wmrunyon

Captains, It is a sad day for me as i closed on the sale of my Mooney. It is comforting to know the plane is in great hands as these two gentlemen have moved up from a 231 (some of you may debate this point!) which they sold last month. And i know they are flying a ship that will provide great safety, efficiency and fun for years to come. My wife and i have a young boy and another on the way. She wants a cabin class plane with pressurization, so we will be moving on from the Mooney product, with heavy hearts. I have owned two, loved them both and they have served me well over the years. Great trips and memories and experiences. My best advice: Take the MAPA Air Safety Foundation PPP Course. Even if you have been flying your steed for years, you will come away with knowledge. It is worth every penny. Fly safe and train often. All my best, bill

I bought an iPhone a few weeks ago and now know what the "buzz" is all abought. What a great gadget! My question to the those in the know, what are the favorite aviation apps? Fore Flight looks interesting and gets a good review from Aviation Consumer, but it is pricey at $75. AOPA's Directory is free, so that is easy. What else is popular? bill

Buster, I have TKS and feel it is a worthy option. It is interesting that i have used it more in the summer months than winter, even in the southern states. A lot of times it will be at or below freezing, flying in the teens and you run thru some higher layers. TKS is on, nothing is sticking to the aircraft, and life is good. Yes, there is a weight penalty, but i rarely fly with the tank full. So you can save a little weight if you plan appropriately. The opinions you need are from TKS equipped pilots....could you find one who has it and who would say, "naw, i would not do it" ? After a flight to Colorado and we had some minor icing on final (i called it frost, but my wife recalls we were "iced over"), Tanya insisted we get TKS. She is much more comfortable with IMC flights knowing we have this capability. And one last point, TKS is very effective; it will work if you need it. But be prepared and have it activated before entering into conditions below freezing. It takes a few minutes to pressurize the system and effectively get fluid thru the panels. Good luck in finding the right plane for you! Bill

George, very well articulated . I agree, this pilot's ticket deserves to be pulled not only to preserve his life and the lives of his passengers. But also to preserve our future in aviation.

I was wandering the sane thing about the FAA looking into this...it would not be too hard to find the guy. The flight obviously started at Van Nuys airport and the Bonaza tail starts with N65. They guy that posted it gave the date of the flight last week... I am sure it would not take long for someone to find the plane's owner.

My guess: the L-39 pilot was experienced enough to break off, climb and file (illegal, but safer) or reverse course to VMC. I wander what kind of fuel flows the L-39 has at such an altitude, and at our speads?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nm8pNgqBAk I am sure Mooney Pilots make better decisions than Bonaza Pilots! Bill

I have a Bruce cover on my Mooney and have been very satisfied. The fit is extremely snug and the cover does not move around in a breeze. There are 5 straps: three straps to secure it up front and two in the back. One fore and two aft of the nose gear and two of these do slip in the crease where the gear doors meet the cowling. So they do not go over the doors. The materials feel to be of high quality and the stitching very well reinforced. There is an inner lining that feels like a fleece or soft cloth material for added protection. The outer canvas repels water, even after a long rain. Yep, they are a bit more expensive, but i went off the theory "you get what you pay for". I only use it on trips (hangared at home) and it looks great after 4 years.

I had an interesting flight last Sunday and WAAS came in very handy. I was picking up a patient at Monroe, LA (KMLU). The weather was b/w 400-700 feet and the GS for RW 04 was Notam’d inop. We were vectored & cleared for the 22 ILS and the GS came alive but i never got the localizer, so went missed. After a query to the tower, they responded that it too was inop. My only option now to get below the weather was a LPV approach and after a quick vector we were able to get in. There is a reason the FAA did not invest in or install any new ILS approaches for 08 & 09…WAAS is here to stay and the future for our approaches. Bill

Ronnie, welcome aboard and i sincerely appreciate Mooney Factory expertise on this site for input. I will have to say that i need to echo previous posted concerns. My plane was re-painted in 2005 at the factory, and it is unfortunate to say, the paint is virtually peeling off down to metal. It is painful to watch and it will need to be dealt with this fall. I have been told by factory personnel and other paint shops i have talked to, my situation is likely due to poor prep work. My question is: Has the paint facility at Kerrville been upgraded? Has a contemporary environmentally controlled paint booth been added? The previous facility or “paint booth” was a step up from a barn! You could see daylight thru the walls and on a windy day, i can imagine dust/dirt blowing in. There was obviously no control for temperature or humidity, much less, outside contaminates. If a proper booth has not been constructed that provides over-pressurized air filtration and temperature/humidity control (like Tejas and others), the factory paint jobs will always be a compromise. The best painters in the world can not do quality work with poor equipment. My paint job looked beautiful ( and still does) but it is literally falling off the plane. It is unfortunate that it has not lasted 4 years and i have to reinvest in this process to preserve my plane. I have learned my lesson to personally research and inspect the facility & personnel who will paint my plane. Bill

1. M20M 1991 2. Current engine time 950 hours, Lyc reman; only engine problem has been with the exahaust system, expensive to repair or replace. 3. The 1st engine made it to 1850 hrs.

Scott, Thanks for digging up D Maxwell's explanation. I may just fly over and let him figure it out. My mechanic states he is certain it is the gauge and i'm of the opinion it is wiring. bill

I need some advice. i have a '91 Bravo and the right fuel indicator (in the panel) has been erratic for about 3 months. Now about half the time it is asleep against the left side peg; it might come alive for awhile indicating what it thinks as correct fuel levels. Then it will bounce around as if it has a short, then goes off line. Apparently the wiring diagram for these could wallpaper a small office, but my mechanic swears it is the indicator itself and not a connection, ground or anything with the fuel sending units in the tank. The gauge, which he recommends replacing, is $850. Ouch. Is there a cheaper alternative? Please advice. Thanks! Bill

I am in total agreement with a forum for MAPA and wish Trey would purchase this forum from Craig for his wonderful effort, incredible expertise and support of this site. He has done a great job and deserves compensation for the idea and implementation. I am a member of the MMOPA (Malibu) group also. They have a fantastic group and their website is broad and deep to include a very nice forum such as this. I feel one strong advantage with such a forum is the historical conversations that are kept on file. For example, if in two years from now a new guy comes on board and wants to know about Bladders vs. a reseal, he can learn everything he needs to know, plus some in just a few minutes, vs. 2-3 days of exchanges. And think of all the conversations that have taken place over the years on the MAPA email list that we do not have access to. A lot of institutional knowledge is lost, or at a minimum has to be recreated by someone else asking a similar question a year later when the problem creeps up. And my last comment is that i just hate opening up my email at home, after a long day’s work, and having 50 emails from MAPA. It is less intrusive and more logical to access a website to pick and choose what topics you are interested in, such as this Forum! Or have the option of having every email exchange forwarded to your inbox from the forum if you are so inclined. Bill

Gentlemen, Great input on protecting the fuel cap seal. Triflow is great stuff and worked quite well lubricating the moving parts of the cap making its function smooth and easy. When my plane came out of annual this past spring (at a MSC), i noted on preflight that the O-rings had not been replaced. So i brought it up and they scurried about and replaced them acting a bit perturbed. In past annuals at a different MSC it had been part of the annual, which i brought up. They responded it was not part of the Mooney Inspection List. Needless to say, they were cracked and i had just expected them to be replaced. About a week later i got another invoice for the O-rings, two of them. I was so stinking mad, as i assumed they replaced all four. I should have watched them! Dangit. So i flew back recently to make the point, and made them do the inner rings. From what i understand, its the inner rings that are more prone to be the source of a leak than the outer rings. What i found amazing, they did not know there was an inner ring on the fuel cap. I had a long chat with the head A&P explaining the level of anticipated service and attention to detail we expect in our planes. I continually wander what else they missed?