toomany

small update after surefly installation - flew 5-6 hrs this week w 5 starts (cold,hot, lukewarm, cold). all starts were as i would expect them to be, especially given that we're not living in the 40's anymore. every start was within 3 turns of a blade and most without priming. a couple stone cold starts were done with a couple of blades and feeding fuel after a stumble. if 3-6 seconds of prime is given starts are guaranteed smooth and w/o incident. what i would give to see v-8's w/ fadec in GA. egt's and cht's seem to be running cooler too. hottest (cylinders 5&6) would normally run 360's to high 370's, but are now 340-350's on cht. egt's seem to be about 10° cooler overall. engine seems smoother in cruise, but it will take more than an electronic ignition to get me comfortable with an oversize wwII era volkswagen engine pulling me through the air. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

heading to mexico once from raton nm (rtn) we hit severe mtn wave over the san mateo range. our groundspeed was 80kts, sometimes less. realizing the winds aloft weren't as advertised, and noticing that our fuel was quickly running out relative to the rate of foreward progression, we decided to land for fuel instead of risking putting it down in the mountains on empty tanks.. we were over show low (sow) when the decision was made that we either got fuel or took the risk of not making it to yuma or even pheonix. when i tuned in the awos winds were around 170°, from what i recall, at 45 gusting 54. i thought it was possibly ground equip error so i tuned in nearby white mtn lake and got the same winds - i think they use the same information. not believing what i was hearing i asked atc if they had any wx reports at sow - they told me the same thing the awos had and that a pilatus just tried to make it into sow and couldn't. not to be deterred from a sound decision that we needed fuel or we'd be hiking out of mountains we went for rnwy 22. i made the approach at probably 110-120 kts w no flaps and my best dancing shoes on. we ate up quite a bit of rnwy before i was able to push jt onto the tarmac. the ground roll was pretty short as i recall and i used full control forces on all surfaces at least once during the approach and landing, but we made it. as we were on approach guys who were listening to the unicom started coming out of their hangars to watch the idiot trying to land in gale force winds. luckily i didnt give them much of a show. when we were taxiing to the fbo, gravel, not sand, was sandblasting us - that was probably the worst part of the whole experience, hearing the gravel hitting the aircraft. once inside the airport the mgr told us that atc just called and was asking if we made it in - i really appreciate those guys. later a meridian made it in and must've been getting sand blasted as well because he had the fbo park fuel trucks around his airplane. we took on fuel and waited for about an hour or so and flew to yuma - when we were in range of pheonix i did the math and we most likely would have ended up leaving a bent airplane in the mountains just east of the pheonix area. i certainly don't recommend anything close to those winds under normal circumstances, but for what it is worth the airframe is highly capable. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i use foreflight for filing and wingx pro for flying. i like wingx because you can download the entire US approach charts database and dont have to "pack" for every flight. wingx used to be a lot better - they just got rid of winds aloft and before that they nixed the fbo information. i use it primarily for simplicity and ease of ise due to familiarity Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

thanks John - so far w the surefly starts are immediate w only 2-3 seconds of prime. i havent had the chance to really run it at cruise power in the mid teens, but once i do ill update here on any differences in temps./fuel flow. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes - the surefly does draw more, not sure if its 11a as the inline fuse for its dc power is a 10a. i'd imagine it pulls 3-8a under normal ops. re milliamp draws - i was thinking of, but disn't mention, electronic mgt systems found in automobiles and many racing/performance applications. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

got the bravo back today after the surefly was installed. starts right up w/ less than 3 seconds of prime. orbitted lns at 10,000 and held 1300-1500 fpm on way up - da and oat were low thoigh. cht's and egt's seemed a little cooler but won't know until i get it settled in at altitude for an hr or two. its times like these that you reslize we've been kept in the dark ages by the faa, lycoming and continental - we're in 2024 and get excited about electronic ignition. please spare any comments on how reliable 1930's magnetos are - they are absolute junk in my opinion w too many moving parts to be considered a reliable form of ignition in this day amd age - especially when we have electronic ignition/fadec systems that draw on the order of miiliamps

N69YA - on an rv in indiana Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

who makes the vinyl?^. I agree - looks good, durable and easy cleaning Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i usually get held high until the last min coming from the south over iad and bwi or from the west if mdt is busy. i dont throttle back until the airspeed goes yellow and i normally descend at 1000fpm or more. i'll use speed brakes if i need them but have learned to fly the bravo w/o them for the most part. i dont subscribe to the "cool the engine super slowly" but rather am comfortable cooling it down at about half the rate, or less, than it heats up in climb out - usually 2" a min, or less, when i'm at 5-10 miles out. i usually enter the pattern around 165-175 and slow w power reduction and gear - i dont use flaps until final and cross the fence around 80. i will say that you have to have the wind in your face in the mooney or it seems to float forever. im not saying this is the best way to fly and really dont care if anyone agrees with it - i just learned from a very seasoned pilot and my own experience that its easier to lose energy (ie fast and high) than it is to get it back. i try to make every approach one i could do from 5 miles out if the fan stopped - because it has and i did. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

when i spoke to surefly they recommended 0025 - .0035 gap and fine wires. installers recommended .0030 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A surefly was installed in our bravo today. we ran a 14ga. wire up the pilot side interior from the battery and brought it into the engine bay on the left side as close to left mag as possible. we installed 10a fuse in battery compartment and landed it on the master solenoid. we also used small diameter flexible air hose as a conduit for the 14ga wire - probably not needed but lessens the chance of a blown fuse if the wire chafes under the interior panels. spoke to a couple installers that recommended 30 thousands gap on the fine wires - surefly website has dealer locater. i'll post results/opinions after its back in the air Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

wait a minute, Isabel Goyer isn't Roberts daughter? Haa! no wonder she looks just like him. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ordered a surefly yesterday - should have it in by the end of next week or early the following. It requires a hot wire from the master solenoid so i'll run the 14ga. from the battery compartment to the engine bay to save time and money. Henry Weber at LNS will do the install and land the hot wire. I'll try to do before and after comparison and post here. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

local a&p at the field did the OH on the set thats on the bird now, first set was done by Columbia in bloomsburg PA where engine was done. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

150, maybe 200hrs. interestingly first set of mags that were redone at overhaul went out about 100hrs in. im now wondering if there is an intermittent short from the ignition switch that may be causing a fault in the impulse coupling. im going to replace the ignition switch w mag rocker switches and a push button start first to see what happens. when i remove ignition switch ill ohm out the p-leads and check for continuity based on switch position. regardless, getting rid of the ignition switch will be a net positive even if condition persists. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk