FlyDave

Wow - a $50,000,000 investment. They have BIG plans for the company! Maybe they'll develop a VLJ or turboprop? The ROI on $50,000,000 selling piston singles would be quite long - unless they're building them in China (for pennies on the dollar of what it costs in Kerrville) and selling them in China for a large factor over what they'll sell for here (I think I remember reading a $1,000,000 price tag for a new Mooney in China). VERY Raw numbers: Sale price of plane: $700,000 Margin per plane (VERY Generous at 20%): $140,000 They would have to sell 357 planes to break even. This takes into account no additional factors such as the cost or money, etc.. And I think 20% margin is being very generous. But I wish them the best!

fltplan.com will show you performance (TAS/Winds Aloft/Fuel burn) for a range of about 10,000' or 12,000'. It's very accurate - usually within 2 gallons on a 2.5-3 hour flight. I have 2 profiles on fltplan.com - on for economy (26" and 2400 RPM, 15.5+ gph) and one for high cruise (29" and 2400 RPM, 18.5+ gph). They are both quite accurate if I don't get vectored/delayed a lot. My profiles increase FF with altitude as the air is thinner and you need a little more cooling as you go higher.

I wouldn't want to be the airline personnel cleaning the inside of those planes after landing.....just saying.....

Don Corleone....Be my friend?

Guys, The batteries in my Bravo were replaced every 1.5 years before I bought it in December. A couple of people said (including David McGee at All American and it was in the "Mooney Flyer" last issue) that if you don't flip the battery switch on the right side of the panel before each flight the batteries will need to be replaced frequently. I've been flipping it religiously so I'll see how long the Gills in my plane last. Either way, when I do have to replace them I will put Concord's in. I don't think this is causing Zam's issue but just as an FYI. Dave

There was no change in cylinder #5 CHT or EGT on both, mag 1 or mag 2 check. So I don't think this was a plug (fowled or bad) or mag issue.

All EGT's rose normally on mag check except the offending cylinder - no change in EGT or CHT.

I was flying with a friend the other day and on run-up he had a rough running engine with high EGT and low CHT on one cylinder. We looked in the JPI manual and it stated that he probably had a burned exhaust valve. He called his mechanic and the mechanic said "A burned exhaust valve? Bullshit!!! You have a clogged injector!". So the mechanic came over with a can of carburetor cleaner, pulled the fuel line off the injector (injector still screwed into the head) and sprayed carburetor cleaner into the injector a few times until the fluid consistently went through the injector. He started the engine and it purred like a sleeping cat. The mechanic said that the injectors typically get clogged by lead in the cylinder that gets sucked up into the injector when the engine gets shut down. I thought it came from the other end (fuel system) but he said that there are so many screens that there isn't much chance of something large enough to clog an injector getting through. So, if you're going to get a clogged injector, you'll probably get it right at start up and not once you been in the air for a few minutes. So it sounds like this quick fix may save people a lot of time and money by not having to rely on an FBO somewhere in BF Egypt saying you need to top the entire engine. At a minimum, it can't hurt! Dave

Is that only if you got to Sun n Fun or can we order it normally at these prices?

Funny "commentary" on dukes:

Flight today from Northern California to San Diego, level at FL190, Throttled back to ~65% power, 261 kts GS. Simply AMAZING! http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/35217-n1085g-260kts-gs/

Dan, This is the one I use. I also got a right angle lightning cable (power) for the mini here: http://www.lilitab.c...-lighting-cable I used the X-Grip when I first got the mount but it rotated too much for my liking. I posted pictures of the X-Grip when I first got it. I think you can search for a post by me on "ipad mini". Dave

My mechanic in LA does not like the concept of a pre-purchase inspection because it has no teeth. There is no accountability of the person doing the inspection because they are not signing anything off other than maybe putting part of the airfame/engine back together (I had Don Maxwell pull a cylinder on my Bravo to check for engine corrosion - but that's all he signed off on except to state the compressions). An annual holds someone accountable for the airworthiness of the aircraft. Please correct me (and my mechanic) if we're wrong.

Click on your profile and select "Manage Ignore prefs". It works quite well. I have 2 trolls on ignore and the system lists their posts as one line with an option to show each one.

Robert, In glider training we are taught to look for sources of lift. This includes thermals, ridge lift and mountain wave. Wherever there is rising air (any of these sources of lift), there is descending air. In general, mountain wave is generated when wind, increasing in velocity with altitude, hits an embankment and is deflected up. Mountain wave is sinusoidal that has down-wind harmonics (repeating "waves" that typically decrease in amplitude and wind strength). Under each crest is where rotor is formed - usually marked by a lenticular cloud. As long as you stay in the ultra-smooth rising air up-wind of the rotor you'll have a nice ride. Fall down-wind into the rotor and you can hit severe turbulence that is a rapidly ascending (upwind of rotor) or descending (downwind of rotor) air mass - now you've got an "E-Ticket Ride". When you fly wave in a glider (or power plane for that matter) you have to feel your way around. Hit some rough air and move upwind and back into the smooth air. But you have to know what the wind is doing (local geography, winds aloft forecast, airspeed indicator, experience) in order to do that. There's more to it than this but generally, that's where you'll find the rotor. We used to fly though rotor on tow tethered to the tow plane looking for wave. You'll go through a whole box of "Depends" the first time you try that! Dave

If you are interested in supporting the expansion of privileges for drivers license medical, the EAA has setup an easy way to petition: http://govt.eaa.org/14781/support-general-aviation-pilot-protection-act/?m=4504684

Wait, did I say they installed this fuel cut-off switch? I meant to say they were thinking about installing this fuel cut-off switch . I don't think they've found an STC yet...But they still own and fly their planes.

2 friends of mine in Los Angeles have C210's. They both put a fuel cutoff switch in the cowling accessible from the oil door. C210's are favorites of the drug cartels because of their useful load. I know one of these planes has a 1,400+ lb. useful load - WOW!

What do you fly by when landing in gusty conditions? AOA or AS?

I was a glider pilot before I flew power. As a glider pilot you learn what winds do around mountains (ridge lift and wave) and where to look for lift in the mountains. Glider pilots are looking for unstable air - power pilots are looking for stable air. As a glider pilot out of the Palmdale area, I used to fly up the Sierra - and most of the time cross over the Owens Valley to the Inyo's and Whites and up into Nevada and points north. The turbulence we encounter over the Sierra are either mountain wave (typically most severe turbulence AND the smoothest air you'll ever climb and descend in), ridge or thermal lift. Read up on these types of weather to get a good idea of how to predict Wave and ridge. To get an easy to understand forecast of thermal lift check out Dr Jack's blipmaps at http://www.drjack.info/BLIP/ . It really helps to go fly these weather phenomenon to truly understand how/where wave develops. Years ago in my Cherokee 140 with 2 glider pilot buddies aboard we got to 13,200' in wave in the Owens Valley. If I wasn't a glider pilot I would have been getting bounced around in the rotor wondering if we were going to survive - instead we got to 13,200' and had lunch in Bishop and went home. As usual, the safest thing to do is avoid these areas when forecast - which is what you did. But learning more about them can only help in the future. Dave

Don, Congratulations on getting your plane back. I know it's been a long haul. You're going to love flying behind that panel! It looks, well, sparse - to say the least but very functional. Dave

It seems that every decade milestone something different happens to the human body. A guy I used to work with told me that when I turned 30 I would add 2" to my waist. He was right. Same thing happened at 40. Not so bad at 50 but I did find that I got full faster and felt a lot more stuffed when I kept eating past feeling full. I found this uncomfortable, especially at night. Going to bed on a full stomach lead to a lot of discomfort and very unsettled sleep. So I try not to eat later in the evening and I keep my meals to reasonable size. I don't drink soda and I eat fruit regularly (no pun intended). I heard a commentary on the radio that just made sense: If you have to read the label to find out what's in it, don't eat it. I also bought a Bowflex machine and an exercise bike last year. I don't like working out in a gym (getting "respectable" workout clothes, going somewhere, trying to look the part of a workout guy....) but I do like working out at home. I turn on the boob tube and work on the bowflex for 45 minutes and ride the bike for 30. I try to do this 3 times a week but most of the time I'm doing it 2 times a week. Also, as the cardio is more important, I can ride the bike whenever I want so some off evenings I'll just ride the bike (not too often - need to get with the plan). In general I feel much much better when I'm working out on a regular basis. As other people have said, there's no magic pill. A balanced diet with portion moderation and exercise and you don't have to go on diets or plans to loose weight - you won't have the weight to loose.

Great feedback - I'll be very careful with it. Thanks, Dave

Great - Thanks!