katzhome

Great to see you too Adam! Looking forward to more fly ins too!

Hi All, Thanks to the recommendation from @ilovecornfields to take N43CA to Jetstream Avionics in Lodi, I was able to set up a visit within a couple weeks of my inquiry about low audio transmission from the GTN750. Snuck away from work on a beautiful Friday and had a quick stop at Byron (C83) for fuel, my son's training had gotten us pretty low on both tanks. Fuel there was $5.95/gal for 100LL, better than most stops in the area. I wasn't the only one looking at fuel prices, and got to meet a gentleman from KRHV flying his Diamond over. The approach at Lodi is a bit strange, where the highway runs right along the approach end of 26, and I didn't have as large a threshold as I'm used to lately vs. KRHV. Also, take care for landings and takeoffs, it is a bit lumpy as well...coming to a stop was a bit more exciting than I had been planning! At Jetstream (which is just off the approach end of Runway 30, so you have to taxi over from the usual 26 and go around behind a few hangars) I was able to meet up with Richard, Cameron and Taylor Kiesz and they spent about an hour plus working through transmission volume and quality as well as internal intercom side-tones on both my primary GTN750 and secondary SL30 radios. They made quick work of cleaning up my settings and on LiveATC N43CA sounds much clearer and at higher volume than before. Many Thanks to all of you to help me out! They also do Avionics installs, and had another Mooney M20J in their shop that just got a Dynon/Garmin panel that I am coveting! They also do full Garmin installs, and have got me seeing what nickels and quarters I can find in the couch for some upgrades. At the same time I was able to meet up with @brad and his beautiful '76 M20F about his SkyOx system. Thank you for the conversation and support! There was at least one other Mooney that took off while we were chatting, but I didn't catch a picture or the N-number, we almost had a mini-fly in. After the radio work, I had lunch in the re-opened Lodi Airport Cafe, which was packed and really good salads and was generous with the Lemonade. I then pre-flighted and flew back to KRHV from Lodi, with no issues talking to NorCal near Livermore (which had been one of the radio concerns we had identified). In all a great day of flying. Hope you all are having good travels out there as well! R.Katz N43CA At the fuel island at C83 Byron. At the Jetstream Aviation hangar in Lodi. N43CA's new portable O2! The Lodi Airport Cafe from Transient Parking just off the approach end on Rwy 26. N43CA near another Mooney at Lodi in Transient Parking.

It’s not the tanks, it’s the fill-up! KRHV still doesn’t have 100LL so every couple of lessons for my son’s checkout, off to KCVH we go. But longer range tanks would be cool someday.

Our usual fueling stop! We will plan on being there with N43CA.

Thank you all. I’ll be checking in with Jetstream and LAC.

Hi All, I have tried to search for this on the site and on google but have come up empty. This is not the issue where transmit volume in the pilot or co-pilot headsets is high or low, but the received transmissions from the plane have been noted as "low but readable". Going back on LiveATC, N43CA's audio does sound lower than most even though it is readable. We have received a few "come again" requests and one "your audio is very quiet", which I think this is a contributor. I'm assuming there is an adjustment for radio transmit volume somewhere, but not accessible to the pilot. I have not been able to find any references however. We want N43CA's audio to be loud and clearly audible as we move into longer trips! Does anyone have any recommendations for easy troubleshooting or a shop I could check in with easily near KRHV in the SF Bay Area? Many Thanks as always!

Weather too marginal for even us from RHV. We will miss today but looking forward to the next one!

I think I remember it being like that for one afternoon during my training. The tower folks do a great job with the traffic on busy days at KRHV.

Luckily my training has been at KRHV, with parallel runways. The 2 different frequencies is new though. Thanks for the info!

Thanks @Niko182. I was looking at the "avoid" option as per one of the earlier replies what to do if permission is not granted to enter the LAX Bravo. This is helpful! Now that I can carry passengers, hopefully me and my son can get some experience working with SoCal. I appreciate the details of your experience. It is much appreciated.

Thanks @DCarlton! I had watched some videos about that terrain. Thanks for the waypoints too. I did find DEBEY. Looking forward to getting down there when the weather improves!

And I'm trying to get some more experience heading down to SoCal and points further south...so I'll ping when I head down that way. The engine is something you go into with eyes open. I did what I could to get comfortable with my mid-high time engine (1500 hours), and just got my first 25 hour oil change report back. So far nothing concerning. I have prepared myself to be ready to overhaul any time in the next few years, but will be pleasantly surprised if we are able to keep running up to and past TBO. To me you looked at the risks and rewards and made the right decision for you, and that is what you have to do with these things. Good luck with the transition training! Mine was fun, getting the additional solo time was actually harder with all the weather we have had out here in CA this year.

So in my other thread I was asked to show routes. My first attempt here. This would be an "avoid the Bravo" route to KSEE, but as mentioned by @ZuluZulu above, there may be some turbulence near Bakersfield.

We just finished the “Arizona Experience” last Saturday, flew commercial. UofA is looking likely for my daughter! My son is still working through his options, between aviation and business areas of study. I was very impressed by the UofA Business department. I will let you know when we might be heading back down. We may be checking out NAU, Embry-Riddle and ASU-Mesa in the next month or so. Very hard for both parents that went to Oregon State!

Congratulations @Mellow_Mooney! If you end up in the SF Bay Area send a note! Welcome to plane ownership!

Thanks @ilovecornfields and @Niko182...nice to know direct will work out at some point. I do have a pulse oximeter, but no O2 system yet. I've got an eye on the O2D2...but need to finish off some sailboat maintenance and other plane squawks before I can spring for it.

Thanks @donkaye, much appreciated! I'm working on my IR, but work and kids college tours keep interfering with my studying for the knowledge test! I don't have O2 yet, but it is in the plan. I'm trying to get an engine monitor installed as well as clearing some of the less critical (but still important) squawks I've found from my first ~20 hours in the plane.

Thanks @ZuluZulu, all of this is very much appreciated! At the moment, I'm still new with the plane and the engine and I don't have my engine monitor installed yet, so I'm ok with less scenic and less over-water for the near-term. Thank you for the note about traffic around DARTS and OCN, that is some of the stuff one doesn't know unless you fly in the area.

M20J, so no turbo and no oxygen yet (it's on the list!).

Yep, that was my logic. However, I'm not familiar yet with the details of these routes and if I'm missing something I'd love to hear about it. Thanks @ArtVandelay!

I was able to order some from Newark. They currently have 81 in stock. I now have my eyebrow lights operational! https://www.newark.com/eaton-bussmann-series/gmw-5/fuse-5a-125v-fast-acting/dp/19K5343 Regards, R.Katz

Hi All, I'm starting in on my opportunities to "stretch my legs" with N43CA. One is to travel to potential kids colleges, like Flagstaff (High DA!), Tempe, Prescott and Tucson. I'm still working on studying for my IFR knowledge test, so these are VFR-only options currently. One route I've been playing with is: KRHV - KCVH - PXN - AVE - GRAPE - GMN - PMD - KAPV - POMTE - KNTP - KBLH - SALOM - E63 - VPAMT - KTUS for a trip to Tucson. Any recommendations, stories or warnings for trips to Arizona? Regards, R.Katz

Hi All, I'm starting in on my opportunities to "stretch my legs" with N43CA. One is to travel to San Diego and also looking at Mexico. I'm still working on studying for my IFR knowledge test, so these are VFR-only options currently. So coming south from KRHV what routes or transitions do you use? I'm on a Discord discussion that has been going into LAX transitions, but I'm hearing that many of the VFR routes other than the Coastal Route and SFRA are no longer being approved. I'm looking at going from KRHV to KSDM (Brown Field) or KSEE (Gillespie, to tag up with @kortopates!). Routes I've been playing with: KRHV - KPRB - SPLNT - RZS - FIM - KVNY- SLI (Coliseum Route) - DANAH - VPSMP - VPOCN - HURSI - CARIF - VPSMS - VPSMB - ORTEE - KSDM A suggested one has been KRHV - LHS - V459 - DARTS - V186 ROBNN - KSEE or KSDM. Any suggestions, experiences and words or wisdom appreciated! R.Katz

I think the 26th works better for me. Hopefully at least 2 of us, as many as 4 if the teens decide to come along in N43CA.

Hey @Mellow_Mooney, My pre-buy was ~$2500 at an MSC and I did the pre-buy turning to an annual after review of the squawks with the sellers. The addition of the annual was basically only another ~$1000. Closure of the annual ended up being quite a bit higher than your estimate, but that was due to the number of squawks we found through the pre-buy and annual inspections. In my case a good chunk of those were applied to reducing the purchase price, but I still spent ~2x more than the $7k you mentioned above (many of them non-airworthy items I chose to work now). Remember it is a plane that has sat for a while, so there could be findings. I needed to get new control cables and ends for throttle, mixture and prop for example. I see further in the thread that you might also work with the seller's mechanic. Just be aware, it is always good to work with an "uninterested 3rd party" to give an non-influenced assessment of the plane. You want them to be your agent, not the seller's. Just to quote @carusoam, just my opinion from what I have dealt with on both boats and planes. I'm not an expert and I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn last night. Editing: Seeing @KSMooniac reply directly above, correct, I'm considering the cost of completing the annual, not the annual inspection itself. I'll have to dig back on how much that cost versus the closeout work.