Jeff H.

I would be your target market. I would not consider buying such a plane with steam gauges. In fact, would need to present a better value than the alternatives to even consider purchasing with a full G500 + GTN750, etc. panel. As Piloto pointed out, it's still a used aircraft. Financing and insurance issues will also present challenges at that price point. I enthusiastically support your idea exploration and entrepreneurship. Just my honest reaction to the concept.

In viewing the video (thank you, btw - it's great) the striking comparison was between the women and men in the photos. It's comforting to know that the ability for Pilots to score female companionship well beyond our pay grade is a world wide attribute. Thanks for sharing!

Late to the party, but maybe this is helpful: - Online versions of the Rocket Manual do not include all the pages in the actual manual. If you don't have the paper version, you don't have all the available information. All information below is from the Rocket Manual. - 9 Qts minimum oil. - Take off: "Refer to the flight manual for take off performance. We certified it to do as good or better -- this is your safety margin." - Landing: "Landing distance charts in the flight manual may be used. We certify the aircraft to equal or better than these performance charts." - 35 MP/2500 RPM = 26-27 GPH Power chart attached. Note takeoff, climb and cruise power settings along with fuel flows. Jeff

Citation out of Houston (note: The amounts below are my understanding of the pricing - your mileage may vary.) 5 x $1,650 dry 3 x $600 crew + Fuel (?) and catering if required $10,500 + fuel, catering and expenses. Thing is if it's 8 adults, not sure they're fitting on the Citation. If you have any interest, PM me and I can put you in touch with the contact. They will also have other aircraft available at a higher cost.

Trim position doesn't matter - it flies off by itself.

No Rocket checkride. :-) However, another flight and I'll be checked out in it and then really become a danger to everyone else.

The first milestone in an endless journey. Started taking lessons on Oct. 14, 2013. Encountered first hurdle in getting the medical certificate. After paying the pilot forum medical guru for his time, he looked at my records for 15 minutes (have the sent time stamp and the reply message), he said I'd never get a medical of any type. Being stubborn and persistent, I kept my chen (cough) up and went forward. 7 months later I had a medical certificate. Went overseas for business, came back and my CFI had taken an airline job. One short detour to a new CFI who was -- I keep forgetting the clinical definition . . . oh yeah -- batsh*t crazy, I found a great CFI who was willing to take me on mid-stream. Time for the checkride and the preferred DPE loses his ticket. Futile efforts to find another known quantity DPE. Original DPE gets authority back which leads to what can only be one of the most unusual circumstances for an oral exam ever. That story will be left untyped. Day of the oral exam a week ago is a biblical deluge. Continued to this morning. Checkride complete. Temporary ticket received. Sometimes through this process I wondered if someone was trying to tell me something or if the endurance race would just make it all the more sweeter when complete. We're sticking with the second thought for right now. Looking forward to continuing to look, listen, learn and experience something I truly love doing. Thanks to everyone here for being willing to share their experiences and knowledge. Jeff

iPad Air 2 has new non-glare screen. No mention for the new Mini 3.

I sense a new sticky thread - "Mistresses Undressed - The Beauty and Suffering"

So . . . M20K, 3 bladed feathering prop, 17k ft, 232 kts . . . sounds like a Rocket is no more. :-( When and if you have the chance: - 232 kts -> 87 kts best glide. Did you trade speed for altitude or remain at 17k when transitioning to best glide speed? - Book says 16:1 glide slope with the prop feathered. Any thoughts on how reality compared to book values? - Was Chilton closest or did you select that airport? - Any approach, configuration or instrument challenges on the way down? (How quiet was the cockpit? :-) ) Congratulations on getting it down without anyone getting hurt. Best outcome. Appreciate the opportunity to learn from your experiences.

Don Maxwell has a write up on similar behavior. May or may not apply. http://www.donmaxwell.com/publications/MAPA_TEXT/M20-202%20-%20Eight-Second%20Ride/EIGHT_SECOND_RIDE.HTM Good luck.

All, - Aircraft was just out of annual when purchased. Timing was adjusted from 25 to 20 degrees. Possible affect on proper idle mixture settings? (What worked before doesn't now?) - Signed up for SaavyMX as a new plane owner felt it would be helpful. - Last week downloaded and sent to to SaavyMX 25 hours of flight data from JPI 700. They confirmed the stumbling and suggested fuel starvation based on temps. - Will possibly have a SaavyMX pirep after working through this. - First occurrence was after 10 hrs flying and a 4 hour leg. Validated the Shadin fuel remaining values, gauge values and gas in tank after filling this weekend. Had 7+ gallons remaining in the selected wing tank, so should not occurred because of low fuel. - Yes, my confidence level in the plane was very low when we departed over the weekend. Took things very . . . slowly. Seth: Thank you. Saavy noted that the take off CHT values were higher than what they wanted to see. Interesting coincidence. Jose: Thank you, I will run the test. David Mazer: Using your Rocket checklist exemplar and making changes for my specific aircraft. Thanks for posting. Thank you to all for the insights. I do appreciate it. Jeff

Hello All, First, thank you to all who have unknowingly provided an information treasure trove which helped drive the decision to purchase my first airplane - 1981 M20K Rocket. I've had a lot of questions, however most have been able to be answered by searching this site. Now that I actually have the Rocket, I have the usual long question list. The first being that on the first landing at the home airport the engine stumbled in the pattern and then quit on roll-out. We were able to recreate the problem this weekend: - 20" MP or less - Intermittent stumbling. - Shadin fuel flow goes from about 14 to 5 and then recovers. - Occurred at 5K altitude while practicing configuration changes and approaches. Suspect fuel vaporization. Any thoughts on why this would be occurring at low altitudes or other likely issues? Is this a common Rocket issue and just hit low boost pump and move on? On other new ownership issues - seemed like we had a squelch issue on the intercom. Convinced there was an avionics issue. You know, until I moved the vent from blowing on my mic. Ah yes, this is going to be fun. :-) Thank you for any insights, Jeff

I have the same friend Don does and he said the same thing to me. With regard to weighing passengers and luggage - yes, use a travel scale for the bags (hang them from it) and a cheap bathroom scale for humans. With regard to airliners, I often been on a plane where passengers were relocated from front to back (or vice versa) in order to balance the plane. Plane would not move until some passengers changed seats. YMMV

Verify factory or aftermarket. My 231 Rocket with factory air has one port at the pilot location and three just behind the pilot seat.

CloudAhoy uses internal iPad GPS - or compatible external device - to create a three dimensional flight track. The cool feature is that the app breaks down the flight phases automatically - Taxi, takeoff, cruise, descent, landing and taxi. You may view as a two dimensional track with graphs for airspeed, altitude, vertical speed (among others) or view as a three dimensional representation using Google Earth. Google Earth may also be used to virtually re-fly the flight from the pilot's perspective. If you are doing any manner of flight testing (post overhaul, aircraft upgrades, etc.), the information is very valuable. If you are a student (for any cert) the detailed records are extremely helpful for post-flight debriefing. For PPL, the application will breakdown slow flight, steep turns, stalls, etc automatically. Each procedure can be analyzed independently - vertical speed, airspeed changes, course accuracy. Instrument procedures may be broken down in a similar manner. If you are a flight instructor, see above. Also, the ability to AirPlay the flight using an AppleTV to a big screen is a very useful tool. The ability to import flight tracking records from other apps - ForeFlight specifically - is nice because CloudAhoy is not compatible with the Stratus. The more accurate position information may now be imported for analysis. Because it tracks the flight phases, you can also use it as a helpful reference for logging purposes in case, you know, one forgets to record start and end flight times. Not that any of us would ever do that, of course. YMMV, Jeff

15 landings during a 2 hour training flight in 27 kt cross winds helped tremendously. (I should be truthful and say 13 - pretty sure there were at least 2 go rounds.) In addition, EYQ is 9/27 orientation. Every takeoff and landing is a cross wind experience. With regard to what works for me, see below. With all due deference and respect to those much more experienced, I wouldn't have responded except that straight wind landings are truly unusual and x-wind landings may be one of the only things that seem to be flowing well. - Crab technique: Directional heading into the wind enough to maintain a straight approach to runway. - Round out: Maintain crab into the round out. - Flare: Maintain crab into initial flare, then yaw to begin directional correction. Repeat mantra "Left rudder, right aileron" (or opposite maneuver, as needed to lower wing into the wind direction) Set down on the low wing gear first and then let the aircraft settle right on the center line. Maintain aileron correction into the wind during roll-out. For me it was the last aileron correction to lower the wing that took the longest to integrate into the process. It's what will keep you on the center line. Good luck.

Make sure your aircraft moment is entered in IN-LB - my value is 99,001.19. It's the only balance value entered in that form in the application and is easy to miss.

"Never let the facts get in the way of a good story." -- somehow associated with Yeager. I believe a contemporary described him as embodying this concept.

In Houston . . . Often drop by the "Wings and Wheels" events . . . will likely have our new-to-us Mooney by the 20th . . . and we're leaving for vacation on the 19th. DOH!

I realized after answering I may not have understood your question - sorry. Attached are the station entries. For front seat I would probably suggest using 34 rather than 39 as indicated - my understanding is that the seats are usually more forward during flight. Hope this helps more.

Attached is the W&B information from the Rocket STC. Also attached is a screen shot of my (potential) Rocket setup in ForeFlight. Same issues as you - very forward CG. And disregard the overweight issue - I'm just testing. Hope this helps, Jeff RocketSTC.pdf

Thank you to everyone for your responses and suggestions. I appreciate your help. Jeff

Hello, Would there be any recommendations for a Mooney pre-buy resource in the Los Angeles area? M20K at John Wayne (KSNA). - Searched the forums, however could not locate previous recommendations. - Crown Air in San Diego is "too busy" to assist. Appreciate any resources you may know. Thank you, Jeff