Skates97

Here's the write up of the check ride. https://intothesky.com/2021/10/10/ifr-checkride/ That will close things out, at least until I get the itch for some more training. I'm thinking sometime next year for the Commercial rating, not so that I can get paid to fly, just because it is fun to keep learning and improving.

I have a rescueME PLB1 in the plane. It hangs from the center post when I'm not flying. (That also has it hanging down in the way of the engine controls so I can't forget to put it on before startup). Before I put my headset on I put the lanyard around my neck. Even if it is just a local flight I am wearing it, you don't have to be far from civilization to not have a cell signal, and if I land off airport somewhere I am just pushing the button on it to let people know where I am.

Spinlock Deckvest 6D https://www.landfallnavigation.com/catalog/product/view/id/98684.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw2P-KBhByEiwADBYWCuqBHDjTKZh1CDXeKLx5bRMbcZw50AjDK5vubVpkyNuG5PqCSZXqRhoCCPgQAvD_BwE#132=30589 It is more expensive than the others that you can get, but in the grand scheme of all things aviation is not very expensive at all. I have four of them hanging on the wall in my hangar and anytime we are flying over water or just along the coast we are wearing them. They are comfortable to wear, you forget you have it on. You can remove the auto-inflator easily and turn it into a manual inflator. I'll invite Andrew @Hyett6420 to the discussion. He has more experience on the subject than most, flies over the English Channel, and has spent time in the water with the Spinlock Deckvest.

Ah, that's where I got it from. I downloaded a few of them and yours was the one I settled on and then tweaked for my plane.

This should be a good starting point for you, adjust as necessary. Approach Settings.xlsx

This stuff has worked well for me. 2" wide - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00823JFAI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 3/4" wide - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00823JEUO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My experience as well... I put the grease on, then wait a bit, and wipe off the excess. I still seem to get some one me from time to time putting stuff in and taking it out.

On my plane the cabin door has the seal on the door and the baggage door has the seal on the fuselage. There were options for the cabin door to put it either on the door or the fuselage. After reading different comments I decided on keeping it on the door to prevent damage from people getting in and out. That was a number of years ago and it is still in great shape, just add a little silicone lube to it a couple times a year to keep it from drying out.

I love it! We bought a place in Pagosa Springs, CO back in June. It isn't on the airport but is a mile from the airport. Sitting on the back porch looking at the trees and golf course with the planes coming and going is wonderful. I would have loved to have a place on an airport in the mountains somewhere but everywhere we looked within a reasonable flying time I couldn't make it work.

Maybe it depends on the size of the kneeboard? I have manual gear and have always had my kneeboard strapped to my right thigh, never any problems swinging the Johnson bar. I do sometimes have to wake my wife up and get her to sit up straight so she isn't in the way after an in-flight nap, but that's a different story.

I've been using iFlyGPS for a couple years now. I previously used DroidEFB but I like the interface and features of iFlyGPS more so will be sticking with it.

I have tried off and on to get away from paper and pen, but I find that having a knee-board with a pad for me to quickly jot stuff down on is the best option for me.

No post flight pictures, no fanfare, but I passed my IFR check-ride this morning.

Are the exhaust pipes the same on an IO-360 as an O-360? If so I might have what you need at the hangar.

You left out expensive...

Paul @gsxrpilot is the one that maintains the map. You need to ask him to put you on the map and then he will give you a link for it. It is only available to those who have requested to be on it.

I don't like the fisheye with the 170, but I love the extra wide view so it's a compromise I've lived with. 90 is definitely too narrow. I think I'm running 64GB cards in mine.

I have a little, the wider you get the more fisheye effect it has in the picture. When you connect it to your phone you can cycle through them and see the effect. If you have it inside the plane you should still be able to connect to it through WiFi. The one mounted under the wing I can connect from inside via WiFi but once the engine is running there is too much interference to connect so my SOP is to just get it set up the way I want using my phone to see where it is pointed, then turn off the WiFi and start recording. Having the WiFi off also extends the battery life.

I haven't had any problems with it rotating, but I have the LASAR tie-down mounts which are flat instead of round like the Mooney ones so maybe that makes a difference. Even in descent at 170+ MPH IAS (Vne 189) it hasn't moved on me. I've been using the Ghost X for almost a year now and love it. The first one I got for $80 on an Amazon deal so figured if it was a bust I wasn't out too much money. I liked it so much after a couple months I bought three more and gave my son the Apeman and Dragon cameras I had. With the Wifi off I get well over 4 hours of recording. I don't use the protective case, haven't flown through rain with it but I've been through the clouds and can see the condensation running off the lens so it at least handles some moisture without the case. Besides the great battery life I love the rotating lens. I mount it, turn on the Wifi, connect to my phone so I can rotate the lens to level the picture, then turn off the Wifi and press record on the camera. All my videos on YouTube after December 2020 are with the Ghost X Cameras. The one of the Oshkosh arrival was also using a Ghost X facing rearward in the cabin and was used to capture the cabin video and radios. The NFlightCam cable for the GoPro Hero 3 also works to plug into the Ghost X and capture audio.

I have a home-made mount that I put on the wing tie down like Mark a couple posts up. I wrote up an article in The Mooney Flyer a few months back about cameras and also how I made the under wing mount. https://themooneyflyer.com/issues/2021-AprTMF.pdf

A month ago I had my first flight in extended IMC, 1.2 actual in the logbook on a flight from KFUL to KCRQ and back. Most of it was on the flight there, on the way back I had filed 4,000 which would have put us in the clouds but they gave me 6,000, just above them, but once we began our descent we were back in the clouds until breaking out on final at KFUL. **Checkride update - I'm at 34.8 hours and was going to knock out the last of it this weekend for a check-ride on the 22nd. I'm doing the cross-country over again in a C172 that the school has with a non-waas 430 and KX155. The DPE said that the previous cross-country won't count. I flew a GPS-A (no vertical or horizontal guidance), an LNAV (horizontal but no vertical guidance), and LPV down to minimums, 250' AGL (horizontal and vertical guidance). The FAR is three different approaches with navigational systems. Even though a GPS-A is nothing like an LPV the DPE said they aren't different approaches... The ACS does have the requirement in the appendix that you have to use two different nav-aids in the check-ride that isn't specified in FAR 61.65(d)(2)(ii). But, not a big deal as a cross country in a C172 will eat up a bunch of time. Anyway, got to the airport yesterday and after pre-flight and starting up the plane when I turned on the avionics the breaker for the #2 radio popped. Even with the radio off it pops so guessing a wire that has rubbed through the insulation and grounded out. My CFII was just flying that plane the day before without issues. It will go in the shop and we'll try again the 25th. The DPE that I was scheduled with for the 22nd told my CFII "something came up" and he had to cancel (which is fine as the plane I needed for my cross-country was down). The DPE also said it "looked like he'll be busy for the next couple weeks." This is the same guy that it took 3 weeks to get an answer as to whether the previous cross-country would count. So, I'm scheduled with a different DPE for the 29th and happy about it. My CFII has used him quite a bit and from his website and things I have read he seems much more organized and not flakey like the other one.** If you're still reading this post, here is the link for my first flight in extended IMC. I loved it. https://intothesky.com/2021/09/19/ifr-training-1-2-actual-in-the-log-book-extended-imc/ Pic my CFII grabbed on final into KCRQ, I didn't even notice how beautiful it was while focusing on the instruments and staying on glideslope.

Get rid of the vacuum system. Put the electric step in, it is great. The RCA 2610-3 makes an excellent replacement for your turn coordinator and you now have a backup AI with battery backup. I don't have anything to compare the GFC500 to, but I have been thoroughly impressed by it and am glad I spent the money on it.

You'll be fine, there is nothing magical about a Mooney. Fly the numbers on landing. I had 58.6 total hours in my logbook all in Cherokees when I bought mine. Insurance required 10 transition with a CFI and 5 on my own before carrying passengers. I was feeling comfortable around 7-8 hours in and not worried when I took my wife and son up flying. That was almost 5 years ago and I'm right at 600 hours in my plane. @Hank can tell you he did the same thing getting his plane after his PPL and there are others as well.

Don't use any tint that has an adhesive. You want to use the static cling stuff. I've had a writeup on it on my blog since 2017. It is still the most viewed page on my site. If you don't want to tint the front windows just keep a few smaller squares of the tint in the seat back. Toss it on the dash, it gets warm, and then stick it to the window wherever you need it to keep the sun off you. On descent just pull it off the window, fold it up, and put it back in the seat back for next time. https://intothesky.com/window-tinting/

The end is in sight. I have three more flights to write up and as of right now 10.1 hours to go. The check ride is tentatively scheduled for September 22nd. The flying part I feel great about, just constantly studying for the oral.