ilovecornfields

Where is this “bad batch” information coming from? Which ones are affected? Why hasn’t Mooney released any information or recalled them? I still have one I purchased a couple of years ago (not due yet) and if it’s bad I’d like to not install it and send it back.

That would probably be the end of the factory, right? If they don’t make planes and they don’t make parts not sure what else they would do. Maybe worlds biggest Mooney Service Center?

Mine takes about 5 min to “warm up” so if I think I might encounter ice I run it for about 5 min after takeoff and then put it on low if I’m going to go through an area where I expect to encounter ice. If you don’t prime it or turn it on until you get ice it can take a while for it to come off.

Try reading the supplement in the POH or calling @CAV Ice. They’re usually really helpful and occasionally show up here. Some people (myself included) spray corrosion-x in the tail after running the TKS system to keep everything lubricated back there. At least on mine the fluid runs down the vertical stabilizer and into the tail then drips out the bottom. I was told this was normal.

I saw somewhere else that they were trying to get it approved using a drone pilot license. Hopefully they’ll be limited in altitude so we can stay away from them.

https://alef.aero/preorder.html My favorite part is “if you want to go faster then 25 mph, just fly!”

Great advice! As one of my mentors used to say “Don’t just do something, stand there.” Sometimes in an emergency the best thing to do is take a few moments and collect your thoughts. I like how my airplane prominently displays groundspeed so if the IAS suddenly started dropping off that would be a good way to double check that I wasn’t actually going 50 kts. Also, in the absence of an engine failure, I’m not sure what would cause the plane to suddenly slow down like that and I would expect to feel the deceleration somehow.

Mine is Perry. My son said he named him that after the peregrine falcon because that was the fastest bird and the Ovation was the fastest production plane (NA piston single, technically). Then I asked him if he was actually named after Perry the Platypus and he reluctantly admitted he was. Either way, good name. My son got into a habit of patting him on the nose and thanking him after every flight which I still find extremely adorable.

Might want to have an MSC check your Nosewheel. Sometimes the linkages get loose (I’m probably using the wrong word) and it can cause it to swerve like that. That’s happened to me before.

There are definitely some good points here. I remember early on when I picked my plane up from annual and told them I planned to fly it around the airport for a while then fly home the next day. The shop owner said “That’s a great idea! Most people just fuel it up and fly home.” I have no delusions that I can do any but the simplest maintenance tasks myself but I’ve definitely caught things that others didn’t do correctly. “Trust but verify” protects both parties.

You are correct. No need to guess. What other causes of accidents are on the list? Loss of control in flight Controlled flight into terrain System component failure — engine Fuel Unknown System component failure — non-engine Unintended flight into instrument meteorological conditions Mid-air collisions Low altitude operations Other https://generalaviationnews.com/2019/06/24/top-10-causes-of-fatal-ga-accidents/ https://pilotinstitute.com/aviation-accident-causes/#:~:text=The largest cause of fatal accidents in general aviation is,Flight into Terrain (CFIT).

It’s painful to read, but it’s a good discussion. I’m personally better at “treat every landing like a potential go around” than “treat every takeoff as a potential abort” especially at my home field on a nice day. I did something stupid once (only once!) and didn’t abort a takeoff I should have. I was cleared for an immediate takeoff with a jet close-in behind me and as I was getting ready to rotate felt a resistance in the controls. I was able to pull up enough to start flying but felt progressively more resistance to the point that I could barely hold takeoff attitude and just as I was about to really crap my pants I heard “trim in motion.” You guessed it- I took off with the autopilot on (usually I have it in FD mode but for some reason I must have hit the wrong button). Thankfully I was able to disconnect the autopilot and re-trim and had an uneventful flight, but it was clearly the WRONG decision. I’ve thought about it a lot and tried to justify (rationalize) why I did that. I remember being worried that the jet behind me wouldn’t have time to go around or that I might go off the end of the runway (although I had plenty) but the best I could come up with is that I just hadn’t started the takeoff roll with the mindset that I might really have to abort and had a problem that I didn’t understand and had never thought about or anticipated before. To paraphrase a famous quote , this is one of the reasons why flying is dangerous - you often get the test before the lesson. I appreciate both of you sharing. It’s a good discussion. Hopefully we’re all mature enough that we take others internet criticisms with a grain of salt. I’m convinced you both mean well and have learned from both of you.

He was probably telling the truth. I was in a patients room talking to a patient and there was a nursing student in there doing her thing. The alarm went off because the oxygen saturation was too low and she immediately pressed the “silence” button and kept doing what she was doing. I asked her why she just silenced it instead of actually doing something to address the low oxygen level and she said “oh, that’s what everyone does.” Alarm fatigue is real.

Might want to sell them to Redline. I’m sure you’re not the first.

We all continue to learn lessons every day. 30 years without an incident is better than most. Sounds like you won’t make this mistake again and the insurance company will cover part of your engine overhaul. You’ll have a beautiful, safe plane with a newly overhauled engine when this is over. I had a CFI teach me that the last thing he does before getting in is to walk around the plane the opposite way he did the preflight. Gives you a last chance to catch what you might have missed. Getting out of our routine is definitely dangerous.

I’m sorry to hear that. This sucks and it’s an easy mistake to make that can happen to anyone. Are you going to overhaul the engine or just do a teardown?

I never go near the SF or LA Class B unless I’m IFR or on flight following. I think I’ll stick to this policy. It’s going to be hard to explain how he didn’t know about the TFRs. Hopefully he had a valid license and medical/basicmed since I’m sure multiple agencies will do a very thorough investigation. Seems something like this could end your flying career.

Would be interesting to hear the tower tapes and what happened after the headbutt.

Definitely agree since I’ve had horrible work done at MSCs as well, but I’ve always had great experiences at Top Gun and would definitely trust them over most other shops, especially for Mooney specific items.

I’m sure it does. I added a named insured (retired airline pilot) to my policy that had accidentally clipped a presidential TFR a couple of years before (no intercept, no conflict) and he got a 30 day suspension. I can’t imagine the insurance companies would ignore the headbutt.

AOPA claims the LSA accident rate is much higher, especially for GA pilots. “available data suggests that so far, LSAs suffer more than three times as many events that require reporting under Part 830 in a given number of hours flown” https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/flight-schools/flight-school-business/newsletter/2011/april/08/traditional-versus-lsa-which-wins-the-accident-rate-battle

I guess there will be an M20J on the market soon when that guy loses his license. I got about a half dozen emails about those TFRs. I can’t imagine how someone wouldn’t know about them.

@Parker_Woodruff, thank you. That was very thoughtfully written and informative. I’ve unfortunately been in the position to “take someone’s license away” after an event occurs for which I am a mandatory reporter. The person is usually very upset with me but at least one family member usually thanks me. It seems pilots could do a better job of owning their responsibilities - to themselves, their passengers and the public. When we don’t police ourselves, we compel the government, private businesses and courts to do it for us.

The changes seen with early cognitive impairment can be pretty subtle and often are noticed by others before the affected individuals notice them. Some people get into their 90s without significant cognitive impairment and others don’t make it past their 60s. I’m general, the risk of cognitive impairment increases as age increases. That’s just a fact, just like the risk of stroke increasing with age (you don’t see a lot of strokes in 20 year olds). There are certainly tests for cognitive impairment but they’re not very sensitive so you could easily ace the MOCA then land gear up the next week or get overwhelmed when flying single-pilot IFR in low ceilings and turbulence. I always assumed that at some point I would age out of flying. My hope is that I’ll recognize that point before anyone else does. The problem is that some people ignore the signs and despite not so subtle signs of impairment continue flying, maybe rationalizing that by moving into a less complex airplane or limiting the conditions that they fly in they are still safe to fly. That may work out for them until they get caught in a situation that demands their full ability but they just don’t have it and unfortunately in aviation it’s hard to predict when the stuff will hit the fan. Correct me if I’m wrong, but a lot of the fatals and gear ups we’ve been seeing recently are from older pilots. Maybe that represents the age of the average GA pilot going up in general but I think there’s more to it then that. If I was an insurer and I could draw a line somewhere that would decrease my risks and increase my profits I probably would. They’re there to make money, not because they are your friends.

I think Snoopy must be Turbo’s normally aspirated distant cousin. Also a 3 yo black lab. He’s grown accustomed to a certain degree of pampering so I had to remove one of the back seats so he could spread out. He actually really likes his Mutt Muffs.