MikeOH

Completely agree. No way I'm dropping liability; wish I could get more. It's the hull that is getting absurd.

Good point! I always point out the ICA for just that reason.

What about oil and filter changes, lubing the Heim joints, zerks, etc....it's just not that big of a deal.

Good grief! What carrier?

$700!!!! Holy crap and good grief! Yeah, I think I'd be looking at options, too! Wish I had an answer for you. Good luck!

Not really a direct answer to your question, but when faced with a similar decision tree I always ask myself what percent of the total project cost is tied up in the WAY overpriced widget that I'm annoyed about. In your case, IIRC from when I had my donuts replaced, that EACH rubber biscuit was quite pricey. Just how expensive are these couple of special bolts compared to the cost of donuts?

Hmm, me thinks Mooney's logic is way better than Lycoming's... Say the engine weighs 300 pounds (yes, I'm certain that's not accurate, just play along, please) and Lycoming is fine and dandy with lifting ALL 300 pounds by the engine lift ring. Now, we know that with NO engine in the plane the tail hits the ground. Finally, applying advanced tensor integral calculus (or, just common sense if you're a little rusty on the former) says the plane is taking AWAY the lifting force required. Ergo, LESS weight on the lifting ring when changing out the donuts. I'm missing the flaws in my, and Mooney's, logic...anyone care to elucidate? Bueller?? Lycoming??

Hmm, not seeing a problem with loss of dignity, wouldn't be the first time....but, trading in the family jewels, NOT so much

Judging from YouTube videos, the probability goes up if there's a CFI on board

Another happy PowerFlow customer.

I've been more than satisfied with my Scout/iPad/Foreflight combo for ADSB-In. $200 bucks for the Scout and no install cost!

EXACTLY! Sadly, I only fly with immediate family for just this reason. Look at your policy; most are only $100K sub-limits for passengers. IIRC, Avemco has only $100K limits for people ON THE GROUND, too! Frankly, if the industry continues to jack up premiums, I'm going cancel hull coverage and risk eating the value of the plane. I want the $1M liability coverage and, almost more importantly, the legal defense. While it will suck to lose the plane, a PI lawsuit can do FAR more damage to my family's financial well-being.

Hard, yeah, but remember, you can't fly a house

I guess I just don't swim in the same pool as you guys...may well be a great value, but no way you're going to convince me that $695,000 is "not a lot of coin."

$695,000 = "NOT a lot of coin" Okie dokey, whatever you say

I'm not seeing the problem

I'm sure Jepp's costs are down, but it seems no surprise that their prices are still up! What I can't grasp is the stunning loyalty pro pilots have for Jepp; yeah, I'm sure I'll get lectured on how much better they are than the government charts. But, once the airline has implemented iPads you'd think the savings by just downloading the government charts for free would be too tempting of a cost savings. Or, do the pilots have to pay for the Jepp subscriptions, so the airline has no motivation?

Hence, why I put 'explode' in quotes; although, if it starts to 'burn baby, burn' while in your Mooney I suspect the distinction may be a bit moot

Question about all of those high-capacity battery packs (e.g. mophie): Are they lithium based and, if so, have these designs moved passed the 'explode' at random feature?

My iPad Pro 10.5" will hold its own (stays about whatever charge it has) with full brightness and WiFi (to the Scout/ADSB In). Using a lighter adaptor that was with the plane when I got it so, not sure how many amps.

A pleasure to meet you both! @MooneyMitch & @TGreen Definitely need to plan another outing! I heard you in front of us getting handed off to LA Center...I think we were about 15 minutes behind you at that point. We did see 169 kts ground speed on the leg out of Paso once we got up to 7.5K. Did you get 200?

Weather is looking great for tomorrow in Paso. We'll be arriving around 11:30. Looking forward to a beautiful New Year's Day and flight.

While I wholeheartedly agree that you should have survival gear when flying over inhospitable terrain, per this Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Fossett was killed on impact. Do you have other info?

I have a '70 M20F hangared in Pomona (KPOC). PM me if you are interested in seeing how you fit.

We will see you there!