M016576

Exactly. stall speeds for (certified) twins aren’t mandated the same way they are for certified singles… then you’ve got the asymmetric thrust, plus more weight. Bad stick and rudder can kill you in any airplane: but in general in a light twin a bad situation can spiral out of control a bit faster if the pilot is not paying attention- and may not be as easy to recover. in the (highly unlikely, but possible) event of a dual engine failure or a ditch, too, a light twin most likely will end up carrying more speed into the flare/landing.. which in and of itself has more potential for transferring that energy to the occupants. examples of stall speeds/idea behind certification requirements... 310R stalls at ~72kias vs a 182 at ~49kias. Baron stalls at ~73kias vs an A36bonanza at 52. The idea is that a single should stall slower in the event it loses its engine… the twins get away with higher speeds by justifying that they will be able to have some sort of a powered approach due to the second engine in the event of a forced landing. Or at least that’s one explanation I’ve heard- I could be wrong on this, often am. Obviously more weight and higher top speeds are more compatible with higher stalling speed airfoils, too.

This is very true. despite what a pilot may think of their own abilities and experience... in many circumstances, an old aircraft will hold up better than an old pilot. (Some P-51’s are still flying... but what about those brave souls that took them airborne in their 20’s?). What “old” is, though... I’ll leave that to the professionals. In my line of work as a fighter pilot, it’s a bit more “athletic” than GA... and in my 40’s now, I see the balance between youth, stamina, knowledge/experience and age more than I used to. It’s definitely “a thing” in my kids parlance! And a “peak balance” does exist in my opinion. I don’t believe that “being old” can ever take away from ones accomplishments in aviation... or anything in life... but that doesn’t mean that one would be “just as qualified and capable” as they could/would be in their prime. Those qualifications must be objective in nature, and not revisionist... for the safety of all in the National aerospace system. just my opinion... and I’m definitely not a medical professional.

It’s nice to have the physical keyboard and knobs as a backup to the touch screen on the avidyne- but I rarely fly in “that kind of turbulence” either. The F-35 is just one giant touch screen, and it can get a little difficult for data entry when it’s bumpy. There’s nowhere to support your hands. At least with the GTN’s, the frame of the unit provides pretty decent support for your fingers to stabilize for data entry.

Oh man... that’s bad... my 6th sense predicts that Cessna will need a new cam soon. Maybe a new crank too.

I’ve seen a temp probe mounted inside the cabin eyeball wemac vent scoop, just near the passengers/pilots knee before. When I saw that installation- I couldn’t help but think that it might read warmer than ambient. Interesting idea for mounting a temp probe though. (Definitely not a recommendation!)

How much does this system cost again? Last I checked you had to have a Piper M600, or cirrus vision jet (3+ million or so) to be able to even get this system. im not saying they aren’t making safety oriented equipment... they are.. I’m saying that they are charging an exceptional fee and their target audience isn’t a C-172 or Mooney M20J owner. The cost alone is a detractor for adoption across the fleet. Just like waas gps boxes (regardless of manufacturer), sadly.... think about how much safer IFR flight is with a moving map and a high fidelity gps. Do they really need to cost 16K? Or is that price gouging? My iPhone, while not certified for flight, has very similar capability... if any company could crack the code for *really* focusing on delivering safety oriented products to GA, at a cost that *makes sense* for GA, I’d imagine it would be Garmin. But the same boxes they install in a 25K C150, are certified for a 2 million king air- the company is merely playing by the FAA’s rules. this isn’t a Garmin problem. It’s a GA problem. Old hulls, liability issues, expensive avionics/parts, massive financial barriers to pilot entry and a pilot base that will only continue to shrink so long as this dynamic continues (among other issues). If you can’t see that, then I don’t know what to tell you.

Bose is *really* good with their warranty/repair policies. I had a similar experience with them about 7 years ago with a Bose X.

I’m glad that you’ve had a great experience with garmin: and you should for the amount you’ve invested in their products. For some reason, though, many others appear to not have had as similar of an enjoyable experience. Hence their “bad mouthing” of the company. Ive owned 2 430W’s. They were both reliable- but the user interface was not intuitive. I owned a 396. It was pretty nice at the time- but overpriced IMO. I owned a Aera 560. It was fantastic... but definitely over priced (as the iPad and flying apps had already become widely propagated). I did enjoy the ability to use it as a car GPS. I was able to sell it for about what I paid for it used- so that was nice. garmin makes reliable avionics from what I’ve seen. But imo they care more about profits than bringing safety to GA. Avidyne has a similar price point and they are kind of the only alternative for GA applications. I’m not sure if that’s because Garmin is setting the price point, or because that’s actually what these units cost to develop/produce. My guess is the former. personally, I have an avidyne because I don’t like the Garmin interface/ecosystem and I didn’t want to be locked in to their EFB product. Garmin seems to be doing just fine without my money though :p

Pull the lower gear doors. Be careful with where you’re taxiing. Practice your short field/soft field work before going out there. A mooney incurs a little more risk than a tail dragger- mainly due to the prop clearance imo... but it’s not “un-doable” so long as precautions are taken. I grew up not far from Smiley Creek. They used to have the best milkshakes....

Mine has been stable for the 7 years I’ve owned the IFD440... on my flight yesterday, I had 2 iPads and an iPhone connected to the 440 at the same time without issue.... this may sound silly- but have you tried a different I-device?

AFAIK (which, admittedly, isn’t much...) The only difference is a second pump and where the pressure sensing (and hence hoses) are located. The panels, spray bar, prop slinger and proportioning units are all the same between the two. Maybe I’m missing something?

Yeah... it’s a sellers market right now, for sure...

You put a lot of work into this one! Hah!

The mass numbers are strictly because it’s a factory option with the Mooney... and aftermarket with a Bo. ie- easier to justify the utility of adding 65K to a 650K new hull than adding 65K to a 150K (or less) hull... regardless of make. of course.., if you *need it*.. you need it. Most in light piston singles don’t. Hence the extra expense. (fwiw, I’ve got tks on my J- missile. And it works great when needed).

20K? That’s not the worst annual I’ve heard of around here....

Like I mentioned before: It’s a sellers market right now. Tons of demand for Mooneys, particularly in the higher end range from a subjective scroll through controller and aso from time to time. For the past 10 years or so there have typically been between 100-130 mooneys listed. For the past 6 months it’s been half that at most. How many “help me find an ovation” threads have their been.. 3 that I’ve seen.. and I haven’t been on this site all that much during the last year. Normally we’d see 1 every 2-3 years. I wasn’t joking when I said earlier that ovations that were going for 175 a year ago are now going for 250 plus.... there’s no supply and demand has gone up significantly. It’s not a cheap time to be getting into a Mooney, that’s for sure.

Demand signal is so high right now for de-iced aircraft right now.... if one was to have it installed, it’s probably the closest time to “break even” that one could pick..... still probably lose 20K “driving off the lot.” then again, any avionics upgrade seems to be about the same (percentage wise anyway)

Seth- you’ve got me on the edge of my seat! I can’t wait to hear how it flies!!!

What sold for 175 about 9 months ago is listed for 250+ right now... don’t take my word for it... just check controller.... your plane easily fits in the 250+ category

You have a beautiful plane and from the looks of it you know what you want and have the willpower to wait until you find it at the right price. Even in the last 5 months though inventory has dried up even further... and prices have gone up too. I’m not saying I think the ovation posted here is “worth it”.... I’m just saying that I think it will sell at the listed price- mainly due to lack of options on the market. Last time I saw the market this tight was when I was shopping for my first J in 2007.... a run out ‘80 J was going for 80-95K. Two years later those same hulls were selling for 65... just another bump up in the market!

2015... different time than 2021, although it feels like yesterday, doesn't it?

Based on recent comps- I think that plane will sell at the price it’s currently at. TKS ovations seem to be in exceptionally high demand right now, regardless of panel, paint or “pedigree.” Subjectively- average price seems to have gone from high 100’s to mid 200’s in just a year. Apparently the word is out! with that in mind, though- that aircraft could use 30-40K in the panel (PFD/HSI/MFD, Engine Monitor, waas gps, adsb xponder), as well as the prop/engine (those might fly fine for a while... although it’s a risk).

On the topic of travel- one of my side jobs for the USAF is presidential support for AF-1. As a result, I’ve been traveling via commercial air all through the pandemic. In May, I was standing out on northern most runway at sky harbor... and you could hear a pin drop across the airfield. Phoenix Skyharbor! The tower controller I met with said he was “doing 40” during one of our meetings... I asked, what, and hour? He said a day. 40 flights a day, that was it. fast forward to election season (September) and every airport I travelled through, and all the flights I was on were PACKED: just like you describe. It’s been this way since at least the summer time. The main reason IMO is that the airlines are no longer spacing their flights out through the day... because of the reduced number of flights, they are packing them all in during the middle of the day. The airline system is still a business... so my guess is that this is the best way for them to “bleed less.” I’m sure the schedules and demand will expand the airline scheduling, but for right now... it’s crowded. And since the industry runs on such razor thin margins, unless the government continues to majorly subsidize public air travel via relief packages.. I’d expect it to stay that way. on the topic of iPads as an EFB... the USAF transitioned to iPad mini’s for our charts/plates instead of printed about 2 years ago. We were each issued two iPad mini’s loaded with fore flight and a government NGA chart download platform (so we can use nga plates/charts, as opposed to Jepp). I was skeptical, despite using an iPad as my primary for flying the Mooney. After 2 years, I haven’t had a single problem with the iPads though... and while I’m required to carry two... I’ve never needs the backup (yet). I still think it’s prudent to have a backup under vfr, for sure... mandatory (IMO) if one is flying under IFR... and critical if IMC is forecast along ones route (I actually print out paper copies of expected approaches and portions of the low charts along my route if I’m anticipating imc....it’s my third backup in case my iPad then iPhone.. fail. An “abundance of caution?”) subjectively, even after 2 years of using fore flight for work, I still don’t like it’s interface.., I prefer FlyQ in the Mooney as I think it’s faster, more intuitive and easier to use with fewer “nested menus.” Totally subjective. Sadly, I’ll have to keep using foreflight at work, as they have the government contract. glad to see you’re back in the air, Don!

That’s a nice, clean install! Always the challenge with portables- wires everywhere vs convenience of removal. I think your setup threads the needle nicely.

Could also be a valve that’s warped or not sealing completely any more- that would show on a compression check