Yooper Rocketman

Sounds like a Bonanza with rear door access would work the best. Not too many "recovering" 92 year old's would be able to board and de-board a Mooney with the wing access and drop down into the cabin area. I HAVE done a few challenging ones by removing the passenger seat so they could step down and sit in the back. Contacting Angel Flight might be a good option. I just coordinated a Northwoods Airlifeline flight ( a U.P. based mercy flight org) for a similar aged man coming from Gulf Shores, AL to Detroit by airline. Our Seneca III picked him up at DTW and flew him to Manistique (ISQ) in the U.P. Our flight count is down right now but we are not shut down. Just taking lots of safety measures. That flight was taken by an ER Doctor. I felt pretty comfortable all precautions were taken as required. Tom

Looking forward to finally meeting you, seeing your amazing Rocket, and getting you some stick time in my Lancair IVPT. Just remember, @gsxrpilot (Paul) has set the “BAR” !!!! Tom

So, maybe since you didn’t get to log some Rocket time with me, you can follow @gsxrpilot Paul and log some SE Turbine time! Might give you another prospective. Tom

Good luck with that Paul. He’s just a hop from me and been to my airport many times. Never DID get him any Rocket time. Hell, you, from thousands of miles away, got log time my turbine. BECAUSE YOU ACTUALLY HAD LUNCH WITH ME!!! Tom

So I go to Mooney Space this evening (my IPhone does not save my login) and before I log in this is the ad I see!!! So, I’m a rational (and ....... I think normal,) guy and SEE THIS on this topic thread. So who TRULY ENJOYS Marauders girls more than than this? SERIOUSLY? Tom (Happily married...... BUT NOT DEAD)

Oh boy. Obviously everything turned out okay but I would never chalk the nose wheel for a run up. Chalk the mains. I've seen too many pictures of collapsed nose wheels from run ups with gear that was slightly worn or out of adjustment (other makes, not necessarily Mooney). Tom

Very NICE LOOKING Mooney! Tom

My last two annual recurrent training sessions for my Lancair IVPT were signed off by a recently retired A-10 pilot. Very impressive professional pilot! Tom

And you thought the fuel cost on my IVPT was high? Wait until you tank that the first time. Tom

I almost ALWAYS agree with you. But, don’t let your yearly support lag as you’ll see this pretty regularly if you run past one year before you make your “Annual Contribution “. Tom

Auto gas in my home town today was $1.19 My wife couldn't get $11 in my empty Prius. Tom

This is a product terribly in need of a company to support it. I wish you guys the best of success. It’s a very good product and if you can add “CUSTOMER SERVICE” to the product. ....... you WILL BE successful!!! Wishing you the best of success!! Tom

Or better yet, one of these. Tom

How much do the two of you weigh? Tom

My wife, daughter and two grandchildren came down from Appleton, WI to Orlando Sanford a week ago Wednesday. The 160 passenger plane had 50 passengers on it. There even looked to be “social distancing” being practiced. My daughter and grandchildren were to fly out yesterday but the flight was canceled. There were two flights Saturday morning about 1 1/2 hours apart with 6 seats booked on one and 30 on the other. She took her best guess which one wouldn’t get canceled and rebooked. As of this morning one was canceled and the one she picked is still scheduled, with 39 passengers. Good thing as otherwise we would be filling the Lancair for the trip back. Tom

I couldn’t agree more with Clarence! The tie down was not designed for that kind load and the nose gear retracts AFT. The main gear is the most stout and retracts at a right angle to the load you would be placing on it. I’ve seen far too many pictures and videos of “what can go wrong” with scenarios like this. It’s just not worth the risk. Tom

By no means am I picking on you. Just lamenting I don’t have to be as smart as you or some others on this forum to actually be of some value. Tom

I WAS THINKING EXACTLY THAT, as I was complaining about my 48 gallon per hour fuel burn to ATC looking for higher. Tom

I’ve NEVER PAID someone to change a tire for me. Guess this dumb Yooper has a few skills of value. Tom

I’m a night sky / star gazer. It’s always been this way where I live. In the country in a sparsely populated area out of the mainstream of our country. Although I have always enjoyed living here I guess some things have just been taken for granted. Tom

Flew to Florida today for a couple weeks of weather break from winter. It was 5 degrees when I departed the U.P. this morning, and 80 when I landed at Spruce Creek. I did a slight detour, picking up a friend at KOSU (Columbus, OH) and dropping him off at KAAF (Apalachicola, FL), so he could drive his mom home. Had an interesting departure from KOSU. Held at 12k and lower for the first 30 minutes due to no INDY Center available until into Kentucky (suspect “the Virus”). It was really weird seeing an Airbus go by me at 10k, cruising along patiently waiting for higher as we got farther south. Thought I was going to need a fuel stop if I was stuck there much longer. Tom

Indy Center was having issues today too. I flew from the U.P. to KOSU (Columbus, OH) on my trip to Florida because I was picking up and dropping a friend off in KAAF to drive his mom home. Picking up my clearance I was cleared to 3k, expect 10k in 10 minutes??? I asked the controller “ did I screw up my flight plan, thought I filed FL280? He said no, Indy Center was down (I assume “THE VIRUS”) and all traffic south until ATL Center was being handled by approach controllers and nothing above 13k would be available. I got passed by an Airbus motoring along at 10k. That was weird! i DID eventually get an Indy controller south of KCVG and got FL280 before I had to add a fuel stop. This plane DRINKS FUEL down low! Tom

Ed, Be careful with this guy. He SHOULD HAVE BEEN AWARE of the hub grease limitation. He seems a little zealous to me. Also, pick your "Airworthy" items and concentrate on those. You can progressively (over time) fix some of the other stuff, making this a more affordable annual. I was talking to Chad Kubick (Kubick Aviation) a few years ago about how much longer my squawk lists were when I did my annuals than when he did, fully admitting I'm a lot more picky and didn't want someone buying my Rocket that questioned what kind of annuals I was doing. I did a lot of them, but always had him do one every few years for a different set of eyes. (When he was really busy, he would ask me to do my own annual with Steve and Mark , my A&P best friend and the other an IA that does a lot of work for me). He said "if we wrote up everything YOU wrote up, we would never get anyone returning for work again". He was correct. My labor is a lot cheaper than his shops. And, I was being extra fussy. Sounds like your guy is doing that too. Maybe he's trying to make a name for himself but, in the end, you will still be writing the check. Tom

Did two round trips to KOSU this weekend, picking up and returning my good friend Joe so we could review progress on his Lancair IVPT in my hangar. Did the 1,000 mile round trip this afternoon in under 4 hours with a 40+ minute fuel top off at OSU. What an amazing home built airplane. Got to see a pretty sunset flying northbound through Lower Michigan, looking out at the shore of Lake Michigan. Tom

With what you do for a living how could flying ever come close to stressful? Tom