Hank

I dunno, but I like it. All I've ever heard of is the Ski Tube that extends out the back of the hat rack. Maybe this was a special Rocket STC instead of using Charlie weights in the tail?

What NTSB report? For an electrical failure? It was a component on the circuit board behind the panel light dimmer that blew. We flew home VFR below the ceiling, following the Ohio River because that was the flattest terrain around (just in case). Made a normal landing at home, just took longer to get there with the gear down. The second time I was on an IFR flight plan in VMC, and the field wire to the alternator failed. The guys at the FBO were very excited when I landed, and the police who Memphis Center called to check on me were happy I was uninjured but sad to not be able to participate in "a dramatic rescue." Flight Service closed my flight plan when I called them before getting out and being flagged down by the excited guys running out of the FBO. I am very pre-Madonna, she never played my style of music. Give me Outlaw Country any day, back when Madonna was a young girl using her real name.

I have. Twice. In my Mooney. The first time I was flying with my CFII, had done an ILS in the soup and headed off for Approach #2. Descended into clear air on the outbound leg of a VOR-A approach; crossing the VOR inbound, everything turned off and wouldn’t come back on.

Just wait. I routinely do 1000' takeoff rolls from my 5400' home field. But my first similar departure from 10,000' runway was special in its own way. I got my PPL and Mooney, and was based for 7+ years, at a 3000' runway with trees at both ends, and sometimes went 8 miles up the river to a 2000' grass field, so there's nothing special about short runways. Just went into a 2770 x 30 for Thanksgiving, winds were forecast for 10 knots, I landed on 32 with winds approx direct cross gusting into the 20s; took two tries, the first time I didn't allow enough room for turning without the wind blowing me away from the runway. Fly your Mooney often, go new places and enjoy the variation in runways--long, short, humps in the middle, slanting up or down like a ski jump, some are crooked, often can't see the other end much before midfield. It keeps you learning, and you won't be bored!

Yes, I keep my tablet on during approach, set to display the approach plate. Aren't we required to have the plate available? It has all waypoints with altitude, reminds me of ASOS frequency when changing from Center to Approach to Tower / Unicom. It has any other relevant frequencies, all altitudes at all waypoints. Having the little red plane show up on it is just gravy. And since it's Samsung and not apple, I have no issues with battery life or heat build up. Then again, I've not used it on a flight much over 4:30, and it was only that long because I had five (5!) reroutes and destination weather forecast for 25,000 broken turned out to be 400 Overcast, 1.5 miles visibility in mist.

Didn't Mimi post about this happening to her Marvin the Mooney, with a shaky but successful landing? I don't remember her username . . . It was a handful of years ago, maybe '14 or '15?

My pax and I both sit on cushions for improved forward visibility. It really helped my landings during transition training, too.

The cold, hard shock discs didn't expand after takeoff. The gear hung down some, buzzed horribly and I was slower and slower as the pucks expanded less and less. Yes, my 1970 C has one microswitch for the gear.

That happened to me I the depths of a WV winter. Stopped in warm weather, came back with a vengeance in the next winter. New donuts made it stop. Mississippi shouldn't be that cold, but checking the manufactured date molded into your donuts is quick and free (it's in MM/YY format).

True dat! I've.had driver's licenses in GA, AL, GA again, NC, OH and AL again over the last four and a half decades. I've taken three (3) written tests (20 questions each) and one driving test with a trooper (at age 16, lasted about 6 minutes), but my last written test I didnt even read the pamphlet for. I got a boating endorsement by taking a 20-question written test after reading the pamphlet twice, without even showing a picture of my boat. I've been flying for 19 years; I've taken two lengthy written tests; had two multi-hour oral exams; had two 1.5 - 2 hour checkrides with DPEs; three checkride prep flights with various CFIs; looks like eight (8) BFRs, and probably five or six IPCs (I voluntarily do one every year now), plus one voluntary ride with a CFI to assess my ability during a difficult medical experience (during which I kept driving daily), two MAPA PPP ground and air weekends, and probably seven or eight Mooney Summits for additional training and education. It takes a lot more mental work to fly than to drive . . . . I've even finished long drives (500+ miles, 10 hours or so with fuel and food stops) where there are parts that I don't remember because I got sleepy, further proof that driving is easier than flying.

Mine came with two sizes of foam earplugs, which I gave away. There are also two sizes of silicone inserts. The speakers are actually behind your head, and thensound travels through silicone tubes into and through the center of the silicone insert. Very comfortable, better than the earplugs I used to wear at work. My blue work earplugs on red cords contrasted with the Halo headset and gray tips; one speaker is visible in the headband, with the sound tube coming out of it. The Halos are built by a Mooney-owning PhD Audiologist. These are passive, but have a very high sound deadening rating, much quieter than my old head-clamping passive headset. P.S.--Halos are about 1/4 the cost of fancy new ANR headsets . . . . and i think they work as well but are much more comfortable and don't require batteries!

Can't say enough about Quiet Technologies Halos. My wife didn't want anything in her ear, preferred the big over-the-ear style, but I bought her a set and it only took a 20-minute local flight to change her mind.

Aluminum crumples when hit and melts when burned. Composite shatters into splinters when hit hard.

Such a polite, respectful comment . . . .

Cs are nice, flexible aircraft. I've taken mine to Cody, WY; Niagara, NY; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; and hundreds of places in between, ranging from 8 n to 505 nm legs. Both C and E are grass-field friendly. On any Mooney, verify that the tanks don't leak (seeps are OK), and that engine baffles / doghouse seal well. My C with standard exhaust gets ~135 knots down low, and ~145 knots at 7-10K. Look at flightaware and see what the real-world speeds are on planes that you're interested in.

I remember a slow motion video of a cirrus hitting the concrete beside a hangar in a steep, banked descent, and the thing just shattered into smithereens. Lots of Cessnas with the nose pushed up, back and sideways, or flipped upside down and crushed.

It's actually a combination of the two. Belts keep you upright in the seat so you don't bounce off the panel or yoke, and the steel cage.keeps the panel and sidewalls from crushing you while you are belted to the seat. This second factor is what many planes are missing, and for which I am very happy. If the cockpit doesn't collapse on me, I have a fighting chance.

Well, there y'are. Too much text to read in detail on my phone, but the report Skip attached above is clear in the Executive Summary: The analyses in this study also found that the accident rate for pilots age 60-63 was statistically greater than the accident rate for pilots age 55 or 56 to 59.

Wow, this is a shock! Erik and I chatted on and off MS, and I counted him as a friend regardless of the disparities of our lives. I will miss his humor and constructive input here. Blue skies and tailwinds, Erik!

I have two, because I misplaced one in the summer--come fall, I bought another one. Two years later, found the first and it still works. I have no idea which one I Velcro by the fresh air vent under the throttle.

Hmmm . . . Says "M20A" but has a picture of an M20J, with an N number from a Bonanza. Then the "ad" seems to advertise a new hydrogen engine technology instead of a for-sale Mooney. Hmmm . . . . . Is the New Zealand aviation authority easier to get along with than the FAA???

He could have flown a Bonanza, 14-15 gph for 165 knots . . . Or ~45% more fuel and 8% more speed . . . Missiles are great planes. I wanted one a while back, but no longer need it in retirement.

When I was flying hurricane relief (2+ hours from home field), I was the only single signed up with more than 350 lb capacity; with half tanks, I signed up for 600 lb. (and took as much as I could pack to the ceiling, with some in the front seat, maybe ~450 lb).

Nobody buys a light piston single for the useful load……. Although I can take full fuel and carry my favorite 470 lb of people and baggage for five hours, if we can stand to sit in the plane that long.

I don't often visit towered fields.