dkkim73

I don't begrudge the pioneers at Foreflight who benefitted from selling to Boeing their loot (hopefully they got some and not just the last venture round), but it would be great to see more of a "going concern" approach with long-term stewardship. Kind of like the 37signals software model, at least for a while. For any annoyance I've had at Garmin, it is dwarfed by their consistent quality and fairly consistent value. They were exceedingly generous with updates and legacy support early on, and have remained committed to aviation even while expanding into other niches. I was floored by the scale of their enterprise in Kansas. It's a big company.

IIRC correctly the model for a lot of PE shops is to trim costs to get revenue #s better, imputing higher valuation, and then flip. Don't know anything about these guys, though. Definitely I am not a finance guy. But I have yet to hear of any Private Equity deal that resulted in some great external creation of lasting value in any industry, though. Usually great brands becoming sad or getting chopped up. Good thing I was already on the verge of using Garmin Pilot. It won't take much to push me.

That sounds like a good outcome. Much less expensive than the other pages in the choose-your-own-adventure.

@LANCECASPER What kind of O-rings do you use? I think I made an inquiry on the fluorosilicone rings but was told they didn't have the right kind for the 2009 Acclaim. Curious if you ran this question to ground and where you get the rings.

Wow. I thought I was the only one who used that image. Great minds? And apparently us, as well...

I think that a good argument for doing the profile runs and seeing cylinder spread on the data traces is to make sure you don't have an outlying cylinder that runs too close to peak, whether you're running ROP or LOP. It would also bear on smoothness. Smaller spreads should be better no matter where you're choosing to run it.

I was surprised reading that article to hear they had so much trouble with cylinder temps. Except for hot days with break-in ROP profiles, I've found it easy to stay well below 380F even on cylinder 5. LOP gives even more headroom. Note I haven't tried over FL210 yet, so maybe in the thinner air there are issues. Anyhow, one of the several Mooney brokers with whom I spoke early on told me the Acclaim cowl has some clever design features where airflow shifts with AOA to obviate the need for cowl flaps. My observation is that it works well and keeps operation simpler. Only time I have to worry is actually too cool on descents in the extreme cold, but a bit of ROP as John Deakin advocated seems to work nicely. Not sure if the vanes/deflectors affect this (ETA mine is the type S).

Erik, Did you notice any difference in flight characteristics during normal ops? I'm assuming you didn't push it close to the stall break. David

Hi Dan, No worries. I kept pulling on threads and got several indications that the tube to which you linked was correct. Apparently the other one is "smaller" though scratching my head about how to assess that. Anyhow, new tires and tubes on the way. Latest disparate maintenance advice from experienced sources: Some say to always change the tube with the tire because "they stretch". Some other credible folks say not to. I suppose a stretched tube is more linkly to pinch and kink and rupture, but really who knows. I shot the breeze with a very smart local aviation entrepreneur, FBO developer, flight ops guy, pilot, super high-energy positive type. He said "I hate maintenance"... (?) In follow-up, it was essentially because all sorts of credentialed people with good reputations and who are honest all keep giving him conflicting advice. "How am I supposed to figure it out?!?". Even as a gear-head, I am starting to understand what he means... David

Thanks, Dan. I'm a bit confused on sizing these tubes. I see that tube, and this one: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pnpages/06-01373.php The IPC doesn't provide too much guidance AFAICT. How does one know which to use? Is there a list of specific part #s? I believe this is the exact tire I have now on the MLGs: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/lgpages/michelinairtires_06-08080.php

These were re-bonded at Mooney last year on my plane. Seem solid since. How long do they last before one tends to have to worry?

The big $4000 quantum (ok, stop laughing, TBM owners) probably keeps a lot of us from sending them in for minor quibbles or preventive maintenance. I wonder if Precise Flight might do better in the longer-term to graduate the service a bit more...? not charge max cost for greening them up, but charge more if new parts are needed etc. If it were less expensive I would probably be on board with sending them in for routine preventive maintenance. From what I read and glean on line, they are not Science of The Rocket in terms of troubleshooting and some here have documented obvious handyman type fixes like contact cleaner, etc. But A&Ps, for regulatory-appearing reasons, won't cross that line (understandably). DK

Hi All, Looking to replace main gear tires (probably the result of being a bit too compliant with early turn-offs). Along the way thinking about replacing tubes or at least buying a new one to have handy on trips or if one of the current tubes is not right when changing the tires. Question: Is the following picture from a "straight stem" tube? This is a Goodyear Flight Mate tube in a Michelin Air tire. I've heard the Air Stop tubes are good, but they weren't available when I needed them last year. Also any opinion on the Michelin vs. Goodyear tube is welcome... Thanks, David

I remember the green 100/130 at a military aero club overseas. Is it even still sold in the US? Not sure if it's a better distillate as well or simply contains more lead.

How true!

Clever! Closer to the head. May I ask where you're mounting them? Side, center, floor etc.

You forgot taxes on carbon and all other externalities (including bad tie selection, public playing of the accordion and intentional facsimiles thereof, establishment of internment camps, and forced erasure of all Saturday Night Live episodes after Jon Lovitz, and probably unlicensed no-back springs. Well-played though. You got me for a moment.

With only 50 min and those numbers, agree still has to break in. My two recent episodes of breaking in new cylinders were each an initial careful 2 hr flight with the QA mechanic taking down numbers. It was faster the second time for unclear reasons. We also modulated the power every 15 min between two higher power settings. I also ran higher power settings than 75% for this, in part due to a misunderstanding of what 75% was by the mechanic. After temps drop, then cruise ROP at least at 65-75% until oil consumption stabilizes. FWIW I dragged this out the first time by adding oil too readily (consumption is higher at higher fill levels). Right now things seem pretty stable around 15hrs. HTH David

Tend to have the same initial reaction as @Brandt. Plus that is over the Mike Busch 380F rule-of-thumb, so high post-breakin. How many hours since swap?

That looks like great value for money. Their CO detector also. That is on my upgrade short-list (I have a little external Forensics unit which is great, but doesn't log via the G1000). Wrote to ask if theirs interfaces with the G1000 easily.

Ah now that just fits right in with aviation. I've been looking for a timer, too. A nice multi-function panel unit (e.g. coupled with a CO meter or USB port) would be nice but cost a bit more. The avionics have lots of timer options but on the G1000 it's too much button-pressing and heads-down. Probably going with a backlit version of my old kitchen time. Agree on the value of analog sweeps. One of those older Walthams would be useful and aesthetically-pleasing.

^this G1000 has the same (selectable how it displays). There are commonly windshifts down low even on normal-ish days where I fly and this keeps you from mentally locking onto a forecast (or flaky local ASOS report) and being surprised or holding an inappropriate slip. Also on instrument approaches it is very helpful to avoid suddenly getting slow on a coupled approach.

On the topic of ATC and April fools Day, I did not fly today and thus never got to respond to "say altitude" with "altitude".

The original "do I fit?" Question was recently definitively answered in this thread:

I have to admit that someday it might be nice to fly and enjoy a cigar in the Mooney. I think I would really feel as if I have "arrived" at that point. Probably asking for it right now, though, esp. flying usually with oxygen.