MattCW

I don't know, if doctors can snake a tiny tube through a leg, up an artery, and inspect the heart, then surely we can push a big camera around a few bends of metal.

A few weeks ago I took off from an airport in a deep valley with no lights. It was basically the only time I paid close attention to the NOTAMs for "unlit towers." The landing light was more than sufficient to navigate the apron and taxiways. By the time I didn't care about the runway anymore, I was airborne and thinking more about towers and terrain than lights.

If you don't want to go with a cellular solution, you might could get WiFi to work by finding an adapter with an external antenna, and using a directional antenna pointed at the router/AP.

The railroads do something similar. At least on CSX, an orange high-visibility vest is worn by trainees for a year, after a year, they get the green high-visibility vest.

As someone who does have eventual plans to reach Alaska, why didn't you do the Ketchikan-Bellingham leg and only overfly Canada without landing/entering? I can kind of understand clearing close to the border so if you do have to divert, you're already cleared, is that the primary issue?

Yep, the actual instructions for this one are: ALL ACFT ENTERING OR EXITING THE TFR MUST BE ON AN ACT IFR OR VFR FLT PLAN WITH A DISCRETE CODE ASSIGNED BY AN AIR TFC CTL (ATC) FAC. ACFT MUST BE SQUAWKING THE DISCRETE CODE PRIOR TO DEP AND AT ALL TIMES WHILE IN THE TFR. ALL ACFT ENTERING OR EXITING THE TFR MUST REMAIN IN TWO - WAY RADIO COM WITH ATC. It seems pointless. It's the same as the one that pops up around Mayport NAS except this one requires a flight plan.

No, what he does is install a generator in the cowling to power the motor!

I finished my private pilot's license a month ago, and just got my complex endorsement for my school's PA28R last week. I'd love to fly a Mooney though. Ownership is probably going to have to wait with my current financial situation. Does anyone know of any clubs or rentals closeish to Atlanta? I'm in Decatur so I'm closest to FTY and PDK, but I know Mooneys aren't exactly common plans where just any old club might have one, none of the nearby ones with a Google-able online presence have one. Does anyone know where one might be? Still just looking for weekend trip type stuff, nothing where I truly need to get to an airport in 30 minutes and get gone so my radius for something is up to about an hour's drive out from Atlanta. Thank you!

Part of the problem with that is it's 400ft above the terrain, not 400ft from above the launch site. I'm a part 107 operator myself and I've done a lot of work in hilly environments where restricting me to 400ft above my launch site would not fulfill the mission. Further, licensed operators can operate up to 400ft above an object that the drone is within 400ft of. So yes, if there's a 1,000ft tall tower, the drone can go up to 1,400ft AGL as long as it's within 400ft of the tower. I've also done work where I've had to take full advantage of that.

Ever since my first thread exploring potential future Mooney ownership once I finish training, I've continued to lurk and am enjoying soaking up all the practical aviation knowledge that's shared here. So I hope I'm ok in starting this thread, this might actually have some affect on the aircraft market, including Mooneys. It looks like the FAA has published their proposed rule changes for Light Sport Aircraft and Sport Pilots: https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-14425.pdf My initial thinking is this could cause used aircraft that would meet the new rules, such as C172s, Cherokees, etc., to go way up in value, while aircraft just above these limitations, like the Mooneys we're all on here to talk about, C210s, Cherokee Sixes, etc., would go down since people would theoretically, have a cheaper route to still quite capable aircraft through the Sport Pilot License.

Let me clarify, I won't be buying until after my instrument rating, hopefully part of which will be done in a complex, though not high performance aircraft. I think the minimum complex time I'll finish my IR with will be 20 hours, but hopefully more (school's complex plane doesn't have a GPS, but is otherwise IFR certified). Even then, I won't be in a position to buy a plane for at least a few months after, during which I'll continue time building in a complex aircraft. So while I'll definitely be a low time pilot, I won't be quite an "ink wet" pilot by the time I'm ready to buy. My instructor has long since introduced GLUMPS to me, I still run through "undercarriage" and "propeller" even if the only appropriate action in the C172 is "exists" and "spinning," respectively.

Thanks everyone for the replies! I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to get back with everyone, but I've been reading a lot of other 231/252/Bravo topics on the forums in light of all the information, as Mufflerbearing says, lots of good suggestions! Yea, I admit I'm putting the cart in front of the horse considering I haven't even started instrument yet. I'm just in the weird place in between my written and my checkride where there's not much I can do between lessons so maybe I'm letting my dreaming get the better of me. My goals are hobby/vacation transportation. Meaning I won't necessarily be trying to support a business by flying, but will absolutely be using the plane to get from A to B to do fun things. Alaska is high on my list (hence the turbo for options crossing the Rockies in particular) and based on a recent thread by someone else, it seems transatlantic might not be out of the question either. Hi William, it's nice to "meet" someone local! I say I'm based at PDK currently since that's where my flight school is. If I buy an airplane, I'd like to base out of FTY, but if I really have to for a while, then CVC, LZU, FFC, and RYY are my next options in that order. We're on the North Ramp, there's actually a beautiful red and white J that parks right behind the school planes, I was admiring it a lot while waiting on my instructor yesterday. I'll definitely be going into purchasing with a bit of retract time though. Once I finish my PPL, I'll do a complex endorsement in the school's Piper Arrow, then hopefully use that some for instrument training and then hopefully some time building before I buy so I wouldn't be buying with 0 retract/complex time. $300/hr for a Bravo for everything isn't too bad for an owned aircraft. Right now I'm spending $225/hr for flight training (wet plane plus instructor). I've been considering how to structure my costs and will probably start some kind of savings account that I "pay" myself every time I fly (minus direct costs like fuel, tie down, insurance, etc) just to make sure I have a pool to draw from for maintenance. When I get to that point, I'll definitely be back in touch for training, thank you!

I'm new here, but been into weather for years. This would be amazing for forecasts! If the data can be ingested into the weather models, then forecast accuracy will skyrocket. Data from over the continent will certainly improve, but the place that will really show the greatest improvement is oceanic atmospheric data. We have buoys, satellites, and that's about it aside from the odd research plane. As someone who got his start in amateur weather chasing following hurricanes on The Weather Channel, the upper level winds where most of the data will be from, will provide a tremendous boost to tropical cyclone track forecasting. Though the bill is specifically for commercial aircraft, I wonder if the NWS would create a means to take in data from general aviation? Everything from bugsmashers showing off to friends at 2500ft, to the big jets taking the routes the airlines don't up in the flight levels. Including general aviation in the mix should improve the over-land vertical resolution, especially away from hub airports.

Hello everyone, I'm finishing my PPL, and looking at what to do next. I soloed at 40 hours and expect to complete my checkride between 60 and 70. After that, I'll get a complex endorsement, then do my instrument. At my current flight school, the complex plane (Piper Arrow) is IFR certified, but without a GPS so I'll be able to rack up some complex time while doing instrument. Eventually I'll get my commercial, but that's probably a year or more away given the time requirement. I'm still a ways away from being in a position to buy a plane, but I still want to get an idea of what route to follow. I'm posting here, so obviously, I have a Mooney in mind. Every time I look at performance specs, I come back to the M20 line. But that's where things start to make less sense for me. My mission is 1-2 adults, with reasonable luggage, as far as I can on 3-4 hour legs for an aircraft price of $250k. I'm based in Atlanta, GA so short-term, I won't be transiting the Rockies, but longer-term that's definitely the plan since for various reasons, I don't fly commercially. Here's why I want some early guidance. From browsing the sales sites, it seems $250k could get me a Bravo which for my long-term mission (190+ktas cruise, 600nm range, into the flight levels for weather and winds, FIKI) seems to be the best bang for the buck, both in terms of acquisition cost and operating costs. But is that where I should start? Or would it be better to do something like a cheaper J for a few years? I know "better" is subjective so let me clarify a little. Legally, as soon I get my high performance endorsement too, I could grab a Bravo and yeet myself into the flight levels. But I'm guessing insurance would laugh at a ~150hr pilot wanting to do that. So, would I be better invested in going with the J model? Stepping up to a 231? Then later seriously looking at a 252 or Bravo? Or just better to wait an extra year, build general complex [retract] time (at my current school or a club), and go for the Bravo? I've heard that most insurance requires Mooney-specific training before being allowed to fly solo, but is that for each sub-model? Or will any training in say a J, count toward a K or Bravo? Insurance aside, is there any proficiency/learning/cost benefit in starting with a J? It would of course be my first owned airplane so I'm sure I'll stumble in places even if it was a Cessna 150. I definitely stumbled in my early years of vehicle ownership. Would it even be a good consideration to drop down to a C, E, or F for a while? One advantage of an earlier model is no high performance endorsement needed and with the cheaper plane, I might could be in a position to buy it much sooner after I finish my instrument rating. Any advice? Am I asking all these questions way too early? Thank you!