canamex

Sending you a PM

Gotcha. I was under the impression that it needed only a GPS but it makes sense it also needs something to reference attitude. So GFC or Aerocruze then...

When I install the AP, I'll be deleting the vacuum system in favor of twin GI275's, regardless of if I go for the GFC or the Aerocruze or Dynon (should the angels bless us with their approval). @PT20J appreciate the description, exactly what I was looking for. My thinking as well is along the lines of installing only that which is absolutely necessary while still performing its role. K.I.S.S. principle... @Niko182 I got the GI106a for a song and the way I see it, it's a great backup instrument should anything happen to the eventual GI275's I'll be installing... Thanks for the feedback, everyone! The install will be a year or two out, first things first... --- On an unrelated note, how do I get those nifty colored maps everyone has in their signatures?

I purchased my '67F almost a year ago as a basically VFR aircraft, thinking I could upgrade everything to make it a decent IFR ship. While it does have a nav head with GS, with no DME I'm severely limited on the extent of my IFR operations. I'm slowly upgrading my avionics (a freshly overhauled SL30, GI106A, and a GNC 355a are all going in this annual) and will be doing a panel upgrade to reconfigure my instruments into a traditional six-pack. And after having hand-flown in hard IMC a few times, I now understand the importance of a good autopilot and not just a wing leveler. My upgrades budget is pretty much tapped out for this year, but with the Aerocruze and Dynon AP options on the horizon (not holding my breath) and the GFC500 available now, I'm planning on installing something next year, or maybe the year after. So, my understanding is that our vintage Mooneys (and maybe more recent ones) have bungees linking our ailerons and rudder. This being the case, here's my question; do we really need to spend the extra 2-3 AMU's on installing the extra servo for the yaw damper/third axis? Wouldn't the roll servos automatically create yaw input rendering the yaw servo redundant?

Chiming in here. Last summer, I flew up to Oshkosh for a day (and left before the big storm) and on the way there noticed my fuel pump was sounding wonky during the pre-start prime as well as t/o and ldg use. Mostly pump rpm fluctuations. I landed in Monroe in the AM, Robb, the A&P and operator of Touch & Go Aviation removed the fuel pump from my plane, and then I jumped in a taxi to Browntown, WI to visit Aeromotors. The owner there took a quick look at the pump and exchanged it right on the spot, as well as gave me a tour of the operation and I was very impressed! 90% of the parts in the refurbished pumps are new and made in-house and the people there couldn't be friendlier. As others have mentioned it's a bit strange that they don't take credit card in 2022 but it's not a major inconvenience. I took the pump back to the field, Robb installed it, and then I flew to and landed at Airventure the same day.

Might be a silly question but why would one spend that kind of money on a CO2 sensor when you could tack up one of those cards with the magic color-changing dot?

@Browncbr1 will send you a PM, thx!

@Bob R did you ever find those clocks? I'm looking for a classic wind-up one as well

Thank you for finding that @M20Doc!

Thanks John, would be interested in those seatbelts! Are the Amsafe buckles the clamshell type? Were you able to find those tube clamps?

Thanks for the reply @tomgo2, that's too bad. I guess it will be half fuel and one passenger for me for a while up here at 8000 ft. If I find a used RAJAY on the market would I be able to install that or is the STC not transferable?

288 hours. Purchased in April, flew up to the puget sound, then down to Mexico, then back to Canada, then to Mexico and then the round trip again. Oshkosh, lots of little trips to Texas and back. Some adventures in Mexico and a recent trip to Guatemala for Christmas. It's been a great year getting to know the bird. Best part has been being able to share my love of aviation with my mom.

@apriav thanks for that, I just saw the kit on their website as well. Also on Aircraft Spruce's website. @bluehighwayflyer I read through the research paper @Bunti shared (well, the executive summary and the findings for 2000lb rated seatbelts manufactured prior to 1995 and the conclusion seems to be that those old seatbelts do not show major degradation relative to newer used seatbelts. In any case, I'm probably going to go with the Alpha belts, if for no other reason than availability of support should something come up during installation (and maybe a custom color for the interior). Thanks for the input all!

I might be out of the loop here @tomgo2, but is there any way to put a RAJAY turbo on my M20F?

@Utah20Gflyer the ones I'm looking at are just the regular belts with no quick release down by the Johnson bar...I'm guessing you have releases down there?

@Ron McBride this factored into my logic to go for fixed belts. Having flown with shoulder harnesses in Cubs for a year I'm used to the loosening/tightening procedures for T/O & Landing. Simpler typically is better in my books.

This is encouraging, thanks @Shadrach. After looking through @Yetti's post I'm a little worried that with my '66 made F model I'll also have those aluminum braces but I guess there's just one way to find out... I did confirm that the seatbelts from the J model should work, just need to track down those clamps...

After flying across deserts, glaciers, barren Sonoran wasteland, and up the fjords of British Columbia for almost 300 hours with just lap belts I'm realizing it's time to put in shoulder harnesses. I've read through the exhaustive thread on fixed vs. inertial reel belts and I'd like to go for fixed. Alpha's offering is clear and I might go that route however... I've found some used J-model belts for sale on ebay for about a third of the price of new ones from Alpha. Does anyone know if the J-belts will fit into my F-model?

@kortopates I think they forgot to do the fumigation when I entered! Pedro my handler told me they'd fumigated upon arrival and maybe they did while I was looking at that Lear45 next to me... The plan was originally to fly out of Tikal but as we ended up going to Antigua that'll have to wait until next time. I'm in a 1967 M20F, SN #670188

If it helps with motivation @steingar, I've flown from Mexico City to and from my hometown of Victoria BC (CYYJ) three times in the past year. Snacks are important

@Marc_B I think he was just more of a fan of Guatemala vs. being against Belize. I wasn't scared off of Belize though and am planning a trip there later in the year! @M20Doc Caught me Thankfully some rain coming into Guatemala City helped me out

Thought I'd share an update here after the holidays with some pictures of a recent flight I did to Guatemala City and back from my current base of Atizapan, just north of Mexico City. On the 20th of December, I realized that I would have to leave Mexico before the end of the year in order to keep my plane legal. With some help from Jack at Baja Bush Pilots, I planned a trip to Guatemala (don't go to Belize, he said). We departed MMJC (Atizapan de Zaragoza, about 40 minutes north of Mexico City) at 7:15am with clear skies and flew more or less direct to Tapachula, Chiapas (MMTP), including amazing views of five volcanoes (Popocatepetl, Iztaccihuatl, Nevado de Toluca, Malinche, and Pico de Orizaba) and a 30 some odd mile overwater flight (within gliding distance above 8500ft). Landing at Tapachula, we left the country without incident and picked up some fuel. The night before, I had coordinated with the Aeroclub Guatemala which helped me pre-register the aircraft with the Guatemalan FAA and be prepared for arrival. After having flown most of the past year in Mexico it was a pleasant surprise to speak with Guatemalan ATC. Friendly, courteous, clear, and with excellent English. Dodging clouds into Aurora airport (Guatemala City), the airport came into view and we descended through a 3 mile wide hole in the clouds to make an uneventful landing at the 9800 ft runway (at almost 5000 ft elevation). We taxied to customs where the military checked my pilots license however didn't ask for my passport, and my mother was then escorted inside the terminal building by a representative from the Aeroclub Guatemala. Twenty minutes later we had all of our permissions and were taxiing to the ramp at the Aeroclub. The Aeroclub is unlike anything I've ever encountered in my few years of flying. It's more like a yacht club than what we might know as a flying club. They have a massive amount of real estate at the airport, along with three private airports dotted around the country, complete with lodging facilities for their members. Guatemala has over 100 airstrips to fly to, many of which are accessible to our Mooneys. While we had initially planned to fly to the private strip at Rio Dulce, we ended up leaving the plane in Guatemala City while we spent a few days in Antigua, relaxing and enjoying the UNESCO World Heritage protected architecture. We bought textiles, visited the ruins of the some-odd 30 churches, visited a coffee plantation, and marveled at the Christmas-eve midnight fireworks. On the 26th, we departed Guatemala City after paying about $100 USD in landing, parking and FBO fees to re-enter Mexico at MMTP. There was some confusion with the immigration officer but eventually we were on our way back to Mexico City via the same inbound route, landing at 45 minutes before sunset. I highly, highly recommend flying in Guatemala, as well as the services of the Aeroclub. I will be returning in March to explore the country more.

@EricJ good to know, thanks!

Coming from a world of consumer electronics (at least more mass market ones) their strategy doesn't make sense to me. Why would I give an interest free loan to Aircraft Spruce on the chance that the product becomes available? Make it a $100 deposit and I'm all in. You might have nailed it right on the head there... What I don't understand is their strategy. I've done some work for mass market consumer goods and the blueprint is clear: charge an amount of money for pre-order which doesn't hurt too much and is used to gauge interest. I'm not going to give Aircraft Spruce (nor any other company) a $5k interest-free loan on the chance this thing does come out.

Dragging up an old thread... Just saw the Aerocruze 100 advertised for sale on Aircraft Spruce's website along with a funny STC request form at the bottom. In the description it says (Approval pending) which seems to indicate that the STC authorization hasn't yet been handed down. Once I put the product in-basket it shows that there's no stock in any of their locations. Is it just me or does it seem odd that AS will take my money for a product which isn't yet approved?