astravierso

Fernando, Thanks, I am going to research the accelerated programs fully (which another reason for the Q2 start date). While I do like the idea of total immersion for 2 weeks I have my concerns. If I get to the DC area I'll drop you and Seth a line. Cheers,

M106576, thinwing, Great discussion and I agree the flight planning and launch decision are two different things and I do appreciate the concerns from both of you. For risk management in making GO-NOGO calls I have a golden rule "DO NOT KNOWINGLY EXPOSE YOURSELF TO A SITUATION WHERE THERE IS A HIGH PROBABILITY THAT THE OUTCOME WILL MAKE THE EX-WIFE HAPPY" . Cheers,

thinwing, Thanks, your points are well taken. 17/19K is way outside what my "B" can do. I am planning this but I have no issued with a "scrub". While I am going to use my AC more for business this year I am under no illusion of being able to significantly increase my usage during the winter months in the mountain west at my current experience level. This means I will plan ask questions and if EVERYTHING is perfect, then I will fly. If not then I go with plane "D" for Delta, look out the little window wishing it was my big window. I have no illusions about current my skills, knowledge and capabilities of my AC. Cheers

M016576, Thanks, great synopsis.

Pm sent

kelty, Thanks for the share, not an easy thing to do but you may have given one of us something to think about at a future time which will keep us safe. Regards,

mccdeuce, Thanks, I was planning on staying out of those "playgrounds" by keeping to the north. Thanks again. Cheers

MyNameIsNobody, Thanks for the well wishes. Your statement has me looking what I want to do this year and it is a bit much, so much so I am going to have to break it down in MS Project to develop a critical path with milestones and GATE reviews (damn I sound like a nerd). Like I said at the top I will share all of my misadventures with the community.. Some within the community may observe my "learning experiences" first hand at Caravan Quals in Yuma, The PPP in CA in April, Oshkosh in July. I'll just tell myself they are laughing with me not at me. Cheers, Alan

midlifeflyer, Thanks, when I get back for the great white north I'll call up my insurance folks and see what it will look like.

cnoe, For what it is worth I am in TOTAL agreement with you on the value of oil analysis. Unfortunately there seems to be a knowledge vacuum in the GA community on what each test (TAN/TBN, Spectral wear metal analysis, particle count, viscosity, ect..) measures and tells us about the condition of our engines (as that is the main component we pull samples on). I've put this out there before and I will again. This is one on the things (oil analysis) I am very passionate about as it is how I got my start in the RCM/PdM field. If anyone has questions or wants to better understand how the lab derives what you see on your report please ask. If you have enough GOOD data I will even show you how to build custom alarms for YOUR engine that are based on excepted practices from STLE, ICML, US Government JOAP. For whatever reason, in case you are wondering what my motives are or do I have an agenda, My agenda is to share something I am passionate about and my motives are it is time for me to give back to this community as I have learned more about Mooney's and aviation in general from you guys than I could have ever learned on my our. Ok, I'll step off the soap box, Cheers and congratulations on saving your engine from an ugly death. Alan

CFII Search update: Spoke to a few folks and I realized that most don't have enough Mooney time to qualify under the open pilot section of my policy, so that means they would have to be a named pilot on my policy. I haven't checked the costs yet but I don't know how I feel about that. I'm still relatively new to AC ownership (just did my first annual in Oct 16). So if anyone has experience with this situation I would appreciate knowing how it worked for you. Thanks,

Andrew Thanks, I will definitely keep an eye on the OAT.

mccdeuce, thanks. as I look at my trusty sectional I see a few MOA'S but no restricted areas that I will have to cross. I will be departing from Brigham City (KBMC) so I have the option of getting FF or calling Clover to cross Lucin B and A or Lucin C respectively. Did I miss something? Regards,

midlifeflyer, I am an employee of a company and not the owner (2008 resulted in me closing my consulting biz, but that's another story). It is a privately owned company and a previous CEO and a few sales guys flew themselves around so I'm hoping there will be no issues. Time will tell. Cheers

Thanks Brian

midlifeflyer, Thanks for the tip and I will definitely be looking into this. I hadn't thought about it but the Company Safety Folks may have something to say about my flying on business so having a set of SOP's which are relevant to the type of flying I will do and adhering to them before it becomes an issue only makes sense. Besides having and adhering a set of written operation standards "may" just keep me from doing something stupid. Regards,

Seth, Thanks for the reminder about get-there-itis, That one will never get old. So here is a brief overview of how I plan on managing this issue (All, feel free to punch holes in it if it seems unrealistic). Generally I spend 3 days a one of my plants at a time, when I fly Delta I travel Monday and Friday with the middle of the week at the plant. My plan is to book trips to plants which are relatively close to one another during a two week period. This will allow me to use Monday and Tuesday (even Sunday if needed) to get to the first plant and work there Wednesday -Friday. Then travel to the second plant Saturday-Sunday (if the weather is bad I can take the rental car and drive to the second plant) work there Monday-Wednesday and fly home Thursday-Friday (and Saturday if needed). The week prior to and after each trip will be a schedule week in SLC. I believe this should minimize the stress of having to be somewhere. Plus If I get stuck somewhere enroute I can always use GotoMeeting to accomplish work which does not require a physical presence. Currently I use my AC to go to some of my Mountain West plants in UT, NV and MT. I fly out borrow the FBO car or rent a car go to the plant and fly home that day. The plant guys like it when I fly out because I usually will take one or two up for a quick hope before I go. Like I said please feel free to give me a reality check on this plan. Cheers

Oldguy, Thanks, I have the PPP in my calendar for April and will be there. I actually do not plan on starting my instrument training until I go through it. It only makes sense to me to have a through understanding of the AC, all of its systems and be able to fly it in all of the flight envelope domains in VMC before adding the complexity of instruments. Cheers,

Robert, Thanks for the tips and the info on A.F.I.T. I am more of a "slow soak learner" than a "drink from a fire hose" type. My plan for my instrument is to find a local CFII who has a structured approach (to both teaching and time line) and use him or her for both my instrument and commercial. My intent is to learn and understand the fundamentals of instrument flight over a given period and then block off a week or so prior to my check ride and fly the wings off of my AC. I will be starting my CFI search in earnest this week Regards, Alan

Air Cooled, You work for a pretty good outfit from a customers point of view in Delta. I have had very few bad experiences during my travels. The joke when I check in at the counter in SLC is that I am shooting for a status of "Gold" this year (vice what I currently have). So I am looking forward to giving up the Skyclub for the bad coffee and stale donuts of the FBO's. It's good to hear that my companies travel dollars are going to a good cause, but now it's time for me to turn those dollars into logbook entries for me. Regards,

Skates, I have one of my kids who still lives in SoCal (the High Desert area) so I make a trip down every once in a while and I have flown out of Redlands and out of March AFB with the aero club there so when I was following your thread it reminded me of those times. Drop me a note when you come up and I'll do the same when I come down. Cheers

Hank, Thanks for the encouragement. I guess I am somewhat fortunate to work for a company who is OK with me flying myself around and a wife who will also tolerate it. As for the upgrade in avionics, let's just say it will not be a high dollar investment like some of the guys (and gals) have shown here. I am moving from 1970's radio's to 1990-early2000's radios, most will be underwhelmed by them but as a CB (I actually prefer frugal but tomato/tamato). As for earning my Comm. cert. like I said it's an ego thing and it is something I will need when I make my career change from what I am currently doing to airport bum where I fix and fly planes to earn the odd dollar every now and then in 20 years

carusoam, Your points are well taken and my intent was not to come off as a butt face but rather to simply lay out my expectations. This is one of the best groups by far for knowledge sharing on Mooney's and all things aviation. Cheers

Paul, Thanks, Form flying is something I am really looking forward to. I will surely get with you if there are any questions.

Thanks Matt, Will do. Alan