Ned Gravel

Mimi: Ute and I are very pleased to hear that you and Rob are OK. I think you did everything right. Focussed under fire and able to make good decisions. But....you will beat yourself up a long time over this. It will only stop when you have forgiven yourself for the loss of Marvin K Mooney - even when it wasn't your fault. I know. I have been there. Pour yourself and Rob a small scotch and go sit out on the veranda in front of the living room. Look out over the water and the houseboat at the dock and remember that you are a good and resourceful pilot. Be at piece with the decisions you made. If you don't believe me, go look at Marvin and remember what it took to get out of that mess in one piece. Ute and I still have a hankering to land at First Flight and visit some more in Edenton. Be well.

When we left Erie we crossed the lake as well, but up at 11,000 to stay within gliding distance of one of the shorelines. We were thinking of going into Toronto city centre, but she wanted to get home so we filed for Ottawa and did both the EAPIS and CANPASS for the longer trip. Took about 2 hrs 15 mins.

Concorde for me too. Just over 6 years on the one currently installed.

Then his reasoning is not what I would accept.

11 years in Feb 2016. I first saw my Mooney in November 2004. With Clarence's PPI work sent off to the owner, he lowered his price and I bought it on the 9th of February 2005, while the owner was in Yuma (probably not attending a Gunfighter's formation clinic) and I was in Ottawa. Clarence then completed the airworthiness work and a few other things I wanted and he delivered C-FSWR to Ottawa in April 2005. I finally qualified to fly it on the 10th of May. I have put on 760 hours on it since them. Life keeps getting in the way of flying.

It sounds like they are a shop not afraid to be thorough. Thoroughness is like "quality." It has a cost. My shop is like that.

S'wat I thought. Question comes from me being relatively uncomfortable at that altitude over water. That's all.

Can I ask why you landed right traffic to 24? I was there two months ago on an IFR flight plan from Cincinnati and I was left traffic to 24.

I have wrestled the gear handle into the block on the panel at or near 130 mph or so. You have to be careful doing this because if you lose control of it during the transition, it will slam into that block. That has happened once to me and it was a lesson to learn.

I do this all the time. There have been times when places like Philly want you to fit into the commercial traffic for DHC 8s and CRJs. Keeping the speed up until shortly before crossing the fence, and then slowing it all down while staying on G/S is part of fitting into their system - and doing it safely. My E model will do that and dropping the manual gear above 120 mph is no biggie. Mind you, all that is really only possible if the approach is visual from 5 miles out. If IMC to minima, I will not do that. In that type of situation, the Lear behind me can wait because my Mooney will be configured for TOGA from at least 1500' above TDE and my approach speed is in the white arc at 90 mph. In the 11 years I have owned it, Clarence has yet to find a bent gear door.

Well done Jolie. It is the "Ticket to Ride."

I don't get it. When I left home at 18, all I had was a bus ticket, a scholarship and a suitcase. That was it!!! When my youngest decided to go to college, my girl had us rent a freaking van to schlep all his stuff to his dorm!! We drove him the four hours to his residence and then gave him a credit card to buy groceries (he had already paid his tuition and housing fees himself). What have we done???? No wonder the world is full of Gen X'rs and Millenials who have such a high sense of entitlement. We did this.

It is actually 138 mph in an E model. Don't ask me how I know this.....

Our best friends in a blue uniform. Only folks whose only mission was to go downtown. Taking them on 10 or 20 at a time instead of doing BFMs at 20,000', one bad guy at a time.

Only a pilot will know what Clarence's plate means. Works on the grounds of CYKF (Waterloo Regional Airport) but folks at the lunch counters down the road have no clue. How do I know? He has loaned me his car for such when he (or sometimes we) are working on C-FSWR. Being retired military (and having had my family with me on foreign postings) I have always tended to avoid personalized license plates and such things. It stands out and my training was always about not doing that. Those of you who have served will remember that standing out sometimes draws unwanted attention. I know - I know! Not the case for me today but old habits die hard. I have allowed myself to stick a large plastic poppy on my car (as do both my sons) but that is about it. Maybe someday. My wife and the boys want to buy me a license plate with the aircraft callsign on it. Maybe. Someday.

Tankin: are you the fellow that Ute and I met during our time at the Elora last year? With the story about his former J model and Sedona?

Yes, but it is better than Timmy

Uh.... Canada Geese (name of species) and not Canadian Geese (belonging to Canada).... And don't they spend more of their year with ya'll? As a result of this accident, the famous chicken cannon, at the National Research Council (here in Ottawa) Institute for Aerospace Research will probably have to be upgraded to a goose cannon. The thing fires a frozen chicken at fuselage, engine, and wing parts to determine impact damage. Apparently not big enough to determine the damage from the most insidious and stupid bird in existence. Seagulls will scoot off the runway when we move from the taxiway to line up. Canada Geese are too stupid to do that. Don't ask me how I know this.

The drawings for the extensions are on Mooneyspace at http://mooneyspace.com/files/file/8-rudder-pedal-extension-drawings/

When I was working for a continent-wide lab conglomerate, the CEO (world HQ was in UK) would often come to Toronto and spend time with our C-suite folks because we did not have a North America President yet. In his younger years, he used to be a Tower/Approach/Centre controller for the UAE portion of the Gulf Coast nations. One day in September of 2010, (he knew I was making use of my Mooney to visit our labs) he showed up in my office and dropped this approach plate on my desk. Made for interesting conversation.

Anyone know the part numbers of the LED shoulder lites used to replace my old model ones under that one-of STC?

Army-1971 to 1993. Royal Canadian Corps of Signals to be precise. Visited a bunch of places.

Mike: I am a scared pilot. Spins still scare me in a Mooney. Stalls not so much, provided they are at sufficient altitude that loosing 200-500 feet will not touch the "ground" edge of the envelope. Part of the training was to practice how to feel for coordinated flight, including glancing at the ball. So I learned to give up some bad habits and work the ball more. To me, it was not so much about a fair simulation (although I am from the school of we train how we fight/fly) but about knowing and recognizing the parameters. That alone will enhance my chances of staying in coordinated flight throughout any evolution - as one means of avoiding a spin if I am too dumb to avoid a stall. This OK?

Teejay: Granted. My statements apply to only my aircraft. The instructors came with O's, J's, and K's.

Yes and yes.