Jeff_S

I bought mine under an LLC because I was seriously considering using it for business purposes at the time. As it turns out, that business never materialized and I have used it purely for personal travel and fun, so I have never tried to take a tax deduction. I think there is some potential benefit in protecting your personal assets against a catastrophic loss if the worst happens, but that may vary from state to state. About the only real benefit I've received by having it in the LLC is when I needed to bring on a very-minority partner in ownership of the plane so I could take over his hangar at the airport. For $1 I was able to list him on the LLC as a member and that satisfied the requirements.

I got this data from Parker when I asked about how he flight plans in his Encore. Not exactly the same as a 252 but should give you an idea: I typically cruise at 11.6-11.8 GPH which gives me the approximate speeds depending on altitude: 6000 - 160 KTAS 10,000 - 170 KTAS 14,000 - 175-179 KTAS 15,000 - 180 - 183 KTAS FL190 - 188-191 KTAS FL210 - 190-195 KTAS (195 is easy when you're lighter at end of trip)

I've got the Whelen PAR36 in my plane and it works great. I have just the single lamp in the cowl, and it throws out plenty of light for both takeoff/landing and taxi. My plane is a bit of an anomaly because traditionally the J and earlier models with the lamp in the cowling used PAR46 bulbs, but somewhere along the way mine was modified to accept the PAR36. No matter, it works fine.

It always seemed to me that pumping cool moist air into the cockpit could be a recipe for disaster, especially in the humid south. Maybe I don't really know how these things work. But I'm with the crowd that says in the summer months, I simply dress for the heat and plan to get to altitude as quickly as possible. A little bit of sweat is good for the soul, don't you think?

Unfortunately they say that they will never support the GNS480, which leaves me in the cold, or at the very least, leaves me having to use the Windows version. But I'm sure that will continue to get updated as well...it's not like EVERY pilot has switched to a Mac (yet).

So it's a consensus: we all like to spend way too much time with our birds, checking them the night before and then again before flight. I figure the peace of mind that is brought by an extra five minutes going through the pre-flight is worth every penny. And I am like that other poster that really just CAN'T fire up the engine for the first time of the day without a pre-flight...it gives me the heebie-jeebies. On subsequent flights, I just make sure there is no obvious oil dripping anywhere and everything looks good. Although this bit me on Saturday, as I had pulled into Anniston AL to pick up an Angel Flight passenger. The lineman chocked my front wheel and I didn't notice it, and of course didn't catch it on my abbreviated pre-flight. So here I am with the plane all fired up and ready to go, and can't move. I HATE THAT! Easy fix, but it looks so unprofessional.

I had this happen to me in the extreme a few weeks ago. When I tested the fuel, the whole spring mechanism broke and fuel was just free-flowing out the hole. I sat there literally with my finger in the dike, wondering what to do. Luckily someone from a neighboring hangar heard my pleas for help and came over with a few buckets. And also luckily (since this was a Saturday) my A/P was around and could come over and help out. But I lost about 11 gallons that day, not to mention the cost of the parts and the time for my A/P to do the work.

That is good to hear, because for my needs, the Stratus 2 is overkill. I have no need nor desire to mount my iPad in the Mooney, so the whole AHRS and EFIS capability to me means nothing. I would like to experiment with the ADS-B traffic, however, so I look forward to that update.

I would say 14 because you've got either the highway or the golf course.

Yeah, I too am always thinking about what might come after my J. I'm torn between finding a well-equipped Encore (I know of several) or going to an Ovation. On paper for me it seems the Ovation fits a sweet spot. Enough power to fly higher even though normally aspirated, and maybe better overall economies. I need to find a ride in one!

Just finished my first pilot logbook at the end of last year. Replaced it with the Sporty's professional version that I suspect I may never fill, at the going rate anyway, but I'll have fun trying. I also complete all log entries on Logshare (http://www.logshare.com) to help track currency and because it makes it easier to see totals and report on fun things.

So we understand, the request from the FAA was for you to send a picture of the airframe logbook where whatever problem you had is now fixed...is that correct? That is an interesting one. I had a total electrical system failure on my first ever, pre-PPL long x-country where I had to land at a towered airport using their handheld light signals. Never got a call from anyone about that.

I don't know why I feel like a public defender, but give me a freakin' break. What, really, was the point of this harrassment?

I have X-Plane on my Mac, and use the Carenado J as well as the older "free" version of a J you can get on the X-plane.org website. The Carenado is fine but a bit buggy in X-Plane 10. For example, the HSI will not synch to the GPS track when the CDI button is set to GPS. And as it turns out, the panel on the free J is much closer to my actual panel, with an S-TEC 55 and altitude preselect, so that I can practice IFR technique with much the same method as I use in the real plane.

Had me going, that's for sure...what fun.

I'd say the only thing wrong with you is that you didn't mention any sexy co-pilot along for the ride. Hell, man, if you're dreaming, you might as well EMBELLISH a little bit!

Looks just like the view from an airliner, only a lot more fun!

Well, it was "marketing-oriented" but I'm a marketer so coming from me that was a compliment, rest assured!

While obviously a bit marketing-oriented, I would agree with the above post. The Triple Tree fly in is a unique and special event for Labor Day flying.

This program seems to make sense if you just want a great Cirrus to fly around, especially if you are using it for business and can treat the costs as a legitimate expense/deduction. For pleasure purposes, you lose the intrinsic satisfaction of "ownership" as some have noted above and it doesn't seem to be the most cost-effective way to have a plane.

So, did any of you get wildly sick during this training? I tried a 2-day aerobatics course a few years ago and I blew chow after one aileron roll and one loop. Wasn't my funnest moment to be sure.

Not to throw water on a sizzling party or anything, but I have read in two different places recently that it is absolutely forbidden to mount an external camera on a certificated aircraft without a full 337 and FSDO compliance. Granted, Oscar may not care about such things in Guatemala, but I wanted to point this out and see if anybody here in the US has heard the same thing, or can refute this. Anybody?

I have to admit, I use the electric trim so much I have to remind myself where the manual trim wheel is! I've actually added this to my run-up do-list, to physically feel the wheel move with electric trim and manually give it a quick turn as well just to be sure. And when I was doing my transition training, my CFI coached me to do the same thing as Flyboy...pull back on trim while pushing down on flaps to maintain neutral attitude. Works like a charm. (Similarly, or oppositely I guess, push down on trim while dropping gear to achieve same effect.)

Seems like if you don't live in Texas your options are limited. The only one close to us Southeasterners looked to be at Tullahoma TN (home of the Beechcraft Heritage Museum, BTW, and a very worthwhile place to visit if you love the Staggerwing). But I've always wanted to do this so maybe I'll sign up. I also noticed looking through some of the race records that y'all hold the FAC3RG records for speed, and in all but one case actually beat out all the 231s in the FAC3RG-T category. This is further proof that that spinning turbo only gives you benefit if you get to altitude. Pretty cool.

That must be engineering training you're talking about. I don't think any of my CFI's would be able to impart that level of technical knowledge in my prior training!