Hank

On the second point first, many of us agree you did the right thing. Don't try to pull the power, too many other things going on to risk screwing up. For the "Emergency Retraction" you referenced above, I've never heard of such a thing. If you gear won't go up, either come back and land or fly below Vg to get somewhere it can be fixed. What kind of emergency would require raising troublesome gear and risking the inability to lower it at the flight's conclusion? Does your POH not have a line like the one circled from mine???

Cool! An Ovation Ultra, an Acclaim Ultra and an approved Type Certificate at Sun n Fun.

I have a cousin who works for Shelby county [suburban B'ham]. On my phone, none of the information under the avatar appears except "Basic Member" or "Supporter" which can make things difficult sometimes.

I've not been back in Alabama long, just 2 annuals from two places. Liked the guy last month, he drove up from near Troy, a longtime A&P/IA with Mooney experience. I've heard good things about Joey Cole and visited his shop in Rome before he moved to Dalton. Also heard many good things about Maxwell, met him at the Summit. You have many choices. My phone doesn't show where you are like the "old" MS did . . .

The doors look wider when they are open. Has nothing to do with fuselage width, its c a C wider opening to get in and out through.

Try not to worry about that too much. You had a problem, you tried to fix it, reviewed the POH in flight, did additional troubleshooting, then landed safely. What more could someone ask for? At least you didn't distract yourself trying to get the prop just right in the flare and prang it in hard. My 3-blade often stops with one near vertical upright, but I'm pretty sure the other two would scrub like that. New prop, check engine, a little belly work and you're good to go again. but please, please let us know what they find about why/how the gear jammed halfway down. This is something that could happen to any of us.

Won't the carbon fiber weigh less than the aluminum-covered aluminum structures it replaces? So Useful Load can increase while Gross stays the same. Unless the door and interior added weight. How much weight would a second door add? Gotta be some, unless the carbon fuse doesn't have the famous, safe steel roll cage inside it . . .

To which continent do the British Isles belong? Or are they far enough from the coast of France that they aren't part of Europe? Look out, that means that Catalina isn't part of North America . . . Or maybe the UK and Ireland are independent countries. It associated with any continental landmass, especially that large one just 20-odd miles away.

I don't put anything on the windows except Plexus and terry cloth. When traveling, my canopy cover has special padding on the inside for the windows.

Just for the sake of accuracy, who is the North American Queen of Canada? Last I heard, it was Elizabeth, Queen of England, a European country (NOT part of North America). But getting back on track, it's nice to see the OP retract his slam against AA based entirely on being located in the same city as one A&P with whom he had a bad experience. I don't have a problem if a customer slams whoever he had a problem with, but to drag everyone else in the same city down by name, also, because a scumbag happens to live there (along with 1.3 million other people and thousands of companies) is just stupid. Rant off. We all need to go flying soon . . . Always makes me feel better.

Flying in isn't hard. I've been just once, printed NOTAM in hand with highlighting, and a second pilot in the right seat. It was fun! But no time to film or take pictures. Take a tent, and a good set of tiedowns.

I don't know about your Mooney, but mine has no separate, lockable storage compartment . . . I think what you do depends on the laws of the state(s) that you land in, on purpose or by diversion.

Please don't go there with Marauder!!! (Eyes closed. Blindfold on. Kneeling on ground. Head thrust firmly into hole in ground.)

Considering he didn't, the results were pretty good. Kind of like Spock trying to build a trick rider with stone knives and a bearskin, except Al's project worked (almost) as intended. What's a little reverse flow out the air intake when the plane flies as great as it does?

That belong to one of your girls???

I dunno, Anthony. You made it sound pretty easy. Let me see: From sea level to FL 180, air density lowers by half Modeling flow across the cylinders must take into account that air is compressible Air flow required varies proportionally with MP More air flow is required at higher altitudes due to lower density Cooling inlets/exits must be modeled based on volumetric flow Due to density variation with airspeed and altitude, cooling required must be modeled on mass flow I really hated my Mass Flow class in college Cooling inlet design is more complicated than I want to play with right now . . . .

Tru dat, Ross! I climb my C WOT/2700. For low level cruise, like a nearby lunch run or an IFR descent, 23/2300 works well for 3000 msl or so. Well leaned out, I sometimes indicate 150+ mph there. But the plane climbs really badly there; if Departure clears me to 3000, I'll loiter for a minute or two WOT, then pull back and lean; cleared higher, all three go all the way forward. If the intermediate level off is at 4000-6500, then I prefer 22"/2400. I only have temp issues on extended climbs in the summer, and then it's usually Oil temp getting high; lowering the nose 10-15 mph helps. P.S.-- I have a 3-blade Hartzell, 201 windshield and the guppy mouth closure. Will check climb temps this summer with my resurrected doghouse.

Geez!! 4-5 AMU for a hangar—that's a house payment! To think I was upset when I moved South and rent doubled to $235/month . . . .

But Clarence, the bit about an Ovation crossing the U.S. With two people does not require "heavy modifications" nor departing "heavily overloaded, just clearing the airport fence." It's a standard, run of the mill O3, with two people. Who rode along with Max in his overloaded, heavily modified Comanche? It's a great record, but the trips are far from comparable.

Ah, another C with a J cowl, from back when the mod was both available and reasonably priced! Glad it was a simple fix.

For mountain flying, look up "piperpainter" on YouTube. Me flies an M20C, too, but I'd never go some of the places he does . . . It's really a very capable and versatile plane, much more so than I am a versatile pilot.

Looking good! Do you have a striping scheme in mind?

Clarence, with that amount of fuel, I could take my 690 pounds a whole lot further than 900 nm . . . With a couple of stops to add the fuel that wouldn't fit at the start of the trip! But even the first 900 would take me somewhat longer than you.

My exact numbers are recorded in my logbook, along with approaches, landings, actual/simulated IMC, yada, yada, yada. But I know I'm somewhere around 750, with well over 600 in my Mooney. Need to get out and add a couple more soon. But there's a couple of fronts blowing through right now . . . I try to keep the logbook relatively up to date.

Clarence, a quick read of the document you posted shows the difference between the O-360-A1D that I have and a -A2F is only the magnetos. Surely that change would be easy to document?