ZuluZulu

210's can be difficult to insure, so you might want to check with your broker to make sure you can get coverage first.

I'd suggest basing your plane at Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport (KTRM) in Thermal, CA. Here's how it does on your criteria: 1. Palm Springs has lots of outdoor recreation, including hiking, Joshua Tree nearby, easy Mooney access to various ocean/lake cities and national/state parks, numerous golf courses if that's your thing. You are also just short flights away from Catalina Island and Big Bear Lake, which offer opposite ends of the weather spectrum but are rich in recreational opportunities. There's Santa Barbara and Paso Robles wine country (Temecula Valley is even closer), beach destinations in San Diego, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, and more, and Northern California's lush forests and redwoods are also within a day's reach. Pretty much anything you could want outdoors can be found a Mooney ride away. When you want to get out of California, there's Arizona and the Grand Canyon, Utah, Colorado, Nevada. You can fly to Las Vegas for the weekend on a whim, see a show, and be back in no time. 2. While you'd be in California, and thus would pay California property taxes, the prices for Coachella/Thermal/Indio-area real estate are much more reasonable than you might think, and certainly more affordable than living closer to Los Angeles or San Diego, let alone the Bay Area. If you wanted to spend a little more for luxury you could look in the Palm Springs/Palm Desert/Indian Wells zip codes. 3. Palm Springs International is maybe 30 miles away, Ontario International is within an hour's drive, and LAX, BUR, SNA, and SAN are all within reasonable driving distance for direct and connecting flights. Lufthansa has a major presence at LAX; I see their giant A380's running back and forth to Germany out of LAX every day. 4. TRM is a growing airport with plenty of undeveloped space; there is a great opportunity to build and own your own hangar. I can't speak to the current existing structure availability but it'd probably be very reasonable to buy and build on the field, and end up with exactly what you want. 5. I've always been treated well when visiting Thermal/Palm Springs. The local municipalities and politicians proudly support airport development. A lot of investment in Jackie Cochran Regional has sprung up in the last several years. There's been some talk it may eventually get an FAA tower but for now it's uncontrolled. 6. Tons of universities in the LA basin alone, including UCLA, USC, Loyola Marymount, UC Riverside, Claremont, and the universities in San Diego are also close by. 7. Warm, desert climate. TRM is actually below sea level. Density altitude is a factor to consider when it's hot but all of the airfields in the Palm Springs basin have long enough runways to compensate (TRM's 17-35 is 8,500' while 12-30 is 5,000'). Wind can pick up and gust in the afternoon, but the mornings are more sedate. I've visited several times and only had gusting winds once, and they were quite manageable thanks to TRM's choice of primary and crosswind runways. 8. Longer flights to Germany than the southeast, there's no denying that, but LAX is close enough for convenience and you can get direct flights on Lufthansa. People complain about the traffic, but it's more than manageable if you plan ahead and schedule accordingly. On days when you just can't stand the traffic, Santa Monica (KSMO) and Hawthorne (KHHR) are there as options for Part 91 "connecting" flights to LAX. With all that said, maybe Palm Springs just doesn't work for you, but in my humble opinion there's a lot of potential for an aviator's retirement destination.

You could get a GTN 750 with the remote-mounted GMA 35c audio panel, saving a little panel space, and keep one existing NAV/COM as your #2. If you haven't tried the 750, there's an iPad simulator app you can play with to see what you think. Or if you just want to go nuts, you could install a GTN 750/GTN 650 stack. And if you're already doing that, I'd at least think about installing a G5 or two as primary flight instruments.

Signature East's people have been really nice to me in the past. You might try calling ahead and asking, couldn't hurt. I believe the prop park (Park VNY) also has transient parking available, but I haven't used it. Or just use the prop park's self-serve fuel station to drop her off while also refueling.

Your VSI must be very confused living its life out in a Mooney...

"Registration Pending" as of yesterday, September 9. Broker might be re-registering it (the broker's P.O. Box ZIP code and the pending registration city appear to be a match), or it's already been sold to a local. If it hasn't been sold yet, maybe the broker bought the owner out until they can get it sold. As for the plane, the listing's reference to a "July 2018 annual" would suggest some questions need to be asked.

Which size G3X?

And without a single official photo!

I haven’t been flying long enough to know if that’s true for mine, but for what it’s worth, Lightspeed customer service has always been excellent to me.

Pretty sure s/he means this one.

The Hot Canary!

How about a twin touchscreen stack of a GNX 375 (which also takes care of ADS-B) and a GNC 355 (#2 GPS and COM1). That way you can use one as an MFD, always keeping traffic visible, etc. Add a new audio panel, dump the ADF to save weight, keep the best remaining radio, and call it a day (since you're already sold on the engine monitor). Maybe throw in a G5 or two if you're feeling generous to the next future owner. But if I were you, for a plane I'm selling in 3-5 years anyway, I would be bargain-hunting for avionics deals and only buying new the things I couldn't find for a fair price. Let the invisible hand of the market decide! Would that maximize resale value? Probably not.

I've tried asking, sometimes they give it to me, sometimes they don't. Maybe I need to dial the panic knob up to 11...

That's pretty common for SBA. Seems to have something to do with the mountain range immediately north of the field. VFR departures from 15L and 15R are almost always vectored out over the water and restricted to no higher than 2000' or so. Always gives me goosebumps until I'm finally cleared to climb.

Quick and dirty route is the skyBeacon, about $2,000 with minimal installation cost, but it has limitations. GDL 82 costs about the same but is a little more involved to install. For a full-blown ADS-B In/Out solution expect about $10,000 or more for hardware and installation. AOPA has a good explainer here (click the links in the chart to see the lists of UAT, UAT/WAAS, and Mode S solutions) and Flying has a rundown of some of the most common options (circa December 2016) here. The tougher issue might be finding a shop with availability before December 31, 2019.

It's great, no real complaints at all. On the EFIS version, one or two of the planes I've flown with a G5 installed didn't have the V-speeds configured, and the unit is much more useful with those on the airspeed tape. It's a simple design, attractive looking screen, and very easy to get used to. For some reason I always initially turn the knob the wrong way to change the altimeter setting, but that's not the G5's fault. When flying it in conjunction with a GFC-500, I found I preferred dialing in altitudes and headings on the autopilot control unit instead of on the G5, since it's a little faster that way. On the G5, you have to push the knob in to select, rotate, rotate. The autopilot control unit is just a little more direct. For the HSI version, I found myself wishing the HSI used more of the screen surface area, perhaps with a semi-circle design. The HSI seems a little small as it's depicted in the middle of the screen with a good amount of blank space surrounding it, but you get used to it quickly.

Haven't heard anything negative about High Desert up at KWJF, and they're a lot closer than 3 hours. I've flown behind a lot of their installations, too. Of those installations, I have almost no complaints. There's one button placement I wasn't wild about (the PTT switch on the pilot's yoke, which was relocated to accommodate electric trim and A/P disconnect, tends to interfere with yoke-mounted iPads) but all you have to do is tell them where you want it. I've flown behind their G5 installations, both single and dual, and even a GFC 500 installation which performed beautifully. But I'm assuming one of those quotes you have is from them already.

Tomahawk! Congratulations!

The only thing I'd add to this excellent hierarchy of priorities is an ADS-B transponder, because it's starting to get too close to the deadline to comfortably defer it, and you may not be able to find a shop to get you in before January. You could do a skyBeacon as a $2K stopgap if you find a plane that otherwise checks all the boxes, but ideally you'll find one with a permanent in/out 1090ES solution already in place. Unless a skyBeacon covers everything you need for the flying you're going to be doing...

Does the sale include the Scream mask?

Since I'm kind of being called out here, I guess I'll respond. The reason I asked that people contact me first if this ever happens to me (not that I stay nameless or that the information can't be posted) is because, IMO, the pilot should have at least had a say in how and where this was shared. Everyone on here recognizes his plane. Especially in light of his history posting here, he should at least get a chance to explain what happened from his perspective before his mistake is exhibited to the entire world. Maybe it'd be a different answer if he was videotaped buzzing a school bus full of kids at 50' AGL, but that's not what happened.

If there's a way to blockquote text, I can't figure it out, so here's the statement in italics: As many of you know, we had an incident during Mooney Caravan 2019. During the en route portion of the flight, a slowdown occurred during a rejoin to fingertip maneuver. During this same time period, an en route course change also occurred in the direction of the rejoining wingmen. As such, an overrun occurred and both pilots took corrective action. After landing it was noted that contact had occurred. No other elements of the formation were placed in danger by the incident. Currently, a team of Caravan individuals is analyzing the event in order to come up with procedural recommendations. This team is in the process of gathering and reviewing all available information. While our internal investigation is not yet complete (and will not be until the NTSB makes their analysis and recommendations public), there are several takeaways that we are working on for future Caravan operations. These recommendations will likely include more thorough training, more focus on emergency procedures and emergency calls, as well as more detailed written emergency procedures. Please be patient with us as we try to decipher the information, and come up with meaningful conclusions. It is important that the NTSB report comes out prior so that we can incorporate all data into a thorough Caravan safety report.

Just for the record, I, too, prefer that people not publicly post evidence of my myriad mistakes on here without talking to me first.

With all that said, plane looks amazing! Now that it’s yours I’m looking forward to pireps once it’s back in the air where it belongs.