Rick Junkin

Good point Paul. Hopefully I'm not derailing the thread as I think this is relevant - the two sudden stoppages on my trainer both involved complete IRANs of the engine (with a list of replaced engine parts each time) as well as a new propeller on the most recent one. I paid cash for the airplane, confident that I had a great airplane that the bank wouldn't touch. I guess the bottom line is a thorough review of the logbooks, and then questioning anything that raises a question. If you're the seller, then identifying anything that you think a potential buyer would have questions about and having the complete answers would be a right thing to do. Back to the OP question of how far a broker would go with a NDH declaration, we more appropriately should be asking for input from a broker? I know there are a few here. Cheers, Junkman

Do we have anyone from the aircraft financing world on the forum? An expert in that field will be able to provide a very relevant input on this topic. I have a trainer that I couldn't get financing for because of recent sudden prop stoppages, recent being within the last 10 years. On the other hand, my Mooney had major wing damage from a large bird strike that was repaired at a service center 25 years before my purchase and that was not even a consideration in the aircraft value or financing approval. @carusoam knows who does what around here, any point-outs on aircraft finance experts, Anthony? Cheers, Rick

+1 for Gibson & Barnes http://www.gibson-barnes.com They bought out Flight Suits LTD, and is where my company goes for our equipment. Their flight suits are true to size in my experience. The g-suit may be a little more difficult to come by. I'll ask at work. There is a considerable fitting process for the gear you're talking about that requires a level of expertise and experience. I would assume you were already working with someone with that training, but then again they would be able to tell you where to get the equipment so I won't assume. Good luck! Cheers, Rick

We love stability and consistency in aviation. When something that is normally stable and consistent changes, its telling you something. Has your Sensorcon been recalibrated? If not, that could be what is changing. Have you had any exhaust work done? Check manifold torques, etc. lately? Those are the two questions I would ask myself as a starting point. And then I'd do something and see of there is another change. That "something" depends on the answer to the questions. My 2 cents. BTW, I have a Sensorcon and I've had the same thing happen (changes in PPM indications) and found mechanical issues both times - once a loose clamp, the other exhaust manifold flange bolts had not been re-torqued after running some hours on the engine after exhaust flange gasket changes. Granted, they were much larger PPM changes than what you're seeing before I followed my own advice, but they creeped up to those levels over a short period of time. Cheers, Rick Just realized I didn't answer your question - I see 0 in flight with the cowl flaps closed, and single digits with the cowl flaps open. I am currently searching for a possible leak along the belly of the airplane.

While that's true now, the Garmin rep I spoke with "strongly implied" that that won't continue to be the case. This is a big gamble at this point if you're in the position to pull the trigger now and want to wait until this comes to fruition - we've seen too many times how that works out. I have the relative advantage of being in the planning stage for another year or two so I can afford to wait and see. I also have ideas for other-than-Garmin options, this is just my current option #1. Cheers, Rick

Ok, so here it is if you really want to do it. Go to http://www.themooneyflyer.com, look under "cool tools", and download the Cost of Ownership spreadsheet. I THINK that's where this cam from, but here is a screenshot of my unadulterated numbers for my M20M:

If you're looking for a number to keep you out of trouble, plan on a flat $30K per year total for O&M with about 150 hours of flight time. For one of the younger airplanes you'll exceed that, for one of the classic airplanes you could stay well below it, but that number will ensure you always have enough from year to year, as long as you bank what you don't spend on the good years. The details just get too tedious and the variables are way unpredictable. It's working for me! Cheers, Rick

Here's the latest. I think I'm just about there...

I completed a check ride for a new certification on 30 November, and got the new certificate yesterday. I'm thinking most timelines are about the same? Cheers, Rick

Thanks to all. I've been researching this for a while, and have accomplished much of what has been recommended short of submitting paperwork. You've confirmed my hesitation to proceed before gaining the involvement of legal, tax, and accounting professionals. I very much appreciate your sharing of knowledge! The resources available on the internet can give one a false sense of security, so your counsel will be heeded by me. I've reached out to my friends at Wings of Hope and expect to consult with the professionals that facilitate their operations. Cheers, Rick

Yes, I've reconsidered on that. I subscribe to the legal services plan so will give them a call and see what they have to say. I'm not ready to ask for any support from AOPA at this point but that is definitely something we will look at once we have a successful program established. Cheers, Rick

Thanks Ned, this is an interesting and very important point to which I have given a couple of years of consideration. My intent is to do my own thing under the radar, if you will, and not grow this beyond what Glennie and I can manage and operate by ourselves. Notionally a very small operation with only one primary training immersion student per summer. We're planning to cover all O&M costs with our personal funds and efforts, and are not expecting any income from this, ever. My thought a few years ago was to "just do it", but then I started thinking in terms of opportunities to reduce (not eliminate) liability exposure and perhaps reduce our taxes by setting this up as a non-profit entity that could allow us to deduct at least some of the O&M. And then there is the possibility that external contributions from like-minded people may emerge, once we get established, and a non-profit entity would make that easier to manage as well as allow for a tax deduction for any contributions. I'm very keen on your point about integrity and reputation. Its encouraging to us that we already have a number of friends who have volunteered their up-and-coming high school students to get us off to a good start. Unfortunately this will not be a high volume operation (one airplane, one instructor) so I will immediately be faced with a candidate down-select exercise. The entry criteria I have established, and am continuing to refine, are quite demanding, as I want to assure the best opportunity of success for the candidate we select. After a couple of years of successfully leading students to their private certificates, we'll reassess what reputation we have established. At that point we may be ready to accept any contributions or grants that may be available to help with the O&M. But the instruction will always be my baby, and there will never be a cost assessed to instruction. Our best to you and Ute, Glennie says hello! Cheers, Rick

My goal is precisely as you've stated. I'm giving myself two years for research, consultation, and establishment of the appropriate entity and supporting documents/procedures. I'll look locally as suggested for the professional support I need. Thanks! Cheers, Rick

Yes Anthony, I'm planning to use X-Plane as a training aid but am not planning on investing in an AATD-level device to get started. However, at the right price I may reconsider... I'm still working a day job so can't commit the full-time hours to provide the immersion instruction for another couple of years but need to get things in place incrementally so that I can hit the ground running when the time comes. Craig's AATD would be ideal for my purposes but the timing isn't quite right yet. Cheers, Rick

Yes, that's in the thought process to be implemented at some point down the road. I initially want to set this up on my own terms, in accordance with my own ideas on determination and selection of candidates, so I'm reluctant to solicit help from organizations that may have their own ideas on those things at this point. Cheers, Rick

Bottom Line Up Front: I'm establishing a non-profit C Corporation to provide no-cost accelerated flight training to select high-potential senior high students and am looking at the options for minimizing my personal expenses while providing the highest possible quality of training. I need legal help to understand what I need to do to make this go and limit liability, stay within tax law requirements, etc. and am looking to commission legal advice. Basic premise is that the Corporation will initially be funded and administered solely by me and my wife. The Corporation will own the training aircraft. I will provide the instruction for the Corporation. Once we establish a track record I would like to open up opportunities for external financial support. If you have expertise in this arena and are interested please PM me. Cheers, Rick

Another 8 quart airplane here. I put in 8 quarts of Philips X/C and a full 16oz of Camguard at oil change which registers at just over 8 quarts on the dipstick. Then add another quart of oil at about 13 hours when it gets to just over 7 quarts on the dipstick, and that carries me through to the next oil change at 25 hours. My engine has 800 hours SMOH. Cheers, Rick

NOW we're TALKING! I still like the redundancy of a stand-alone engine monitor, but this bears some more looking into. I'm wondering how the wording in the STC reads, so I now have another research/study project for the next bad weather day. Thanks Niko! @Niko182 Cheers, Rick

Hi Alex @alextstone, Did you check the torque on the exhaust flange nuts after about 10 hours of operation after the exhaust overhaul? I ask because I had similar exhaust leaks when we changed the exhaust flange gaskets after loosening things up to realign things at the v-band clamps. My mechanic was a little embarrassed that he hadn't thought to re-torque them after I had flown for a bit and everything settled into place. You will want to check the rest of them when you get this squared away, and then check them every 10 hours or so until the torque doesn't change, and then at the next oil change. I'm not a mechanic, just a "been there done that" kind of guy. Looks like a smoking gun for the cause of your CO problems (really bad pun intended). Speaking of oil changes - you said that this is your first one since installing overhauling the exhaust 48 hours ago? Or is this the first one that you've done yourself? If its the first one in 48 hours, you've overflown the recommended 25 hours between oil changes for the TIO-540-AF1B. The engine manual says 50 hours, but there is a Lycoming service letter that directs a 25 hour interval. Let me know if you need it and I'll send you a copy. Cheers, Rick

What's the shelf life on those prior to installation? Cheers, Rick

Hmmm... thanks for that, hadn't considered that the STC may be so restrictive. Possibly back to the bottom of the stack again... or possibly give me pause to consider other A/P options. I'm starting to like Don's location suggestion more and more. Cheers, Rick

Latest iteration considering all inputs thus far (THANKS!!) and making some spacing corrections to allow for for the top panel mounting screws and adding some right panel details. I'm still thinking about moving the TKS Panel up over the right screen (MFD) but want to look at that some more. Same goes for comm panels, not completely sold on the Garmin at this point. I also considered installing a GTN650 rather than the 750 to allow me to keep everything in the center stack, but ruled that out due to personal preference. And for grins, including my current panel for comparison (there's some more "stuff" at the top of the right panel that I didn't add). Thanks again for all of the great inputs, as I'm doing this upgrade for me and my preferences along with an eye toward the future when my wife/kids will have to sell the airplane when I'm gone, assuming that I don't call it quits before then. Hopefully by that time everything I'm putting in now will be obsolete and this will be a moot point, but I digress... Current panel: "Dream" panel: Cheers, Rick

Thanks Don, I'm considering your thoughts on moving the GFC500. It gives the added benefit of being able to rest my hand on the glare shield in turbulence rather than on the mixture control as I do now. I like that idea. I should still be able to reach the comm panel with my thumb with my hand in the same position. My thoughts on the real estate at the bottom right of the panel are that I want to have the things that I need to touch inflight close to my right hand. In doing that, I don't have room there for the EDM900. I don't expect to have much inflight manual interaction with the EDM900, other than select "NORMALIZE" mode in cruise, so it makes sense to have it in a lower priority position as far as right-hand reach goes. Yes, its more difficult to see from the right seat, but the EDM830 that I have installed on the left side now typically IS my copilot. And the two important things for emergency operation (MP and RPM) in the event of my incapacitation are still large enough to be read from the right seat if anyone is there. It may be a factor, though, for the potential purchasers when my heirs sell the airplane, so I'll give that some more consideration. Thanks for your thoughts! Cheers, Rick

I did a quick perusal of the TXi manual. I looked through all of the setup tables and didn't see any mention of % HP. Cheers, Junkman

Here's the latest iteration, and the last for a bit. I already have a GTX345 installed, so that's also one of the reasons for preserving the box in the panel. This looks a lot cleaner to me, but I want to consider the suggestions about using different switches and about getting a newer annunciator panel. The legend on my current annunciator is pretty ratty looking and I haven't been able to find a replacement, so if a newer panel is an option I'd like to look at that. What's involved with swapping one configuration for another? Incidentally, I don't think the annunciator I have is original to this airplane as it doesn't match what's in the parts catalog for 27-0019. Thanks for all of the suggestions! Cheers, Rick