Jeff_S

So what this really does is send a shot across the bow of Appareo and the Stratus, seems to me. As I read it, the Stratus would be superfluous since the ADS-B info can now come from the Garmin equipment. The ability to transfer flight plans is coming up, which I guess could be interesting if you're really trying to keep the exact flight plan synch between your panel and your iPad. For me, though, I've always felt that the advantage of the Stratus/ForeFlight connection was precisely because it WASN'T part of the panel, and it's a backup source of data to correlate or use in an emergency situation. It's all a moot point, though, since those of us slumming along with a G1000 can't yet benefit from any of these new Garmin features. That's something I am really going to start hounding Mooney on at this year's Summit. They have GOT to start showing all the G1000 users what the path is to ADS-B compliance.

So I've registered to attend, but there's nothing there about lodging, etc. Are we on our own for that or is there a block of rooms being held somewhere?

Seth, make me an offer! I'll send you a PM.

It's amazing how your test is tracking your unit averages! But seriously, any one sample isn't going to tell you much, which is why you should get it tested with every oil change. Blackstone also does a real good job telling you what they've found and pointing out anything that merits further attention or investigation. I remember back when I had my Cherokee, I went almost 50 hours between changes because I was tooling around out West and then up to Osh, and I decided just to "fly the crap" out of it before I did a change. That particular sample showed a spike in iron, but because I told them about my "fly the crap out of it" strategy they suggested this was probably just some older corrosion that was finally getting knocked off and nothing to worry about. Sure enough, the next sample the iron content had dropped below the prior baseline.

I mentioned above the website FighterSweep as a place to go if you want a balanced opinion of the F35. Here is another entry from today that I would encourage everyone to read, no matter what your personal opinion. (Don't be mislead by the title in the URL.) http://fightersweep.com/2698/f-35-worst-fighter-ever/

Aviation Consumer did a write-up back in 2012 and endorsed both CorrosionX and ACF-50 as effective for combatting corrosion. They didn't do any independent lab tests like they've done for CamGuard, but they provided testimonials from well-respected organization and shops about how it stops corrosion from occurring.

Well, Wikipedia may be right, although I couldn't find anything in either the POH or the Type Certificate that specified what type of flaps they are. I guess I didn't think there was enough of a gap to call them true slotted flaps but perhaps there is.

Plain. While there is a slight gap between the wing and the flap, they just go down on a simple hinge and I don't believe they would qualify as slotted.

Okay, so I realize spelling can be optional for some folks, and the OP's original message reads like a cross between Kerouac and Joyce. But still, while I'm quite sure he meant to say "nubile" in his description of the young jumpers, I just had to see if "nubial" was actually a word. Well, it is, sort of, if you believe Urban Dictionary: Nubial: A part of someone's body that you love to pinch "Nubial is part of someone's body you like to pinch such as Kneecap, elbow, cheeks, behind" So either the OP is actually brilliant, or he lucked into something there. Either way, Bravo!

If you want a more balanced opinion read the entries at http://www.fightersweep.com. There is an entry there that describes in more detail what that test flight was all about and that you can't read much into it.

The course was determined to be 109nm, based on the defined Turn waypoints and assuming 180 KTAS. They do factor in some amount of distance for the turns. If you look at the defined (first graphic) course compared to my actual flight path (second graphic), you see an obvious bobble I made on Turn 1 where I turned too far. Most of the turns were actually pretty tight, except the first one which was less than 90 degrees and I just got carried away. Quickly learned to dial in the heading bug for the new heading prior to the turn to smooth the rollouts. Also, the time started at the departure end of the runway in Greenwood, so you're not up to full speed or altitude when the clock starts. All those contribute to the slower average total speed. I know at most times on the straightaways I was getting 185-190 KTAS. I started with about 35 gallons as I recall...pretty conservative on that front as well, since I didn't know where I'd end up on the GPH.

Hey all, The official results from the Palmetto 100 Air Race went up this week on the Sport Air Racing League site (http://sportairrace.org/sarl/node/2204). The original Saturday date was rained out so we ran on Sunday, which caused a few of the original racers to miss the event. But Sunday was bright and clear and the race went off without a hitch. I'd boast that I won my overall category (production aircraft) and my racing class (>280HP, normally aspirated, retractable gear, or FAC1RG) but I was the only in my class, and the only other production plane was a Grumman Cheetah/Tiger (not sure which) so my "high horse" is deservedly low. But I had a great time and enjoyed the group...I know Byron and Becca have been quite active with them in Texas. I sure want to get a few more races in to improve my technique. Since it was my first race I didn't want to push things too hard. I stayed at about 2200' MSL (1200' AGL) for most of the race, using slight descents in the turns to help accelerate. I also left the RPM at 2550 and the MP around 26" so I have room to go quite a bit up from there. Fuel flow was about 21GPH to keep the max CHT at 370. I can tell right away from analyzing my track on CloudAhoy that I can cut my time measurably just by better turning. The designated race course was factored in at 109nm, and I flew 114nm which added almost two minutes to my total time. The winner flies a souped up RV-6 that he has tuned for racing. He mentioned all the things he's done to that engine and I can't remember most, except he said he put in high compression (10:1) cylinders. It was pretty comical how at every turn point, he would announce his turn and he gained two miles per me on every corner. Anyway, it was fun, so if you've got a hankering to see what your bird will do you should join the fun! Cheers, Jeff

I wondered what the green text was for, especially that bright lime green that I couldn't even read on my screen. I had to drag and select the text so it would show in a white-on-blue background.

I read that article and looked up the Brodie Landing System as well. Excellent example of necessity being the mother of invention.

It's neat how the lines all converge on their flight paths into and out of the airports. It shows that traffic patterns are really well defined roads in the sky.

Agreed...seems like the upgrade from 2 to 2S is not really worthwhile. Although, a couple of weeks ago I had left the 2 on the glare shield in full sun while I went for lunch at an airport. I'd never had problems with overheating before, but it reached its limit I guess because it kept shutting off until I got it out of the sun for a few minutes, then I just left it on the pax seat for the rest of the short flight and it actually worked fine, good coverage, etc.

I've only had my Ovation for about a year, so my experience is more limited but I have 4 years of J to compare it to. Any retractable is going to add some to your maintenance costs compared to a fixed gear. It will add a few hundred to the cost of the annual, just because they have to spend more time checking gear rigging, etc. If you need to do maintenance on it, realize that changing gear shock discs is $106 PER DISC plus probably 2 hours per side (4 hours altogether for the mains, plus 3 hours for the nose gear). Realize that with the heavier long-bodies, you'll have to change the discs more often. Moving to the engine, that's two more cylinders to inspect, two more chances for exhaust stacks to go bad, etc. Of course that won't hit you every year, but when it finally does it will add several hundred to the overall costs. (I just found a cracked muffler while doing an oil change last week, and for safety sake we pulled the whole exhaust and sent it out for inspection since it was seven years old. That will probably set me back $2K or so...but I err on the side of safety, so that's just me.) You'll have speed brakes which work wonders, but when they need maintenance they need to be pulled and sent to PreciseFlight in Oregon. That's $800, at least it was in April of this year! So there are definitely higher expenses, any of which can get you at any point but probably won't all hit you at the same time. The good news is that all this is worth it, because the smile you'll have on your face when you're cruising along at 170 knots listening to that Continental purr is priceless.

Ah, no, I was trying to modify my existing profile. I'll try creating a new profile to see if that works. Makes sense.

I fly a 310hp Ovation as well and I tried to copy the performance data in FltPlan and it never seemed to work. I'd enter the username and C-number and it would just take me back to the home screen. Any ideas what might be going on?

Wow, that's Kelly McGillis? I looked at some other photos, and that's certainly not one of her better recent ones, but even in the better pics she hardly looks like the same person. Most of the time even with aging you can see the same basic face, but hers looks like it's been sculpted in a few ways. But I guess age captures us all at some point.

HIWAS recordings, better local Flight Service Centers that you could actually call up from the air, interactions with ATC, StormScopes...all the stuff you no doubt learned about in your PPL training. But I have to agree that with the advantage of cockpit weather it does take some of the risk out of it. But I've also known a few (and read about more) thrill seekers that tried to use this advanced technology to their detriment...it's a warm security blanket that can overheat and burn you if you get too complacent. Congrats on the great trip, though. You will learn more about flying by doing a few of those than by hanging out in the local area.

On the G-1000 models, there is an EI digital tach added to the lowest-left portion of the panel. Supposedly this is the primary tach and the G-1000 tach is "informational" but I seldom pay attention to the EI tach except that it captures flight time, so I use that for logging flights.

I admit I didn't get the joke, but I'm still using the Little Orphan Annie decoder ring I got from Ovaltine way back in the day. Mooney hasn't sent my new one yet. (Now let's see who gets THAT reference!)

Well, it could be any or all of the above. As one who recently transitioned to a long body, I can attest that you have to pay much more attention to caressing the nose down to earth than with a J. If you relax back pressure or try to plant the nose it WILL bounce on you...there's a lot of extra force with that increased engine weight. As memory serves, there was also an issue with some nose gear where a bushing could get loose and cause a runaway on takeoff or landing. I don't remember whether this was only on the long-bodies or across all the models. Not sure if this is also contributing to what you see in the for sale listings.

In the "small world" category, I was flying from Atlanta to Denver a few years ago, and right around Memphis I heard another Mooney come on the line and realized it was the guy who sold me the J, flying in his newly-renovated Encore from Nebraska to his home in Florida. We got off freq and talked for a few minutes. But dang if four days later, back in Memphis airspace, we came across each other again and had a good chat. That was quite a fun coincidence.