DonMuncy

The tool has two holes in its "nose". You put the wire in place on the filter housing etc., then thread both ends through the tool and twist as you back out. Not as easy as pliers, but in tight places, it works well.

I thought there was a substantial risk of computer corruption in responding to those things. Am I wrong.

Me too.

Shhh. Don't tell them. We need people to keep buying new planes, so we can later buy them used.

In 2002 I flew my aunt to Osceola AR (07F) for a funeral. I saw nothing on the field except crop-dusters. The FBO guy said they didn't take credit cards, but said it would be fine if I sent him a check.

Don't forget to epoxy a magnet in the socket to hold the plug in. A little trouble to do, but you will thank yourself many times.

You can figure out cross-wind capability fairly easily, quickly, accurately and safely. Just fly down final and use rudder to align with the runway. If you can line it up, you can do it. If you can't (but almost can), it is still possible, as the wind very near the ground is usually a little lighter than 100 feet up. But the safer way is to go elsewhere if you can't line up on final.

I chock mine in the hangar, but only the nose wheel. I mounted the "rear" chock on the floor in the right spot. I painted stripes for the three wheels, so I only have to back the plane on the stripes until the nose wheel hits the chock, and slide the front chock into place. Mostly to make sure I don't hit things and leave me room to get around.

It depends on your preferences, priorities and budget. Paint will last longer and look nicer with a hangar. If you always use a cover, it is unlikely your interior will suffer too much. For me, the biggest advantage of a hangar is a place to keep my stuff, and a place to work on the plane. If I don't get everything buttoned up, I can just leave it until I get back. Would I delay my oil change if I had to do it outside a hangar? Maybe. So, no, you don't have to have a hangar. For me a hangar is well worth it, but if I was in a place with only $600 hangars I might feel differently.

I usually set my filter upside down on top of the garbage can and let it drain for a day or two before opening it up. It is still not clean, but much better.

Broken seat frames are not uncommon. Presuming yours is typical, it needs to be disassembled to get to the broken tube, but then any good welding shop can repair the break. Mine cracked at a spot where one tube pivoted within another one, so welding in a manner that keeps this movement intact is important.

Vlakvark, The electrical schematics are included in the Mooney K documents. Admittedly, the electronic version is very difficult to work with. I found it extremely helpful to have a high class copying establishment print out a large (3' by 5') copy, I can lay out on a table or bed, to trace out circuits.

When we hear about an accident with loss of life, our first thoughts (rightfully) are condolences for the family and friends of the deceased. At that point, since we don't KNOW all the facts, we must wait for the NTSB report, a couple of years down the line, to know the (at least official) cause of the accident. But if we want to use the accident as a learning experience, we have to make some guesses and assumptions. At this point, I hope we are not saying "the pilot screwed up by doing x", but rather, "perhaps factor x was involved, and if so, how do we improve our piloting abilities in this regard". I think these discussions are valid, but we should be careful to be cognizant of the fact that we are dealing with how to improve, rather than placing blame.

Do any of us have a 90% dispatch rate. Maybe if we are only planning 100$ hamburger runs a day or so in advance. But if you plan many flights a few weeks in advance, more than 400 nms, you better be a good instrument pilot with a ice capability.

You may be lucky

I've redone several kitchens (as well as bathrooms). I enjoy working on construction stuff almost as much as working on the plane.

A bunch of you guys don't have enough to think about.

What's with the "Buttercup" Jolie. Am I just behind the times.

Which lights do you sell.

I have heard that the Continental engines, due to the camshaft being mounted lower in the engine, are less prone to rusting and spalling. Has anyone here had a camshaft spalling failure in a Continental?

I am not near smart enough to know how Aspen can derive AOA from the data it has available, but I have a lot of confidence their derived numbers are good. I have an Alpha Systems AOA which uses two air pressure ports, so it is really uses derived numbers as well. I was involved in the calibration and thus I am very confident it's indications are accurate. The CYA (as I understand it) measures the direction of the "wind" directly, and is calibrated to "read" AOA. Thus, should have very high accuracy. It might be of interest if someone could set up a test program to see which one of these types is most accurate, but I suspect it really wouldn't make a substantive difference. If you want to use AOA readings, get the type that fits your taste and budget, and (in the case of CYA and the Alpha Systems type), make sure it is calibrated properly. It might be of more interest to get the NTSB to start reporting whether stall/spin accident planes had an AOA indicator on board. Again, it might not be of any value. We know that a zillion good pilots have managed to stay alive using ASI and TLAR. And we can assume poor pilots can ignore an AOA indicator without much difficulty. Just my ramblings.

Don't waste your time Mike.

My hangar elf took a look today. Wires traced back to the plug going into the firewall. It is a brass looking plug with about 6 wires into it. On the engine side, the plug seems to contain some black caulk looking stuff. The plug itself seems to be made in about three parts, and my elf was not smart enough to be able to disassemble it. Getting to the cabin side of the plug is really tough; either from the top or from underneath.