ZuluZulu

I used to (briefly) live in Florida, so I'm staying Sweden on that last part but I agree with @steingar that there's something a little bit off about this guy. Flying formation with his student soloing is just kinda weird. This reminds me of the guys who try to "tag in" to high speed pursuits on the freeway out here. They only end up driving more recklessly than the fleeing suspect and needlessly put others in even more danger. Even if we allow that launching to "intercept" was a good idea, he's way, way too close. What if the Arrow's throttle response had suddenly sprung to life, forcing an uncommanded climb toward the right? It would only take a second's distraction for a collision to occur. Was he actually trying to help, or was he doing it for the clicks? I would never have posted this video if I had only been trying to help. One more thing: why Cirrus? Seems like more of a helicopter instructor to me.... or at least a helicopter parent.

Until I get my Mooney, is it cool if I just bolt my Cherokee's vertical stabilizer on backwards and hope no one looks too closely?

This is such a great post. Clearly a lot of thought has gone into defining your mission and your wants and needs. I agree with all the feedback above, but if four people and full fuel is a regular thing, then it sounds like a job for a Colemill converted B55 Baron (engines upgraded to two IO-550s) to me. There’s a decent chance of finding one close to your avionics buildout; in the several years since I’ve been monitoring B55 listings I’ve seen some very nice panels.

My girlfriend often naps during flights! I take it as a vote of confidence.

We desperately need a KSMO sequel.

ArtCraft at KSMX. It’s not technically in NorCal, but for a cruising Mooney it might as well be.

I had almost the exact same experience! Like you, it was either my first or second solo without my instructor watching me from the ramp. I had maybe all of 20 hours’ experience and was going to be doing pattern work in a Rotax-powered light sport. My instructor and I had just practiced the 180 degree turn about a month earlier and we found that we’d lose about 400 feet in the maneuver. Sure enough, I departed and reached at most 700’ AGL when the engine started running extremely rough, shaking the entire airframe, and with the fuel flow gauge almost ready to burst. (I later concluded the automatic-altitude-compensating carburetor had become stuck and flooded the engine full-rich, as it was a warmer than normal day, although there was no actual investigation.). I initially thought I would be able to limp it around the pattern and started my left crosswind turn a little early (sorry, noise abatement!) but quickly discovered there was enough of a power loss that I wouldn’t be able to maintain altitude without trading airspeed. So instead I declared an emergency, quickly rolled into a right turn back to the same runway, and rolled out on a perfectly aligned short final, maybe 250-300’ AGL, right at the exact maximum flap extension speed so I quickly dropped full flaps. From there I made an uneventful landing (my first one on that runway!) and limped it back to the flight school. I’ll never forget the rush of relief in the controller’s voice when I confirmed I didn’t need any assistance. After that I was pretty sure I’d just passed the checkride, but it turns out the DPE has to be there for it to count. Drat.

Another very satisfied Zulu.3 owner here. Lately I haven't even been turning the ANR on; it works great as a passive also. Nice to know if my battery dies in flight, it's barely worth a yawn. And the few times I've needed them, Lightspeed customer support has been fantastic.

This was two CFI’s I really respect telling me this, so for my first time — I decided I’d better listen.

Anthony, as a guy who enjoys your thoughtful lists, is 25 a personal best?

KSMO isn't much further than KSMX, especially for a 201! If there's ever a chance to see this beaut in person please let me know.

To me it's very different flying around in Southern California where it's never truly "night," with the ocean and all the persistent lights on the ground as far as the eye can see. If those lights suddenly disappear, you're in the clouds. Otherwise, you really have to make an effort to get lost or lose sight of the horizon. I renewed night currency Tuesday night and flew out to Point Dume and back, never losing awareness of where I was thanks to the massive lighted guidance system we call sprawl. It's easy to recognize LAX as a landmark, too, thanks to the steady stream of moving lights constantly coming and going. I know, I'm spoiled. But with that said, while I'm very familiar with the LA basin at this point, this familiarity ratchets up my caution and risk assessment if I'm going to be flying somewhere I'm unfamiliar with at night. I recently flew a friend to Palm Springs for an event and made the decision early on that we would stay overnight, and not attempt any part of the flight at night because of the mountainous terrain, the relatively narrow Banning Pass, and my unfamiliarity. Even though I never would have been far from seeing lights on the ground, I couldn't ever be sure of where the mountains were, and that alone was enough to stick to day VFR. Add in the unforecasted surprise of low clouds or haze, and I could easily see an accident chain starting. This has been a long-winded way of saying I agree with your overarching point: we each need to understand our own limitations. Reviewing recent incidents certainly helps with that, whether there's a full investigation done or not, simply by supplying topics for consideration and discussion. If we refrain from analysis until the report comes out, we miss out on a lot of teachable moments. Any one of those moments could be the one that keeps us alive.

Just curious, where did you read that? I've only seen this.

Depends on whether or not you knew it was stolen...

ArtCraft is known as the best around, but since it makes sense to get two quotes for comparison shopping, you might also look at Corona Air Paint. They have a nice looking Mooney in their photo gallery, and I know one of the flight schools on the field here goes there for all of their paint work. Might even be a better bet for a small job in terms of price and availability.

I know Kim Davidson Aviation at KSMO has handled a lot of Mooneys, including a friend’s C for 20+ years and another friend’s J for 15, just to name a couple. Don’t know what their availability for pre-buys is, though. What year J are you looking at?

I remember seeing TFRs of a similar shape near the Camp Fire burn area but, unfortunately, I can't find any screenshots, and I'm not sure if they were even related to the fire. It was a tube-looking TFR at a higher altitude connecting two normally shaped, surface-to-ceiling TFRs to each other, and all three together looked in profile like a lower-case n or upside-down u. For some reason I remember the tube connecting TFRs surrounding Colusa (O08) and KBAB, but I could be wrong.

"Swiping" apps away in iOS, a.k.a. force quitting, does nothing. iOS is designed to hold them in there, unused. When you "quit" them you lose the quick-switching ability, slowing down your phone and decreasing battery life. Even Apple personnel all the way up to the late Steve Jobs himself recommended not doing this. Details here.

Good point @Hector, I forgot to mention the battery life. Even better than the XS.

Skates, I’ve been talking with a few of the local avionics shops recently. High Desert is probably booked into June by now if not later. Leading Edge might have more immediate availability, but no doubt filling up fast. Might be worth thinking about making a reservation now if you’re thinking anything more involved than a SkyBeacon ... just my 2 cents. There are a ton of airplanes flying around SoCal that aren’t compliant yet. It’s the perfect storm.

2018 Get my PPL - success! Pass the 100 hour mark - almost. 98.9 Don’t crash - success! Research everything I can about buying and owning an aircraft - in progress, will never end 2019 Complex endorsement ACQUIRE AN MSE Complete Mooney transition ADS-B compliance, if the airplane I get doesn’t have it 75+ hrs Visit family in Oregon and Arizona using my own airplane Pass the instrument written Begin instrument flight training Don’t crash

By the way - the iPhone Upgrade Program might be an option for anyone who prefers a more reasonable monthly charge over paying full sticker price. It’s the closest thing to the old carrier model of a subsidized upfront cost followed by an “upgrade” every one or two years.

Smart phones have always been expensive; it’s just that carriers no longer subsidize the real cost like they used to. The 16GB iPhone 5 retailed for $649, 32GB was $749, 64GB was $849. That the iPhone XR costs the same for more storage, better screen, FaceID, faster processor, and more, it’s practically a steal.

Top overhaul can refer to a lot of things, but it usually means replacing or at least repairing all of the cylinders in one job. It probably helped the oil consumption, but it doesnt reset the time before overhaul. I think you probably made the right call, especially for your first airplane.

Try the iPhone XR (collection of reviews). Bigger screen than your 5, but cheaper than the top-of-the-line iPhone XS. My company is ordering new phones and I chose the XR to replace my 7+. Excited about the smaller size yet bigger screen. It's not here yet, but once it is, I can give you a pirep.