khedrei

I know it was just a joke, but I wanted to clarify, my "wife" and "girlfriend" are the same person I'm just not used to using the term... @Parker_Woodruff Thanks for these tips. I love Florida, but I'm not sure I can handle the heat. Perhaps I need to explore some of the more northern parts to see how I like them. We dropped a client off in Destin FL a couple years ago. I didn't get to explore it, but it "seems" like a nice place. Regarding Texas property taxes, I have been exploring homes and home prices in several states and the high property taxes in Texas were shocking. The amount of house one can buy for the money is impressive, but the taxes appear to be at least double what they are in Chatenooga TN. Good to hear some of those points... @KSMooniac Ive spent over a month in Wichita for a couple training events at FSI. I really liked the city. Visited Hutchinson as well. Super cool city, people, food. I LOVE how much aviation there is in the area. But as you say, not exciting geographically. It reminds me of Saskatchewan in Canada. All the flat fields aren't super appealing. I do really like the idea of the fly in communities though. I may be sending you a PM to inquire more about your situation. I would love to build a house and hangar on an airport. It would suit my lifestyle and personality very well. If hangar space is as tough as you say in other parts of the country, maybe I should reconsider Kansas. It it certainly nice and central. @dkkim73 Thanks for the detailed comments, and the PM. I really appreciate it. I'm in the process of responding. I ordered the book after one of your first responses back on page 1 of the thread. We are in the middle of reading it up at the cottage right now. He really likes Utah.

A big thank you for the vibrant discussion and for keeping the suggestions coming. I've been busy flying, and catching up on my taxes and didn't have a chance to check the board in a few days. My last work trip took me to Austin, which I have only heard good things about. Unfortunately we didn't have that much time, but I did drive out to the Mcinney Falls State park near the airport, and it was very nice, and hard to believe we were in a city. I also took a drive to a few small suburbs south of the city. Kyle, Buda, and Mountain City. They seemed nice enough and quite similar to the suburbs I live in around here. @CCAS Texas is on my list, and I will absolutely be checking out more places there. Unfortunately I don't know that I will have time on the next trip, but certainly before we make a decision. I will PM you for details when the time comes. @Fritz1 I thank you very much for the advice and the kind words. I definitely need to keep the wife happy. I still have a long way to go before deciding on a job, but NetJets has over 200 bases accross the country so I could live virtually anywhere in the country apart from Alaska and Hawaii and still be within an hour drive of one of those bases. That may be a good starting job until I find something better, or possibly even a place to stay at. I know they pay well, but they work their pilots hard. I know, because I worked for the canadian version of them. @cliffy Interesting you mention St George because before you posted we searched some cities in Utah and came accross St George. We liked what we read and the weather was one of the things we looked at. Glad to see it made the list on here. I liked Utah, and so far have only spent time in SLC but enjoyed my stay none the less. Also got a PM from a guy in Utah suggesting another town in Northern Utah. The snow is the issue (not for me as much). Part of the reason Flagstaff dropped off our list. I like Arizona too, but Pheonix is WAY too hot, and I was told to check out Flagstaff. Then I was astonished to hear the average annual snowfall is 8 feet. I guess it makes sense because it is at 7k feet, but ITS ARAZONA!! And its only a few hours drive to one of the hottest cities on the planet. Anyway, NetJet's actually has a base in St George, so its a great option. @Hank You are doing a good job of selling AL to me. By the way, Utah has some of the best coffee aparantly. I don't drink coffee but in my travels over the past couple years I make a point to grab a bag of local coffee from a local shop from as many towns and cities as I can to bring to my girlfriend. She's a bit of a connisseur. The stuff from Utah was one she enjoyed the most (though it might have fallen down the list a bit after I brought her some Blue Mountain from Jamaica). Aparently roasting coffee at 4400ft does something interesting to the taste... My June vacation had to get moved, but I should have some time in July or August and right now we are planning to hit Tenessee (Chattenooga and probably Nashville for fun), North Carolina (Ashville, possibly Greensboro and Winston Salem as suggested), Alabama (Huntsville and area) and possibly Kentucky (Lexington) and South Carolina (Greer and/or Greenville) and possibly a stop in Virginia on the way home. Any personal comments on Charleston and area? I will do some reading on it, but personal opinions would be great. Only so much we can see in a week. If you have some suggestions on the above visits, I'm happy to take them. The trip to the west side of the country will likely have to wait until next year. where Utah, Arizon and Texas will be on my list. Thanks again guys. I appreciate the discussion.

To add another quick note... If I came in here and said I am moving to the US and want to know of good places to live, work, and keep my airplane but it has to be in xxx, yyy, zzz and nothing else, I think it would be quite unproductive. I would get all kinds of questions about why here and why not there. Or I would get a whole bunch of suggestions I would have to just ignore. Fair enough I guess. I have my reasons, and my preferences. I'm putting them out there. If you don't agree with them, or think they are nonsense, dont try to convince me that I shouldn't have them, simply don't respond. What I am absolutely more open to is to try and convince me that a certain place is not what I (or the media) thinks it is and might be a good option for me. Here is the opportunity for all the CA advocates to tell me how low the taxes and great the crime policies are.

Thanks for this @Hank, as well as your previous post that contained exactly what I was looking to gain from this post. I have actually visted Guntersville AL right up the road from Huntsville and the people at the airport as well as a few in town at local shops were lovely. I'm not saying I expected otherwise, but of all places in the US that I would expect to feel like a fish out of water, AL is one of them. @Mark942 I find your response quite ironic to be honest. Thinking I should not be allowed to voice my opinions here and trying to stifle free speech is one of the reasons I want to come to the US. I would prefer to be in a place where the right and left alike don't try to force their opinions on others or stop them from expressing theirs. I specifically said I am not looking for a political debate. I am happy to hear opinions of how the country and certain areas are doing though... who wouldn't? I also find it interesting that you think you know where I stand politically. I would bet $100k that you have no clue where I stand politally, how I voted in my last 5 elections or how I would have voted in your last 5 elections had I been in the US. I posted a request to find a nice place where I can work as a PILOT, and where I can buy a hangar to keep my MOONEY. I also happen to have some other requirements (which I would think anyone would) so I don't think thats crazy, nor a reach to call it aviation or Mooney related. I figured I would be open about my situation and give a bit of background to save some time for the people who would come on here and suggest I settle in Cathetral City and keep my plane at KUDD. Yes, it would be totally awesome to have a hangar attached to my house which opens right up on the taxiway to a decent airport within an hour flight to awesome places and beautiful mountains. I think California is one of the most beautiful states I have visted, but I still can't do it. @DXB Thank you for these suggestions. I will be putting them on my list. @dkkim73 In response to the geography questions/comments... I like lakes, forests, and green. I currently have a cabin on 2 acres on the water about 1.5 flight north of me right now that I like to get away to. It is deadly quiet but still only 20 minutes from a small town. I would love to be able to find some sort of similar arrangement in the US where I can get in the plane in the city and fly to a more remote area to relax for a week at a time between my rotations. I know the green/lakes eliminates some of my choices in the west, but that isn't a hard no as the west has its own beauty and charm. There is also another person involved in this decision so I am simply looking for suggestions on places to visit so we can both go have a look. @1980Mooney I figured that everyone knew what "woke" meant but I will take you at your word and give you my definition, or at least tell you what I am not looking for. I want to avoid places that have government policy that encourages crime, drug use, and prints and hands out money for doing nothing destroying the economy and local neighborhoods. Policies that try to force agendas and things to go a certain predetermined way. DEI is a perfect example. The term "woke" applies because the reasons for doing these things is in the name of kindness and social justice but is at the detriment of others but more importantly, it's a detriment to the people is claims to support. If you are offended by the term "woke", give me another term for policies that support having taxpayers fund supplying homeless people with drugs, guns and other things to set up in local parks and shoot heroin in the middle of the street while you walk by with your children. I'm not trying to be a smartass, nor am I trying to get into a political discussion. I answered your question because you asked. I wanted to show that I am genuine in my post and I am looking for places to visit, and hopefully one day settle down in and build a new life. Locations, airports, towns, cities. Keep em coming. I'm not moving tomrorow, I have time to visit dozens in the next couple years.

Thank you David. I think you may have been typing up as I posted because in my last post I explained how much I do in fact love the US. To quickly answer your questions, Colorado because I love the mountains, and I honestly thought they weren't quite that woke. I thought it was more in the centre politically. I mean, Lauren Boebert was the elected representative. I was also under the impression that parts of colorado were a bit warmer than in Montana. I get that the weather shouldn't be a make or break, but I am definitely putting my girlfriends preferences reasonably high on the list seeing as I can't do this without her (marriage sponsor). In terms of the license, I am about 3/4 the way there. I just need to write the conversion test which I had planned to do until I got busy with this new job. Just need to study, and book the test. In terms of experience, from the chats I had with american pilots, I would have no issues landing a decent job with my TT and current business jet experience. No issue working as FO for a couple years. I am not a God fearing type, but absolutely respect the people that are and have no desire insult anyone, try to change them, or to move into another country to try and make it like the failed country that I currently live in. I will touch base closer to June to tell you what I have planned and maybe we can have a chat. And I'm sure I will plan a trip further west soon enough. This is a slightly longer term plan so we are doing our due diligence. Kevin

Thanks Rick. I will probably put those on the list to visit in June. Thanks Rags too. I like the landscape around Idaho, though I have not really visited, unforunately I think it's too cold for my girlfriend. I may have listed that down the list, but it probably ranks higher in priority if I'm honest. I'll bite too. I do appreciate this opinion, and I agree with the previous poster. The culture is not much different at all. If I were moving to Japan or even Mexico, I would say we would be fish out of water. But not in the US. Canadians have basically copied your way of life. The anti american sentiment that is going around in Canada right now makes me sick. We sucked off the US for so long, and they finally had enough. I don't like the way it was done, and perhaps it could have been executed better, but we deserve everything we are getting. I do agree that moving to the US because of "an election" is kinda dumb. That's not the only reason, just the straw that broke the camels back. I failed to mention in my post as I was trying to be brief and to the point, but I do love the US. I visted dozens and dozens of US cities when I was flying for the canadian version of NetJets. I think you guys do everything better and I love your country. The numbers don't lie. Canada's GDP per capita grew less than 1% in the past 10 years. Not per year, that was for 10 YEARS. In the US it was around 17-19% depending on the place you get your info. Canada ranks dead last in economic growth in the richest 37 nations and is predicted to stay that way for the next 30 years. So it isn't just one election. This has been brewing for a while and my girlfriend and I have been flirting with the idea since we got together 4 years ago. So it was really the last 3 elections, as well as the covid response that really sank things for Canada. And then this election, most of Canada decided they wanted more of the same. So it was the nail in the coffin. Also, I can make 50-150% more money as a pilot in the US and pay less taxes, so if the above reasons don't satisfy you (not that they need to), I guess I do want to come there and make my fortune. I think the US is in fact one of the greatest countries in the world, and everytime I visit I become more amazed. I think my life will be better there, and I think that is reason enough.

I may be barking up the wrong tree with this post, but people on this forum seem to be generally helpful, intelligent, kind, and productive. I also dont frequent any other forums that are filled with as many americans as this one so I figured I would give it a shot. Here goes. Basically with the disasterous result of the canadian election last night, my girlfriend and I are wasting no time in getting off this sinking ship. While I have no dilusions of the fact that the US has its issues, we both believe that overall, our futures will be brighter south of the border. Quick outline of me so that opinions can be directed accordingly. I am 40, my girlfriend is 53. No kids, just a dog. She can retire with a pension from her company in less than 2 years. I am currently employed as a corporate pilot in the Toronto area. I have about 18 months left on my contract. It is likely that the process of me getting a green card (she is american but never lived there) will take about 18 months-2 years so the timing probably works out well. I can easily afford a home in the 400-800k range, but would also be happy to settle for something on the low end and buy a remote cottage or off grid property to get away to. I would likely rent for the first couple years. What I am hoping to gain from this post is simply an opinion of where we can set up roots. Priorities are as follows: 1. A nice clean, low crime, awesome state/town/city that is NOT WOKE. 2. Reasonably affordable. Somewhere a little above the national average in terms of cost of living is fine. 3. Warm, but hopefully not too hot. 4. NOT a big city. 200k people max. But would be very happy in something less than 5k. Suburb of a big city is fine too. 5. Within an hour drive to a major hub, or close enough to a place with jobs. That could be a corporate gig, or I may be open to airline work. 6. A place that is growing, thriving. 7. Ideally the town or city would have a nice local airport withint a 15 minute drive of my home that I can buy a hangar and have my Mooney, with maintenance, fuel, and decent services, so I can tinker and do my various projects. States that my partner and I had in mind (in no particular order) are Utah, (Northern) Arizona, Texas, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Colorado. States that I have visited and absolutely love but which I think are too cold for my girlfriend are Montana, Wyoming, Alaska. I also love Florida but its just too hot. California is one of the nicest states I have visited but if I wanted to pay huge taxes and live with the liberal beurocracy, waste and crime I would just stay where I am. I am absolutely open to other places. Sell me on it! I am not exactly looking to start a political debate, but I am happy to hear peoples opinions of the US and it's future as a whole, keeping in mind that the problems I am coming from are probably bigger than the ones that you guys have. Mainly I am just looking for you guys to sell me on your State/City as a wonderful, sensible, fun, and safe place to set up a new life. I have a week booked off in June, so I am looking to fly the Mooney out to visit a few places. Since it's only a week, the trip will likely be limited to the eastern part of the country. Regardless, I would love to get some places on my list to visit from people who live there. Thanks guys!

I would have to look into the specifics but my understanding was that it was the same part number and she told him that the price simply "went up" I believe you, but thats what he told me at the time of my posting.

Not anymore... I bought two of these in December from Ram and paid $340 each. A friend needs one and I told him to check on stock before I sell him my spare. They now want $1300 each. What a joke. I think we need to add RAM to a "list". Not exactly honest business practices. The FAA should be updating their estimates in the AD. The entire thing seems like a scam. Automotive versions of this clamp can be had for $25-50 1300 my a$$

Bumping this back up to the top. Does anyone have any new info on this parts supply disaster that was created from the total overreaction of the FAA? I have already paid for 2 clamps from Southern Cross aviation back in May that are now showing a ship date of Feb 2025. That has been moved 3-4 times already from the original ship date. There is little doubt that it doesn't happen again. I would have expected the manufacturer to have done a few big production runs by now. Seeing as the certification cost of these $7 clamps has already been accounted for, you would think someone would be happy to print a bunch of money. $500 profit per clamp, X 25000 aircraft = $12 500 000. Anyone with any inside info??

Sorry, might have not explained it properly. It's not an easy switch. Obviously people are using these units. If someone is willing to sign a field approval and do the paperwork it seems it can be done. Aerox are not AI's they are distributors so I was looking for someone who had experience doing the install.

Alright, I think some of you guys might like this. I have a few replies now. Two people from Aerox have told me that I CANNOT change from steel to composite. The Oxygen Lady also told me basically the same thing and that there is a ton of paperwork but even then it might not be able to be done. So it looks like I have to go with a new steel cylinder and they can test my old valve, if it fails I need an overhaul $$$$ I am open to any suggestions to get around this. Of course the 20lbs of weight savings would be nice especially since I have to replace it and the cost difference will be minimal between the two types of cylinders. Any mechanics on here willing/able to sign off an installation of a composite cylinder on a Canadian registered aircraft?

The above post got it right and match what I was told. Mine has a 24 year life limit. I appreciate the replies. I will look into contacting the people mentioned above to see what I can come up with. The reason I posted here is that all of these companies basically told me at KOSH this year that there is no composite solution available to me in Canada because there is nothing that is STC'd and we do not have field approvals here. I would have thought they would have been itching to sell me a system. As I said, I will send some emails out to the contacts above, but if anyone with a canadian aircraft found a kevlar solution I would be very interested in hearing what they came up with. Thanks again

Do they just snap onto the canulas/masks of the onboard system? or are they installed as part of the onboard system on the main tank/regulator?

I can't seem to find a solution to this so I think I need some help. Recent annual. Tank is beyond it's life and needs to be replaced. This appears to be much more complicated than I thought it would be. The built in tank in my 231 is a 76.x cubic foot steel tank. Aerox and Mountain High both have composite models that can replace this one. They appear to be a 77 cubic foot. There is a 115 cubic foot but would require larger bands. Ideally I would go with this option. Both tanks are significantly lighter than the steel tank that I have in there now and are available to buy but it seems that I have an issue with the regulator. I talked to both companies at KOSH and they both said the same thing. The current Scott regulator will NOT fit into the new composite tanks. My understanding is that the regulator will need an overhaul if it is to be used again in a new steel tank, but it is no longer made. They said they can sell me a new regulator that is made for the composite tank, but it is not altitude compensating. So basically if I open the valve it will not give me a proper dose of oxygen. At least thats the way I understand it. From what they told me, it seems like there are parts, fittings, or other system add ons that can make the system work but none of them are STC'd. That is where my problem comes in. They said I can get a fiel approval (337) but those don't exist in Canada. I was told by a mechanic that I can bring the plane down to the US and find a mechanic who can install what is needed to make the system work who can give me a 337 even though the plane is registered in Canada. I guess this is because the plane was certified by the FAA so it's no issue. Summary. -I can probably get a new steel tank and overhaul the current regulator. -Composite tank will require a new regulator that can compensate for altitude and I will need to find out more info for it to replace the system and have it function as is. This is the idea option. If anyone has experience with this, (particularly with a canadian plane) please let me know. I am aware that there are other threads in here that talk about this and I have read through them and I don't see anything that covers the regulator issue. Thanks all