Parker_Woodruff

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.

The M20J flies "nicer", in my opinion. But nothing significant that should sway your opinion one way or another. Fly the plane you want/desire/can afford.

Thought for a second you were discussing the merits of three out of the four engine variants to the M20K

Both are nice Mooneys. The M20S is faster and burns a bit more fuel. Not efficient for short trips. The M20S is finished out inside nicer than the older M20Js.

A Google search shows quite a few screens in that airplane. Lots of maps and slick, digital avionics are no replacement for good airmanship and IFR proficiency.

For wind and weather and airspace, this was the best route: KMLB MAI KCEW KMSY KACT KELP ELP T306 ANIMA V16 SSO V16 TUS KTUS TUS V66 MZB OCN V23 SLI KHHR

I just finished a coast to coast flight (FL to CA) in a 1978 M20J and for probably the 2nd delivery flight this year something bad DIDN'T happen. I've learned over the past several years how to tell people "No" and leave a plane parked in some other state. Even if it means losing time/money for me. It's a shame that aircraft owners have gotten so lax about maint and that airplanes are flying so little now. Also, setting my rate a bit higher ($50/hr or $400/day) has weeded out some of the bad stuff.

You guys actually fly a lot. I'm impressed. I've flown 200 hours in the last 12 months. I'm typically about 150/year with the highest year being about 400 and the lowest about 50. 1550 hours total time and a rated pilot since 2006. I think about 700 hours in Mooneys.