Seth

Mike- Still can't believe they didn't plow the runway. Great video. I too was wondering why you didn't raise the gear for a while but figured it was to make sure there was no snow/ice to freeze and potentially cause an issue with the gear retraction/extnesion system. Was the runway plowed upon your return or "melted" Did the guys at GAI remember that you were parked there upon departure and did they charge you for preheat or just give you the preheat as part of your overnight fee? -Seth

Parker?

I searched for an old thread regarding tachometers for another Mooney Space member and came accross this thread. First off, George, I haven't emailed in a while and wanted to say hello - hope all is doing well with your command. Secondly, as we near closer to your return back to the lower 48, any chance you're still interested in holding a clinic? I'm sure there's still interest. Be safe. -Seth

Here's the thread from when I looked for PIREPS - it was from Early 2011 http://mooneyspace.com/topic/2272-new-tachometer-pireps-requested/?hl=horizon -Seth

I replaced my mechanical Tach with an electronic Tach when my Tach stopped keeping the engine time (but for flight purposes still displayed the RPM setting). I looked at both the E.I and Horizon units. Both are great units and originally I was set on the EI unit but the moved to the Horizon. There is a third option, a digital tach with an analog readout that looks like it's a mechanical Tach. That way the panel would still have the same look. Though it would keep the panel looking the same, I figured the digital readout was worth a change. Also, in my mind, this is the right time to upgrade. When you can spend money to replace/fix a unit, use that money to upgrade. Both units are fine, I went with Horizon. I think the Horizon unit is what the pre G-1000 Mooneys came with from the factory. Also, the EI unit is smaller, where the Horizon fills the hole in the panel that the other Tach removed will vacate. I forget which is which - the EI and Horizon start counting for engine time at different RPM settings, which can lead to issues with your engine life for value purposes when it comes time to sell, espeically if you spend a lot of time taxing on the ground or with low RPM settings. The LED placement in an arc I thought would be a big deal but very quickly it became a non issue when flying to not have an arc. Also, I forget which one stops at 10, vs one showing 1, for instance: 2730 RPM vs 2734 RPM - the one that shows 2734 will always be fluctuating which can be annoying from the pilot perspective. Take care, -Seth

Correct! In no wind landings I personally know I don't concentrate quite as hard - often my best landings are with gusty and/or crosswinds due to the higher required concentration. -Seth

Robert- Glad the slower over the fence speed is working for you. I want to make sure you know anothr "Gotcha." Besides the cross wind techinque of carrying extra speed (airspeed, not ground speed, as mentioned by an earlier poster) you mentioned that you sometimes land with a tailwind due to the preferred runway at a towered airport. Landing with a tailwind simply means your relative speed to the ground is faster and and you will be pushed down the runway, so understand that the landing and lanidng roll will eat up more runway. The important aspect is it will seem faster to you - do not pull power to compensate - if you get too slow with a tailwind, you will lose your lift and stall/slam in too early. Make sure your airspeed is on. Whenever I land with a tailwind, I double and tripple check the airspeed indicator because my mind is telling me I'm coming in too fast because groundspeed wise I'm about 10-20 knots faster than usual over the threshold - 75 MPH +5 knows (80 MPH) instead of 75 MPH-10/15 (60-65 MPH). Your brain will try to make you pull power and stall - make sure you hold the right airspeed regardless of ground speed. Separately, I apologize on behalf of all of MooneySpace for the "bashing" that you felt you recieved on earlier posts. We're actually a pretty good group of knowledgeable pilots, but as most pilots, even though some may be smaller than others (I'm going to get quoted for that one) we all have egos and many think thier way/techniques/procedures are best - and they may be for certain situations. Thank you for sharing with us all and reaching out. We're actually a lot better than many other websites and forums. Do you know how to tell when there is a pilot in the room? He tells you (or she tells you). I'm still in the young boat with 796 total hours but have experienced enough to have some grey hair (a lot) but also still have a lot to learn. Glad your getting your IFR next. Good luck with your PPL checkride! -Seth

Tom- Gald you are safe. Get up there and fly again as soon as possible. Even under bad conditions you kept the greasy side down and walked away with no injuries to you or passengers. Things can turn ugly quickly. When possible, and as long as it does not cause any issues with the investigation, and you feel comfortable discussing it, we'd love a descitpion of what occured so that we can all learn from this unfortunate situation. Ego will heal - you'll be the safest pilot in the air for quite some time after this washes away. -Seth

http://www.aerothermheaters.com/index.php I saw an earlier version of this once parked outside on a ramp. I'm not sure if there is a battery powered version, but may be worh looking at. They have a new model that works in 30 minutes, which means it probably doesn't heat evenly, but still better than nothing. Also, that may assist with the battery issue. You can always have whoever drops you at your location (should you do that) use an inverter on their vehicle, or pop the hood and bring your own inverter, to power a device. -Seth

Yes - site crashed. Craig used a daily backup but it didn't work, so he used a backup from a few days prior to get it up and running again. Unfortunatly we lost a few days worth of posts, PMs, pics, replies, anything that was added during that timeframe after the backup. It was down on 1/24 and restored to 1/20, so four days worth of info are gone. There's a thread about it in the bugs section. -Seth

You are correct Hank - I should have put a "none" section into the Poll. I've also added a new Controls Free aspect to the checklist. Not just controls free and clear, but also point out to the right seat passenger to keep the feet flat on the floor for takeoff and landing. Usually the feet do not touch te pedals as the seat is pushed back, however, for this flight, I was showing the passengers how to fly and letting them make gentle climbs and turns. So, they were in proper position for the foot pedals. I'll tell you, that landing ride was a wakeup call. -Seth

Alright - recreating the posts that disappeared. NJ Mooney pilots are planning to attend and I'm working to get a fuel discount of some sort for those pilots who plan to come down. Mike - I'll fly earlier in the day or pull my airplane over to the transient ramp so we can all be there lined up for pictures. Most likely, they'll give us self serve fuel pricing for full service fuel so we don't wind up with a line at the self serve pump on departure (and then we'll have less engine starts and stops). If you have an questions on how to fly into the SFRA on an SFRA VFR flight plan, ask away - very simple - similar to a bravo clearance, but not quite the same. NEVER squak 1200 inside the SFRA, even after you have the field in sight and your frequency change is approved. Who is the pilot who flew with the Col before? I want to make sure to tell him you say hello and about the Grumman Tiger and Robinson helicopter. I know to expect Mike a bit before noon. Mike - I'll PM you my cell phone number. Take care, -Seth

Thanks Craig! Glad we're back online - and thank you for letting us know the data lost. -Seth

Nice E. Normally I'd say I don't like your headrests (Skins fan), but you're based right in Cowboy country outside of Dallas, so, I guess it's nice to show your team pride. Hope the sale goes quickly! -Seth

Craig- I noticed last night and today that MooneySpace was down due an SQL server. Was this for everyone or just on my machine? Back up and running now, so probably a non-issue. Thanks, -Seth

Bolduc is where I had my engine overhauled when I purchased the Missile. Darrell Buldoc stands by his engines and when I had an issue at 100 hours with two of the cylidners, without quesiton, even though due to a misunderstanding earlier in the process (you can search on that from an earlier thread or PM me) he covered the two cylinders and really worked with me for the other issues. I think if you call Bulduc, ask for Darrell, and explain to him your thoughts, he may be able to provide you with guidance. Who knows, he may provide a detailed letter as to the work they did, or even may have you fly it to MN (so it doesn't have to come off the airplane again) and complete the final work to make it an overhaul (that may not be feasabile depending on how many hours you've put on since the work). Explain to him what you are looking for, and I'm sure Darrell will work with you or let you know what he can legally state to assist with selling the airplane (should you end up selling). Good luck. -Seth

Robert- Thank you for having the guts to share this story with all of us. I'm glad you are safe and the plane will indeed fly another day (after a bit of work). This will be a lesson for everyone. I hope your Mooney is back in the air soon. Good job keeping the plane upright despite the mud. -Seth

As phantom said, "No good deed goes unpunished." Mike I'm sorry to hear about the damage but I'm glad you are okay (and espeically relieved that with the door popping open (rustling of papers and such) your amazing pet bird was not near the door nor sucked out of the plane. That would have been absolutely terrible. After a few "slamming" incidents by both pilots and non flying passengers, I state multiple times that you slowly open and close doors. This is not a car, and slamming will break the doors. You gently press them shut. Then I demonstrate. Often, I just tell them that I'll take care of the doors and baggage compartment. Other times, I instrut them how to do it while watching so that I know it's closed. I had the baggage door open once on the takeoff run because I allowed the instrutor to close it and didn't duble check. He was not a Mooney instructor but I was getting free time with an instrctor toward my IFR rating (for some retract time). Needless to say, it opened on the takeoff roll and I aborted the take off. Good job keeping your head and safely getting back on the ground. Take care, -Seth

Wow. I did not know that about helicopters. That must have been an eye opener. Thank you for the knowledge.

Thanks for the suggestion Fantom. I'll do that. Can't believe I didn't think to. I may have engaged the brake on the right side as we were going left. I don't think I used the brake, but it was a "wild" ride left then right and back to centerline. As he relized the pressure was building, he released his left foot (from me adding pressure on the right side) and thus, the plane swerved back faster that I thought it would after no immediate correction with the pressure I originally put in (because he was blocking that pressure with his foot). Funny, my former gilfriend was worreid about this when I flew with a cousin of mine. He had the knee for full deflection left and right issue, but never put his feet on the rudder inputs. "No good deed goes unpunished" is a common phrase in my family. I'll check for flat spots. -Seth

Yes he is. It's on a ledge and it looks like he gets to about 2-3 feet from the ground at one point before he's back over the valley.

I took a couple up on a flight this past Saturday. The husband had asked me if I would take he and his wife flying (surprise for his wife). She loved the flights and he enjoyed them as well. We flew to another strip, landed, and flew back to my home base. She sat in the co-pilot seat on the out and he sat in the co-pilot seat on the way back. I guided them both through turns and basic controls so they could "fly." As part of my passenger breifing, I always mention to my co-pilot to keep feet flat on the floor for takeoff and landing so there is no chance that their feet or any part of their body disrupts the takeoff or landing sequence. Usually they are so scared about causing a crash it's a non issue. Upon landing back at KGAI, we touched down and immediatly started skipping to the left, I was shocked as I though I might have a blown tire, I then got worried as my inputs weren't doing much to keep the plane from departing the runway into the grass. Finally, all of a sudden, the plane swerved back to the center of the runway, and my passenger at that point appologized for "bracing on the left pedel" right at landing. I did not realize how tense he was, and also relaized that I had given the more serious briefing about the foot pedels when his wife was in the co-pilot seat. I actually took the experience quite well. I had put more pressure on the right pedel and also put in right aileron as I wanted to get weight off the "bad" tire. I was also considering a go around but figured it out the issue pretty quickly. We chatted about it on the taxi back to the hanger. He felt terrible. Since then, I remembered the flip of the bi-plane at DCA when the reporter braced to take pictures during landing and applied full brakes, which flipped the airplane (video of it if you search). I do not have brakes on the passenger side of my Mooney, but have considered getting them for safety so the co-pilot can brake if I'm incapacitated. However, if there were brakes, for all I know we would have crashed on landing Saturday. So, make sure your passengers are briefed not to touch controls even more so during takeoff and landing. Also, before takeoff and landing, I'm adding to my checklist verify co-pilot off controls. The poll above is multiple choice, so you can select as many inpust as you'd like. Please tell and specific stories we can all learn from. Happy flying. -Seth

I was landing at PIT - Pittsburgh once in my former F model (which does have speedbrakes - my current aircraft does not) and I was asked to keep speed up on final due to the jet behind me. I deicded since had the field in sight (I was on an ILS approach through a layer at about 2000), I raised my gear, powered up, and let them know I could maintain 140 until about a mile out - just like was suggested in an eariler post. I got to about a mile out, popped the speed brakes, pulled power, got the gear down, flaps down, trimmed the entire time, and landed on the long runway. I turned off the runway, got a thank you from the tower, and pretty quickly an MD-80 was rolling past me on the runway (as I had cleared and was taxing parallel on the taxiway. I almost stated that I was unable to do so (but not using the unable word as that word had not yet crossed my mind), as my instructors told me to never let ATC bully you into a situation that didn't make sense, but I figured with the current situation, it was find to speed up and then slow back down. It all worked out. In the Missile, since it is hard to slow it down without speedbrakes to gear speed of 132 knots without proper planning, I'd be hesitant to speed up and then slow down, but I would do it in the right situations. I have been asked to slow down when appraching an airport for spacing purposes (slow to 140, 120, and 110 in three different situations so far, but not to maitain a faster speed yet similar to what was requested in Pittsburgh). -Seth

Congratulations! The IFR ticket really opens up the capability of your aircraft. It makes all those trips that you worry about taking a non issue. When you worry about a trip you're taking IFR, that's when a true go/no go decision needs to be made. I like Don's comments above as a way to get comfortable starting with higher cielings (gentleman's IMC) and then working your way with experience and confidence down to minimums. I'm always amazed the few times I have taken an approach to minimums, you pop out of the layer, and the runway is right in front of you. It can be very tempting to bust minimums by just a few feet. DO NOT DO IT. Fly the missed procedure and always have a back up plan, even if it puts you behind schedule or out of the way for a while. Welcome to the privileges, flexibility, responsibility, and liability of your IFR ticket! Now go fly! -Seth

Tim works for both the buyer and seller - he wants to get the plane sold and will help each party realize what has to be done to make a deal. He has great support from Bruce Jaeger and also Jason Doscher who completed the pre-buy inspection (and annualed at purchase) my Mooney Missile. Tim really made sure that the transaction occured when at times both sides were ready to leave the deal. He's a great guy to work with - we still keep in touch. I know Parker also has a good relationship with Tim. He is someone you can call to talk about the aircraft. Obvioulsy, he'd love a sale to come out of the experience, but he's happy to work with you even if a sale does not occur. Jason Doscher is located at BBB a short flight away from Wilmar. Also, one of the nicest aspects that Tim wanted to be sure of was that I did not buy too much airplane. I appreciated that. It may rub some people the wrong way, but he wanted to make sure I'd be able to fly the airplane (pay for fuel) rather than just watch it sit in the hanger (or outside). He cares about his customers. He also has a lot of Mooney time. I would reccomend contacting Tim at Strategic Aircraft anytime for anything. http://strategicaircraft.com/ -Seth