Jerry 5TJ

I certainly agree....

What would it take to delete the whisky compass altogether? Can the G500 with its magnetic heading sensor plus the ESI500 with its own separate magnetometer and battery backup replace the old floating compass? In fact I have not used the whiskey compass in years.

I took mine out a few miles over the Atlantic and dropped it. Made a pretty good splash visible from 3,000 feet.

Quick trip today supporting the not-so-quick process of obtaining a PIN to fly into the Maryland 3 airports. First filled out the application along with scans of documentation. Today fingerprint collection by a TSA-vetted technician—I elected to use one at Harrisburg PA. Next up, an in-person verification that I resemble my picture IDs. Nice spring day flight in the Mid-Atlantic area.

Both scenarios ok as long as the Mooney remains in the hangar.

/* Warning: This post contains techno-geek material. Slant range is one contributor to DME accuracy. But slant range error is generally small compared to intrinsic system performance limits. The DME system achieves a 95% accuracy expectation of around 180 meters, about the same as the +0.1 nmi resolution on standard DME displays. The 95% horizontal accuracy of WAAS enabled GPS is under 10 meters, so DME is about 20 times less accurate. In addition GPS accuracy is independent of the number of users, while the ground-based DME transponder is reply-rate limited. This means in dense traffic areas, or far from the ground station, individual users may receive fewer updates. During such intervals the airborne DME interrogator’s display “coasts” for a few seconds with no updates before blanking out until further replies come in. The reply-rate limiting is done in part by reducing the ground-based transponder’s receiver sensitivity. This has the effect of favoring near-by users more than distant airplanes. It also favors higher power such as airliners over our lower power GA units. Typical DME interrogators in airliners transmit 300 watt pulses compared to 50 watts from a KN-64, giving them nearly 8 dB advantage. Note that what we refer to as DME is also known as DME-N where the N designated “non-precision” or “narrowband.” There is also a standard for DME-P meaning “precision” associated with the Microwave Landing System or MLS. All common DME in our planes are DME-N only. A reference: Tran, Michael, "DME/DME Accuracy," Proceedings of the 2008 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, San Diego, CA, January 2008, pp. 443-451. End of Geek warning. */

My two short body Mooney planes were noticeably better with shorter runways than my Ovation. The C especially was ok into airports I’d not attempt in the Ovation. Solo with just me and 1/2 tanks the C is about 950 pounds lighter than the Ovation. Same wing, similar brake area. Bravoman has it right in saying any runway under 3000’ is going to take special care in a long body Mooney.

Home, James....

Marauder in the best seat.

Hello Yankele, Parts 135 & etc weren’t crafted to be an inconvenience. They’re explicitly designed to prevent what you propose. Part 91 gives you great freedom to fly yourself all over the country at pretty much whatever risk level you deem acceptable. However you are not permitted to transfer that risk via a commercial transaction to third parties unable to assess those dangers for themselves. Have fun and keep flying. Safely.

The Continental SB requires an IRAN for any prop strike that damages the propeller. I’m sorry to say I know this from personal experience. Insurance will cover the cost for that procedure, plus the propeller replacement. Add a few bucks (few in aviation terms) to the insurance payment and get a full engine overhaul. With a new wing and the firewall forward refurbishment it will be (almost) a new plane in about 9 months.

I’ve landed my Ovation at CA35 which is at sea level, has an unobstructed approach to 22, and is 2100’ long. There was not much excess pavement for the M20R. Sorry to hear about the event. There is a comment on the FF airport information page for T94 saying “pilots unfamiliar must use extreme caution.”

We flew in to Bartow where we were treated very well. Spent all day Thursday at SnF. Enjoyed the displays, meeting old friends and talking to exhibitors and other attendees. Aptly named Sun n Fun; it was both. Nice flight home Friday. Major cost: We spent $1000 round-trip for fuel this year. Two years ago in the Ovation we burned $1000 of 100LL. Will I quibble over a $37 admission fee? Or $10 for a good Cubano sandwich? Nope. Garmin had a large display area in Hangar D. It was packed full of people looking at their many product lines. It was hard to get close enough to play with the goodies. Mooney had a fine outside display, one the nicest of all the airframe vendors. Two-level van, nice seating with flight line views, free food. I did enjoy looking over the Mooney Mite in their display. I took my time as the display area was empty — no customers and no sales people.

So if failure occurs after the first power reduction, how about taking off at 90% and INCREASING power in the climb to reduce failure probability?

Spend the money you would have paid for LLC formation and taxes on buying more liability insurance coverage.