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Ross Statham

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Everything posted by Ross Statham

  1. Last year I installed combination LED position and “strobe” (very bright white LEDs) in my J for a little under one standard aviation unit (a thousand bucks) and I LOVE them. One of my strobes had failed, it only made sense. My A&P and I took out the voltage converter for the strobes in each wing, wired the circuit to the lights, and haven’t had any issue with the dimming described above. 90 minute swap out. Here’s where it matters: The first evening that I went out north of the field to practice our NAV approaches with a safety pilot, I had two other pilots remark that they could see my wingtip LEDs 10 miles out, beyond the initial approach fix. That’s what I wanted to hear. Mine isn’t the Wheelan brand, I’d have to pull my logbooks and look them up. But you should get similar results. My advice? Do it.
  2. Boundaries like you have described on cross-countries are interesting and I don’t often understand them. Many times I’ve crossed clear air frontal boundaries or pressure gradients and watched the “over the ground” speed decrease or increase drastically- and/or observe the autopilot slowly dial in crab angles to compensate for wind direction changes, some rather drastic. Similar issue to yours, just not dangerous. It tells me that there are things going on I need to be aware of, and not to let my guard down. I’m glad you raised a question on this forum. It’ll remind me to more closely listen to pireps, in addition to closely monitoring icing and OAT. Also to perhaps query ATC about pireps. Thanks.
  3. Spot on. I deal with a lot of different types of insurance policies at work, including our aviation insurance over the years. One of the biggest lessons that I was taught several years ago by a friend (a lot smarter than me) was that I should speak to several different aviation insurance brokers, and get several quotes. There are a great number of people every year who are transitioning to complex and high-performance aircraft, and they’re dealing with the same problem. As noted above, insurers are in business to make money, and they don’t make money if they don’t sell policies. I have also learned that to re-shop my insurance every two years, just to keep everyone honest. Guess what? That same advice also applies to our general liability, errors and omissions, data breach and workman’s comp, too. We shop around, get good policies from reputable companies and save money. Free market economy. What you’re hearing casually so far isn’t real data, which you can get by spending a couple hours on the telephone and filling out applications. Safe flights!
  4. Wow. What a GREAT panel! Clean, well laid out, highly functional. Kudos and congrats!
  5. Funny! But I’m unqualified to answer that one. But it IS funny how they all have personalities and typically end up getting named.
  6. Appreciate your asking about comparing Mooneys and Bonanzas-- I've owned both an older Bonanza v-tail as well as two Mooneys. Bonanzas and Mooneys are both considered great aircraft-- here's been a few of my other observations to add to what's already been very well said: maintenance on my Bo' was more problematic, and expensive by far. Probably due to my owning an older model, but others have chimed in on that topic. On the other hand, the American Bonanza Society is superb, and can help its members to diagnose and resolve most things that arise due to their store of knowledge. Parts for Bonanzas are- well, they're expensive. Mine had a Continental engine, like most, and I greatly prefer the longer time between overhaul (TBO) and lower maintenance issues I've had with my Lycoming engines on my Mooneys. Second for me was operating cost-- I burn 9.5-10 gallons per hour in my Mooney vs 14-16 gallons per hour in my Bo. Multiply that 4-6 gallon difference by the 120 hours per year that I routinely fly, times the cost of fuel, and you'll quickly see why so many of us own Mooneys. They are fast, fuel efficient and "slippery" aircraft. Third for me was range- no comparison between my Bo and my Mooney. I have six hours of fuel and typically cruise at 145-152 knots. My Bo cruised a bit faster, but only had about a four hour range. But on the other hand, the interior of a Bonanza is wider and is considered by some people to be better, plus many Bonanzas have larger cargo and seating for up to six (technically, at least). (Harvey Beech, who founded Beechcraft, was by all reports a "big guy".) Larger useful load, too. And you can't argue with the success of the model-- in spite of it's (well-deserved) reputation of its tail falling off early on until the FAA stepped in and made them resolve the issue. Finally as noted above, Mooneys do have an excellent safety record. Hope this helps.
  7. I know this has been covered before, but I thought that this time of year might be a good time to re-visit "lessons learned" in owning and flying a Mooney. I first flew (and got my commercial training and check-out) on a "G" model many years ago; I have owned both an "F" model as well as a "J" (our current baby). I do love my "J", whom my wife dubbed "Plane Jane" (N6201Y). Here are a few lessons I learned both in owning them as well as flying them-- some the easy way, some the hard way: The importance and safety of using the checklist, flow and memory aids EVERY flight-- and in creating these specific to the airplane and equipment installed. The importance of accurately flying the numbers, and in constantly working to get them "spot on" instead of "close" or "sort of". The knowledge I've gained flying with more experienced pilots than me in the right seat, and soliciting their input. This includes instructors, ATPs, etc who may or may not know Mooneys-- but they know high performance, complex aircraft. The knowledge to be gained from other Mooney pilots and owners' in forums such as Mooney Space and otherwise. The importance of staying ahead of maintenance, and in setting time aside to take care of small things (before they can become big ones.) The wisdom that comes from planning for the worst-- as both a pilot as well as an aircraft owner. Those are the major ones for me-- I'd sure like to hear some other thoughts and perspectives.
  8. Rudy has rebuilt two or three on my instruments over the years. They were recommended 12 years ago by an A&P buddy, and I’ve had nothing but great experiences myself.
  9. Bummer. But I’ve come to believe that some days/weeks/months/years are best put behind me, or sometimes just used as a contrast to look back on later when things are going “ok”. Not going necessarily great, mind you, just “ok.” Had one of those cold rainy days today in the Florida panhandle. Spent much of it in the shop trying to get myself motivated. Mixed success. Got a couple of new cabinets bought and spray painted anyway. Hang tough, bubba.
  10. Good topic. Funny thing is that once I learned the hows and whys of flow and checklists in aviation, I started adding them to other parts of my life- from creating written procedures at work, to things as inane as getting ready to start up my pickup truck and go into town, and even using left to right flow with the washer and dryer controls when doing my laundry. We’ve also had some other good discussions here about creating your own checklist for your airplane with your equipment. I’m a believer in those and continue to refine mine even after all these years. I still use memory aids in the cockpit of course, especially pre-landing call outs, climb-out call out, and FAF call-out. Those supplement my checklist. I assume that’s a good idea. Sure helps me, anyway.
  11. Thanks for the laff! Needed it this morning!~ Never had the pleasure of flying that real airplane!
  12. Great suggestions, folks. I may want to call one or two of you to get some specifics in a few months as the trip gets closer. Really didn’t think to do it that way! i live in the middle of MOAs and restricted airspace in western Florida and helped a few Texas pilots navigate thru here on another blog topic last year. We get Summer thunder boomers, but no mountains. I knew if I posted this I’d get some practical ideas.
  13. Interesting. That’s a significant milestone- wondering why more outlets haven’t picked the story. For those who haven’t read the story yet, there are now more people who have had at least one vaccination than have tested positive. Perhaps we’ll get this licked yet.
  14. I feel his pain. That’s why I sold my old V tail and bought a REAL aeroplane!
  15. Got a question for you folks out west. I’m flight planning a trip later this year that includes a leg between Ely, NV and Boise, ID flying a normally aspirated M20J at 12,000 feet. Because of all of the MOAs and mountains, looks to me that the best routing I could find is KELY BQU V293 TWF V253 KBOI. Do I need to file for that dog leg route thru the Twin Falls VOR? Other routing I should review? Any insights and past experiences appreciated.
  16. That’s a REALLY good article, and very much on point. Really appreciate your posting this for laymen like me. Not just a discussion about symptoms of the second dose, but real insight as to what’s happening with the immune system. Thanks!
  17. Many years ago while living in metro Atlanta I saw a dead beaver, flattened and straddling the double yellow lines in the middle of a busy road in Gwinett County.... wait for it.... called Beaver Ruin Road. (No kidding.) But not on Groundhog Day. Looked very much like the above photo, but definitely flatter. Or am I too much off topic on this?
  18. I live in Chipley and fly out of the next airfield just north of Panama City, 1J0, so feel free to reach out to me to discover what it’s like to fly here, and job-wise down here too. We have quite a few Panama City folks that base their planes at 1J0. My email is stathamross at gmail. As you can tell from the responses, you’re going to get a lot of encouragement from some great people on this forum. Several of us are former active duty as well. Let us know how we can help you!
  19. What a great story and a great post! I’m a flatlander now living down in western Florida, and was up in Burlington a couple of years ago on vacation in the summer of 2019. That’s a beautiful lake, but I sure wouldn’t want to land on it in the winter time! (Or the summer either for that matter....). Can’t say I’ve ever had my Mooney towed by a snowmobile either.
  20. Hey, glad SOMEONE's singing my praises. Funny part about my "Madonna" instead of "Moderna" quote above was that my spell checker changed it to "Madonna"-- and I liked it so much I thought, "Why not?" Or perhaps I've been spending too much time with the sales team here at work!! (For those of y'all that don't know me, I'm a Managing Director at an outsourcing and recruiting firm when I'm not flying my Moooney....) Like a surgeon, bubba-- or was that "sturgeon"?!!
  21. Well, that’s what I get for trying to make a joke.... another one falleth flat.
  22. My wife and I attended one of them thar drive-by shootings last Wednesday. Other than mildly sore arms and very mild symptoms for about 24 hours, no issues. Ours was the Madonna (don’t know why they named it after her) vaccine, we’re due to go back at the end of February for our second round.
  23. Same here, flying a borrowed PA-28 back from Tampa with a passenger while mine was in the shop. Landed at Tallahassee with fire trucks watching, followed by the same basic questions described above. Would do it again without hesitation. No indication until the GPS started acting squirrelly, then I saw the low bus volts. Clear VMC day on an instrument flight plan. Later determined to be a loose connection at the voltage regulator.
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