Hank

And here I was feeling bad about the 70% chance of rain and T-storms up here. Hope it doesn't go too bad for you. I've ridden out several, but now have mountains between me and them.

I have gone clamp-free! No more squeezed headaches. No more hat-button headaches. No more wishing to get on the ground so I can pull off the durn head-vise. No sweaty ears this summer. No more pushing and pulling when changing glasses. My sunglasses have thicker "arms" than my regular ones, and now it's not only easy to change between them, but the sound level doesn't vary depending on which set I wear. And there are no batteries to replace, or worse yet, no last set of batteries to die in mid-flight. Love my Quiet Technologies Halo's! The good doctor who makes them is a fellow Mooney driver, and board lurker, as I discovered recently. But his product is superior, with noise levels comparable to the Bose in a Bonanza, and much better than my old I-forget-whose black head-clamping unit. Thanks, Dr. Phil! [i'm not sure I like how that sounds . . . but it's his name, too.] "Try it, you'll like it!" You can get three sets of Halos, or one Bose A20 . . . . . You may even get a trial period if you ask; I bought them at Christmas and haven't looked back. Maybe not the best for infrequent passengers, but that's what the cheap foam inserts are for--I use the silicone myself.

There's something that holds your fuel cap on? Once I left the lever and turn it, I can carry the cap into the FBO if I wanted to . . . I usually just set it carefully on the wing, upside down, to remind me to put it back when I'm done.

Once I know I'm flying, not bouncing, and that I'm staying up not floating in a gust, the wheels come up. sometimes I remember to tap the brakes, often I don't. There was a trainer at the field with a grease spot on its white wheel, very visible during takeoff. The tire had completely stopped spinning in less than 3 seconds after liftoff--the big greasy spot was quite visibly still. That's when I quit obsessing about hitting the brakes. As soon as I know I'm flying and climbing, the gear comes up. Most takeoffs are Flaps Up; when I'm heavy, the runway is much shorter than home [3000'], and/or DA is really high, I'll use Takeoff Flaps, but I won't hang them out all the way to 500' agl. I put a lengthy quote from my Owner's Manual back on Page 1 of this thread, but flaps come up when I've cleared the trees and am confident that raising flaps won't put me back down into them--call it 200-250' agl or less, depending on the trees, my load, climb rate, etc. I'm up, then the gear is up, then the flaps come up, and then I really go up.

Thanks, Norman! I'll work on it during annual & IFR certification, both due next month. Maybe it will be cool in the hangar then . . .

If I remember correctly, Jolie had an article in the MAPALog a couple of years ago about the accident. Also had a series of Promote-GA magazine articles published last fall [in Atlantic Monthly or some such non-flying, general interest publication] including the accident.

It would be a good idea, too, to squirt some Tri-Flow onto the gripping mechanism where it comes out the edge of the door, and work it back and forth a few times.

I fly a lot in WV, eastern KY and western NC. The hills range from mild to severe [the highest peak east of the Rockies is Mt. Mitchell, pretty close to KAVL, dad's home]. Many places offer few if any suitable forced landing options. Strip mines look good. Small lakes in the mountains are likely to be deep, even near the shore, with colder water even in the summer. I keep close track of nearby airports along my route, and check AWOS ahead of me enroute, especially in the hazy days of summer when I can't see anything. (Coming home from the beach yesterday at 8000 msl, we were above the haze layer initially; by GSO the haze was above us, clouds were virtually invisible, and the ground was visible just a few miles ahead despite every weather broadcast saying either "10 miles" or "unrestricted." During descent into Huntington, the ground disappeared completely from 6000 to less than 3000 msl, and I finally saw the field at just under 5 miles. It may as well have been IMC.) A forced landing under these conditions, or in IMC, is an unpleasant thought. Aim towards an airport, pitch for 105 MPH, and hope for something sort-of level. If it's all forested, I'll take the flattest spot and "land" on the treetops, gear up. Elsewhere, rivers may be attractive if I can parallel the shore, gear up, a wingspan or less away. Corn/bean/hay fields are also attractive, again gear up to prevent catching in a hole or ditch. Of course, a nice wide interstate highway is the best choice, but there aren't a lot of them over this way. "Speed is life. Altitude is life insurance." 7500 is my minimum for going over the Appalachians; MEA is 8600 msl if I go towards Atlanta for about 25 of the 300+ miles, so I take 9000-11,000 for the whole trip even though the final climb is slow. Altitude gives more options . . . valleys have more people . . . always go downstream to find civilization. 1) Earth if wide, flat and paved, or growing crops. Preferably enough room to not go into trees forward or near to either side. Non-interstate highways are a no-no except in the Far West where there are few roadsigns and powerlines. Most 2-lane roads are narrower stripe-to-stripe than my 36' wingspan. [lane width = 12 feet; shoulders vary from 12-48" each] 2) Water if near the shore, not too deep, and nothing else is available. Gear-up water landing should reduce the chance of flipping; not possible in fixed gear. Low-wing should provide additional flotation time for egress, but wave action will reduce it. 3) Trees. Land in the tops. If I overrun the field/crops towards trees, that is when to aim between trunks. Hit the tops as slow as possible above stall speed, and "fly" as long as possible. These are my thoughts. I sincerely hope to never validate them.

I bought myself some Halo's for Christmas last year, and love them! Putting them on takes a little getting used to, but wearing them is a pleasure. No more headaches . . . No cold-weather issues, either, but I use the white silicone plugs rather than the yellow foam ones. YMMV. The only problem I have is using the cellphone to call for clearance--can't just shove it under the earcup and use both hands for doing things. But the need for in-cockpit cell phone calls is pretty infrequent. Have not loaned them to my wife--she is happy with her David Clamps. The Halos play music pretty well using the music input in the intercom. Lightweight, comfortable, no interference with sunglasses, easy to change between sunglasses and regular glasses when entering/leaving clouds. Just need to clean the white plugs from time to time. And they remind me when it's time to clean my ears, too. :-)

Normal-- A clear, readable copy would be wonderful! My Parts Manual is quite cluttered and small, and very few details are visible for this little piece on the inside of the roof. Thank you very much!

Forward everything to the FBI, impersonating a member of the U. S. Military is a federal offense. Who "ships" an airplane? This is so obviously a scam . . .

Does anybody have a POH handy to cite normal ops and short-soft ops? I have electric gear. Wish I had the J-Bar. I'd have the gear up a lot quicker with the J-Bar.

Nice! Short field, one small hangar, and a house right at the end! It looks perfect for a Cub, Champ, Super Cub, etc., but less-than-optimal for a Mooney. If this is the same ad referenced back in April from the suspected fake-military-scammer, then it's definitely a set-up. He just found a small, out-of-the way airport to claim being based out of.

Piperpainter goes places I won't willingly follow . . . That's all part of the joys of ownership and being PIC! I followed the link to the island, zoomed in and scrolled around, never saw the field. The one I use here is sort-of open on one end [a runway-width slot in the trees], and has a cement factory with gravel pile at the other end. Robert Newlon Field, I41. Just lost a jump plane into the gravel pile a couple of months ago, should be on-line without photos. Any idea where the "little grass strip" is on the little island in NY?

There's nothing wrong with a 2000' grass strip, especially one at sea level. I take my C in and out of one near here, just not when loaded heavily.

Seems like I heard of some poor soul in a long-body who initiated a go-round and raised the gear before he had positive rate of climb, but I won't swear to it . . .

Please, please, please--while your ceiling panels are out, can you take a photo? The GPS antenna exchange during the 430WAAS upgrade destroyed the little plastic piece that sends air from the scoop to the overhead round vents. Could you please snap a picture? Mine was in a million little pieces, and had some damage from the original antenna install; nobody has any, and with no reference I can't even owner-supply one. Thanks for anything you can do!

Usually right about here--see photo, they are already retracting. I don't have a good shot at my home field, but it's shorter and the trees at the end are closer. This field is 3600' and fairly smooth [at the beach]. Rotate, establish climb, look at VSI & feel positive rate, gear up, accelerate to Vy; when heavy/missing/go around, clear obstacles then raise flaps. My electric gear only takes 3 seconds to swing either way, and with a departure power failure, they won't help in the trees . . .

My [unrated] GPMS sometimes thinks she it is a flight instructor and tries to "correct" my landings. At other times, I find destinations pre-programmed into the GPS. Traffic is often pointed out on the intercom before the same traffic is pointed out over the radio, a very nice function! I am also upbraided for putting the one bag [of many that I loaded] with food back in the cargo area instead of within arms' reach, but I don't mind having my flight bag there instead. Maybe someday my GPMS system can be upgraded to IFR-capable, but right now the VFR-only system seems to function quite well. In IFR, it shuts down competely, eyes closed, head lolling . . .

I've got to figure out this video up-loading stuff soon . . . Any monkey with one finger can watch one.

What the he11 happened here?

. . . I've lost count . . .

quadruple post . . .

triple post . . .

double post