Jeff_S

Mandatory or not, this doesn't seem like a huge expense to me, especially if incorporated into an upcoming annual. But I fly a Lycoming so I don't know how much things related to Continental engines cost. Sort of like the recent Piper AD...it smacks of just good maintenance checks and procedures that you should be doing anyway.

Okay, I have officially added this to the Southeast Mooney event calendar for the year. Joey Cole has agreed to give us a tour of his facility and talk about any maintenance issues we want to address, and I'll work with the show organizer to make sure we can have a gaggle of Mooneys all fly in and lined up somewhere for the event. I've added this to our Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/events/569743766372142/ I'll start putting together details in the summer and post them to all the usual places. This will be fun!

There has been a sequel in consideration and they were apparently ready to start filming, or at least moving closer to production, when producer/director Tony Scott committed suicide. From what I've heard, the project is on hold while they reassess.

Mine is like that more or less. I have only heard it during VERY extreme nose up attitude in power-on stalls. That vane has to be angled at just the right point so that it catches the appropriate angle of attack of the air, so if it's not set correctly it won't trigger (or not easily). You could try bending it a bit (probably upward) and go test it. Worst case scenario is it just goes off constantly until you land and bend it again. (NOTE: This is probably not an approved owner/operator maintenance item, so make your A/P bend it instead!)

I've been the quasi-official Mooney Ambassador organizer for a couple of years and we've done a few events, so I'll just make this part of the Southeast Mooney event schedule. Jamie, I'm going to send you a PM here on the forum with instructions for getting yourself on the Southeast Mooney mailing list, which is how I communicate to everyone. I also use this Forum. As to flying into an airshow, it can definitely be done. Witness the thousands of folks who fly in and out of Sun n Fun and OSH every year just for the day. I looked into the North Georgia airshow last year and I think they closed the AD at about Noon and opened it again about 5pm, according to the NOTAMs. So you just have to be prepared to spend the full day at the event. Jeff

That sounds like the perfect Southeast Mooney fly in opportunity. I hadn't seen the schedule for that show, but we can certainly organize a Mooney fly-in. Maybe get Joey Cole to give some sort of talk for an early morning meeting before the event starts.

Interesting, I was in NYC last week and don't remember hearing anything about this incident. Of course, I was trapped in the bowels of a trade show convention for three days so that may be part of the reason.

I flew with Cleon for a half-day in 2011. He was a great instructor and very reasonably priced. Unfortunately we had weather moving in that day so our planned trip to Glenwood Springs and Leadville was shortened considerably, to just Steamboat Springs, but I learned a lot. One of my key learnings was to get a refresher on airport altitude prior to landing back at Longmont after being in the mountains. For some reason I had 6000' as the airport elevation in my head, when in fact it's 5000'. So I'm 2000' AGL on downwind and announcing my intention to land. He asked me why I was 1000' high, to which I said "whoops". He suggested going around but for some reason I decided just to make do with what I had, so I showed him my prowess at slipping the J an extra thousand feet into the runway and we landed pretty darned okay, if I do say so myself. Not sure if he was impressed or just scared shitless...he didn't say too much after that!

Jim, the instructor can sign you off on a BFR as a result of the tailwheel endorsement training without ever involving your WINGS credits. CFIs have pretty good latitude to consider what they will decide as proficiency for a BFR, and having gone through a tailwheel program I can say that all the things I did there were the same as I would have done with a BFR.

I finally got a chance to watch the video this morning. I think we've used up three pages of people expressing their emotions, which I hope made everyone feel good but probably doesn't solve much about the situation. If you follow the learnings of the video, they claimed the major problem was that he let his inner needs (the need to not only get his daughter to college, but also to get home) override his aeronautical decision making. Yeah, we've all done that a bit I'm sure...I will admit I'm more of a pussy than some. What no one in that video or on this thread seems to mention (or perhaps I missed it because I couldn't really read 100% of the rants) was that the dude had a perfectly good auto-pilot and didn't seem to know how to use it! The auto-pilot won't let you spin in a Cirrus, even the S-TEC 55x which he probably had in that SR20 (if we believe the video version of it). And yes, someone else also mentioned the parachute. So the other moral of this story is, know your equipment, and know how to use it. That will also keep you from becoming a statistic.

Been playing with the new iPhone interface (the iPad interface didn't change). I'm still undecided on my final verdict, but I was just so use to the prior iPhone interface it's taking me awhile to get used to it. I supposed it does streamline access to many of the features...fewer screens to click through. But for those of us with aging eyesight, that left-side menu that is now the prime navigation device between sections of the app is a bit of a strain. But the background chart updates will no doubt be the best feature of this version...that was always a pain, that the app essentially just hung on the download screen and you couldn't do anything else while they were loading.

The Wings program is the FAA's attempt to address pilot education and safety. I've done many of their online programs (for example, if you're going to fly around Washington DC you MUST complete their online program for the SFRA) and they are generally good, and getting better. The website in its initial incarnation looked like a government committee project, but they've gradually improved that. And I've gone to several of their in-person conferences and met with the FAA Safety Team (FAAST) folks, and they are all very nice and serious about their attempts to improve the GA safety rate. There are only two problems that I see with this program. As has been noted above, it's still too cumbersome to effectively replace a BFR...in fact, in order to use these credits as a BFR you still have to go flying with an instructor...so it sort of defeats that purpose. But the other big problem they have in achieving their stated goal is that the only people who tend to participate in these programs are the folks who ARE interested in safety and are LEAST LIKELY to become the statistics they are trying to avoid. But all in all, if you haven't checked it out yet, go to www.faasafety.gov and sign up for an account. As noted, some of the educational programs are quite good, even if you don't care about getting the credit.

I have a Horizon digital tach and it occasionally jumps around like that. I've never worried about it, as numerous things can affect it but none seem consistent so I don't see it as a problem. The problem with digital tachs is that you get zeroed in on trying for perfection because, well, you can! But RPM jumps around in a band of 20-50 quite frequently so you just have to pick a general spot and leave it there.

First off, glad to know that all walked away. But secondly, isn't it a bit scary how many links were included in that Kathryn's report? It's just further evidence that anything you put out on the internet is open to all. Something to consider...

My first time in a tail dragger was in an authentic Aeronca Champ. It was a great experience and taught me the hell of heel brakes, but it was fun to fly. Yes, you had to use rudder to make turns but the engine wasn't powerful enough to cause much trouble in the takeoff phase. Two years later I was in an intro to aerobatics course in a Super Decathlon. Figuring this was just a grown-up Champ I didn't take into account a much more powerful engine and the p-factor and gyroscopic perception that would ensue, and on my first takeoff I nearly ran that thing off the left side of the runway! The instructor, being very experienced at this, was ready and helped get us back on track with aplomb. That was an eye opener though!

I always associate this with Mike Busch's comments on leaning for LOP operations. It's his approach for quickly leaning past peak EGT so as to avoid the "red box" or "red fin" or whatever other imagery you want to use that denotes the area where detonation is possible. With this approach, you lean quickly to the far side of LOP, then enrich mixture until you see the temps you want.

How critical is the top of the Pez dispenser to getting the right fit? Enquiring minds want to know.

Yes, Mike Busch is a very credible source of information and most folks at least respect his opinion, even if they don't follow it completely. I found the red fin an interesting twist on the whole LOP/ROP operations debate, and a bit easier to follow as a model, although practically speaking it portrays about the same info as the Red Box concept of the GAMI guys. I am hoping you didn't really mean to start up the whole ROP/LOP debate again, though, with this thread. Surely you have searched and found the other threads that cover this ad nauseum. If not, and you really want to read about it, the Search button is your friend.

You'll have a hard time getting any real feel for the airplane in just a demo flight. I "test-drove" three different J models including the one I ended up purchasing, and was much like you, with a lot of time in Warriors. The Mooney feels very different than a Piper product so I wouldn't try to factor that into your decision. In fact, I would recommend that you take right seat and let the owner really fly the plane. You can take a bit of time just turning and banking and having fun, but I would let the owner fly and you check out the radios, the navs, and all the other gizmos that you want to be sure are in working order. It's a good time for you to just watch and learn, and ask questions. If you are concentrating on flying then you won't have the brain power to ask more of the critical questions that will come up.

I also use a touch-up bottle from an auto store, which has both a pen and a little brush. Although white is fairly neutral, it's amazing how many different shades there really are. And from what I've experienced you can't go by the feeble attempt at color depiction the store brands use on their bottles. If you have a few extra bucks, best bet is to buy three different shades that you think will bracket the color you have on your plane and then just try them out. You'll find one that looks best.

Thanks All. I got some advise from Paul as LASAR as well so I think I'm armed with enough information to get these rigged right all around. This may be another time where I'll be well served by going up to Joey Cole's in Rome to let the Mooney expert get it right.

Hello all, I'm having a dickens of a time managing the health of the leading edge of my inner gear doors (M20J). Summer of 2011 my right-side unit was cracking severely on the leading edge, so I ordered up a refurb replacement from LASAR, had it painted up and installed, life was good. Middle of last year I noticed the left side was starting to crack as well, but we tried stop-drilling a hole which worked for a little while. Then the crack started spreading again, but this time it was toward to aft part of the unit which is reinforced so I just watched it for awhile. Finally it started spreading again toward the front part and I have ordered up a new refurb from LASAR and am in the process of getting it painted for installation. Lo and behold, on inspection the other day I noticed that the right-side, recent refurb from LASAR is now cracking vertically right along the seam where the leading edge is sandwiched and riveted between two outer skins. I had thought their refurb approach would be bullet-proof, but apparently not. Or perhaps there is something I need to consider and tell my A/P when he installs these things so that whatever vibration or friction is causing my problem will no longer occur. I'm open to all thoughts and suggestions. Thanks. Jeff

You will get no end of offers for support and guidance; we've all been there and leaned on people who went before. But it would make sense to find someone who's local and you can call frequently, maybe even go fly with. There are lots of people in Texas who belong to this Forum so I'm sure you'll find a good friend.

I'd probably be in the best Beechcraft F33 that I could afford. If not that, then likely I'd search around for a really nice RV-x two-seat touring, or maybe even someone's tricked out RV-10 if they were selling.

The J was always going to be my second airplane. Right after getting my license I started shopping for planes, and I sought advice from my boss's brother who flies for Delta (Northwest at the time) and has always been very active in GA as well. He was the one who introduced me to the magic of the J, but supported my desire to start with something a little easier to build time and experience. So I bought and flew a Warrior for three years, got my Instrument ticket and 500 hours under my belt before trading up to my current J. It was the right path for me. Now, I have to admit I scan the want ads and dream about a shiny newer Ovation, or possibly an Encore, but the fact is for the flying that I do a J fits my mission perfectly. Nice blend of speed, efficiency and lower cost of ownership. If I had a reason to fly on business then I would probably move up to something a bit more all-weather capable.