Boilermonkey

After hearing Dan's story we carry a CO monitor on all flights. Clipped to our seat belt so we can hear it and feel it vibrate. If it turns out to be CO it would bolster the NTSBs request to have it required in all aircraft. I know many of us private owners would probably not like to have another requirement, but for rental/survey and other aircraft used for hire it really should be a requirement. Those pilots really have no way of knowing the state of the exhaust system in the same ways that an owner does.

Hadn't thought of that. That's a good theory. I'd assume they would be able to see that in the tox-screen.

Our EAA chapter is raising funds to bring her remains home and celebrate her life. Any donations appreciated. https://gofund.me/fd5cf4f5

A friend of mine died yesterday on an aerial survey flight. Aside from the sadness of loosing her, I can't make sense of the flight path, airspeed, and altitude. The last half of It seems like a controllability issue, maybe disorientation? Then they get it together and lose it in a spin? Nonetheless tragic for the families of the two pilots. One retired and one building hours to go to the regionals. Our EAA chapter had sponsored her...all of us are in disbelief. https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/crime/small-plane-crashes-near-marlin-texas-airport/500-dd5d33f9-41b9-4eab-91e5-5aae6a106e86 https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N858JA

Disturbing. Last time I was at a Signature facility they couldn't fill my O2. "We don't have the adaptors for small planes like yours."

“Full flaming dragon mode.” Nice way of saying it. There was a great video last year about optimizing fuel and distance for a climb. I think the Bravo number came up with a Vcc of ~130kts until you can’t maintain 500ft/min, then transition to 500ft/min. I can’t seem to find the link.

Similar experience with some parts on out former M20C. I had the shop call once and ask if we wanted the part sent to us or to a museum?

Thanks for the report. That turned out about as best as it could because you took time. Well done

Our M20M made it to 2370 hours since new in 1993. It did have the Bravo conversion at 700 which included new cylinders. We are wrapping up installing an engine reman from the factory and other firewall forward work. When all is said and done it'll be about $100k. So you're right, the engine on these machines is quite expensive. That being said if you get a good acquisition price of a run out airplane it can make sense. In the end, our total cost of all the new work and purchase price will be about $230k. For Bravo with TKS, a GTN 750, JPI930, new O2 bottle, new batts, and nearly everything zero timed. ...not bad...

A Bravo, Ovation, or Acclaim. I went with a Bravo last year, upgrading from a M20C. It's great.

We have TKS on our M20M and it is great. The small amount of extra maintenance, weight, and loss of a few knots is well worth the increase in utility & safety. Mentally and financially prepare for the cost & downtime of the firewall forward that's going to be needed. We bought a run out M20M and will have put $100K into it by the end of the month to get everything to zero time and fully functional (note the TIO540-AF1B is notably more than the IO-360 you'll be looking at). Nonetheless, be ready. We went with a reman and it took 7 months from deposit to delivery from the factory (where we could still fly with the old engine all the way to 2360 SMOH). Then about 2 months of install, prop OH, etc. where we were grounded. We went that route which was slightly more expensive than an overhaul. The alternative would be to fly it until you see signs in your oil analysis, but by then you wont be able to fly for 7 months while you wait.

Do you have the other pilot's insurance company info?

Awesome. Hangar 5, the restaurant, not the actual hangar (which actually happens to be ours) is a great , better than Muncie :-P Be advised that most of the shops I go to close for OSH...they go up too! ...which is the way it should be if they love aviation as much as we do. Let me know when you have the airplane and want to meet up.

Welcome! I'm a Bravo driver at Columbus, IN (KBAK) not far from you. There's a restaurant on the field, so you'll have to come visit. While Muncie isn't a MSC anymore, they do a great job, but can be pricy. Anderson Aircraft at KAID, right next door does most of our work and annual. He works on several Mooneys including my hangar mate's, the owner of my former M20C, and a friend with a M20J. He's has a well run shop with several A&Ps on staff, not just wench turners with one guy watching. He's reasonable in pricing too. If you end up using him, we can probably help shuttle you to/from. That being said, the Bravo is at Wilmar, MN at Oasis right now getting a reman, upgrades, annual, and shakedown. Alongside GMax they are one of the most highly regarded MSC shops in the nation. When it came to a reman I wanted someone who has not only down them before, but someone who has done them on a Bravo. He did several last year, so it was a no brainer. ...and it's good from time to time to have another set of eyes go through your airplane. Let me know when you get your airplane home, we'll have to go flying.

EVTOL and GA are really different markets. I can see him entering eVTOL to create a new transportation service for the mass market. I don’t see him entering a niche market with such a small number of total customers (certified pilots).

Whomever this was, N34ME, you have an infinitely larger bladder than I do. ...and to do pattern work after a 6 hour flight, my goodness.

Reminds me of several accidents where professional crews asked ATC what their altitude is when they have had failures. Neither the pilot or the controller knew that the altitude was coming from. The airplane, not the radar, and has the same errant data. DF is different, but calling ATC and asking for that kind of information request both sides to understand where the data is coming from. I can imagine someone having a GPS failure/degradation and calling ATC....it they done switch to primary radar they would read back what the ADSB GPS information is.

The e911 GPS fused with 4G/5G is getting pretty good. Within 15 even inside a building. Which is primarily for first responders to know where to find you....a very different safety and reliability case than aviation.

Assisted GPS via 4G/5G is part of the cellular architecture. It is already a part of almost every smartphone, but requires the phone and network to work together to derive. Moreover it is privately owned/operated. Therefor it will likely never be used for aviation. It is however being used for enhanced 911 capabilities.

Yeah, but doesn't the monitor open up the valve stem to measure the pressure...negating the finger test? You need to have some assurance that the the only o-ring, in the pressure monitor, is not leaking. Which I guess you would detect with the system, but you would still be creating a single point of failure.

That's the one I use. I came with the filling kit I use at our hangar after the FBO discontinued O2 service. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/fbo-1.php?clickkey=78112

All of the GNSS systems have some vulnerability, GALILEO is probably the best system that is available for public use. GPS remains the gold standard and there are improvements in block III that could address some of the vulnerabilities if the avionics are upgraded to use the newer functions. Or simply support L1, L2, and L5 bands for GPS. There are several new developments in GNSS that will improve accuracy and reliability....but it all requires upgrades to avionics. VOR and ILS remain the backup and will remain that way for at least a decade because that's what's in aircraft today. Adding a new solution like eLORAN would require new infrastructure and avionics..and lack the accuracy needed for precision approaches. Many have talked about using 4G/5G, LEO, UWB, and other technologies. The challenge is that it needs to be part of infrastructure, not a privately operated solution.

Thanks for sharing, very good pics.

I don't know if this is a real concern, or not. If you use these cap pressure monitors I assume that they must depress the valve stem so they can measure the tire pressure. Doesn't that make the system less reliable? Normally you have the o-rings of the valve stem and in the metal cap as a backup to keep air from leaking out. I'd rather have the redundancy of two seals and manually check my pressure every week/month.

Anyone tried these? My only fear would be that they are not as robust as the metal caps we all use.