DualRatedFlyer

Maybe look at it the other way and see if it may entice you. Flying formation is a great way to practice and build stick and rudder skills that will make you a more competent pilot thus derisking the rest of your flight operations making you safer.

Lots of folks in this country, and tons of folks in other countries have the unpopular opinion that all flying should be reserved for commercial and military pilots and that you and the rest of us recreational/amateur pilots should not be allowed to fly in the same airspace since we don't have the "skills/expertise" the other guys have. Everything not understood appears to be magic to the layman. In reality its much easier to fly in formation than it was to land on a 7500 ft runway my first solo. If it were that difficult the FAA would have more regulations than just discussing and planning the formation flight on the ground prior to commencing formation flight. It's a sliding scale though (as is all flight) more ships/closer formations/repositioning are more risky. But come on, lots of people who think it's too dangerous or risky or too hard are more than happy to fly the Fisk arrival. Now those are the really crazy people. No one should be allowed to fly the Fisk except military!!! /s

Not sure what causes this spark plug bridging, but it cost the company I used to work for about 3 millions in UAV losses overseas. The issue popped up out of no where and disappeared just as quick. We tried everything under the sun to figure out what was causing it to no avail.

In no way disagreeing with anything you said (and I appreciate your professionalism towards the parties involved), but for those who have been an active participant of caravans, they tend to continue to fly formation sorties outside of the clinics using the guidelines and SOPs learned in the clinic. To say "If you need to know you will find out in the spring clinic" may be painting with too broad a brush. This coming from someone who doesn't know anything about the details from the event, nor did I fly the caravan this year. I fly formation weekly in FW/RW for my work, but I'm just putting myself in the shoes of those who do not in a professional setting and instead get together with their caravan mates to practice on weekends. I could certainly see their point of view that they may feel as though they are missing out on a learning experience that could help prevent them from ending up in a similar series of events. Separate point and nothing to do with your post, but instead applicable to some of the other comments on mishap speculation, I have been apart of several accident investigations overseas in the sand box. A healthy amount of speculation of "what may have happened" has always been just that - healthy. Spitballing ideas always gets pilots thinking outside the box of the accident chain and how they can fly better, regardless of the root cause. Pilots by nature can be metaphorical organ donors in that we donate ourselves to the pilot community any time we make a mistake by providing others lessons learned, unfortunately sometimes those lessons are written in blood. Also, keep in mind that the NTSB is comprised of humans (not always independent humans) and sometimes they don't get it right, regardless of how hard they try. It's the official findings of the mishap that can kill you, as well as the 15 other theories that didn't kill anyone this time, but could have. All are good learning opportunities and I would hope we as pilots would encourage that learning process while being respectful in the manner we approach it. Waiting until official findings come out to discuss other possibilities could be too late. Wish there would have been more early speculation on the 737 max. They finally got it right, but that didn't do a lot of folks any good.

Can I get a copy? PM Sent

Wanted to publicly thank @Brian E. -- a newish Mooney driver and first time Oshkosh attendee for taking time out of his schedule on his first trip to Oshkosh to help me fill out my hangar door order and save me $1,000 bucks via the Osh special price. Big thanks Brian! Hope to repay the favor one day.

Flew to Lynchburg VA to visit family and attend my nieces 1st birthday. A high pressure system parked itself along my route on the way there giving me a 15kt headwind going to Virginia, and then left on my way back giving me another 11kt headwind going home to Dallas. My goal was to see if I could make the return trip (920nm) non-stop. Took off around 0800 from KLYH, climbed to 8500 headed southwest bound direct T56. I decided to use my right tank from startup until it ran out of fuel to see what the climb and cruise burn would roughly be. Right at 3 hours and 30 minutes my fuel pressure dropped and the engine stumbled. I already had my fuel tank switching tool inserted, so I hit the fuel pump and flipped it. Sputtering lasted around 4-5 seconds then was back to normal. Total time airborne was 6 hours and 30 minutes which is my longest non-stop flight to date. Had great weather the entire trip with a few puffies once I got to Texas.

Thanks Aaron! I spoke with Brian today and he's going to be able to help me out. Can you PM me ur cell in case he were to get delayed? I know there's crazy WX forecasted.

So much effort for $1K? Wow, I must be in the wrong business. A thousand bucks is a lot of money. Certainly worth asking a friend already going to the show to write my name down on a piece of paper. $1,000 / 4 dollars a 100LL gallon = 250 gallons / 9gph = 27.7 hours which is a quarter of my flying per year. CB? No, just a someone who watches my expenses. Thank you for all your contributions to this post.

@Guitarmaster Thanks for offering, but it look like @Brian E. may beat you there. Any chance you can PM me your number just in case? Really appreciate it. @Brian E. sounds like you are going to be there earliest. Can you PM me your cell and I can pass along the details to you? Big thanks!

I have quoted at least 5 different vendors. Its already a cheaper price than others for what I consider a better product. I just want to get the extra 5% show price. You dont sell hangar doors do you?

He will take my order, I just won't get the 5% off show special.

As the title says, need a solid day 1 favor from someone going to Oshkosh! Wont be able to make it this year due to a family thing I will be traveling for, but have been holding out ordering my new hangar door until the show to try and get a discount. Turns out I can get a 5% discount and a free accessory by ordering at the show, but I have to have someone fill out the paperwork with my basic info (dimensions, address, name, etc) to get it, and they wont let me fill it out in advance of the show. Heres the kicker -- they currently have a 18-24 week backorder :0 My hangar steel is supposed to be here in 8-10 weeks. Now if tons of people are ordering at the show, that means it'll bump my delivery date even further. Is anyone available day 1 to run over to booth 4001 and slap my basic info on a carbon copy sheet and then text me a picture of it so I can call the sales guy and get him to place my order? Thatll put me ahead of the other show masses. I have my neighbor who is going queued up to do it for me, but he might not make it until day 2 or 3. Hoping the power of mooneyspace comes through!

Its Wednesday! Wheres my update?!? Really enjoyed your last video. Wont be able to make the trip to osh this year, but am heading from Tx to VA during that time for a family thing so im freeloading on your videos to help with my trip planning. But seriously.. its Wednesday. You said Wednesday..

I find it extremely difficult to pull any meaningful pricing information from BAF or Macroair. When asking about pricing I feel like I get a "well how much do you got" response... I cant figure out why there is no catalog pricing information for these. Can you provide any info on sizes/prices for Hunter?

Sounds spensive

Looks promising. Would love a PIREP if you go with them

When finances come up I always tell my wife that I can sleep in my plane, but you cant fly a house.....

Joe - do you know the size of your fan/hangar space?

Anyone have experience with the big hangar fans? Looking at a Bigass fan and a Macroair fan. I hear that the Macroair fan is the newer technology and is more reliable. There are no catalog prices, so I have to get a quote for each vendor which is curious. It makes sizing vs budget exercises somewhat difficult. A neighbor has a 16ft diamater one that really puts out the air. Anyone have leads on a used one for sale? Are they worth the money? Any other solutions that are better? Thanks,

Mooney space wouldn't be nearly as useful if every question was answered via cell as opposed to over the forum.

I hate paying for stuff. Wouldn't pay for 100LL if I didn't have to. I heard Gary speak at osh and I think he is well worth the money. He is a wealth of knowledge

I had a carpet place rehim my aviation carpet. They did a crappy job. Believe automotive shops are the place to go.

Anything Fenix is worth the money. I bought the PD32 one before going to Afghanistan in 2012. Beat the crap out of it there and used it daily. I still carry it with me every day in my flight suit and it works amazingly. That's over 7 years on a single flashlight - I'd say it's worth it. https://www.fenix-store.com/fenix-pd32-led-flashlight-2016-edt/

This is what happens when you let Chuck Aaron retire.