David Lloyd

The RV I built was all electric with Dynon backup batteries for each screen, one alternator, one main battery. Dynon had a yearly test procedure and would give a reminder each startup if the test was not done. Main battery in good condition would power the two screens, transponder, GPS, nav/com for well over two hours. Strobes, or any other lights would cut that down significantly. Bonanza, was good about the same time with one nav/com, transponder, GPS. I always considered an electrical failure as a near emergency and got that thing on the ground shortly. Electrical failures and vacuum failures in the Bo each occurred about every 5-600 hours. I bought a new battery every couple years.

Gawd! Do I need to blow the leaves out of my hangar one more time?

Crack houses, short sidewalk and heaping pile of LLWS. Alan will love you for that. Yep, learn here, land anywhere. See you 2/22...uh at 2?

eman didn't like 5g's in the RV. Thought he was trapped in the 5 point harness.

bump

Yep, go to a municipal airport for a hangar or even monthly tiedown and the leasee wants your name, rank, serial number, rights to your firstborn and for your insurance company to send a certificate of insurance. Liability only is required.

I got an exhaust just removed from a 1975 C. 120 Since a Dawley overhaul. 750 for the whole thing. See the Avionics/parts sale tab

You say tomato, I say tomato...uh, uh, uh? Long A.

Thank you for the list of things to look at/replace. First annual is coming up and many items you highlighted will be done. Glad you are flying the heck out of your F as you intended.

Many years ago I had an oil temp gauge that pegged the needle after normal indications. No other symptoms of being hot. If the oil really was 300 degrees, it would be pretty obvious. On the ground with the needle still pegged, we measure the oil temp and found 200 degrees or there about. The next day, normal indications for a while then runaway temp. Same measurement on the ground, around 200. Pulled the gauge, had it repaired and worked as expected the next 5000 flying hours. Could be the sender or gauge. Err on the side of caution. Diagnose some on the ground.

Lasar's 201 style windshield kit is $2595. Shipping would be about $150. They say install hours are 50+. Uh, yeah, if you just put one in another plane last week the next might be 50 hours. So $6 or 7k?

That inflight breakup was because the pilot already lost control of the airplane. Exceeding VNE or V...uh senior moment (maneuvering speed) in rough air is loosing control of the airplane. You've done it, I've done it, we got away with it. That time. This pilot did not. That time. Many years ago when Aviation Consumer launched it's attack on the V-tail Bo, one of the magazine articles said that the V-tail and straight tail (F33A) hit the ground at about the same rate. Only difference was the V-tail hit the ground in many pieces. After a million words were written, it was found on the V-tail that the leading edge of the stabilizer would deform and fold in excess of 300 mph. Bad things would happen then. (bad things were already happening if you were indicating 300 in a Bo) Usually one would fail up, the other down, pull the rest of tail off, pitch nose down, fold the wings down breaking off at least one. There was some reason the F33A would not fold a stabilizer before arriving at the ground. 35 Years has clouded that memory. Maybe they just flew lower. Somewhere in the midst of all the AC stories, one of their frequent writers lost control of his V and provided some ugly pictures. Also in the period, someone lost control of an A36 turbocharged Bo, flying near or through a thunderstorm at FL250. Broke the tail, pitched down, broke the wings. AC had a sketch showing the hapless pilot strapped in his seat exiting the plane through the roof. I think this was the first straight tail Bo ever to break up in flight. Try hard enough, you can make it happen. I think Mooney has been in the same position, in flight breakups being extremely rare. Sorry, back to the OP. Spin testing was done. If the airplane would not come out of a spin under certain circumstances dictated by the FAA, the airplane would not be certified. There are other things in consideration for not allowing spins, some of which are at the say of the manufacturer. One would be as others pointed out, a nose low attitude during recovery. As others have said, aslick airplane builds speed quickly when the nose is pointed straight down. If you unexpectedly enter a spin, let it develop for a turn or so, I think it would be difficult to recover without exceeding VNE. Think about closing your eyes, having someone pitch your airplane down 60 degrees and 90 knots. Open your eyes and get back to level flight. Did you exceed VNE? 3.8 G's? Was the air smooth? Well, could you do it on the next try? Sometimes we don't get two chances. Several years back I built an RV7 with a Dynon Skyview panel. The autopilot had a LEVEL button that when pushed would roll the plane wings level and pitch level. Modern version of Mooney's PC. The pitch was limited to 2 G's I think, and would (try to) keep the airspeed below redline. Worked great at normal speeds, pitches and banks. It would not recover from a spin. Oh boy, that was fun! After two turns it slings the spit right out of your mouth. At normal cruise speed if the roll was more than 90 degrees or so, it would exceed VNE with cruise power. Pitch up or down 45 degrees, the throttle would have to come back to idle immediately to avoid VNE while recovering from a 90 degree bank. If you were clumsy enough to get in an attitude like that, could you do better than the machine. Probably not. The RV was rated for 6 G's, doing aero stuff I never exceed 3.5 G's, usually not more than 3. 3.5 Was my limit for fun, 4 was uncomfortable, 5 hurt. Other people I invited to throw the RV around a little rarely exceeded 1.5. I don't recall anyone ever pulling more than 2. So, if you were going to recover from an unusual attitude in your Mooney, would you pull more than 2 G's during recovery? Would you panic and pull much more than 3.8? So, if you really want to spin something, don't pick on something slick like a Mooney or Bonanza.

Sounds like it. That would have been Alan, the airport manager. Airport was his love. That hayseed twang was an act, he owned an electrical engineering firm designing and installing municipal substations. He wore some mowers out. That fuel pump used to wear me out. Slowest pump in the world. Monday mornings at oh dark thirty, I would usually top off 55-60 gallons in the Bo. Didn't matter if it was cold or pouring rain, that pump was never in a hurry. Alan replaced the pump a few years ago.

Thank you guys for the nice comments. Wilgrove has been privately owned since inception. Never received any federal, state or local money. It changed owners about 30 years ago, those owners were actively flying and wanted to keep Wilgrove as an airport. They are in their late 80s now, two in poor health, family not interested in flying. Several of us talked several years ago about making an offer. Too much money, too much commitment. The investment would have far exceeded the benefit for any individual. We all knew it was inevitable. Guess I was spoiled, all those years driving 2 miles to the airport. One traffic light, no traffic, about 5 minutes. Before 5:30 AM, that light was blinking yellow. When we moved 3 years ago it became a 15 mile drive, divided highway, a couple of small town traffic lights, about 20 minutes. This afternoon I drove 33 miles to AFP in 40 minutes. Most of it was winding country road. Hangar might be available in 6 months. Might. The alternative is closer at 21 miles, maybe 30 minutes. Local wag said I would be an old man before coming up on the hangar list. I said I already was an old man. He said I would be dead before coming up on the list. Thanks old buddy. ++@#! I've spent a lifetime of making lemonade from lemons. I think this needs a lot more sugar.

I was advised this evening by the airport manager that Wilgrove Airport in Charlotte is being sold, the property be developed with residential housing. Rats! I learned to fly at Wilgrove. Still have the back of a shirt that says something about 1st solo, January 7, 1977. Even though it was actually 1978. Bought half interest in a Cherokee 140 that same year, based it at Wilgrove. Got my private license in it also that same year on a Friday. Made my first business trip to Richmond two nights later. Flew the 140 a couple years, made a bunch of mistakes and learned a bunch of stuff. A full third of my hours were at night. Got an instrument rating. A frequent trip was Chesterfield County Airport near Richmond, now FCI, then it was W98. At the time, the only had an NDB approach. Flew it one time to Carlsbad, NM to visit Penny's parents. I joked that we got home, I slammed the door on that Cherokee, sold it and bought a Mooney. Pretty much the way it happened. Sold it to a guy in Morganton. For several years it was there. I asked Lynn Mace about it and he said he used to annual it, the owned later bought a Mooney. Easy to understand. I lived in the same house in Charlotte 41 years. Actually, it wasn't in Charlotte the first couple years, it gobbled us up soon enough. Charlotte kept growing, the city limits kept edging toward Wilgrove and finally annexed the property 5 years ago. We pay both county and city taxes here. When Wilgrove was annexed, taxes on the plane went up 50%. Same for the airport. Beginning of the end. Since this is Mooneyspace: The Mooney was a1965 M20C, 2075 TT, 900 SMOH. KX170B, MK12A, KT76, KN62 DME (had the mechanical indicator) and a KN74 RNAV. Hey, that was before LORAN, that was pretty fancy. Got my name on the waiting list for hangars. Year and a half later, got a shadeport hangar at Wilgrove. Lots more business trips at night. Coming home from Richmond one night, in and out of cloud at 6000, I hit a bird. Splattered on the prop, guts across the windshield. What the heck was he doing out on a night like that? Some personal trips too. I think 8 or 9 trips to NM. One year, mother-in-law had brain tumor surgery and we made three trips to NM that year. Gave one of our employees his first GA ride in that Mooney. Years later I was in Aurora, OR getting ready to take a tour at Vans Aircraft when Bill called to tell me he was taking flying lessons and just bought and airplane. There were other airplanes over the years, he died when his Baron hit the ground at high speed near the airport at Fayetteville. First electrical failure I had was in the dark, early one morning. I learned it was cheap to keep a fresh battery in an airplane. Mooney, whatever possessed me to sell it? But I did and bought a F33A Bonanza. By this time, I was VP in our company. Had offices in NC, SC and VA. I worked with our field sales guys on a regular basis, meeting them at 7 or 7:30 in the morning and wearing them out all day. Frequently it was dark, going and coming. Eventually we had sales people in GA, WV and MD. Then the company was sold. It took the new owners four years to turn a money making operation into a smoking hole in the ground. Just before that happened, I had enough and told one of our vendors I needed a place to work for a while. They gave me a job as a regional sales manager selling hydraulic cylinders. 14 States. Every Monday morning, got in the plane instead of the truck and went to Memphis, Jackson, Tampa, Pittsburgh, Mobile, Allentown, etc. I was happier than a mule eating briers. I would fly out of Wilgrove early enough to pick up a rental car before 8. Another few dozen trips to NM, a few to Bahamas, a dozen to Canada, fishing. Poured a concrete floor in the shadeport. Went through several engines, paint jobs and a couple interiors. About 10 pressure pump failures, a mix of alternator and regulators and one engine failure (NewYorkapproach,114ploutof11for7withanalternatorfailure,requestingimmediateturnforAllentownILSrunway6). Ah, good times. Landing on an unplowed runway at Wilgrove. Windy, rain, at night. It surprises me how lousy the weather could be but still flyable VFR. 24 years, 5300 hours, all out of Wilgrove. Ever been scared to look at something one last time? I walked directly away to the rental counter in Jackson, MS and wouldn't look toward the Mercury Aviation ramp. Somewhere in the middle of Bonanza ownership, a guy at Wilgrove asked if I was the David Lloyd that owned the Cherokee 140 he just bought. Yep. We walked down to his hangar to look it over. It was in the same hangar I had the Mooney in. With the Bonanza I had ratcheted up the row of hangars to the one beside the office. I'm still there for the next 90 days. Gary sold the 140 last year. The airport manager usually had a cookout in the spring, another in the fall. Live music by one of the hangar guys, a professional jazz musician. The first airport function I remember, I met and talked to a young corporate pilot. Monday evening when I walked in the front door, Steve's photo was on television. Hit a powerline while busting minimums. First of too many. Retirement was approaching and everything on the Bonanza was old and worn so it was sold. Started building the RV7 as a retirement project. Penny said I better hang on to that hangar. Final assembly, pink slip and first flight from Wilgrove. Glad I kept the hangar. One day a friend asked why some hangars were enclosed but not mine. Well, you can't get a building permit, the county is trying to choke off any development here. He said we could measure it up, order some steel and sheet and do it. We did. Not pretty, but serviceable. Went back to work for 9 months, going to see all the old customers. IFR in an RV tended to be kind of … sporty. Pittsburgh, Louisville, Chattanooga, Huntington, Monroeville. Flew it to NM once to see Penny's brothers. 9 Years, 475 hours, good times but time to move on. Sold the RV and bought a Mooney the same day in Indiana. Flew home to Wilgrove. Charts used to say 3000 feet. I've also seen 27 and 2800. With obstacles and displaced thresholds. Don't know what the book says now. It ain't real generous. I have always told students of the flight school, learn to land here and you can go anywhere. Learn somewhere else and you might not come here. First Mooney landing, final approach at 70 MPH, full flaps, looked like I knew what I was doing. Turned around on the runway about halfway down. That certainly is satisfying. Back in the fall, the cookout and the rain date were both rained out. Steve, Bill, Sam, Troy, Melvin, Bob and several others, all gone. Edit: Gotta add in a few more names. Helen, Hank and Richard. Stoke, cancer and old age tend to get most of us. Still, there are always new faces with the flight school and people buying and selling, needing a hangar or leaving. Guess there won't be many more new memories. There were some sad times, but a lot of good times. I'm gonna miss that place. Rats! I've got my name on hangar lists at a couple airports. The lists are longer than the time I have left. Don't know what to do. I have a Bruce cover but that is temporary. I suspect lack of a hangar will speed my flying retirement. Note the 114PL on the Bo (Penny's bday is 11/14), 224PL on the RV. Was going to change EB to PL. Don't know now.