dkkim73

An interesting example might be "net neutrality". While it is has been held up as protecting The Little Guy, it arguably has historically allowed large players (Gloogletube Alphabet Octopus) a fairly cheap means of distribution subsidized by others. I'm not sure this proves the rule, as an example or as an exception, but it is another example of how entities can abuse the system. To a certain extent, this should be self-correcting by market interests, and ideally "pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered". However, you could argue there's a perverse environment in which public opinion can be bought (introduce straw men and distracting issues), there is regulatory capture, etc, etc.

Well, you're kind of understating the case... It's worse in places. OTOH the more this affects individual people, the more the failures of this approach become apparent. It's a convenient way to manipulate people who are unmoored in morality, history, and religion, and buy into this new guilt-cult. But once they feel the torch of the inquisition on their own butts, they start to become more skeptical of the philosophy. We're starting to see cracks in the woke capture of institutions. But, yes, GA is a minority and easy to vilify. Just like most "soak the rich" pitches mostly hit the upper middle class.

Hi All, Saw a thread on boost pumps and thought I'd ask about something I've noticed the whole time I've had the plane: With the low boost pump on (indicated for certain conditions and altitudes) I heard some static-y electrical noise over the intercom. Does anyone have any info on this? I can certainly imagine a motor might be noisy, though I suppose it could also be a connection or switch. Curious if there are high-likelihood places to start. Not a show-stopper, but something I've been meaning to look into at some point. Thanks!

I'm not sure if the baseline in this community renders our judgment meaningful in any case. :0) :0) :0)

Well, there have been some victories for individual rights in the last few decades. E.g. firearms rights, though that's 2 steps fwd and 1 back at times. Cities just won the obvious right to prevent squatters in public spaces. Etc. The main countervailing trends IMHO are 1. pervasive data collection and arguments to instrument everything, 2. the managerial mindset, where no robust distributed system can be tolerated when instead a Grand Design can be imposed ("So efficient!"), whose brittle weaknesses and negative externalities will only be seen much later. But who knows when it comes to ATC. I think there is a strong argument that it is a strategic piece of national infrastructure that needs to be overcome. And the federal bureacracy is probably evolving as younger, more institutional, minds rotate in. One thing that occurs: there have historically been some advocates for GA at the national level, e.g. James Inhofe back in the day. And I'm struck by meeting some fairly successful and connected people via GA. One of our potential next Senators from Montana made his mark in business with an aviation company (bringing ISR approaches to wildland firefighting) and has a GA background. So maybe it's a matter of good advocacy. E.g. the privatization proposal in the 1st Trump administration.... maybe it's a matter of who's ear the community can get. I would like to see a little less focus on unleaded gas and a bit more on a bigger positive vision for GA in the national advocacy groups. That's a subjective view.

I've had the "computers will replace people" discussion multiple times over a couple decades. In my opinion, it's actually a very complicated issue, more than just some proofs of concepts in heavily-resourced and controlled environments, and more than is going to be decisively argued in a few posts. Replacing human pilots in the complex soup of the current civilian operational environment seems like an untested leap of faith. Traffic detectors and good autopilots are a large step away from replacing the pilot entirely. I'm actually a little non-plussed at the AF Times quote of the Secretary about being willing to trust it with weapons release authority. Hopefully he means that in a limited context. I'd actually heard of this project for a while (obliquely know a guy involved). While it's a necessary avenue to pursue for competitive reasons, particularly in ACM environments where the human factors can be severe, it's still a limited context. I think there are a lot of people with so much neophilia that they end up with blind spots. And there's a huge profit motive to push skilled humans out of certain roles in multiple fields, replace them with less-trained people, automation, etc. So it's also not a neutral evaluation in the civilian world. That 2 cents plus $2.97 might get you a cup of coffee.... somewhere...

People still drop dead.

You have a nice practical line of offerings. I noticed your price on the Brightline bags looks pretty good, too. What do you think of them? A BatteryMinder and a number of requisite accessories (Y-connector, TSO'd connectors etc) have been on my "nice to have" list for a while... I'm spacing out purchases (it's called the "you already have an airplane" spending plan ;). How much of a discount is the Airventure discount? Thanks!

@ttflyer makes many important points. There are arguably may indirect benefits of GA and many intangibles (read: someone can't make a quick buck off of it). A pool of engineering- and flight-minded people is a non-trivial asset. I could write an essay on the value of people with tangible skills, mechanical sense, handiness, etc. People have noted that the toughness, character, and practicality of rural agrarian America feed our military readiness. I think a similar thing applies to engineering and operations. Making GA more of an elite thing than it is already become by ad-hoc fees will further stifle the community. Also, I frankly like being able to fly without worrying about landing permissions and fees at every little airport, and ATC fees I hear international folks complain about. It's kind of like being able to get in your car and drive where you want. Yes, it's subsidized in some ways (though, net of burning jet fuel on the USAF's dime, I've definitely paid a lot more tax than I've ever received back in peacetime economic services). Recall that airport subsidies are in large part to maintain infrastructure, not make a buck. But it's also one of the privileges of living in this country that a lot of people have worked for. If you want to talk about getting "freeloaders" to pay... well now that would take a bit of time now wouldn't it? There are a lot of people who want to impose mileage fees on cars, congestion fees, tax certain cars, and otherwise somehow extract every transactional dime they can for their firm/state/government entity. A lot of these people have a business to promote (eTaxation!) or a power angle. And I doubt they're going to give us a break from subsidizing other externalities in return.

This is a good reminder. I got a traffic call the other day (not a busy region) on VFR flight following, King Air passed over a few hundred feet up, 90 degrees. Took a while to see him, was grateful for the point-out and said so. I think TIS-B gives some false sense of security, as great as it is.

Here's pictures of the gauge box plumbed into the fuel lines:

FWIW I've experienced some nuance in getting this done. E.g. one very experienced local A&P checked my setup (done at factory early this year), verified the low end unmetered fuel pressure toward the lower end of the setting. However I'd had episodes of the engine quitting on taxi, was advised by others to set it towards the high end (one Mooney A&P said slightly above the high end). It took some mild persuading of another local A&P to do that. So also for increasing the max FF empirically (recommended by Paul) targeting <= 1350F TIT on full power climb (in my plane, prob. different on the Ovation). This gives a higher nominal FF than TCM spec as was stated above. The first guy also set the idle mix a little richer, and the second intentionally maybe a bit leaner. So there does seem to be some body English, and recommended settings for the Mooney I am told may differ from the TCM specs. So it's probably worth making sure whatever is done is well-communicated in detail, esp. if you have the benefit of some Mooney gurus on call (I was fortunate to have Paul K. via Savvy and Brian Kendrick as advisors). HTH!

NickG can speak to his original meaning, but I took it to mean that the 1500 hr requirement has resulted in an emphasis on quantity over quality of flight experience. With the increased cost of GA flying in the last couple decades, I might imagine some trade-offs would be made. But I haven't walked that path, and the devil is in the details. Maybe someone here has done that recently and can opine. An insider I asked said Rwy 10 at that location is an unusual assignment. Also speculated that wind shear and/or rain would be additive factors. Also asserted all speculation is premature. Also: My own comment on the DEI issue was editorializing on a potentially dissynergistic trend, not asserting that it was directly contributory in this case. I'm just very skeptical of upending traditional standards in high-reliability fields (aviation, medicine, critical infrastructure engineering, etc).

It took me a while to figure out that my plane only has one of those radios, XM I believe... Is this decommissioning coming soon? I flew home in an area with widespread convection and I appreciated having the satellite info vs. just FIS-B.

Yeah, restricting the pool of applicants to "chosen characteristics" seems like a bad idea for several reasons. It seems that, with all the motion in that vein, the burden of proof is shifting to them to prove it isn't material. On a humorous transition from the above: https://babylonbee.com/news/airlines-offering-100-upgrade-where-youre-guaranteed-an-old-male-pilot-named-steve

Oh my, oh my. This is perfect.

Niice short field landing. That did not look like much extra energy at all. I didn't hear power changes either. I would imagine you need to have the profile just right, maybe set up speed and then "grab" the slope with just the right power setting and ride it in? Still leaving myself a lot of room in the Acclaim...

That is super-helpful, thank you!

Think about how much fuel you are saving with the CG not so far forward!

Thank you guys! @Utah20Gflyer @Air pirate Do you or anyone else have any opinions or info on Cornerstone Aviation? They look like a 61 or 141 school, based on student preference. Their FAQ and info are pretty thorough, which seems like a good indication.

Thanks @GeeBee, what did you use? I just ordered a Novus kit from further up this thread..

I never noticed.

#3 cylinder issues, makes me wonder about a ring flush. That and valve lapping can make a huge difference. Maybe get some advice from an AP and have them review borescope photos.

Well you really took your time sending me that, didn't you? That's great, picture ~= 1000 words, ty!

Yeah, that's what I'm working on, a more robust flow. It's the exceptions to flow that scare me. Had something similar though less ridiculous (#8, is that today or tomorrow? :)) recently and was very aware of the gear. I was low and far from the field and trying to manage power and guess what speed would help the traffic flow. Canonical points to lower gear for me so far are: -FAF or cleared for the visual on IFR -abeam the threshold on a standard visual pattern Beyond that I'm working on it. The "UPS" checklist on short final has been helpful so far as a cross-check on gear status. And the LHS is there, though a lot of places I fly have big drops prior to touchdown.