dkkim73

As cool as the G1000 is (and I'm down on my knees thanking God for this "20 yr old technology" (which it is) since I got it) I had hoped it would also do some primitive VOR-VOR RNAV without GPS. I've asked a few people about adding DME and maybe ADF boxes back in... Which will integrate for basic use at least. They mostly think I'm cute for asking. Much harder to spoof every AM station in a region than a complex GPS signal I would think (PP thoughts only, not an EWO... Love @EricJ's SDR idea. Have read of a few cool little SDR projects recently. D

FWIW I flew the plane today (engine test runs, unrelated) and it read 5.3. Go figure. @GeeBee Thank you for the specific recs and fluid-saving tips. Just ordered those locally. @Danb I got a super-quick response from Jason Jennings. He said "I would also recommend inspecting the tanks (under the rear seats) to ensure that a vent hole is drilled in them. This should be located at the highest portion somewhere on the tank." and provided a troubleshooting sheet for the electricals (uploaded). @Fritz1 Belly pan. How difficult is it in general for a non-aircraft mechanic to get into things? You mention 1/4-turn fasteners, I'm thinking similar to the upper cowling. Is that all there is to it? I haven't disassembled anything yet. Does anyone know if removing the rear seats is very involved? Ie. does a person have to remove torqued-down rail bolts, etc, or is it simpler than that? For the command unit, can you simply reach behind, or unscrew it from the front? (trying to figure out if any panel disassembly would be required). Thank you all, David Fluid Quantity Indications.pdf

Thank you all for the quick and helpful responses, and the ref. to CAV systems. "Welcome to TKS!" indeed I will say it's a thing of beauty to observe in flight with icing... A siphon effect would explain the weird "overshoot" behavior, as would a stuck or leaky float. Do you all think re-using the leaked TKS fluid is a reasonable idea? (mentioned above, and by one of the line guys... a filter was mentioned above, and I bought some paint filters for filling) I'm wondering if it picked up particulates while draing along the belly pan. The surfaces pores are pretty small, but there is an upstream filter in the system, so maybe's it OK. Thanks, David

Hi All, The new Acclaim is home as of last week. Some interesting weather on the way up, great training with Sam from Mooney Pros. Getting some reps in now and working out some kinks. Really impressive machine! The TKS system was worked on at Mooney, overhauled tail proportioning unit and 2nd windshield pump. All checked out as expected at the end (including a low pressure light in warmer conditions, but they instrumented pressure sensors and talked to a former CAV engineer to verify all was as expected). System worked fine on the way up (was needed several times). The flow looked good and the level indications over time were as expected. One the last flight last week we used it down to 2.2, and I asked the FBO to add 4 gals. I found out a couple days ago that a lot came out the belly and they "saved some of it". It is unclear how much was retained in the aircraft, sounds like ~2 gals. I carefully added a jug, I think about 1.5gal (not labeled) and got only a tiny few drops. Tested the system on ground and the flow looked good, no leaks. It read 4.4 when I was done, so I figured they'd just filled it too fast, and let it sit for a day. When I went in today to check on several things, the meter read over 6 (I think like 6.4, which is more than nominaly full). I'd spoken to an A&P (Michael at Mooney) and he said the meters can be unreliable, but the way to know for sure is to fill until it comes out the belly tube. Stressed that it should be added slowly as there are vents and a standpipe that can overflow even if it's not full. So... I took another jug, and added I think about 1.3 gal or so, starting slowly. Everything was fine over about 3-5 min, until the last cup or so, when suddenly fluid started coming out of the belly. It ran for a while, over 10 min, actually put out over a gallon. So I thought perhaps it was already nearly full. Oddly, I watched the indicator during this time and saw it go down into the 5's, then 4's, 3's. I let it sit with the master off for a bit, rocked the plane on the wheels a bit (in case something might be stuck) and then when I turned on the master it was at 1.9 (!!). So, I'm not sure what is going on. Simplest explanation is a nearly full tank and a bad sender. I *think* given the dynamics a leak from the bottom of the tank is unlikely, but it's funny to have the level keep falling like that. Perhaps there is a long way for the fluid to go between the drain hole and the overflow vents/pipe in the tank? Figured I'd see if anyone had encountered similar behavior before. Also, how easy is it for a (handy but non A&P) lay owner to remove panels to look at all this? Thanks, David

Does anyone here have direct experience with the hearing equalization function in the Delta Zulu? That was the feature that most caught my eye. My hearing tests fine (and I've always tried to protect it) but I definitely feel I could use some help with "discrimination" in conversations esp. on noisy radio comms. Lightspeed was a great value brand early on, haven't tried their recent stuff (the modded David Clark keeps on ticking ...)

Thank you! That's definitely in the ballpark of what i was thinking. Also It's great that he puts his lists out there and articulates the rationale. Looks like pretty solid offerings. I would imagine an attack pilot is pretty tuned into land survival!

I meant to reply earlier. Perked up at the mention of a vest. I actually thought of this recently. It really was helpful in survival training. Among many other benefits, it provides you a way to carry things if you are forced down. Several examples in the real world involve people needing to move, rather than wait at the plane for the "instant helicopter" that is apparently not as common as imagined even in the 406MHz world. Other benefits are: familiar location of all basic equipment, organization, etc. Can work with it on (flashlight, knife, etc, accessible when starting fire, etc). Always have the signal mirror handy when the plane flies overhead. etc. Run out of pockets quickly otherwise. I am needing to put together kits over the next few months given a plan to do more flying over wilderness and mountains regularly. Thinking to use something like the above SERE vest as a core, with duffels or something containing sleeping bag, down coat, camp stove, etc. that I can vary by season. Want to keep it simple to load (so it comes with) but do the thinking ahead of time. David

The military has definitely been subjected to the social re-shaping (experimentation is not a bad word but it's more intentional than that) even more in the current administration. It was subtlely there under Obama but more brazen now. Many of the directions, as well as some of the mandates, have driven out or kept away a lot of people who would normally serve. Some of that is probably intentional. I've had some interesting conversations with former colleagues who chose to leave in the last few years. You also hint at another issue which is corrosive to the meritocracy, mirroring similar programs in the civilian world, about identity-based favoritism. Totally corrosive to good order and discipline. The generational things re: fitness, werewithal, baby wants his iPhone, etc, are all true, but they just affect the #s. The above things are more systemic and qualitative. I've definitely adopted more cautionary advice to my own children in the last few years about military service.

When I was plane-shopping, I came across this video by Martin Pauly about the 440/540 features from a Garmin viewpoint: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m_BSKxNhjJU I also thought it was a well conceived product line. Disclaimer: have not used Avidyne personally, tend to "think" Garmin, so in a way this was even more interesting. HTH, David

With a prolonged period on the ramp, perhaps a smaller, non human aircraft enthusiast got in somehow? I don't know enough to know where such an actor might set up shop. Just a thought...

I'm honestly curious (and maybe this is obvious to most here), but what exactly is the threshold for using an alternative part? I've read discussions here about AMOC (approval for alternative compliance) and also owner-produced parts (seems like it could be a wide range). Another thread involves people just re-relaying their electrical systems to make them simpler, all with sound rationale but different from spec and no mention of any approval. All of this seems more than "preventive maintenance". Is it essentially down to the judgment of the A&P and what he/she feels comfortable with bolting on? I have had several conversations with a conservative but very experienced Mooney IA, and he said, "well if it fails it's a blowtorch pointed at your firewall", also mentioned the non-welded clamps have a limited # of approved torquings to boot. A local A&P who I don't know as well yet but with lots of years commented to me he had potentially found an alternative clamp. From first principles, it would seem that there should be functionally-equivalent non-aviation parts, given all the turbos out there in the world (most not on airplanes). But... how might one tell what are the key criteria? Or is this possibly all much ado about nothing. Using unicorn hide when vinyl would do, or at least suede...

For blasting through real work in a lab or long physics academic tasks or projects, it was so much faster and more supple. Probably emblematic of how rote my quant work is these days that I only go aggressively digging every few months... I even bought a real HP12C once for some financial stuff but it falls flat on engineering. New modern 35S for general work and to teach my children, not quite the same heft all-in-all. The horizontal candybar form-factor/UX was killer even before the Nintendo era.

My reaction:

Now *that's* what I'm talking 'bout! Wish I could find mine. A more elegant weapon from a more civilized age...

When I was looking at available aircraft with WAAS and non-WAAS G1000 last year, I believe upgrading requires the GIA units in back for sure, but possibly also a different panel or panels up front to fully use the VNAV features in the exact same way as a G1000 with WAAS from the factory. I was told there was even a button lacking (either on the P/MFD panel or the GFC700 panel). I did not go down this path, so did not verify this nor research the exact model #s and how hard they would be to source. Would tend towards the piece of advice above re: getting a hold of someone who knows this stuff well and confirm exactly what you need, and whether the offered GIA63W's definitely fit your installation. A phone call to a friendly avionics expert might be the ticket... esp. since you will want a shop to install, configure, update, vet the install.

Alright, I couldn't resist. .82 mach at 17K ISA works out to 405KCAS... Man, I should've held out for the Ultra...

That's a new and orthogonal point. I can see the idea, keep speed instead of height for contingencies. Kind of like some single jets accelerating hard on takeoff to preserve options. Sounds fast but also that you don't have a problem showing down... A lot of folks warn me these are hard to slow down. Thanks for the thought provoking point!

Thank you sir, that was exactly the ticket. I had wondered/hoped but did not know they even had M20-specific trainers. Interestingly, the Real Sim Gear guys have an interface between their bezels and the Garmin product (at least for Cirrus). If I do go that route I may see if it works. OTOH that money could just buy some avgas and a GPU, and I already have a book and the many pipes of the interwebs.

Somewhere in the middle age-wise (between this crowd and the masters-of-the-universe 37 yr-old Cirrus pilots) but my ECR (effective curmudgeon rating) is high. I have a mindset very attuned to failure modes, human factors, swiss cheese models of accident occurence, etc. I also have been neck-deep in technology since I can remember. IMO there is a huge difference between 37cent USB chips and good quality 802.11* gear, or hard-wired RS-232/NMEA/etc vs WiFi du jour, and between general-purpose OSes and firmware (esp. TSO'ed panel units). I may be crazy to worry about G1000 failures given the # of years of experience with the system, but I still want backup. As great as the current revs of iOS are, there is still something about a purpose-built unit that is compelling. As for ergo and panel, I'm all ears to all the inputs, but several very experienced folks (incl. Don) have weighed in to me in and out-of-band on the value of having a close-at-hand redundant view, and more so the plates without relying on the G1000. The main input to the contrary has been clutter, hence the discussion above re: a close-in fit to the yoke. I hope to get you a PIREP at some point

Thanks, Dan. I hadn't looked there. Do you mean they have an online simulator/procedure trainer? (so a person wouldn't need the old PC-based trainer) I had been thinking to buy one of the old CD's; I think they used to be in circulation but haven't seen any recently.

Moving down this road myself now... Naïvely searching brings up a different RAM mount: https://www.mypilotstore.com/MyPilotStore/sep/14532 Looking further finds a base/proximal portion that looks like @donkaye's: https://www.sportys.com/ram-claw-yoke-mount-for-garmin-aera-760-a.html But the last piece is not positioned optimally as noted. Further search yields this: https://www.expressmounts.com/ram-mount-extension-cradle-plate-with-ball-rmr-b-164-f (using the part # for the distal plate which is pictured in the example) @donkaye do you recall which exact configuration you bought or where you bought it? Having it in centrally and tight like that looks optimal esp. with regard to CG/center of rotation as you noted. There might be a small increase in moment of inertia but yours and other PIREPs indicate it's a non-issue. David Edit to Add: this looks like the closest "pre-configured" solution: https://rammount.com/products/ram-b-125u There appears to be a choice between a "medium" or "short" socket arm (the dogbone-looking thing that grabs each ball).

Do you have any more information about this? The G1000 is still a bit of a mystery to me in terms of system integration capabilities. Is this a Garmin protocol that runs over RS-232 or some custom connector? IIRC the older panel units could cross-load FP data. That's kind of more what I was thinking, not necessarily the newer wireless stuff which I do not think exists. As I understand it, connection to the newer 345R transponder is purely for positional and traffic/broadcast data, ie. ADS-B received data, not anything from the G1000.

I'm sorry, as you seem pretty dialed-in aeronautically, but doesn't parasitic drag go up as a higher power than 2? The reason that might matter is that those little dudes are pretty small (FWIW I was quoted a very small equivalent flat-plate area of the Type S when clean, so it's a big difference at speed when they pop out) and things are slow in the landing regime. Just following on to the discussing of speed brakes vs. true spoilers (the ground spoilers on a big wing will actually result in significant down force as I understand). D

Hi All, I think this is the right place to post. Looking to buy an old copy of a G1000 (non-NXi) PC trainer for an appropriate single (e.g. Cessna, Diamond, Bonanza, etc) that I can use to prep for flying a G1000 Acclaim. There is an NXi available and some used Mustang discs, but I'm worried they're too different. Thanks, David

I think there was a recent discussion of that, but I am not sure if it's possible with the non-NXi G1000. I would be keenly interested if there is a way to get routing info pushed from the 760 to the G1000. There is probably some RS-232 thing somewhere but it is not clear to me that FP sync can be achieved. I am all ears if so. I am teetering on the verge every night of ordering an Aera 760, in large part due to postings and advice from @donkaye. I am impressed with ForeFlight but have a real old-school desire to have firmware'd or even TSO'd gear as a backup. Got loads of mileage out of a used Garmin unit on the yoke in the past. Anyhow, it sounds like a great backup for plates and SA as well. D