M016576

Inadvertent TKS protection is exceptionally valuable for me. It also works quite well, I might add, in the instances where I’ve had an inadvertent icing encounter- which despite pre-flight planning and continuous monitoring of in flight conditions, does happen from time to time (at least out here in the pac NW where cells/systems can move rapidly and unexpectedly). the inadvertent system is a great safety net for IFR flight in a light piston single where the possibility of ice exists even in the summer time, but isn’t always forecast or conditions shift from their forecast. That said, If one wants to fly regularly in known icing conditions, in a light single, the FIKI system is the only way to do that legally. Maybe not always smart, but legal.

Everything in aviation is a trade off... Ovations, Missiles, Eagles: NA- really most happy between 8-12K, although I take mine up to 15-17 from time to time. higher useful loads (1000+) About 65% fuel burn of their turbo brothers. (My TKS’d Missile does 175+ KTAS on 12GPH at 10K) slower if a comparable TC plane gets up higher for a given long leg. about a year ago, it seemed like there were a lot of Bravos on the market in the mid-150’s... not the case now- seems like most are in the low 200’s. I did some bar napkin math on maybe switching to a bravo for my mission (which sounds similar to your own) and this is what I came up with- 2 adults, 2 kids, 200-600NM... crossing some mountains (I’m up in the pac NW). High density altitudes are a player sometimes, but not every day. “High” MEA’s on about 50% of trips (11,000-ish). bottom line- I couldn’t figure out a way to load a bravo legally for my missions with its sub 900lb useful load (TKS and O2... well, at least the one I was looking at) for the trips that I do most. here’s the weight I use- 310lbs for 2 Pax up front 150lbs for the kids in the back 60lbs for TKS fluid 75lbs for baggage. total dry weight- 595lbs that only leaves 200-ish lbs for fuel in the bravo I was looking at.... at 20GPH, thats only 33 Gallons... at 20GPH and with IFR reserves, you’re only talking a 1 hour flight, or about a 200NM leg. if you apply that same mission to a Missile, or an Ovation, where you’ve got a 1000+ useful load, you’re now carrying over 67 gallons of fuel, and only burning at 12.5 GPH.... which gives you an 800-1000NM range. the difference is that the bravo can fly about 7000’ higher, realistically, than the Ovation/Missile/M20S. If you need that altitude on a regular basis, then you need the turbo charger. Otherwise, your mission may be better suited to a NA mooney. Just my thoughts based on a similar mission

Hah! I watched “Cars 3” with my 5 year old in the movie theater when it came out a few months back.... I certainly feel like lightening McQueen.. luckily “Cars” only decided to wait 10 years to come full circle. I fear I might not make it to Top Gun 3!

Thanks? as a Top Gun grad myself (a bit younger than Chili, but he might remember me based on an ejection I had), I can certainly attest to the school being a team effort.... the fighter pilots that try to “go alone” tend not to make it, or do so by the skin of their teeth. It may not appear this way, but air combat is very much a team sport- reliant upon the success of 2, 4, 8 or 16 pilots all working in unison for a single goal. It’s a true fraternity- a brotherhood that trusts one another implicitly with their lives.

Still the super hornet. Although the F-35 is coming on line... but that’s more of a specialty fighter at this point, and the Navy is only purchasing a small number of F-35’s (about 220).

That’s certainly the truth: Mooney fuel bladders aren’t self-sealing battle damage resistant internal tanks. They are plastic bags that hold fuel. A great way to keep said fuel in the wings, I might add! its only emotional because some personalities can’t accept that two different methods could be subjectively evaluated both equal or unequal for certain missions, despite set objective differences. Garmin vs Avidyne (or garmin vs aspen), bladders vs reseal, single vs twin, crab&kick vs. forward slip, turbo vs NA.....it’s funny to me, too, what gets some people worked up! One of the guys I instruct with likes to say the following in his briefs... “There are lots of techniques.... but mine are superior.” Of note, I don’t believe his techniques are superior.

I’m waaaayyyyy up on the north side- 32 row. Right next to a walking gate, which is nice- but a bit of a drive to get around from the vehicle gate. Sounds like most of the mooneyspacers are on the south side?

I put my name on the list in mid february with the ~$200 deposit, I got notification that they had a hangar for me on the 30th of May. Worked out to be about 3.5 months. Once I get settled, I’m actually going to be moving the mooney down to Goodyear, as it’s much closer to where we ended up finding a house, and where I’ll be working for the next 3 or so years... but in the mean time, i’ll be at DVT (great spot- wish we could have found a nice house in Arrowhead.. but it wasn’t meant to be!)

Well, I’ve made it off the wait list: I’m flying the missile down to deer valley on Monday- Looking forward to bedding it down in its new home!

The obvious problem is that you’re using an inferior and more expensive garmin GTN unit. If you were using an Avidyne IFD, all the numbers would be perfectly aligned on your approach with the charts.

I’m guessing maybe cooling airflow? I don’t know.... maybe he meant catastrophic mishaps involving engine failure. The Blue Line is a killer in a twin- that’s why it’s a demo item.

Not many people left out there that can shoot a Nav solution... or have an hour to complete the calculations! Boy.. that takes me back to my Cellestial Navigation class at the Naval Academy!

The major difference between a tacan and a VOR is that the TACAN (which stands for Tactical Air Navigation, btw), phases the signal every 60 degrees... whereas a VOR phases the signal at 360 degrees. That leaves the potential out there for a “60 degree lock-off” or phase shift (you think you’re on the 010 radial, but you’re actually on the 070 radial). Most modern tacan receivers have fault detection for this, though.

The 3-ring laser gyro INS’s that drive attitude and position in a modern fighter jet drift up to 1NM an hour (if not aided by gps) and are still “within spec.” More than accurate enough for area navigation... not accurate enough for a hard IMC approach. fighters typically use an INS that is continuously updated by GPS. The reason being that the GPS alone cannot keep up with the speed and attitudes of the maneuvers that we typically fly during a fight.... or even during bombing patterns, really. So the INS is doing the quick calculation work (roll, yaw, pitch, position), then the inputs are updated via GPS to make sure the own ships position doesn’t go out to lunch. I’d imagine that commercial airlines use a similar system (ins aided by gps), rather than our “pure” gps type systems we see in GA.... but I could be wrong there. if that INS is backed up by a WAAS gps, it has the herz/verz that are only a few feet off at their worst.

Totally agree- that’s a nice panel you’ve set up for yourself!

Yeah, the tach and MP are heavy. I was referring to the strip of gauges at the top: the fuel Q, fuel P, oil T and oil P when I said .2lbs. You can pull the tach and MP with a CGR-30P alone.

The strip of ships gauges weighs maybe .2 lbs, and absolutely nothing from a maintenance perspective by leaving them in and placarding INOP. Do you have to install new fuel senders with the JPI? If so- that’s also extra time/money. The “less cluttered look” is subjective, but with just a CGR-30P, you can remove all gauges except the fuel quantity indicators. My pic isn’t the best below, but it’s what I’ve got on hand- Notice the cgr-30P location next to the aspen, below the ASI. Not as “fancy”? Probably. More “cluttered”? Not to me. but, like I said before, to each their own.

Once I get the plane down there (in about two weeks), you can all come check out my Missile... or as I refer to her: the Mooney millennium falcon... she may not look like much (due to the 1982 paint), but she’s got it where it counts!

I fly in the Juniper/Hart and Goose MOA’s daily... typically in The late morning or mid afternoon. Turbulence is a fact of life in this area. If you have to fly through that area in the summer time, pick the early (pre-9AM)or late (post 6pm) time of day to outright avoid it. If the winds are above about 20kts from the west, you’re GOING to have light-mod... probably up to 13K. Sometimes much higher. In a fighter jet it’s just another thing you deal with. I asked a similar question of what people were comfortable with IRT turbulence after a particularly rough afternoon back in January and got a few different answers- most consistent with your thread here. My question was more about “when to call it a day” in the Mooney, primarily because I’m a bit numb to turbulence since I deal with it so often. @donkaye said something to the effect of “if you have to ask that question, it’s probably time to land.” Most likely that’s sage advice.

Man.... I remember my first flight in the F/A-18... I was in the middle of a 7G break turn and looked out the right side of the canopy and the flutter on the wingtip must have been at least 2-3 feet! In the F-15, the wing is stable as a rock... but if you make the mistake of looking in the mirrors at the tails, you see that they vibrate about 1-2 feet left/right during high G/high AOA maneuvering. Not to say that’s OK in a Mooney or a velocity, but it certainly gets your attention!

I just left the old gauges in the panel. It wasn’t worth it to me to remove them for the cost, and I didn’t see the benefit of replacing the fuel gauges. To each their own!

That’s kind of true, but kind of not true. If you buy a single CGR-30P, you can replace every option you *select* as a primary. The issue is that you can’t select enough options to replace *all* the gauges in a Mooney panel. I installed a CGR-30P (just the single gauge) in my Missile a few years back. I replaced all the “old” gauges with it, except the fuel indicators. If I wanted to replace the fuel quantity indicators, I’d need the CGR-30C... or I’d need to swap out that selection for two other options (ie, leave the old oil P and oil T, and add fuel indicators for left and right to the cgr-30P). The cgr-30P does have fuel flow and a totalizer- so it does a great job of backing up the old school fuel Q gauges.... although the JPI models do the same. So yes... and no. For $3500 less than a comp. JPI- I’m willing to live with the mechanical fuel indicators buy buying the CGR-30P.

Thanks, I appreciate it!

Thanks- looking forward to it! I flew in last weekend to go house hunting- lots of traffic, that’s for sure. Beautiful area though- nice facilities and a great location at the far north side of the class B. Made the in/out a snap! Once I get a hangar I’ll post it.

I’m moving down to Phoenix in a month or two- I’m looking for any recommendations for a shop/A&P for maintenance, as well as a recommendation for some avionics work. im expecting to get a hangar at DVT in the next few weeks (after 4 months I’m now at the top of the wait list), although will most likely move down to Phoenix-Goodyear based on the location of the house we just purchased. thanks!