Grumpy

My 2 cents (about what its worth too) I'm based out of RMN, so fairly familiar with the SFRA. I'd advise do the online training, carry the smart card, it can't hurt. I'd also advise not flying into the SFRA (I know, opinions are like..) but I say this because you don't really get a benefit for all the hassle. You are marginally closer to your ground destination, but will pay for that privilege. You won't "see" anything from the air because you will not only have to deal with the SFRA, but there is only a marginal chance you will get cleared into the Bravo (they even route IFR around it)...so you will be below that shelf and if you look, that's pretty low. The cool stuff to look at is all inside the FRZ and there's pretty much zero chance of getting in there (sure, background check, fingerprints..there's ways, but worth the time/money/hassle?) Leesburg (JYO) has the cutout, it also has a couple of flight schools and the traffic in/out is heavy (and since you are going VFR, they will be out in force in the same weather you will be using). Parking is simple, FBO is nice, and you are close-ish to metro to get downtown. Tower "closes" at night here too (early, not midnight), that catches people sometimes. Manassas (HEF) is inside the SFRA, but parking can get pricey (though is the spot for a hanger is you need one), close to VRE/Amtrak to get downtown, rental cars, etc. Towered and with several flight schools, also gets very busy. Its not uncommon to sit at the departure end for an extended time waiting for a hole in the traffic that tower will squeeze you into (roughly 2/10 times leaving there for me). Warrenton (HWY) is just outside the SFRA, nice airport but not close to anything. You will need a rental car if you go here. No tower, but on Sundays the Flying Circus is going (grass strip just to the east) with some traffic (and they don't all have ADSB, but are brightly colored..nice show too). Stafford (RMN), is just outside the SFRA, no tower, flight school has about 3 planes, so they are there, but not really clobbering the pattern, rental cars available on the field or short Uber/Lift to the train station. (I used to commute to DC, its about $12 from Fredericksburg to DC, easy switch to metro to get you everywhere you want to go). Parking is dead simple and the airport is pretty friendly. For all the spots where you are thinking about train, VRE runs into the city in the morning and out of the city in the afternoon/evening..Amtrak does its own thing so YMMV. Driving from RMN to DC is about 45 min unless someone goes sidewise on I-95 (happens). HEF to DC is about the same on I-66. JYO is further out than HEF. Parking in DC is challenging and watch out for 'right on red'... If you haven't already found them VRE https://www.vre.org/ Metro https://www.wmata.com/service/rail/

For anyone who finds this via search engine, here's the answers...thanks to a very patient IA at the airport.... No, the hose is not supposed to split there, but the good news is it was just the fire proof sheathing, not the actual hose, that split. Some judicious application of more fire proof wrapping and we are good to go. Back to splashing in the shallow end with my waterwings on

Question from the shallow end for the smart guys.. Running down an oil leak and saw this hose seemingly split..I believe it's the oil pressure line to the turbo (picture is looking up, front towards left), part number 646644S6S7.75 (I think), but looking at the diagram in the ipc from Continental, the picture appears to show a split in the hose (#20 in the diagram EDIT: added diagram pic) Is this supposed to be 'flexible' that way? The inner core is intact and looks fine Oh, and found the oil leak, loose fitting on a different hose Thanks in advance

https://www.aceflightsolutions.com/ out of Stafford (RMN). Did mine when I purchased, very pleased.

Sadly, no, just me. Like I said, my company is supportive (it would enable some significant growth, so they are trying to make this work), but their WC underwriter is basically "no". I'm the only guy who flies (and the only guy who has a plane). The company is not an aviation related effort, so I'm sadly coming to the conclusion this just isn't possible. I did already add my company as "additional insured", but the WC folks are still a hard no. Kind of a bummer, but appreciate everyone's input and thanks for spending a little time on this.

Throwing this out in hopes of the smart people helping me out...the company I work for is willing to allow me to fly to work sites (my plane) and claim the travel, but we are getting stuck on workers comp insurance...the carrier bluntly stated they'd drop our company the second they allow anyone to fly to a work site. I'm looking for options to pass to leadership so that I can take a 3 hour hop vice a 7 hour drive. Huge thanks in advance.

https://giphy.com/gifs/fda-misccers-ZR7WOAqLvbZQY Thanks all! I have had the popcorn bag go boom right behind my seat...ya...took a while to remove the seat cushion after my heart rate returned to normal.

CINC-House (who wholeheartedly enjoys riding in the Mooney) wants to know what "everybody else does with their hairspray when you go really high" (flight levels). We've had a couple of zip-lock saves that she is trying to avoid. Aerosol is out (I've told her) and pump is probably the way to go, but does anyone have suggestions (for us non-hair spray using types )? Thanks in advance

I've got photos of my remove/install of the same engine from last year. DM me your email and I can share via google photos if you want

Late to the party, but wanted to get some pics. I tried the way Z W used on the pedestal, but I kept kicking the unit when trying to exit the aircraft (user error, I've no doubt, but I couldn't seem to fix myself). I went a little crazy and 3D printed a frame to hold it to the overhead using the panel screws already there. I thought about the velcro strap thing, but kept seeing it swinging and hitting my head, so I overdid it. My first attempt was the purple one, which worked really well until a trip to Alabama in the summer when I learned how hot it gets inside a covered plane. The second attempt (the white one) gave a lot more bottom support. The unit sits right next to my head while I'm flying, so alerts are easy to hear, even thru an ANR headset. I put the inline regulator up there too so its easy to check as I've had the tube come loose there before and start bleeding O2 (gets real cold when it leaks and its an easy check there). If I were to do it again, I'd consider putting that up on the armrest. I wrapped the O2 line from the onboard tank for some extra protection and just run it up behind my seat (still looking at ways to run it better) and the masks are just in the back pocket, easy to grab when needed. All the hoses come in over your shoulder.

I guess I'll start off with "yes, I was complacent"... Cruising up the east coast last weekend, under positive control, heck, inside a class B...enjoying the sunset view of NYC directly over JFK at 7000ft when I see a bright red dot just left of the nose. About the time my brain got past the "what the @#$@# is that?", it flew past my left wing and I could see the 4 rotors on the drone that was hanging out there....in the middle of a class B...over JFK...like I said, I was complacent and not even expecting to see anything. I reported it to Tracon and they took the information. I was fully expecting to get a phone number, but to my surprise, that was the end of it. I was curious so I did some Googling and turns out, yep, near misses are pretty much old hat these days. FAA has a whole webpage with hundreds of reports. Maybe I've just been lucky up till now, but I did not even consider drones as a threat at 7k' in a class B...now I know better and figured I'd spread the word a little. Turns out drones have a service ceiling around 16k'...guess I'll be on O2 when traveling from now on. Stay safe, head on a swivel and drones don't show up on anything....