Jeff Uphoff

Wow. I remember way back when (late 90s) I was a member of WVFC and mostly flying their Citabrias, and there was a 231 on the line then. I thought that was a little bonkers, but...an Acclaim? [blink] --Up.

Uruguay! Do tell! I visited Uruguay in the mid '10s on business and kind of fell in love with the place. Now that I have a Mooney again, an Ovation with pretty good range even on stock tanks, I've been mulling some Central/South American flying, and I've played with some routes to/from Uruguay. Would love to know more about what you're doing--it's sort of a bucket-list item for me! --Up.

I lost the generator in my old M20C many years back. As luck would have it, I was heading to Stockton, California, so I landed and taxied in to Top Gun and ordered up the alternator-conversion STC. Hard to have a more conveniently timed major failure than that... --Up.

Well, the M in TBM does stand for Mooney, but that wasn't the one I was thinking of. Nor is this one...

Wow...now THERE'S a name I haven't thought of in ages! --Up.

I seem to recall many years ago--back during the heyday of the Mooney mailing lists on aviating.com--seeing a photoshopped picture someone had done of a Mooney with a jet engine in its nose. Does anyone still have a copy of it? --Up.

Indeed! I have an Ovation that's 20 years newer, has 1000 fewer hours on the airframe, more modern electrical system, partial glass (Aspen), the 310 HP upgrade, good interior and paint, etc., and I'm insured for basically the same value. In fact, if someone offered me this price for it, there's a good chance I'd say yes! (I confess, I've been mulling back-country flying and tailwheels again....) --Up.

Where can I find the latest copy of Jimmy's valuation guide? (Interested in Ovations, natch.) --Up.

I don't think it's particularly representative, but I've done power-off 180s and whatnot in a PC-12. It was great fun! --Up.

I look at that number and think, "Wow, can it really be that high?" And then I look at my logbook and realize somehow it's been 20+ years since I flew with you! --Up.

This. I'm based out of a class C that's completely surrounded by a bowl of mountains, some of them immediately off one of the runway thresholds. Nearly everything aside from an instrument approach is improvisation, and even the IAPs are pretty wild. Honestly, though, I like it--it all serves to keep me thinking. --Up.

Sounds like when I was a 200-hour PPL and just starting into tailwheels--my CFI described my rudder usage as "like someone who's had too much coffee." --Up.

Afraid I don't have a grain of salt small enough for this... --Up.

Not much of a track to work with here. Sporting crosswind from the west on the METAR--looks like he was drifting eastward almost immediately. --Up.

This was a fun run a couple of years ago, heading to Yankee Stadium for a game: 11k', WOT and LOP getting 182 KTAS on 11.9 GPH. I was probably running 2500 or 2550 RPM. By fuel flow, that's 57% power. I was seeing a bit of wave action again, with TAS varying from high 170s to low 180s. The Ovation is remarkably efficient LOP. I've done several 1000+nm and/or 6+ hour legs with solid fuel reserves. --Up.

This was taken a couple weeks ago coming out of Reno. I had a monster tailwind, so I dialed the RPMs/power back (2400 RPM) and flew WOT at a touch lean of peak EGT. Pic shows 169 KTAS (it was varying from there up into the mid-170s due to waves) at 15k' on 10.5 GPH. By fuel flow, that's 50% power. --Up.

My Ovation has a useful load of 1030. I've owned a turbo Mooney, an M20K/231, and when going a distance, I often flew it in the mid teens, typically 15-17k eastbound (higher would require a mask). I can count on one hand the number of times I had a reason to take it higher--up into the flight levels (18k+). In the Ovation, I typically cruise above the bumps at 9-12k, and then when I want to grab a tailwind or really stay above weather, I'll take it up into the mid-teens as well. I spent a lot of time this past month at 15k in it. With 310 sea-level horsepower, an Ovation is making MORE power (HP) flying wide-open throttle at 15k' than a turbocharged 210/220HP M20K would be at 75% power at that same altitude. And that's something to think about! I fly the Ovation very much like I did my old M20K, but the Ovation is even better for my current mission because those extra 100 sea-level horsepower get me out of the bowl of mountains I'm based in and up to 5-6k' in an instant. (The Ovation is also roomier and holds more gas.) Here was a recent week in it (pic below). Virginia to San Antonio, TX nonstop, and then later Reno, Nevada (which is WEST of L.A.) to Virginia with a single stop. --Up.

Thanks much, both of y'all!

I was referring to replacing the hot, lens-melting halogen recognition lights (only) with the LED ones--no plans right now to replace the nav lights or strobes. Is it the same case for those--no need to remove the wingtips? --Up.

Curious what the replacement procedure is like for the 28V wingtip recognition LED lights (replacing the old, hot halogens) on a Mooney Ovation. The wingtips need to come off (i.e. rivets drilled out) to connect the new wiring, or is it simpler? Thanks. --Up.

I had a dream last night I got brought into KROA all goofy-angled by ATC and had to go around, and @donkaye, MCFI, you'll be happy to hear I retracted my gear before raising my flaps during that go-around. :)~ --Up.

There's an STC to goose the Ovation up from 280HP to 310HP (mine has it), but I've never heard of one to turbocharge it. Given the turbocharged Bravo/Acclaim models are basically identical to the Ovation save for the engine(s), I can't see the sense in it. --Up.

I landed my M20C in 36G42 at KWJF once--right down the runway. I've never carried so much power on final. The biggest issue there was my wife trying to get the door open in that wind after we'd parked! --Up.

Looks like someone finally described a good reason for our tails being on backwards--it helps us to land the airplane backwards! Here's proof: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQJtcHljXwI/?igsh=MXZqNW4zbDVqYWQ3ag%3D%3D

She's not blonde, but there has been a very famous woman astrophysicist around here flying her M20E. (This shot is us plus another friend in back on our way to Oshkosh in my Ovation this year.) --Up.