0TreeLemur

Coincidentally, the only two times I have had "LOSS OF SIGNAL" on my 430W was flying near or offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Hundreds of hours inland never a problem.

^^^ Great company to work with. Fast, responsive, will print custom orders.

The "BS-factor" and its negative effect on prices is a good reason for folks interested in buying a Mooney to (1) make sure it satisfies their mission profile and (2) buy as much Mooney as they can afford and plan on keeping it for a while. That's my m.o. Compare with other piston singles with 1000 lb UL. Mooney's of all models in that class are still a bargain it seems in comparison.

Just got an e-mail about fuels from our friends at Savvy Aviation. Mike Busch writes about the fuel crisis in CA and what to do about it. He points out that Lycoming has a very useful service instruction about the compatibility of their engines and different grades of fuel. See table 3 here: https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/SI1070AB Specified Fuels.pdf According to that table the O-360 in my C can use a wide variety of fuels, including three grades of unleaded automotive fuel- which means those without ethanol. Those grades are: 91 AKI 93 AKI Super Plus Anybody ever use these? How do you identify them at an auto gas pump?

Didn't think of that. I was just really surprised to get it to run smooth LOP. That might make it run rougher by decreasing the turbulence in the intake manifold

Late November flight after getting the Hartzell Top Prop re-painted for the second time. The factory primer wouldn't hold it on. Three plus hour leg at 6500', severe clear and smooth, somewhere over Kansas. The new prop paint seems to have thrown the balance off, so I run at 2500 rpm 'cause it feels smoother. Bored. At 2500 rpm I have a fair bit of throttle plate engaged to keep the power at 75%. Hmmm, that creates a lot of intake turbulence. Wonder if I can run this carbureted fire-snortin' beast lean of peak? Yes! It ran about 30F LOP and it was smooth with just an occasional burble. 20% reduction in ff for a 8-10% reduction in power that cost us about 7 kias. Proof:

Cool explanation here... https://pages.mtu.edu/~scarn/teaching/GE4250/scattering_lecture_slides.pdf

Preferential backscattering of light towards the sun by the cloud droplets. Spheres act a bit like tiny mirrors with a tendency to scatter more light back towards the source than other directions.

I think our airframes cast the coolest shadows... On an IFR flight yesterday over Fort Smith, AR, enroute to Tuscaloosa, in the tops at 9000 in our C.

My co-pilot and I replaced all the side windows in our C ourselves. I found the PRC1425 easy to use. Mix using a kitchen scale, trowel onto the edges of the airframe, and carefully position the windows to avoid smearing. There is a Potassium Hydroxide based cleaner that works really well to get the old stuff off, and clean up any messes after the install. Knots2U sells it, and it has a fresh lemony smell. That KOH cleaner also takes off door sealant real easily.

and then some poo comes out....

To solve that problem, I use this:

+1 on push button release. But, I don't have inertial reel shoulder belts and no problem operating the J-bar. I find the inertial reel bulky and awkward.

It isn't hard to gaze off into the future and see a time when all our old airframes are gone except for flying museum piece here and there. Avgas of any flavor is no longer sold except at a very few airports. Virtually everything in the air runs on Jet A and flown by charter pilots who mostly carry around clients who can afford $1200/h plus for transport, of course adjusted upward for future inflation. Hate to be drag on the discussion, but it doesn't take much imagination to envision that in two generations the thing that we are passionate about will disappear. I see grass growing through the cracks in many runways today.

You need an Accuflite DG coupler and an autopilot capable DG. Just added one to our C this year. It's awesome.

I respectfully disagree. It is elegant technology, and when properly maintained it significantly reduces pilot workload compared to having no autopilot. This is especially true for flying in IMC. Add the Accutrak and it is a two axis autopilot. Add altitude hold and it is a 3-axis autopilot with rate-of-climb control. The PC system is actually pretty easy to troubleshoot. It's just plumbing. Working vacuum-can actuators are available from many sellers.

You need to install an Accutrak. When connected to the output of a CDI it follows a magenta line all day or a VOR radial until you get out of range. They are awesome.

My A&P/IA Dave, who has since left this world, once told me in a strong voice: "Never weigh your airplane, nothing good can come from it". I did it anyway. Then I learned what he meant.

Looking forward to seeing the "after" photo!

There are not enough colors in the rainbow, nor stripes on a zebra. Some avionics connectors have upwards of 50 wires. Simpler to use one color wire, and print a number/code along its length.

@DXB help me understand. A change in the sound sensitivity distribution can result in an autonomic perception of ear pressure? Maybe that's why in a noisy environment with unprotected ears I have the sensation that my left ear is blocked? When wearing my over-the-ear ANC headset I do feel the "ear-suck" when it activates, but I never have that blocked sensation while wearing ANC. Maybe by killing the lower frequencies, it pulls my hearing frequency distribution back into something like normal? Thanks.

I bought a shallow socket that fits between the filter and firewall when installed on a 1/2 drive torque wrench. Also, the 3" PVC pipe cut in half works well for me. It just won't stay there. I use some clamps and a bit of hope & magic to get it to stay there and catch every drop.

Great thread.... Lovin' it. Nerds.

FAQ worthy

Not only US but many allied trainees died too. Many UK pilots did their flight training in the US. We visited Hank Williams grave at Oakwood cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama. Not far from Hank and Audrey's plot, here is a separate section in that cemetery containing the graves of about 100 UK officers and enlisted, most of them died in flight training accidents.