Parker_Woodruff

I don't even think you've heard the complainant's side of the story...just a rant

Significant case of Global Whining going on here.

Are they not allowed to try to make a profit?

I personally like your T-210 idea over a Mooney. Though I would probably take a Piper Seneca III or later with your budget.

The ad says 1030lbs... The engine is a TSIO-360-MB/SB It is 220 horsepower since it has been converted to an Encore. The Rocket is the 305hp TSIO-520

I know you're attached to the Cherokee, but you will be pouring a nice Cherokee's worth of money in that one to make it airworthy. I hate to see a plane scrapped, too. But a plane that's been sitting in Florida for years might not be worth the investment.

If you want to carry 575 pounds of pax and 4 hours (or more) of fuel, you'll need an M20K 252 that has been converted to an Encore of an early M20M Bravo. Otherwise, you won't get the useful load you need. Most people who have $16K first annuals didn't get a good pre-purchase inspection done. The Mooney I used to own is for sale. It would be the perfect candidate. http://www.controller.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=1354063&LP=CONTROLLER

Just a quick Southwest flight down I-35 and I can be there.

good chatting with you - let me know if you need any help

Much better, in my opinion.

1) talk to an attorney 2) your best defense is good insurance, to the liability limits that make sense for your situation and exposure. Talk to an insurance professional.

Ask to clarify, but minimum vectoring altitudes can be lower than the approach plate. I have had ATC make a mistake on an approach before, and I questioned it before it became a problem. Just succinctly ask "verify 3000 for NXXXXX; plate says 3500?"

That is an incredible looking M20J

A lot of the more expensive FBOs sell to their clients at a contract fuel price. They might not pay anywhere near retail. And it's all negotiable. Show up on the ramp without a contract or a pre-arranged price, and you will likely be paying the $5-6/gal markup.

Yeah it was 20 or 21 hours, mostly into headwinds. Including taxi time. And a couple short hops because of scattered storms added some time.

There is plenty of light and trace ice that can be had on a summer day at 15,000 feet. Instead of altering course or altitude for a small little whispy cloud, it's nice to just run the TKS system. I've had ice on a couple occasions where there wasn't forecast for ice and the temps/freezing levels agreed. I had plenty of options to escape, but it still would have been nice to have TKS. That said, there's nothing wrong with a non-de-iced M20K. I loved mine.

Have some confidence in the airline pilots. None of them "like" turbulence or storms and none of them will tell you "yes" if you ask them before a flight that they are going to willfully go into the purple stuff. As altitude increases the margin for appropriate speed becomes very small. Research "Coffin Corner". I have no idea if such a thing applies here, but one report said they were likely too slow for turbulence. Weather related accidents for airliners in the USA are often a result of a chain of things going wrong. They are almost nonexistent from the perspective of a pilot just deciding to go through a bad cell. Look at what happened with the American crash in Little Rock in 1999. They knew they were in over their heads. They caved to external pressures and should have diverted.

Where do you live? If it is cold outside, give the fuel maybe 15-30 seconds after priming to vaporize a bit. Engine will fire up a lot sooner.

Mostly fundamentals, but a little bit of momentum, in my opinion. Some of this domestic production cannot survive at $55/bbl. That will put the brakes on the slide...

The extra takeoff and landing will often eat up the $0.50-$1/gal you might save. I will often support the private FBO as opposed to the municipal airport owned fuel station. Cities that make a net loss because of little fuel markup take away demand from reasonably-priced FBOs that should otherwise get the business and would probably have lower prices anyway if a lot of the airport authorities didn't steal their business with no financial repercussions for an impossible business model. And I absolutely wil support excellent privatized models like West Houston or Austin Executive. Excellent facilities and reasonable prices.

I never had an event that scared me in the air in regards to the condition of either of my Don Maxwell maintained Mooneys (500 hours or so between the two). but let me tell ya, that one guy's plane I flew who had it expertly maintained by a guy in that worked to Maxwell's standards except for $45 an hour and can identify a Mooney from 500 feet away because of its backwards tail left me with a million problems and a ticked off owner when I refused to fly his plane any further. That and the owner who refused to believe that one of his cylinders was actually cracked....he replaced it shortly thereafter... "I don't believe in that Mooney Service Center gar-bage" Another unique story...I just flew a Mooney from FL to CA without a single problem. The A&P who restored it hadnt really maintained any Mooneys, but did everything to Mooney spec and talked to the factory when he needed support. Charged the owner a premium and I think the owner got exactly what he paid for...a fine airplane returned to service in excellent condition. There's hope for the non-MSCs in the world.

I, for one, am tired of being the "undercut the price" kind of guy in the pilot services/CFI business. It wore me out and sometimes it's as if I lost money on some deals. If I can bring a better service to my clients, I'm going to charge for it. They don't have to pay it and they can find some timebuilder who will work for $200/day. That mentality is a bit different in the aviation insurance world because a huge component of me bringing value to my clients is achieving the most favorable rates for the insurance coverage provided.

the cost of owning an aviation business on an airfield is high. And then add the California multiple. Then add some premium for having the client base (demand) side that makes your shop in demand. Profit accordingly. the day it's not worth what they're charging is the day they wont have demand to keep the doors open *and/or* they Do shoddy work that stifles demand. It sounds like they're doing everything right.

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It's a shame we can't get anything in Dallas.