Immelman

Prior to the pandemic my 121 flying took me across the continent on a regular basis. I have been off the line since the beginning of the pandemic, only GA flying in my Mooney, and will return soon. Before the pandemic the guard nonsense had a strong geographic component to it. From what I have read, that is still occurring.... flying the Mooney here in CA it is safe to monitor guard. Once in a while a person makes a genuine mistake with their flip-flop or mic selector and that's it. None of the bullshit. Based on this my educated guess is that most of it likely comes from one or possibly two regional airlines operating in that region, primarily east of the Mississippi. This is a localized set of bad behaviors that have been allowed to fester in a lousy culture. Most likely not a Mooney pilot....

I guess I'm just crazy. I install the filter with my hands (dry, and I have a decent grip). Safety it. Run up, leak check, done.. Never had a leak, and they are always somewhat difficult to remove.

Looking at my Aircraft Spruce order history, the smaller ducts (to rear seat feet and windscreen defrost) were 1 1/4 inch diameter. I ordered 1 12-foot and 1 4-foot piece and had some left over. I also ordered 3 feet each of 2-inch and 2 1/2 inch diameter. I probably only used one of these, sorry I can't remember which size. That was for the larger tube between the two foot well airboxes. The large intake duct (part 24) was larger. Perhaps 3 inch, but I don't remember and cannot find that invoice. That one is very short.

Thanks for the pireps! Sounds like its worth giving them a try. I still use an aging Bose X for my Mooney flying. For GA flying this new set would be to augment that for flying with my daughter. When she's on board she gets the X, I use an old lightspeed. At work I just went B737 (former A320) and will need something with ANR that is comfortable for longer flights.

Considering this headset primarily for work-use in turbojet aircraft where it is designed.... But I sure could use another decent set for GA flying. Has anyone flown with a Bose Proflight/Proflight 2 in their MOONEY and have their ears live to hear another day? Seriously, would these work for us? One big issue in our airplanes is now noisy they are.

If you hate Adel clamps now just wait until you hang the engine and want to get it back in the air again. Here is my Adel solution: Goto harbor freight and get a few pairs of assorted hemostats. Use a couple as you assemble the stack. Not my idea I saw it on some homebuilder's youtube. Bonus points, you will feel somewhat like a surgeon. Until one flies open and you're searching for the washer and nut.

Years ago I was curious and decided to try it out as Shadrach did. And felt completely ready to dead stick it in safely if needed. The data I gathered in my E confirmed the book #s for glide ratio prop windmilling and prop stopped. Prop windmilling in low RPM was slightly worse, but not much, than prop stopped. But if the engine fails in a spectacular fashion I would not count on the ability to control it with the governor.

If I am seeing things correctly the concern is a fastener that came off of the flap actuator (hydraulic slave cylinder). The good news about our Mooney flaps is that this failure mode should not cause flap asymmetry. I could see how that could be caused by a fastener backing out of one of the heim/rod ends on either side where the torque tube actuating both flaps is connected to each flap... there is a bearing there. But I would add a note of caution... let us assume that you're coming to land, full flaps, on approach speed, and are properly trimmed. Putting the flaps down generates an aircraft nose down pitching moment that we counteract with nose-up trim. Now let us imagine the flap actuator was suddenly disconnected. Air load will blow the flaps up quite quickly. Now you're slow with a very abrupt aircraft nose UP pitching force. This can be counteracted with elevator but is still substantial. An item for practice and some thought....

Out of curiosity, did you do firefighting concurrent with 121 or was that something that came along during covid leave? If I did not have a young child.... I probably would have applied during my leave. Must be fun. I don't see how it would work very well concurrent with 121 flying but I'm curious!

A320 FO until the pandemic hit, now winding down the days of extended leave... family time, more Mooney flying than in past years... gotta keep in the game! Will be back at work soon, and perhaps some new and very exciting things coming.

I find 130mph is a great cruise climb speed. Engine stays cool. You are moving along faster than spam can traffic at max cruise.... Climb rate not decreased that much at all. Decreasing slowly as performance drops off in hot/high/heavy.... approaching 10,000' for example. Adjust depending on winds aloft/turbulence, etc.

Richard who??? Sorry, don't agree.

Thanks for letting us know, but... May I suggest letting the NTSB know? Ref NTSB 830, required reports. I'm serious.... this is more than a support ticket for someone who does elect to drink the punch and remove their vaccum system, thinking two of these devcies provides sufficient redundancy for safe instrument flight https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/830.5 (9) A complete loss of information, excluding flickering, from more than 50 percent of an aircraft's cockpit displays known as: (i) Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) displays; (ii) Engine Indication and Crew Alerting System (EICAS) displays; (iii) Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor (ECAM) displays; or (iv) Other displays of this type, which generally include a primary flight display (PFD), primary navigation display (PND), and other integrated displays;

There are things done to prevent a flat or a blow out... like replacing when the tire is as pictured There are things done to make people feel good, such as replacing in pairs if the other is still good (assuming good tread depth, no flat spots, not old enough where the rubber is cracking on the sidewalls). When I see a tire like the above pic on an airliner, it gets changed right away. Does the one next to it get changed? Do the other 5 tires get changed? Nope! Do what you like, but there is absolutely no need to replace in pairs. We're not le mans racecars here needing equal tires for maximum cornering. And I have to echo what carusoam says about technique. If that happens, a mistake was made. Its ok we all do it. I tried a short field the other day, applied very light brakes going too fast, sqeee.... I caught it before any damage was done, but it was a reminder, no need to do that. Absolutely no need. And also a reminder to use proper foot positioning when landing. That is, the toes should be at the bottoms of the pedals, heels on the floor. The feet need to move up to brake. Reminds me of showing my mooney to a pilot friend, a big guy. I had him fly left seat. Hard to see where his feet were positioned during taxi. "Why do you need so much power to taxi this thing?" he asks. "Are your toes on the brakes?" I say. "No, I'm sure they aren't". Lightbulb moment right there... his toes were in fact on the brakes. I'm so glad we got that sorted out on the taxi out vs landing.

Change that tire. No need to do the other side.

Thanks Coyote.... maybe I'll order two and give your bends a shot. On my 66E the hold-open is mounted in a similar configuration as yours.

@PilotCoyote That looks awesome! How does this new hinge sit/fit between the baggage door and the frame? Any issues with the door being nudged slightly when closed with this hinge? Also looking at the photos, did you bend the hinge attached to the fuselage or did it come like that?

Learn to get off of and back onto the ground safely, precisely, again and again, to solo and a bit beyond, in a trainer. Something built for abuse. After that you can transition to the M20K. It will take more time.... but that's okay. The insurance company will want time.

I returned just last night from Kona. My wife and I are now vaccinated. My mother (on the big island) is, and our young daughter of course not. It was first airline flight since the pandemic, working or not. Similar experience as you in traveling. My observations of the islands are a bit different. With our daughter not vaccinated we are still not dining out. Takeout only and saw good traffic and great food at the places we went to for lunch. Cooked our own breakfast & dinner. Some nights with my mother, some nights in a condo in a tourist area. Walked past one of the big hotels at night, looked like low occupancy based on the lights on in the various rooms. But the 'local' spots..... places to swim, the hiking trailheads, the places to eat local food, the beaches, all hopping as busy as I've ever seen them before.... No, busier. And frankly it was easy to forget there was a pandemic. I think its very much 'your mileage may vary' depending a person's particular interests.

Tell yourself 140 and be pleasantly surprised. Tell yourself 150 and you may be disappointed. 5 knots doesn't make a difference.... except in ego. Time is made or lost with your efficiency of operation and ground time. Is the air silky smooth and cold you'll go fast. Bumpy and hot and you'll lose speed. Light, heavy... it makes a difference.

Can I send your message to my colleague who had covid, confirmed, twice, 4 months apart last year?

If you do decide to go... Smiley Creek is quite forgiving in terms of surrounding terrain, and long. I think the question there is very binary: If you decide you're comfortable taking your plane to grass, Smiley will probably work out quite nicely. Though I wouldn't take off uphill. The campground is wonderful. Hot showers! Wifi! The state of Idaho has a couple of pilot rental cars available, first come first served. Made a nice day trip to hike out to alpine lakes. Across the street, the restaurant is decent. Grab a beer, or a Huckleberry milkshake! There seems to be a trend at airport campgrounds of drive-up folks using the facilities.... FYI. I have seen this at a number of fields. Did not see at Smiley last year but the caretaker told me that. It is easily accessible from the road so that may be a consideration. Johnson creek is in a canyon and, while tame by Idaho back country standards, raises the challenge up several notches for a Mooney pilot. I would not attempt that unless feeling extremely proficient and rehearsed for several contingencies. For example, depending on the conditions, there may be a time on approach when a go around is not prudent or possible. I would not attempt it at the wrong time of day, or with anything more than light winds, and would only do so, in my E, at light weight, to reduce such hazard. It can also be very busy. If I go again I would probably strive to go mid-week in benign weather when there was not some sort of fly-in event happening. Of course there are many others worth looking into. Many I would not consider in our E. piperpainter was a brave guy! I'm not that brave. He now has a 6-seat cessna more suited to that stuff with additional family members.... Also had a great breakfast in Stanley. That is a weird one, half dirt half paved. What is the 'bump' like between the two halves? Would want to know before going again....

Smiley was quite nice last Sept. Nearing end of season... things were drying out. I think they had stopped watering for the year. Before that I went to Johnson Creek and Smiley many years ago. Went earlier in the summer. In all cases the field conditions were excellent. I fly an E, and hope to take another summer trip with my young daughter this year.

Empty pattern: Decelerate to gear speed before abeam touchdown point (i.e. midfield) so that the gear can be dropped when desired. Full pattern: Decelerate a bit earlier to a good speed to match other traffic prior to joining downwind.

I'd look for a 6-seat airplane. And with that kind of budget, something with 2 engines. Have you considered something like a Seneca?