N9660M

Yes, the aerodynamics of our airplanes will cause the baggage door to come open during takeoff roll if not latched. Don't ask me how I know.... Take care - Jim

Participated in a Civil Air Patrol pilot clinic earlier this year where the focus was night flying. The accident rate for takeoff/landings is about 11x higher on "dark" nights vice "bright" nights (don't recall what level of illum was used to distinguish between dark and bright) and the fatality rate is nearly twice as high. If I remember correctly, the source was "The Pilot's Night Flying Handbook" by Buckwalter. A good point was made about personal minimums. We establish them in many areas of our flying, but maybe should consider them more at night. For example, if the illumination is below XX%, don't conduct a night flight or go IFR. Take care - Jim

I've found the Universal Big Bogi from Bogert works well for towing my plane with a garden tractor. Not as cheap as fabricating your own though. http://bogertaviation.com Fly safe - Jim

Looks like I'll be moving to El Paso, TX, soon. Likely will be living on the north side, near Fort Bliss. Any recommendations for nearby airports with available hangers? Thanks - Jim

Dave, it may not be quite that bad in Japan (I flew and instructed there for three years). It was an USAF operation, but we flew C172s and were subject to Japanese GA regulations. VFR day and night cross countries were allowed. You do have to call ahead and get prior permission (PPR) before going to an airport other than your home base. There is typically a landing fee of around $10. We provided sight seeing flights, and I did several over downtown Tokyo at night (awesome view). Several islands that make great $100 hamburger destinations as well. I did see a few JA registered GA airplanes at various airports, but only a tiny fraction of what you see in the US. As I recall, renting a C172 at a Japanese FBO was about $300 an hour, so many aspiring professional pilots come to the US for pilot training. There are far fewer airports. Airspace still utilizes the old Terminal Control Zone, Airport Traffic Area, control zones, etc... that we had in the US until many years ago. In general their aviation is regulated much like ours. The only really disconcerting aspect for me was the communications in congested airspace. The controllers would talk to me in English, but everyone else in Japanese. The frequencies would be busy, but I had no idea what was going on around me (my fault for not learning to speak the language). You'd be surprised how much you miss the situational awareness you build listening to the radio. This was all about nine years ago, but unless things have changed drastically, it's not all that bad. That said, it definitely does make you appreciate what we have in the US. And the organizations like AOPA that fight to keep the GA opportunities we enjoy. Take care - Jim

Seth, think when I had my engine overhauled, Tom there at Freeway said to run straight mineral oil for 50 hours. After that I switched to Camgaurd and Phillips X/C. Fly safe - Jim

Bill, thanks for providing us the facts. And if it's good for Mooney airplanes and those of us who own them, then the source of the funding isn't important. All part of the global economy we live in today. Take care - Jim

I'd also offer that we should be careful about confusing ATC's ability to control operations with the FAA's authority to regulate operations. Controlled vice uncontrolled (i.e. class G) airspace is often determined by radar coverage. If ATC can't see us, they can't effectively control us. That's why, although throughout much of the U.S. the floor of class E airspace is 1200 feet AGL (or 700 AGL/surface around most airports), over mountainous terrain on sectional charts the floor of class E (or in other words, the beginning of class G) is often higher. Radar coverage is not as good in the mountains, so more airspace is designated as class G. But although ATC can't effectively control operations because they generally lack radar coverage for class G, that doesn't mean the FAA can't regulate them. And for the purposes of this discussion the FAA does exactly that by establishing VFR weather minimums for operations in class G airspace. OK, I rest my case, so to speak. Jim

Regardless of flight plans, clearances, and controlled/uncontrolled airspace, think any time we leave the ground we are operating under one of two sets of rules: VFR or IFR. That said, when we call ATC and "cancel IFR", we are not cancelling the IFR clearance (only ATC can provide or cancel a clearance). We are cancelling our IFR flight plan, which is why if we cancel in the air with ATC there's no need to make an additional call to an FSS to close the flight plan after we land at a non-towered airport (and also why no one will come looking for us if we crash a 1/2 mile short of the runway). So the instant we "cancel IFR", we no longer have either an IFR clearance or flight plan. By default that means we're now operating VFR and obliged to follow the VFR found in part 91, including the basic VFR weather minimums. At night in class G that's 500 feet below the clouds. I'm not a lawyer, but believe that's how it would play out in court. Jim

Think the answer is B. The instant you cancel IFR, you're legally obligated to maintain basic VFR weather minimums, which for the purposes of this discussion is 500 feet below the clouds for class G at night. Prudent option though is wait until you're on the ground. Jim

Congrats! As well as this one went, you'll have no problems once you're ready to go for your CFII.

You might try taking it into your local FBO and asking them if they can repair it. Mine broke last year as well, and my shop here was able to weld if back together. I'm not a welder, but my guess would have been that welding it would have been very difficult. But the weld is barely noticeable, and it's been holding up fine since. Probably a lot cheaper than buying a new one.

201er, think the FAA tends to agree with you. Last year the accelerated stall was added to the commercial PTS. Basically, starting at an altitude that allows recovery no lower than 3000 AGL, slow the airplane down and trim for straight and level flight at Vx. Then roll into a 45 degree bank and apply back pressure to maintain altitude. If done correctly, you'll get the buffet almost immediately at or very near your entry speed. You've just stalled by increasing the wing's G-loading rather than by allowing airspeed to bleed off to an unaccelerated stall speed, as is typical with power-off and power-on stall training. I remember doing these when I was working on my PPL back in the mid-80s. I may be wrong, but I think they were part of the private PTS back. Take care - Jim

Mike, I hadn't seen this before...great find! Jim

Any recommendations for a good avionics shop in the Seattle area? My airplane has an STEC-30 with altitude hold and GPSS. When shooting a coupled approach, the autopilot only turns at 1/2 standard rate. This causes an overshoot of the final approach course. This has been an issue for a while, but I generally just disconnect the GPSS and autopilot, hand fly the turn, then re-engage. On my last flight, the altitude hold stopped working. Blue light on the face of the STEC indicates altitude hold is engaged, but it's not. Would like to take the airplane to a good shop and get both problems fixed. Have not had much luck with asking general FBOs to address avionics issues during annuals, etc... Thanks - Jim

harrispa got it right...more important than ever to check NOTAMs. That's where the info will be posted until charts are updated.

After looking through the list of towers being considered for closure, I've operated out of many of them over the years and can honestly say that I've wondered why we were paying for controllers at several long before sequestration became the issue of the day. Many of these fields are simply not that busy. http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/media/Facilities_Could_Be_Closed.pdf Agree that closing them adds some degree of risk, but don't believe that the level of safety will be unacceptably compromised if we're upholding our responsibilities as pilots to "see and avoid". IMO our country's debt is the biggest national security threat we face today, and we'll have to accept some risk in many areas of spending to address it. Jim

Thanks for uploading them Shawn. The brochure is very cool!

Good idea, Mike. Forces a pilot to drop the bad habits that we can get away with in a tricycle gear airplane and learn to land the right way. You can also do some loops, snap rolls, and other basic aerobatics in that Citabria so long as they have parachutes for you and the CFI. Recommend grabbing a copy of "The Compleat Taildragger Pilot" by Harvey Plourde. Fly safe and have fun - Jim

The first, somewhat owner assisted, annual I did on my plane, the Mooney Service Center suggested spraying the inside of the battery box with a coat of spray on undercoating. You can get a can at any auto parts store. Just be sure to cover the drain hole in the bottom of the box so you don't spray over it. Only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to protect your battery box. Jim

Lood, went out to fly today and my battery was dead after just flying for an hour a week ago. Not really surprised since the Gill G35 it had in it seemed to be growing weaker throughout the past year. It wasn't much older then yours, having been replaced in June 2010. First time in over four years and 300+ hours in my plane that it refused to go flying. I ordered a Concorde RG-35RXC this afternoon from Aircraft Spruce. Aviation Consumer rated the Concorde batteries superior to the Gill in their review from a year ago. Take care - Jim

Dave, I'd be willing to bring it home so long as all the logs are in order. I live on the south side of Seattle, near Pierce County/Thun Field (PLU), so travel wise would save you some $$ since basically would just need a one way ticket from Seattle to Phoenix and a ride home from Paine Field. Send me a PM if you want to discuss details, but could get it done for significantly less than what you were quoted. I'm a CFI as well, so if you decide to go along we can get in some X/C training and some hours in your log book that may be helpful for your insurance. Take care - Jim

John, your assessment that, for those of us serving as military professionals, you "understand that your job isolates you from the normal appropriate procedures of business transactions" is off the mark. The annual defense budget for our country is in excess of $600 billion. Most of us at one point or another in our careers deal with the defense industrial base, contracting, and/or have contractors in the organizations we lead. I've been fortunate to attend some executive leadership courses and seminars, most recently last month at Kansas University, taught by senior leaders from some very successful companies. A recurring theme from most of them is that many companies in private industry would benefit from incorporating the values we live by in the military into their own cultures. As a lawyer I'm sure you know the Constitution, that we in the military are sworn to support and defend, very well. People are free to post what they wish. The members of MooneySpace are by and large successful folks in their chosen fields and are quite capable of doing some critical thinking and forming their own opinions. Jim

John, I tend to agree based on around 200 hours experience with running my M20F LOP that the added mpg may not be as significant as some believe. I have noticed that my oil stays cleaner between changes, and have also read several places that when torn down for overhaul the cleanliness of engines run LOP is better than those run ROP. Overall, believe that LOP ops is probably healthier for the engine. Jim

Might also check the bulbs. I had a similar problem with my nav lights. Turned out that the wrong bulb had been installed in the white light on the tail. Once replaced with the correct bulb, the breaker stopped tripping. My landing light switch also used to trip after operating for a few minutes on the ground, from the heat I'm sure. Replacing with an LED bulb solved that issue. Jim