Skates97

Depending on weight I have to have full up nose trim on my 65C/D to be trimmed out for 80 mph hands off on final as @donkaye teaches. I have gone around a couple of times and while there is some tendency to pitch up when applying full power it is nothing that can't be handled. As you say, just be ready and know it's coming.

I read the articles on the study that they were doing at the University of North Dakota and I have considered playing around with those just to see what I think of them. In flying the constant turn from downwind to final what radio calls do you make? Do you call a base leg as you start the turn and then once you're 90 degrees through the turn and beginning the turn to final (so to speak) do you call final? At a towered field I'm not sure it matters unless the tower has said they will call the base, but at an un-towered field other planes are used to hearing downwind/base/final.

Try using www.1800wxbrief.com It's free, put in your numbers for your plane, climb rate/speed, cruise speed, descent rate/speed, fuel burn in different stages of flight and then save it for the future. There are a few different apps that make it easy to file a flight plan on there or you can just plug it in on their website. Then you select the time of departure and there is an optimize button to evaluate the altitude you chose. It will give you flight times and fuel burn for two levels above and below what you filed. Ie: if you filed 7,500 it will give you 3,500 5,500 9,500 and 11,500. It bases it on the winds aloft forecast. I've found it to be accurate to within about three to five minutes of my actual flight time.

I suppose that is possible. They were all underwritten by Starr. I don't know who the individual underwriters were at Starr, their name is not listed on the quote.

I can''t speak for other's experiences, but I can say shopping helped me out and the numbers below are just to illustrate that it can make a difference. I can't comment on what they put into their computers, only that I supplied the same information to all of them. New PPL with 58.6 total hours and no complex time buying a 1965 M20D (although they used M20C as the model because it is converted to retract with CS prop). The coverage levels and deductibles that they all provided were the exact same. The only exception was that one was quoting $40k hull instead of $36k. All had used Starr as the underwriter. I will say that when I sent Falcon the US Aircraft quote they were surprised about the disparity and talked with a senior underwriter. The end result was a significant savings for me. AOPA - $36k Hull Premium $2,099 10 Dual / 5 Solo US Aircraft Insurance - $40k Hull Premium $1,590 5 Dual / 5 Solo Falcon - $36k Hull Initial Premium $1,938 15 Dual / 10 Solo Revised Premium $1,525 10 Dual / 5 Solo The one that is not listed is Wendy Wenk with Wenk Aviation. She was extremely helpful. While she didn't give me a quote because I had already received the other quotes, she did give me advice on how to use the quotes from US Aircraft to get Falcon to reduce theirs. I wanted to stay with Falcon because as I said before they gave me a credit back on my renter's policy which could not be refunded but could be applied to the new premium. I will be giving Wendy the opportunity to give me a quote this year because she was so helpful.

I will have to look back and see which ones I talked to. Falcon was initially higher than a couple of others but reduced their premium when given the other quotes. There was another that when I told them the quotes I had said they couldn't do better, but then told me how to go back to Falcon and use those quotes to get the rate reduced. They were also the one that told me to ask for the remaining portion of my renters policy to be credited back to me. All they said was next year to give them a chance to quote me. I'll find the name later when I'm on my computer and not my phone and post it. That broker was the most helpful even though they weren't getting my business at the time.

Then don't shop around if you don't want to, but I still will. It saved me about $400 on my insurance last year even though they were all given the same information. The fact is that different brokers will get you different rates from the same underwriters. Some will cut part of their commissions, some have better books of business (size and risk pool) that enable them to get at better rate from the underwriter than the next broker, there are a number of reasons that they can come back with different rates. When given the other quotes, my broker at Falcon went back to the underwriter, talked with a supervisor and reduced their quote to me as well as getting the underwriter to reduce the number of hours dual instruction required.

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. I sent inquiries to several brokers in addition to my current broker. They all went to their underwriters who apparently were the same. They came back with different rates and requirements for the dual training. I talked with my current broker and gave them the information from the others. My current broker contacted the underwriter again, spoke with a supervisor, and came back with better rate than what they initially had. To top it off they gave me back a credit for the almost nine months left on my renters policy. Explain how that is working against me?

I actually love this picture. The old planes half grown over, the dilapidated old hangar with the paint peeling off, the contrast of the colors of he planes with the grass and the red hangar, it is framed well in the photo. The difference between a bad picture and a great picture is usually just the point of view that it is taken from.

I found it was worth getting quotes from multiple brokers. I got quotes from Falcon (their USAA Department) and two or three others. They all had underwriting through Starr but all had different rates and different requirements for the dual. I was able to go back to Falcon with what the others had quoted and Falcon went back to the underwriters and reduced their quote. I wanted to stay with Falcon because that was who my renters policy was through while getting my PPL. By staying with them when I bought the Mooney a few months after my check-ride they gave me a credit on the remaining portion of my renters policy (about 9 months left on it) and applied it towards my owner's insurance.

I saw this one back in March on the ramp in Mesquite, NV. 1961 B if I'm reading the tea leaves right. Registered to a guy in Oklahoma. Looked like it had been sitting awhile, but flight aware shows it flying just last December here in my backyard. Of course that could have been a case of a wrong number put in by ATC. It's happened with my plane.

Yesterday flew down to Palomar with my wife for breakfast. About a month ago they cut back the number of transient spaces to just five, so we had to park at Western and paid their $20 ramp fee. Food was good and the flying was nice. Full write-up here: Palomar for Breakfast @Raptor05121 was asking if ATC ever gets my tail number wrong a couple days ago. I think you sent that out to the universe Alex because they did again on this trip. Even with the pause I throw in they messed it up. I pulled the tower tape to get the actual conversation. Me: "Palomar Tower, Mooney 78-878." Tower: "Mooney 78378, Palomar Tower, enter right base runway 24, ident." Me: "It's 78-878 and ident, we are 8 miles north, north-east of the field." Tower: "November 378, number 3." I didn't bother correcting him because I knew he had my location on radar. However one minute later, moving along at a good clip in our descent, the Tower called us back up. He had been talking to other aircraft and with him calling the wrong tail number again I wanted to make sure that he was talking to me. Tower: "November 378, verify you have the airport in sight. Me: "If you are calling the Mooney it is tail number 78-878, yes we do have the airport in sight." Tower: "November 878, roger, fly direct to the numbers, runway 24, cleared to land." Me: "Direct 24 cleared to land, 878."

Thank you everyone for your input. I've settled in on a plan of action. Some will agree, some won't. Let me preface with a few things. I have a good plane that meets my mission. It was great this summer to make I think 2 trips to Idaho, 4 to Utah, and a few to AZ, not to mention some local trips in the 150-200nm range. It's clean, corrosion free (as far as what can be seen) and the engine is sound. I will most likely have this plane for at least 15-20 years at which point if I trade up it will stay in the family for one of my sons to fly. (They have both expressed their interest in flying) So I'm not looking at "what will this upgrade get me when I sell" but rather "how is this upgrade going to benefit me." I think upgrades should be balanced with the value of the plane. While I appreciate those saying go with the 900 or 930, I am reminded of old beater cars I see that have stereo systems in them that are worth 2-3 times the value of the car and every time the base thumps I wonder if a fender is going to fall off... My plane is worth probably around $30k or so and as such I want to put in what will add the functionality that I want without going over the top. Current Round of Upgrades I couldn't justify the additional $1,400 for the 900 plus $1,500 in install costs over the 830. The 900 would get the old instruments out of the panel, but the 830 will do everything I want for about $3,000 less than the 900 (including installation costs). So, the 830 will go into the panel where either the CDI is or the #2 radio. I'll talk with the installer, my preference is to drop the CDI down and put the 830 on top which I think will require moving the intercom. I have an SL 40 coming which can go into the stack. This will give me a very capable engine monitor and a good radio (the 12D has some issues) and all of it without too much expense. I got hooked up with a great deal on the 830 and the SL40. Next Round - Sometime Next Year This one will be the bigger of the two upgrades to get me set for IFR training. My idea of IFR flying is going up or down through the marine layer here or just light stuff flying through the clouds. Check out Mikes video flying in the Bahama's for an idea of what I think looks like "fun, light IFR". Flying in the west during the summer usually means convection and during the winter usually means icing in IMC. I have no desire to ever fly "hard IFR" and if I ever found myself in that situation then it means something went terribly wrong in either my planning, execution of the plan, or both. For me, flying is fun and I'm not looking to ever replace the airlines. Flying in hard IMC conditions is not ever going to qualify as fun to me. The other reason to go after the IFR is because I have always tried to be a "lifelong learner" and after putting 130+ hours on my Mooney in the last ten months I am looking for more training. I'll keep my eyes open for some deals on someones used stuff that they pulled for an upgrade. I have an ancient audio panel so I plan on putting in most likely a PMA8000 to replace it. The Narco 12D will come out and a GNS 430W/480/530W or possibly an IFD440 will go in. Over on the left side there will be a clock going into the panel. Both upgrades should come to around $15,000 which I think is a reasonable number to take what is a good plane and turn it into a good IFR trainer. (It's already a great cross country machine).

Glad you had a great trip. For me the first time I did a trip far enough to have to make a fuel stop I was really nervous. After a couple of them I wasn't nervous any more and was really looking forward to them.

Congratulations! She looks very nice.

Probably, anyone want to post a couple pictures of theirs?

I need to do this. Mine didn't have any when I bought it. From what I can see I don't know if it ever did unless they were glued on as there doesn't appear to be any place that they would have attached. I wonder if it is because mine was a D that was converted to a retract.

If I had to wager a guess I would say those without the second Nav are using Foreflight or some other program on a tablet as backup.

Hmm, interesting points. I've found a SL 30 and an SL40, both with tray/connectors. The SL40 is $1700 cheaper. Anticipating putting in GPS down the road so perhaps save the money and put in the SL40. I don't plan on starting the IFR until I have the GPS in the panel at which point the 40 would just be a #2 comm. Decisions....

Because they are going with two GPS/Comms or just a single GPS/Comm and the #2 as a Comm only? This may sound like a stupid question, but I haven't ventured into the IFR world yet... What are they doing for any redundancy? Just rely upon the #1 GPS/Nav/Com for all their IFR needs?

$750? Sounds like an excellent value. Where did you send it for overhaul? I need to pull mine and send it out. It's getting louder as it spools down after shut down and it is taking it longer to wake up. Just a matter of time before it is done. The best I have seen is Aircraft Quality Instruments and looks like $360 for overhaul through them.

Or they become a paperweight in my office.

Mission creep.....

Are you saying put it over on the far right or below the transponder where the 6-pack of gauges are? I would think it would go nicely above the transponder but then I'm a rookie when it comes to panel layout.

The 900 is financially doable, just was balancing need vs wants and the extra didn't seem like it made sense. I hadn't considered that I could sell off the old instruments to recoup some expense... Sometimes things seem far too obvious. I got a great quote to put in the 830, I'll have to give him a call tomorrow to see how much more the install would be of the 900. (I already have pricing on the 900 and it isn't much of a stretch.) I have been watching Beechtalk and Barnstormers and will continue and have been in touch with Chase. I should send @Alan Fox a message. Correct, the plan is to slide whatever I put in now to the #2 position in the future and take the 12D out.