skydvrboy

We had max wind gusts of 98 mph here yesterday. Russell just west of us topped the state with gusts of 100 mph. The worst part was that the wind gusts were over 55 mph for 9 hours straight!

That’sa really good question. For my injected engine, hot starts are the easiest start there is. Just don’t touch a thing from where you shut it down and turn the key. Push in the mixture when it fires, done, every time. It’s those dam cold starts that give me fits. How long to run the fuel pump? Leave the mix at full rich or back to cutoff? Wait or start immediately? Too many variables!

For the headrests you are looking for 3/8" posts on 6" centers. Most Mazda and Toyota cars have them. As for being on a budget, depending on what that budget is, you may be better off doing your own. All of the airplane interior outfits seem quite pricey to me, but there is no denying their finished product looks great. Seat belts are available from https://www.hookerharness.com/aviation.html or https://alphaaviation.com/mooney-m20-a-thru-k-push-button-release/. The hooker harness ones are significantly less expensive. Alpha aviation belts offer push button release instead of the lever style you have now. Otherwise, their basically both the same thing.

As for flight bags... my wife found the previous version of this one at Goodwill for $2.99. It suits me well for the price! https://mygoflight.com/products/flight-bag-plc-sport-2018-edition P.S. We have a college flight school in town so Goodwill regularly has cheap pilot gear left behind by students who quit.

To me, it's more of a yellow flag. Not a show stopper, but how well was the plane being maintained if this SB was missed? Are there other SB's and routine maintenance items that were missed or was this just a single oversight?

As @N201MKTurbo said, why guess or rely on internet answers from people who've never seen the plane. Go up and test it, then you'll know for sure.

Why not make your own? Pull the throttle, configure for best glide (105 mph?), let things stabilize, then time how long it takes to descend 500'. Time times speed gives you the horizontal distance covered and 500' is the vertical. Repeat for as many different configurations as you wish. I did mine with the prop "feathered" and again with the engine off. You could even stop the prop, which will give you a bit better glide slope, but I chose not to do that one. Then you will have exact numbers for your plane.

Just to let everyone know, these are not the right light bulbs. You will need BA15 based bulbs not BA9. The photo below shows the difference. I'm going to try something like this: https://smile.amazon.com/VehiCode-Replacement-Interior-Semi-Truck-Landscape/dp/B097MNL5Z8/ref=sr_1_14_sspa?crid=2V0BYINKMTT1B&keywords=ba15s+led+bulb+12v&qid=1637512092&s=automotive&sprefix=ba15s+%2Cautomotive%2C296&sr=1-14-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUE2MUdKQkxOTjRWVzQmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAxMjk5NDIxWTdFMVFLSENCOENVJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA5ODgxNjUxWE1UMUFVRU1VVU9TJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfbXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Wow, it must really be bad East off the Mississippi. We flew from Kansas to California and back in late October and I don’t think we ever flew more than thirty minutes without hearing someone abusing guard. We heard let’s go Brandon so much on that trip I had to Google it when we got home. I found it rather annoying and unprofessional, but I never thought it impacted safety since it was always on an otherwise quiet frequency. I hadn’t considered the effect of pilots turning off guard to silence all the crap, but I see some validity in that assertion.

No adhesive is required. Spraying a bit of water on helps remove any bubbles with a credit card or something similar. Once stuck.. they're stuck unless you peel them off. I copied Skates and absolutely love it.

Unless I’m missing it completely this plane doesn’t have an engine monitor. That would be a non starter for me at this price point. Not because it’s expensive to add, but rather because it means the previous owner was more interested in the paint and fancy interior than he was about the health of the engine.

I once had an old pilot tell me, "It doesn't matter if you get there first or second. You just don't want to tie!" As for controlled fields and training aircraft, we have a college flight school on our airport. They always seem to clear me in front of the slower trainers if possible, especially on the ground, but even airborne since they know I'm faster. My last flight there were 4 trainers lined up to depart midfield when I rolled up to the runway hold short line and told tower I was ready to go. They cleared me first and approved a right turnout, which occurred before I was even overhead the trainers. I then heard tower subsequently clear each of them to depart.

I did red and green to match the Nav lights just for fun, but the black tape they come with would have a classier look.

V@MMsuper21 Beautiful plane, she looks FAST!!! Your nose tire looks low, but that may just be the picture. Should be 49 psi. Edit. Mine is 49 psi. Big thanks to Hank for correcting me on the short body front tire pressure.

I’ve heard nothing but good things about Houston tank specialists. They quoted my 4K a side for my 64 gallon F and were willing to do just one side if that was needed.

How old are the kids? Strange thing, those little ones grow and soon you end up in an Ovation. Just ask Anthony!

I’m starting a long trek to California tomorrow, so I’ll get a picture if I can remember.

This is why drop zones are advised not to carry insurance and keep their assets to a minimum. When the attorneys see there’s not much money to be made, they walk away. And if there ever was a large verdict, bankrupt, good luck collecting.

Pictures... or it didn't happen!

My nephew lost his lunch after a solid 2 hours of formation flying on a bumpy Oklahoma summer afternoon. Fortunately, he kept everything in the Nalgene bottle he brought with him. After an hour or so on the ground, he skeptically climbed back in the plane. We climbed above the bumps and he did great on the 2 hour flight home.

I have this exact same problem in my F model. I bought the balls only to have the mechanic tell me the ball’s still there. After tinkering with this during two annuals, the problem remains. The door just blows open anytime my IAS gets over about 140. It’s not really a problem on takeoff or climb, but opens in cruise and descent. If anyone gets this fixed, I’d like to know what finally solved the problem.

I just now saw Cliffy's question. Yes, the lap belts come with the TSO tags sewn on.

Or call Hooker Harness and get essentially the same thing for less. Instead of $455 for each seat, mine were $417 for both seats after shipping. Full disclosure, they did have a price increase this year, so I have no idea how much they are now, but they will be significantly less than the Alpha belts. None of the Mooney stuff is listed on their website, but they make it. You just have to call. https://www.hookerharness.com/contact.html A couple other things for when you call them: If you want the inertia reel, ask for it. I didn't know that was on option but they have them (was $175 adder). On the passenger side I think it would be a pain in the butt getting people in and out of the back, but it makes sense on the pilot side so you can reach your fuel selector without loosening your shoulder strap. If you go with the manual ones that you pull tight, ask for pull tabs. Their only $5 more and make adjusting much easier.

Did you just replace the old torpedo bulbs with those? None of the one's I tried would push the light out sideways, but these look like just the right solution.

I put it against the center console on the passenger side. It's easy to reach and out of the way. I only use it on solo flights, and I'm the oddball around here who has passengers on almost all my flights that aren't training in nature. I also did the window tint and seat belts and would highly recommend both.