CCowboy

I'm at DVT, SE hangars. Have a 79' 231. Just came back for Colo where it is a lot cooler, but smoky. Happy to discuss Mooney aircraft any time.

The web site is being converted to another platform with the service provider. It should be up soon. The new site is in final stages of construction and will have some links not functioning properly. We know this and are finishing up the construction project. The site will have new content and the old content that is not valid removed. Please stand-by and we will have the project running shortly. We decided to clean up the site now as the traffic is low and not any formation groups are meeting until the social distancing is relaxed. Fly Safe/Be Safe Cowboy

Get the Windy.com app or check out their website. You can get the "meterogram" at each airfield (set up airfields on the map). It will give you MOS data in a graphic form-but better. See cloud bases/tops, temps, precip, wind, etc. Have used it for about half a year and it is very good product. There is a lot of Wx data with the website/app. Play with it for a while and the map version will layer cloud coverage, bases, wind, precip, etc at any point in the US. The map can be set to use NAM, GFS, ECMWF forecasts. You can run a forecast time on the lower sliding scare and see the Wx progress. www.windy.com

Registration for this years Mooney Caravan to Oshkosh is now open. This is the 22nd year of the event. All the details regarding schedule of events, qualifications, and fees are on the website www.mooneycaravan.com Also on the website are descriptions and dates for our formation training clinics. Now is the time to register and plan your training clinics. This event keeps getting better every year. Come join us arriving at the worlds largest aviation event.

9-3. Just east of Aerocare and with a view of the runway. Will be out there tomorrow afternoon returning from Proterville Ca mid afternoon.

Howdy neighbor, I am in hangar row 9 at DVT. I have used Westwind Avionics in the Cutter hangar a few times and am very pleased with their work. Their fees were reasonable. Doug is the shop manager.

I do have one. Sitting in my hanger, in working condition. I replaced it with the Red Baron LED light. Just email me if jbgood dosn't have one.

The Mooney Caravan/Red Star Pilots Assn Gunfighters Formation Clinic will be in Yuma AZ February 1-4, 2018. This is the premiere and longest running Mooney Caravan Formation Clinic. See the attached sheet for details. Come join us for intro/basic formation training and get qualified for the Mooney Caravan to Oshkosh this summer. For those who have the basics, get recurrent training or advance your skills into 4-ship formations. Again, we are partnering with the Red Star Pilots Assn. This brings in the option to train for a FAST card and fly with dissimilar aircraft. The clinic is well organized with a Air Boss to assign flight make up and airspace for deconflicting training sorties. Yuma is blessed with perfect weather in February. As this clinic is based on MCAS Yuma, you will get daily airshows with a variety of military aircraft. Meals are covered in the registration fee, will be based out of the Holiday Inn. Millionair FBO is our host, a superb facility. Review the attached info sheet and follow the instructions to sigh up, registration deadline is 02 JAN 2018. Please respect the deadline, we need time to plan for the swag, airspace, and training/safety personnel. This is a popular event, last year had 35 aircraft. They came from each coast and Canada. Get in position and sign up now. Gunfighters Yuma Clinic 2018.pdf

Back in 1978, mt first CFI job was with ERAU in Prescott where we used Grumman AA5-B's for primary training. Great primary training aircraft. Was able to function well at high DA airports, and carry 3 people with fuel. Now they have C-172-SP for primary training. Too bad they quit making the Tiger, much better performance than Cessnas and Pipers in the same class. If I wanted a fixed gear/fixed prop aircraft, this would be the first choice. I see your photo is a Yak-52. I also fly a Nanchang CJ-6. You in RPA?

I installed the 3 blade MT prop back in 2008 when I rebuilt the engine in my 79' M20K-231. Is is 17 lbs lighter than the McCaully prop it replaced. Positives: improved take off and climb performance ( I generally fly in the intermountain west). No decrease in cruise performance. Less vibration, smoother. Negatives, really need 2 persons to take off the lower cowl if you want to assure you don't have a chance of scraping the cowl flaps or back of the blades. The stainless steel leading edges have not acquired any stone nicks. There is some wrinkling of the outer material at the roots, the factory calls this "root shrinkage" and is cosmetic and not at risk of any damage or material failure. The cost in 2008 was around $10,000, but suspect more now. I am very happy with that investment.

I understand you desire to make a mega-Mooney event. Several issues to consider; 1. Time and employment considerations for the safety pilots and key personnel that set up the clinic-most have full time jobs and must travel to the clinic. Thus, best done over a long weekend and not during the work week. 2. Airspace around Panama City is quite limited for a clinic operations. We need blocks or airspace that are easy ingress/egress. Panama City is blocked in by active restricted and Special Use Airspace. 3. Most importantly, all Caravan pilots must demo proficiency in the calendar year that they fly the Caravan. So for 2018, the training and proficiency must be demonstrated in 2018. I am sure that Caravan pilots in attendance can be approached for some demo rides if time and availability allow such. If the attendees become interested in learning formation, then they can proceed to sign up for one of the regional clinics in 2018. This way they meet the recency of experience and proficiency that is outlined in our op specs.

For the record, Cowboy does not recommend a full formation training clinic that competes or coincides with any other ongoing event. The typical formation clinic is 3 full days of high intensity focus and skill building. Competing with other activities is not advisable as building formation skills and knowledge requires 100% dedication and focus during at least 3 days. The Mooney Caravan is well aware that a regional formation clinic is needed in the Southeast US. Steps are currently underway to plan and develop a Regional Formation clinic in the Southeast. Once the components are are assembled, we will post this on our website and Mooneyspace for all to see. Just as it is with the Mooney Summit, there are a lot of resource and personnel planning and dedication that goes into a successful formation clinic behind the scenes. We will announce this once the required planning and resources are in place. This will likely take place in early 2018 in order to train and qualify new formation pilots for next years Mooney Caravan XXI.

We drive to southern AZ a few times a year to check on our retired horses that are out to pasture. Just north of where the pasture is is a CBP checkpoint on I-19 about 20 miles north of the Mexico border. There is significant technology there, facial recognition cameras going both directions. You must stop, they do a brief interview while looking into your vehicle and the drug sniffing puppy dog checks out the car. It has never been an issue for us, but this shows the power of CBP to "search" you without probable cause. What happened to Paul is the air side analogy to this checkpoint. I am not saying this is right or wrong, just a sign of the times we live in.

Call Lynn Buell at Executive Aircraft in Glendale-623-414-4930. He fixed my autopilot where many could not and just installed my Lynx 9000. An excellent technician, great guy and reasonable priced. Even came out to Deer Valley to help me on several occasions. Would not go to anyone else here in PHX.

The fifth annual Mooney Caravan Yuma Formation Clinic is scheduled for February 4-7. See attached flyer for details. This is an outstanding opportunity to receive your formation basic training or recurrent training for the Mooney Caravan this summer. We have tracks for "newbie" basic training as well as advanced 4-ship training and practice. The cutoff date for registration is Janurary 14th. Please review the attached flyer and comply with the registration instructions. This years event will be combined with the Red Star Pilots Assn with their pilots flying Yaks, CJ's, and T-34s. We all have similar flight envelopes so we all should be able to play together. This is your best chance to get formation qualified for the Mooney Caravan to Oshkosh if you live on the west coast. Any questions, just email me. Chuck "Cowboy" Crinnian Gunfighters Yuma Clinic 2016.pdf

Durango has been our home away from home for 15 yrs. Unless there is a winter storm in progress, should be no issue for a flatlander getting in. Review your density altitude and performance data. Montrose is good, but there is a 10,000' ridge to the west that you must go over. It can collect a lot of low clouds (ice) with Wx systems. There will be a higher probability of getting into/out of KDRO if a system has just passed. As KMTJ is the main airport for Telluride, the fees/costs are reflected. Fuel, rental cars, are significantly less at KDRO. Contact me directly if you want any insights into southwest Colorado. Plan on being there for Christmas.

As the airport has likely received federal FAA grant funding, that would prevent draconian measures by the city. AOPA ASN should be a starting point. Involving the Arizona Pilots Assn would also be a good resource to gather pilots from around AZ. Being the local port for Senator John McCain, it is unlikely to be shut down as long as he flies there. Also, SEZ is the point for a lot of Biz Jet traffic for some high end resorts, they would likely not want to see the airport shut down. Money will speak louder than a local yocal city councilman. This airport is an "institution" in the airspace system here in AZ, there would be a lot of push back from many pilots, operators, resorts, and the local C of C.

I have modified the rear seat on occasions to carry skis on my 79 231. Just remove the top two bolts and fold the seat forward. Also helps to take out the bottom seat cushion to allow the back seat panel to lie flatter. Removing the lower bolts is a hassle and not required, just us them as a pivot point for the back panel. Removing and reattaching the upper bolts is a 5 min job as is removing the lower cushion. Use the belts for securing cargo.

Wonder how the M10T test flight went?

On my 231, the lower cowl really needs 2 persons to to this without risking bending or damaging anything. What I do is "recruit" anyone around the airport for the 2 min it takes to do the removal/replacement. I have used my wife, pilots hanging around the hangars, or flight students from the flight school next door. Although one could rig up a stool, coat hanger holders, etc, just get a bystander, it just requires a good pre procedure briefing on what to do, which isn't much.

I replaced my STC'ed vernier throttle (79' 231) with a McFarlane combi push-pull/vernier as formation flying is difficult with a pure vernier. Obtaining the 337 field approval with local FSDO (Scottsdale) was a non issue. The local inspector realizes that getting replacement parts for vintage aircraft is an issue. Presented him with the engineering diagrams, was approved in minutes. Not to start another discussion, but for those that want to fly formation and have a vernier, an alternative is to construct a clamp to hold the release button down so the vernier works like a push-pull.

If it is not the airspeed switch or the gear switch, look into the up relay. There are 2 identical relays, one for down, one for up. These can fail and could be the reason the gear did not retract. Let us know the outcome of your diagnostics.

The most important component in a survival kit is knowing how to survive. First, is the will to survive. There are several excellent video productions on survival in the tropics, winter, and in general. They are "buried" in the FAA website and you can get the DVD's by just asking. I became aware of these during my AME training. Having a survival kit without knowing the fundamentals of survival is like having a set of engine tools but never learning how to use them. I made up a light weight kit I have on the hat shelf, weighing slightly less than 10 lbs. Without going into details, the first thing on top is a 406 ELT-in case the aircraft is a crispy critter and it's 406 is fried. Next layer is first aid materials. After any medical issues are address, next layer is signalling materials. Next is shelter. Finally, food, water purification, and "tools". If anyone is interested, can attach my article on survival and the kit that was published in our local pilots magazine a few years ago. Aviation Survival Kit PDF.pdf Aviation Survival Kit PDF.pdf

The above comments notwithstanding, the evolution of the Mooney Caravan is an example of what is right about aviation and AirVenture. We are a mix of regular and seasoned formation pilots and "newbies" that have acquired formation skills this past year. We take flying very seriously and learn from all observations of our personal and group performance. We take what we learn and apply it to training and the execution of the next mission. Most newbies determine that they really want to excel at formation skills and become involved in recurrent training and formation get-togethers throughout the year and across the continent. As side effect of formation training and flying is improved situation awareness, aircraft control and professional attitude. Formation flying is serious business. BUT, we have a lot of fun in the process. The time spent together in the Caravan experience will foster life long friendships and associations. It is amazing how there is a "band of brothers and sisters" across the continent that one can rely on for assistance if needed. The social aspect of our life in the North 40 aircraft camping is unique and unparalleled. When it is over, I look forward to doing it again next year. To steal a motto from the Red Star Pilot Association: "Serious Business-Serious Fun". Cowboy