Jerry 5TJ

It was still a night IFR over-mountain trip in a plane neither of you had flown before. The MMOPA FRAT score for this flight would have glowed bright red. Glad it all went well.

The new GNC355 lacks a conventional NAV receiver, unlike the GTN650.

Congratulations. No problem to land at JFK in a light airplane. Taxiing can be amusing; sure am glad we have moving map. I was there at JFK last night. Quiz: From here, find your way to 22R.... Hint: Q to left on A, hold short at N and T. Then continue on A to W, hold, left and onto the runway, (closed) to D, hold, then left at D and right on C. Left at E. Hold short of 22R.

Good details, thanks. I have often found, too (as recently as last week) that the desire to remain VMC sometimes calls for lower altitude. At FL230 we were in and out of the tops of “benign” cumulus and stratiform clouds so spotting the building Cumulonimbus spires was tough. Descended to 6,000’ and all cloud was above us. Picking our way through the rain shafts was then straightforward. We still had NEXRAD and Stormscope to help pick a path. It is ever so comforting to be able to see outside and confirm what the wx tools are showing.

Ah, directly in your post. No matter, hence my attempt at an ironic reply.

It must be a fake memory, then. Reminds me of the time Glen Curtiss and I were flying his float plane, yessir, must have been in 1913 or thereabouts. He and Jimmy Doolittle used to call me for advice frequently, and long distance phone calls weren’t cheap back then, neither. Anyway, Glen says to me....

That is certainly true when the plane is on jacks at zero airspeed. At normal operation speed some force is needed to push the bar into the downlock. The faster you go the more the gear is pulled down, I suppose by air loads on the gear and doors. Example one-time event: When the bar unexpectedly popped out of the uplock block on my E at around 160 mph the J bar did not float: It moved “without undue delay” through 90 degrees & into the downlock block.

I am based at KMTN and no, the GTN750 does not give guidance for the DME arc to final approach. In fact, the approach is not even in the GTN750 database (!) All of the other published approaches at the airport are supported but not that one. I can see the approach plate on my iPad and it is geo-referenced. I can manually tune the GTN750 to the Baltimore VOR and both the GPS and legacy DME will show the range. The HSI will display the radial. The VOR/DME 15 approach can only be flown in manual aka nostalgia mode: It is strictly 20th Century. It is an easy approach to fly, but unusual: I center the CDI every few seconds and fly the heading that’s 90 degrees off the radial (the 90 degree point on the right side of the card) while keeping an eye on the DME range to judge corrections to the heading. At least that’s how I did it in the last century. Now the iPad’s depiction makes it Duck Soup. If you’re nearby come fly it someday as it is a unique approach.

You point to the uplock block between the seats and say, “The Johnson bar latches into this and that’s what keeps the gear up.” Oh, a J model: Here’s what I recall— The electric gear uses the pushrod mechanism like the manual systems but the J bar is replaced by a motor driving via a gear with a high reduction ratio. The motor drives the gears which pushes the rods and moves the three landing gear legs. When the gear is raised and fully in the wheel wells electric limit switches stop the motor. At that point the motor shaft is motionless. The gearbox multiplies the torque required for the gear to spin the shaft. The gear’s weight is unable to overcome the motor/gearbox resistance and the gear is held in place. (If you have a manual gear Mooney and the J bar somehow comes unlatched during cruise flight the gear will come down Right Quick.)

After 45 years the PC button on my C model failed. I removed the button assembly. Then unscrewed the bottom from top to get at the internal spring, which had broken. Installed a suitable replacement spring. Cleaned out decades of gunk with alcohol. Installed new O rings. AOK then.

Nice C model. Looks like the cowl intake baffle needs attention, BTW. Insurance for adding a new guy into long-insured partnership, with zero make/model, is likely to be considerably higher the first year. Plus rates are up for the GA market overall. Enjoy

Per the Jeppesen guide, it’s a DME. On NOAA charts it’s a bit obscure as well.

I’d be more worried the Avionics work won’t be done in time for the annual inspection to begin.

Yes I increased the tooth count on the small gear. Only trick was figuring out the chain size and then ordering a gear with correct shaft ID. I’ll dig through my notes and send you those details.

I changed the drive gear on my 24V nose dragger to speed it up about 40%. It still hauled the Ovation around just fine. With variable speed control it is precise enough to ease the plane into a tight hangar.