Bravoman

One of my favorite courtesy cars was at Cross City Fla in the late 80s. It was a late 50s pickup with three on the tree. The proprietor of the bar/restaurant on the field kept a "domesticated" wild pig which had the run of the place. Those were the days....

I agree wholeheartedly about a ppi that fails. Like a friend of mine likes to say, "your first loss is your best loss".

Just got here to Chicago yesterday. Landed at Chicago-gary which is just a short train ride from the city. Great airport and very helpful folks at Coleman aviation. $5.05 avgas as well. Not much farther than midway and a whole lot cheaper. The train station is right by the airport and they give you a ride. The airspace mess sucks. It caused us to be sent over ft Wayne and goshen coming up from Atlanta. Probably added 30 minutes to the trip. I understand the fallout from this might last several more days and it might be easier departing ifr out of Gary vs midway.

I have had a Saratoga for the last 5 years and got my Bravo late last year. If you can justify owning two planes it is really the perfect combo. I use the toga anytime it is more than just me and the wife, which is frequently. Good luck with the sale of your plane.

Hey, if you want to take your harem out of town you'll need a mooney, Saratoga, and a C-5A!

Looks like a nice set of wheels that the mooney squashed! Maybe a Porsche?

Marauder, I got to tell you, being the brash New Yorker that I am, you are hands down one of my favorite dudes on this board! Actually that is what I was trying to quote

Marauder, I got to tell you, being the brash New Yorker that I am, you are hands down one of my favorite dudes on this board!

I have an STEC 60-2 in my Toga and a KFC 150 in the Bravo. Maybe it's just because I have used it for far longer, but I like the STEC much more. I would swap out the 150 in a heartbeat but the 60-2 is something like $16k a copy these days

There is something peculiarly un-American about no Costco in the entire country!

I have a bravo and am based at both Ryy and pdk(keep Saratoga at Ryy) unfortunately, I am not aware of any mooney specific instructors in this area. Joey Cole used to instruct, but he is strictly doing mechanic stuff these days. Let me know if I can help in anyway, or if you need a ride back to your field when you drop your plane off. I look for any excuse to fly! Regards Frank

Agree with Jose. I fly two planes, with XM in one and ADS-B WX in the other. XM is still a far better product in my opinion. The presentation is better and less pixely. It isn't free though, and it would be interesting to know what kind of a bite the free service has taken out of sirrious/XM's share of the wx business.

That is truly a gorgeous bird. Looks like right out of the factory. Probably better than factory new with all the love it looks like it got.

Dave , thanks--I got it now. I am assuming these figures are largely derived from the POH or no? Frank

Don, what do you mean by that? In other words, how are you arriving at 53? Thanks, Frank

So true! My father used to say that every key you add to your key chain represents another pain in the ass!

I will. BTW I met you at Ryy a few months back. I think you were dropping your daughter off. You helped me push Bravo back into the hangar. Regards, Frank

I agree. I got the 2013 427 convertible and love it. I actually prefer the styling to the C7. Something about the rear of the C7s I just can't get used to

I deer hunt not far from you in Macon county. There are plenty of places down there to let ER rip!

Thanks for the advice. My plane is still in avionics shop and one of the things I'm doing is upgrading the original JPI 700 to 730. I'll make sure that probe gets swapped out.In fact, ill make sure they are all replaced. I agree, it's cheap insurance. I Have never been one to risk decreased engine life to save gas. One question: if I was inadvertently running too lean wouldn't I be seeing high chts? Thanks again, Frank Frank

Dave, I dont run lean of peak and I cannot remember ever getting to 1700 on the TIT. It typically peaks out at around 1580 to 1600 at that setting(30/24). However I typically don't have an opportunity to get up to 17 or 18k because most of my flights are between Atlanta and st Augustine so the distance doesn't warrant it. Most of my flying is between 8 and 13k, but I am looking forward to some upcoming planned trips to experience the higher altitudes and the performance and operating numbers where I know the Bravo is most efficient. Perhaps the delta as to what we have observed is due to the thinner air at the altitudes you speak of(?). Just out of curiosity what is the %power at your settings. It is my understanding that 30/24 is around 65-70%. I will try your settings when I get my plane back from the avionics shop to see what happens. Frank

+1for the sportys video. It helped me a lot.

Jimmy--welcome to the board. You made a great choice in planes. Have had mine since late last year and found transition from Saratoga to be pretty easy. My seller, who holds a cfii was very kind to spend a couple days with me to get acquainted with the bird before I took her home. I had never previously owned or flew a Mooney, but since you have I'm sure that will make your transition to the m20m all the more easy. I find the plane to be very stable and predictable, and I actually think it is easier to grease landings consistently as compared to the Toga. For me crosswind landings are consistently better as well. If you stay on your numbers the Bravo feels like its on rails during the approach and while flariing and touching down. If you're too fast, even by a little, she won't want to settle down. Also I have found that flap retraction as soon as practicable after touchdown is real important to a stable rollout. Fuel consumption is really not crazy in my opinion because in cruise you can comfortably lean back to about 16gph at settings such as 30/24(I sometimes pull back prop to 22, which is the lowest allowable rpm setting). When you factor in speed as compared to other planes with big bore lycs and continentals, i really think the Bravo is pretty efficient. Just be mindful of your chts and try to keep em below 400 at all times. In this regard, I find that when ambient temps are up there cracking the cowl flaps a half notch helps keep the chts in the comfortable range while in cruise, with no perceptabe loss of speed. For the past couple weeks my baby has been down at Sarasota avionics getting a panel upgrade and I sure can't wait to get her back! Good luck and enjoy! Regards, Frank

I keep my Mooney at PDK and a toga at ryy. You are right--things do change. Unfortunately, with some exceptions such as tremendous improvements in technology and equipment, many of the changes have not been kind to private flying. Most airports are ghost towns. I wonder what it will be like 30 years from now.

Sanjeev, I learned how to fly and was based at Vandenberg for a few years back in the late 80s before moving to Atlanta. What a great little airport that was. It had a real club feel to it and I loved hanging out there. Have not been back in many years but it looks much different from what I can tell. It is tough to find that type of airport today, but I guess the 80s were a long time ago and it was still the heyday era of general aviation.