Hank

Quote: jetdriven

Quote: Mooneymite Okay, this thread has been way too peaceful with way too much agreement. I just have to ask: What MAP/RPM/mixture do you set on descent and what IAS do you use?

Quote: carusoam Economically speaking... You can strip and reseal one side at a time. Save some large expense for when it is required.

Quote: 201er I don't quite see the point of this. If I came to visit you in Texas, I'd already have my Mooney there with me so what would be the purpose of renting yours?

I just posed the "where to reseal" question over on the Mapa list, and the response was overwhelming to fly to Wilmar and let Paul Beck do it. He quoted a little under $6000 a couple of months ago for my 52-gal tanks, vs. what seems to be ~$10,000 to get 64-gallon bladders installed [since the Oshkosh show specials are now over]. The difference will buy a lot of avgas and accessories! Here are my thoughts about bladders: 1. There are ADs affecting them. 2. Typical costs are ~$10,000 installed, not including my own travel. 3. They hold an additional 12 gallons, and that makes for 100 lbs. total extra weight when full. THAT affects me. 4. Like wet wings, they last better when kept nearly full. See Point #3 above. Being a charter member of the CB Club, I'm going for a strip and reseal! Only to the tundra instead of to the beach . . .

I really, really like my Halos. Flew 6 hours down to Sun-n-Fun, with a fuel stop in S. GA. while waiting for the airshow to end. Made it home in 5 with no discomfort in either direction. They were a Christmas present to myself, and that was the first long trip using them. They were so much nicer than my old clamp set that I looked up their booth and thanked Dr. Phil personally. Never can remember his last name, but it's on the card in the leather case back on the hatrack in case I ever need it. [McCandless?] The headset also worked well plugged into my handheld radio so I could run the tractor up and down the edge of the runway on a not-very-busy evening after work. Our county-owned airport gets zero assistance from the county [can't even get them to spend the free FAA money, sometimes], and I feel better mowing near movement areas when I can listen in. This little headset allows wearing any hat you want, and what I like to wear and can now fly with, is a nice wide-brim western hat. With a ball cap, I don't have to worry about pushing the hat/headset around to miss the button, and buttonless hats are really difficult to find anywhere but Sportys. Pricing is about the same as David Clark H13's, both are stereo, Halo's come with a case. Last year the Halo's were on sale in Nov/Dec, check the website: www.quiettechnoligies.com

And of course, the Mooneys For Sale thread right here! You won't have to sort through Brand P, C, the other C, B, etc . . .

Mike-- I'm in annual now, right after finishing a group Young Eagles event involving taxiing in/out for dropoff/pickup through recently-mown grass. I had 'stuff' along half the length of the blades . . . Obviously the grass was not that long, nor did I bury the nose in the ground to get grass that high. Just be careful about going to a grass strip the day after heavy rain. In Texas right now, I understand that is not an issue? Have lots of fun!

I thought 'Retract' would be a good name [doesn't everybody want one?], but got that covered already. Slats and Flaps are good aeronautical names; how about Radar? It would be nice to have one of those in the plane . . .

I [doulbe-dog] dare you to use the one Lionudakis posted on the home page . . .

Airplanes make everything fun. Mooney airplanes make everything funner.

Quote: maropers Following the taxi to camp the tips of my prop had a distinct green tint - like what is left on my tennis shoes after cutting the lawn.

Quote: fantom Just thinking that lots of less experienced pilots, and probably some experienced ones, don't know the proper way to restart their engine in the air. It's in the POH.

Quote: N4352H I cannot ever think of a time or practical reason to run a tank dry. It serves absolutely no purpose and assumes some risk. Sediment clog, vapor lock, engine not restarting. Why do it?

Quote: fantom

Since Squirrel's thread on the 'General' page about this subject was hijacked to rant about the dis/advantages of big vs. small government, I thought I would resurrect the original intent of the thread. Some states charge annual tax to own motor vehicles; some include aircraft in this tax category, some don't; some states charge annual registration or other fees. As many Americans are quite mobile [even those without aircraft], and several members have recently mentioned thoughts of future relocation, I thought a quick compilation of current aircraft-related taxes and fees by state would be of interest. Sure, it can all change with the next election, so please report for your state the current tax/fee structure. Because sales taxes vary tremendously, can be impacted by corporate involvement, and are sometimes assessed on out-of-state transactions by out-of-state owners who make a short visit, let's ignore those for now. I'll start. Again, no sales taxes . . . OHIO: no annual ownership tax. $15 per seat annual registration fee for "small aircraft" which I think means less than 30 passenger seats. I have three "passenger" seats so I pay for four seat registration ($60 per year).

Grass is great! It's just more difficult cleaning wet grass and dirt from the bottom of the wing than it is on a Cessna. The joy of [dewy] morning landings . . .

Quote: sleepingsquirrel I guess home accidents ,but fatal accidents at home are just not news worthy.

Quote: aerobat95 On a side note I was shocked how much red costs.....glad I only have a small pin stripe.

It could still be the capacitor in your mag, that only supplies voltage when the key is pushed in at advance timing to make her fire off. Mine was really hard to crank, but when started ran just fine. If it doesn't fire at all, suspect either the magnetos or the shower of sparks; if it hiccups and coughs but won't catch, then I would chase plugs/couplings. But I'm no A&P, that's just how it worked out for me.

Please, please, please announce 8-10 miles out, and at least once more prior to entering the pattern. Don't be like the Cessna goob coming into my home base right at sunset who announced himself "1 mile east inbound" as I was rotating on Rwy 8 . . . Never heard a peep while programming the GPS, taxiing, running up or back-taxiing 2000'. I couldn't see him until I cleared the trees [there's not much stopping on a 3001' runway], and there he was, going the opposite direction a half-mile or less off my left wingtip as I clawed for altitude with eyes bugging . . . "Any traffic, please advise" is just telling the world that you don't care who is out there, they just need to dodge out of your way.

My mags have been pulled withotu pulling the engine. It pays to have small hands. But I also don't have fuel injection lines to work around. Personally, I would find a different mechanic, but that's hard to do when she won't crank. I had cranking problems twice: once was a bad starting capacitor in the mag; the second time was eroded plugs with too large of a gap.

Annual automobile trips in the US: 100's of millions, perhaps Billions Swimming/diving trips throughout the country: 10's of millions, maybe less Annual GA trips: 10's of thousands Guess which one leads the pack in fatalities/100 million hours [the NTSB standard unit of comparison]? I will grant you that any aircraft accident, no matter how minor, gets far too much publicity with nonsense quotes like "an airplane crash without injuries is a miracle," while the only auto accidents that make the news are the really large or especially gruesome ones simply because there's not enough time or paper to record and distribute them all, even in small towns. Car wrecks and deaths are simply too commonplace for notice, but how many accidents were there at your local airport this year? There are 4 airports in my local area; 2009 = 2 fatals; 2010 = none, I think; 2011 = 3 non-fatals and counting. There were >3 car wrecks in town last week, I'm sure.

Avemco wanted $1600+ for me, with $250 deductibles; my broker found the same coverage, with 0 ded moving & parked, for $1134--it will be more without IR, but >500 hours may reduce it some, I'm not there yet, I don't know.

Check with local pilots in your area. I use a broker here in town with pretty favorable rates. At my renewal in July, Avemco was 50% higher than what my broker quoted [3 different quote amounts from 4 insurers]. If you want, send me a PM and I'll give you their contact info.