Paul Thomas

This owner is ok. A section of my fence blew out (vinyl fences are a bad idea in FL... it blew out with Irma and Ian) but otherwise I don't think we have any outside damage. I will go to the airport tomorrow but I'm not concerned about the airplane given it is hangered. Punta Gorda, where I keep the airplane had a lot of flooding, but my understanding is that the airport does not flood. Hopefully others made out ok. I would imagine Mooney X is cancelled. Tampa has lots of flooding.

I thought you were high on the prop but I wasn't going to argue! I think there is money to be made in the engine business given the current costs, but I don't have the expertise, the time, nor the funds to go out and open my own shop. Even if I did, I'd be worried about finding the right employees. Given the lead time all these shops have, I think they could raise their rate and we'd still pay it... I know I'm going to need to do my engine and I talked to my AI about doing it instead of sending it out. I'll be able to work with him and learn a ton, know it's done right, and any delay will be attributed to how well I work with vendors. Hopefully, I'm a few years out before I need to do it.

A great friend of mine sues insurance companies for a living. Insurance companies work incredibly hard to bring down the cost of claims as much as they can. I don't doubt their data when it comes to their costs to do things. They'll overpay some, underpay others, but the averages seem to work out. I'll take the $7,000 you gave for a new prop, $4,000 for R&R from the local shop (that's assuming nothing else got damaged on the airframe) and you'll have $16,000 left over to IRAN the engine. Local A&P don't typically do that work, those engines get sent out and those shops charge a premium for their services. Have you priced the cost of OH an engine lately? The numbers are just that high.

I have a fantastic AI and my annual inspection is $1,500. Maintenance and annual are two different things, even if they often end up on the same bill.

The article says it's total cost is $27,000. I actually find that to be quite reasonable when you consider R&R, shipping, a new prop, and the engine IRAN.

As an airplane owner that needs parts from time to time, I admire that that his willingness to share it how likely they are to shut down and the willingness to continue to work through it with no apparent long term plan. You have to feel for the workers who know they are always 2 month out from bankruptcy. I'd imagine it's hard to attract talent under those conditions. The sad part is that parts would seem like their best path forward; it makes you wonder how bad the cash crunch really is.

I'm surprised Apple hasn't done an iPhone that works on the Starlink network. Satphone have existed for years, but Starlink is changing the game.

I'd gas up in NC and go straight to the Bahamas if I were you. I'd imagine it's going to be rough on Friday; these maps show the earlies possible forecast. From SWFL, it looks like the best evacuation from this one is the Bahamas. I'd normally fly out but we are watching my in-law's dog so we will likely stay put.

Must be nice to work in a place where you can just ignore your boss with no repercussions... that's unacceptable from both the owner and engineers and tells us about the priority of the project.

The real answer is "I don't know", although I do have my suspicions. I know what it indicates but I have not done a 3 way run to actually confirm my indicated airspeed. As a result, all other data is suspect. I need to go to 7,000 feet one day and do that run at a realistic CG and weight that would be used on trips. Real world flying, I'm typically within 10% of what I planned which is the most important to me. While 10% sounds like a big difference, it's typically due to re-route or power management decisions. I'm still typically within a 1-2 gallon of expected fuel burn.

Call Dave and Ruth at the number listed and he'll add you. They are super nice people. The next two meeting are: October 12, Flagler (FIN). November 9, Sebring (SEF).

Here is how a single G5 looks.

I'm confused by the calculated indicated airspeed. Indicated should be just that, indicated. If you are indicating 152, or even 146 at 9,500, you would have a fast airplane. If your KTAS is 146, you KIAS should be in the 120 (exact speed depends on alt setting and temperature).

There was also a bright yellow one advertised last year and earlier this year whose price seemed optimistic. It had its own website and custom made matching iPhone case. I think is was a 1978.

It can be accurate but one of the flight schools around here just open up a 3500+ hours engine and everything looked good. It's one of those things that just depend. Some engines incur serious damage prior to TBO. Depending on how far past TBO you get, even if you lose expensive parts, you may still be ahead.

I've often wondered if we are too conservative or if the manner and frequency in which they fly affects TBO.

Can you use your engine probes or will you have to use Garmin's/Dynon's?

The tax in FL is only triggered if you bring the airplane in the state within the first six months of ownership. I read the rules and called them when I bought the airplane this year. I would owe zero tax if I bought the airplane out of state, used my FL address with the FAA, and kept the airplane out of FL for the first six month. I would owe the full tax if the airplane was bought out of state, the FAA had an out of state address, but I brought the airplane to FL before the six month expired.

I like paper logbooks and have not been inclined to switch. My CFI uses www.myflightbook.com. It's the only eLogbook that I've seen that I liked.

Manufactured years and model years are different. My "84" was built and sold in 83. I thought I was buying an 83 until I realized it had everything the 84 models got and then learned about the model year vs. manufactured years. The serial number before mine is off by one on the N#; it appears they were going sequentially when they could. The serial number after mine off my 4 on the N#. The former doesn't appear to be flying anymore and the latter was exported to Australia.

Welcome! Since you mentioned RV's, the two seaters RV are more budget friendly and great planes to operate on grass. It looks like a beautiful runway.

I've only gone through one annual/prebuy. I was present and confident with the work that had been done. I treat all post maintenance flights the same, whether it is an annual or something minor. During pre-flight, I pay special attention to the areas that have been working on or could have been affected by the work being done. If engine work has been done, I'm even more careful about oil pressure after start/watching temperatures. I like to keep my post maintenance flights to ~45 minutes. The big change in procedure for me is post flight: I'll check again the same areas I gave special attention during pre-flight. If the maintenance involved anything that could cause a leak, I will inspect that area again. Each fitting is checked with flashlight and a mirror because sometime you don't have a leak but just slight seeping around a fitting and something you wouldn't catch until the next annual. A post maintenance run-up normally catches those things but I like to double check and a 45 minute flight is more likely to show problems.

You have a nice airplane. I understand that money is an issue, but you really should get an annual done and fly it. It will be well worth the investment and broaden your buyer pool. If not, expect sharks to come and low offers.

When I fly into military fields, they ask if the gear is down. Even with a fix gear, I don't give them grief about it because it's part of their procedure. I think it's a good safety measure. I put a warning into foreflight at 500 AGL to remind me to check the gear but I must not have set that up correctly. I need to do some testing with it. There are things we can do to help prevent gear up landings.

It will and doesn't take much force. The issues are wheel pants and a place to attach the winch to the airframe.