Seth

They had their first flight earlier this week. 150 members currently and 3 airplanes. Once they work their numbers in a real life test enviroment (as there's no modeling really available for this sort of venutre) they'll add members from the current 5000 on the wait list. Then once they are sure the model works, they'll get a few more airplanes and add more members. -Seth

I'll create a new thread for a GED fly in - I was thinking July 13th or 14th. -Seth

David - I agree 100% - May strategy does lead to dehydration and thus diminished capacity - however, I've only made those longer flights a few times. Usually my legs are no more than 3 to 3.5 hours - and I'm fine with no special prep except using the bathroom beforehand. This technique has only been used for the 4.5+ hour legs - I can count one hand the amount of times those flights have been made. Dehydration is extremely dangerous. After those last flights, I was thirsty when waking up the next morning each time even though quasi replenished plenty upon landing and into the evening (water - not beer or wine). I have asthma and try to stay as hydraded as possible often as it helps my breathing - It is not the best strategy, but it helps for those long legs. It just means in the future I should go ahead and get a turboprop or have unlimited disposable income and get a jet. -Seth

Chewy Granola Bars, Gummy Bears (love me some gummy bears - so not good for you and I find I only eat them as a treat when flying now), and sometimes other assorted snacks. I only drink liquid once I'm about 1.5 hours from landing, and only really drink more than sip or two once 45 minutes out if I'm not having any bladder issues. A good trick to help you be less thirsty when you still have more than 1.5 hours left on your flight is to sip a very small amount of water and swish it all over your mouth. Then gargle it, continue to swish, and then swallow. It makes you much less thirsty. Also, if I'm not flying for the remainder of the day, once I do land, I down a full bottle of water and rehydrate as I know from both not drinking too much before the flight and not drinking during the flight, I'm dehydrated even if I don't feel it. If you seem thirsty anytime, it already means you are dehydrated. -Seth

An early version of the Star Trek Replicator? Earl Tea, hot . . .

The last one was originally set for GED but we switched it to FDK. I was thinking we'd actually make it to GED this time. Will that be too far for you? -Seth

Ouch. That's quite a story about the boat. And I too agree, how do you miss a tie down on a CESSNA high wing. I'm actually pretty paranoid about misisng tie downs and chocks. I'll finish my pre-flight, get in the plane, get ready to fire up, second guess myself, and get back out of the plane even though I went through my preflight because I think I was distracted or may have forgotten to check one of the wheels. One time - in July 2010, maybe the 8th or 9th at Rapid City Falls in South Dakota - I forgot to remove the nose chock. I cranked, added power, it didn't move, I knew I had missed something, was about to power down when a member of the FBO ran over, put up his hand and signalled to me that he would pull the chock, I though about stopping the engine, but decided since he had already ducked under, to not change a thing. He pulled out it, gave me the thumbs up, and I taxied out. Only time I've ever forgotten a tie down/chock. Still remember the airport, morning, everything. It was early in the morning and I was rushing to get going as I had to be in Minneapolis by a certain time. I guess this is part of the "Get-There-Itis" that Ihave fallen prey to in the past. I've really worked hard to stop falling prey to "Get-There-Itis." Anyone else have any stories of making a mistake like that with a tie down or chock? Maybe why you made the mistake so we can learn? I've heard of the towbars attached during take off or tail ropes flying behind C-172s like banners. -Seth

I saw that on the news this morning. I need to look into it more, but I'm curious if the balloons will have a transponder attached for ATC purposes. I know 60,000 feet sees little traffic, but miliary or other vehicles at those altitudes will need to know where the balloons are located; especially at the speeds aircraft in those altitudes usually travel. -Seth

I've heard of multiple pilots happy with Plane Power Alternators but have no personal experience.

Wish I could have been there. Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there and those of you that are fathers. Be on the lookout for an early lunch fly in somewhere in the mid Atlantic in the near future! -Seth

Thanks for the replies. The individual interested is thinking of buying a C and upgrading it over the years himself. Not me. -Seth

I would love to but can't this weekend!!! I'm going to make it out to another event for the east coast at some point. Or - I'll just organize one. -Seth

Welcome to Mooney Space. I did not install the tanks as they were already on my airplane at purchase in 2011. I have the Missile conversion on the M20J which drinks a bit more fuel per hour depending on power settings. I have the long range tanks and I have not had any issues with them. Frankly, I love the flexibility - fly for a long period of time, tank around cheap fuel you find in nowheresville, and have extra durationa and emergency amounts when necessary should you hit headwinds or hold for weather to clear. You have pure flexibility on fuel vs payload, and the useful load on the Missile is pretty high. If you have speed brakes or install them, it eats up space that woudl otherwise be availalbe with the long range tanks - note that when installing. I do not have speed brakes and got an extra 10 gallons or so of fuel vs other extended tanks out there (maybe only 7 or 8 gallons more). However, the negative is when it comes time to reseal. Knock on wood, I've been okay so far (watch me find a leak today) but you cannot put bladders in if you have the Monroy tanks - that's wet wing only. So, when I do need a reseal, I'll fly up to "Weep No More" or whatever the place is called in Minnesota and have them complete the work for me. It will be a more expensive reseal as there wil be four bays, vs two to take care of. My former Mooney, a 1967 F model had bladders (also previously installed), and I was very happy with both bladders and so far the wet wing. This is not meant to spark a discussion on bladders or reseal, but with the extended range tanks, you can ONLY reseal. Also, watch for fuel leaks between the inboard and outboard tanks - sometimes it's so small you don't catch it until annual (mine was corrected - I forget which wing had a small leak around one of the connecting pieces. A great addtion to your plane. Having long range tanks equals a speed mod. You make a 5 to 8 hour flight no problem and don't lose the minimum 25 minutes to usual hour on the ground during a refueling stop. Most compentant shops can install the mod, however, Don Maxwell's shop may be the best rated of all Mooney Service Centers. Since you're in Texas, just use him. Get someone on this board to fly you back to your home base - I'm sure they'd love a reason to fly, and then drop you back off when your plane is ready. Maybe do it with your annual and then kill two birds with one stone since it will be sitting there anyway for a period of time. Take care, -Seth

Bad probe? different type of probe? -Seth

I flew myself from the east coast to west coast and back - twice. Once in 2010 with a 1967 M20F and just a few weeks ago in my 1983 M20J Missile 300. 40+ hours and about 4950 nautical miles 2010 for the loop around the country flew southside on the way out and north side on the way back. Similar route in 2013, but stopped in Seattle, so the trip was closer to 5100 nautical miles. That rount took me just over 30 hours flying time. Longest non-stop flight both distance and time wise were in the Missile - FCM - Flying Coud, Minnesota (Minneapolis) to my home base of GAI - Gaithersburg, MD (Washington DC suburb). 800 NM, about 4.5 hours. -Seth

I knew there was a reason I really wanted to get my commerical rating finished!

Congrats! Use some of this dual period to work on your Instrument Rating - knock that out and you'll REALLY be able to use the true capability of your aircraft. If you are paying for the duel instruction anyway, why not get a good chunk of the IFR rating requirements completed? Watch your pattern speeds, stay ahead of your bird, and remember, every landing is a go-around, the landing is just a bonus. Happy Flying! -Seth

I admit I've been very happy with my XM weather on first a Garmin Handheld 496 and now the Aera 560. However, remember there is a dealy. Also, when I have rented aircraft and not brought my portable, I admit, I feel nakid without weather. I have not yet tried one of the ipad solutions but may look into that in the near future. From what I have read, XM still gives more information than the iPad or ADS-B solutions, but they are "free" where as XM has a monthly cost. -Seth

Another out, and I know it crossed your mind, was simply putting down on a road, and waiting out the storm if you ended up that low on gas. I agreen, have the life raft/flotation devices and PLB on board if you're going to use an overwater route as an escape. I have screw in metal coils for tie down in grass (not the claw) that came with my first plane. I've used them twice when there were no spots at airports to park and I had to park in the grass - they won't provide ultimate tie-down security (sun'n'fun a few years ago perfect example) but to keep the airplane intact on a precautionary off airport landing for weather, maybe enough to be okay and fly out afterward. Good job avoiding the weather and having "outs" -Seth

I have a pilot aquaintance who flies a Cessna 172 and was wonderfing if it is possible to install a 200 HP fuel injected engine into an M20C airframe. Basically, upgrade a C to an E. I thought abou this and let him know that unless he can do the work himself, and he gets a runout C at a very very low cost, then maybe it could be worth it. Otherwise, buy an E and fix it up yourself. But back to the question, since one is a C and the other is an E, is it possible to upgrade an M20C to and M20E? Not is it possible, but is it legally possible and has anyone conducted or completed such an endevour? -Seth P.S. Yes Alex, he was thinking about your C model.

That's a great idea too. And yes, it is out of warrenty. It was purchased in 1999 and upgraded to WAAS in 2007. It's a very intermittant problem, only shown the issue a half dozen times, but it's the same error those time. I'll do some more reseach but these are great suggestions. -Seth

Thank you! I spoke with Garmin and they said the fault is an interanl issue on the boards within the box themselves. He said it's a flat rate $900 repair and they may have to repair/replace some of the internal components to solve the issue. However, I'm curious as to what to do after I talk to my shop. Maybe this is a common issue like yours and it's not internal. The tech I spoke too, vs the original service rep who knew nothing that transferred me to the field tech, said it's not terribly common, but the fault code is an internal issue, not something hooking up to the box. He said that error is an inside the until failure, not a hookup to an antenna. I'm still curious however if it may just be a lose wire outside, or something like an antenna like your issue. -Seth

I recieved a few error messages out of my Garmin 430W during my "Mad Missile Dash" across the USA. "VLOC is not responding" "G/S is not responding" At times I would get both of these error messages but everything would continue to work. I never recieved these messages when I preformed any Instrument Approaches. I also have a second glideslop coupled to my second radio, a KX-165, so I can easily hand fly an ILS, LOC, or VOR approach if needed (and I did hand fly one ILS just because I wanted to during one approach during my trip). Every time I would restart after the last flight, the self test would be okay. Each error showed itself less than five times times during the trip and only twice at the same time. Usually after at least an hour an a half if not two hours into the flight. Looking online, this is what I found for the G/S issue: -Internal system-to-system communication between the main processor and glideslope reciever has failed. Operational status of the glideslope reciever is unknown. -Contact Garmin technical support This is what I found for the VLOCK issue -Internal system-to-system communication between the main processor and the VLOC reciever has failed. Operational status of the VLOC reciever is unkocwn. -Contact Garming technical support Does this mean my 430w is dying? Is this a simple fix? Worth getting checked out if very intermittant? Could it be a software upgrade? Another avionics issues all together? Has anyone experienced anything similar? Has anyone ever contacted Garmin technical support? Are they actually helpful? I plan to call and discuss this with my MSC, but as always, wanted first to check this out on MooneySpace. Thanks, -Seth

Long time to follow up, but prior to my Mad Missile Dash, with the contacts cleaned - boom - problem solved. Same master switch, just had to clean the contacts, no more pulsing. -Seth

Home safe and sound. Flew on Friday from Seattle to Minnesota with a fuel stop in Wyoming. Originally the plan was Montana and North Dakota, but weather dictated a more sothernly route. My final flight was on Satutrday from FCM - Flying Cloud in Minnesota to my home base in Maryland, GAI. It was the longest distance and flight time I've ever flown. Top ground speed in level flight during my trip was 230 knots during my run from Seattle to Minnesota on Friday. Still had some pretty spectacular speeds heading East across the USA. Highest I flew was 17,000 feet to get above some clouds for a short time. Consistently, I had a few legs at 16,000 feet. For much of my return flight on Saturday, I flew at 9,000 feet, truing out around 180 with a push putting me in the 200 to 220 range. It was a wonderful trip and a great experince. -Seth