Jeff_S

I've never owned a boat. One reason is my wife has always had a motion sickness issue and her idea of fun is definitely not riding around on a boat. Of course, her idea of fun didn't include riding around in a little airplane, either, until she realized how quickly it gets her to the beach. And now I own 2 airplanes (which is hopefully a temporary condition!). Hmm...hope that doesn't mean I have to pay for a boat sometime in my future. Oh well, boys gots to have toys.

I'm not real sure where you would put it. There's not a ton of panel space left over. I think the more obvious solution, if ADS-B is the real goal, is to adapt the GDL-88 to integrate into the system, since there is a version of that which has the WAAS GPS receiver and it is designed to work totally in the background. But this doesn't solve the problem of the auto pilot and LPV approaches, which is what the pilots really want.

Thanks! I did find that already when Googling "IO 550 Hot Starts" so I've been going over it. Seems like it was written before he found the gospel on LOP operations in cruise, but otherwise a solid piece of work. I used his hot start technique just the other day for my first-ever attempt at it. Aside from learning that you do have to crack the throttle a bit and not leave it all the way out, the engine started up just fine. Weird as it sounds, with everything I've heard about the difficulty hot-starting these engines, that has been one of my biggest anxieties. But now I know the technique...knock on wood!

I'm curious, are they really called "nose breeders" or is that just the way you pronounce them when they're stuck up in your nose and you sound like you have a cold?!

Thanks Guys. I'm having fun getting to know the new bird...its especially interesting how much difference in energy there is with the extra weight and power compared to my J. While the target airspeed numbers are pretty much the same, getting to those numbers is the learning experience. I'll use these data points when I fly some practice approaches this weekend. Even just getting around on the ground takes some getting used-to. I find I have to be more active on/off the throttle while taxiing to get started moving but then to keep it down to manageable speeds. Lots to learn again, but that's the fun part.

As I work to get more intuitive on flying the O3, I'd appreciate others' feedback on the power settings for different regimes of flight. I did a search and there's plenty of threads on climb and cruise. I'm more interested in the power settings people use for approaches, both instrument approaches and regular VFR landing patterns. I didn't find any discussions on those. Thanks in advance for your advice! Jeff

Augusta is two miles from the farm on which I grew up. I used to ride horses down there all the time and watch planes. This was back in the heyday when Wichita truly was the Air Capitol of the World. It's gotten a lot more developed in that area since I left but it's good to see that airport doing well. Sorry, I don't have much to add about facilities since I haven't lived there in decades, but this thread brought back some great memories. Good luck with your travels.

Thanks all. Yes, the J is back on the ramp and if I were to personify an airplane (and who among us doesn't do that?!) I would say she's a bit pissed off, especially with the "For Sale" banner sleeved onto two prop blades. But it's for a good cause...I'm hoping a new owner will come along quickly and treat her with the same respect I have. There are a few people taking a look now so we shall see.

Hey all, I've dropped subtle hints lately about my move from the J to an Ovation. Last weekend was the closing, and since a couple of folks have asked, here's the big reveal. I brought the plane home from Florida on Friday, and of course we had a crappy weather weekend in Atlanta so there it has stayed but I'm looking forward to getting it out this week some more. Details are that it's an Ovation 3 GX...with a bit of a history! Anybody who was patrolling Controller undoubtedly saw her sitting there forlornly but in full splendor, waiting for somebody to come along who could accept that her prior owner never really got the hang of flying her. After two prop dings and a gear-up he called it quits. But the damage repair has been fully vetted and is rock solid, and with only 390 hours she's practically brand new. And at a price that couldn't be beat. So, now I REALLY have to sell the J...any takers!?

I just picked up my new O3 from Florida on Friday and flew it home to Atlanta. Had the A/C on the whole way and it worked fine. We had it on the "low" setting which kept us plenty cool. You do see a "low amps" warning when you're running it on the ground at low RPMs but as long as you know that's the cause it's not a bother. It goes away as soon as you rev up the engine. Can't vouch for air speed or fuel flow. I can't imagine it would impact either since it's totally electric. All it's doing is placing a load on your alternator. But I've had it all of three days now so I won't claim to be an expert there.

Ha, you're not wrong about that. It only gets worse from here on out, my friend. Not because your plane will necessarily need a lot of maintenance or chew into your wallet too much. You'll spend a bit more than you budgeted for in the first year, getting things to work just right, but then if you maintain it properly and don't let the squawks aggregate there shouldn't be too much of an issue. The money comes in because you'll always be trying to add more things, improve the panel, give it a nicer paint job, etc etc etc. But it's a labor of love and from my experience you'll enjoy spending every penny. If the time comes when you don't enjoy spending it, then you should get out, because that's when you might be tempted to skimp on something that could compromise safety. Have fun! And if your wife/partner every wonders how much you're spending, just announce everything in terms of an "aviation unit" which is a cool $1000. Seems like anything you do to an airplane costs at least $1AU, so it lessens the blow of thinking about it.

Here's a general rule of thumb I read from Mike Busch which seems to hold true. Trouble cold starting: not enough fuel. Trouble hot starting: too much fuel. It seems to me the video in the OP was a hot start...the behavior of that plane was more consistent with a hot start. I do just like everyone else in the J and it generally fires up in just a second or two. I'll have to relearn how all this works with a big-bore Continental...subtle announcement about a new piece of rolling stock in my inventory!

The more common vernacular in French, when crying for help, is "au secour!" The English word, although seldom used, is similar: succor. But nobody wants to yell "Sucker Sucker Sucker" on the radio waves...that could be open to MUCH misinterpretation!

Talk about being cooperative...on Saturday I was making my way through local buildups all throughout central and north Florida, trying to get home to PDK. With both XMWX and Stratus ADS-B NEXRAD, I was able to stay in the clear and I think experienced less than 30 seconds of actual precipitation, but there were some great diversions. At one point ATC simply said "divert as necessary and just let us know when you're back on course." I had free reign to go where I needed to to be safe. My hats off to the entire ATC crew on that day.

I don't see much downside in the outcome of this. It raised publicity for sure, with the money going to a good cause. And it may have helped established a market value for the fastest single-engine piston airplane...sorry, fastest "certificated" single engine piston airplane. I'm sure there are some experimentals out there who can beat it. Call the winning bid $650K, that's less than 10% off their list price for a new Acclaim. Now, I've never bought a factory new airplane, but I can't imagine that they go at full retail, unless of course the buyer is a Catholic. (Hey, I grew up Catholic so I can make the joke!) I'm sure these things always get negotiated, especially if there is an entity buying more than one unit (possibly some Chinese corporations?). So in my book, I think the auction came off pretty darn well for Mooney and for the overall valuation of these aircraft. I've been talking to some of the factory folk at length lately, and everyone I've spoken with says they have more confidence in Mr. Chen and his business model than they have seen in years. It will be fun to see how it plays out.

Park Rapids Avionics did all the work on my current panel (done by the prior owner) and the did a stellar job. I don't know anyone personally there since I didn't pay for this work, but the panel looks great and works great too. http://www.parkrapidsavionics.com

I updated this morning to both my iPhone and iPad. The iPhone worked fine, but the iPad did crash. So I did the re-install and then it worked fine. Lucikly I've got a pretty fast internet connection at home so even having to download all the charts again was not a big deal.

Not to be too pessimistic or anything, but if they can't raise $699K in a charity auction for this airplane, how many are they going to be able to sell at that price? Believe me, I want them to sell a lot, but if there is a ready market for the plane I would think this auction should get at least close to the normal asking price. Perhaps the final bidders are there lurking with their fingers on the "send" button, waiting for the deadline.

Someone else already said the magic word: "unable." The PIC has the last authority on the safety of the flight and the aircraft. Like everyone else, I have never NOT been granted leeway to avoid buildups, and you definitely want to avoid one that's towering to 18,000' because even with no electrical activity there will be strong convection (that is, after all, why it's building up). So I can't imagine a scenario in which ATC will disallow your request, nor can I imagine a scenario where you would want to fly into that sucker.

Does this metric still hold true when talking about a Continental big-bore such as the IO-550, or is it specific to the IO-360 in the J? As I inch closer to my move into an Ovation I'm boning up on the metrics I need to use as rule-of-thumb for that engine. I have them down pat in the J so just trying to quickly get to the same level of comfort with the bigger engine.

I'm not aware of an automated way to get the actual clearance via any data source, at least not for GA. There may be data feeds for the big iron but I have no familiarity with that. It is true now that there are several ways to see what clearance you'll actually be given when you do finally call in. ForeFlight will do this automatically, and send you the actual assigned route if you file through that device. You can also sign up for alerts for your N-number on FlightAware, such that after you file, when the flight plan is input into the ATC system and gets to FlightAware, you will get an email showing you your actual clearance. This is helpful in that you can have your route programmed into the avionics before you actually call in, so it can save some steps. But as far as I know you still do have to talk to an ATC human being to get your actual clearance.

As to the difference between 2- and 3-bladed props, since I've only ever had the 3-blade I can't say for sure. Most people will say that due to the extra weight and drag, the 3-blade is costing me up to 5 KTAS. They may be right, but I don't feel like changing it out right now. As to RPM, probably just the same guidance as already noted applies...if you have a preference for what feels smoother, use that, but realize that at any power combo the 3-blade is going to be a bit slower than a two blade (in cruise...climb is a different matter!).

As I wrote (while those other posts were happening!) the "over square" problem is a myth with our horizontally opposed engines. There was some truth to it with the big radial engines of the WWII era, but for our engines you can discount that entirely. As noted, view the webinars of Mike Busch (http://www.savvymx.com) and you'll learn a lot.

The manufacturer says that for that engine and that airframe, 2500 is the ideal cruising RPM. But others (like Mike Busch) argue for a lower RPM as that gets more efficient use of the horsepower from the engine (less friction, as I recall). But I think it really just depends in several factors that are entirely up to you. For example, you can cruise at 2400 RPM and WOT all you want (don't worry about the old wives tale of "over square") but you will be going a little bit slower than if you cruise at 2500 RPM and WOT. For me it was about 3-4 knots. For some people, they just find the RPM setting where they think the engine is "smoothest" and leave it there. I think more important than the RPM is how you manage the fuel mixture. Whether you choose LOP (me) or ROP, just make sure you keep the CHTs in the comfort zone of 330-350 degrees. That's what will have the most positive benefit for your engine. You can choose to slow it down and enjoy the ride, or rev it up to get there faster...just maintain those CHTs and your engine will be happy.

I have also spoken with Paul Keener about this at length the last few days, as I've been looking at a 2005 Ovation 2 with the same set-up. He did indicate some positive momentum in this area and that while there is no specific timeline, they do realize it's a needed feature and it is on the drawing board. Interestingly, he hadn't even thought of the whole 2020 ADS-B compliance angle, which I found somewhat surprising, but he now has that on his radar. However, don't kid yourself about the cost. Even if they get it certified it seems that you'll have to pull and replace at least one, if not both, of the display units, the radio, swap out antennas and a few other components of the G1000 that I didn't recognize (he was throwing out acronyms). Given all that, I asked him point blank if it was likely to be "about $50K all-in" to make the switch and he said "that's about right." Of course, not hard numbers, but something to plan for. I casually, somewhat jokingly mentioned that of course all this would be for naught if the company went out of business again, and to this he perked up and said that he was very impressed with the new management and their 10 year plan, and he was more encouraged than he has been for a long time about the long term prospects for the company. So that is good news as well...as long as they can hit their targets!