cferr59

I found a post on the Cessna 152 forum with a quote from the owner of TopCat. It is from 2006 so it sounds like the project may not have been revived, but it might be worth reaching out to Rick. Maybe he could be convinced to hold a course for Mooney owners... https://www.cessna150152.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/38447/5.html Thanks for your email. Please allow me to tell you a short story. Several months ago the hangar that I used at Hicks Airfield was sold, and the new owner and I couldn?t work out a good agreement for TOPCAT School?s continued use of the facility. At about the same time Tarrant County College (TCC) asked me to work on a National Science Foundation (NSF) project that they were the lead college on. TCC is the community college that serves Fort Worth, Texas and the surrounding area. TCC has an A&P program that is 36 years old and is, according to the FAA, the highest rated A&P program in the state. The NSF project was to be known as the National Center for Aircraft Technician Training (NCATT). It was a great opportunity and I agreed to work on the project. I became the project?s ?Business Liaison?, the project?s ?Grant Writer? and ?Coordinator of Special Projects, Aeronautical Technology Department?. The proposal that I submitted to NSF was selected and funded by the NSF. I then became, and am, the ?National Director of Accreditation and Certification? for NCATT. As you might suspect, I?ve been busy. If you?re interested take a look at the NCATT website at www.ncatt.org [ncatt.org], it?s a continuing work in progress.Back to what both of us are interested in, TOPCAT School. I?ve never abandon the project. Having had a long association with TCC (from 1980 to the present) I suspected that I might be able to work out an agreement with TCC through which the TOPCAT School Program could come back into existence. I'm in the process of developing that partnership agreement now. When the details are worked out I'll be able to use the classrooms, laboratory and equipment (training aids) that we use in the college?s A&P program. It will be the same equipment that we train A&P mechanics on. It will make the TOPCAT School program a lot better, and we won't have to worry about breaking "real" airplanes in the training process. It also means that owners won?t have to fly their airplanes from all over the country. It also means that the program should cost several hundred dollars less. The down side is it will cover only the owner training. The owner will still have to contact their local FAA office to convert their airplane to the ?Primary Category?, but with the training completed, ?Certificate of Competency? issued and signed-off, and the STC and instructions from the Fort Worth FAA FSDO to the owner?s FAA FSDO providing instructions on that process in hand, the owner will be in good shape.

Hope everyone got their ADS-B issues sorted out. Is this still happening tomorrow? Its a 3 hour flight for me so I'm not sure I can make it, but looks like fun!

Also interested.

Does anyone with an M20C with a Powerflow have pictures of their scat hose routing? The cold air intake part of mine is touching the cowl flap heim joint which I do not like. It is currently routed behind the carburetor and I think I can route it lower to resolve the issue, but it will require a longer hose. Before I do this, I was curious how others have it routed. Dev sent me this video, but my cold air intake is not the same. I have a 2 1/2" hose on the cold routed from the passenger side of the doghouse behind the carb and then to the exhaust on the pilot side of the engine.https://youtu.be/mWy_C7g04hw

Overpriced! But any Mooney is better than a cramped Bonanza

Hmm, also has any ever been violated by having laminated a medical and what was the consequence? I know the government can be unreasonable, but it seems to me that having a valid but laminated medical should not be an issue.

I put mine in a plastic zip lock bag in my flight bag. I also took a picture of it in case it gets messed up. Laminating it seems like too much trouble but what reg says it can't be laminated to protect it?

Guess you still would need to do an annual just like a normal category aircraft. However, would would gain additional maintenance ability if you got the training specified in 21.163. Is that training even available for a Mooney? I've never seen it... Also, it seems like a Mooney might not really be a "simple design" considering it is specifically a "complex" aircraft.

For some reason, I thought turbine helicopters were required to have TAWS onboard. I guess that isn't true.

It would be nice if there was a repairman certificate available for small GA piston aircraft like is available for LSAs, even if it only allowed you to work on your own aircraft. I can't take 2 years off from work to get an A&P, but I could take a few weeks or some kind of after hours classes.

My M20c is 2575 too. And I was thinking of adding floats once it is in the primary category. I saw a picture of a float Cherokee...

Is that a thing we can do? I have all kinds of ideas to trick out my Mooney...

First IFR flight in the Mooney today. Not very hard IFR, but I got .2 of actual passing through an overcast layer from 4000-6000 feet.

What parts? I have a feeling it might be a good idea to get a second opinion.

Try fixing a Garmin Autopilot with electrical tape...

Old airplanes are worth what a buyer will pay... I hope it sells for asking. That means mine is worth a lot more!

If it will only go 115kts, it needs some speed mods...

If they were smart, they would make them a slide-in replacement for a 430W...

Is this a fixed gear Mooney? Right near me too and seems like a good deal considering it has an Aspen, 430, and EDM930... https://www.trade-a-plane.com/search?category_level1=Single+Engine+Piston&make=MOONEY&model=M20D+MASTER&listing_id=2374695&s-type=aircraft#

I went in an Archer last year. Jet Aviation, about $50 total, overnight, no discount for taking fuel. Decided not to buy any at $9 per gallon. IMC on departure, gave me a heading to keep me out of the way of the faster departures, and the airliners were nice enough to call out pireps for the tops for me. My first landing at a class B airport.

Garmin will only repair a 430 as part of an upgrade to a 430w. It is $4495 plus you will need to have a WAAS antenna installed.

@AGL Aviation in Morganton, NC did my prebuy and I would highly recommend them.

Interesting article from Mike Busch about a similar situation with a much less happy outcome and some comments on the use of eddy current inspections on cylinders. Makes sense to me that if you can see the crack, then it should fail dye penetrant inspection. https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2016/july/pilot/savvy-maintenance "...there’s no guidance from Cirrus or Continental suggesting that eddy current inspections should be performed on cylinder heads. The standard procedure is to inspect the heads visually for cracks, and if a suspected crack is found, to verify that it has significant depth (and is not simply a superficial surface flaw) by performing a dye penetrant inspection. " "It seemed to me that the much more sensitive eddy current inspection was inappropriate for use on a rough sandcast cylinder head, and was very likely to produce false positives"

I believe these are the instructions for MSB09-1B which is guidance for the EQ3 cylinders that TCM wanted to replace. It wouldn't be a good idea to forgo such an inspection if you are on the hook to pay for the cylinders given that it may not be a crack at all!

47N fuel is awesome ($4.17 I think). I need about 35 gallons right now and I'm probably heading there tomorrow to fill up.