kpaul

Just had a VIP tour of the Beech factory a couple of weeks ago. Beech is not a one trick pony like Mooney. They have an entire line producing the AT-6/T-6 for US and foreign militaries. They have the King Air line Producing the 100/200/300 series. Then they have the new Longitude Line of $40M jets. In between the King Air and Longitude assembly lines lived the Bonanza and Barron production. There had to be close to 100 aircraft in various stages of production on the 4 lines. Of that there were, I think, only 5 or 6 Bonanza/Barron aircraft. The Beech factory was amazing and yes they have a few robots that work on the Longitude, but most of it appeared to still require humans.

The C-130s I flew had a yaw damper...the pilots feet. The PC-12 has one, it is very useful for pilots that can't figure out what to do with their feet when power changes are made. Makes for lazy pilots, but happy folks sitting in the back. Now the Beech 400 is a different story, that plane Dutch rolls like it is its job. I'm not sure I would fly that one with the YD inop, even though it is not required below FL280. For planes I've flown, the YD was generally turned on shortly after the gear and flap were raised and turned off in the before landing checklist. On a side note it is very difficult to taxi with the YD engaged

I am not a fan of Apple products. In fact we as a family only own a single iPad mini and only to use in the plane. I also have a iPad mini I fly with for work and have used the larger iPad 2 as an EFB. I have operated with my iPads where the air temp was 130 F before the door on the plane was closed. I hear folks complaining about them shutting down in the heat. I have never once had one shut down or even give a temp warning. All have had an Otter Box Defender case or a Life Proof Case and I fly with it in my Mooney on a Ram Mount attached to the yoke.

The Mooney factory? @mike_elliott is our insider, maybe he knows the status.

They fly fairly light on fuel so once the slurry has been dropped these planes have an amazing thrust to weight advantage which allows them to operate in mountainous terrain. Also most runs are made going down hill. If the King Air lead plane can make the run the DC-10 will have no problems.

Interesting topic. I started flying in the mid 80s and never flew an airplane without using a headset until two weeks ago when I flew in a J3 cub with no electrical system. I guess the 152/172s I rented in the 80s were ahead of their time.

Savvy Maintenance has their breakdown service. That program is probably as close as we come to what you are describing. @kortopates

I have been lucky enough to have done this many times over my career, however cameras were frowned upon by my employer. I have never intentionally planned a full moon flight. It is beautiful, very similar to being in the rolling hills or mountains that are covered in snow during a full moon.

Apparently $92,475 with the taxes and fees

MSA is published and available on charts and approach plates. The MVA is generally only known by the controllers.

Sad, it appears that Mr. Powers recently retired. Went from a First Class physical with 757/767 type ratings to basic med this year.

As noted the goal is to not have it happen, but once you are there....We teach if at any time you get one dot below or two dots above the glide path you revert to the LOC mins, if you re-capture the GP prior to the VDP then you can continue on the ILS.

I have a Century 41 with dual G5s. I am not sure if the IIB and 41 are similar, however the GPSS works great in my plane.

There is the Chaparral Biome in California, it is home to many plants and animals to include numerous birds. When I was in New Mexico, the Chaparral was the mascot of my daughter's Elementary school, they used the Greater Roadrunner. I have absolutely no idea how any of this applies to Mooney's naming convention.

If Jon doesn't take you up on the offer, I will. I can have Ron clean and install it at annual.