PeteMc

Yea, I was sort of being facetious.

Interesting letter. But it is still unclear... If I buy into the "Assurance" Program for $6,000/yr and I need a part that cost $6,000, does Lasar just send it to me? Or do I pay an additional $6K on top of my "Assurance" payments?

I just ran across the below link on FB which takes to a Lasar page to sign up for Mooney Assurance. Thoughts? Bronze = $200/mo Silver = $350/mo Gold = $500/mo 10 year Gold = $25,000 https://www.lasaraviation.com/

I believe all GI275s have the ability to revert to VFR GPS (someone correct me if not, but I don't think it's a model or installation issue). So with the current DB, you have something to help you if your 430 dies. Also, without a current DB, that every time you start up you're going to get a little nagging Message/Error symbol. That's enough of a pain for some people to get the OnePak that includes the 275.

I know the heavy metal does that, but I've never heard of turning on the landing light for Taxi in a Mooney/GA. I was taught back from my very first lesson that the Beacon goes on before engine start to alert people that the prop was about to spin or it may be spinning and they couldn't see it from their angle.

If you're looking for quality work, then it is going to take as long as it takes. A lot of shops, so I'm assuming also paint shops, are having time getting qualified staff. So that may mean it takes longer if the owner isn't going to just hire someone to get the plane pushed out the door. And it sounds like that's really what you want. As far as cost, again, if you find a shop you like, the cost is the cost. And you didn't say what part of the country, so I don't know if my recommendation is going to help or not. And it has been a LOT more than a year. But I took my plane to Prestige Aircraft way up in northern VT at KFSO. I went to them because 10-15 years before I got my plane painted I knew someone that used them and the plane came out looking great. Another 5+ years and someone else I knew went there, and again the plane came out great. 3rd plane came out some time before I went there and yet again, looked great. I think mine came out looking just as good as the ones I had seen over the prior 20 years or so. To me, that's a much better reputation than one plane that came out a year ago. So if you're anywhere close to VT, you might talk to Walt and see if it's a fit for you. http://www.paintaircraft.com/

When I upgraded my panel I put in a GNC355 as my backup GPS and Comm. This way if the GTN dies, I have both GPS Nav and Comms without jumping through any major hoops.

You weren't specific on your "troubleshooting" and I'm not sure if switching tanks was done. I'm assuming it was done, but just wanted to confirm. I would have thought the engine would have started back up in a couple of (looonnnggg) seconds had the issue been water or some other issue with the initial tank or feeder line.

Are you going to cut it yourself or work with a shop that does this all the time. If you're going with a shop, check with them. They may have a program for you to lay out the panel the way you want it.

A few years ago when I was looking I could not find a replacement or anyone that had parts to do a repair. You may have better luck, but if not, I ended up getting a digital display from Aerospace Logic http://www.aerospacelogic.com A couple of quirks about them to know if you go with them to make things easier on your mechanic for the installation: 1) They have a Fuel Flow and Fuel Pressure version, so it looks like you may want the FM200K Fuel & Manifold Pressure, but double check with them. 2) This instrument states it has "internal and external intensity control" but my version did NOT have the external control and you want the external control. 3) The Fuel Flow sender is NOT compatible with any other Fuel Computer (JPI, etc.). So no piggy backing another device of their sender. My mechanic had to extend the fuel line to include both senders with no flow turbulence in the line to affect the 2nd sensor. (You can't add one sender right on top of the other.) Like all digital displays, it took a little getting use to from the analog dials. But it works and I didn't really have a choice.

I may have missed it, but for anyone thinking of buffing their plane, make sure you get a buffer with a slower settings. Some of the ones you pickup have one FAST speed. That's when you really get into buffing the paint OFF the plane. I'm no expert, but had a long talk with the paint guy that touched up my wings many many years ago. ADDED: Be VERY CAREFUL when you go over the rivets as the paint will come off quickly (another tip from him). Buff the other parts of the plane then just lightly go over the rivets, or better yet, do those small sections by hand.

Last time we were in the DEN area we went into Rocky Mountain Metro (BJC). Don't remember the fuel prices, but the people were friendly and helpful.

Are they still doing tank repairs at Willmar Air Service (BDH)? I had my tanks done there when they were in the process of the guy that did the tanks breaking off from the new guy running the shop. The original guy that had been doing the tanks for years did an excellent job, but I'd never let the guy taking over the shop touch my plane again. If they're still in business, I'm guessing the tank repairs have a new name.

Yea, sort of think you're putting too much faith in the masses of "consumer" grade stuff that's out there vs the pro gear.

Totally agree with the computers and higher end devices. And yes, data would be the best thing to see on the smaller items like the battery packs. But I actually reached out to a few Support people for various pack, including mine, and just played dumb to see what they did. I wanted to be able to plug it in overnight and forget about it, but none of them said they limited the charging to 80%. From a few blurbs I've read, I think some manufacturers are doing it. This may have a lot to do with it just being promoted more by Apple especially saying that they had an 80% mode to extend the battery life. My Android also has this feature. But then even my not that old iPad Air with the latest iPadOS does not have this capability.

Actually no, that's not correct. There are a few higher end ones (Anker I believe and some others) that will let you set the charge limit. So maybe you've always had one of those brands that do limit the charging. But the VAST majority of Power Banks or whatever you want to call them will charge to 100%. No marketing dept is going to let a product go out to get feed back that "it all ways runs down" or "it barely has enough power to recharge my iPad" etc., etc. And then if you have a cheaper made pack, you can be in for a surprise if it's been dropped a few times. Even your phone or tablet will charge to 100% unless it is a newer version and it is set to stop at 80%. Most??? Many??? have them set to go to 100% so the users don't have to plug in as much. My little Nimble pack got good reviews, but there is no way to limit the charging. But it does have 4 lights to tell how much charge it has, so I charge to 3 solid and maybe a little more to get a good charge, but not push it to the limit to repeatedly heat up the battery in that last 20% charge. Besides dropping it , that's one of the best things you can do to prevent a shorter life span. And to be honest, I've never used it. I take it with me are SAR missions in case we're out for an extended time and my phone with our SARTopo starts to run down.

WOW! I had forgotten about that. Just curious, do you remember what kind of battery pack? Was it a major brand or just something you picked up online or in some store? ADDED NOTE FOR ALL... It goes against traditional logic since you're dealing with a stored power cell. But current best practice is to dump WATER on the battery. Even better if it is in a fireproof bag and you can fill the bag with water.

I can see @hazek's safety concern. It would be a pretty different situation in a Mooney vs being a Pax in a commercial airliner. You can't exactly jump up out of your seat and stand in the isle as you get the fireproof bag. And granted, the major manufacturers (UL Approved) batteries are much less likely to have a catastrophic runaway issues. But it still can happen. I have a battery pack, but then I try to charge it, my flashlights, etc., to 80ish percent. I don't have a real way of knowing, but my battery pack does have lights to show how charged it is, so I stop at 4 out of the 5 lights. That last 20% is the hardest on the current type of batteries.

TO PROVIDE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE FIRE FIGHTING at the very top kind of says it all. What else do you need to know?

Where are we supposed to be????

Actually, @jamesm did chime in about getting the gear up. I have limited time with the manual gear, but I learned quickly why it is so important.

So how fast do you shoot the Approach? I got to fly a manual gear Mooney from NY down to FL one time. I get what people say about getting the gear up while you're still slow. So I could see wanting to get the gear up pending what your speed already is and if you're already getting close to the hard-to-retract speed. And it might mess me up if I swiched up my process. But if it is the way you always do it, my guess is you're process is as safe as mine.

Typically #5 is the hotest on the TSIO-360 due to the air scoop blocking a good amount of the airflow. So maybe a bad probe?

My B-In-Law got his grandfather's old car when he was heading off to collage in the 60s. Changed the oil in the car with some of that great modern degergent oil that was being advertised. Got about 60 miles and the engine seized up. When they eventually got it to a shop, the mechanic said it was because of all the crap that new detergent oil broke free and it got everywhere inside the engine.

I found a reference to an IVSI in the GI275 manual, but it seems to be associated with TCAS II. So I wonder if it is available for GA or you need a different version of the 275.