toto

He'd still have to buy the radio stack. A 750 and a second nav/com would be at least $20k plus installation. (A 750+650 combo would be more like 30k plus install.)

This has been widely discussed before, but I've always found Mike Busch's description of reman engines interesting: Now, when TCM or Lycoming builds up a factory rebuilt engine (colloquially but incorrectly referred to as a "factory reman"), it pulls some "anonymous" case halves from one pile, an "anonymous" crankshaft from another pile, and so forth. When the engine is completely assembled, it gets a new data plate, a new serial number, and a new logbook. The logbook starts out at zero time-in-service. Why zero? Because there's no other reasonable figure to put in the logbook. The case halves are certainly not zero-time, but there's no record of how much time they've accrued. The crankshaft may not be new, but there's no record of how much time is on the crank, either. And so on. In short, the "zero-time" logbook that comes with a factory rebuilt engine in no way implies that the engine is "newer" or "better" than a field overhaul. All it implies is that the reused components in the engine are of unknown heritage...nobody knows how long they were in service prior to the time then were cleaned up, inspected, and reused in your engine! https://www.avweb.com/news/maint/182849-1.html

I haven't done an accelerated course myself, but I know pilots who have had very good experiences with GATTS in Manhattan, Kansas. GATTS has a 3-day CPL course.

I've been holding my breath for the Dynon product (SkyView HDX), but honestly at this point I just love seeing competition in the non-TSO MFD/PFD space. BK is a bigger name than Dynon in the certified market (albeit one with seriously deteriorated credibility), and inches us a bit closer to the G3X certified announcement that I keep daydreaming about.

Yep. I was taught this maneuver during primary training, and my instructor demonstrated it a couple of times as a way to descend out of inadvertent IMC. (The demonstration was in a Cessna 150.) I've never heard the term "benign spiral." Afaik this is meant to be a non-turning maneuver.

There's a guy running for mayor who intends to reopen Meigs Field. I don't follow Chicago politics, and I have no clue what his chances are, but it's interesting that someone thinks it's a good idea.

Thanks for posting this. Well worth a watch. I noticed that there is also a long-form version of this video with a full pilot interview. Pretty great stuff.

Always had good luck with DuPage. It's a bit of a hike from downtown, but no fees and reasonable fuel prices (especially at self-serve). It's also outside of the bravo airspace so you get direct routing and no delays. Re MDW, iirc you can buy 10 gallons of the $8.00 fuel to have a ($70?) ramp fee waived. Orange line into the city is awfully convenient.

Right, I understand. But 50%ish still seems crazy high to me. At least, if I interpret "engine failure" as something catastrophic and not fuel starvation or something otherwise easily avoidable. (It's hard to know whether a ran-out-of-gas pilot would describe the event as "engine failure.") Even here on MS, it's a pretty big day if someone has a catastrophic engine failure.

I just saw the below survey results in the AOPA SmartBrief.... Is it even remotely possible that 47.71% of pilots have experienced an in-flight engine failure? Have you ever experienced an engine failure while flying? No 52.29% Yes 47.71%

My very best experiences with ATC have been those dealing with unexpected weather. It really is as simple as saying "I don't like the looks of the radar returns ahead," and they'll often suggest an alternative heading (or accommodate a deviation that you suggest). ATC can be an amazing lifeline when the chips are down.

At some point in the recent past (I believe when the a/c was in the mx shop), my stall/gear horn stopped sounding. Before I take it back and ask them to fix it, is there anything simple or obvious that this might be? A common loose connector or something that I should look for? Tia for any words of wisdom.

No doubt that's the way to let them know we're out here. I signed up about 5 seconds after I heard about it Anyway, I was kidding about 2057. But I love the idea of a real disruptor in this space, and I think that Dynon has a relatively small window of opportunity. It's only a matter of time before Garmin significantly expands the GFC500 AML, and at that point it becomes a numbers game: "Do you want the TXi PFD/MFD/ADS-B/EIS/AP solution for $50k now, or do you want the Dynon equivalent for $25k in 18 months?" Frankly, I'd love to see Garmin get scared enough by Dynon to introduce a G3X-based system at price parity. But I'm not optimistic that that's going to happen, and I'm still eagerly awaiting every next word about HDX certification.

Yeah, I know. But they haven't started the certification process for any Mooney models, and it seems clear that we'll be no sooner than the third phase.

Nice SkyView demo in a new LSA: The certified retrofit unit probably won't be available until 2057 or so, when I will have given up and replaced my entire airplane with a giant flying Garmin logo. But it's still fun to dream.