Ned Gravel

Hank: I did not see this rejoinder post until today. Quite right on the reason behind the famous Gimli Glider. As for the King's English, he ain't there yet, cause his mom's not quite ready to give up the remote.

Good one for April fools. This one reminds me of Rick Mercer wandering the streets of some US megalopolis with a microphone asking people to comment on the fact that Canada had finally legalized the use of insulin or penicillin. And they bought it. By the way, for those of you who may not know, what used to be called imperial or English units of measure (inch, pound, gallon etc) are now referred to (in measurement science) as "US customary Units." Y'all's the only ones using them (except in aviation of course). Happy April fools day!!! Sent from my iPad

Yves: 30 June. Sent from my iPad

I registered today. Good fun. Good people. Good procedures. I am sooooo looking forward to this year's Caravan. Yves: Is Andrew ready to do more clinics this year for us? (After I get back on the continent of course).

Not for me. I will use that on the frame side of the door for a better windproof seal, but not on my cover for the avionics bay. I too have had water coming in during flight through rain. I use the 3M (sticky-as-hell-and-makes-a-mess) caulking. Clarence got his guys to show me the correct method of application because it was not done right the previous time. One of those "never again" moments.

EDNR-Cruiser: Another Army story: Canadian Land Staff College (like your Hamburg course for Capt to Maj students) visited some II Korps units as part of our tour of NATO forces in 1981. We had been ribbing our Huey and Kiowa pilots that they were "drivers," and being the good airforce types they are (all military pilots in Canada are part of the Air Force regardless of which branch their mission serves) they all kept insisting that they were not "drivers" but "pilots." All was well until we got to the BO-105 demonstration stand. The hauptmann gave us his spiel about how they would conduct the mission and destroy enemy tanks etc and he ended his presentation with the following words pointing to the young pilot that was the equivalent of a Lieutenant at the time: "I am the aircraft commander, and this is the driver." True story.

Folks: As for the doghouse conversion legalities, I am not as familiar with Transport Canada (TC) regulations as Clarence is, but these came off a Mooney F model so I know that the conversion can be done. Given the above, I am not certain what FAA regulations might be for this, or how they compare to TC. The source of the engine baffle kit is a Mooney F model and Clarence offered them here on http://mooneyspace.com/topic/11282-m20f-engine-baffles/. I have never seen them, but I trust Clarence and he knows my aircraft inside and out. Wish I had more information to give the inquirers (Oscar, ELT and PLN_FXR), but from where I sit (some 14,000 miles away) that is all I know. I will know more as the time for the actual conversion nears. For PLN-FXR (who is probably an A&P), do you know the FAA rules for this?

Hobbit: I remember sitting next to one of our Reserve Squadron Commanders back in 2006 on a commercial flight and she flew the Kiowa (OH58) in her reserve service. She explained to me that the big difference in mentality between FW and RW was that FW folks "get-up, get-over, and get-down" and RW folks "get-up, get-over, and get-to-work." Works for me. Getting up, then over, and then down is exactly why I fly a Mooney. It does that very well, thank you.

Cool. Been using it for years.

Yes, Yves can make even the cheapest of us feel like we are too frivolous with our money.

Nooooooo. Not the million dollar corner!!!! BTW: Can you get a SIRS to replace that "we-have-tried-so-hard-to-recondition-and-make-it-work-piece-of=#@$!" attached to my centre post? Compass swings are fine. Tilting in straight and level flight: not so much.

Thanks Bodie: I am sold.

Bob: I see you are an E model aficionado. I really like my E. Not the most amount of space, but light and trustworthy. I know it will keep me safe if I fly it right. As for the compass, I hear you, but I am always trying to be ready for the thing (whatever it is) that will bite me. I still like the redundancy of the magnetic compass that is still on my team. But, that's just me.

In 1988, just one year after getting my PPL in Piper Commuters (140 HP version of a Cherokee), I deployed to a warm part of the world. During a repositioning recce (y'all call that a recon) in a Sea King (Sikorsky SH-3, with the Canadian designation of CH-124) I was dangling my legs out of the hatch on the starboard side (with the safety harness on!!!) when the aircraft commander asked if I wanted to try flying it, given that I was now a pilot. Keep in mind that was in the Signal Corps, at part of the Army, not the Airforce (with all its pilots) or the Navy (who sort of managed this bird and its crew) so this crew thought it would be fun to see what the army guy could do. I was up for it and got strapped into the left seat. First lesson, Aircraft Commander sits in the right seat of these unnatural beasts - unlike us. "Take the cyclic." So I did. Second lesson. THESE ARE VERY SENSITIVE!! Third lesson. Flying a helicopter is like trying to balance on the top of a beachball. OK, somewhat getting the hang of it and not really killing the five of us. "OK, I am going to turn off the automatic coordination system." Fourth lesson. It is hard trying to stand on top of a beachball without some automated support. "OK, how about we turn off the hydraulic assist for the controls." Fifth lesson. It is even tougher trying to stand on top of that beachball when your control inputs require lots of armstrong work. 25 minutes. That was all they could give me and it was quite a workout. We landed at cute little airport that looked like a postage stamp from 3 miles out, with wide lines painted around all four sides (1500' runway). I appreciate these guys putting it down on top of the bear claw on a pitching deck in Force 6 with Sea State 5 all the better. Takes a LOT of practice to get it right.

Thank you Yves. I want to hear how it went (the flight that is).

So here I am in Bangladesh, and although this UN duty does not require me to wear a blue helmet, it does get in the way of flying my bird. Annual is due at the end of this month and since I could not fly her to Clarence, Yves (on this forum) did it for me yesterday. Yves is now tucked away in his house enjoying the comforts of home again and C-FSWR is in Waterloo. A successful flight during a winter that is desperately trying to hang on. Now to the purpose of this post. Clarence has my Mooney and we have discussed some of the things I am doing this year to make it a better aircraft. (Yes I know you should spend the money on the aircraft you want up front, but I had neither the money, nor the knowledge at the time of purchase nine years ago, to do that.) So every year, Clarence and I do something to make her a better bird. I can afford a little of this extra every year now and it provides me the opportunity to appreciate my bird through its improving performance and utility. I feel that if I had gone from an E model (mine) to an Orgasmatron (Acclaim S) then I would just not be able to appreciate the feel for the aircraft as much. I love to fly because of the way it makes me feel and being one with my aircraft is part of that. So this slower process is OK for me. The only really difficult year was four years ago when the engine was out for overhaul. This year, I cannot participate in the annual and I will miss the banter going on in the shop as I spend my day under the wings and belly removing (or reinstalling) belly panels etc. Clarence still calls me an "apprentice" and that is OK. If he does not demand a level of performance from an owner, how can he demand it of his own folks. The following are the things we are doing this year. Some things may require STC from other well-known Mooney shops. We are taking out the beautiful doghouse that Clarence rebuilt for me following engine overhaul and we are replacing it all with a 201 style baffle kit. We are relocating the oil cooler to the back of the engine. We are rotating the brake callipers to take them out of the slipstream in flight. We are hoping to create a "taxi light" space where the oil cooler once was. I think I want a Sirs compass to replace the vibrating (canted in flight) thrice-rebuilt piece of junk that is mounted to the centre pose of the cockpit. I like the look of a PAI 700 (vertical card compass) but I have participated in doing a compass swing on those and they never come out right. When an aircraft enters Clarence's shop for extensive work, the guys will invariably put it in the "million dollar" corner of the shop. It is called that because of the cost of doing that much work (joke here!!! not really a million dollars worth of work). Fortunately, that corner is apparently taken up by a Comanche 400 having work done to some of its eight cylinders. Besides the annual with all of its parts, these mods are not as demanding as a windshield or panel upgrade, but as things progress, I will try and post updates.

I am the same way. Sent from my iPad

Sent from my iPad

+1 Sent from my iPad

One of the things I have learned on Mooneyspace is that the governor needs to be cycled only once per flying day. Sent from my iPad

Yves: Now I am worried. You and Clarence are using the same writer.

Or perhaps the 900 because it is certified as "primary" and you can replace a hockeysock full of instruments.

Hank: Clarence will know. He is the magician that rebuilt it. Sent from my iPad

OK. Let's see what develops at the shop first. The artist gets first dibs.

Good looking video. I recognize Yves work in the video as well. Well done all of you that created this!! Notice the red and grey striped E model on the left wing of that oh-so-awesome Charlie (Canada) Element of the Caravan? Now who could that be?