MikeOH

Good points, Paul. Auto engines were driven to eliminate lead in fuel as it destroys catalytic converters. Somehow, engines/valves were designed to NOT require lead. Not sure why aircraft engines can't take advantage of that technology. Only thing that comes immediately to mind is that the technology doesn't work at the high continuous power outputs required of aircraft piston engines.

It tells me that the market is sooo small that without government subsidies or forced regulation there is zero reason for industry to invest in a solution. Frankly, the fact that it is such a small market tells me it's a REALLY REALLY insignificant environmental problem, too. This is a political issue. I'm hoping someone in the government figured this out and decided the status quo is just fine.

And, like no one would ever screw that up and toast their engine running on the wrong tank. Yeah, a few thousand $ here and there do add up. But, there are limits to how much of a CB I am. Running mogas is well past that limit. Much easier and less risky ways to save money.

Random thoughts on auto gas in airplanes: 1) Not designed for it 2) Vapor pressure much higher and inconsistent due to seasonal blend variations 3) Chemistry that can attack parts of airplane fuel systems 4) Forms gum and varnish more easily 5) Hassle factor getting it to your airplane. 6) The premium auto gas may be $1 to $1.50 cheaper than avgas. Say, $10/hour savings. Private airplane use probably runs 50 to 100 hours per year. Annually saving you $500 to $1000 7) If you are worried about 0.5 to 1 AMU in cost savings.....IMHO if that's a big deal, then airplane ownership may not be for you.

M20K

I have a '70F with 201 windshield, PowerFlow, cowl closure, and all the speed mods...I see about the same: 145 kts at 8500, 8.5 gph, around 40-50LOP. Frankly, I'm not sure all those mods made much difference but since I bought the plane with all of them, I don't have a baseline on which to compare. I'm very happy with my STEC-30 w/alt hold. I'd NEVER spend the money to upgrade. As Rags said, I'd keep it unless it really fails hard. I just had both mags overhauled; just not convinced that the E-mag really bring that much. If you don't have an engine monitor, that would be a good place to drop some coin; love my Insight G3.

I used an escrow service to handle the money and title. I went rogue on the rest of my deal, however. In my sub $50K price range I asked myself if I was buying a used car from a private party would I be writing up a contract and negotiating all the eventualities? Not really. Seller and I agreed on price and that my mechanic would do an inspection and we'd talk about anything found. We shook hands. Nothing in writing, but no deposit from me. He flew the plane to my mechanic. Nothing major found. Wired the money, and seller sent the title, to the escrow. Picked the plane up and flew it home. I think the comment of evaluating the seller crucial. If you get the feeling the seller is hiding something/slippery then run away... If I was looking at $200K+ aircraft I'd feel differently about having a written contract. But, I think we often make a bigger deal than is necessary out of some of these purchases.

I think an E, F, or J would be ideal. I rented a B for nearly a decade and it's still on the line: http://duboisaviation.com/rental/

Uh, -1 is not a complex number. Keepin' it real

Nice presentation, but while your president is very polished I did not like what I heard. Seems Aspen was doing well but couldn't grow organically to develop products that would compete with Garmin's complete line up. So, logically, Aspen went looking for investors...but, not surprisingly that didn't go too well as they saw big capital outlay for product development in a market dominated by Garmin. Even after successfully developing and certifying products they would need to be priced lower to grab market share in a static, or possibly shrinking, market. Garmin could and would respond to a threat like that. Investors thought this through and rightfully concluded, "Where's my payback?" Nowhere, that's where. Now, OTH, the drone market is established but still somewhat nascent with HUGE growth potential. Aspen has the engineering, product marketing, manufacturing expertise and requisite overhead structure to rapidly develop products for that market. BINGO! Investors are interested in that strategy; they see a payback. Your president can, with a completely straight face, honestly say they are focusing on GA. Drones ARE a subset of GA. Just NOT the one we pilots are concerned with as consumers of Aspen products. Right out of the press release, "The AIRO Group is a dynamic new-entry, integrated mid-cap Aerospace & Defense (A&D) platform focused on disruptive technologies supporting three complementary lines of business: Drone Technology / Urban Air Mobility, Advanced Avionics and Defense & Training." I'm not seeing our idea of GA in ANY of the 'three complementary lines of business.'

Hmm, kinda of glad I haven't purchase an Aspen. Wait and see. These M&As rarely go well for customers, I'm afraid. Here's hoping.

Exactly my thoughts, but I'm not multi rated. However, Skip said it wouldn't have been an issue as they were light (apparently that was a 'really just right' situation)

WOW! I must have more lives than 100 cats...I do both without a thought. Heretic, I know

The buss bar is 'hot'; i.e., it is a source of voltage/power. The multiple wires on the other side of the CB are NOT grounds but feeds to various loads. Those loads are commonly grounded to the airframe to provide the return path.

I've had my plane for nearly 3 years. It had a Concorde put in 4 years before that. Still going strong after 7 years. I wish my car batteries lasted that long!

Not to mention the tax revenue that would vanish!

And, I suspect that it is hard on the nose wheel tire

Yeah, but you don't have to go around when some guy cuts you off

Not to sound like Dave Barry, but the thing with contagious diseases like COVID-19 is that they are, well, contagious...just like a WHOLE LOT of other diseases that KILL people. For poignant example: the FLU!! Kills tens of thousands every year an no one bats an eye. Did it ever occur to you mask lovers that our fine government may well decide to impose mandatory mask wearing FOREVER! After all, it WILL reduce the spread of all kinds of diseases. You okay with that? I mean if even ONE life is saved it's worth it to destroy our economy, right? Frankly, I think the "data" were are being force fed is pretty damn suspect (lies, damn lies, and statistics). I'm getting pretty tired of hearing how swell all those euro-socialist countries are doing; like it's supposed to be some kind of shame on the US. Ever think maybe they don't test as much? That their population distributions are different? How about that they don't code every death that has a couple of common symptoms with COVID as a COVID death? Like there aren't more that just a few other illnesses that have the same symptoms! Ever think maybe the US/CDC is, for political purposes, coding every damn death they possibly can as COVID to make the numbers look as horrific as possible. Nah, the Kool-Aid is just tasting too good, huh? Then there's Sweden. They said screw the lockdown. Seems they may have more elder deaths but hardly the 'sky-is-falling' mantra we hear out or our politicians. But, speaking of elder deaths...we had Cuomo sending the COVID sick BACK to rest homes! Knocked off some state funded health care costs right there, he did I wear a mask in businesses that require one (they are a PRIVATE enterprise, after all) and am forced to wear one at work unless I'm drinking or eating (hint, I've ALWAYS got a cup of coffee right next to me!). And, it doesn't bother me ONE bit if others don't have their masks on; no hypocrisy here. Look, life is 100% fatal. I stay away from obviously sick people, and wash my hands frequently....but I've been doing that for a long time, anyway.

Yep, murder, rape, pillage, destroy public and private property, no problem. But, take away the Feds' MONEY and you're goin' down hard

Same plan for me. Just had the expensive Part II inspection done and all looked good. What I've never figured out is if these 20:1 gears are so HORRIBLE, how do mine have over 5600 hours on them and still look good? My guess is they've been properly maintained! Personally, I rather LIKE the 3 second cycle time. Frankly, when (if?) mine need replacement, I'm going to look for a set of 20:1s! The present ones have made it 50 years, so I figure I'm not too worried about having to replace them again!

See, hope isn't a very good plan!

I'm not quitting my day job, that's for sure! (My post was, apparently, a poor attempt at humor)

And, just like any other service provider, figuring out their competency BEFORE engaging their service is NOT so easy. Ah well, if shops could only be so fortunate to have the luxury to troubleshoot only problems THEY created! Frankly, unless the original shop created the problem on purpose, I'm not sure how they have any a priori advantage in troubleshooting. If they weren't comfortable in their competence to fix problems originating outside their door, they should tell customers that UP FRONT! That shop shotgunned the problem and took $1900 for NOTHING that resembled a solution.

Now, who doesn't like their MTV??