0TreeLemur

I've been on a SI for the last 4 years for a treatable condition, where every-other year the FAA issues a 1 year extension to my 1-year AME approved class 3 medical. My medical is due in Nov. and I'm going to switch to basic med.

In the summer when DA is super high, Santa Fe is VFR >95% of the time. The mountain wave turbulence in that area from noon through late afternoon is ridiculous sometimes. IMC departures in that part of the world don't often coincide with high DA's.

I don't think of a J is marginal for high DA ops. It's a J at 8,000+ ft. It's not going to perform like it does closer to SL or an airplane with a turbo. Most high altitude runways are 6,000 ft long or more. It never felt unsafe. It still flies if it's going fast enough. It has the same limitations on the gross weight regardless of DA. Training and practice make high DA ops safe- not Turbo vs. non-Turbo. I've flown C210's at high DA. Rockin' it, dog. Practically jumps off the ground at gross weight- no problemo. But it burns close to 30 gph in the climb and 18-19 in cruise. All aircraft are tradeoffs.

Took off from Los Alamos, NM (LAM) twice a couple of weekends ago in our two-bladed J with a DA over 8k and no wind. Both of those takeoffs were 100-150 lb below gross weight. My observations: 1) acceleration on the ground at that DA is not impressive. It takes quite a while to get up to flying speed. We had 6000 ft of runway and I reckon we were off the ground in less than 2000 ft. 2) after liftoff, I leveled out to increase to 95 KIAS. After that climb rate was about 400 ft/min. 3) all departures from LAM are to the east, which has the runway 1.5% sloping downhill. Took off from SAF one mid-morning in July with gusty winds and turbulence loaded with two adults and full tanks. DA about 8,500 IIRC. Climb performance was muddling in the turbulence. It never created a situation, just took a while to get up to 10,500. A J can handle it just fine.

It seems well priced for what it looks like in the photos. More photos of other side of plane would be great. Seems to have had a recent(ish) paint job. Given sellers unwillingness to provide log books, I'd ask for a phone call to discuss its history. If the seller is unwilling to do that, then walk. If by phone, I'd be prepared to ask a lot of questions. Ownership time? Maintenance history? How often flown (hours/y) for the past five years? What year were tanks last re-sealed? Always hangared? Major work done in the last 10 years? If you get a good feeling after that, then pay to go see it. That's what I'd do. That relatively low time engine and new(ish) paint job is a big draw.

Ok, that was more strange that what happened on Air Alaska. I had not heard the story of FedEx 705. Gawd. Don't mess with Navy veterans.

Not being an airline pilot, this is one of the strangest things I've ever heard happening in an airline cockpit. He was going to force them to ditch? What kind of outcome is that?? https://abcnews.go.com/US/alaska-airlines-flight-diverted-after-credible-security-threat/story?id=104223059

In 2019 in cruise at 7500' I passed a drone about 30 miles east of Little Rock. Here's the link with details of my comms with the FAA.

I recently bought a pair of Foster Grant bifocal aviator sunglasses that have the transition line that falls just right at the top of the instruments. I found them at CVS on the rack. The left temple has stamped on it: "NS1022 FGSR1903 DGN" My distance vision is perfect with +1.25. I wish I could find bifocals that are 1.25 over 1.5 or 1.75.

I would like to do the same in my J. I asked my A&P to do it and after working on it for a while, he said that it would require rebuilding the entire panel because (1) the KFC-150 autopilot and EA-100 box that connect the autopilot to the Aspen both have a ton of wires in the center stack, and (2) the radio racks are super well riveted in place. He removed the rack for the ADF that I had him take out and it took him six hours and showered the area with aluminum shavings. Do you have the 201-style windshield? If not, then maybe the access through the instrument bay panels will help. Maybe if your racks don't have eight rivets in them and if you don't have an autopilot and its accoutrements in the way it won't be too bad. Seek professional help.

Last spring I bought two off the shelf from Maxwell for our J.

Had the airspeed indicator in our J and a replacement AI overhauled by Rudy Instruments in Arkansas. They give overhaul price as: $225 here: https://rudyaircraftinstruments.com/overhaul-prices They've overhauled several instruments for me over the years. Quality work, I've ever had a problem. I recommend them.

We took our son and his girlfriend for a ride around the Valles Caldera in north-central New Mexico. The view landing at Los Alamos is pretty darn cool.

According to NOAA's Aviation Weather Center, their new web site goes live Monday. Here's a beta version that I found referenced on the National Centers for Environmental Prediction www page: https://beta.aviationweather.gov/ Tonite I used it to help plan a flight from Alabama to New Mexico tomorrow. Big improvement over the old pages! Check it out.

Great info. I'll have them check that during annual in Dec.!

My '83J has fold down rear seats.

Two years ago I built a battery test rig using an electric dryer heating coil, fan, old Mooney shunt, and data logger. It drew 13 A. Not spec, but a fun experiment that I don't need to do again.

You're welcome. Those things are rare as hen's teeth. Work is keeping me super busy this week and I have a trip over the weekend. Probably won't get to dig through the box until next week.

A good read for you @Andrei Caldararu https://www.avweb.com/ownership/the-savvy-aviator-59-egt-cht-and-leaning/

I have a box of spare Brittain parts left over from when we owned a C model. I think I might have one of those. I'll PM if I do.

Sorry, but I'm still waiting on the STC on the Acme Turbo-Encabulator.

The pilot's seat in our '83 J has the same issue. If I don't raise it, it feels rock solid. If raised, it becomes scary. This is on my todo list when the seats are out for annual.

I read that this technique was used with success by WWII fighter pilots to extend range without engine monitors. Introduced by a bold pilot (don't remember the name) who bucked the prevailing "LOP is BAD" thinking. I've played with this technique recently. Compared to the lean-find function on my engine monitor, it works out to run my IO-360 about 60-70F LOP in the leanest cyl., with the richest being about 30-40F LOP. So, I can run LOP pretty well by leaning to roughness, richening to smooth it out, then richen a tad more. The GAMI spread on my engine is 0.2 gph, which means the fuel injectors are well matched. @Flying Dutch an engine monitor is a great first upgrade for a "new to you" Mooney to help you manage your engine better. If you get a certified primary engine monitor, it can replace your Manifold Pressure and Tach gauges, plus your instrument cluster. This puts all engine info on one screen. Gives you much greater situational awareness in the case of a rough running engine at runup during the mag checks or in flight. I've dealt with both. I can run my IO-360 above 10kft on about 7.5 gph LOP and get 145 TAS. That's efficiency. Below 65% power, mixture setting cannot harm the engine. Too rich and you'll foul plugs. Too lean and it just stops making power.

I once flew military/commercial from McMurdo Station, Antarctica, to Denver. Route of flight: McMurdo-Christchurch-Honolulu-Dallas-Denver. Two 8+ hour layovers and two red eyes. Total absolute trip time 57 hours. I was fresh when I arrived home. And- after walking 8+ miles per day in Antarctica for a couple of weeks, got plantar faciitis after the trip. Of course I didn't have any status on AA because my million miles is on Borg (Untied) Airlines. What I wouldn't have given for some lounge access on that one. Oh- and whomever bought my itinerary was a sadist.

I started my IFR training in '83, when situational awareness occurred solely between the ears. When I was working to finish the rating in 2018 after buying our Mooney, my instructor asked me "Why don't you refer to the moving maps?" I replied "Because it seems like cheating to me". He said "cheat." In other words, anything that helps with SA is a good thing. Over-reliance on moving maps is surely bad, at the expense of developing good SA between the ears.