AaronDC8402

Does it sound like you're only getting 2600 rpm? I'm wondering if you're still getting the same rpm, but the tach is indicating differently. Is your tach mechanical or an electrical pickup? The prop governor wouldn't have changed with a plug wire change. If the rpms are really lower than they used to be, it seems like you're not making as much power as you were.

I've asked this in a couple of places. I've not seen anything indicating that's not OK. Aspen's STC requires a 2nd AI be installed that operates on a different power source than the Aspen. A vacuum AI obviously achieves that. A G5 with a backup battery as a power source seems to cover it as well. There are shops installing Aspens with a G5 as the 2nd AI.

I'm guessing the amplitude of the vibration is not as much the issue as is the profile of the vibration.

Can the Dynon get it's GPS input from a panel-mount WAAS GPS? Or do all installs require an additional antenna? We chose the Garmin before this was available. If the Dynon requires an antenna install in all cases, my decision would still be Garmin.

My son went on his first plane ride with me at 9 months, and has ridden with us 6 or 7 times since then. He turned 2 in October, and just over the last couple months really taken a liking to airplanes. He had been indifferent before, but now gets really excited about going to the airport to see planes. And yes, it's probably about time for his first haircut too.

The Nashville IMC club is planning a fly-in to KGKT Sat Jan 28 as well to see the museum that's on the field. I'm likely not going to make it. Might make for a busy Saturday at the airport.

A local flying club (that I'm still a member of) recently installed a G5 in the club's Archer III. The same thing you see in the OP's picture happened in that plane. Garmin swapped that unit out 2 days ago. When calling Garmin tech support, they didn't suggest upgrading to the new firmware. They immediately sent a replacement to the avionics shop. Never got the chance to see if a firmware update would have resolved the issue. The G5 that we recently installed in our 201 has been great. I've flown it about 7 hours with no issue. My hangar neighbor has one in his 182, and has flown it about 20 hours with no issue. As of yesterday, we've got the latest firmware in our 201. No noticeable change after the update.

Thanks for the feedback. Can you speak to the idea of installing a G5 as the primary AI with an Aspen installed as a backup AI?

The open door caught my attention as being wrong. The left wing is also a few feet shorter than the right wing. All Mooney's that I'm aware of have equal length wings. Seriously though, good job to the pilot for getting it down in mostly one piece with no injuries. Looks like a congested area to land on a road.

I'll give another vote for the in-the-ear style headsets. It's such a load off not having the big clumsy ear cups on. I had never heard of mutt muffs before. My dog has floppy ears, and we tie a handkerchief around his head to hold his ears shut. He doesn't seem to mind it at all.

When I say "installed" I mean installation AND G5 included.

I'm not a mechanic, not of the airplane type anyways. I've studied up on the G5 install quite a bit. The cheapest install seems to be if the GPS in the G5 can get it's signal without the antenna or GPS connection. All you need is power, pitot/static, and block off the open vacuum line. Second cheapest is if you connect the G5 to your WAAS Garmin GPS. A third option is if you have to install a GPS antenna just for the G5. You have all the cost of installing the antenna on the plane and running wires (remove/install interior). Some shops seem to be pricing it as worst case.

The installed prices I got ranged from $2,500 to $4,000 when I started looking over a month ago. One of the shops that quoted $4,000 has done a couple of installs now, and is now pricing at $3,200. Ours is being installed right now. I'll report the price back once we know. We're expecting $600 to $800 on install labor.

I know the Aspen shows a red X for attitude if the pitot is blocked. I've personally seen it. I don't think the G5 does that. From Garmin's manual: The G5 calculates aircraft attitude using information from its built-in inertial sensors. Any failure of the inertial sensors results in loss of attitude and information (indicated by red 'X' flags over the PFD attitude display). If the G5 senses that the attitude solution is valid, but not yet within the internal accuracy limits, "ALIGNING" is displayed. The G5 can align itself both while taxiing and during level flight. The G5 will also use GPS and airspeed data to provide the most accurate attitude information. If none of these additional sources of information are available, attitude calculations will still be valid but accuracy may be slightly affected.

I know I have seen the G5 installed with an Aspen. The STC reads that the G5 has to be the primary, and it has to replace a vac AI. I assume people are getting around this by considering the Aspen the back-up. Also, I have personally confirmed that there is a GPS-based HSI on the certified G5. It can't replace or even back-up a DG or HSI (since it's GPS-based). I guess it's just eye candy. Kind of surprised it's even in there. I don't think I will find a use scenario for it.

The Gill coming out of our plane lasted 7.5 years. We've only owned the plane for 6 months, so I don't know exactly what kind of life it's had. The plane was stored in an air conditioned hangar in Florida prior to our purchase. We went with the Concorde for replacement.

Aircraft spruce is currently running a special. If you spend over $500, you get a $50 gift card. Battery should be just over $500 if you get a Concorde.

It sounds like you don't want a partner that buys in, per se. Have you thought about just letting the partner start paying half of all time-based fixed costs? You would also come up with an hourly rate that covers use-based costs. An "entry" fee would be reasonable as well. That helps make your flying a little cheaper (mostly by sharing fixed costs) and leaves you both with an easy exit plan.

Visibility is very dependent on winds right now. Some days is perfectly clear, other days it's 3 to 5 mile vis from 3000AGL all the way to the ground. Had to fly the RNAV into TYS a few days ago due to smoke. Also, be aware of all the TFR's in the area for fire fighting activity.

Do you mind saying who is doing your install?

I've now got about as much time in our recently acquired J as I have in the local flying club's 182RG. Probably about 50 hours each. Both planes are about the same true air speed. The 182 burns more fuel (15gph vs 10gph). The fuel difference is really a pretty small difference compared to the total operating cost. Most of my primary and IFR training was in low-wing aircraft. I've never felt 100% comfortable with the visibility turning in the pattern in a high wing. Other than that, the high wing gives a lot of functional benefits; shade and rain cover on the ramp before getting in the plane, extra shade (in some situations) while flying, more convenient pre-flight since you don't crawl under the wing. The 182 definitely feels like a pick-up truck which wasn't necessarily a problem for me, but I prefer the Mooney seating position. My wife and son also ride with me on occasion. In the 182, it was always kid in the back by himself and mom right front seat. The rear seat of the 182 is too narrow for the kid seat and mom to sit comfortably. In the Mooney, the rear seats have lots of room in our '89 J (split rear seat). Mom and son are both better off together in the rear. I greatly prefer the handling of the Mooney over the 182. Feels more refined in all aspects.

@HRM Thanks for the info. I had figured it out by the time you posted, but I actually understand why now. Never heard the analogy of the electret "pinching the tubing".

Mystery solved! I was wrong about "common" on the schematic connecting to the base of the mic plug. Turns out "common" isn't used at all. For those that are curious, the base of the mic plug connects to the green wire and the middle ring of the mic plug goes to the red wire. Looking forward to getting the new mic buttoned up, and try it out in the air. On the ground it seems to be noticeably clearer. And the PMA7000B auto-squelch seems to pick it up a little better too.

I've been using Pilot for a couple of years now. I haven't noticed any consistent lag between Android and Apple. More like if it isn't in the Android version, it's not coming. Hopefully, there will be a shift at some point that we start to get the cool stuff. I greatly prefer Android over Apple in all aspects other than aviation apps. If (almost no chance) I ever decide to switch to an ipad, I'll probably use Foreflight. I don't completely follow the logic of Apple being the premium product vs Android. There are certainly a lot of Android tablets that are no where near as capable as any ipad. On the other hand, Samsung is making tablets that are easily on par (cost and quality) to the ipads. The spectrum of Android hardware is very broad. In my opinion, Garmin puts too much effort in keeping Pilot running well on the lower end devices. Seems like a solid assumption that anyone spending money on the Pilot subscription isn't using a sub-$100 no-name tablet. The big difference between Apple and Android is that ipad's hardware and software are developed by the same company. Android is an operating system platform. The hardware is developed by other companies, some better than others.

I've been using an in-the-ear style headset that I made myself for about 4 months now. My Lightspeed Sierra has only made it out of its case a few times since I got the homemade one working. The mic that I originally used is a cheap $30 mic from Aircraft Spruce. It's designed to be a replacement for a typical lower end headset. It is a noise cancelling elecret. The problem is that it's mounted on the end of a rigid piece of metal. I recently bought a flexible boom mic from a Bose Aviation X headset. It's an Intricon Model 755. This mic comes with 3 wires, and I'm a little unsure exactly how it's supposed to be wired in. Intricon has great documentation. The schematic and specs are listed below. It's been a while since I had a circuits class, so I might be getting my old text books back out to catch up. The mic plug will get a ground connection and an output connection. I'm assuming the ground will go to the ground on the schematic. I'm expecting that output on the plug will go to output on the schematic. What confuses me a little is that the specs say the V+ and "output" wire can be used interchangeably. Any electrical gurus have any other strong suggestions?