MikeOH

^^^^ THIS ^^^^ When that insurance adjuster sees that fine new $60K panel in your $40K insured value plane, just what do you think he's going to set the buy-back price at? Remember, if it's totaled, it's THEIR airplane, radios and all.

Perhaps. But, that still ignores the reality of the Savvy data I posted. The median temp is 187. I find it hard to believe that there are as many planes being flown in cold temps that exactly balance out those flown in hot temps. Further, if the vernatherm is functioning correctly then even those in cold temps should see the oil temp rise to 187 (or thereabouts), hence the median should be even higher if there are other planes flying in higher OATs for which the factory heat exchange system is, by design, insufficient. Yet, the median IS 187. That implies planes like mine with higher oil temps are, in fact, outliers with some kind of issue. I'd really like to see a cogent argument otherwise; believe me, I'd like to think my temps are 'just fine.'

As I was responding to Jim Peace's question, that is NOT the scenario in play, here. Sounds to me like there is ZERO obligation for the insurance company.

1) I provided one year's worth of data; you can see the variation by season. At only ONE point are my temps close to the median. 2) You are ignoring that the cohort of data is from the entire country; all kinds of OATs, yet my temps are higher than 95%. ALL of that data ends up with a median level of 187; awfully close to the vernatherm regulation set-point. I don't think that's a coincidence; you're free to think it is. That data indicate to me that aircraft with properly functioning oil systems regulate at 185-190 REGARDLESS of OAT. Those of us with less than perfect systems end up with high temps when the OATs rise above some relatively mild level. For non-mountain southern California that's low-50s for coldest daytime temps. Hell, the POH says anything below 225 is "in the green," with 245 max. Is that you definition of "fine?" If so, are you "fine" flying all day with oil temp at 225, when the cohort for NA Mooneys shows the median temp to be 187? Those of us with temps over 200 are concerned, and would like to do something to lower them even if they are "in the green." Since we are NOT exceeding red line we are living with it. But I, for one, am NOT happy about high oil temps if statistically 'normal' is 187.

Well, what obligation do auto insurance companies have to owners when their cars rust out?

Follow-up: Got ahold of uAvionix via their on-line ticket system. They got back to me the next day and it looks like my TailBeacon is back to working. I submitted a successful PAPR report to the FAA guy that sent me the letter, but he hasn't responded. So, I'm not sure I'm 'home free' just yet. Two things fixed the issue: 1) RTFM - for those of you that have a TailBeacon and don't know/did not RTFM, it turns out that you only have 5 minutes to establish the WiFi connection before the TailBeacon goes dark (for WiFi). I had waited too long before I attempted to connect. 2) There is a auto-adjust threshold setting that uAvionix had me run and that seems to have fixed the problem; 100% pass on the Mode 3A parameter that was previously nearly 100% failing. Fingers crossed that that's the end of it!

Pretty close to my setup (430W and KX155). I think the KX155 is the best radio ever built. I'd definitely sink 2AMU to bring it back to life. I've always wanted a KX165...so, you know what I'd do!

I'm a fan of well taken data. And, I happen to think Savvy does a decent job. Consequently, I have some concern based on my plane's oil temp versus my cohort: I'm higher than 95%.

Uh, the FAA will send you a letter?

I've fought the same high oil temp in climb, especially in summer, for the nearly 3 years I've owned my F. I've seen as high as 230...YIKES! I've checked my vernatherm (note that the opening temp really isn't the problem once it is fully open, it is fully open...that is, if the temps continue to rise well above the opening temp the opening temp can't be the problem). I checked to make sure it is fully opening. I've sent my oil cooler out for overhaul to Pacific Oil Cooler (I wanted to ELIMINATE the cooler as the problem and simple flushing would not do that). I put in new oil lines.. Honestly, the biggest improvement came with putting in new baffles; my CHTs came down, and so did my oil temps. However, oil temp is still around 200 in cruise, and may see 215-220 in climb. I've just learned to live with it. Good luck! And do share if you succeed. I'd love to have something else to try!

LOL! After we're done with our analysis, the poor guy will never buy ANYTHING!

I was a looong time shopper for my Mooney (my first, and so far only, plane). At one point I considered the buyer's agent option to the point of contacting a couple of guys (honestly can't remember their names, and one of them was killed in a crash a couple of years back, I'm afraid). Bottom line, for a $50K plane, I was looking at around a $5K fee. IIRC they had minimum plus a percent of the purchase price. A 10% premium just wasn't worth it. Near as I can tell, they were just going to follow leads with a few phone calls and logbook reviews; for that money they are NOT going to travel the country inspecting airplanes for you. I got the sense that if you didn't buy the first couple of planes they 'researched' you would stop getting any of their attention. They would provide assistance for the transaction but escrow, title search, PPI, are still on you. I was a complete novice when I started my journey, but knowing I wanted a Mooney (though I did have a Bo under contract at one point) I became very good at logbook review and knowing what to look for when I went to check out Mooneys. When the right one came along I had cash in hand and jumped on it. 3 years in and I'm very happy (probably more due to luck, but I'll never admit it) Honestly, I'd jump all over Ken Reed's offer above (KLRDMD) rather than figure it out yourself, or pay an agent.

That would have never occurred to me, either, prior to buying my first plane. However, when shopping one of the planes I was looking at made it all the way to PPI...and the A&P asked me, "So, do you want me to do this as "deal-killers" or as a "negotiation" inspection." As the seller and I had already agreed on a price, I thought it would be pretty chicken-shit of me to then run back with a list of 'gotchas' just to drive down the price. So, I told the mechanic to look for only deal-killers. Unfortunately, he found one: the oil pump impeller AD. Neither I nor the seller wanted to pay for the inspection so I walked. Someday, when I have to sell this is an important lesson. I'm going to be crystal clear with a prospective buyer: You can look the plane over all you want, we will agree on a price, and then you are welcome to an airworthiness ONLY PPI with a dollar limit for repairs. The rest is on the buyer. I'm NOT going to be set up by some putz that's planning on driving down the negotiated sales price with a laundry list that he has his mechanic gen up during PPI.

Got a certified letter in the mail yesterday from the FAA. Scared the crap out of me Turns out it was putting me on notice that my TailBeacon (TSO) has not been operating properly. Namely, it is 100% failing for Mode 3A info; all other parameters are well within spec. Further, when I went to check it out, my iPad could not see the WiFi connection even though I was standing right next to the TailBeacon! I've put a 'ticket' into uAvionix but it looks like 3 to 5 business days for them to respond Given the 4th of July holiday I'm thinking I'm not going to hear anything until next week. Also, transponder is working fine; no complaints from ATC. Anyone seen this failure mode? Thanks!

A little rusty on correcting for compressibility

Please explain how a NON AHRS equipped GPS knows heading. E.g. a Garmin 430W. How is declination not an issue as the GPS is programmed with declination correction factors; if they don't match actual declination it would seem that would introduce an additional error.

Ah, it's just an expensive E6B! So, you must enter CAS using the POH correction from IAS (airspeed indicator itself may have a few percent error. Ref: TSO C2b), along with OAT (error?) and altimeter/baro (more error). It also looks like you have to enter magnetic heading after compass card correction (how accurate is that and when was it last calibrated?) Possibly declination error, as well. All of these error sources could easily add up to 5%, or more. That's 7 or 8 knots at 150 kts. The only accurate method I'm aware of for GA is the 3-way horse-shoe method: Ref: Horseshoe Heading Technique; David F. Rogers; http://www.nar-associates.com/technical-flying/horseshoe_heading/horseshoehead_screen.pdf

Please describe how the 430 was used to determine TAS.

Most important to me when I was shopping was recent and regular usage. Try to find one that's been flown 75-100 per year for at least the last several years. I went with the F and made sure the plane had a WAAS GPS. I bought mine with a run-out engine (and run-out price) but, I believe thanks to the previous owners constant and regular use, I'm now approaching 3 years and 2400 hours SMOH with no issues. It also has an AP which at the time I didn't care about...NOW, I'm VERY glad it does. If you've been renting like I used to, long trips were rare (VFR only, rental scheduling, minimum daily hours...) Hand flying for four straight hours gets old. And, for instrument flying, while you MUST be able to do EVERYTHING without the AP, I believe it adds to safety by allowing you to manage the bigger picture by freeing up 'CPU cycles' Like Paul said, you want to train for your IFR with a GPS. I got my instrument rating many years ago with just VORs...I still struggle with the GPS. As others have said, do NOT worry about total time. Look for condition. Good luck!

That he made TWO posts with the same title

Was your fuel selector operating smoothly from left to right and SUDDENLY got stuck? Or, has it just slowly become stiffer until you can't move it? If it happened suddenly, I'd be very concerned as something, that you don't know what, has broken. You might end up with a completely blocked selector! Personally, I'd want to get that figured out before flying again. As for your speed at 9500 feet you really need to correct for density altitude to obtain TAS from IAS.

Ok, I'm confused. In another thread you asked about used covers for 'your girl.' Now, you are 'attempting to purchase an E that needs paint.' So, if you don't own an E, why do you need a cover? And, if you are going to buy an E that 'needs paint' why do you need a cover for a short outside stay; paint after that.

Your God damn right you hit a nerve. No need for your pompous put down of the America who, by your own admission, was needed for that same manufacturing you are so ready to criticize. I never mentioned a damn thing about military force. A bit sensitive, too, eh? We were discussing manufacturing techniques related to their application to aircraft manufacturing. There was ZERO need for you to interject an insult to the nation that was instrumental in keeping your country from falling to the Axis powers. Or, are you really going to claim the UK would have been just fine without US help? Really? "History doesn't lie," I've heard. I'm not looking for gratitude, but I won't tolerate America being put down without responding. Tell you what. You cease hurling completely unnecessary insults and I won't have to respond. Deal?

What are these $$ you speak of; I thought a real CB paid with just a case of beer

WOW! This thread has made me real glad I bought my plane with the equipment I needed ALREADY installed and WORKING! Yeah, it's 'old': 430W and STEC-30 with altitude hold, but I don't think there's anything the new fancy stuff would allow me to do that I can't. I wish I had advice for the OP, but I think once these shops have their hands on your plane, you are screwed. I don't think showing up with an attorney is going to do anything but make them mad. I suspect that shops with these kinds of issues are hanging on by a thread, and count on taking new deposit money to pay yesterday's bills; you then have to pay them more to actually work on YOUR plane. Only when the amount of money is high enough to put you at the front of the line, does your plane get worked on. Seems like you have to pay their 'ransom' to get your plane back and then try to sue to recover based on the original quote...which if not very clear in writing is going to be extremely difficult. And, if my suspicions are correct, there are no assets of any real value to go after even if you get a judgement! What gets me even more after reading these horror stories, is the apparently standard excuse "of when we got in there....". PUUHHLEEEASE, like an experienced shop is surprised when working on a 50 year old airplane that the install isn't the 20 hour plug and play they envisioned when they quoted you??? Come on! Oh, and the "Mooney's are hard to work on.". Well, they kinda knew that upfront me thinks! Using those excuses is pathetic. I feel for you guys with your planes hostage at an unscrupulous avionics shop. Good luck!