Jeff_S

Here's a list of things I addressed in the first year on two different Mooneys: a 1990 J and a 2007 Ovation. 1) Shock discs (on both) 2) Minor fuel seeps that didn't show up until the weather got cooler. (J) 3) A new electric turn coordinator for the S-TEC 55x (J) 4) New battery (J) 5) Brake master cylinder repair (J) 6) Added LED landing lights (both...not mandatory but I like to leave them on full-time for visibility) 7) New tires (Ovation)

That's pretty interesting. I wasn't aware of this SB so I looked it up, and amazingly it applies to all GX Ovations 29-0455 and earlier. Mine is 29-0456! So they fixed the problem on my bird...well, I assume it's fixed. I do remember one time right after I bought the plane that I was on an approach and the pitch trim went nose-down suddenly. But that's only happened once, and I was not in a full-flaps mode. Something to be on the lookout for, I guess.

Hi Anthony. No, the door I removed is the one shown in Russ's photo, a rectangular door in the baggage compartment bulkhead that is designed to facilitate removal of an O2 bottle in the avionics bay. Doing so taught me also how to disconnect and reconnect the Hobbs meter which is screwed into the carpet panel. I did confirm that I got it wired back up correctly!

I wasn't getting enough signal to get any data. I could see the GTX was trying to output but it would never sync to the iPad. We removed the O2 access door as a test and now it syncs immediately and the data comes through just fine. I debated with my MSC about how important that door is. He figured the only drawback might be a bit of extra noise, but the carpet panel is pretty sturdy and I haven't noticed any issues. I know another MSer fabricated a plastic door to replace the aluminum one. I may get around to that eventually.

Just one more point on the OP's comment about not using NEXRAD "tactically" and that is I would say "it depends." Certainly you can't use it to try to thread your way through small gaps, as they can close up quickly. But you absolutely CAN use it tactically during a flight, in combination with your eyeballs, to pick a path around the build ups during your flight and make it to your destination. That's what we all do down here in the South this time of year. The main question of the OP was about long term forecasting tools to use for a flight early next week. Given the weather pattern that we're in, my point is those tools aren't going to help much for this trip. There's just going to be a good chance of buildups every day. So that is where experience and comfort flying around them come into play. But it sounds like a fun trip, so I wish you good luck and tail winds!

The NTSB report on the recent ICON A5 crash is out and there are no surprises. Somehow a very experienced pilot flew into a canyon he couldn't turn around in even with very aggressive maneuvers that only a former fighter-pilot might try. So we all pretty much knew that. My thoughts are more to the long-term implications of this accident, and I admit I'm speculating here: First, since the A5 is amphibious, I wonder if there isn't one maneuver that wasn't tried and should have been. Power off and just land as best you can in the water! I don't know this terrain at all and I realize from the other thread that many of you do, so perhaps there wasn't even space enough for that. But I would reckon that if this was a proscribed emergency procedure that was considered in advance, perhaps it would have been more feasible than an aggressive 180. And shallow water is probably a lot more survivable than granite. Implication #1: If not there already, ICON might consider making this a standard part of training. Second, many of the publications are now pointing out how ICON has made a big marketing push saying how safe these planes are and how they can be maneuvered aggressively at low altitudes, but of course all the video footage is of their professional pilots doing this...probably even the accident pilot. So some of the publications are now taking an "I told you so" stance against the company. Perhaps justified, but I also wonder how actual new ICON pilots might behave once in their airplane. There are stupid risk takers who kill themselves in any number of ways, all visible on YouTube (well, not the deaths, but at least the activities!). So you don't need an A5 if that's what you want to accomplish. My belief...perhaps "hope" is a better word...is that anyone who's willing to plunk down a quarter of a million dollars will have some sense of survival instinct (physical AND economic!) and will be as cautious as any new flyer is. But I guess time will tell. Any thoughts?

Anthony raises a good point...are you IFR certified? If so, there's not much to do right now as it's too far out. I would keep an eye on Prog Charts and as you get closer they will be more meaningful. I also look at the MOS extended ceiling and precipitation charts, but they mostly just follow what the prog charts are saying. Really, it's the day before when you'll start to formulate a meaningful plan...absent some massive front moving through which can be obvious a bit earlier. What we're getting this time of year are just standard summertime buildups from a ton of moisture being sucked up out of the Gulf, and those are hit or miss. If you've got any sort of in-cockpit weather, then the strategy is to stay out of the clouds, ask ATC for deviations around the buildups, and go about your merry way. If you're VFR, then it's even easier really. Just look at the storm buildups and the general ceiling and visibility for your route on the day of the flight. If the ceilings are overall VFR, then just plan to fly beneath the ceiling and avoid the rain showers and t-storm buildups. And always know where you can turn around to if things start to close in. Summertime flying can seem scary...I know I was intimidated initially, but it's actually not as bad as your imagination makes it out to be. Really, the simple answer is, stay out of the clouds, fly around the storms, and enjoy the extra air time you get with any detours!

Well, I question whether you have ADS-B NEXRAD...you would definitely have Sirius/XM NEXRAD because that came with your plane. It isn't clear from your posts whether you have also done the GTX-345 upgrade for ADS-B. If you have done this, and you are getting ADS-B NEXRAD, then you are living in a magical zone and people will want to know how that works. Regarding Mooney's new ownership, your comment about records not getting passed is non-sensical. Mooney never actually went "belly-up" this time around, they just scaled back to a skeleton operation. But all the records have been intact and passed to the new ownership. Finally, doing the SVT unlock is a Garmin thing, not Mooney, so you would have to contact the prior owner (or whoever did the SVT unlock) to see if they have any records that you can use to validate that the system was upgraded. I would think that Garmin would have this record based on the N-number, but that's speculation on my part. Still, worth a call to Garmin support to see if that helps.

SVT does require a separate unlock card, I think it's about $10K but my plane was already unlocked so I'm not positive about that. As to the MFD version, Mooney hasn't certified the PRE-Ultra planes for the 15x s/w version and it's not clear what their intentions are there. Presumably they are looking at it since that will be required to show the ADS-B NEXRAD images for anybody with the GTX-345, but it's not a given. I actually don't know what version is in the Ultra but since that's the Nxi version of the G1000 I assume it's pretty recent. The A/P coupling with the S-TEC doesn't work any different than it usd to. Leave it in GPSS mode until you are on final and can see the magenta glide slope diamond appear on the HSI, then hit the APR key. That should allow the A/P to capture the LPV glide slope and take you on down.

Yes, I was pretty deep into the yellow arc but it was a nice, clear autumn day with a high pressure system over the whole region so there was not a breath of turbulence. We got pretty luck with that. In different conditions I would not have pushed it that hard for sure. On a 150 mile race with multiple turns such as this one there is no time to gain altitude.

190 KTAS at 8000' on and ISO standard day? Maybe if you're really light and have the wings good and waxed up. But I'd say that's a stretch. At a 150NM air race last year I averaged 190.47 NMPH but that was at 1500' and 2600 RPM well ROP, probably about 22 GPH, so well above 75% power. (That average did include the takeoff climb and turns...on the straights I was seeing 192-193 TAS pretty consistently.) I generally plan as do the other responses, 175 KTAS at normal cruise altitudes, burning 12.5-13.5 GPH LOP. It will vary a bit on any given day but not by much.

With TJ, actually. Don't recall using much in the way of pronouns. Short and sweet, action verbs, nouns and appropriate prepositions. There're enough "long talkers" down here in the South!

Yes, I too am a recent convert to full ADS-B integrated into the G1000 and it's so nice to have that nationwide traffic coverage. It feels so professional to hear that "traffic twelve o'clock, two miles, low" warning come through the headset, which happened again just yesterday while on a low altitude VFR run for maintenance. It is definitely a true safety benefit at much lower cost than a full TCAS system.

I started using ForeFlight when it first came out, before it became the market leader. I experimented with Garmin, WingX, FltPlan (both the old and the new) but for my money, there's a reason that FF became the leader. They just continuously improve and give users useful tools for the cockpit. Of course, if you're an Apple-hater than FF won't even be an option. But the general advice as noted is sound; try them and see which one fits your needs and your budget.

I am planning on going to Clemson SC (KCEU) if the weather looks good. Or as an alternative, just go up in the air above the clouds and view it from the sky. I read somewhere that watching the shadow zoom along the ground is pretty cool. And maybe even get a few minutes of night flight!

Hey all, I'm trying to address an issue that has been slightly vexing since I bought this airplane. The S-TEC 55x is a fine A/P for its generation...although I've already inquired from Mooney if there is ever going to be an upgrade path to the new Garmin GFC600 or Genesys digital A/Ps...their response was "we'll look into it." So maybe someday. In the meantime, I would like to address what has always been a slow roll-rate for GPSS. On any kind of hold or course turn, the roll rate is slow to develop and I always fly outside the designated flight path and then angle my way back onto it. While installing the GTX345, my avionics guy showed me how to access the STEC config page of the G1000 and there is a setting for roll rate. It was set to -17, which he said was the maximum "inhibitor" setting meaning that would make roll the slowest. We set it to -13, but I can't tell if that's had much effect. My question to anyone with knowledge about STECs in general, or this G1000 configuration, is what settings they use or have experimented with. Has anyone tweaked these settings before to improve roll rate? If so, where did you end up? This may apply equally to the other S-TEC models, so if you've made changes to a -30 or other model I'd be interested to hear how that worked. Thanks! Jeff

I don't think the original post is fake. It's just a time lapse with only a few shots that are then looped. You can tell by looking at the bottom of the cloud. But it could be a composite of several images as well. So tough to know in this day of CGI.

Russ, pictures please! Which version of the Alpha did you install? I'd like to know more about it.

I asked Mooney about it when I was there last month. It's not on their radar at all for the original G1000, and they weren't sure for the NXi. Garmin has the standalone unit you can install. But who knows...maybe we'll learn something more during G's big announcement on Tuesday.

Maybe, maybe not. I know there have been two occasions where in my boneheadedness, I forgot to turn off the fuel pump after starting up. I kept asking myself why the engine was running so rough as I taxied out to run-up, so there was definitely a lot more fuel going into the injection system than normal. And once you have fuel circulating in the lines (which presumably you do, if you are flying up into the sky) then the fuel from the gas tanks is almost certainly not going to be too warm. And if you look at the Savvy charts above, while it's clear that having the fuel pump on did affect the EGTs (which it would, since the mixture was incredibly rich) it doesn't have much effect on the CHTs, and that's what really matters. Admittedly, we don't hit the 100's very often here in Atlanta, but we get plenty of 90+ degree days. I still maintain that keeping the best airflow over the engine and making sure your baffles are in good shape is the most effective way to control temps overall. But that's just me...we are all free to operate our engines however we choose! (And this pertains only to our M20Rs that don't have cowl flaps.)

Call me a cynic, but I really question the idea of leaving the low boost pump on for the IO-550 unless there is a problem with the engine driven pump. If you have adequate fuel flow at full throttle and mixture rich, pumping even more fuel is going to reduce your power and seems like a waste...not to mention potentially wearing out the auxiliary pump. The IO-550 is designed to run with cylinder temps in the 400s, and while I wouldn't want to keep them there for long, I don't see it as especially dangerous in a climb. Keep your speed up and get to cooler air seems like the best approach to me. Even on a hot day, if your temps are still too high in cruise, maybe time to check your baffles too. Oh, and keep a little more oil in the sump than you otherwise do. I generally let it drift down to about 5 quarts on the dipstick and it's happy there, but in summer temps I'll keep it at 6 just to keep more cooling circulation.

Ah...indeed, I can edit the title! That's a valuable lesson to learn. As to the body-sniffing dogs, it may not be in TIGHAR's website, but just Google it and you'll see several reports, including one by National Geographic. Seems everyone is jumping on this coverage...what better way to sell online advertising!

So, first off, the latest special was not TIGHAR but an independent group. TIGHAR is back on Nikamaruro with body sniffing dogs. Google that and you'll get more info. Also, it was History Channel, not Discovery, although I admit sometimes that makes little difference. And as to the title of the topic, as the OP I will take the blame for that one. I meant to include a "?" at the end but clearly forgot. Can't seem to edit titles!

Okay, here is a link with more info about a Japanese blogger who found evidence the photo was taken in 1935. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/11/blogger-discredits-claim-amelia-earhart-was-taken-prisoner-by-japan If you follow some of the other links there-in, including the actual blog post which you can translate into some semblance of English, then it does appear that the main source of evidence for the new theory is falling apart. I agree with the blogger...it seems this should have been the first thing the investigators would check out, to verify the date and origin of the photograph. So I will set aside this fun obsession for another year, until some new evidence comes to light at the next anniversary!

So how does one determine this was published in 1935 in a Japanese travel guide? I have done the best I can at translating the website and some of the text, but I don't see anything there about a date or the source of the original publication. I'm not saying that's NOT true, but if you found this on another website, how do we determine the veracity of THAT website's claim? (Perhaps if you read Japanese you can translate the script in the photo itself...I couldn't do that with Google tools.) The whole thing really could be an endless chain of speculation, but work is slow at the moment, so it's fun to keep chasing it down...