Seth

There is a shop at Lancaster in PA that does it. http://www.sensenichpropellers.com/contact/pennsylvania/ Sensenich - On the field at LNS - they can do it an few hours for you while you eat lunch at the restaurant. The restaurant does not open until lunch time. There is also a pilot shop on the field if you get there prior to the restaurant opening. Priscilla usually answers the phone and she's person who will schedule you. Contact: Ray Hershey- General Manager and Quality Control- priscillasps@aol.com Stuart Carrihill- Manager- stuart@sensenichpropellers.com Phone: (800)462-3412 (717)560-3711 Fax: (717)560-4354

I have fixed my thread response to reflect this. Thanks for pointing out the correct information. -Seth

Baron B55? Seneca? Aztec? Non pressurized twin? Aerostar??

Great Pics!!! Looking forward to your videos. -Seth

I had bladders in my 1967 F model and never worried about leaks even though there could have been issues. It is rare when a bladder leaks and it is repairable. There is an ADs over moisture getting trapped in a fold in the bladder. See Maurader's response below for more information regarding this AD. It was never an issue when I owned and flew my Mooney with Bladders. In my Missile, I have the Monroy extended tanks, which do not have a bladder solution. I can install bladders and lose 34 gallons, or I can reseal. So I will reseal the Mooney when the time is right. If I top off the tanks completely with all 98 gallons, I have a slight leak, so I know the top of my Monroy extended range tanks have a small leak. I rarely need 98 gallons on board. 2-3 gallons per side less, and I'm fine with no leak, so if I'm making a real long trip, I'll top off and take off, otherwise, 90 gallons in the aircraft is plenty. I will reseal with Paul and Weep No More at some point, hopefully years from now. He and I have talked and though I have not yet been serviced by his company, he seems to match his reputation. You can't go wrong. Bladders are great, but cost useful load and the inability to add Monroy tanks in the future. It will fix your issue, as will a reseal. -Seth

Maybe you should contact the owner, look over the aircraft, and give an offer . . . who knows - it's not properly registered right now, he may let it go for a song.

PAR: Measuring the diameter of the bulb in 1/8's of an inch. PAR 36 is 36 eight's of an inch, or 4.5 inches. Par 46 is 46 eight's of an inch, or 5.75 inches. Again, many are happy with the PAR 46 sized replacements as there are more LED didoes. It's the PAR 36 bulbs that have some not thrilled about brightness, especially the original PAR 36 Whelen's. The new brighter Whelen's and especially the PAR 46 bulbs (many manufacturers) have had satisfactory results. My old F model and the J model in the cowling is Par 46 sized. I also know that a C used Par 46 size. I think C-J were PAR 46, and the switch to PAR 36 was made from the K on up. The Dual lights in the K cowling are Par 36 Sized. The Wings are PAR 36 sized. That's why I went with AeroLEDs - for Par 36, they are the brightest. And as mentioned before, the HX variety has the pulse/wig wag feature. If I had PAR 36 in the wings, I'd hook it up for on, off, wig wag, and pulse. In my cowling, I have the AeroLED HX taxi light set up for on/off/pulse and an LX landing bulb for on/off. -Seth

Make sure to get a good night of sleep tonight, eat a normal breakfast, and relax. You will need to demonstrate your skills in the cockpit of course, but when talking with the examiner they want to make sure you know what the killers are as well as simply having a good attitude. The examiner will want to make sure you can read a map, not kill yourself, and not break any rules that will get his sign off privileges revoked. Calm, relaxed, good decision making skills, and err on the side of caution. Good luck! Let us know how it goes. -Seth

I know of at least 6 at Gaithersburg, MD, Montgomery County Airpark, KGAI, and I'm sure there are more. My Missile, Tim's E, Alex's K, Chuck's J, an Acclaim I see in the pattern every so often (and then tucked away in a hanger) and a J owned by five individuals that I rarely see (also in a hanger). I think we have some in the tie down area, but I'm not sure. I'll take a better look the next time I'm at the airport. The MSC at W00, Freeway, MD, also has at least a dozen Mooney's based on the field not including the 4-6 being worked on any given day. I'll count the next time I'm there. -Seth

I will take another course. This is a great program George and I want a Stratus II! -Seth

http://www.airplaneflyingpilot.com/2010/12/win-an-airplane.html List of places/raffles to win an airplane -Seth

Not that I'm trying to lower my odds by listing these here and having everyone enter, but what are some of the aviation free sweepstakes you know about? 1. AOPA Aircraft Sweepstakes - this year its the Yellow 152. Be a member, renew membership, etc . . . http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2014/December/Pilot/f_152 You can also enter by mailing in an entry. 2. Sporty's - Giving away an RV-12. Make a purchase at Sporty's and you are entered http://www.sportys.com/SWEEPSTAKES#winners04.cfm?height=521&width=630 You can also enter by simply signing up for the catalog - no purchase is necessary 3.Hartzell Prop Top Prop Trailblazer Sweepstakes - http://hartzellprop.com/Sweepstakes/ All expenses paid backcountry flying trip or sea plane rating 4. EAA Sweepstakes: J-3 Cub (2nd place VIP Oshkosh) https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/contribute-to-eaa/eaa-aircraft-sweepstakes 5. King Schools - Alaskan Flying Adventure http://www.kingschools.com/sweepstakes/ Any others? Please list all the free sweepstakes we can enter aviation wise - I feel a strong CB club type undertone for some reason today. -Seth

"Yes, no matter how you slice it, soloing an airplane is a big deal. And if you count yourself among those who have soloed, no matter what your future aviation attainments may be, you deserve a great deal of respect. For you, my friend, are a pilot." -C. W. Austin, CFI from AOPA Pilot. April 2000 Alex, congratulations. Keep working hard, learn from every flight, and enjoy it. In no time you'll have 40 hours, will get your PPL, then get your Instrument rating, and keep learning. In no time you'll have hundreds of hours. I can't believe I hit 1000 last year. This is a joy to read and I will keep coming back to this thread. I'm even relearning skills and tricks I haven't thought about in years. -Seth

Becca- Since this is a short term duration, you may want to call the FBOs at GAI, FDK, JYO, HEF, and find out if they would park the Mooney in a community hanger for that time period. Heck, call the giant FBOs at IAD and BWI as well just to see if a manager wants to make a little extra money for six weeks with space that's just sitting there next to a jet/turboprop. I know of a pilot who is currently doing that until a T-Hanger opens up and it's for a little bit more than a T-Hanger monthly. I know prices for T-Hangers in the area are outrageous, so I'm sure the community hangers may be very high as well. If you are willing to go a little further out, again check out that other thread but also look at DMW, CJR, OKV, MTN W00 which is just on the edge of the FRZ on the west side may have a temporary solution - contact them and ask for Stan (it's a small strip with hazards on both ends and an MSC). He may even allow you to put up a temporary aircraft hanger structure in one of the areas further from the runway - not sure if he is still doing this, but I know years ago a few were up on the field for a period of time. W18 is actively trying to be shut down and developed by the owner, and less aircraft are based there now with increased displaced thresholds, and may have a ratty hanger available. CGS, FME, and W50 have no hangers. W50 may have one, but it's not available. ANP has both hangers and carport like structures, but I'm not sure of any availability. It's either VKX or W32 that is run by an interesting personality but may have a hanger or two available. However those are DC3 airports so you'll need your super secret double probation FRZ credentials (which you should get while in town so you can fly into CGS in the future and walk to metro). You could also find the aircraft for sale at the different airports in the region, buy the least expensive one you can find that has a hanger, swap locations, sell the other airplane, and then rent out the DC hanger going forward for crazy money. When you two are in town this summer, let me know and we'll meet up. I'll give you suggestions on what to see, do, restaurants, museums, fun, etc . . . Welcome temporarily to the Greater Washington DC Metropolitan Area in the near future. -Seth

Same with me - last year. Very easy. However, I am curious what the procedure is if you don't get the postcard.

Congratulations!! When you can join the NJ (really mid-atlantic) email group so you can find out more easily the fly in get togethers. We'd love to meet you (and check out your airplane) in person. Enjoy the cross country flight this weekend!! -Seth

Which brands overheat? Good to know (espeically if it's the one in my plane!!)

The wing leveler means a Britain autopilot can be added for much less than any other system available. Acutrack/Accuflight If the wing leveler is working then the new owner would just have to find a serviceable control box, have it overhauled in Tulsa at Britain and install it. Boom - working autopilot. The nav source could slave to the KX-155 VOR/ILS or fly a heading. -Seth

I have a PMA letter from AeroLEDs. The 36LX and 36HX I know are approved. For the 46, my guess is it is, but do call them - they'll let you know. If you go to their website and call they give great customer service.

Is the 55 Baron Fiki? -Seth

You have a few choices: LED -Whelen Paremtheus http://www.whelen.com/pb/Aviation/Product%20Sheets/Parmetheus_Series.pdf -Alphabeam http://www.teledynelighting.com/products/alphabeam.asp -AeroLEDs 36 or 46 (depending on your bulb size) HX and LX http://aeroleds.com/ -Grote Trilliant (not legal) http://www.grote.com/ The Grote is a tactor light that works just fine, but is not legal. It is significantly less costly and I hear it is adequate from other boards. The newer Whelen Paremtheus is brighter than the original, which in the par 46 size was okay but in the par 36 size, since smaller, had less didoes and thus was not bright enough for some board members. I chose the AeroLEDs as at the time (and I think still now) they were the brightest of the LEDs. Also, unfortunatly, I think the most expensive. The difference between the HX and LX are that the LX is simply an on off switch, like any other bulb. The more expensive HX has already been set up so that as long as you run a third wire and connect it the battery, it has a built in pulse option (or if you have two light spots, a wig wag function. So your lights can be on, off, pulse, or wig wag. Nice setup in one small package without needing a ballast or external additional power unit (other than the wires feeding electricity). If you just want an on off light, any will do. If you have the smaller Par36 light, I would without question suggest the AeroLED. If you want the ability to have your light pulse/blink, I'd go AeroED and get the one that does so and wire it that way. You can always drop it in for now with the on/off function, and then when you are ready to tackle the wiring, wire it up. My setup is where I have one LX bulb and one HX bulb. They are both in my cowling under the prop. So my landing light is the LX on/off. My taxi light with a wider spread, is the HX on/off/blink. In flight I usually leave the taxi light blinking. It's easier for other aircraft to spot me that way. I need to have someone sit on the gound and let me know if you can see the blinking with the landing light on during the day. At night, I leave both lights ON when landing. If I had the lights mounted in my wings, I would have hooked up a wig wag feature. Even though I had two regular bulbs, they kept burning out and I had three no light landings. It's good to practice it from time to time, but when you are at an unfamiliar airport at night, it is very difficult to taxi afterward with no landing/taxi light. The HID lights are the brightest, but it's now older techology requiring and install. I decided to go LED Drop in replacement (with one extra wire and on/off/blink switch later for the taxi light). Do let us know what you decide. With Sun'n'fun going on you may be able to get a nice discount even if not in attendance. I got a similar discount during Oshkosh last year even though I did not attend. -Seth

The Bunny Mellon estaete is for Sale in Upperville, VA. It includes a 5000 foot paved runway. Great place to start a flying community and then just fly to DC (college park is walking distance to metro) when you need to be in the city. Problem is, the estate as a whole, with the horse stables, mansion, 4 guest house, and close to 20 buildings total, is selling for $70 million. Maybe just parcel off the runway and surrounding grounds for the fly in community? http://www.wfp.com/listing-showcase/property-details.asp?mlsid=FQ8431902 As stated before, JYO sounds like a good choice - I'm sure you'll get a hanger there pretty soon. -Seth

Except the terrain he plans to fly over a few times per year - he'll want the turbo for those hops. I flew my Missile up to 17,000+ on my trip across the USA out west, but if I had hit icing, it would not have been good as I'd have limited outs. I do not have TKS on my Missile. Alex and I are both based at GAI. He has a 231 and I have a Missile. We have compared our real world performance. At sea level, my 300 HP climbs and is much faster than his 210 HP. Once we get up to 10,000 or so, we are close to even in speed, but I'm more efficient. Once we are higher, he pulls away. Just like what was mentioned. If you are going fly over 14k a lot, go turbo, otherwise, a big NA engine (Missile, Ovation, Eagle) may make sense. With the terrain you are talking about, Turbo may also simply be a must. -Seth

The simulator is a good idea to give my wife the confidence she needs on the controls. There is one at the local flight school. She is a very confident individual, but does not love flying like I do. She loves the idea of getting somewhere by plane and likes to fly if we are going to a destination away. She doesn't want to fly to breakfast, lunch, or any $100 hamburger run. She also does not like to go up with me when I just want to go fly. However, she is very timid on the controls and does not enjoy actually flying the airplane. I've gotten her comfortable checking in on new frequencies and working the radios to an extent, but the actual flying she just doesn't like. I've had her do some takeoffs, climbs, turns, etc, but she doesn't like it. I have showed her and she has learned how to turn on the autopilot, how to increase or decrease engine power, and how to steer with the autopilot. She's learning the GPS to an extent and the ipad. She mentions that she wants a lesson at some point from an instructor but every time I offer she declines and says sometime soon or another time. The simulator may be a great bridge. I'm not going to force anything. Glad it worked for you. -Seth

Oscar- Welcome back to the greater Washington DC Metropolitan area. JYO, Leesburg, VA is a nice airport. I know that they build new hangers there a few years back and there are openings often - keep checking back with them. In time, you'll get one. There may even be empty "rented" hangers. Ask around, you may find one that the lease is being paid but there is no aircraft and you can always make a deal until a hanger officially becomes available. JYO is unique in that it has the special transponder code so you don't have to file and SFRA flight plan to ingress/egress the Lessburg Manuvering area as long as you stay clear of the SFRA. There used to be two codes, one for aircraft exiting and another for aicraft arriving. Now, it's just one code if you are coming or going from Leesburg, 1226. https://www.faasafety.gov/files/notices/2014/May/Leesburg_Manuvering_Area_FDC_4-9152.pdf JYO sits as you are aware, just north of IAD (Dulles) and under the approach path when the three 19 runways are in use. You see A LOT of heavy metal but it can cause an issue during instrument flying when you just want to shoot an approach and they are stacked up for miles. The only IAPs are into runway 17, an ILS and a GPS. Gaithersburg has a GPS Alpha approach that is a circle to land, but does not get in the way of the arrivals into IAD when IMC exists. It has been "suggested" to me by controllers a few times in order to expedite the arrival, as I'd have to hold to get the straight in approach, which is not necessary unless the base is real low. Hopefully we'll see you at the next lunch fly in. My brother in law and family live Ashburn, so I'm down your way a lot. Take care, -Seth