HopePilot

Re: New J It'll never happen. I asked the Mooney guys at the AOPA convention why they don't do exactly that and they said the airframe alone would cost 90k to build. By the time you add the engine, avionics, etc., you have a plane that isn't all that much cheaper than an Acclaim. You can charge more for an Acclaim, so there it is. Now you all can go back to discussing relief tubes.

'Cmon Mitch. We haven't even discussed its effect on weight and balance...

Why not just use the small window on the pilot's side?

Um...in other news. My wife turned to me the other day and said, "I think that Victor is a GIRL! I know that Victor is well known by that name, but he/she may have a change of name forthcoming. I am just getting past the denial phase Maybe...Victor/Victoria?

Well, the windows have tint on them, but the color in the video was actually corrected in post using Final Cut Express HD. You can see a better example of the technique on the flying in Maui video I just posted (sorry, it's a Cessna). Yeah...the speed brakes look so cool you want to just fly with them extended, but the wife would get upset. She wants to go fast!

"I stopped by the B/K booth on Tuesday. The story I got was King was now planning a new WAAS box that would fit the KLN 89 90 94 tray. According to King's representative it will be out in a year. I am not holding my breath. Several years ago the King people said just hold on till next year and we will have the 770 ready to go." Whoa, Walt, you may have gotten the scope of the year. The KSN770 is still on their website. If they're going for a box that fits into the KLN 94 tray, I'm not sure what they're thinking? The screen would need to fill more real estate than on the KLN 94 and it would have to be dirt cheap. With all the info we have now, I'm not sure how it would be possible, unless they're planning on using it to drive an updated KFD 840. Maybe if the 840 allowed you to split the screen so it was like two Aspens and the KLN94 replacement set information to one half of the screen? That would sell more 840s...

Holy cannoli that's beautiful Parker! I can't believe the attention to detail and the stitching! Goes to corner and meditates, "Must not spend more on plane this month. Must not spend more on plane this month. Must not spend more on plane this month..."

For Apps I'm currently using: AeroWeather, IO360, WeatherLCD and for games, FlightControl. In my browser I use NavMonster and Fltplan.com I'm watching: iHud (if they make it work for iPhone 4), and SkyRadar (curious about the ADS-B receiver).

$5.61 fuel. Hangar: Yeah, right.

Yup, the rainbow just vanishes, but I never thought about that until then (we have video of it, but I haven't posted it as it uses licensed music). We were flying between Maui and Molokai in a rented 172, however, it wouldn't be very poetic to say, "You know children, rainbows are just illusions and you won't ever really find that pot of gold. Just give up now and become a cocktail waitress, in a dive bar in Reno."

Posted a little video of our trip to Santa Maria on the 24th. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSwEWQZCVc0 Please select 1080p when you watch. Thanks! FYI: The other video is for school, so no need to watch it.

Thanks Mitch. Seriously, they understand that they have to release a product to actually sell it? Orville Wright died in 1948 clutching a copy of Flying magazine and gasping, "They say the 770's coming out any day now...aack!"

Great job guys! I'd recommend specific goals for next year like: - Save one airport each year - One fly-in targeted at the non-flying public (computer flight sim enthusiasts, etc.) - One dessert potluck flyin in California (okay that one's for me). Thanks for all you do for the Mooney community! Fernando

If anyone goes by the BendixKing booth, could you please ask them if they will be releasing the KSN770 before I disintegrate from old age like that dude in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade?

This thread is useless without pictures! Also, please let us know about any new gadgets you see!

Well...being a part of the community at KVNY was a big part of my life, but with every passing day that time grows more and more distant. I'm thinking about putting 16LPilot to rest (also on the "Red Board") and giving birth to "Hope Pilot" (as I have moved to Bob Hope Airport and the inspirational quality is not inappropriate). Is there any way to change my user name?

If you watch my flying videos you'll notice a lot of loving, tight, shots of my fuel flow...

I used my instrument ticket on almost every flight last month. It wasn't just the marine layer that kept hanging over SoCal, but our anniversary trip would have been ruined by Biden's VIP TFR.

Here's the thing Mitch. Now I can go faster...longer! Starting my descent forty miles out was slowing me down. Yeah, the wife says I fly the Mooney too slow...trying to see how much fuel efficiency I can get. I seriously get as excited about efficiency as I do speed.

...I don't know. I tried to be cool, but I couldn't stop the theme from Top Gun playing in my head. I'm thinking of installing a large speaker in my tailcone to blast thrust-reversal sound effects when they deploy.

So I finally flew home last night with the speed brakes installed. Install time was a week and a half, or 38 hours. I only used them twice on the flight, but I'll give you my observations. Coming close to Burbank airspace I was doing 160 knots and I still didn't have my clearance. What the heck, I thought. Let's give 'em a shot. I had heard from Jolie that it could be startling the first time you experienced them. Let me tell you, even though I hit the button myself and knew to expect it, whoa. There was a loud whoosh that made me nearly jump out of my skin and in a second I was at 140 knots. I know they're for losing altitude, but the name is still quite accurate. Just a couple seconds later, I was slowing still down to a 110 so I retracted them. I quickly realized that I could have gone at cruise speed, to within about four miles of the airport, and still gotten down to my target speeds. When I got back I made sure to warn the wife that the first time might get her attention (i.e. scare the crap out of her). I tried them on the rollout and I'm not sure if they helped, but I seemed to use just a touch less brakes (could be my imagination) and I definitely looked cooler (also could be my imagination).

Okay, I'd like to thank everyone. Sorry, if I was so cryptic earlier, but here's the whole story. I had my plane weighed after the speed brake installation, to have a clean weight and balance. The numbers I got back scared the crap out of me. The numbers made my plane out of CG for three (if the third person was an adult) and would always be out of CG for four. The numbers didn't seem right to them either, but they couldn't figure it out. I went about (with everyone's help) trying to work backwards, from the old numbers, to see if it was even theoretically possible. I came to the conclusion that even with the engine change, speed brakes, etc., it just wasn't. I went back today after pouring over the numbers, and together we determined that the error was in where the reference datum station was accidentally placed. All the fancy equipment in the world wouldn't help that. FYI: I was off by less than half an inch. Sorry, for all the remedial questions, but I had to uncover every stone. It's when you get overconfident with what you know that the mistakes happen.

God bless you Magnum. I've been looking everywhere.

Thanks Dan, They gave me the W&B for the speedbrakes, but they are saying it changed the empty weight arm more than I believe. I want to debate the issue, but I have to know what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, I can't find the change in weight and arm for my IO-360-A3B6 or the Sky-Tec Starter (I have the Sky-Tec weight, but not the arm, also, no weight for the original starter so I can't subtract the difference) and I've been pouring through my records. Does anyone know what the original starter weight and arm was for the 201? I've now called the mechanic who did the engine overhaul. Waiting... Thanks. Thanks. Thanks.

Unfortunately, it was done in another state before I bought the plane (the engine). Does the empty weight (with oil) "arm" ever change? Sorry if that's a newbie question, but I'm referring to the arm value that is written in at 6-5 in the manual. When I was a renter, I didn't worry about such things.