PeteMc

It's the alternator. The shop does not have the brushes to rebuild this one, IF that is the only issue. And since they don't do too much work on Mooneys they were having problems finding the parts. So I'm having my Air Mods (my old shop @ N87) send me one. If all goes well, we'll be heading towards BTV early tomorrow afternoon. It messes up the plans to go see people on our way there, but glad I found out about it while we had a few days to fix the issue. Had I just been planning to leave tomorrow AM, that would have been even a worse bummer.

Glad they survived. Hope we eventually get some details that we can all learn from.

Yes. Nothing obvious.

I am still hoping to make it, but I'm AOG right now. We were all loaded up and ready to go when the Low Voltage light stayed on even when I bumped up the RPMs. None of the usual checks fixed it, and being Labor Day there is no one around to take a look. I've got a couple of days to resolve the issue and still get back to VT. But if I end up waiting on parts or some other multi day delay, I may be reaching out.

I don't know what it is this year, but I seem to always be tongue-tied at Towered airports, but no issues at Non-Towered. (Except it still seems weird and a lot of extra talk on the Freq to use your N# at NT airports.)

Will do! And take a look at the "ADDED" on my original post about a Wash & Wax.

Ha! So you missed the the April PPP in Santa Maria too!

So who is going to the PPP next weekend (09/06-08)? Not to jinx us, but so far we're set to leave from KSFF tomorrow morning with multiple stops to see people on our way to VT. We should arrive late Thursday afternoon with a short flight up from KABE. ADDED: And for anyone that's going and is interested in getting your plane cleaned up... I talked to Mark (508-640-5832) from New England Aircraft Detailing about getting my plane Washed & Waxed on Friday while we're in class. If anyone else is interested, give him a call or send a text. There's a chance for a discount if there are a few planes for him to work on there. UPDATE: A quick FYI... New England Aircraft Detailing is not for the faint of heart, or wallet. Quote came back for $1,550 ($600 wash, $600 wax, $350 travel). When the FBO gave me their number, I figured they were in the area. But obviously not with the travel time fee.

Actually... I'd suggest they read AC90-66C (6/6/23) as it's the latest. But it still says the stuff you posted above.

I didn't answer #3 because there is a BIG difference if I've already turned Base or I just entered the DW. Odds are if I'm on Base I'm going to speak up and say I'm already on Base (even though I would have called that when I was making the turn). And I'm sure not going to turn back toward DW in case they really are not lined up with the Extended Centerline. If I'm just entering on the 45 or already in the DW, it's a judgement call. Now days you can see most planes on ADS-B, so I might tell them it looks like I'm closer and am continuing in. Or they could be closer and I'd tell them I'll extend a bit and follow them in. Obviously, in no situation am I going to puff up my chest and get right in front of them BECAUSE I CAN!! Though if they do really cut in, I may take a pic of the N# when I get on the ground. It might just make them wonder who I as going to send it to. (Hmmm... and I wonder if I have a recording of the radio calls....)

Just in case you're not pulling our legs. The AIM and some ACs. The ol' "any traffic please advise" is actually called out in the AIM to never use as you may be talking over someone at the airport you're going to or some airport on the same Freq behind you or off to either side. That why so many people actually get upset with the bogus calls. If you've ever flown in an area with multiple airports near by on the same Freq, you'll instantly figure out why. Down low in the Pattern you typically only hear the planes at that airport. But when you're 10 miles out and still high, you can block people at multiple airports. Even at 5 miles out if you're still descending it can be an issue. (I'm sure some folks that fly in 'Jersey can relate! It can get crazy on most weekends. )

I usually just say "clear of the runway" or in the case of my current Apt, "clear of all runways" since there there are parallel paved runways and an unofficial Grass runway that you can request/use.

I've had people rag on me on these types of conversations saying that Clear of the Runway is useless. Well, once again last night I sat at the end of the taxiway where I was angled a bit and could not see all the way to the end of the Runway. The guy that had been doing Stop & Goes came around and landed, but I never heard another call from him. So eventually I asked if they were still on the Runway.... "Oh no, that was our last one, we've been clear of the Rwy for a while now." So that's one, especially at night, you need to speak up and say!! There have also been a few Apt I frequent that have a bump on the middle. Again, many a time people have been sitting there to depart and eventually the other plane comes up the hill on the taxiway and none of us had a clue they exited or were slowly taxiing all the way to the end. But don't get me started on "last call" SWITCH and they're off the Freq. "Oh wait! You're tow bar is still attached! Hello??? Are you there???" ADDED: @takair I didn't see your post until after I had posted mine. TOTALLY Agree!!!

Can you define "engineer" for us? What exactly are you looking for? What I might call a mechanic maybe to work on your plane?

I'm on the Can Do It side.

Sorry if I missed it and someone else said it, but this is where an organized course like the Mooney Safety Foundation's PPP would be very helpful. It has been a few years, but I remember that in other areas where the POH was a bit thin, they had created a "best practices" (my term) to fill in the blanks. I'm sure they did this for the older models for Emergency Procedures too, I just have never paid much attention to what they were saying about the other models.

Ummm... You're not supposed to roll a Mooney....

Be sure to send me all your money, just in case you decide to go to the Strip. If you're going to toss it away, I think I'm a much better recipient!!

I changed my procedures for dropping the gear quite a bit since my first days in a retractable. I flew for a few decades out of a fairly busy Airport, I just looked and last year they had 262,113 operations. So if you happen to go flying and get caught when all the flights schools and other weekend traffic was arriving you often ended up with a 5+ mile outbound Downwind followed by the 5+ mile inbound Final, all while you're down at Pattern Altitude. So now if I'm at a Non Towered field with no traffic, I'll drop the gear mid field like I was originally taught. But if I'm on one of those low slow LOOOONG finals behind a 172, I'll hold the gear until I'm getting close to where I can glide to the Airport. In the engine out situation you described, I'm hoping that since not dropping the gear is not my first move for landing, may be a help if it ever happens to me. And I also have to remember to tell any new (to me) CFI that I have very different procedures for dropping the gear or it flips them out! ADDED: And we all need to remember that Landing Assured with the gear UP is going to change drastically with the gear down if you really have no power. So assuming I'm not going into some short farmers field, I think on 99.9% of the runways the threshold would be disappearing beneath the nose before I dropped the gear.

But if it's an electrical issue, then no GPS. I guess if the G500Txi has the optional Battery Backup it is not as much of an issue. But if it doesn't, I wonder if the configuration is the same (per Garmin). I'd interested to hear Garmin's logic on making the GI275 dependent on the PFD. I always believed the point of a Backup is to have a separate independent source in case things look off and you want a second source. I'd want that to also be true if you're in a full power loss situation and on battery.

I'm no avionics expert, but it sure sounds like something is configured or wired wrong. Or maybe there's a mode you need to switch on the GI275. If it is a true backup, I totally agree that if you loose the G500 or for whatever reason the GI275 goes into its stand-alone mode, it should be running off its own magnetometers. Except for GPS data, mine is a separate instrument, not connected to anything else. So it's interesting that if it meets the requirements of a "Backup" it was wired where another device can be interfere with its functionality/integrity.

Nope, totally talking Non-Towered Airports (don't think I'd be self announcing at a Towered Apt. ) And AC90-66B came out in 03/18 and they had been talking about ADS-B for a few years before that. So I'm assuming the FAA had some mandate to bring it's documents up to date with the pending ADS-B mandate. But then again, they may have been blowing smoke in the seminar I think I heard it in.

Actually... I think it is so you can match up the intentions you hear with the N# that a lot of us can now see with ADS-B. So I now 1234 coming in from the west is going to enter the pattern by flying directly over mid field so 5 minutes. Rather than swinging way around and coming back in on a standard 45 degree entry 15+ minutes. And I can monitor their progress between calls to see if you're timing works out with theirs, or if there might be a conflict. If you have ADS-B, they already have your track, so what you say on the radio is irrelevant. And if you turn off your ADS-B to say... fly under a bridge, they still got you even if you don't say a word....

Why not fly back to BTV and do the PPP with me Sept 6, 7 & 8??? But I'm also going to push them to maybe do a PPP here at SFF. Maybe not next year since I'm going back this year, but the year after maybe. I wonder how many others here in the PNW we can get to try and convince them to come?

Just curious if you did anything pulled something specific out or did anything special to get to a full 1000 lbs?