Sven

When I brought our super-docile cat to the vet for the first time, I didn't think I would need a cage. By the time I pulled away and was 50 feet from my house, the heretofore always-mellow cat found its way to my lap, dug its very sharp claws into my grionitals, screamed very loud and proceeded to urinate in my lap. Remembering what my instructor said, "Fly the van!" I proceeded to aviate, navigate, then communicate. I drove back into the garage. I made sure the garage door was shut before opening my van door and then released the cat and a pain induced scream myself. My lap "caught" all the cat weewee so I saved the upholstery. But my shorts, my manlies, and my self esteem were all destroyed. I took a quick shower, found a sturdy box and packaging tape and still made to the vet on time. They found my story much more entertaining than I did. Our cat is never flying for any reason. And now you know why.

There's another show called "Alaska Wing Men" on National Geographic. It follows the adventures of several pilots in many areas of Alaska. Two years ago there's nothing about GA and now we have 1) Ice Pilots, 2) The Aviators, 3) Flying Wild Alaska, 4) Alaska Wing Men. I'm thinking of another GA reality show about a Mooney in Santa Rosa that never flies because of the constant fog and non-ifr pilots. I'm calling it "Mooney in the Mist."

I went to a very well attended seminar tonight in Santa Rosa, CA called "Close Calls: Lessons Learned." It featured the stories of five very honest pilots with five very different scenarios. Pilot #4 was Jolie Lucas telling us about her accident and cylinder failure. If you're tuned in tonight, Jolie, about 300 pilots were present and about 5 were Mooney drivers. Thanks for your honesty and participation in this great seminar. You're starting to use up your 15 minutes of fame. Santa Rosa is a big airport and it was great to see that many pilots in attendance. I highly recommend the AOPA Safety Foundation seminars and online resources. I also recommend the FAA's WINGS program. And when you get to see people you know on the big screen, it's even more fun.

Check out the photo and then scroll down and look at my comment. I think you fellow Mooney drivers will enjoy it. http://uncontrolledairspace.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1796

My partner tried calling you today, airbusboy. We're you able to connect with him? He's got a lot more info about it than I do. However, since I was the one who overhauled the gear, I can tell you it's not welded in. It's built to convert to retractible gear. Basically the bottom needs to be cut out and trimmed, gear doors placed on and some extra hardware installed. I have no idea where you would find a kit to do this. I'm certain Mooney no longer has them. This bird is slower, no doubt. It's a 20 kt+ penalty. But we pay half the insurance of a retractable and never have to worry about a gear-up landing. For the type of recreational and semi-local flying we do it's perfect for us and it's very affordable. We do get told by ATC to pull up our gear several times a year. Someday we might get a "real" Mooney but we would never convert this one. In fact, we've talked about donating it to a museum before we ever sold it because it's that rare. We'd hate to see it converted. We feel like stewards of something very unique. And if we get to a fly-in a little later than all the rest of the Mooneys, so be it. It certainly isn't for everyone but we love it.

I'll be out celebrating today but if you want to get started looking at materials, I have several Mooney manuals for this plane posted online in PDF format. I have the POH, the parts and the maintenance manuals all available here: http://www.scribd.com/callmesven

Sorry I've not checked in for a while. We can answer all of your Fixed Gear questions. Send me a PM and we'll connect by email or by phone. We love our D. -Sven (Scott)

Have a great Christmas, everyone!

Fantactic idea. We'll get to work on something.

Today is the birthday of the DC-3 (and my wife) and the anniversary of the Wright brother's first flight. Lots to celebrate today. http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/12/75th-anniversary-dc-3/

I vote for Jeff S. His hangar is so big, he lets me fly around in it all the time.

From left to right we have an old sofa, eight lawn chairs, a beer cooler, a large 4x8 planning map (not pictured), a 12 volt solar panel system hooked up to run our scanner, a shelf for all our flying magazines, a generator, a 35 gallon hand pump gas tank for removing fuel, an air compressor, and a bike for riding around the field. In the back we have a workbench, an oxygen bottle filling system, a 55 gallon water tower and wash basin (not pictured) tons of storage, two cabinets for storing all fluids, wax, oil, etc. On the right we have a large work bench and a planning desk filled with maps, manuals, and Scotch (for after a good flight, or a really bad one). It's an older picture that does not have everything in it but it does give you an idea what our man cave looks like.

Wow. I have to find and break those wings. I've had an engine-out over a big lake and a near ditching, a blown tire on touchdown and a complete electrical failure at 6,500 ft. That's good info aerobat95. Thanks.

Many of us, when we soloed, got our shirt tails cut off or a bucket of water dumped on us. I have a friend about to get his private ticket and his wife is asking me what the next level of tradition is. I have no clue. And I'm not sure if I've heard or experienced any. So I lean on your collective wisdom. And, no making up crap. Because if I didn't know, that's what I would do.

Last year I cruised Craig's List and bought 3 pristine medical bottles for $10 each. Then I found 2 giant owner bottles for $70 each. I rigged a filler system (instructions found on the good-old interwebs) for the small bottles. I filled each large tank for $25. We picked up some nice cannulas online and a new regulator on eBay for $20. I will get 7 fills of the small bottles out of each large tank. Equipment investment aside, That's $3.57 per fill. It's all portable and legal. It's all tested and certified. I even found a reasonable fingertip oxymeter to check how we're all doing and have a nurse friend of ours check it for accuracy against her super-expensive equipment.

Some guy out East got in big trouble a couple weeks ago for streaming out TP over a football field. Some folks really freaked out. The FBI was called in and even a Hazmat team investigated. The TP was clean so the Hazmat team went home. I've been known to do some rural decoration in the Midwest from a Champ. I think we all need to take a chill pill, down a bottle of Merlot and relax. Pumpkins are fantastic. Now to figure out a way to make a bomb bay. I do have extra space where the wheels are supposed to go in my M20D. How much do a thousand ping pong balls weigh?

Our Garwin/Mooney cluster gauge containing our manifold and fuel pressure is sticky on the manifold pressure side. We need to give it a few taps to make the needle move properly. Can this stickyness be fixed or does it indicate a bigger issue? Thanks.

Quote: PilotBob RELIEF TUBE???? Who the hell needs a relief tube!!!!