Cooperd0g

Yeah with the sizes of the phones in the last year, they are about half to 2/3 the size of a Mini so I think the Mini is dead.

Are you planning a digital engine monitor as well?

The NTSB will likely investigate since there was a fatality.

I'm in agreement with Bob, I don't like line up and wait either. There is a trade of efficiency with danger. I can't find the source right now, but I read a few years ago that line up and wait was one of the biggest sources of runway incursions. People thought they were given line up and wait when it was another aircraft, people started a takeoff when they were given line up and wait, aircraft were cleared to land when another one is conducting line up and wait. All bad scenarios. I do it because I follow the directions of ATC at towered airports, but it puts me on hyper-alert. ATC absolutely has to use "anticipated clearance" based on my experience. I frequently get cleared to land before the one in front of me has even touched down even, let alone off the runway. Certain aircraft types will have different buffer zones as well.

Heck, my squadron in Pensacola flew everything out yesterday.

I fly a lot of instrument and I saw my first marker beacon in well over a year to denote the final approach fix on an ILS last week. But it also was defined by DME. I would say no, it isn’t super relevant in the US.

The other thing is that the BRS system also relies on the fixed gear systems to absorb some of the impact. Without the landing gear there to add to the crumple factor, there is going to be a larger impulse on fuselage impact. Remember, it isn't the speed that kills, it is the sudden impact. Anything that can be done to reduce the deceleration forces makes it more survivable. It might be very difficult to engineer retractable gear with the same crumple capability as fixed gear. And that would be on top of fuselage changes needed. Regardless, if we end up having another kid then I might be out of the Mooney game in the future as well if we ever plan on taking the dog with us.

@Hank is correct. You are also limited from going into Class B airspace unless trained/signed off in it.

This is why I love AOA and wish it was a standard thing for light civil aircraft.

There is also the upgrade cost to consider. If you already have a J model and you go 160 knots on 9.5 gal/hr and you miraculously manage to get a 200hp diesel to fit still doing 160 knots on 4.5 gal/hr here are your annual fuel differences: 100 hours per year: 100LL - 950 gallons at, call it $5.30 per gallon = $5035 Jet A - 450 gallons at, call it $4.95 per gallon = $2227.50 150 hours per year: 100LL - 1425 gallons at, call it $5.30 per gallon = $7552.50 Jet A - 675 gallons at, call it $4.95 per gallon = $3341.25 Seems like a big difference and the more you fly, the more it makes sense to upgrade to this hypothetical engine. However, I would guesstimate the engine swap would be in the $40-45 AMU range. The existing IO-360 is costing $50.35 per hour on 100LL versus $22.28 per hour on Jet A for the theoretical diesel on the prices I used (sourced from averaging numbers on 100LL.com). That would take about 1500 hours to justify the cost of the engine swap; 3/4 of the way to TBO. Meanwhile I think most of the diesels that did come to market had lower TBO than the proven gas engines. Even if you did the swap at overhaul, there is probably a $10-20 AMU difference in cost and near 1000 hours of flying efficiency gain to earn back your investment. Now if you could get a 200hp turbo diesel for similar cost ... that is a different story, but also very unlikely. And don't forget the weight penalty; diesels weigh considerably more than gas engines for the same power.

I know this has mostly devolved into Halo vs Clarity, but I have a pair of Lightspeed Tangos and the wireless nature, along with the comfort, is fantastic. We got them because my wife thought they would be better for dealing with our son as he was only a year old when we started flying with him. She appreciated the lack of cables for him to grab. I tried them as well and found them to be very comfortable and used them on flights of up to six hours. The lack of cords is pretty freeing as well. You just have to be okay with keeping the batteries charged over night, but they lasted pretty long.

I have had a few people ask me and yes, I plan to keep flying GA. My wife is very forgiving and understanding. Plus she really enjoys flying and was super excited to have a plane of our own as we had talked about it for years. Right now I will let the insurance settle out and get everything sorted. We also discussed that from now on I will conduct a full brief with her on the plan just as if she was my co-pilot or wingman on a military flight. That way she will know if I'm doing something different and make me justify it. This is our way to mitigate this type of issue from happening again.

Yes, ForeFlight. He didn't seem to have an issue with it.

CG was towards the rear, but within limits.

When I spoke to the insurance claims guy he asked me what happened and I told him. Car insurance still pays if you are at fault. The claims guy said this should all be covered. I will forever have to report this accident and it will likely increase future rates.