PT20J

Great idea, Lee

I think the parachute is only a small part of the appeal of the Cirrus. The parachute was never intended as a substitute for good airmanship. It came about because one of the founders was once involved in a midair collision and he realized that there are some incidents that are unsurvivable without a parachute.

Call Aerocomfort soon. I hear their lead times are getting pretty long.

I ditched the cigar lighter. I put a dual panel mount USB port on the right side for passengers. The only thing I power is my iPad on the yoke and for that I had a USB power cube mounted behind the panel and the ran a cable under the yoke shaft.

I believe it’s to keep the temperature rise from solar heating as low as possible. Somehow Cirrus figured out how to solve that but I don’t know if they use some special paint, or if there are any limitations on paint or color.

Yes. ATS also provides 5years of free calibration. I had mine recalibrated when I noticed I was getting 82 psi on the right gauge with the left reading 80 and the output valve shut.

I wonder why Continental cylinders tend to have lower compression readings than Lycomings? Is there less choke or something?

Composites are also harder to dispose of. Boeing found this out when the first few 787s were so heavily modified that no airline wanted to accept them and Boeing had a hard time disposing of them. Aluminum can be chopped up and sold for scrap. You have to pay someone to dispose of composites some of which may be considered hazardous materials.

The early ones without the hump for the raised radio stack were easy to get in and out. The humped ones are harder. It’s best to remove the compass. Then, there are two screws, one on each side, to remove and the gap gap cover in the middle. Then you have to flex and pull and finesses it out because it is wider than the space between the A pillars. There may be velcro attachments underneath. There is a CPC connector for the lights, but the wires are plenty long so once the glareshield is loose, you can disconnect the connector. Mine had cracks from previous removals, so I had some rework to do. It’s ABS and not hard to repair. Skip

Mooney used door seals manufactured by Brown Aircraft https://www.brownaircraft.com/Default.asp The original foam-filled BA-189-139 tended to flatten and is no longer manufactured. The replacement is T-9088. Attach with 3M yellow weatherstrip adhesive.

So, it's a flag to remind you to read a checklist? Are Brazilians forgetful?

Mooney is pretty good about running ground wires to most loads rather than just using the airframe. My installer didn’t have any issues. He told me Cessnas are the worst and he’s had to rewire the strobes on every one he’s done to get the GMU to calibrate. I had mine placed in the left wing above the same access panel where the factory mounted the original KCS 55 magnetometer. I figured they had already decided that was a good spot

Most of the original switches are circuit breaker switches. There are limited options for those. If you add circuit breakers to the circuit breaker panel for each circuit, you can use any switch you like as long as it is rated for a higher current than the load.

It would be a configuration mode setting. Hold down the knob while powering up the G5. Rotate the knob to move around the menus and press it to select. The last menu option is Exit configuration mode. I haven’t changed it, so I’m not sure which menu it’s in and the Installation Manual doesn’t say — probably Attitude or Display. Unlike many certified avionics, the G5 installation manual can be downloaded from Garmin's website.

Do they explain the rationale?

They probably don’t do much for low speed handling. The problem with Mooney ailerons is that the are short span in order to give more wing to the flaps to make the flaps more effective. In order to get the required area with the shorter span, the ailerons necessarily have more chord. This increases the hinge moment. The Mooney push-pull control system had less mechanical advantage than other airplanes (the wheel doesn’t turn as far from stop to stop). All this adds up to fairly heavy controls. Back in the 60’s Mooney beveled the trailing edge of the ailerons which helped some. Adding the wingtips has the effect of moving the outboard end of the aileron away from the tip vortex which reduces the force on the aileron and helps lighten the controls. The shape, at Mooney speeds, is primarily aesthetic; it’s the extra span that creates the effect. Skip

A while back, I was flying around and dropped in to KTIW for lunch. The ramp was full of Cirrus airplanes. I crossed paths with a young woman who was leaving the restaurant and she turned out to be the Cirrus regional sales rep and was delivering a brand new Cirrus from Deluth to it’s new owner. She had let the local Cirrus owners know and many had flown in for lunch and a look at the latest Cirrus. She asked to see my airplane and then showed me “hers.” She didn’t get contact info from me. I thought that strange. I’ve run a sales team and the first rule is always get contact info for any potential prospect. Then it dawned on me: Cirrus doesn’t have to contact prospects; prospects contact them. Skip

Everything you need to know (and more) about tires. aviation-tire-care-2020.pdf

CAR 3 was less specific

Check with your dealer. All the updates to certified equipment are supposed to be dealer installations. Most dealers charge an hour of shop time to do the updates, print out any changes to the AFMS and make the logbook entry. I usually have them update everything about once a year when it’s in the shop for something.

From an engineering standpoint, the requirements dictate the design. If Mooney only specified that the emergency extension system protect against electrical malfunction, then the actuator meets the requirements. Skip

They scuff sanded the tops of the wings and painted them both (except for the ailerons snd elevators) so that the paint matches.

I did something similar when I bought my airplane. Ended up replacing the engine sooner rather than later, but I was prepared for that, so no big deal, The most important thing is a good sound airframe -- everything else is bolted on,

Well, I can do a lot of experimenting since the G3X has, besides single/dual cue FD, a flight path marker, synthetic vision, and HITS (Highway in the sky) boxes.

Well, I didn't see it. But, Don's got a good sheet metal guy and it looks like new!