Skates97

I had about a 30 minute drive home from the airport after each flight during my PPL. The first thing I did when I got in the car was call my dad to talk about the flight on the drive home. It was great to share that experience with him, and I got to hear a lot more stories of his Air Force flying days that I had never heard before. It was truly a blessing.

But if you throw enough money at it there is the possibility of weighing it down so that it can't move...

I love my Halo's, and after about a year of flying my wife had me buy her a pair. I think I'll give these custom ear molds a try, for $26 it isn't much of an investment if it doesn't work like I want. Some good reviews, including one person who converted one of the ear plugs to work with his two way radio. Decibullz - Custom Molded Earplugs (smile.Amazon.com for the Mooney Summit)

If it was 18 yo me with a fresh cert, I agree with you. However it was 44 yo me with a fresh cert and I'm a much different person than I was at 18. I didn't think I knew everything at 100 hours and still feel like I am learning every time I go up, but that's just who I am, always trying to improve. There are pilots I know with a lot more hours than I have and I still wouldn't want loved ones to go up with them, they just have some character flaws that I think lead to bad ADM, and stories they have told of some of the decisions they have made scare me. I have a really good friend who has been flying for 30+ years, but I know some of the chances he still takes and I worry about him. I think blanket statements like hours needed to be safe are not helpful. Are there some that need more (sometimes a lot more) hours? Absolutely! However I think that telling all new pilots they need to reach xxx hours will discourage some, and we want more pilots, not less. I think a better thing to tell them is what you just said, that there is always a lot to learn about aviation. We should try to instill in both new and old pilots the need to be constantly learning and trying to improve, that is what will improve safety. I see you just joined MS, welcome aboard. I noticed you have a thread asking about tax advice on a purchase. Consider starting a thread to introduce yourself so everyone can get to know you better.

So DPE's are just turning loose unsafe pilots who have no business flying someone else for another 50 hours or so, really? I would fly with them, and depending on my experience, yes. I'm glad you're not in charge of determining hours required to be safe and fly my family, we would have missed out on a lot great flights and experiences. Maybe you didn't feel like you were a safe enough pilot to fly your family for 100 hours, good for you.

100 hours before putting your family on board? Maybe they should just up the requirement to get your PPL to 100 hours... Took my check ride with 46.7 hours and my next flight was a week later with my wife and son. A month later I rented a slow Cherokee for a cross country with my sons from SoCal to Phoenix just so I could take my dad on flight. I still consider myself a new pilot with just over 300 hours (most of which were with family in board) but I just don't understand why the suggestion that you shouldn't take someone until you have 100 hours. Am I a better pilot now? Sure. Was I a safe pilot after I took my check ride? I think so, apparently the DPE thought so too.

Very true, I would also add that while the OP thinks he will have four in the seats frequently, that is often not the case. If his oldest is 17, it's very possible that he is looking at 2-3 on most trips. As you said though, work on ticket now and learn about different planes. As he moves along things will start to come together on the mission needs.

Welcome aboard. I was in your shoes a few years ago. My wife, knowing I have always wanted to fly and with two grandkids on the way about 500nm from us, suggested I get my license and buy a plane to fly her to see them. I took my first flight I think two days later. Had to look up "swmbo," very funny. (She Who Must Be Obeyed)

Here it is. 100_Hour_Annual2007.pdf

Taking a friend and his son (who is 18 and has only been in a commercial plane once at 5 yo) tomorrow so figured I better post about last Saturday's flight first. Finally everything is back together and working, the weather was clear, and my schedule was free so I took my wife and son to go see the beautiful green hills. https://intothesky.us/2019/02/16/the-green-hills/

I was planning on purchasing and putting in the SkyBeacon as last I had heard the Tailbeacon was still up in the air for certification. I would be interested in the Tailbeacon if it is coming out soon, if not I will buy the SkyBeacon to get compliant.

I just want to say thanks for posting your experience here, despite knowing what would be coming your way from some of the locals. I hang around here for the camaraderie and to learn, and I learned quite a few things from your thread here. Unfortunately, I wonder how many experiences others have had that won't share them knowing the often unproductive comments made about their intelligence/decision making/skills that would follow. I'm not saying there can't be constructive criticism offered, but it is apparent reading through the comments in this thread which are helpful to the dialogue and which aren't. If we can foster the kinds of conversations that encourage people to share their experiences, the good, bad, and ugly, I think we will be much better off and all have a greater knowledge base to draw upon. Again, thanks for sharing.

Here you go. I think there is a different mod out there somewhere, but this is the one that piperpainter wrote up. Folding Mooney Seats.pdf

That's just an image I grabbed online so not sure where it is located. Seems that they have a few of them scattered around Wyoming, including outside the National Weather Service office in Cheyenne.

20 knot winds down the runway, or close to runway heading are great, it just seems like it takes forever to get to the runway on final.

Reminds me of a text strand between all my sisters and I. I'm in CA, three are in AZ, and two in UT. They got a bunch of snow and had schools cancelled a couple weeks ago in UT. I mentioned that it had been particularly chilly here in SoCal and one of my sisters from AZ weighed in that it had been cold enough there she was trying to decide between flip-flops and tennis shoes to take the dog for a walk.

When something is different, start with what has been changed. Troubleshooting which works in the air, and on the ground. As I said we cleaned up a bunch of old dead end wires behind the panel during annual. We also replaced the old antenna cables with RG-400. Trouble shooting a little more and found that the whine was audible coming from the radio when the PTT was pressed, you didn't have to have a headset on to hear it. This also was occurring without the engine running so it was not coming from the generator or mags. I started with the coax cables, clipped the zip ties holding everything together, separated them, whine is gone. Re-routed the cables and secured them, whine still gone. For whatever reason the way they were run was causing the issue. Glad to go fly without that annoying sound.

When I'm coming back from Phoenix I always plan so that when it gets dark I can see the lights in Indio/Palm Springs, I don't want to be out over the desert at night. As you say, Banning pass isn't bad, just stay towards the middle near the freeway (which is always full of cars). There have been a couple times ATC has vectored me to cross Palm Springs at mid-field and then resume own Nav which has me paying very close attention to location. At 10,500' you are flying straight at San Jacinto which sits at 10,834' just 10 miles past the airport. Cross mid-field, turn right, and head for the middle of the pass.

During annual in December we cleaned up a bunch of old wiring behind the panel, apparently over the years when someone had removed or added things they just left old wires back there snipped off... Ever since when I use the PTT on the LH yoke I get feedback (high pitch whine) but only when using my #2 radio (Garmin SL-40). With the #1 radio (Narco Mark 12D) there is no feedback. The PTT on the RH side generates some feedback on the #2 radio, but it is not as loud as when the LH PTT is used. I am assuming it is a ground or wire from the mic jack, maybe a wire that is running next to something it wasn't before we started cleaning things up? With it affecting only the #2 radio I was going to start with tracing either the ground or the wire from the mic jack to that radio (the next time I feel like crawling under the panel). I thought I had read in a post that you could get feedback if the PPT and radio were grounded at the same point, but that is a fuzzy memory at best.

Current plan is to put the SkyBeacon in, most likely next month. Update from a few weeks back: Pulled the right side of the panel out to get a better look at all the wiring. With the windshield mod even though I have the little access panels from the outside it is much easier to see with the panel out a few inches. Found a very loose ground and fixed that. Taxied out to run-up and called up Ground who said he won't be able to see anything on my Mode C until I am a few hundred feet up. I finished run-up and checklists, then received clearance to taxi and take off for right closed traffic. Climbing out tower called up and said my Mode C was reporting 700', I glanced at the altimeter that was also at 700'. On downwind I received landing clearance and told that my Mode C was showing 1,100', perfect, that is exactly what my altimeter was showing. After landing and getting taxi clearance back to my hangar I thanked the tower for their help. Side note, you never know what you are going to find when you start looking around. When I pulled the panel out I saw what looked like a hairline crack in one of the breakers, the one for the stall warning horn. Sure enough, when it was loosened a little it fell apart. Horn has always worked in preflight check and though I don't always get it on landing I do most of the time. However, I wonder at what point it might have just fallen apart on it's own. Fortunately Aircraft Spruce is not very far away from even my new hangar at Fullerton so a replacement was obtained the same day it was discovered.

Welcome aboard! About 2 1/2 years ago my wife, knowing I have dreamed of flying my entire life and having two grandkids coming the next year about a month apart and a 10 hour drive away said "Why don't you get your pilot's license and a plane so we can see the grandkids more often?" I scheduled my first lesson and took it within the week. Having a supportive spouse is great!

I am sorry for the loss of your friend. If you haven't been in touch with @mike_elliott he reaches out to and helps families of downed Mooney pilots.

I built a similar mount. FYI, Home depot has neoprene washers that I think would do what you need. They are what I am using. https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-4-in-x-1-1-4-in-Black-Neoprene-Washer-815788/204276441

I tried a few different versions of the Lowes/Home Depot special. I ended up buying the Aircraft Door seals and have been happy with it. Like @Mike Ropers I put a thin coat of silicone on it (usually about every six months) and it seals well.

I guess that would depend on if it was his engine or yours that decided to quit. Either way, someone might have a bad day. My DPE who was just getting ready to retire from the airlines sad in his younger days he would fly single engine IFR all the time. As he got older and more experienced he decided that punching up through or coming down through layer was fine, but extended time IMC in single engine wasn't something he did anymore. His comment was something like "I fly IFR all the time for work, but I have a lot more going for me in the 737."