Hank

I'm a proud member of Flyers Over Fifty, and I walk out from the left seat. Right hand on back seat, left foot into copilot's footwell, right knee onto right seat, push with right hand and step out with left foot. I think, never paid it a lot of attention. It works for me, but I have no back problems.

Maybe he's a visual learner? hmmm, can't paste nothing here. Guess I'll attach it below. It shows up nicely until I Save my post. Well, got it in and it continues to shrink. Wish I could crop it to keep the image large and make the empty space go away . . . Personally, I'm a little vague on geography that far above the Mason Dixon. I can generally find Delaware, it's the little tiny spot outside of Maryland. I have learned right here on Mooneyspace that Delaware is pretty close to NJ, but nobody has yet told me which exit it's closest too. Maybe Erik isn't a country music fan, and has never heard of the band. How about Rock 'n Roll? "Sweet Home Alabama" and we'll just leave Neal Young out of it. No, I'm not from here, just glad to be back close to home [I claim Georgia, but the USMC moved me to a dozen towns before I graduated from high school.] You know, the 96 Olympics, complete with a bombing and a fumbled FBI investigation? Anyway, it's getting dark here really early now, since I'm about 30 miles into the Central Time Zone, so it's time to get Night Current again. But my offer still stands, if Erik can find his way down, I'll take some nice photos, go to ride and put him up for a day or three with all the barbecue he can hold. P.S. for the NJ contingent: "barbecue" is a noun, smoked pork with tomato-and-pepper sauce. In NJ, I am led to believe that "barbecue" is a verb meaning "to cook [any] food on a grill." Sacrilege! Yes, it's possible to barbecue a chicken or piece of beef, but those are called "barbecue chicken" and "barbecue beef".

In my C, I'm looking mostly out the windows, for traffic, for the runway and for spacing. I steal an occasional glance at the ASI and altimeter to make sure I'm where I want to be: 90 mph downwind and base; make the base turn 700-750 agl; turn final at 500 agl; roll wings level at 85 mph, decelerating to 70-75 on short final [70 if light, 75 if heavy]. This is very simple to do, with just a few quick glances to back up the sight picture. My rule of thumb is 75 mph short final, minus 5 mph per 300 lbs under gross. Obviously if you fly a J and not a C, the numbers will change. Our wings are the same, the J is heavier and the C has more drag, and my 3-blade adds more drag still. Plus I'm in mph and the J is in knots . . . But the principle still applies.

Sorry, Erik, the temptation is too great . . . (cue the music!) My home's in Alabama, Southern born and Southern bred.

I thought the reason your Rockets have full-feathering props is because the engine and prop were taken from the Cessna 340? or 414? One of their big twins. Fail-to-feather is very desirable in that application. It has always been my understanding that this is how Rockets operate, but Missiles fail to flat like the rest of us. That's not part of why I would like a Missile, it's mostly cost, complexity, heat and operating expense difference between the two. But for now, my C is doing fine . . . just lower and slower. Don't know if it's even possible to have a full feathering prop governor made that will fail-to-flat instead of auto-feathering; it's all about how the oil is pushed. Rockets use oil to flatten the blade angle; we use oil to steepen the blade angle. Thus when the engine fails and oil pressure falls, the blade moves on its own. My blade range is only 13º ± 0º to 29º ± 2º, which is a mere 61º from fully feathered . . . although feathered is probably not a simple 90º rotation when you take into account the airfoil and twist in the blades.

Huh . . . I saw his reply here somewhere. One of you was available Saturday, the other Sunday, but I don't recall who was who, nor which thread it was in. Scroll back and check, Houman wasn't it? Bring that fancy prop down here and I'll help attract a crowd to please ya!

You mean this guy? http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/10/20/driver-arrested-after-car-veers-into-motorcycle-hurting-2/?intcmp=hpff I can't watch the video here at work, but it sounds like him. At least he's being charged, two offenses, -20 years each. Good thing! A$$ wipe!!

Love those mountains! It's pretty cool here down in Lower Alabama right now, but is supposed to warm back up later this week. Right now it's lows in the 40s . . .

Rah! Rah! Go team!! Sabremech!!

Yes. I change tanks every hour. The switch is in the floor in front of my seat. I do not slide back or use any assistance. I'm well over 40 years old, but my waist is still well under 40" around. My plane has two tanks that each hold 26 US gallons. Counting takeoff and climb to 8-10,000 feet msl, I can get about 2:30 out of the first tank. Some planes have larger tanks, but also higher fuel burn. On flight plans, if full I always list 5-1/2 hours fuel on board; I've flown 4:30-4:40 twice, and had over an hours' fuel left both times.

Ross, your avatar has looked like the "other" Vintage Mooney logo all day long to me.

Can those little buggers go fast enough to hit your Mooney from behind? Sure, the military models with jet engines can, but not the little multi-rotor ones that are proliferating like mosquitoes in a puddle. Even going full throttle upwards, I would think there's enough airflow with our planes that they could not hit an aileron or elevator, and I'm pretty sure our wakes would keep them away from the rudder if going full throttle perpendicular to our course.

TJ, a lot of the Maintenance "Expense" is a prorated charge for the overhaul at 2000 hours Tach time. So a $30,000 overhaul every 2000 hours costs $15/hr. Oil change every 50 hours runs ~$100 for oil and filter, another $2/hr. Then there is "Assumed Breakage" which is a WAG anyway you look at it. I figure my hourly expenses by what it actually costs--fuel and oil. Battery and tire life vary significantly, just look at the threads here! Having seen the numbers calculated above, I need to sit down with my Owners Manual and do the same. The difference is surprising! But I don't know how Bob figured $45/hour differential for 75% vs. 60% when the proposed 3 hour flight used $22 more fuel to go fast . . . How does each hour cost double the entire fuel difference??? Something is not clear here.

Why couldn't you just hand them the ones from the ignition?

420 / 440 is easier to find, and machines much better. It's also magnetic, so you can pick them up,with a retriever if you drop them so,we here inconvenient.

Harbor Freight has toolboxes on sale periodically. I bought a 5-drawer cart this summer for $104 to help keep my hangar tools together. Old plastic shelves hold lots of stuff. Duplicate tools go to the hangar, and buy airplane-specific tools as needed. And a fan, gotta have a large fan! Hangars get hot in the summer. need a magic marker or two, pen, masking tape, lots of little stuff. An on-field A&P is a wonderful resource, too. Trust me, I had one for seven years, now I've moved and don't any more--didn't know how spoiled I was!

Mark, the white bands in the red and green tubes in the center if the photo are ferrules, part of the brass compression fitting. Check your local industrial supply house, or call Brittain. Quick, easy, inexpensive.

It's worth every penny. Holds almost a quart of coffee, and mine stays warm for 6 hours so far. Iced tea lasts overnight; I fill it with icde tea when I get home from work, and I'm still on the original ice when I go to bed. Whatever tea is left over is still cold, with remaining ice, when I get up the next morning. I hand wash it every few days whether it needs it or not . . . I may have to see if my new friend in Pell City can engrave it while I wait, not sure I can get by without it for several days.

Congrats on the new ride, kommers! Hope everything goes well for you both.

This sounds like what the Open Pilot clause is for. Before you borrowed my plane, though, I'd have to know and trust you, then go to ride together. Even if you have the same model. There's just so much variation in installed equipment . . . I helped a friend ferry his F to the avionics shop and back, then when he was trying to sell it his new ride needed work so I followed him in his F and brought him back. It was a little different from my C, mostly in the radio stack, but I did find out that it lands better with Landing Flaps than with Takeoff, where my C doesn't care, and that his flaps could not be set in between. Two familiarization rides then we were heading out playing fetch. No one else at our field met the Open Pilot requirements for time in Make & Model. But I was still surprised that he put me left seat the first time I ever got in his plane. As we were flying along, I asked him when his last right seat landing was. He said "What? In this plane? Never." A trusting soul.

I can go to bed with a half glass of iced tea, wake up in the morning,there's still ice in it. Going to work, I pour coffee a little after 0500, put the lid on going out the door 0520-0530; it was still warm enough to drink at 1100 on Thursday (I despise cold coffee, and iced coffee is just nasty). Truly an all purpose cup! And large enough, too. I'll have to check into the laser option above, maybe I can get the Vintage Phoenix / Thunderbird put on it. I've done that with towels and blankets at an embroidery shop before.

Thanks!

Please!

That looks really great! I have the same cup without the nice graphics--you'll love yours.