Hank

I found one of mine loose, in the hangar, one time. Would it have fallen out if I hadn't noticed it? The wing vibrates pretty good sometimes going through the bumps. MAC was just trying to protect themselves. I fly with both installed all the time.

I'm in technology from the Mechanical Engineering side, now working in my fourth manufacturing plant. Finally made it from Production Support to R&D, developing fun new stuff. I selected "Other" since Technology sounded like electrical engineering/computer science.

3D printers just don't make durable, functional items. Mills and lathes do. Wood lathes do too, but do it differently--I never measure anything, the chisels & gouges are all hand held, and it can be therapeutic watching the shavings fly over your shoulder. Pens, boxes, bowls, goblets, etc., can be decorative and/or functional as well. I find it much more relaxing than any metalwork, but then again, I've never worked with sheet metal.

Times have changed since my dad went through Pensacola. Top man in the class was given free choice of any open billet; the rest of the class from #2 on down were assigned according to the needs of the service. Fighters came first, transports came last, everything else in-between. At the time, three went to fighters then bunches including him to helicopters, with a few at the end to transports. Seems like the divvying up came after the Advanced course, but I hadn't been born yet so I can't vouch with any certainty. Pretty sure things have changed in the intervening decades, especially now that recruiting is more difficult. It's less of a "screen out the undesireables" as it is "bring in the ones we want."

I think the whole "remove before flight" thing is more recent than our vintage birds, and was put in to protect Mooney from lawsuits involving the very rare occurence of a tie down falling off in flight . . . . I've never seen any mention of this in my delicate, browning Owner's Manual.

In my plane, horizontal ASI needle is 80 mph [see photos on p.3]. I typically roll wings level on final at 85, and decelerate to 70-75 mph over the numbers, depending on weight. So 80 is in the right range, but a tad slow. It works, though, I've done it.

I bought my lathe to specifically do things as in the photos. It being on sale was a bonus--the mall was closing and Sears didn't want to move heavy stuff to their other stores. Small lathes are very compact, easy to move, don't require lots of shop space initially, and good wood is often available free. Check your neighbors' firewood piles . . . Trim a branch from your own tree . . . They are great fun to play with, even if you only make shavings on the floor. Having something useful is a bonus!

All branches offer ROTC, except the Marines are under NROTC as "Marine Option." When I started in NROTC as the son of a career Marine officer, life was good. Then the Navy Captain commanding our unit retired and was replaced by a Marine colonel. Neither he nor the freshly-promoted Major on staff could understand why I was not Marine option, but I was just taking my father's advice. We parted ways amicably at the end of the year. ROTC obligations start at the beginning of the junior year, when you commit for 4 years active duty plus 2 years reserve. If you stay in the unit and graduate [some friends had problems and graduated late, it just had to be worked out with the sponsoring ROTC program], you serve your time as an officer. If you, the school and ROTC part ways without graduation, you serve your time in the enlisted ranks [Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines; I don't know if you can select a different branch or if you must stay in the one whose ROTC program you were in]. The rules may have changed since then, as some of my classmates served in the First Gulf War. Many schools will have one or two ROTC programs, and will often have agreements with nearby schools for the remaining ones. My freshman roommate was AFROTC, and once a week a bus would pick up several of them and go across Nashville to MTSU. I could walk to the NROTC building, closer than many of my classes. My eyes failed the flight physical on the depth perception test, a piece of window glass with rows of dots. Which dot in each row is on the other side of the glass from the others? The corpsman holding the glass was sitting several feet away, and he set it down and said 'never mind' after finishing the first of two sets. That's when I gave up on ever being a pilot. Realized my mistake around age 30, but wasn't ready to commit the time and effort. Came up with the dedication later, after moving somewhere with no instructors. It all came together here in the country six or seven years ago. Life is now good. PPL in pocket, unbelievable airplane in hangar. Never dreamed either would happen. Guess I'll just have to settle for Top Gun on the small screen. P.S. for Jim--Marine Option ROTC students attend Marine Corps Officer Candidate School during the summer after their junior year, when they are committed. Don't know for sure what happens to those who wash out of Quantico, but it cannot be pleasant. It is difficult to visit a recruiter and get a slot at OCS [or it used to be], although a friend fell for their line after gradaution when he couldn't get a desirable job. "Enlist now, go through boot camp, and since you are a college graduate you can get into OCS later." After his five years were through, he returned to the civilian world only a little worse for wear. Driving a truck through Bahrain during combat is difficult, but it's what corporals do, even when they speak, read and write Korean and Russian, because trucks are driven by corporals.

I love my lathe! The last one I bought fit in the Suburban with the back seat removed and the tailgate tied partially open. [A really big box from Delta.] Still have the little one that came home from the store in the back seat of the Honda. Woodturning rocks, and is a great way to get rid of work stress in the winter when flying isn't an option without deicing your FIKI bird and having a turbine power you up through the icy yuck.

Robert-- Enquiring minds want to know!! Did you take your checkride? How did it go???

Top Gun has been one of my favorite movies since it came out. Too bad my eyes failed the Navy flight physical . . . Would have liked to see the movie on the big IMAX screen, but it was too far to go and had family commitments last weekend. Today it is snowing, supposed to get worse tonight. May have to settle for a DVD . . . Interesting trivia: my wife & I each had VHS copies [hers store-bought, mine taped from cable] when we first met. "I feel the need, the need for speed" has been my mantra since before I started driving, and well before Top Gun. Now, though, I find more speed in the Mooney than I ever did in my cars, although in the past I used to surpass Skyhawk speeds on the interstate. The laws are too tough to try that any more.

Too bad #4 isn't always controllable . . . But I did enjoy an actual tailwind on Saturday. It's not often a C-model holds 160+ knots groundspeed.

Oh don't I wish!! Actually, having resealed them a year ago, my block fuel burn has gone down. The CFII was surprised flying around with the horn on, additional power reduction, turns in both directions and no stall. [Trim is definitely my friend!] I was quite content. My only point was that the horn works in flight. Do you mid-body folks not make full-stall landings?? If so, does your stall horn not routinely sound? That's what puzzles me--how could someone not realize their stall horn didn't work until they go do some stall practice? It's very unusual for me to not get a beep on landing my C.

On the other hand, during an IPC last fall I flew for several minutes at MCA with the horn blaring. She wouldn't stall, though, and we eventually got tired of trying and moved on to other things. So at least mine works, in the air and in the flare, but I've never tried to set it off intentionally in the hangar.

The one in my C sounds on every landing, just before the tires chirp. I thought it was wired into the headset, but checked yesterday [pulled the Halo insert out of my right ear] and I hear it from the ceiling buzzer. Interesting. Does your "not while flying" stall horn sound on landing? Are you wearing an ANR headset? The only other thing I can think of is that the tab is incorrectly positioned or bent.

Mooneys are just heavier, and I think the main gear is further back, making us steadier on the gear. AND my Mooney, even heavier, is easier to push than the 172s I trained in.

I just picked up a new double-ratcheting screwdriver at Lowe's, on sale at Christmas $20 for a large one, a small one and a box of bits. My last ratcheting screwdriver broke apart putting the belly back on after annual in October. Looking forward to an easier time. No, I do not want to use a power driver--too easy to cross-thread or jam the screws. The last guy did that, and my first two annuals were really tough, inspiring the ratcheting driver. Much easier getting screws in and out now.

The fun part when I upgraded my 430 to WAAS during the half-price discount period was dismantling the interior, patching cracks and repainting. The old cable came out the left side of the panel, ran below the window then up between the windows and across the roof. The entire left side and both roof panels had to come out to access the stupid cable! Getting it all back in was much worse. The rear seat must come out to get the left side panel off, the sunvisors come off to remove the front roof panel, etc., etc. But you will get a good look at the tubular steel safety cage, and you'll feel much safer. I did the remove and install myself, so the avionics shop only had to deal with sending the box out, reinstalling, changing the cable and putting a new antenna on top and sealing it in. Now, the new GTNs require new trays, and it sounds like new antennas. Lord help me if the cable needs to be replaced a second time! When the time comes, I may convert to the new Bendix-King 440/540 if they are actually available for install [i've seen a demo unit, and it's nice! but not available] since it needs nothing new except training for me.

That's how the carpet is in my C, too. It just lays there. I suspect either your carpet is old and the backing is worn out, or it was thin carpeting to start with and had very little backing on it.

Thanks! That's the one. Ben got many things right.

Left over sweet tea from Mickey-D's, diluted with fresh brewed Lipton tea without sugar. Don't take away MY rights because someone else can't manage their own! There's a wonderful quote from either Ben Franklin or Thomas Jefferson, something like those who will give up an essential liberty for security deserve neither. I am responsible for what I do. You are responsible for what you do. This unfortunate pilot was responsible for what he did. The deaths of these four people are not the fault of ATC or Cirrus or whatever refinery made the fuel, whichever FBO sold him the fuel; it's not the fault of his flight instructors, the DPE who gave him his checkride. He chose to fly, he chose to press on into deteriorating conditions, he chose to not land. Was he overwhelmed? Certainly! Had he respected the rules and not departed into MVFR conditions, he would not have confused himself. Been there, done that, got on the ground and let the plane sit for a week until I could manage to go fetch it back. Started instrument lessons. Now I'm rated, I'm current, but am not about to fly in actual until I get some foggle time with a safety pilot--not because I can't; not because it's not legal; it is certainly not convenient to find a safety pilot and fly around some, shoot a few approaches, especially since I have a trip planned next week; simply because I feel out of practice and uncomfortable. Personal responsiblity! Individual choice! I'll be current and legal for two more months, but haven't seen the inside of a cloud since early October, so I choose to practice. I think of myself as generally responsible and somewhat conservative, but it's my decision, my choice, and I don't have to do anything other than file and depart since I'm within 6 months of an IPC. "Can I?" and "Should I?" are different questions, and they sometimes have different answers. Man up, and be responsible for your actions. Nobody is going to force you to fly.

I don't fly [intentional] aerobatics. But I do sometimes fly in turbulence, I just don't have a flat spot to mount the dentist's non-swiveling cup holder.

I did this [bolded above] in my Mooney. Rolled over 100 hours total enroute to a MAPA PPP, after transition training, complex endorsement, insurance dual and a couple of 300-nm XC trips. What matters is not that I was doing that in a Mooney, a Cirrus or a Skyhawk; I see no benefit to "flying local in a Skyhawk" vs. flying XC in my Mooney. It's all about the individual, his own competency and attention to detail. Some people have gone straight into Turbo Mooneys at the same level that I bought my C; some folks are over their heads in a 152. Legislating "rules" based on the lowest common denominator does not promote safety. Requiring everyone to get "a few hundred hours flying local in a Skyhawk" will not make safer XC pilots flying complex, HP aircraft. It will, however, reduce the pilot population significantly. It would definitely have run me off as soon as I found out about it. Some people obey rules; some people make a habit of disobeying rules; some people want to do things their own way. All of us make mistakes sometimes. It becomes an issue when personal decisions to flaunt the rules, whether VFR into IMC, IFR into icing, or driving too fast on the highway, causes problems/loss for other people. Fly VFR into IMC if you want to, and if your estate can handle the loss of the aircraft, but don't do it with passengers and don't damage anything on the ground. Too many knee-jerk liberals want to prevent anyone from doing the same, making it more difficult for me to make legal IFR flights or purchase insurance for my aircraft. Some of it comes down to flight instructors not embedding respect for the rules into students; some is the fault of the FAA for promulgating too many rules that cannot be enforced, causing disrespect for all of them; part of it is squarely on the person who decides that a particular rule or group of rules can be ignored, and that cannot be legislated away. Since I graduated from college in the mid-80's, it seems that personal responsibility has disappeared on the part of people doing things, and accidents have disappeared on the part of people to whom things happen. Sure, it's a conflict, but I didn't set out to kill us both, it just happened because the airplane crashed not because I flew when I shouldn't have. The engine quit in the clouds because the air intake iced over, not because I shouldn't have been there, but due to such a poor design on the part of the aircraft manufacturer, the engine manufacturer, the propellor that spun the icy air into the intake, ATC who didn't vector me away, and the FAA who certified such poor designs.

This matches my experience, except for the last sentence. My C will not run smooth LOP. Does anyone? Yes, I've tried a little carb heat, and I always fly with the throttle pulled back enough to move the MP needle, hoping for turbulent flow through the carb and improved fuel atomization & mixing.

You aren't implying that purchasing my Mooney six whole weeks after my PPL checkride was an "indicator" that I'm a brazen, careless pilot? Don't worry, I'll never go to NYC to convince you otherwise. I agree with Hank Jr. about NYC.