steingar

43.3. I seem to get 40-50 per year, about an hour a week or a bit less. Not bad actually, being aVFR pilot in bad weather land. Thankfully I scored a good partner so the aircraft is flying more.

Debbie downer here. I suspect if you spent the money on avgas instead of the new widget your landings would all be greasers sans said widget. That said I could see it being a game changer for night flying.

I used to worry about it, now I don't. Just don't run the prop in the restricted zone in cruise. 23 squared is a good power setting for lots of cruise flights.

Dunno, depends on where you live. Also depends on access to power at the covered spot. Where I live the covered spot sans power would be a non starter, I'd have trouble getting the airplane going half the year without a Red Dragon or similar. In a warmer climate it might not be so bad.

We've been trying to wean ourselves off fossil fuels since the 70's with little luck. I don't really see things getting better in my lifetime. Just glad I won't live to see Peak Oil.

So long as my Stratus is working I can get a panel on my iPad with Foreflight, so I don't see the big whip with this thing.

Thanks for the tip, indeed I do. Academic at the moment, again my aircraft isn't STC'd for mogas.

I too am facing financial woes that will impact my aviation. But I will sell my Mooney before I subject it to the elements.

I doubt in the strongest possible terms that the lead in our fuel could cause any physiological lead poisoning in anyone. the only cases of lead poisoning which I've ever heard were from kids eating lead paint. That, and lead leaching out of pewter.

There are STCs for burning auto gas. I had one for my first airplane, but not my second. I would think I could burn it in my C, but there's no STC. There's STC's for Pipers, Cessnas, even one for some Bo's. Bu none for the Mooney. I suspect there's. good reason in that. It's pretty academic at this point. I can't get gas in my neck of the US without booze in it except at marinas, and they're quite pricey as well.

I spent some coin on Amazon and got one that works and doesn't muck up my radios. The cheap one from the store didn't work at all.

The more money you spend the more boxes your check. No way to guarantee you won't be down for months. Now way at all.

I have this stupid habit of buying airplanes complete with engines. Never thought of the engine as an option. Silly me.

Possible the O2 wasn't working, though you usually get tunnel vision for hypoxia rather than blurring. Symptoms were definitely related to O2 saturation, since they lessened with diminished altitude. If one is flying in O2 poor environments one should carry a pulse oximeter, compared with anything aviation they are highly economical. Steingar thinks an emergency should have been declared before things went so far south. That, and the OP should take a good hard look at his exhaust, I bet there's a crack somewhere.

The problem is most airplane engines have parts with dissimilar metals. Those metals contract differently when they get cold. As a result the fitment between them gets different. I've been told that starting your average piston engine in extreme cold can damage it. Of course, lots and lots of cranking also wears through starters and other parts. Get a red Dragon. More preheat, less whining.

These things take time. The guys at Dark Aero sound like they know what they're doing, but they've been at it for years with no prototype.

Land in Kalifornia is valuable. The local govco can get way more money out of it from developers turning it into that many more condos and sports bars than they can for an airport. So they do everything they can to strangle the airport out of existence. Isn't the first, won't be the last. We're a laughably small minority about which no one gives even one fraction of a damn. That is, until the big earthquake hits, which it will. At that point the only way to get aid in will be airports, of which there'll be none. While the media cries over the horrible conditions and loss of life a small very evil part of me will be silently laughing.

The thing is if you want the bigger back seat you pay for it. That's why I went with a C, I didn't routinely need a back seat so why pay for it? The airplane the OP is looking at is Spanky. Spendy too, a C could be had for less, but not with all those goodies.

Landed mine in a highly occluded 2500 foot turf strip a year or two ago. Soft field techniques for taxi, and I was still on pins and needles. Still, very doable. I'd not land anything in worse shape, that's for sure. Didn't get what was so special about this magic grass strip the OP was going on about. Has to be something I really want to go see before I do the grass thing. Thing is that 2500 foot strip was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I certainly couldn't have gotten there in my time frame without a Mooney.

I bought the cheapest aluminum frame bike off Amazon. Fits in the luggage bay of the Mooney.

My mechanics claim there's a kit to fix the thing that replaces the door and luggage locks. They claim the things are out of stock, or at least claimed. I do need to flow up this.

For rental? I'd fly one of those things in a heartbeat. To own? Not os much. Personally I think the owner is an idiot putting that airplane on the flight line.

I need a baggage door lock.

My POH says to use carb heat on landing and I've not done it. Where I am you don't get much carb ice outside a cloud, and I still can't go in those. I imagine in more humid places you'd want it when it's cold.

My last flight, really strong gusty crosswinds. Took off, got blown just about clear of the runway while I was trying to stow the gear. Got straightened out, but far more drama than I like that close to the ground. Did I mention the sun was in my eyes and I couldn't see anything? Coming back to my home drome they were landing 27 with winds out of the south gusting to 20 knots. I asked if I'd missed the NOTAM. Controller didn't know what I was talking about. I asked if runway 23 was closed, because otherwise they ought to be bloody well using it. And yes, I landed 23. I can land gusty crosswinds, but I'd just as soon not if I don't gotta.