Seth

Sorry for thread drift. Could that much snow (weight) damage tied down aircraft? I know 172's become tail staggers in ice and snow outside. I'm curious if a wing or tail can actually be harmed. If roofs are collapsing, that makes me curious. -Seth

Just saw the ad in AOPA Pilot with the both Mooney's flying (a new Acclaim and the new M10J). The M10J is obviously not an actual picture as they are not flying yet. I was flying with a fellow MooneySpace member yesterday and we spoke about the M10. It keeps the factory and company alive which is good for us. How often do we use the 3rd seat? This will be one of two three seat aircraft I know of on the market. A true niche. Less insurance as less seats, half the fuel load thanks to the JetA sipping diesel, and power at altitude. Really, that may make a great plane for me in 20 years to go with a share in a cabin class twin or single engine turboprop. I'm hoping they sell well internationally and keep the factory producing. Flight schools often have three in the airplane. A trainee under the hood, a safety pilot, and an instructor logging instructing time in the back seat. Three pilots getting PIC time. Take out the fourth seat, lower the fuel cost, now you've got a flight training machine and personal transportation vehicle for the soon to be booming Chinease markets and a competitor for US flight schools. I get it. Acquisition price? I still like my Missile for now. Worried about 100LL, but for now feel a drop in replacement will be made available. At what cost however is the question. -Seth

I have increase pulse on O2 at altitude. It's the heart trying to compensate for the lower oxygen levels in the blood (same amount of O2 delivered, by speed vs saturation). Take deep breaths with your nose (mouth closed) as opposed to shallow breaths and it helps up your O2 levels and thus lower your hear rate. Also, use your pulse-ox number more than the designated line to determine how much O2 per altitude. If you should only have the little ball floating at a certain height for a certain altitude, but your O2 reading is 92, up it as if you were higher and your O2 saturation will increase to a more desirable level. Very cool to have the F up to 17000. Had my Missile that high getting tailwinds coming back from the west coast in 2013. Highest I took my fomer F was 12,600 and it flew great with plenty of climb left. That was before I started carrying portable O2 and for less than 30 minutes. I usually can "feel" a slight heaviness on my chest and very little labored breathing (I have asthma and am very cognizant of my chest and breathing) usually once I pass 9000 feet. -Seth

It looks fast!

I'd love a twin as a step up at some point. Not right now, but at some point. If I do a twin, it would be a pressurized twin, which changes the game completely. Then you have to look at the single engine turboprops. Except, for the cost a twin vs a turboprop, it's still a huge difference. Twin: C340 C414 C421 Baron 58P P Navajo Aerostar (700P 701P 702P SuperStar) Lots to choose from Maybe a share of a King Air C-90? Turboprop singles: TBM 700 Meiridian (Piper) JetProp (Piper Malibu/Mirage conversion) PC-12 (too pricy) Turboprop twin: King Air? Piaggio Avanti? Maybe a piece of the turboprop twin? Anything outside of the older pressurized twins pistons gets pretty pricy pretty quickly. -Seth

I lived in Hotlanta for 5 years. I do love it there (visited last Thursday on business). -Seth

I'm sure there will be a chute. Very happy with the production quality of this video. They really are trying to show they mean business. I hope this works out and keeps Mooney alive for a long time. -Seth

I just showed the listing to my wife (we've been looking at moving from my place to a new home since we were married in April) and she has not been a fan of the hanger as part of the house. I showed her the slides of the pictures, and she was very into the place. She loved the octagon ceilings, the layout, the kitchen, bath, dining room, you name it - she really liked it. She loved the porch. Then she said, "what's that?" when I showed the exterior of the hanger. Then the open hanger slide and she laughed and said "Oh." I then showed her the price $375k. She then said "F-Me" (I of course stood up and said okay and then she laughed again to my chagrin. Here in the DC area, we are amazed how much our townhouse is worth and we could sell our place, move to GA (I used to live in ATL and the price of housing here in in DC is absurd), buy this place, and still have money left over to get an additional Aerostar, vintage T-6 Texan, and keep my Mooney. As noted, up here a house like that with a runway near DC, you're looking at over $1,000,000. I love DC, but am amazed at the cost savings not living here. -Seth

I've flown in and out of Greenbrier Valley Airport (Lewisburg, WV) many times. The surroundig terrain unless you stay in the valley areas rises on all sides and though there are many fields and emergency landing sights, most off airport landings there in a Mooney will have negative effects on the airframe. The airport has a wide and very long runway. Air Force One and military transports used that runway many times. It's where the congressional and senate bunker was for uh ears (nearby Greenbrier resort). Glad the pilot is safe. -Seth

Also, if you have a functioning PC system, then you can easily add the Brittain autopilot module that basically controls the wing leveling to the heading you want, either by picking a course or by having a nav unit send a signal. Most cost effective way to get an autopilot in the older birds. I had the wing leveling system on my fomer F model and enjoyed it. I was planning to upgrade to a full Brittain system by getting the parts and flying it to Tulsa for the install. Instead, I sold my F and purchased the Missile. I flew my F across the country, east coast to west coast and back. Got my IFR in it, and loved hand flying it. However, I must admit, an autopilot, such as the KFC200 in my Missile is a huge improvement to workload. You can still hand fly anytime, but boy is it nice to be able to use an autopilot to lower your workload, especially during low IFR flights. You become a manager of systems as opposed to both a manager and the operator. I would still hand fly approaches, and do from time to time to keep my skills up, but monitoring an autopilot and ready to take over instead, I feel, is the way I want it going forward (personally). And yes, I also flew the Missile coast to coast and back! -Seth

When I purchased my 1983 Missile it had Gils. They stopped holding charge well so I replaced them with concords two years ago. Not hard at all. -Seth

I have two Aero LED 36 size lights, not the 46. I am happy with them. I think they do not throw light quite as far as a regular bulb, but they are much brighter and have a wider beam when closer. For landing purposes, you'll notice it as you are on final - the surface of the runway illuminates but just a bit closer than with the old bulb. The 46 size is better for LED than the 36 size as you have more LED diodes. The Aeroleds are indeed brighter than the Whelens. Each bulb does come with the PMA paperwork. -Seth

I remember a Mooney hit a deer in MD last year during a night landing - I think the member was on this board, but I forget. -Seth

Both time's I've visited Portland for only a few hours to as I stopped in to see a friend. Once in 2010 and once in 2013 during my East to West Coast trips and back. My friend lived closest to PDX so I chose there. Sounds like there are some great alternatives. It was easy to get in and out of PDX. Both departures were from the runway on the North Side of the airport right near the FBO - easy to depart when I left, must have been off peak. -Seth

Jose- If you are arriving at night, do you conduct a low approach first to ensure there is no wildlife on the runway? During the daytime, do you conduct a low approach as well (buzz the field) and then land? What is normal procedure for you at fields that are known to have wildlife? -Seth

Also, even if I check many items the night before I always do the final, what did I miss walk around the plane, a full 360 from about 10 feet outside the wingtip, so that I can just view the plane to see if anything looks "off." After my final walk around, that's when I get in the airplane. I tend to count antennas, look for anything out of place, just anything odd. I caught a bracket that had cracked in the engine compartment once - it was the bracket for on of the induction hoses. It was hanging from the nose gear wheel well. It was a good catch as I'd have flown with an induction leak and potentially jammed nose gear (or just scraping from the bracket). The extra final walk around is just something I've always done since flight training. -Seth

Those are some great pictures. I've been wanting to learn formation flying for a long time - may finally make it happen in 2015. -Seth

All fixed! The guy at Lancaster Avionics figured it was one of two issues, and it turned out to be the first - they replaced a capacitor, cleaned it out, and we're working fine now. All in a few hundred dollars. That's now twice LNS has fixed equipment for a few hundred dollars. That's two repairs combined for 2/3 AMU. They conducted both repairs in the last year on two different items, each time, while I waited a few hours. Really nice people who know avionics. From what I am told, their installs are not inexpensive, but they clean out all the old wires and make sure that the aircraft is truly set up right. Again, I have not had them install anything, but I'd get a quote from them if the time ever came for anything after two positive repair experiences. Also, big thanks to Alan who offered to loan me an identical indicator should mine have need to been overhauled or took too much time. Thank you Alan. -Seth

The suit model on the grassy knoll? Loved that line from Zoolander. -Seth

Recently at my home base (KGAI - Gaithersburg, MD, just outside Washington DC), at least two pilots have reported missing fuel from their low wing aircraft. One was a twin, one a single, both in hangers that were not entirely secured at the time. One was about 18 gallons, the other between 20 and 40 gallons. It's pretty obvious the fuel was stolen as one pilot who is on this board has checked his tanks repeatedly since, and there is no leak. He had topped his tanks the day before after a flight and one tank was nearly empty during his preflight the next morning. Self serve tanks were down during that period, so maybe someone needed late night fuel, but my guess is that someone was just stealing fuel. -Seth

Should I have an early am departure, know I'll be pressed for time, or have a long/large trip coming up, I go to the hanger usually the night before and do a very thorough pre-flight. I make sure the gas is topped off or at the level I want it at for the flight (as fueling can sometimes take time) and ensure the oil is where I want it. If it needs a quart or a half quart, I take care of that the night/day before the big departure. I also may double check supplies in the back, wipe down the windscreen, buff the spinner, etc . . . light general maintenance. Check the lights - now that they are mainly LED, they don't burn out, but I still check, and in the past, replace a landing light if necessary. Make sure the cabin is clean, etc . . . Upon my arrival for the actual fight the next day, I still do my usual preflight, recheck the fuel of course (sump and visual) plus check oil again even if I just filled it to where it should be the night before. Do the full walk around, etc . . . but it's nice knowing on those planned longer or particular trips that the airplane less than 24 hours prior is in good shape. Always pre-flight before a flight, but I see the advantage of sometimes doing an extended light maintenance check the day before a special or planned departure. -Seth

I'd worry about corrosion being that close to salt water. What if a storm came in and we had to "move" the entire fleet to keep it out of the way of a storm surge? The Island may be nice for a few planes and a second location to relax and visit, but not for the mainstay of the fleet. Yes, now we're talking two airstrips, one on the mainland in our Aviation Community, and one in the Caribbean on our personally owned island. -Seth

No, you see I want to be PIC, and that would be an airplane I would need a crew. Not that it would be bad to have a crew, but I still want the ability to fly myself whenever just me. That being said, with an airplane that complex, maybe I should go with the crew. I know I'll need it with the B-17, but that's just my fondness for the airplane. Even the A-26 is a single pilot airplane! -Seth

Small Lotto: Keep My Missile RV-8/Similar Aerostar/Cessna 414/421 (maybe) Medium Lotto Keep My Missile RV-8/Similar T-6 Aerostar/Cessna 414/421 Thunder Mustang (maybe) Large Lotto Keep My Missile RV-8/Similar T-6 Thunder Mustang TBM/PC12/King Air B-200 Cessna 441/Piaggio Avanti II/King Air B250 (maybe) CJ3 (maybe) P-51D Mustang (maybe) Really Big Lotto Keep My Missile RV-8 T-6 Thunder Mustang Cessan 441/Piaggio Avanti II/King Air B250 P-51D Mustang CJ3 (maybe) A-26 Invader (maybe) B-25 Mitchell (maybe) B-17G Flying Fortress (maybe) Helicopter (maybe) Also, with the really big lotto I'd purchase the Bunny Mellon estate in VA that has a 5000 foot paved runway. Or, I'll buy some land, put in a runway, build my own hangers, and sell off lots for the rest of the fly in community. And, as indicated below, I'd hire 5 A&Ps and a crew for my Gulfstream that is missing on the list! -Seth

Boy you guys are fast! It's an online form as stated above. Sorry you have to go through this whole process. -Seth