Mcstealth

Welcome Matt and thanks for the offer. DF

Good luck

Talked to a pilot friend of mine that I knew was on a cross country the other day. Knowing it to be overcast at the start of his trip I let him know how low the celings were on his route. He said he cheated and got on top. I know this pilot is in the middle of his IR traing but not finished, and I take it to believe in his statement that he used his new learned skills to take off and climb above the tops of the overcast. I didn't ask that specifically because I didn't want to know. I for one am not that brave knowing my limited experience but it made me wonder how many pilots decide to take that action. Just thinking out loud and NO, it wasn't me. David

The Piaggio is in a niche bracket between turboprops and jets. It is a very good airplane with moderate sales numbers. Just too easy for a buyer to move to a jet. There is a charter or fractional company that flies Piaggio's exclusivley, and one comes into Kerrville very frequently. I talked to the pilots. Of course they swear by the capabilities of the plane, as they should I guess. What the pilot said to me, and I thought interesting, was that the "star level" people that they ferry are concious of the fact that the Piaggio is "greener" than the jets. That the plane actually brings them customers over from competitors because the plane is "greener". FWIW. This statement has nothing to do with the OP

Good luck. Hope it works out.

Dern Parker. You have really made over that bird. What's next? A carbon fiber panel full of glass?

Negative. I do not believe he has been interviewed. Would you like to make contact? David

Nope. Not good enough. You didn't state the breed of the dog.

My father let loose with some Mooney factory stories last night and I couldn’t wait to share some of them with the board. He was hired into Mooney as a draftsman (didn’t know that) out of Embry Riddle. He had his PPL and A&E ratings. Not sure what an A&E is but I guess similar to A&P. One of his first accomplishments was a small redesign of the Johnson Bar. He said every plane starting in ’65 has a better “mechanical advantage” than previous years because of his rework. Something to do with a ‘slot’ he incorporated into the existing handle design that made it easier to get the gear up and locked. Evidently it was a known issue of the difficulty getting the gear up and they put him to work on it soon after he came onboard. Another early design change he said he was completely responsible for was converting the retractable hand crank step to a vacuumed design. He said it took him a day to conceive and draw out plans, but took some time to make it a reality. He said he worked on the boot for awhile to make it reliable. He said the wing leveler boots, and the step retract boot were from the same company and he worked with them on the application and manufacture to make it reliable. He tried hard to remember the name of the manufacturer but couldn’t. He gave out names, which I didn’t write down, of chief engineers and others and how they would work on M20 refinements and said they could roll off the assembly line a plane a day in 1967. What got my attention the most was when he started to talk about the M22! Evidently there were two departments working on the design. One was Power plant and it systems, and the second was airframe and its systems. The big question/issue was the voltage. 28 or 14 volts? He said he was not happy with the 24 volt decision but it was made so he had to work around it. He said it added weight and complexity that was not needed. He gave an example. The landing gear motors on the M22 were the same motors as used on the Lockheed Electra. A known proven part at the time and readily available. Problem was, they were 14 volts. They had to be rewired for 24 volts. This equaled one of the cost overruns that stressed the project. Another was the rectangular frame on the 22. As he says it, “we had to use a lot of dupe for it to hold pressure” which added weight. He submitted designs to the chief engineer more than once to make a tube design out of the roll cage as opposed to the rectangular design. Those designs were rejected as he was told they were not “Mooney enough” for management. I thought that was interesting that my dad could have changed the course of the Mustang if the plane would have performed just that much better. If, if , if……. Anyway, I found this Mooney history very interesting as I had no idea how involved my dad was with Mooney. I always thought he was on the floor, not upstairs actually putting pen and slide rule to paper helping to define the Mooney experience. On a side note, it is amazing to me how he almost has the memory of a computer. Names, dates, and details he pulls right up. I can't remember what I had for dinner! I am jealous. I guess that is why he is the engineer and I am not

Ditto Meow

Which tablet do you utilize? DF

After you doing the reading and adjusting, It was a vacume hose that was causing the problem? David

It probably had its annuals done at Maxwell, being that close to the shop.

One proper name. Benadryl Welcome to the Forum.

Those are some impresive numbers on that fuel burn. Where would the Beeches, Columbias, and Cirrius's be? 15-17 LOP?

Got to do a couple of hops with Rainman in his nicely appointed 231 this past weekend. Winds that would have had the 172 bumping around doing a dance, the Mooney plowed right through with nary a complaint. Ray basically squeaked a full deflection, direct crosswind landing in Fredericksburg (good bit of flying there) and I noticed how the plane felt 'stiffer' on its gear than the planes I have been flying. I guess that is normal? We parked between a C22 and a Lancair. Yes they were pretty, but I was jealous of neither. Also got to see how a real auto pilot works. So that is how the other side lives! How would you ever go back once you have one of those? The speed and the climb of the turbo Mooney were as advertised and you sure can gobble up a lot of distance in a short amount of time. I have got to get me one of these is what I was thinking the whole time. Thanks Ray David

And what does it do for you? I have seen and heard it mentioned and I am ignorant to the term. David

Omega, the seminar was fine, with really good attendance. I need the interaction to learn effectively, so it was helpful to me. Some people can learn with no interaction and I bet they would find define the seminar as time spent, but not neccessarily well spent. My observations. David

My first reaction when I listened to this was of anger. I though how stupid is it to try to keep appearances for the three lives sitting right next to you. So damn selfish. I guess a brain under stress really is out of control for some people. I was at an AOPA safety seminar last night in San Antonio. The presenter brought up several examples of CFIT. It was eye opening to say the least. DF

http://www.companycasuals.com/texassewwhat/start.jsp Here is the link to the Kerrville Shop that the factory used. David

OUCH! Perspective hurts! df

Worked all of these out successfully. Had to also change "VLOC" to 'GPS' in order for the 430 to match the runway. I did like the graphic of intercepting the bering relative to your position to the airport while approaching the pattern. David

Thanks. Will report tomorrow. David

Squelch a 430? How do you dim the brightness of a 430? I was shown once on how the 430 would show you the approach to the runway, not just to the airport. Had something to do with the OBS button I think? Want to train on that today. Flying at 6pm. Thanks David

Also, anyone that is serious about trading their Mooney for an RV-10 should go and look at one and sit in one. The difference in amenities, comfort and over all finish is kind of like Cadillac vs. Willys Jeep. Of course a builder can do what they like in the interior, but the kit doesn't come with much and you're on your own. Most builders are so sick of building at that point that the interior ends up being, well, functional shall we say. I have yet to see an RV that looks finished inside to the level of a factory built plane. It is partly how they get a higher useful load While I find this true in the acrobatic 6-7, and 8's. This is not the normal case in the 10's. The folks who have built the 10's know they are competing against the Cirrus, Mooneys, Columbia's, etc, etc. They know a stripped down interior will be a major weakness come time to sell. You see 10's with incredible interior finishes just for this reason. The used price for these birds prove it. You wouldn't be able to sell an experimental four place with stripped down panels and interior for over $200.000 no matter how new it is/was. David