Skates97

Man, I move in next door and you sell the plane and leave the neighborhood... Was it something I said?

I agree, once I tried the silicone tips I never wanted to go back to the others. They are very easy to put in your ear (watch the video on the site and follow their directions for best insertion) and they block sound very well. The foam ones would bother me sometimes if I had them in just a little too far and adjusting them was a no go while flying. With the silicone ones I can easily pull them out a little or push them in a little more if there's not enough sound being blocked.

Glad you are both safe.

If I'm ever in that situation my number one goal is to just be able walk away like this guy did. As far as a great landing with no damage... that's why I have insurance.

You can send him a PM here on the site. I did that and he got back to me letting me know that he could put me on the waiting list. I think it was about a month later that I got an email from him letting me know there were some available and to go to his site to order them. I did so right away and had them soon after that. I really like them.

Would it depend on not only how rough it is but also how soft it looks like it's going to be? If the surface looks to be softer would you be better off landing gear up instead of the risk of it digging in and flipping you?

Ron is correct, metal beams that just look like wood in the picture. In reality I think they are just old... That is after just moving in. Table and chairs have found their way into the back corner since that picture was taken. Posters, flag, and other stuff waiting to go on the walls. I have some nice shelving material from work that I'll be bringing out sometime in the next month that will probably just go along the back wall, plenty of room back there. I was glad to get one of the "larger" T-hangars that they have there.

Same thing I do except I have boxes where the wheels should end up. After the first time I put the plane in the hangar the next thing was to put yellow tape boxes around the wheels and lines leading out to the front of the hangar.

Started PPL on 5/28/16 and finished on 10/15/16. Complex Endorsement in December. Total hours flown in 2016 (and in my life) 61.8. Flew my boys and I to AZ in a very slow, rented Cherokee for my dad's 75th birthday and took him and one of my sisters flying. He was 20 years in the Air Force and spent time as an instructor pilot in T-38's, flying C-130's in the Philippines and Taiwan, and then HC-130's in AK back when the Air Force did the Search and Rescue operations up there. It's been on my bucket list to take him on a flight. He's looking forward to getting to fly in the Mooney. Bought my Mooney on 12/9/16. Completed a Bachelor's in Accounting. I could go on and on about family stuff... 2016 was a good year. Expecting grandkids numbers four and five in May-June of this year and looking forward to lots of trips in the Mooney.

25 days... Due to weather, holidays, and scheduling I'm still working on my transition training but hope to wrap up the dual time in the next week or so.

Looking forward to following along, and if you're around So Cal I'd love to meet up. Or, later into spring/summer I'll be flying up around your area. We have family in the Salt Lake area as well as Idaho Falls so I anticipate more than a few flights up there this year. (Wife's oldest daughter is expecting our 4th grandkid in May near Salt Lake and second daughter is expecting our 5th grandkid in June up in Idaho so you can guarantee there will be trips there) Good luck with your goals. I don't have much to offer as one of the newest pilots around here and barely getting my feet wet in a Mooney, but I really enjoyed posting my training experiences here and the feedback I got. (I was posting them over on POA as well, but the quality of the feedback is much higher here.)

I make mistakes on every flight (I'm pretty sure most of us do), fortunately none that have had any lasting consequences. After each flight I go through the whole thing in my head from start to finish, then within the next day or so I write it up. The writing is a way for me to share my flying with family and friends that aren't near by, and to review the flight again. (Some of the mistakes find their way into my posts, and some don't) I try to classify the mistakes by how serious the consequences could have been. There are the ones that are fairly minor and then there are the ones where I think "that could have turned into a real problem." I make myself some notes for what I messed up on and then make a point of reviewing it just before the next flight to remind myself not to make it again. Invariably while correcting one mistake, another will be made somewhere along the way, but that is all part of learning. I have been driving for almost 30 years and I still make mistakes sometimes when driving. Fortunately being conscientious and careful I have been able to avoid any accidents or tickets during that almost 30 years. With the same diligence I hope to keep that same clean record in the air of always arriving safely at my destination...

Probably a stupid question, but what do you guys use for cleaning up the grease/gunk in the landing gear bays? If it was on my car I would just use some plain old degreaser and a rag, but new to the plane ownership experience and a bit nervous about doing more harm than good to it, just thought I would ask.

I'm going to sneak one more post in under the wire here. I know it's 2017 in NYC, but here in Cali it's still 2016. Went out Friday for some more transition training. We were supposed to go out today too, but the weather never cooperated. Just finished writing up Friday's flight, complete with some time in the rain, a few goofs on the radio, and what amounted to about half a spin during a power on stall... 2016 has been great, I learned to fly, bought a plane, and made a lot of friends here that I hope to be able to meet some of in 2017. http://intothesky.us/2016/12/30/flying-in-the-rain/

That's like flying around So Cal at night, everything is lit up.

I'm counting on falling short on the last part, but I'm sure going to try. See if I can fill in a few more states on that map in my signature in the process.

Finish my transition training, get my solo hours in, and then fly the wings off of her...

Just age well, and wear a hat so you can't see my receding hairline...

Didn't do any flying, I still need to finish my transition training... But we did take the kids and grandkids out to see the plane. Two of the grandkids loved "flying" the plane. Tried to get the other one to sit in the plane with me, she wasn't a fan. Obligatory photo with the grandkids in front of the plane at the request of my wife. Next year we can just go fly to visit them.

I traded quite a few emails with Jimmy. Great guy, very helpful, straight forward, and I learned a thing or two from him even though I didn't end up buying a plane from him.

Marcus, Welcome aboard! I started looking at planes earlier this year and it really came down to the Mooney. I joined here in May, began my PPL the end of June, passed my checkride October 15th, and bought my plane the beginning of December. It's a great group of folks here that were helpful and supportive through my flight training and in my search for a plane. If you want some fun and advice, you could do what myself and another guy did and start a thread to document your training. It seems most of the people here like reading about the learning adventures of us new guys.

Hank, I started using MyFlightBook which seems to do what the spreadsheet you built does. It has options for tracking just about everything under the sun if you want to and will also keep track of airports you've been to, how many times, first visit/last visit, and put them on a map. I started using it a little after I started flying and like it. I still keep my paper log book for backup and the endorsements, but it even has an option for instructors to input your endorsements if you want. http://myflightbook.com/logbook/Member/Logbook.aspx

My oldest son is a lefty. Best quote I have heard was another lefty, gentleman about 70 years old tell my son "Lefty's designed the world for right handed people because they need the extra help."

Except getting anything permitted in The People's Republic of California is near impossible... Chino has some in the planning stages but who knows how far out they really are.

Nope, or maybe...depending on your definition of a newlywed. We've been married almost 7 years, but it's the second marriage for both of us. It's all a matter of perspective. Without getting into too many details I was in a terrible 15 year marriage and she was in a terrible 17 year marriage previously. Being married to a normal, stable person has a way of making the little things so much smaller and we both often say, "So this is what a marriage really is? I love it!" We're the modern day Brady Bunch, plus one. Between us we have 7 kids, three of which are married, three grandkids, and two more grandkids on the way. Thankfully we only have a couple left at home.