Skates97

Nope, not sure what it was picking up as returns on flight awarw, there wasn't even much of a marine layer yet that evening. However we are in the May Gray/June Gloom time of year so should be able to get some actual on Saturday morning flights. We're going to St George this weekend so next IFR training flight is scheduled for the morning of June 5th. Crossing my fingers for some actual.

I can't answer the first one. For the battery backup just select that option, it is an internal battery backup. It adds $180 to the price. I haven't been able to find anything saying how long the battery backup lasts. I should just pull the breaker on it on a flight and see how long it will go. I have pushed the button to have it go to battery after shutting off the master and just let it run for a bit, from a short test and watching the percentage of power go down I am inclined to believe it is only about a 1 hour backup battery. I think I will give it a test on battery Friday when we fly to St George.

I'm a little behind on my blogging. Flights 13 and 14 were April 28th and May 1st and for the first time since beginning my IFR journey I made it through a whole flight without help on the radios. In the Aviate, Navigate, Communicate order of things it felt great to fly multiple approaches and have enough brain power to do all three of those things. The plane has been in the avionics shop the last 3 1/2 weeks having the GFC500 installed and I pick it up tomorrow afternoon. After 500 hours of hand flying and 15 hours of hand flying simulated IFR it will be nice to have the added benefits the AP can provide. https://intothesky.com/2021/05/25/ifr-training-breakthrough/

#102-403-11-09, Pitch Sync, Slip/Skid, Turn Rate, Battery Backup, no pitot/static. I haven't noticed any errors, it has been solid. We have done quite a bit of unusual attitudes during my IFR training and I haven't noticed any issues. For flying on instruments it is easier to fly than the G5 as there is nothing else on the screen. For "partial panel" work he turned off both the G5's and I just flew the 2610, the compass card, Air Speed Indicator, and Altimeter. The 2610 made me feel like I was cheating.

I replaced my turn coordinator with an RCA 2610-3, it is a simple install of power and ground and very easy to fly. Comes with a battery backup and has slip/skid as well as turn rate. Well worth the money in my opinion to have a solid backup to the G5's in my panel.

You can count on it, the money goes to a good cause! If someone else wants it they know where the bidding will start.

I pay $464 for a T-Hangar at KFUL, but the waiting list I think is in the 12-18 month range right now. I have a friend that has been on it for at least 6 months and hasn't moved up on the list at all...

Hmmm... Last Summit I was fortunate to get the Aveo Ultra Galactica wingtip lights, I guess I know what I'm bidding on this year.

In 2019 on our cross country trip @neilpilot picked my boys and I up at Dewitt Spain and took us on a tour of Memphis including a stop at Central BBQ. We still talk about how good that BBQ was! Blog writeup from 2019 - https://intothesky.com/2019/07/12/coast-to-coast-mission-tour-day-3/

I have a lot of hours here in the LA Basin but before every flight I still carefully review my route and the altitudes I need to be at for everyone's airspace. The VFR transition over LAX is convenient and easy. The airspace here is crowded but easy enough to navigate if you have a tablet in the plane. SoCal is really good about flight following, I haven't ever had them deny it but sometimes it takes a little bit to get your call in. I don't know how SMO does it but at KFUL, Ground will get you setup with a squawk before you taxi so it is an easy turn to 120° on departure and contact SoCal.

I use my phone to listen to music or books, glancing over at that has reminded me on long flights that I need to plug my phone in and charge it for a bit.

I have a Garmin transponder, dual G5's, a GNC355, GFC500 currently getting installed, but I put the 450B in as my audio panel. I love it, can't say enough about it. The isolation modes, co-pilot as Pax setting so my son doesn't have to hear the radios when it's just the two of us flying and he wants to listen to music, two Bluetooth inputs plus direct audio input so everyone can listen to something different, the setting where you hear one radio on one side and the other from a virtually different location (I can't remember what it's called), making crystal clear calls on my phone through the headset, and recently found that if I'm receiving a call on my phone the phone number pops up on the 450B display like caller ID and you can answer or end the call with the soft keys on the audio panel. I know there are more functions, but those are just a few. I know Paul @gsxrpilot is a fan of the 450B as well.

About a month ago we flew up to Redding in Northern California for my granddaughter's baptism. To escape the LA Basin we headed east to find clear skies and get on top of the marine layer. I'm still working on the IFR rating or it would have been an easy climb up through it.... I didn't have cameras going but flying past Mt Wilson with the marine layer pushed right up against the mountain I pulled out my phone for this quick video.

Yes, no problems at all with them. The first one I bought was on a lightning deal with Amazon and I think was $80 so I thought what the heck, I've thrown that much money at stuff that didn't work before, why not give it a try. Even at $100 it's not a bad deal to try out, the jump to the 4K at $250 is more than I would want to roll the dice on. From what I have read unless you are planning to put it on a big screen TV the 4K isn't noticeable. Even watching the videos from the Ghost X on my 75" TV they are crisp and look good. I'm sure if I watched the 1080p side by side with 4K I could tell, but for what I'm doing I'm very happy.

In searching online for an Excel version of the KOCH chart I came across this website. You can put the information in or just put in the Airport Identifier. I don't know how it works on an iPhone but on an Android you can go to it in Chrome and pin it to one of your home screens. https://www.takeofflanding.com/ Example of what you see on the website:

I don't have the Drift 4K but have used the Drift Ghost X and been impressed with it. I get 4+ hours of battery life out of it. This is a video from it mounted under the wing. Skip ahead to about 30 minutes for some nice footage of the lights from container ships coming up through the marine layer. A bonus is that the N-Flight Cam cable that is for the GoPro Hero 3 will also work with the Drift Ghost X to pick up the radio/intercom on a recording. I did a write up a couple months ago in The Mooney Flyer about the different cameras I have used and the mounts. You can make a good underwing mount that goes on the tie-down for about $15. https://themooneyflyer.com/issues/2021-AprTMF.pdf - Look at the "Cameras, Mounts, and Cables Article

Unless it is a shorter runway, which is where most of this discussion is centered. Warwick Airport My home at KFUL

I use the setup Mark described above with an 8" Samsung tablet. Ram yoke clamp (Not available on Amazon) https://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-B-121BU X-Grip Universal that Mark mentioned above, I did bend the arms on the sides that are gray in the picture so they stick out sideways, it keeps them from hitting the yoke and works better for me that way. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B006OQQ27E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Double Socket Arm (Medium)

When I got my plane I read stories of people having a roll pin falling out of the handle and getting stuck. I put a pair of vice grip pliers in the plane just in case. Then one day someone posted a picture and I realized I didn't have to worry about it. Someone at one point had replaced the roll pin with a cotter pin. It isn't as clean looking as I'm sure a roll pin is, but I have never worried about it falling out and getting stuck. The ends are bent up and around and I don't even notice it.

A M20C is going to be quite a bit less. My first year with my plane (no surprises popped up) was about 12-14AMU and that was 100+ hours of flying and a hangar that ran me 3.6AMU. I didn't have any database subscriptions as I had no GPS in the plane. That did not include setting aside any money for engine reserve. The PPL does not have to be limiting. I bought my Mooney right after getting my PPL. I wasn't instrument rated and the plane was only marginally equipped for IFR anyway. I knew the limitations that placed on me but I wanted a Mooney, it was what I could afford, it was flying regularly, and I was more interested in just flying places than buckling down on an instrument rating. I fly out of the LA area which often has a marine layer but that didn't slow me down, only caused delays of a few hours here and there or making sure I arrived back home before it rolled in. During the first 4+ years of ownership I put 500+ hours on the plane flying regularly from California to Idaho, Utah, Arizona, up to Oregon, and all the way to the East Coast and back, all VFR, few cancelled trips. If someone is willing to be a little flexible they can get a lot of use out of a Mooney still only flying VFR. There are definite benefits to the Instrument Rating and I am looking forward to finishing mine up here in the next couple months. However, I'm glad I didn't wait until I could afford a Mooney equipped with WAAS GPS to buy one. But, I also went into the ownership knowing what I would be spending down the line to equip it the way I wanted and knowing that adding the avionics after purchase is much more expensive than buying a plane with them already installed.

@takair makes the step, it's a simple install and we'll worth it. http://www.flightenhancements.com

This is the reason I won't have a twin. I have been flying 100+ hours per year since I got our Mooney and usually a flight once a week with the exception of downtime for maintenance. At that rate I don't feel I would be proficient/safe. I also didn't get the Mooney until I had just one out of seven kids left at home so no concerns about outgrowing it!

I want to know what kind of fish can survive in 100LL, and is is safe to eat a fish that lives in 100LL?

You likely want to fly more than work on it. I bought my D (really converted to a C) for $36k four and a half years ago. It had no auto pilot and old avionics, no GPS, but it had always flown frequently. We have put 500 hours on it in that time with no big surprises. Since we bought it I have updated almost everything in the panel as I had funds for it and it is currently in the shop for a GFC500. Once that is done I will have spent more on upgrades than the purchase of the plane. It would have been much less to buy one equipped the way I wanted it, but at the time I couldn't afford it. Instead I bought the best equipped flying plane that I could afford. Figure out what you want, what you need, and what you can afford. Then keep looking until you find one that is flying and meets at least the last two items. You probably won't get everything you want with your budget, but if you keep looking you can find one that you can enjoy. I know a younger guy that bought an E with a ratty interior and older panel but it was flying and has a strong engine. He lives in the Midwest and in the past year flew it to the West Coast Mooney Club event in Sunriver Oregon and Sun n Fun in Florida along with a lot of places in between. If you want to fly cosmetics aren't as important as the engine.

I told you it wouldn't be as bad as you were anticipating.