Schllc

When I started looking for my first plane to finish my ppl I thought cheap, something I would write the check for and set a budget of 80k. A month later I spent three times that and got a gx ovation 3. Two reasons for the big change…. 1, I owed it to myself and my family to get the newest and safest platform I could afford, so the budget limitation was not rational. I had to finance, but was ok with that route too, 2, it’s like buying an old used car for 10k to own it and 10k a year repairing it, or you can spend 40k to finance a new one. one will be down a lot, and a lot of inconvenience, and one you get in and go. I had a friend that was aligned with me on the cheap plane and we considered partnering. It dissolved when he bought a 1973 172 We bought our planes within a month of each other, his was due for annual six months later, and mind was due eight months later. His annual was over 22k and took three months , mine was just over 4k, and took a little under three weeks After almost nine years of ownership, aside from annuals a magneto, a turbo, and a few minor non airworthy items, I have only missed one planned flight because of maintenance. buy old and cheap and whip into shape yourself, or buy newer and fly. I think at the end of the day, the tangibles and intangibles more or less even out, just which path do you prefer. I wanted to fly often

Wow, that was painful to listen to…

Maybe in general you are correct, but in my case I went directly from the ppl checkride into ifr training and it took me a good bit longer than the average bear because I was such a new pilot. It was about three months of flying close to 150 hours into my ifr check ride, followed by another 200 hours of all weather commuting so in my case it was absolutely true. I mostly avoid planning to land into known low ifr conditions so I try to do ipc’s every six months. I always feel like I need improvement …

Could be a newbie ifr but I have to say, the few months after I got my ticket is probably the most proficient I have ever been...

Perhaps viewing it as a resource rather than just a social site, would frame MS in a different perspective. The minimum is $10 to remove ads, you donate something for the effort and expense it takes to keep the site active. It would appear that it is well worth the money to most others of the regulars. If donating a few bucks is too burdensome for all the benefit the site provides to owners and to avoid the ads, then visiting isn’t required.

I think this borders on blasphemy.

I cant speak to hotels because I don't use them enough to worry about points, but i have been a delta SkyMiles member for over 20 years and the majority of my miles are from purchases that I make with my business card. I have almost 2 million miles and have been platinum for several years. I used to take a combination of actual miles flown as well as purchases but that seems to have changed. The miles are nearly worthless now, 8 years ago when my wife and I took a trip to Europe, first class tickets were 150,000 miles and nearly all flights were open to the redemption. Today they are 600,000 and severely limited options for when they can be used. I will be switching to a cashback card as well. Even with all of that loyalty and spending between 250-500k a year for over 20 years i still cant go to the SkyMiles lounge, never get upgrades and now there are harsh limits for redemptions. basically it now sucks.

When I started flying regularly I tried both of them for about a year. I use ForeFlight and like it better. but…. I don’t believe it is better, just equally different. my log is in FF and I know it well so I wouldn’t want to switch for any reason. if you have that comfort with Garmin, I see no reason to switch. I didnt find there to be a distinguishable difference in function or ease of use, with I think one exception, If you use a flight stream to update your databases must use Garmin pilot for at least that. if you do it the old way by taking cards to a computer you can use either.

Best advice you could ever get.

LOL, my comments were not directed at you, mostly at the previous threads. The reasons to dislike are not invalid, I just meant talk to both sides.

Whatever extra expense is associated with a turbo is almost irrelevant with regard to cost of ownership, and in that environment, I would consider a turbo a necessity. I have yet to meet an actual turbo owner that regrets the decision. Regarding the g1000… Lots of opinions out there, but the guys with no ownership experience are doing a disservice by denigrating the equipment. It is without a doubt one of the most robust and capable platforms available. Just make sure you talk to people who actually own and use them as well as the folks who think they are a bad idea. With regard to future service, I highly doubt Garmin will stop servicing these units in the foreseeable future, there are just too many of them.

Given the limited amount of actual failures, making a path around the obtuse rule is hardly reasonable… but I get your point.

I have done the upgrade on a few planes. It isn’t that difficult from the install perspective. It’s mostly software configuration. If you don’t already have adsb out, it may require an additional antenna. you can find the boxes in salvage or I. eBay periodically and that can save you money. Maxwell’s is the best place to have the work done. Paul really knows his stuff and makes it a lot easier than the other shops I used for the others. Maxwell’s often has the boxes, albeit at a premium. I don’t know why there is no east path to the gfc700 for those planes. I assume it’s mooneys unwillingness/inability to make a path. At least that’s what Garmin tells me.

Goes to show how appropriately it was priced. Lots of plans are languishing on the market. Seems like the owners are hoping to take advantage of yesterdays market… Happy you got a fair offer, she looks like a very well maintained, and appointed bird. Hope prebuy goes well!

They sure have the room for him! And, I bet housing is a lot cheaper there now…

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ this exactly

There are good shops out there. They seem to be more the exception than the rule. And to be clear, I am not speaking to the mechanical/expertise ability of the shops I have experienced. I am speaking mostly to the customer service, communication and scheduling aspects. I’m convinced it’s how the whole industry is regulated. Once you are down at a shop, your options are extremely limited. Whether the business chooses to exploit this or not, it influences their decisions. It’s inevitable. I was told my Aerostar needed 4 months for the avionics and misc work I wanted done , and it’s been there going on 13 months. The two shops involved just don’t care, but it’s not like I can do anything about it but wait. Finally supposed to get it next weekend, but it can be incredibly frustrating. fortunately I still have my Mooney to fly so I am very grateful to have the options, had I been grounded this whole time I probably would have crossed the line to anger from frustration

It’s very helpful in imc on approaches and is something if you’ve never had you tend to discount, and even once you get it you don’t really catalog all the differences. Then you fly something without it and the real appreciation is evident. I would not say it’s a “have to have”, but it definitely a nice thing to have.

I would be amazed to find a shop that operated this way, it just doesn’t seem to be common in aviation. I attribute it to the captive element in aircraft maintenance. I brought a plane a few years ago to a shop that many on this site believe to be one of the gold standards. They told me months prior to annual, that they could turn my plane in 3-4 days (they did the prior years annual). I was shocked and questioned them several times all the way up to the day before I left to bring the plane, and reminded them I was planning to stay in town rather than return. They assured me they were on it and we were good as planned. I landed on Wednesday morning and they told me to leave it at the fbo. They didn’t even pick up the plane until the following Monday, this was after me visiting the shop twice a day and offering to bring the plane to them and reminding them that I was staying in town and waiting. Once I realized how this was going to go, it was out of annual so I went home. No one returned my multiple phone calls, or emails and about six weeks later I get a text with a 10 second video of an issue with a turbo. No text, no message, nothing, just the video. Two days later I finally got a return call saying I needed to overhaul a turbo. 6 weeks after this I showed up to pickup my plane. 3 months later the annual completed. Then once I arrived I t took an entire day of me going back and forth with them about squawks or things not done that were on the list, some which were a direct result of their work, others just not addressed. When I asked what happened, and why no one answered phone calls or emails I was told “they didn’t have time for that crap”. Once again, having proper expectations is the key. In spite of this experience, there are certain things could come up and I would still consider using that shop, but now I know what I’m getting into.

I think the operative word here is "could" preclude them from flying. I am ex military, and a few of the guys I served with have disability pay, but none of their disabilities would affect ability to get a ppl. I would be a fraction of those 5,000 have conditions that conflict with FAA guidelines. While I agree any is too many, I suspect this will come down to less than 10% of the cases reported. Disability simply means less function that prior to the condition, and is very subjective based on the doctor and the case. I can tell you it isn't the racket that the post office has going where over 30% of their employees retire with some form of disability!

I assume you need one immediately, that I can’t help you with, but you can order one here. https://www.airpowerinc.com/order/checkout

Some folks think it’s snake oil some are ambivalent, and some swear by it, I’m somewhere in the middle. I think lancecasper had some starter issues he attributed to canguard, he isn’t a chicken little so I weighed his perspective. I average between 140-200 hours per year, and I use it at every oil change as well as when I add oil. I also talk to most of the guys who own my old planes and they all operate the same way I do, LOP and with cam guard and so far, knock on wood, no issues I use it, and have never had a problem, but one instance is hardly conclusive. I also think if you fly often its probably unnecessary. My concern is I don’t know when the inactivity will happen, so I thought the preparation can’t hurt. I can’t say I’m confident enough it it’s properties to. argue with someone over it, but it’s worked for me so I will continue to use the product.

Insurance cost being “expensive” is very relative. I have found hull value to be the big driver. I bought an ovation 3gx about 25 hours into my ppl and finished the ppl and did my instrument in the money. My insurance was only about 5k that first year, and it likely would have been a lot less in a plane of less than half the value. this question comes up regularly on the forum and all of our answers are there to read so I won’t repeat myself, but the one item that is seldom mentions is the proficiency. in my opinion the more time you have in the plane you plan to fly, the safer you will be in that plane. I had an event some time ago where I lost more than half my engine monitoring info, but given my familiarity with the plane, I could easily manage it safely with the remaining items. I know my Mooney like the back of my hand, much like most of the guys here, and the sooner you start flying them, the sooner your education starts. Buy the Mooney and train in it if that’s what you want, you will not regret it. That being said, I guess I’m crazy.

True, my reasoning is that mixing two part paint is not a beginner activity, but when the ratios and mixing are done by a professional the outcome is usually better. I did this with a repair some years ago and was amazed at how well it matched, flowed and blended. Having the touchup to mix in perpetuity works too, just think that brushing touchups is almost impossible to blend. Either way protects the aluminum, and I just didn't have a problem getting a can each time it was needed.

Kind of depends on the severity and location. I had one that would weep a teaspoon or less on the top of the wing, and only when tanks were very topped off. This is one of many choices where what it costs to rectify, was at best third on the list of priorities. How it’s handled is as little as a few hours labor and an overnight, to months of downtime and tens of thousands of dollars in stripping, resealing repairing paint, and all other squawks, have to’s, we just discovered etc. the answer is as unique as the question. if you could be a little mores specific, I’d bet the folks here will be able to share anecdotal experiences, both successes and failures are extremely valuable.