Schllc

I sympathize with the issues these guys have with labor, it certainly alters the landscape. But my business is identical with one exception. Clients can easily leave if they are unhappy with me, the “captive” part of this industry is what shapes the business practices. I do not believe most of these guys intentionally lie about circumstances, but knowing that a client has no option would shape any business owners decisions. I typically don’t haggle either, it gets you nowhere. If you don’t like what you are getting, smile, pay the bill and find a new provider. Here is my grievance… I build high end custom homes. While I don’t know what challenges each project will bring, I know that it will bring some. They all do. One of our homes takes an average of 12-18 months to build and that variance is 100% driven by the owner. However, I have built one in as short as 5 months, where a client wanted a spec built and he provided a budget and let me make all the decisions. So should I tell clients I can do it in 5 months since it is possible, or should I tell them what I know will happen, which is that it will take 12-18? All I am asking of these shops is to provide me a time frame that they are comfortable with, whatever that is, so I can prepare myself for a realistic expectation. And of course that is with the understanding that if they peel back a layer and find a legitimate problem the delays will come. Communication is key, but again, when your client has no options, it’s easier to kick the can. I have a very strong suspicion that this attitude will drive me away from aviation before any other circumstance. It isn’t just about the money, it’s the principle that matters too!

No. It does not require much more rudder than one without the upgrade, and it has never felt unstable or dangerous. in fact when you are taking off from an airport like north Perry in Florida, where there is NOWHERE you can land and survive if you lose an engine, you are grateful for every single hp. IIRC, the extra ho is only supposed to be used in takeoff, not cruise. the difference between the 280 and 310 is definitely noticeable, but it is not as if it’s going from a Camry to an F1 car. I do agree with Don however, in that is certainly not a necessity in an acclaim. It is absolutely something I would want in an ovation. And if you bought an acclaim with the mod, you do not have to use it, but I don’t believe it is worth what it costs to add.

Aside from the $9,000 they quoted to change the carpet I didn’t try to negotiate the price. I only wanted a rational time estimate. it isn’t taking people six months of labor to paint a plane. After they have done “x” amount of planes you come to know what to expect and while you may not be able to say it will be exactly the number of hours, you know it won’t be 10x that amount unless some easily explainable situation arises. I am in a similar business, similar with regard to owners and expectations. I tell people what I actually think it will take, and I tell them exactly what will cause it to go over. I lose a lot of bids, but my clients are all happy. I am not trying to force a guy into a unreasonable time frame or price. I am asking THEM to dictate the schedule, but I want them to be accountable. Apparently that isn’t a thing anymore …

So I had a time slot and the shop kept sending me estimates that were obviously not written for my plane and demanding deposits. I wrote an email trying to clarify the scope and get them to include the things I asked for and they just declined the job. I have been through the wringer with my projects in the past with people tearing my plane open and then just shrugging as they hold it hostage for months, or even over a year last time! I just want someone who will write a clear scope and provide some expectation of a time frame that we both agree on. I’m willing to wait the time they tell me, and provide a cushion but an open ended price and time frame with nothing in writing isn’t going to work for me. HELP!!

When I spoke to George, he was convinced that it was the dry assembly of the ribs to skin in the fuel tank areas that were the “deficiency”. in our conversation he said he worked in the Aerostar factory assembling the planes in the late 60’s and early 70’s. He said they wet those parts prior to assembly. I own an Aerostar too, and week “seeps” and repairs are a pretty regular item on these aircraft as well. This in spite of them being assembled “correctly”. It is a fleet that is at least 20x smaller so I do t have any data to compare, but from talking to other owners and my experience over three years now, those tanks leak and need repair as well. At this juncture, t’s pretty difficult to believe that the fuel is not the problem here. it seems that resisting the obvious and inevitable is going to cause a lot more damage than pulling back a bit to reevaluate. Attacking an entire fleet on the scant evidence he is claiming seems to be a stretch at best.

The cost of 1/4 on the sides is minimal and no additional labor. I would think any mass would help with noise but am dubious as to the actual benefit. I planned on doing the 1/4” all around. I personally would not like the obstruction of the vent in the copilot window and 90% of the time find the kool scoop so effective I don’t have to leave the door open at all.

A kool scoop is a must have. Don’t miss my ac since I got one.

Those two engines on a Comanche at 11 gallons an hour would have some range. Especially if it’s efficient at 25k plenty of fuel capacity how cool would a turbine twinkie be?

I put the darkest I could find on the rear. I usually have foil sunshades too

I applied the static film semi permanently to the back windows in both planes. Looks great. Works even better and I also keep squares to move around as needed.

While you often make fair points, you package them in a shit sandwich, then wonder why no one wants to take a bite. How about you take your own advice and not be ugly in your responses. If you were a bit more tactful and circumspect you may actually persuade a few folks.

You are correct about the market predicated on the prices and benefits as they exist today. Howevet, the market is there, as soon as the price point and ease of transition intersect.

In college I commuted by bicycle everywhere for 3 years. I didn’t own a car and worked full time while in school. I rode several hundred miles a week. This was all a topic of debate when my fellow riders would complain about cars. I was hit three times in those three years, fortunately never serious, only one of them even caused a fall. I learned very quickly that your “right of way” doesn’t do much for you under the car. you must be vigilant and defensive at all times because people just do not see you. this is the same attitude I have at uncontrolled fields. I don’t think there are many out there intentionally trying to break rules or put people at risk, but you better just expect it, because lack of intent doesn’t make it any less dangerous.

My point was he would have had his story, and I would have had mine. Such is the way of uncontrolled fields…. I do not believe he was in the right, I knew what he did was wrong on many levels. This wasn’t even close to the worst experience I had. on the really bad one I called the FDSO and told him what happened. a crop duster rolled out of the tanker area while I was on short final and took off with a tail wind in the opposite direction I was landing. I got close enough to see his face and he had to do a 90deg turn at about 50’ agl to miss me. My whole family was in the plane. when the FAA interviewed the crop duster pilot he confirmed my story as what happened. then they called me back and said no one did anything wrong so no further action was required. I was livid, and said someone did something wrong because it was almost a midair collision, and if it was me fine, but I wanted to know. He said it was uncontrolled and the crop duster didn’t have a radio so no one was wrong. BS, but that’s what you get in the wild Wild West.

Of course it is a different scenario, but legally he had the right to land in front of me because he was lower, and he would probably say he did a wider pattern and never saw me, so if someone argued his case with simply the "rules", there would be no foul right? This is the part that is the same with these two scenarios, as well as most conflicts at uncontrolled fields. You must be aware of the rules, display etiquette, and practice common sense. If any of these three are absent, bad things happen.

There are rules, and then there is etiquette and common sense. They all affect safety, and at an uncontrolled filed are all equally important. not simply because of what is right or wrong, but because of the stakes, and the fact that one or both simply may not be aware of the hazard created by the lack of observance of any of the three. simply looking at the rules, without context and respect for the situation may win a legal argument, but that doesn’t make it right, and you know it, it seems you just want to antagonize for the sake of conflict. If everyone exercised all three things at uncontrolled fields these things would likely never happen. When I was doing my first solo, I was in the pattern, making my calls. A plane came out of nowhere, not talking, flew parallel, over took me then in short final dove beneath and in front of me and landed, making me go around. he was lower, so technically he had the right of way. But was it the right thing to do? I suppose you would say yes, but no one in my situation would ever agree. As long as people like you take that attitude things will never change.

the sheet metal work to replace the skin is really not as much labor as you would think. I just had a substantial amount of skin work for my Aerostar and was pretty surprised at how efficient a guy who does that can be. His labor will probably be less than the painting costs. That of course is, if you can even get the new skin.

Yeah, it frustrates, annoys and sometimes scares me when I’m alone, but when my family is with me I get pretty mad once I’m on the ground. It won’t change. The type of people who choose to operate that way frequent uncontrolled fields. Not saying everyone there is this way, just that the ones that are, are usually found there.

Feel horrible for that kid, having that on your conscience is a heavy load. People do what they want at uncontrolled fields. Be it ignorance, defiance, stupidity or just lack of situational awareness We have seen how atc can fail lately as well, so I’m not piling on uncontrolled fields, but with the experiences I have had, I am shocked it doesn’t happen more often.

No time frame on when/if that will be done.

I would love to see a deck full of turbo mooney’s!

Wouldn’t this work the same way as cars? Just phase them out, no need for a mandate. And yes, if someone tried to develop and get a new engine approved under current processes it would likely be 200k+. My point is that if the process for approval changed, there is no reason it would need to cost anywhere near that much.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/2-small-planes-collide-midair-regional-arizona-airport-leaving-2-dead

A clean sheet is exactly what i am talking about. I have no doubt they could negotiate all of these problems relatively easier. F1 Cars develop 1000hp with a 1.6 litre engine! The tech is available to do this, the problem is the FAA makes it cost prohibitive. Yes I realize a boat engine and an F1 engine are entirely different animals, but the hurdle is not physics, its an onerous approval process.

Mercury outboard engines have a 12:1 compression and utilize a direct injections that is if i recall correctly 2000-3000psi. There is available technology right now to solve this problem.