Hank

My own call-outs are not Height AGL, but whatever MDA happens to be on the altimeter: 1700, going to 840; 1400, going to 840. Oh, yeah, I round the MDA up to at least the next 10' if not 20' increment. "828" can't be read on my altimeter, so I'm happy to keep the needle right there at the 840' mark. Saying '800, going to 840' is obviously wrong, so maybe it will keep me from ever getting there. Throwing in 'correcting left' or 'correcting right' helps me keep up with what I'm doing and remember to take the correction out. All you need to watch on the ILS is the two needles and the altimeter every now and then. [Normal scan applies, but I tend to concentrate on these two dials.]

Try a short body. "Gross" is only reached if you buy a bookstore, or carry bricks to a construction site. My wife & I always cube out well below gross weight, but I use Takeoff Flaps then anyway, just because. A lifetime moving, courtesy of a career Marine father, taught me to pack [suitcases] lightly, and to load [vehicles] tightly, which comes in handy. It's amazing how much gear I can cram into my C, but gross weight? Ain't happening, except once carrying four adult males and 34 gallons [almost 4 hours' worth].

I fly a more southerly route from the OH/WV border to different parts of NC [western, central and coastal] and to metro-Atlanta. I keep a current database card in the 430W, current sectionals open with my route highlighted, a pad on my kneeboard with a list of every airport, ATIS/AWOS and VOR in the order that I will pass by. There's two flashlights in my flightbag within arms reach and a small light hanging on my headset cord where the wires split to plug into the panel. My handheld radio with headset adapter plugged in is also in the flightbag, and I have a battery-powered light mounted where there used to be an ashtray [so another electrical failure won't leave me blinded if it happens at night]. Other than that, all I carry is a fresh briefing and some notes on alternate routes if needed. Yes, parts of SW VA are dark, parts of W NC are dark, and E KY may as well not exist at night. That's part of why I participate in my maintenance, and study everything I can get my hands on. "Be prepared" is what the Boy Scouts taught me, not "Be Afraid." Everyone's definition of "prepared" is different, even for the same situation. Take whatever makes you feel better. My wife packs lots of food, and we always have at least one extra bottle of water.

I bought my Mooney, a C not a J, with 62 hours. Insurance required 15 hours dual; some insurance companies wanted up to 20 hours dual then 10 more solo before carrying passengers. Shop around for rates, too. This was in 2007. Parker may have recent info, it's his profession. Or his 'other' profession besides Flight Instruction. My suggestion: concentrate on your PPL first. Fly several planes. Shop for a plane in your spare time. Get your Complex Endorsement before you buy a complex plane, and try to get 100 hours in your logbook but don't miss a good deal just because of low flight time. After you buy, study everything you can find. Take type-specific training. Fly at least 100 hours during the already expensive first year insurance; my second year cost half of the first. Discuss this with your agent as the aircraft market has been changing the last couple of years. And of course the Mooney is great for Instrument flying, but they fly very well VFR as long as you stay flexible. In 2years, I only canceled a few flights, diverted three times and had to land short and drive home once.

I don't know much about C210's other than their landing gear looks mightly complicated, and I always want to reach for a shotgun when I see one retracting. It looks so much like a duck . . . 150 knots LOP, but at what fuel burn? Don't use the Insurance Dual as a reason to not buy it; you'll have to do something similar if you buy a Mooney, too. Mine was 15 hours dual as a low-time, no-complex VFR pilot, but it was interesting and useful to get used to how to slow down, and really helped burn the systems, procedures and flows into my head. Sounds like he pulled his Garmin 530W out; the tray is probably still there, and the cable, antenna, etc., which would simplify install of something for you. Don't know if 430W & 530W use the same tray, cable connections, etc. How much $upgrade will you have left to fill that hole? How important is GPS to you?

Way to go, Dave! I'm waiting for my GE to burn out, then will do the same thing. I don't remember any orientation notches, but it's been a while since I've changed my bulb. I'm looking forward to hearing in-flight results, landing, taxiing, etc.

My PC button is still on the yoke, with a separate PTT. And the light for the clock. See where the wires go to at the other end. Yes, my PTT wires are inside the yoke.

Save money, shop Mooneyspace!

IF the loading isn't so far aft that the loss of nose weight puts you too tail heavy. IF there is no significant other damage to the nose. IF the engine isn't torn loose from vibration. IF you shut the engine down immediately. I would say, when the prop comes off in flight, all single-engine aircraft will fly poorly if at all.

Oscar-- Here are the Takeoff and Landing Distance charts from my 1970 Owner's Manual. The whole file is 4MB if you want it by email. The Parts and Maintenance Manuals are 25MB and 35MB, so I can't send them by email. Happy flying down there towards Paradise! FWIW, I have no trouble going in and out of a nearby grass strip, 2000' long. There's a slot in the trees at one end for approach, and a cement plant with gravel pile at the other end, so I don't go there heavy. When leaving my 3000' paved home field at gross, I use Takeoff Flaps and have no trouble clearing the trees at the end, usually raising the flaps as I'm crossing over them.

There are a variety of ways to prevent spilling oil from your filter, ranging from stuffing a roll of paper towels under it to buying all kinds of fancy positionable funnels. I just use a piece of scrap aluminum, but drip edge from Home Depot/Lowe's will work just as well and is pretty cheap. Either way, you just need a piece about 3 feet long and a couple of inches wide. Here is a photo of mine, and some action shots, too. If you start with simple scrap aluminum, be sure to bend it a little to make a trough shape, or the oil will run off the sides and make a large mess.

I went to Wet Wingologists last year: Edison drove me to the airport when I dropped off the plane; he completed the job on time; the warranty is good for seven (7) years; the price was as quoted; there was no damage to the paint anywhere; he put new screws into the access panels; the entire wingwalk was redone; there are no more leaks, and no more fuel loss in the hangar. Mark me down as a very satisfied customer. P.S.--some of my sealant [possibly original from 1970] was sandy in texture and crumbled to the touch. This is not caused by "hard landings" but simply time and temperature. Volatiles evaporate . . . Your Maintenance Manual gives criteria to judge leaks by, with specifics for judging airworthiness and need for repair.

I'll make you a deal on an ancient Honda. . . .

Tail, schmail! Try opening your door in-flight. It moves about 2".

Is the car cover intended to keep the car clean and dust-free, or to cover the windows and prevent additional heat buildup and UV fading/interior damage? Who really cares about dust? The hard part is getting the car to the destination airport . . .

Tim-- Several Mooney-specific points: Grass fields are generally OK. Inner gear doors are problematic for frequent grass landings. Nose-heavy models are also problematic. 3-blade propellers [except for one of the new composite models] are the same diameter as the 2-blade. No extra ground clearance. Shock discs do compress a minimal amount. If stack height is reduced by a minor amount [~½" IIRC], they should be replaced. Worn discs will not have an effect on ground clearance unless on the nose wheel. Have fun flying! I know some people whose Mooneys are based on grass strips, and I visit grass strips occasionally. Do check out Piperpainter's videos . . . . .

Philip-- I've recently been flying an F, and the injected birds are definitely different from our C's! I've rummaged through the Performance Charts and settled on three basic power settings, modified as needed: Low-level--23"/2300, usually indicating ~140 mph [but sometimes 24"/2200 depending on how I feel] Mid-level [~4000-5500 or so]--22"/2400, often good for beginning instrument approaches around here Traveling [8000+]--WOT minus a tad/2500, usually indicating ~135 mph I always descend "power on," walking throttle back and mixture forward during descent to maintain the values from cruise. The first time I did this in the F, airspeed hit 190 as I was around 3000-4000' running 25"/2500 when I pointed her down with no power change. Now I pull back to 20-22" to descend in the F. In my C, I leave the throttle alone and typically descend around 165 indicated. I don't reach 10,000 often, but did go to 11,000 once crossing W. NC in strong wind, but didn't think to try higher RPM. Next time, I'll test 2600 at 10,000 and above.

Have fun with your orange and white speedster! Although "orange and blue" would be better . . . What was this thread about originally? Fun and fast, that's right! Do both and enjoy yourself, too many of us Vintage guys are living vicariously at 200 knots. Maybe I'll make it back to L.A. sometime. We might even have a football team again in a year or two.

I bought the cell-activated switch here: http://mooneyspace.com/topic/5615-cellphone-activated-preheater-switch-for-han/ Cost was $235, with a T-Mobile card installed and operational. Removed it from the box, plugged it in, attached a lamp, called the number on the paperwork and watched the lamp turn on. Called again, watched the lamp turn off. Both times was on the second ring. Texting also works, he now has both Apple and Droid apps. Since I don't text, I don't have to pay 10¢ per operation, I just press the button on my phone and let it ring. Minimum refill is $10, which is supposed to be good for three months. Save money, Shop Mooneyspace!!

Byron & Jim are both right. There was an article I missed in the October Sport Aviation that apparently discussed a lot of this [judging by the letters to the editor in the December issue I was reading last night]. Apparently it recommends climb at WOT/full prop, set RPMs, lean to rough, enrichen to smooth, then gently pull power to rough and re-lean, or something similar. Need to find the article. My goal is two-fold: 1) get out of the auto-enrichment portion of throttle travel; 2) create turbulent flow through the carb body, because turbulence may atomize the fuel better and definitely increases "mixing" of air and fuel particles, which leads to more uniform fuel distribution. The SA method avoids #1 by pulling the throttle out of this region when lean enough to tell exactly when it cuts off. Until last night, I'd never heard that. But my method seems to work acceptably. Jim, the auto-enrichment feature throws extra fuel into the engine at full throttle, since it is used primarily for high-power situations like take off, go arounds, climbs, etc. "Fuel = cool" was the mantra back when our engines were designed, and the O-360 does not have any servos. It makes up for the lack of primer through an accelerator pump not found on many carbs, which jets fuel into the carb at full throttle to start the engine, thus we stroke the throttle to Full two or three times before turning the key. Yes, it actually shows up as fuel pressure without running the pump.

If the shoe fits. . . . :-)

I bought some of these, liked them and now have several in the closet. One lives on the hat shelf in a baggie; the one I use at home lives in a plastic container that I pour water into before use. "The ULTIMATE Cloth" from "The MIRA-cle Cloth Company" sold by a nice lady out of her home. She actually has a neighbor watch her mailbox and ship product when she is out of town. I've misplaced her name, but her number is (614) 337-0519 in Columbus, OH. Kind of like an artificial chamois, but even more absorbent. If you have a good layer of wax [or my preferred Wash-Wax All], the bugs come right off using this here cloth and water. Nothing else to buy, ever, and when traveling just pour the leftover water from a bottle onto the cloth in your hand and remove bugs. Easy, effective and inexpensive. I think the quantity discount is/used to be 5 for $25, or a whole bunch at a better unit price. I bought 5 to start with, gave several away and bought the next-higher quantity. Love them!

Philip-- LOP and ROP are measures of how far below peak temperature you are. Pull the mixture back, watch the EGT. It will rise, and at some point stop moving. That is "Peak EGT." Our carbs do not like to run Lean of Peak; injected engines do. Once your EGT peaks, push the mixture forward [Rich of Peak = ROP]. I often cruise at 50º ROP by the EGT, at 9000 or 10,000 I will cruise closer to peak [to burn less fuel]. My Owner's Manual defines Best Economy as 25º ROP and Best Power as 100º ROP. You need to be careful, though, and use the Performance Charts in the book. Do not lean the mixture if you are running above 75% power. The Chart has columns for Percent Power and Fuel Flow; above 75% power, the fuel flow numbers are quite high. In the picture below, I've highlighted my two most-frequent power setting when cruising 7000-8000', one at 2400 RPM, one at 2500 RPM. Above 8500', I generally run Full Throttle minus enough to move the needle and 2500 RPM. Don't forget, when you look at the Percent Power column, to adjust for temperature. Standard Temperature is provided for the altitude; +10ºF means you have 1% less power; -10ºF means you have 1% more power. DO NOT LEAN ABOVE 75% POWER! It really is this simple! As I mentioned, the formula MP + RPM = 47 gives ~65% power. That makes it easy to remember.

Rob, you'll love the WAAS! Be sure to allow time to practice some GPS approaches with glideslope before your Instrument checkride. They are very nice, and the CDI does not get more sensitive through the whole approach like on an ILS.

For the OCD-inflicted grammarians among us, that's a common misunderstanding of the proper Latinate word, often used instead of "biennial review." Maybe that's why the Feds renamed it "Flight Review" so that some people wouldn't use the "twice a year" word instead of the "once every two years" word that is do durn similar. Too freakin' similar in sound and spelling, too different in meaning--easily leads to confusion. Not good. Latin died as a language more than a millennia ago, and survived in writing for several hundred years afterwards; personally, I applaud the FAA for moving into the 19th century and going to plain English. If only more industries and academia would do the same . . . Now, on to flying and not obscure grammar!