EricJ

Installing a used GNS530w or 430w also gives you a potential long-term upgrade path as the IFD540/440 are owner-install slide-in replacements. By the time you wanted to upgrade you could probably get one of those used as well.

Prices seem to be coming down, so it's definitely worth looking. A buddy has been watching GNS530w prices and has been observing some precipitous drops. I think people have figured out that paying $11k for a ten-year-old 530 makes no sense when you can by a brand new full-featured IDF540 for $15k. It looks like 530 prices are starting to get cut in about half, so it may be worth keeping an eye on.

Likewise I just put them in. I have the EDM set to show gallons in the tanks, and it's pretty accurate when I refuel. It does increase confidence that you know how much fuel you actually have.

Both are in the province of Modena. Ferrari has a model named the Modena.

That was my first impression as well. Disappointing.

Nice! I miss the days when computers came with BASIC interpreters so it was easy to show people how to get started with programming, and easy to practice and experiment. I still have the Amiga 1000 that I did my graduate thesis work with. I think I've finally come to the point where I'd like to find another home for it and get the space back, but that might be a difficult search.

I had an EDM-900 installed recently and was quoted and charged 35 hours/$3500 for installation. The install has been great so far, no squawks related to the engine monitor. They accommodated some changes so that the sensors were placed to be maintenance-friendly.

I'm in the middle of my IR training after just installing an IFD540 with a G5 HSI. One consideration is the number of airports with approaches that will be available to you with a GPS, and the number of airports with precision approaches that will be available with GPS w/WAAS. In other words, if you don't have a GPS, the number of airports available to you for IFR landing in the southwest drops dramatically. Look on your favorite sectional map browser (vfrmaps, skyvector, whatever), and just browse the available approaches for various airports. Many airports only have GPS approaches, so if you don't have GPS, they're not an option as either a destination or an alternate. Also, if you don't have a DME, approaches requiring DME won't be available to you, either. An appropriate GPS will substitute for a DME, so it keeps your options broad. Look around on your usual or expected routes at the available approaches at airports along the way and see if it makes a difference to you.

Yes, it is possible to patch a tank rather than do a complete reseal. Just like the resealing job, though, you need to find somebody who is good at patching. Maxwell's shop in TX fixed a leak in mine with good results so far (knock on wood), and there's probably somebody withing Mooney range of you that can do it, but be careful and ask around. I don't know who that might be, though.

That's her. Karen the Queen of Parts. I like that we have a local resource like that for "oh, crap, need it right now" stuff, but I think that's all anybody goes there for. Not sure how much longer she's gonna be around, as the last time I was in there she was complaining about how bad business is. Every time I leave there I have to check my ears to see how much has been chewed off.

It seems like several of these are on the cusp of finally coming out, so once one or two of them actually appear on the market for Mooneys I suspect the pricing will be pretty good. I feel your pain, though...I am still AP-free myself, but fingers crossed my overhauled unit goes back in next week. I'd rather have put the money toward one of the new ones, too, but until a few actually hit the market and get some market reviews and feedback it's just not practical.

No kidding. If you can tolerate her she does have a lot of inventory and pretty much knows where every little obscure thing is in the place, so if she's got it (and she often does), she'll take you right to it. I've gotten all kinds of weird little fasteners and pieces and stuff there that I figured would put me on a goose chase, but she'll go right to it and pull one off the shelf. And for some reason she's exceptionally proud of the oil. I only bought oil there once, too, and on most other stuff her prices are about where I expect them to be for "I need it right now" stuff. I pretty much expect aviation people to be quirky. It seems to come with the territory for some reason, all present company excepted.

This is absolutely what I'd be doing but the city doesn't let us attach stuff to anything. BTW, many of the HF winches also have wireless controllers now, so you can be wherever you need to be to make sure the rash gremlins stay away.

Those cradle tugs can still over-deflect the nose wheel. Consider that how the tug grips the gear isn't the issue, it's how much it turns it. The avionics shop that worked on my airplane has one of those cradle tugs, and I reminded the guy about the turning limitation on Mooneys. He said, "All airplanes have turning limitations." I took that to mean that he always pays attention because you can break almost any of them, and he was pretty careful with it. I think it's just when the occasional klutz gets tug duty or somebody just makes a mistake that the problems happen.

Other than corrosion, etc., antennas don't age out or wear out, so you're not incorrect. That said, it's not unusual for the connectors to be a bit dirty or corroded, or for the antenna cables to have gotten kinked or pinched or chafed somewhere along the way.