ragedracer1977

I actually picked up a couple of the pulse/ox finger meters for this trip as I knew we would be up high-ish for extended periods. At home, we all were in the 95-97% saturation range. At 10.5, the lowest I saw on any of us was 92. I brought along a couple cans of boost oxygen, and we all tried it, but no one felt any different. On the density altitude vs. o2 thing. I keep hearing that repeated (even being asked by DPE's in oral exams) but to the best of my research, it's not true. Density altitude has no bearing on o2 in the air. It's only pressure altitude that matters. If you are at a field of 8000' elevation, the o2 in the air is the same whether it's 0c or 50c even though the density altitude would swing thousands of feet.

Sort of. KSSF-KNEW was 3.8 each way. Pretty much identical times. The way back from San Antonio was about .5 faster, but I had a pretty good tailwind. 10-15kts at 10500. Out to San Antonio, I had maybe a little headwind, 1-2kts

This is exactly how I did it.

Gotcha! I was pretty happy with my speed today... Very nice tailwind had my ground speed around 150kts. It was also very smooth for 99% of the flight. I was listening to the big boys upstairs complain about turbulence and asking for different altitudes for 2 hours. ha!

Well, I was at 10,500 and just about full throttle. Still don't really understand what you meant though? Are you saying I should be using less throttle? Keep in mind, I'm pretty new at this, I literally doubled my time in a Mooney (or a complex aircraft for that matter!) over the past 7 days. I'm still trying to figure out how best to operate the extra knob... In brand C with just 2 knobs, I was always at 'full rental power' (full throttle and the mixture set to whatever got the fastest speed, since fuel was 'free') so this leaning for economy and engine longevity is all new to me.

I'm not sure I understand the part in bold

I also think I might have a slight rigging issue. The ball is centered, but the left aileron is up about 1/2, maybe 3/4 inch above the flap while the right aileron is maybe 1/4" above if not flush. However, if I fly hands off, the plane seems to want to drift to the right. This seems counter-intuitive, right? And when I engage the autopilot, it wanders a little. The plane drifts right of course a little, the autopilot corrects back to the left (well slightly over corrects) then comes back to the right again. If the rudder trim tab is bent incorrectly, would that cause it? In my head, that makes sense, it's sort of flying in a very slight slip, even though the ball is centered?

20+ hours in 7 days. Phoenix to San Antonio to New Orleans. It was awesome! I definitely learned a lot along the way. Weather is something I've never really had to deal with, being in AZ. Here, pretty much, if it isn't severe clear - it's icing or bad thunderstorms. This was the first time I've had to choose VFR over the top or flying underneath. And make the decision in the air. I'd check METARs or ATIS and get an idea of what the ceilings were like ahead of us. In some cases, the field we wanted to land at was under an overcast at 3000', but the cloud tops were only 5000'. So, I had to decide when it was time to 'duck under' to get to my destination VFR. I almost had to fly to an alternate on the way from DVT-PEQ. PEQ was reporting OVC at 3000', but was forecast to clear up. So, I planned an alternate to Marfa, which was clear. We went over the top from about El Paso til we were about 30nm from PEQ before the clouds started breaking. I found a big hole and descended through. Worked out pretty good, but I was sure glad I had a couple alternates within fuel range. Speaking of fuel.... My C burns a lot less than I thought it would. I flight planned for 10.5GPH, but I was burning more like 7.9-8.4gph at 19" and 2500 RPM, with my hottest CHT always held at 380 or under. TAS of 155-160mph. I could have gone faster, but I don't think it would have been more than 5 or 10 mph for a lot more fuel burn. I had calculated that I could fly for about 4 hours, with 1 hour reserve. After this, with those cruise settings, I'd say I could fly for 4.5 with 1 hour reserve. However, by the 4 hour mark, I'm REALLY ready to land and empty the bladder and walk around for a bit... Mostly, I learned that I need my instrument rating... It sure would have made life a lot easier.

And we're back in Phoenix!

I've been following savvys advice and adjusting mixture one way or the other to keep my highest CHT at 380 or less. Busch basically seems to suggest ignoring EGT. Thoughts?

My wife and I found ourselves in New Orleans today! Flew into KNEW (lakefront). MSY controllers were awesome and very helpful!

Ha! I didn't even realize that!

At KSSF I carried a few extra mph. I touched down and exited the runway at the first exit, before the fixed distance markers. I think I did just fine. Unless someone can give me a better reason than "some pilots fly too fast", I'm going to continue doing it the way I've been taught, and every other publication says. Saying 'no matter the winds, fly 70mph on short final" just makes no sense to me

Just to clarify, you're advocating flying a 'normal' IAS regardless of the winds?

Because that's what I was taught, that's how the FAA says to do it, and it works. I'm not talking I was doing 100mph on short final, just a few extra mph. I know how to land in heavy winds, I never force the plane down. If my approach is bad or the runway is short and I'm floating, I go around. I fly the numbers, it works.

Wednesday we're planning on flying to New Orleans! Putting some miles on the old girl!

Yeah, I have charges and cables in the plane, I've just never ran the battery down before.

We drive it every July... We usually leave Friday after work and drive to Las Cruces NM. Spend the night, then finish Saturday. Straight through is about 17-18 hours. Flying, we left at 445am and arrived at 1210pm.

Wife, kids, and I flew from Deer Valley to Stinson field. We stopped in Pecos, TX. She ran beautifully. 8.3-8.5 gph, 20" 2500rpm 9500'. TAS about 150mph average. 30.9 gallons from KDVT-KPEQ, 3:48 flight time. I haven't fueled in San Antonio yet to see exactly what I used KPEQ-KSSF. I nearly had to divert from KPEQ due to weather. We were VFR over the top of a layer for about an hour. FSS was advising me that PEQ was reporting broken at 4700', but they didn't know for sure what the sky coverage was. I had an alternate planned to Marfa, TX which was clear all the way up. As I got close to PEQ, I found there were a lot of holes. Winds were 20g28, but right down the runway. Carried a little extra speed on final and made a pretty good landing. We landed there (great little FBO!) and waited about an hour for the clouds to blow out. Flight to SSF was almost uneventful, except the battery on my Stratus died about 40nm out. Fortunately I still remember how to use actual charts and navigate by VORs. Of course, I had my 430W programmed in, but I thought it was good practice to fly it by 'paper' so I did. Winds at SSF were also pretty high, but again, right down the runway. SSF had my rental car pulled out on the ramp, AC running. Very friendly and helpful folks! So far, it's been a great trip and I was happy to not have been surprised by anything. The weather was pretty much as I expected, I had a good diversion worked out well in advance, and FSS was great.

I've always wanted to try the Halo's, but plugs just don't agree with my ears. I've been a shooter for most of my life and I can only stand to wear plugs for short periods before my ear canals really start to get sore. I've been wearing "ANR" shooting muffs for decades. I'm afraid to spend the money on Halo's and find the same situation with sore ear canals.

I just want to know when it shows up! Hopefully I'm back in town when it does, I'd love to see it.

I'll probably have a pair of Bose X for sale shortly. They were factory refurbished about 8 months ago, however, I did break one of the yokes that holds the ear cup on. I fixed it with epoxy and a finish nail (I'm a CB). It looks fine (the epoxy is on the inside) and works fine. I could probably be talked out of them for $400. I upgraded my wife's set to A20's because I got a ridiculously good deal and she really wanted the bluetooth ability to listen to music.

-1BF should not require the eddy current inspection. That's the "B" hub. I'm dumb, the B has to be in the serial number.

I'm heading on my first long flight this Saturday. Phoenix to San Antonio. We're going to be stopping about halfway (KPEQ) through Texas. Leaving at 4am. Should have us in San Antonio before noon local. Trying to make sure we beat the afternoon storms. There's always the possibility we spend the night in Pecos. My wife and kids have all spent 4+ hours in the air, we just didn't land anywhere but back at home. Just a tour of AZ. They all did fine, so I think this should be ok.