Jeff_S

I've found the battery life in the New iPad (aka iPad 3) to be very sporadic. With my original iPad, I could leave ForeFlight on in map mode for the better part of a day...it made the two-leg, 8 flight hour trip to Denver last summer with no problems. The New iPad seems to use 15% battery per hour, and up to 20% when it gets hot. And I have seen some of those same issues where the battery is seemingly lower after no use. I even had it swapped out recently to see if that would help, but the new one is the same. That retina display really sucks the power when it's on.

It should be noted that not all (or even many?) engines will be happy at the super-reduced fuel flows, except perhaps at higher altitudes. I generally cruise in the sweet-spot range of 7-9,000', and I can cruise down around 8.5 gph LOP but if I try to go lower than that the engine really complains. Jim, can you get to that low GPH even at lower altitudes, WOT?

Gary, really? Why the hostility? What part of this original question did you miss? I'm curious as to what fuel burn value you fellow LOP'ers utilize for flight planning purposes in the J.

Quote: txbyker I found if you log into Flightaware.com after you file it will update with the clearance once approved.

You know, while we're on the topic of less-than-perfect landings, let me open up to the group that lately I've had some real stinkers, and I seem to have gotten into a pattern that maybe somebody can break me of. When I first transitioned from the Warrior, my problem was that I was landing too flat...never nose-wheel first, but certainly three point landings. So I've consciously tried to keep the nose up higher to land mains first. Only now, when the mains touch down, often I'll get a sudden drop of the nose and a bit of a bounce on the front tire. Just one bounce, and never enough to suggest a go-around, but still...very unseemly. And at PDK, there's ALWAYS somebody watching you! So, perhaps I'm keeping the nose up too high? Or subconsciously releasing back pressure too early when the mains hit? I need to just go out and practice a few, surely, but I'm open to suggestions. I need to get that "greaser" feeling back in my hands!

First of all, I've never heard of a "VPN" approach. Did they change the name, or do you mean an "LPV" approach? Or is it something else entirely? I may need an educashun on that one. As to how to fly them, my set-up is different as I have a GNS480 with an S-TEC 55 A/P and GPSS. I would fly the entire approach using GPSS until I'm establshed on the final approach path (outside the FAF). Then I switch the A/P to NAV/APR mode, and that will capture the GS and ride the rails down as far as I let it.

Man, some of you guys are harsh! I sure how no one is secretly shooting my landings and posting them on YouTube. We have no way of knowing what was going on in that aircraft. Maybe he was experimenting with just how fast he could be over the numbers...the runway certainly looked plenty long. I'm just sayin'...

So I just want to confirm something...at 18,000' you were showing 180+ KTAS in the two graphic images you provided. This is a standard "J" model? I never thought a J would have that level of performance at altitude. Or is there something under the cowling that I'm not aware of? Just curious, because if I thought I would get those TAS's in my J I'd invest in oxygen and get up there in a hurry!

Disregard last post...I found it in your gallery!

To second Piloto, I also love your panel layout. Could you post some pictures of the full panel so we can see where all the other components are? I'm getting ideas for a panel makeover and yours looks like one to emulate.

Quote: FlyDave Actually, two instances. And not just bent, totalled.

Sorry your trip was curtailed like that. Not sure how long you're staying, but the weather down here is forecast to be solid CAVU for days so you could probably have just flown the whole trip VFR. But you made a safe and prudent decision for yourself so that's what matters. It is sometimes good to have Delta in your back pocket.

I have heard more about this accident from someone who read sherriff's reports and listened to the ATC tapes. I'm going on heresay, but from his description, there were definitely STRONG storms in the area and this pilot flew right into one. The breakup was so bad that the bulkhead separated and the youngest daughter was sucked out of the plane at altitude, and was found 1/2 mile from the rest of the wreckage. The pilot was very low-time in the Pilatus and was just transitioning from a Bonanza. He said that from the ATC tapes it was clear the pilot had either no regard for the weather, or was already so overwhelmed that he simply started zoning out because of it. I, too, will be interested in what the NTSB has to say.

I have no answer to your question, but I like the poetry in which you've phrased it!

Was it just me, or did it seem like that J had de-ice boots on the wings? Is there an aftermarket STC for something like that?

Not to cause undue concern, but rodent droppings, especially those that have been around for awhile, are a very common source for the hantavirus which can be extremely nasty and sometimes fatal. Were you wearing a mask and eye protection? If not, please be cautious with any flu-like symptoms you may experience.

The only other thing I add is to mention that they will occasionally hear beeping sounds from different alarms, such as going off A/P, gear up alarm if I pull back power on decent, etc. I tell them that none of these alarms means the plane is going to crash so don't worry. Then I add with a wink "you'll KNOW when we're about to crash!" (Just kidding, I don't really say that.)

Quote: rorythedog My # 3 cht always shows an elevated temp relative to the others in my m20j. I think it has something to do with the location of the probe in thgat cylinder.....so I've been told.

This is really a sad story, specially when they were so young. My simpathies to the family. In-flight structural failures are rare but it happens. If encountering severe turbulence always throttle back and slow down (110KTIAS) quickly by pitching up. You may get tossed around but at least will be in one piece. I always slow down when approaching weather and on descent. Even on clear weather you can experience severe turbulence at the lower altitudes, specially during summer afternoons. Remember it takes airspeed to break an airplane. José

Yes, you're going to see the same descent ration either into or with the wind because your airplane doesn't know it's in the wind! Of course, your ground speed is what matters, so did you factor that into your 2 miles/1000' calculation? That does sound about right for no-wind...I always felt the M20J had a roughly 11:1 glide ratio as a rule of thumb. I also got the lesson in my transition training about the difference between having the prop in or out...it makes a big difference! Any type of engine out landing I think would merit pulling the prop out immediately to reduce drag and give you more options. Coming from a fixed-pitch airplane this was an eye opener.

Quote: Immelman Yikes. Yikes.. I would not count on the ability to fix this with trim once airborne. Unless a pilot detects this at about rotation at the latest, I think the outcome would be very bad. As much as I do not want to have an AD on my hands I think this ought to be reported. Regarding checking the controls: I absolutely do this before each takeoff. Further, I suggest (and teach to students) 'boxing' the controls as follows: Full aft elevator, hold it --> full right aileron & hold it --> full forward elevator and hold that --> full left aileron, and so on, as if you're tracing the corner of a box. My thinking on this is that you're then exercising the moving parts behind the panel to their extremes in both axes.

Quote: Immelman Yikes. Yikes.. I would not count on the ability to fix this with trim once airborne. Unless a pilot detects this at about rotation at the latest, I think the outcome would be very bad. As much as I do not want to have an AD on my hands I think this ought to be reported. Regarding checking the controls: I absolutely do this before each takeoff. Further, I suggest (and teach to students) 'boxing' the controls as follows: Full aft elevator, hold it --> full right aileron & hold it --> full forward elevator and hold that --> full left aileron, and so on, as if you're tracing the corner of a box. My thinking on this is that you're then exercising the moving parts behind the panel to their extremes in both axes.

Your situation sounds unusual. I have flown into KAPA and always found TAC Air to be extremely helpful and friendly, and yes, much lower priced fuel. You may have just run into a random bad situation which can happen to anybody. You might find that if you try again you'll get what you expect.

Had two interesting x-wind experiences on Saturday. The first was flying into Cullman AL (3A1) where the AWOS reported "wind calm" and the skydiving plane was usine runway 2 so we just fit into the flow. Damned if that wasn't one of the squirreliest landings I'd had in awhile, and as we touched down the tail kept pushing out to the right and just ground steering was an issue. When we got out we saw the wind had shifted to a quartering tail-wind of about 5 knots. That doesn't sound like a lot, but I can tell you when it's from behind it makes an impact. Coming back into PDK that same day landing on 34, winds were 15G25 from 310° which, again, doesn't seem like a lot. But anybody who's ever landed on 34 at PDK knows there is a gully in front that causes all kinds of swirls, so with any breeze at all it's a constant dance movement with rudder, aileron and throttle to bounce through the air on your way in. As we were getting down to about 100' my passenger asked "is this when I should be panicking?" but in fact all that dancing improved my concentration and I made one of the softest touchdowns I've had in awhile. Go figure.

The LOP mode on the JPI series is so easy to use, I would encourage you to get comfortable with it quickly. It seems like your engine runs LOP quite nicely, but you were probably closer to Peak with those readings. I find the LOP mode on the JPI even easier than the ROP mode...once invoked, you just keep leaning until you see the last cylinder "icicle" graph come down and then just lean until you like the setting depending on your altitude. Then you're done! Compare this to ROP mode where you have to lean until you see the first cylinder hit (and go past) Peak, then press-hold the button to see where Peak was, then go back and enrichen until you hit your desired target on the ROP side for that cylinder. Too many steps!