Flash

This is exactly the issue my shop raised.

I notice that the EDM also shows endurance and fuel used, and although it doesn't show reserve at destination I should be able to calculate that pretty easily by subtracting fuel used from 64. So maybe all I'm losing by losing the Shadin is the redundancy of having a separate instrument for gallons remaining in each tank and total gallons remaining. That still seems like I'm losing something, though.

I'm getting an EDM 900 (although its delivery has been delayed, but that hardly makes mine unique) for my 1993 M20J. My avionics installer tells me that I have to choose: Either keep my Shadin and don't input fuel flow information to my EDM 900, or get rid of my Shadin. Here's how I see it: --Advantage to keeping the Shadin is that my fuel flow information is always staring back at me in the familiar red numbers. It doesn't get lost in everything the EDM 900 is displaying. And I can easily read out hours of endurance and expected gallons reserve at destination. I like that a lot. --Another advantage to keeping the Shadin is that if something goes wrong with my EDM 900 (which displays the gallons remaining in each tank), I retain an independent source of total fuel remaining. Maybe this isn't a huge deal, since I also have the sight gauges on top of the wings. --Advantage to feeding the fuel flow information to the EDM 900 and dumping the Shadin is that the EDM 900 records the data, so I can go back later and analyze fuel flow and CHTs and EGTs at different times during the flight. Am I missing anything here? Is the data from the EDM 900 worth the tradeoffs from losing my Shadin?

N315L went into the shop today for its first avionics improvement in my 23 years of ownership other than the previous addition of a Lynx NGT-9000 ADSB-compliant transponder. It's getting an IFD 540 and dual GI-275s and an EDM 900. My question for the wise members of Mooneyspace: While it's in the shop, should I upgrade the ADSB capability of my transponder? I like to fly in Canada, and Canada has announced an ADSB diversity requirement for flight in certain airspace. The latest timeline: "The mandate will come into effect in Class A Canadian airspace [flight levels, essentially] on Aug. 10, 2023; in Class B Canadian airspace [above 12,500 feet, essentially, and not at all like US Class B] on May 16, 2024; and Class C, D, and E no sooner than 2026 — essentially affecting private owners and operators at all flight levels. Nav Canada said it will confirm the timeline for Class C, D, and E 'pending further assessment.'” More here. Do I need to be above 12,500? Rarely. Is the Class C, D, and E timing likely to be pushed back? I would think that's likely, perhaps except for Class C. But given how rarely I get avionics installed, doing something now because of a requirement that might not be in effect for five years or more doesn't seem like an unreasonable choice. So, should I go for antenna diversity? If you have done so, which choice did you make, and what did it cost? Also, while we're on the subject of ADSB upgrades, I chose not to get active traffic when I bought my transponder. I think it's a simple software unlock. It's the sort of thing that only has to save you once to be worth whatever it costs, but given the extremely low incidence of mid-airs and the extremely low percentage of my flight time spent outside of an environment where active traffic would make a difference, I still feel the way I did when I made my initial purchase. But for those of you who have gotten active traffic, please consider this an invitation to convince me I'm wrong.

Wayne, good luck with your panel. I'm taking my plane to the shop on Wednesday to get a panel very much like yours, dual GI 275s but with an IFD 540 rather than a 550, and a KAP 150 and a Lynx 9000. Avidyne is expecting to release an update in a couple of weeks that includes an STC for the GI 275s to be driven by the IFD, so you may not need a field approval. I'm going to keep a CDI driven by a KX 165. Maybe the biggest difference in our panels is my ADF! I like the AM radio, and it's actually a useful nav radio for my home airport. I'm not going to keep my turn coordinator, though; an EDM 900 is headed for that spot on the panel.

The advantage of having the instrument rating is that you can choose the less stressful set of flight rules for the situation you are in. If you don't have the instrument rating (or if you lack currency, or an instrument capable plane), then your choices are to go VFR or not go at all. I routinely exercise my discretion to cancel IFR when a rerouting or a change in the weather or some other fact pattern makes VFR the less stressful alternative. (I also exercise my discretion to cancel flight following when I think ATC is charging me too high a price for the benefit I'm receiving.)

Please let me know if you solve this. I've had this issue for years on a 1993 J, and I gave up trying to fix it. One A&P did fix it, for a matter of months, by if I remember correctly, replacing a diode.

Agree with Schllc that flying into the bigger airports can be easier and less stressful. Also, HOU is Houston Hobby, south of downtown, as opposed to the bigger airport on the north side. HOU is pretty GA-friendly, or at least it used to be when I used to fly into there 20 years ago.

Totally agree. Garberville is much, much trickier than Oceano. Really got my attention when I flew in for the first time a month ago. Oceano allows for a normal pattern. Landing O16 is like standing on the tee at a hole with a water hazard on the left, out of bounds on the right, and bunkers surrounding the green.

Here is the language from the STC: "When configured as a standby instrument the GI 275 MFD and HSI include an ADI Page which is displayed automatically when faults are detected or when selected by the pilot. Both the GI 275 primary and standby ADIs have their own integral ADAHRS and internal batteries for independence and redundancy." (Emphasis added.) It's true that the GI275 ADAHRS system gets help from an external GPS and airspeed inputs. If you lose the external GPS or airspeed input to one, you may well lose it to the other. But there is an internal GPS in each one, as well. It includes an optional GMU 11 or GMU 44B magnetometer interface to determine magnetic heading and an OAT probe for measuring outside air temperature. I've read about the dual failure issue. I think it's very unlikely with a proper installation.

I am getting dual GI275s installed. The reversion of the HSI to an attitude indicator is automatic. The HSI and the AI both must be ADAHRS. Here is what Garmin says: "You can count on the reliability of the GI 275, but primary instruments often require backups. With the installation of a GI 275 attitude indicator and GI 275 HSI, you get the benefit of auto-reversionary mode. This mode kicks in and displays attitude and heading data on the remaining HSI or MFD if an outage should occur."

Thanks, Fly Boomer. As someone who is about to get dual GI275s installed, I can say that this definitely got my attention. That pilot had quite a ride. It's amazing and fortunate that he lived to tell the tale.

I may be missing something, but was the airport closed, or was the paved runway closed? The airport diagram appears to show a grass runway in addition to the paved runway. The controller may have concluded that if the pilot had the NOTAMs the pilot intended to land on the grass runway. 3200 feet of turf seems like it could be enough, although I've never flown an M20M.

My baggage door opens from the inside whether or not it is locked from the outside. I would be surprised if that's not the case with your door, too. This consideration doesn't affect your first point; if you're incapacitated but there is an ordinary person (as opposed to an emergency responder) outside the aircraft who could get in and help you, having an unlocked baggage compartment would help.

T&P Aero Refinishers in Salinas does first-rate work. They weren't fast or cheap, but you should consider them, nonetheless.

This is very true. Icing and embedded thunderstorms generally aren't VFR pilot problems, and they can be very big problems for an IFR pilot. But the instrument rating also turns some days from dangerous situations (scud running), into much safer situations (climbing through the clouds to clear skies on top). Flying through complicated airspace (the LA area, for example) can be much less stressful on an IFR flight plan (because you're not worried about staying clear of (or being cleared into or allowed to enter) Class B, C, and D airspace).

An HSI is the kind of thing you'd never want to be without once you've flown behind one. Comparative value of an autopilot vs. a WAAS GPS depends on your flight missions; if you fly one-hour legs and frequently use an airport with a big difference between WAAS minima and non-WAAS minima, then WAAS would be tops. If you fly long cross-countries and don't often go to an airport with a major difference between WAAS minima and non-WAAS minima, the autopilot is a lot more important. I'm about to get WAAS but have lived fine without it. Not having a WAAS GPS has not kept me from getting anywhere I wanted to get, although it did force me to get creative a couple of times and it did make me wonder a couple of times if I would get where I wanted to get. (I live in California, where the marine layer can be an issue, and I fly into SMO with some regularity, where WAAS minima can be useful, but I've been lucky.) I flew two trips last year that were 1,500 miles each way. Doing those without an autopilot would have been a lot of work.

170, with two more to go. That includes 12 Angel Flights, which might be a record high for me, plus trips from my base in the Bay Area to marathons in Fargo and Tulsa and some of the flying to and from Airventure in N201LW with @wishboneash, who was kind enough to let me take the controls of his beautiful Mooney.

+1 for Joey. He'd still be doing all of my maintenance if I hadn't moved so far away.

On this Thanksgiving, as on every Thanksgiving since 1999, I'm thankful to own a Mooney. It allowed me to fly to Tulsa this past weekend from the California Bay Area, run a marathon, and then fly to Thanksgiving week with my parents in LA, with amazing scenery and fun flying and without the commercial airline at Thanksgiving hassles and the TSA annoyances. I could and did change my travel plans at the last minute. I could and did reschedule so I could be on the ground when I needed to be on a Zoom conference for work. And I got to fly a Mooney. 17.5 hours of engine time. Six landings. KSQL-KPGA-KRVS-KBGD-KABQ-KPRC-KSMO. I left Friday night from San Carlos, California for a 3.5-hour flight to Page, Ariz., where I had a hotel reservation a five-minute walk from the airport. The only IMC of the whole trip was in the first 25 minutes. Canceled IFR and used flight following the rest of the trip. CAVU for almost the entire trip to Tulsa and back. Landed Friday night/Saturday morning 1 a.m. MST. All was well until I couldn't get the pedestrian gate to open. Had thoughts of hopping the fence but soon found another gate. Launched the next morning into the fantastic scenery of the Glen Canyon/Rainbow Bridge area, then through Monument Valley and on to Tulsa. 4 hours 40 minutes. Plan was to run the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa on Sunday and fly to Tucson for dinner with a dear friend on Sunday night. Unfortunately, she was under the weather and had to cancel. If I'd been flying the airlines, I would have had to scramble to re-book. In my Mooney, no problem. Ran the marathon Sunday a.m.; Tulsa is hilly, and Sunday was windy, but I got a decent result in my 40th marathon and my 36th marathon state. (I ran 26.2 miles in several minutes longer than it took my plane to get from SQL to PGA two nights before.) Back to RVS for a 2 p.m. CST launch. Planned a stop in Borger, Texas rather than straight to ABQ, because BGD fuel is almost $2 per gallon cheaper than ABQ fuel and I thought I might want to stretch my legs in the middle of my post-marathon flight and because KBGD is one of my favorite fuel stops, a real friendly place with character. Turbulence was not bad, but even the light stuff in the two hours between Tulsa and Borger convinced me that I should scrap my ambitions of flying all the way to SMO on Sunday night. I would probably have arrived after midnight CST, and I'd been up since 5 a.m. CST and run a race. Doable perhaps. Smart? No. Two more hours to ABQ, where night had fallen and the valley was all lit up to welcome me. I enjoy landing on the super-wide runways of the major metro airports every now and then, especially at night. Cutter at ABQ had no rental cars but gave me a lift to the rental car center, where Enterprise told me I could rent a car for $125 for one day. I'd heard about rental car price increases, but this seemed ridiculous, so I Ubered my way around town: to Frontier Restaurant to buy tortillas, to Sadie's for the carne advovada ribs and then to the Hampton Inn at the airport, from which a shuttle delivered me back to Cutter before 6 a.m. MST for my flight to SMO. Unfortunately, I had a work Zoom at 7:30 a.m., PST, so I landed at Prescott to do that. Legend FBO was very accommodating, but don't do a fuel stop in Prescott unless you're willing to wait for 15 minutes to launch behind all the Embry Riddle students ahead of you in line. Landed at SMO at 11 a.m. Monday. I fly back home sometime Sunday afternoon or evening. Be thankful this Thanksgiving that you are a Mooney pilot. We are a fortu nate bunch. Here's a photo of Sedona I took Monday a.m.

Wow. I just read your instruction memo on the work to be done on your plane. It is impressively thorough. How did you go about preparing it? How much was in consultation with the installer, and how much was your own legwork in figuring out what you wanted done? Also, I had never thought about removing the marker beacon antenna, but now that I've googled it and also read the thread you started about it on Mooneyspace, it makes some sense (at least in your case, where you could buy a cheaper audio panel). I'm also curious about pulling the Stormscope antenna; do you have another source of realtime lightning detection (without the ADSB delay)? And does removing the KN64 and the DME antenna cost you a useful backup if there is ever a GPS outage? Enjoy your new panel.

Yep. I've found out in the last day that, although Avidyne expects/plans to list the GI275 as working with the IFD540, it does not yet have the GI275 listed as an AI source. So although dual GI275s with an IFD540 would be a nice panel, it might not yet be legal/doable.

Here are photos of the current panel.

I'm about to pull the trigger on the first panel upgrade (other than an L3 transponder for ADSB compliance) in my 22 years of owning my plane, a 1993 M20J with KLN90B, KI256, KX165, KX155, KCS-55a, KN64, WX1000+, KFC150, Shadin fuel flow, old EI US-8A engine monitor. I plan to add an IFD540, which would be a WAAS upgrade (among other things) from my KLN90B (with which I've been perfectly happy). The only other thing I want to do is address the issue that I do not have a backup AI (though I do have standby vacuum). One way to do that would be to buy and install a GI275 (which would drive my KFC150) and keep my KI256 as a backup AI. Another, cheaper, solution would be to install a backup electric AI and keep my KI256 as primary. That's a little less good, as I'd lose my autopilot if I lost vacuum (and lost standby vacuum), and if the KI256 fails and I don't notice and the autopilot is engaged, all kinds of bad stuff could happen. So the GI275 might be worthwhile, and that's the direction I'm leaning. There's certainly more that I could do, but I'm not sure I see the need to do anything else. I'm posting this to expose myself to any counterarguments (but not counterarguments against the IFD540, which I like more than the Garmin GPS/NavCom alternative, and not arguments that I should get a Garmin autopilot, as I'll stick with my KFC150, which seems more than adequate to the task). Also, given the advice posted elsewhere on this board that the IFD540 will go up $1000 in price on Sunday, do I buy it now before knowing who will install it? Thanks in advance for the wisdom you share with me (and for the wisdom you've already shared with me through your posts on other threads).

Welcome aboard. You've already shown you have excellent judgment, because you're looking for a Mooney. As others have said, they are great planes and fun to fly and not difficult to fly. Two pieces of advice above that I would echo: (1) teach yourself to stay ahead of the airplane when your workload is relatively low so that you can avoid putting yourself in situations where your workload gets too high, and (2) be disciplined in your airspeeds while in the pattern/don't get yourself over the landing zone going ten knots too fast/if you do find yourself going too fast, don't try to force the plane to land/let the plane land when it's ready to land, and if that's too far down the runway then go around. On No. 2, there are ways to fix things if you're high/fast, such as slips or speed brakes (if you have those), but the best way to fix a high and fast problem is to avoid getting into one. Get to know your fellow Mooney pilots, through this list and through fly-ins and through wandering over to speak to another Mooney pilot when you see a Mooney on the ramp. It's a friendly group of people who love their planes and love talking about their planes and will love hearing about your plane. And some of what they say will be true.