Mooney in Oz

A really nice little story there Richard. Your wife is special. I wish my ex had been like that. Victor

I've had a B&C standby alternator for a while. On a J, it just fits in the area where the vac pump was and is one of the most worthwhile additions IMHO when your panel is mostly glass. I assume the F model fitment would be similar, but I don't think there is a model available for a K. It came in handy one time when the alternator belt almost failed. Victor

I had Soundex fitted upon the advice of a mate, but without headsets I can't really tell if it is an improvement in sound reduction. Probably a moot point as I'm always wearing noise cancelling headsets anyway. Here is a link to Aircraft Spruce that displays a number of insulation products, including Soundex: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/cs/sound.html

My mechanical told me he has worked on a number of SR 22's that have suffered from serious overheating (cylinder) problems due to poor ventilation under the cowl basically caused by a very tight engine installation resulting in big $$ and offloading in the end. I do not personally know any SR 22 owners to ask whether they have this problem and I'm not sure if they would admit to it. I would like see data comparing maintenance costs over say 1000 hours or 10 years between a SR 22 and an Acclaim. That would be more realistic than irrelevant insurance comparisons.

Hi there Thomas. In addition to the time saved, there is also the miserly fuel burn factor!

It makes me sad seeing a picture like this. Like someone's neglected elderly family member.

Don, The reason I am offloading my GNS480 is a realistic concern that Garmin will in the not too distant future, no longer support these units. At this stage the bezel is no longer available. Garmin have published an alert the unit is nearing its end of service life. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/aviationalerts/gns-480-cnx-80-end-service-life/ Victor

I understand the AMX 240 is an Avidyne badged PS Engineering 8000BT.

Hello Warren. A few years ago I also had an Apollo stack consisting of a GX60 (later replaced by GNS480), SL30, MX20 (later GMX200), SL70R and SL15. They are all almost gone except for the GMX200. My stack mainly consists of Avidyne gear, including a IFD540. The GNS480 will be replaced by a IFD440 in a month. What I would consider is how much longer will the GX60 be supported by Garmin? I am surprised if it still is and I believe at least the screen has not been supported for a number of years. Also, I can't see the benefit of a 3rd com and have not known of anyone doing this. You also need to consider how much longer Garmin will support the 530W as you will still be spending a substantial amount of money for a used unit plus the install. I don't know how good its display is as a substitute MFD. The MX20 was a brilliant bit of gear, way ahead of its time. As you can tell, I am not in the USA but I do see that there appear to be some good deals with more well known avionics shops including installs that accept trade-ins. If your heart and wallet is set on Garmin then I'd look at the GTN650 or 750 and GTX345 for ease of compatibility and saving $$$ in the long run. You can't go wrong with a PS Engineering audio panel. Victor

This Bonanza accident prompted my memory of a similar accident here in Australia that involved a Mooney M20J that occurred on October 3 1997, at night over an outback area in pitch black conditions. The Mooney was fitted with a vacuum operated attitude indicator, directional indicator and the pilot's only backup was the electric turn coordinator. The Pilot broadcast his instruments were failing and attempted a diversion. Sadly, 3 souls perished as a result. The investigation revealed clear evidence of a vacuum pump failure. Furthermore, the Mooney had flown 1,248 hours and 7 years on the same vacuum pump until it's last periodic inspection some 2 months before the accident. Obviously nothing was done about the vacuum pump at that inspection. The only differences between this and the Bonanza accident was the Bonanza broke up on the way down in IMC, the Mooney remained intact until ground impact and was in pitch black conditions at night. Same failure and same result. For those who wish to read the analysis: https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/1997/aair/aair199703221/ Victor

The following is more to do human factor weather decision making; With the availability of reasonable weather forecasts these days, I always have a study of all available weather forecasting info at least 4 days beforehand. Even looking at a simple synoptic chart that far out, you should have a good idea what to expect. Sometimes the best solution might be to not get out of bed that morning. I read somewhere once that the sun will mostly shine on the wreckage the next day. Victor

Another reason to get rid of the ram air is if you have it open and enter cloud in icing conditions, only needs to be light ice, it opens up a high risk of stopping your engine. Your engine will not restart until you have escaped those conditions. Just ask me how I know! It was the most essential mod when my Mooney was repainted. Victor

+1

Totally understandable. Thank you, I wasn’t aware of that.

I have an Aspen and it has always indicated about 2 KIAS slower and 50-60 feet lower in cruise than the steam indicators.

Is there any chance of a Mooney Summit being held in Kerrville? I know about MAPA's Homecoming as I've already been to one, however if they did not clash.....

Totally agree. @PaulM. I have an Aspen Pro, IFD540 and 55x. The 55x behaves exactly as you describe in that I have to arm APR by pressing the button in all regimes for the Glideslope to work . I usually do this as I am approaching the IAF and below the Glideslope intercept. Victor

I have an Aspen Evolution 1000 Pro with SV added since the software was released and have never noticed any such issues. IMHO Aspen will release major upgrades or totally new products sometime in 2018 as they have recently offered aggressive discounts on current major products, to possibly clear stock. This is just a wild guess on my behalf. Victor

Install an IFD440 to compliment my IFD540 and possibly make it to the Mooney Summit. Victor

I hope the following helps to answer anyone’s specific query relating to creating a holding pattern that is not associated with a published specific fix relating to the IFD540/440 navigator. For example, if inbound and ATC issue a ‘Clearance limit 25 DME’, which sometimes happens here in Australia, moreso at country airports with a tower controller, in our Class D airspace. Firstly, at this stage the IFD user cannot enter a Hold Present Position, as this feature is not presently available. However I have been reliably advised by someone of significance at Avidyne it will likely be added in a future software update. Who knows when this will happen? If it was available now, at say 30 DME the user could simply enter a Hold in just about no time, which would achieve the above objective. As a way around, there is however a cool feature currently available called Rubber Banding. This enables the user to place their finger on the touch screen at any point along the track enabling either left or right track changes simply by sliding their finger to say go around weather or for any other reason. When this occurs, the track changes from magenta or magenta/white to cyan and where the finger stops an info box pops up with a default name ‘RB001’, meaning Rubber Band 1 with the coordinate that has just been created. The user does not have to Rubber Band left or right as screen touching on the displayed track for about 2 seconds is sufficient. The created coordinate (RB001) can now be incorporated into the flight plan under the FMS tab thereby enabling the user to enter a holding pattern. In the above scenario, RB001 can be created on track at 30 DME. As you can tell, I have a 540 and will soon add a 440 to my panel. The units are intuitive and very easy to use. I hope this helps. @PeytonM, I haven’t had the need to attempt what you describe. Have you tried this on the IFD Trainer simulator app? It is an excellent resource. Victor

Probably too late to be included in 10.2.1 for us Avidyne folk. I'm sure it will happen in a following update.

Years ago one of our Mooney group members was flying his M20C when the aircraft suffered an engine failure following a sudden loss of oil pressure. At the time the pilot was flying over suburban Sydney and elected to glide it into a golf course. He chose a fairway and toward the end, deliberately aimed between two trees that resulted in the removal of both wings and slowed the aircraft enough so that it was able to dissipate the energy and stop before colliding into a row of other trees at the very end of the fairway. He stepped out of his Mooney (minus both wings) and walked away, much to the dismay of golfers. The photos were quite amusing. The cause was found to be a previously unbeknown damaged oil quick drain. Evidence indicated the engine had possibly been either dropped, hit a floor or another object hard enough prior to install resulting in the damaged quick drain. Overflying golf courses and noticing how short the fairway lengths are from above, I sometimes wonder whether I would have the skill for such a successful outcome. Going between the trees carries with it the risk of fire by exposing all that fuel, but ending up into the trees at the end poses more than just a fire risk. It would be between the trees for me. Victor

Folks, I also would like to respectfully put my view forward relating to what I also believe to be misinterpretation of Don Kaye's post. I say this on the basis of having personally met and flown with Don extensively in a demonstrator Mooney Acclaim some years ago when he and other Mooney officials, including the then Mooney CEO Dennis Ferguson visited Australia. I found Don to be very professional and humble both as a teacher and on a personal level. I spent quite a lot of time with him and most of our conversations were to do with Mooneys. I will never know anyone in Australia that has his vast Mooney knowledge and experience. We have all at some time or another been misinterpreted in either emails or in this wonderful forum of ours as keyboard language is devoid of normal, personal interaction. A special thank you to @Cooperd0g for sharing. Victor.

At least a trade-in then I hope.

You won't be disappointed. When the need arises I'll upgrade my 830 to a 900 or 930. Victor.