree a couple days ago. It was a CAVU day without a single bump as we approached the field there was a good bit of traffic and could not pick them out even though all were making good position calls so with a bit of excess altitude to shed decided to make a 360 orbit to let things sort out. After was able to get a visual on every one and made our pattern entry. The trip home had us landing near night always get a kick out of turning on the airport lights with the radio. Two really good approaches leading to really nice landings is always a good feeling.

Flying, like driving is a privilege not a right and as such we are bound by the rules or run the risk of having that privilege revoked

I believe the foot wells are the same. Depending on how tall she is if the seat is all the way back her feet might not even be in the foot wells. We all must keep our better half happy but I do agree with MB in that you can't make that kind of assumption without an actual experience. Good luck, fun stuff looking for an airplane.

Violations of regs was not an issue here but certainly the ground controller must have recognized that he was having difficulty following very simple commands and maybe he was having a medical issue and perhaps a few minutes delay might have saved his life. Not trying to place any blame here but ATC's are here to help us fly safe and that might be more than just providing a heading or altitude assignment.

It might be possible that the departure controller did not know of all the difficulties between the pilot and the ground controller. He did note the speed brakes deployed but the accident pilots response was rather sharp in complimenting the controllers sharp eyes. I think if I were the ground controller I might have had the pilot return to the FBO for a quick chat like the time with the intoxicated pilot that was discussed on MS earlier. I'm not suggesting he was intoxicated but impairment can come in lots of forms. If he checks out OK then no harm no foul. Was the recording on ATClive from the accident flight?

Prayers and condolences to his family

It's been so smokey from the latest Butte county fire we didn't even want to fly and most airports near by were IFR as a result. But finally the rains came and knocked down that devastating fire and cleared the air. Went out to add some Cam Gaurd to my not so old oil and fly the pattern to get the corrosion off the PIC. Checked fuel levels and pilot side was just an inch and one half with just under five on the right side. Thinking on the discussion of the Mooney that ran out of fuel in New Jersey I added 20 gallons to be sure there was plenty in the tanks. First landing was terrible second was very nice third was also nice. Thought about a T and G but since I was not in a hurry and other than as a time saver I see no real application of the procedure I opted to doing full stops each time. Snoopy seems to be working fine with no issues. He really has been a very reliable beagle.

Just a note to thank Steve for his participation in such a worthy cause and was a real fun challenge. Most images available of the Smoky mountains are taken from ground level so really tasked me to make it look correct for the aerial view. I was happy with how it turned out.

Very sad to read this. God speed

Definitely agree on the medical before investing any of your time and money. Once you know you are fit to fly you can start with your learning process. I did mostly book and Gleim courses mixed with a little ground school with my CFI. As the worlds worst test taker I was shocked when I received a 95 on the written exam. Good luck and welcome to Mooney Space.

Just by starting this thread I'm half expecting a bunch of black suv's to pull up to my house.

Would be interesting to orbit just outside the area and see what transpires. Of course with the heavy smoke you would not be able to see. I wonder what would happen if you chose to drive to the airport. I don't know if it's included in the mandatory evacuation. I'll have to check cal fires web site.

But why not use Chico or Oroville, Corning is only 2600 by 60 and I've seen the planes they use for mapping and you could not operate out of such a short strip. And how would mapping be of a national security issue.

Looking on Foreflight for sky/smoke conditions near WLW I see the expected TFR around the fire in Butte county. What is unusual is an upcoming TFR that connects 0O4 to the existing one for the fire area which is a typical restriction . It starts tonight and only lasts one day. I'm thinking perhaps a presidential visit to the site but 0O4 is a tiny field and with Chico closer to the fire and much more suitable for such an operation what could possibly be going on there. The TFR sites criminal prosecution up to and including interception and being shot down. Never seen that in a normal fire fighting TFR.