0TreeLemur

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.

I would like to believe that nobody has the abject stupidity to do this. He's a threat to us all. Is there any recourse? Do you think the FAA is on to him?

The EDM900 is primary for essentially everything, letting you remove your tach & MP gauges, and existing instrument cluster. It gives you one focal point for all things engine related. I considered the 930, but I like the smaller form factor of the 900. If you do go this route you'll receive all new probes and sensors. The old temperature probes and fuel flow senders will work, but I replaced the old with new ones just because they are new.

The shop that I used for ECI's was located in Marianna, Florida, because they would do it with the prop mounted on the plane. I guess some wont. They told me that Hartzell instructions were to not to sign off on further ECI inspections for props that were not opened up and inspected in the last 10 years or so- I don't remember the exact number. They went ahead and gave me the inspection, but said they wouldn't do it again. Some time in the following year, I took the prop off and took it to a prop shop in Bessemer, Alabama, for IRAN. That's where they told me that the blades were undercut. One by 0.003" and the other by 0.001". Wow.

Thought about this a bit more last night. For a cantilevered panel mount instrument of known weight, the distance from the panel to the c.g. of the instrument creates a moment, which affects the effective moment arm of the instrument. Because the weight is fixed, and a cantilever mount instrument creates a negative moment, it should effectively reduce the moment arm, never increase it. This figure shows an example of how adding a cantilevered instrument increases the weight of an aircraft, but decreases the moment arm of the C.G. In summary, in an aircraft with the panel installed at a positive station, a cantilevered mount panel instrument should always have a moment arm relative to the datum that is less than the distance from the datum to the panel mounting station.

You nailed it- we are care takers of our airplanes. If we do our job, they don't kill us, take us and our family places, and they retain their value. After we are done with them someone else can use and care for them. My wife and I have an understanding when it comes to our airplane "there's always something".

As important as the propeller is, you want to know that it is in good shape. From the nature of your question, it seems that you might have some doubt. The manufacturers have recommended schedules, but as @EricJ wrote, in Pt 91 it's left up to the owner. I suppose it depends to some extent on whether your aircraft is hangared as that affects how often the propeller is exposed to moisture. Seals sometimes leak and let water into the hub. Corrosion happens inside propeller hubs. I'm sure others can tell stories about it. Removing a propeller and shipping it to a shop for IRAN is a pain in the arse, but might be worth it for piece of mind, especially if it hasn't been opened up and inspected in over 10 years, maybe 5 if unhangared. Our C model had the 100 hour eddy-current inspection AD. About 5 years ago the shop doing the ECI told me that Hartzell wanted it opened up and inspected. That turned into a painful experience because the blade roots were determined to be "undercut" and the blades were condemned. We wound up buying a new prop (ouch). In the end, it's all about risk management. If you are not certain that your prop is in top condition and you have some reason to suspect that it might not be, you can use dollars to ameliorate that risk.

PM sent about KX-155.

Thanks Skip. I estimated that the panel was 18" aft. which is pretty close. For some reason the W&B update done by my A&P used a number quite different from this. I'll have him fix it. I'm wondering what explains the variance? Everything is mounted on the panel. Why is the KLN90B almost 5" aft of the others? Why would the TC be only 16.5, when it is supported by the panel. The RHS panel in a J is slightly slanted aft outboard, but not that much?

Howdy. The previous owner of our J weighed it in 2021. The log book contains the measured E.W., calculated C.G. & M.A. I have nothing else. No prior equipment W&B sheet. My A&P did provide an W&B sheet after upgrading the panel earlier this year. I'm checking his work and it seems that he used an implausible moment arm for a few instruments. Can someone tell me the moment arm he should have used for (1) panel-mounted instruments, and (2) rack mounted instruments like radios? Thx. Fred

@RescueMunchkin you ask a great question. As someone who has followed these threads for several years, I have learned: 1. Buy as much Mooney as you can afford that suits your mission. 2. It makes more sense to let the previous owner eat the labor and depreciation associated with a panel upgrade than to have it done yourself - Unless you are very set on what avionics you want and how they are laid out in the panel. 1+2 = 3. Buy a Mooney with a panel that has been updated and that meets your needs. I fully agree with previous statements that if a Mooney doesn't have a WAAS GPS, that's a bad sign, unless logbooks indicate frequent use and good, steady maintenance, and selling at a significant discount. The Mooney we upgraded to last year has an Avidyne IFD540 gnss navigator and a single Aspen, both connect to a KFC-150 A/P. This combination does everything our mission requires. Bonus: The prior owner paid to reseal the tanks and strip/paint the aircraft in the last 5 years. That's at least $20k ($30k?) of upgrades that we won't have to pay for!

Welcome back Anthony! I missed your lists!

The Atlantic published an article explaining how co-branded airline loyalty credit cards have turned airlines into something more like financial institutions that happen to fly planes on the side. According to this article, 1% of US GDP is charged to Delta Sky Miles credit cards alone! As someone with over 1 million butt-miles sitting on Borg airlines, I have often wondered why that doesn't seem to matter. Now I know why, and I'm glad I own a Mooney. Link to article: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/airlines-banks-mileage-programs/675374/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us