sleeper-319

Yeah, I get all that. I guess I’m just curious what people would call short (and I know loading and DA are big variables). I’ve only had my J for 8 months, so I’m still very much learning. Runway at my home field is 2700’ (at essentially sea level), but almost everywhere I’ve been the runways are longer. I know there are lots of variables, and maybe “put a number to short” was a bit of a dumb question. Mostly was just curious what feels short to people.

Out of curiosity, what’s your definition of a “true” short field? And would you change that definition for a long body?

I’m considering doing the west coast one in April in Santa Maria. I might have my IR by then, but my plane will not be IFR at the time. What happens if weather is IMC in Santa Maria that weekend?

I get the sense that a lot of aircraft at this price range sell without ever hitting the websites like Trade-a-plane, Barnstormers, etc.. Get to know the A&Ps, CFIs, and club members at your local field and put the feelers out everywhere. You'll be surprised at the number of people who know someone thinking about selling, and so on. The community around me was an enormous help (esp if this is your first aircraft purchase). I'd also start arranging a hangar if you haven't already, and get working to find an IA you'll use for your pre-buy and annuals.

Is it pretty obvious once you get the inspection panel off?

Will do. I’ve been away from the thread for a while. :-) But yeah, it did occur to me afterward that the AP might be caused by the AI not working right, and they do seem to be related. The AI eventually does erect, and if I “pre-flight” test the AP at the end of a flight, the AP seems to function properly, but I still don’t get the self-test tones like I used to.

Love to hear what you hear from LASAR. When I talked to them earlier this year, they didn't have the SB parts kits and wouldn't touch a Plessey actuator. Only suggestion was to get an overhauled Eaton. There was some rumor of some new SB parts kits for Plessey actuators being made this year. I called a lot of people, but it was really hard to find any first hand knowledge. Best I could conclude was that someone found a few old inventory somewhere, and the sale of those got lots of people excited. If you hear anything concrete, let me know, I'll jump in line behind you. :-)

Hey Mark, I was in your shoes about this time last year. I had about the same number of hours at the time; most in tailwheel though, with a little in 172 & 182 aircraft. I ended up buying a J from another MSer in Feb. It was out of annual, and needed a little work, but otherwise was well loved and well cared for by it’s previous owner. Been a great plane for me so far. I was fortunate at the time that my club also had a M20J. So I when the opportunity to buy my J came up, I was able to quickly get checked out in the club’s M20J, get familiar with the type, and the complex endorsement all while coordinating the prebuy & other stuff. Happy to take you for a ride if you find yourself around California (KLVK).

Something I found useful toward the end of transition training was to fly with different load configurations so you can get a feel for the differences in how it flies (and particularly how it lands) at max gross vs when light.

Is a G5 better/worse than a GI275 for the backup? Was thinking I’d keep the KX165 as 2nd NAV/COM, and keep the king audio panel too. Is that reasonable?

Bought my ‘87 J and got it flying this past June. Great plane, dated panel. I’ve got about 60 hours on it now, and my plan was to fly it for a year and use that time to figure out what I want in a panel upgrade, but a few things starting to fail have me thinking about upgrading sooner. The attached pic is current, and of the pictured equipment, the GEM and the AI are starting to fail. The KAP 100 AP is malfunctioning as of today, but that may be related to the AI starting to fail (couldn’t find definitive info in the book). I had an STEC System 60 pitch stabilizer that’s also failed, but the control head is not currently installed. That’s the hole below the throttle). So the plan… I definitely want a IFR capable navigator, and I like the GTN750s I’ve flown with. And with the AI starting to go, maybe GI275s or a G3X (the price difference between these options doesn’t seem huge). After a chat with the avionics guy, the upgrade that I’m leaning toward is: G3X, GTN750, and GFC500. My existing transponder is a GTX345. I’m just at the stage of getting a quote (which I’m sure will be eye watering). With all that in mind, anything I’m forgetting, should be thinking about? Should do differently?

I don’t know it all, but did recently do the investigation you’re doing. I have a 11” pro 3rd Gen (there is no 4th in that size at this time). It’s about the same form factor as the 10” pro I had before this. I use it daily for work, personal stuff, and of course for flying. My wife has the current iPad Air, and I think you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between the pro and air while flying with either. There is one major difference that might matter though: the Pro uses “Face ID” to unlock and the Air uses “Touch ID“ to unlock. Face ID on the pro (when it works) it is very fast. Faster than Touch ID or passcode, unfortunately the success rate is pretty low for me in ordinary life, and with a headset and sunglasses, it’s just ass. Touch ID successfully unlocks way more often. This difference isn’t huge for me, because I just leave the iPad plugged in and running all the time. I know some people who leave it off most of the time and use it to look at charts & such, and for that kind of use, Touch ID might be better than Face ID. The newer models have faster processors, and faster charging, and the faster charging (with the right charger) is really nice to have. But as for other technical differences… I think you’d be hard pressed to notice a difference in on processor or LTE vs 5G while flying. For Foreflight, the app tends to work the same across the models. This current iPad replaced a previous iPad Pro, and while in daily use the new Pro is much better, for Foreflight, the older pro, the air, and the current pro all are about the same.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Super helpful!

Hey everyone… relatively new J owner here, about 4 months in. I’m wondering what you all keep in the plane for when things need attention away from home base. I have a small bag with some cleaning supplies and screwdrivers, but is there any other must have tools, kit, or spares you always bring along? Thanks.

Double stick tape built into the mount; the base is designed to be a little flexible.

Image attached. Amazon order history isn't showing right now, but pretty sure this is the mount I have.

Following the recommendation of another MSer, I bought a magnetic car mount on Amazon and mounted it to the top of the yoke. The 11" Pro fits perfectly in portrait mode in the middle of the yoke. Way better than kneepad imo, and the magnetic mount is robust enough to hold it there, and still super easy to remove it doing that is useful. Had a ram mount there from previous owner, but the magnetic is simpler, smaller, lighter, and less obtrusive. It has a built-in GPS of course, but in my case, GPS and traffic comes directly from the GTX345 via Bluetooth. I've got no love for Bluetooth as a protocol, but this setup has worked reliably every time so far.

Great info. Thanks everyone.

Mountain High’s duration charts shows it as an improvement over the oximizer cannulas, but not double (let alone exponential). Am I misreading that? Price is about double. Is it worth the extra cost? Is it any bulkier? I’ll have a look. You use one?

Hi all, I’m a relatively new J owner in coastal California. Looking to get a portable O2 system. I mostly fly at 6 -10k altitudes, but I’m sure there will come a time where it’s necessary or useful to have supplemental oxygen. So I want to purchase one now, before the need really is pressing. I’m thinking a 4 place system because about a third of my flights are me+2 pax. Beyond that, I don’t know a lot, and have read a bunch, but it’s not clear what would steer me to one choice over the other. I think I want simplicity for now. I’ve read the info on the web for the Constant Flow systems from Mountain High, SkyOx, and Aerox, and the differences seem pretty small (eg single flow for all with Skyox vs flow control for each station with others). I haven’t measured yet, by I’m thinking an AL-647 cylinder would give plenty of duration for 3 people, but this is about as far as I’ve gotten. Is my thinking about tank size realistic? What questions should I be asking that I don’t know? Thanks.

Thanks Matt. I called the City and they said Aeroplex manages all of theirs. The Aeroplex prices were on the high side for what I need. I'll give the Barker's a call too, but if they're in the same range as Aeroplex, it's looking like it's a tie down for me. :-)

I dig Camarillo, but it’s way too far from where I need to be for work when I’m in LA. OK, wait… I just assumed that hangar wait lists would be years deep, so I didn’t even ask initially. I talked with a dude at Aeroplex earlier today, and he confirmed tie–downs are avail. Does Aeroplex manage the city hangars as well, or do I have to call the city airport folks for that? Thanks for the info.

Re #4, I haven’t stuck one to my plane, but I have stuck them to other stuff, and the adhesive seems strong and yet surprisingly easy to remove with no damage as long as you’re patient! The things I’ve mounted them to are much lower speeds though, so I can’t offer any insights on how they hold up to hours of wind blast. I have seen some youtubers with similarly fast planes with GoPros on the wings. So I’d find some of those and get their opinions too.

Hey all, I’m contemplating a bit of a move, and would love to get some intel & opinions. I split my time between LA and the Bay Area. Plane is hangared in the Bay Area, and the ~10-15 days a month I’m in LA, I’ve been keeping it in transient parking at WHP. My office is in Hollywood, and I’d need to be in about 3 days a week on avg. I currently stay in West Hollywood, but would like to bounce to a new town for a while and am considering Santa Monica because, well… probably only about 5 more years of work before I retire, and living in a beach town for a year doesn’t sound bad. :-) I do want to be reasonably close to an airport though, and WHP, SMO, VNY, and maybe HHR seem like the practical options. And I doubt I’d get a hangar at any of those any time soon, so I’d be parked at a tie down. With all that in mind, any general advice for a home away from home? Is SMO a reasonable option, or would it be corrosion suicide for a plane? I know there are landing fees, and I know it’s closing in 28, but how is it otherwise? Thanks. Oh, plane is an 87 M20J thats currently clean and corrosion free. I’m a pretty new owner (6 months now).

Thanks for all the thoughts and wisdom everyone. :-)