skydvrboy

I had one of those black hole incidents right after getting my license with my whole family onboard. I took off at night with a high cloud layer from a rural western Kansas airport that I was fairly familiar with having been there a few times during the day. Everything seemed perfectly normal until I left the runway lights behind and then... WHOA!!! Not even a single farmhouse light in sight with the small town directly behind me. I immediately went head down and kept telling myself, just keep the wings level and keep climbing, there's nothing out there. I didn't look up from my gauges until I reached 1000'. By then I could see some nearby towns and started my turn for home. One of the scariest flying moments I've had.

Just curious, why would anyone need to know how much unusable fuel is left in the plane? After all, you can't use it, so it doesn't do you any good. If you are doing some sort of unusable fuel calculation to mark your fuel stick, that's most likely not the best method. Much more accurate to just stick your tank before you fuel up and make a mark on it where the fuel level shows. Then fill up and subtract that from the total for that tank and label the line you just made. If you label those marks to the nearest 1/10th of gallon, you will soon have a fuel stick that is easily accurate to within a half gallon.

So, if I understand this correctly, I can take an old pilot up who hasn't flown in years, turn the controls over to him, and he can log that portion of the flight. The only catch is then I can't log that portion of the flight since I am only acting as PIC and not actually manipulating the controls. Please let me know if this is incorrect.

Well that makes everything clear as mud! Actually, I think I get it now.

Related question on this topic. Two fully rated, capable, current pilots decide to go for a flight. What, if anything, prevents one from saying I’ll act as PIC, you operate the controls, then we can both log the time?

I know others may gasp at this solution, but I had the same problem and it’s fixed now. I went to Walmart and found the thickest, squishiest, foam weatherstripping they had. Ironically, this was also the cheapest they had, less than $5. I replaced my door seal with that and it seals up perfectly. Much better than the factory seal I had before. Someone said that’s great, but how long will it last? It’s been in about a year with no signs of wear, so for $5, I’m happy!

"Is this a doable flight in a M20F?" Yes, the 960 nm flight is doable with the 64 gallon tanks of the M20F and you would still have legal reserves. For bladder comfort, you may want to make a stop somewhere along the way though! You've got to love the range of the Mooney. Seriously though, as other's have already said the weather will be your biggest obstacle. Be wary of winds aloft, they can make flight in the mountains extremely uncomfortable. Also, if you get a chance, some mountain flying training would be helpful. Not everything is intuitive in the mountains.

@Oldguy's method works well too, but you have to be patient to let the fuel flow through all the little holes and equalize before you mark your stick. I did it that way first and wasn't patient enough which caused me to have more fuel than the stick would show.

Aside from installing CiES fuel senders and connecting it to new fuel gauges, I think the best solution is to make your own fuel sticks. The process is very simple and yields accurate results to within a gallon. Step 1: Fly one tank empty. Step 2: Fill tank and record how many gallons go in. Step 3: Repeat steps one and two for the other side. Now you know your exact fuel capacity for each tank. (if they are different mark one side of your fuel stick for each tank) Step 4: Go fly and before refueling make a mark on your fuel stick of how much fuel is in each tank. Step 5: Fill each tank up and note how many gallons it took. Now subtract that number from the total for that tank. Record on your stick how many gallons you had in the tank at that mark (to the nearest 1/10th of a gallon). Step 6: Repeat steps 4 & 5 on every flight until you have lots of marks on your fuel stick. You will have VERY accurate fuel sticks that are customized for your specific tank/bladder combination.

If the leather wraps don't make sense financially, bicycle grip tape makes an amazingly comfortable wrap for $15. I wouldn't paint or powder coat them simply due to the high thermal mass. As mentioned earlier, they will burn your hands in the summer and freeze them in the winter. The bike grip tape is comfortable year round. As for cleaning, I used black, haven't cleaned them in over a year , and they still look brand new.

At least it was a C-17. Anytime the military is in the neighborhood, we have these tiny little F-16's zipping around. Given their size and speed, it's a bit harder to spot them and keep track of where they are!

This is a lot like asking how fast you should drive down the highway. There are some limits, but as long as you're within those, do whatever you want. Are some speeds more efficient than others? Yep. Are some speeds faster than others? Yep. Does it make you wrong if you don't drive the fastest or most efficient speed? Nope. That said, unless you have high CHT's, full throttle and max RPM gives you the most power and will get you to your cruise altitude the fastest. Some say that is also the most efficient since you can reduce power for cruise sooner. I believe the current school of thought is that there is no benefit to reducing RPM during climb, but also no harm.

I’m going to contradict the other advice you have been given. There just isn’t enough difference between the C, E, or F model to worry about for your mission. In fact, the only time I would worry about which model is if you are going to regularly fly with 3 or 4 seats filled. Then you’d need the F (or the G). I think you will be much better off focusing on how well the plane was maintained, how often it was (is) flown, and how it is equipped. For solo flight or with a single passenger, there just isn’t much difference between the three. However, there are huge differences between the maintenance, recent hours flown, and installed equipment within each model!

Must be regional. Here in small town middle America, most planes live in unlocked hangars with the keys hanging on one of the instrument knobs, and unrestricted access onto the airports. I'm a little more cautious than that, but depending on my perception of the risk, I've left the keys in the plane, unlocked, on the ramp for short periods of time.

Thanks for the heads up Ned. I'll check this out and add the second nut at my next annual.

I am/was already considering the G5 before the AV-30 became available. Based on reading other's experiences, I've always thought Garmin didn't play well with others. Is that not the case for the G5. Could it, for instance, integrate with the TruTrack should it ever be certified? I definitely want to give myself the most integration options down the road for both an autopilot and a navigational GPS.

How so? Is a backup not needed or can the primary and backup not be two of the same device?

So my attitude indicator is starting to fail intermittently and today I see that uAvionix has released their AV-30 as an STC'd primary attitude indicator. Any reason why I shouldn't spring for this instead of finding a used or rebuilt AI? Currently I fly VFR only, but would like to proceed with my instrument rating. If I understand the regs right, I will need a backup AI to legally fly IFR. Could a second AV-30 replace the turn coordinator as the backup AI? Would this be a good idea? Also, I don't have an autopilot to interface with, so that won't be a concern, but I would like to get one in the future. It seems from the information provided that this could be used to drive a digital autopilot. Is this correct?

Uhh... Flying!? It's kind of the whole reason to own a plane in the first place.

I may be way off base here, but I'm going to try to answer the questions you aren't asking, but seem to be implying. Below is a good starting point for flying your E using the KISS method. Normal Operation Takeoff and climb = Wide open throttle, max RPM, Full Rich. Note EGT on takeoff and lean to keep that EGT* as you climb. Cruise = Reduce RPM to 2500, close cowl flaps, trim for level flight, and lean until last cylinder is 25 LOP**. Descent = Push nose over for 500 fpm and trim to keep 500 fpm***. Landing = Reduce throttle to slow to gear speed and land****. * Better if you can note sea level takeoff EGT and lean to that. ** Assumes you are about 7000 MSL or higher *** Assumes smooth air, otherwise reduce throttle to stay out of yellow arc and comfortable. **** Set prop and mix if you are used to doing that before landing. Time Building Cruise = Reduce throttle to 20", prop to 2400, lean until rough, enrich just until smooth. Alternatively, throttle to 22", prop to 2000, lean as before (my prop didn't seem to govern well at that low RPM, YMMV). At these power settings you can't hurt the engine no matter how you lean. Enjoy your 5-6 GPH! :-)

My mountain flying instructor was Don Dolce out of Longmont. I thought he was an excellent instructor and is a previous Mooney owner of many years (I believe he flew a J model). If you want to contact him, his number is 303-870-8066. Let's also see if Paul @gsxrpilot has any recommendations.

Unless I’m heavy or on a short field, the flaps are generally up before I start my takeoff roll. When I do use flaps they come up after all obstacles are cleared. And yes, I notice the change in pitch. Until I rebuilt the flap pump, my flaps retracted in about 0.1 seconds and would certainly get your attention! (They work fine now, but the change in pitch is still noticeable.) On landing, it depends whether I’m landing to the North or the South. When landing to the North, my hangar is 1400’ from the threshold... full flaps so I make my turn-off. When landing to the South, my turn-off is 11000’+ from the threshold, so flaps are optional and a long landing is requested.

Since Anthony hasn’t chimed in... Welcome back and welcome aboard! Sounds like in your situation you’d be hard pressed to do better than a C or E. You did your homework well!

One thing to add... get a quote before you freak out about the expense. My quote came in well below what I had been told and what I was expecting. However, I was younger with lower hull value and that was when the market was more favorable. Your mileage may vary.

I don't think I've ever had anyone step there while loading. It's always after the flight when they are getting out and no longer thinking about the instructions I gave them before the flight. I guess I need to sit there a minute and go over deplaning instructions before opening the door.