Skeyedancer

Believe it or not, that's sort of an "also ran" number. :). There are a couple of guys who have broken 3,000, and at least one who has flown > 5,000. When Debi Bois started Pilots-n-Paws (in 2008, I think) there were only a handful of us. Now there are thousands of pilots, and several pretty much do it full time. A couple have the means to support their flying habit without having to fill the kitty back up, and have pretty much devoted their flying life to transporting rescues. It's been inspiring to fly with these legends.

Any of the smaller ones in the picture above will fit in the baggage compartment. If you're going to open it up inside the plane, you'll need to get a top loader. That's why I take the seat back off. I don't remember any of the measurements. Someday we can FaceTime or Skype, and you'll see how it all works ... I can measure them then.

The big German Shepard is Brian Nelson's dog, Buddy. There may also be a black Lab named Wrangler, another Nelson family member. Both are extremely friendly and experienced airport dogs.

As long as I'm talking about dogs, we're always looking for pilots to fly dogs up from the south ... I could use contacts interested in the southern legs ... North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and sourthern WVa to central Va. I'd fly down to meet them. I fly 2-3 weekends/month. The dogs are brought to our farm near Wilmington, De, where we arrange for their adoptions. Send me an IM if you're interested. We could use pilots for the final leg too. N57 is very near the farm, is a delightful place to visit, and usually has the cheapest fuel around too! Send me a private message if you're interested in joining our network. We are a 501c3 charity, so all flights are tax deductible to the extent allowed by the IRS regs. www.greenmorerescue.org

I just read John B's post and agree with everything he said. I also have four tether points in the luggage compartment, but usually put large dogs in the back seat. I used to tether the dogs, but now when I have a large dog, I simply let them sit in the seat, and invite a dog wrangler to join me for the flight to keep him/her happy and out of the front ... better for W&B. About three years ago I started to transport larger numbers of smaller and mid sized dogs (<35#). I stopped using my collapsible crates, and acquired a bunch of wire crates in various sizes. By removing the rear passenger seat back, and the front passenger seat, I found that I could easily fit a lot of crates into the plane ... sort of a Tetris puzzle. It's very easy to pop the seats back in for normal operations. i see that you're in Buffalo ... do you ever get down toward Philly? .../ jack

Alex, Matilda (my 67 M20F) and I have flown over 1,000 dogs since my first flight for PnP in 2009. I still fly about 15 dogs a month. The attached picture was from a recent mission .. all of these crates comfortably fit in the plane. Where are you located? ... I'm happy to discuss how I have evolved the setups over the past eight years by phone or in person. .../ jack

The four year clock starts on the day of your physical. Here's what I would do. 1) As soon as practicable find a physician willing to participate, and schedule the exam. 2) upon completion of the exam, take the course and test, and submit the physician and exam info. 3) contine to fly under the class3 until 7/31. On 8/1, you'll automatically revert to flying under BasicMed. 4) retake the course two years from the date of you passed and submitted this time (June xx, 2019) 5) get a new physical four years from the date you received the sign off on your physical (June xx, 2021)

I called AOPA Medical group looking for the same guidance. They told me that this is the #1 question ... many GPs are refusing to sign Part 3 regardless of input they may receive from the FAA or AOPA. Their suggestion was to ask my current AME ... and if that's a no-go, start polling AMEs in my area.

N57 Toughkenamon, just SW of Philly link please!

The panel is awesome, Chris. Don't let Julie see it. Didnt realize we could sell stuff here ... how much do you think I'd have to pay someone to take my old Narco xponder and sigtronics intercom?

Absolutely! I thought Slammer was going to dribble you over today?

All, I'm pleased to share this news! After a ten day journey proving that I am still in compliance with my SI, my personal physician has signed my BasicMed form. I'm officially legal again! Matilda and I are back in the rescue business! .../ jack

I've got a fair amount of "C" time in a friend's airplane. It's a great two person w/luggage bird ... but trust me, you'll wish you'd gotten the "F" after a couple of hundred hours. The back seat room difference is substantial. Just my 2 cents. ...\ jack

Tony, I guess I'm a little more forgiving. I often see projects with very lofty goals that ultimately fall short of forecast, but still drive real tangible improvement. Sometimes it's better to start to work on something new that's broken rather than spending energy fighting for the last little bit of gain on the original project. e t

Yes indeed! .. and he's still there - and, even though we have moved, he remains a good friend!

I had just finished my Instrument training in an Arrow in 2002, and with a mere 200 hours under my belt, decided that I wanted to buy a complex airplane. Given that I had about 100 hours in Arrows and about 30 hours in a Cardinal RG, they both made the short list. A friend suggested that I look for a reasonably low time Mooney, which were touted to be faster and more efficient than either the Arrow or the Cardinal. I found a reasonably priced one on Trade-a-Plane about 600 miles away. The owner had replaced the engine and, after 10 years with her, had purchased a new Ovation. I had him fly it up for a test flight, fell in love, did the a pre-buy inspection, and sent him home on an airliner. I had had gear issues in both the Arrow and the Cardinal over the years, and one driver to the final decision was the Johnson Bar gear. There's very little opportunity for a gear failure in this Mooney! That late afternoon flight we took in my "new" 1967 M20F Executive was the very first time I had ever sat in a Mooney! 2,400 hours later, "Matilda" and I have flown to nearly every state east of the Dakota; we've flown almost 350 Young Eagles, and over 1,000 rescued dogs. In the past 15 years, she's received a new engine and prop, new paint, new interior, new bladder tanks, and new avionics, But she has never failed to deliver a comfortable 140 kts IAS at <10 gal per hour. And no gear issues after thousands of landings. My love affair with Mooneys continues.

(Knocking wood) I haven't had a near miss, but my bird has. Several years ago I lent my M20F to a very experienced Mooney pilot (M20C driver) to pick up an equally experienced pilot at a nearby airport. They decided to come back low and slow during the 15 minute return flight to sightsee along the Delaware river. They were talking and forgot to put the gear up. When they arrived at my home airport, they went through the landing checklist, and put the gear UP (!) They had the radio volume turned down to facilitate conversation and didn't hear the several warning radio calls while on short final. The FBO owner ran out to the middle of the runway to wave them off - during the go around, the pilot realized the gear was up. The second landing attempt was successful and uneventful. Lessons Learned. LOOK at the Johnson Bar position and the indicator lights on takeoff and before landing. LISTEN to CTAF when in the pattern at an uncontrolled airport. USE your checklist. that's what it's there for.

FAA Briefing on BasicMed at N57 All, the FAA will be providing a briefing on BasicMed at New Garden Airport (N57), near Wilmington, DE, on Saturday, July 15, 2017. The event will be from 10:00-14:00, and will also have a session addressing CFIs and CFIIs. I expect this to be a well attended event, given the demographics of the pilot population at N57. I will attend and will offer my story. Not sure if this is part of the Wings Program, but pencil mark your calendars and I'll provide updates as the date gets closer. '

Chris, So DrG said that if I complied with the SI requirements, then she would sign me off. Essentially the SI requirements are that I need to get a 24 hr Holter and Cardiologist's opinion annually (done Jan 2017) and have the Medical Device company download and print a 12 month CPAP usage report. That will be done tomorrow. Should have been today, but after the 40 mile drive to Trooper, we discovered that my CPAP card was corrupt, so I've installed a new one, and tomorrow morning will be making the 80 mile round trip again. (Ugh) I'm hopeful that after I provide the CPAP report, she'll sign the form.

Interestingly, my Doc has been looking at all the FAA publications to see any verbiage that BasicMed actually replaces the AME guidelines. There is no such clarity. I also searched the FAA sites, and found a comprehensive FAQ document on BasicMed, that specifically said that advising non-AME doctors was out of the scope of responsibility of the FAA, and that they would decline to respond to questions for further guidance. The FAA maintains that their scope is only to provide guidelines to AMEs regarding Medical classifications and Special Issuances. Fortunately for me, I have complied with the annual SI requirements, so I'm hopeful that I'll have a positive outcome - eventually. Had I been hired as the project manager for the BasicMed program, I would have developed a comprehensive communication plan targeting these new docs, and probably would have blanketed the GP community with guidelines and guidance that would have prepared them for the May 1 onslaught. I'm confident that this will sort itself out, but it could take years before there is a general comfort level in the medical community.

Hi guys, I'm the poster child for who benefits from BasicMed. I'm the friend of Orion and Marauder whose experience was referenced here. I am truly the poster child for BasicMed. I am 67, have been flying an average of 175 hours per year for each of the past 19 years, mostly in my 67 M20F. Five years ago, after a sleep study, I was diagnosed with OSA and had occasional Afib. I spent six months going through the special issuance process, and have been flying since, I use my CPAP daily and I haven't had an incident with Afib in nearly 4 years. Part of the deal is I have to prove use of the CPAP and have a 24 Holter annually. My most recent Class 3 expired on Apr 30. On May 4 I had a very detailed physical with my longtime personal physician, a non-aviation person. She pronounced me to be her patient of the month. Every one of my numbers have improved. My BMI is 24.3, and I'm showing no risk factors for any potential debilitation, other than my 3 year old bout with Afib. I have a recent clean bill and Holter from my cardiologist. The BasicMed program will allow me to avoid the annual administrivia, and produce no additional risk to the public, so I was confident that she would sign right away. I was so wrong. She did not, and said she had to "research" it. Over the past week, she has researched nearly every FAA Reg she can find, and has concluded that, if I comply with all the requirements of the last Special Issuance letter, she will sign. I've invested a great deal of time getting to this point, so I'm going to comply. Truthfully, if I'd just gone to my AME, I would have been flying last weekend under a Class 3. I want to avoid the annual requirements, so it makes sense for me. My advice to anyone who will listen is - "Shop for a physician, beginning with local AMEs." BTW, I called AOPA for their opinion yesterday, and they tell me that the number one reason for incomeng member calls re BasicMed is this question, "My Dr refuses to sign the form, no matter what anyone says. Can you refer me to a Dr who will?" Jack ps. I know her sources refer to Medical Classification by AMEs, not BasicMed. Frankly, I'm simply not a credible source of information for her. It's not her fault. The industry should have published talking points and quick reference guides for physicians well in advance of the release of the rules. Instead we released scores of eager but misguided pilots like myself onto a wellmeaning, but unsuspecting physician population. In their shoes, I would also probably decline. Sad.