Skates97

I would have to go back and look at my loan docs but I think I paid $500 for the origination, title search, registration, etc... As Wayne said above I have no pre-payment fees. I ended up going with US Aircraft Finance and would use them again, good people to deal with. http://www.usaircraftfinance.com

When I was shopping I made a spreadsheet and listed all of the C-F models that were on the market, (Controller, Barnstormers, Trade-A-Plane, plus a few others). It included the asking price, any drops in the price over the weeks/months, personal ratings of interior/paint/etc on a scale of 1-10, Airframe/Engine/Prop time, listing of avionics, location, and link to the ad. Over the course of about six months I think I got a good feel for the market and ended up with a plane that I have been very happy with. It wasn't everything on my wish list but it was a lot of it, fit my budget, and has taken me all over the Southwest for the last 16 months.

I agree completely, but I have made a number of flights in the late afternoon so that I could spend more time with my family there and would just sweat it out in the hot air. (My homemade AC helps). It does require paying close attention to the forecasts so that you stay clear of any thunderstorms and being prepared to leave earlier than planned, land earlier than planned, or not leaving at all... I should also note that I have never made any of those flights with my wife. My son doesn't mind it being hot or the bumps, but she sure would! If you want to know what it's like to take off from AZ in the later afternoon when it's 110° outside I wrote about one of those flights last year. Scroll down to the departure on Sunday August 27th. It's Hot in Phoenix

Update: A few weeks back I spent some time twisted under the right side of the panel. I found a couple of things that I thought might be contributing. First, one of the grounds going to the mic plug was barely hanging on by a couple of strands of the wire. Second, there was a wire coming off of the mic plug that was resting right against the field wire. I replaced the ring terminal on the wire that was falling off and re-routed the wires away from the field wire. The end result is that the background noise is gone and it is nice and quiet now. Thank you for all of your help.

I finally got around to putting together the video from taking my dad flying up the Salt River Lakes in AZ at the end of January. Salt River "Flightseeing"

I sent a PM, I'll buy 1 small and 3 larges. What font did you use?

@mike_elliott Here is the website for his law practice. I imagine someone there could put you in touch with his wife. There are phone and email contacts listed on the site. http://morrison-law.net/

This is where I'm at right now. Mine is getting noisier after shut down. Every now and then it is all wonky for a little bit before leveling out after startup. I would love to go glass on it but just can't bring myself to do it just yet. These guys have on their website that they will OH it for $360. Has anybody had any experience with Aircraft Quality Instruments out of Wichita, KS? http://www.flyaqi.com/gyro.htm

It depends on how long the flight is. My goal is to always land with 10+ gallons in the tank I am landing on. If it is a short flight I will take off on the full tank and land on that same tank. If my planning is such that I will be coming in with 10+ gallons I see no reason to switch to the other tank when the one I am flying on has been working just fine. If it is a long flight I will do something similar to what is listed in the POH. I have an EDM830 so I can see just about exactly what has been used. I will switch tanks when I have about 15 gallons left in the tank I took off with. I'll stay on the second tank until either A) The top of descent, or B) If I still have 10+ in the tank I switched to I will stay on it the rest of the flight. Again I don't see a reason to switch back if there is sufficient fuel in the tank I am on. That does go against the "Land on the fullest tank" mantra, but 10+ gallons is enough for more than one go-around so why switch tanks just to switch tanks.

I am planning on arriving early to help out with whatever needs to be done, contingent upon the sometimes morning mist cooperating.

This guy has some entertaining videos, amazing where he can land that plane. Trent Palmer - Kitfox This one is pretty good, I cracked up at about 8:20 in the video where he landed and is filling up at some gas station next to cars and RV's. Plane Resurrection is also a pretty good one. Season 1 is available on Netflix.

I think if you're considering sleeping with a prostitute in Haiti you may have already made some bad decisions... Paying for some protection will most likely not be sufficient.

I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.0" on the yoke. The longest I have flown in a day was about 7 hours and I think I still had around 40% left. I don't have the location turned on, just pull the GPS via wifi from my Stratux. That may contribute to increased battery life. And if need be I can plug it into the cigarette lighter.

A thank you to Ron, @rdshave, who donated a Vertex VXA-710 that he no longer uses to me so I'm all set.

That's just crazy talk...

I did my PPL in Cherokees, a little bit of the time was in a 180. I absolutely fell in love with my "D" (converted to a "C" as @carusoam mentioned above) from the first time I flew it. We have been on a lot of trips from Southern California to UT, ID, and AZ. A "C" is a very affordable traveling plane. If I was considering a Cherokee I would take a serious look at a "C" with a Johnson bar instead.

I'm still betting on less expensive options and won't be surprised if it gets pushed back.

I was one holding out for less expensive options that appear to be coming along, as well as figuring like most things having to do with the government that it would get pushed back. I honestly thought it would be pushed back maybe five years but 20 years? In the meantime I'm still currently enjoying my Stratux with traffic and weather on my tablets that I built for a little more than $100 about a year ago.

I have said this exact same thing before.

Does anyone here have any experience with these? I need my seat all the way back so that I'm not doing Cirque du Soliel type gyrations to get into the LH seat. I can reach the yoke and could push forward with the seat in the furthest back position but I can't reach the rudder pedals enough to do anything meaningful with them. I am thinking of doing what @aviatoreb mentioned above and get a nice piece of hardwood the right width and router/sand it. I can keep in between the seats on the ground and slide it behind my seat after getting in. Having it between the seats will ensure that I don't forget to put it behind the seat as part of my pre-takeoff checklist (and descent) is to check the area between the seats to make sure it is clear for the Johnson Bar.

Absolutely! Once I would get it to that last little bit and went to slide it up into the lock block it took quite a bit of effort. Now it is as smooth as can be.

I always make sure it locks in but I may start putting something behind my seat. Either that or I start having my son sit behind me instead of my wife and let his legs stop me.

Maybe you can hitch a ride with someone?

Can do, just need to borrow a handheld from someone, or this is an excuse to buy one. Anybody have any experience with this one? YAESU VERTEX FTA 550 VHF HANDHELD RADIO - AA BATTERY PACK

I did not have much trouble raising the gear in mine, but lowering it and putting the handle back up into the block took some effort and a little twist to get it to lock. Based on a suggestion by someone else on the board here (I don't remember who) when I had mine on jacks for annual I lubed the shaft where the handle slides up and down. After doing that it is very easy to slide in. I think it was the little bit of added friction when pushing forward that made it difficult, the lube solved that.