donkaye, MCFI

Can't you just update with a card? Each month in addition to the automatic downloads to the iPad through Database Concierge, I download to all the cards as a backup. While Database Concierge works almost all the time, there have been a few times where I've had to use a card.

My simplistic viewpoint: With the relatively inexpensive cost of a backup AI I won't do training in actual IMC in an airplane that doesn't have a 2nd AI either mechanical or electric. It's risk management to me. One of the best items Garmin has come out with for traffic situational awareness is Target Trend. I now won't leave home without a source that has it. Absolute motion is nearly useless versus the Relative motion of Target Trend. Argue six pack versus glass all day long, but when I'm training students who have less instruments that do not give me the overall situational awareness I am use to with glass, then I am thankful for my fully glass airplane and for my instructor airplane normalizers, the Aera 760 and GDL 52, that go with me on all my student training flights. And the difference between a couple of GI275s or G5s and the bigger displays, G500 TXi or G3X, is the difference between night and day and I've flown extensively with all of them. Arguing with pro glass people and pro six pack people about which is better is an exercise in futility. I long ago realized that there is no way I can change the point of view of anyone on anything.

I'm also posting the reference email I had with the FAA 11 years ago regarding an airplane having dual ADS-B Out capability. It states that their system has been "adapted" to handle an aircraft with both ADS-B signals, if properly configured.

I corrected my above statement to state that correlation of Active traffic from the GTS 800 and ADS-B traffic from the GDL 88 occurs within the GDL88.

The ADS-B system was updated over 5 years ago to accommodate ADS-B Out on both channels simultaneously.

Marc, I can't speak to the possible issues with the GTX 330EX, but I can say what I did with my GTX 330ES. I didn't like the green color of the display, so I sold the unit and bought the GTX 335 with the bright white display and a few other niceties, which, of course, I never use. The GTS 800 interfaces to my GDL 88 where correlation with ADS-B traffic data takes place. In addition to saving a bunch of money, I liked the idea of having both 1090 and 978 ADS-B Out, so I kept the GDL 88. As a result the replacement didn't take much time at all. The labor was $1,500, but also included the wiring to upgrade the GMA 35 to the GMA 35C.

My Annual is next month. I'll let you know at that time, but my avionics tech thought it would be about $400.

I was going to send my yokes out this year and have them leather wrapped, and then I talked with a friend who said, "Why not just have them powder coated?" I like the feel of the yokes the way they are now. I've flown with planes that have the leather and they are fine, but I thought I'd give the powder coating a try. I can always go back and have the leather done if I don't like the results.

Very disappointing. When N355RZ was new in late November 1997, I ferried it down and back to San Antonio for Ron Gilbert to have the TKS installed at Mooney. I flew with him on a number of training flights and have over 43 hours in the plane. The flight to San Antonio was memorable. After stopping for "cold" fuel in Twin Falls, Idaho, at 23,000 feet at night on the way to what was supposed to be an overnight in Albuquerque, the engine started sputtering, I think I declared an emergency and descended down to 18,000 feet where the engine started performing normally. I remember the woman Controller was very helpful. I diverted to Farmington, landed safely, and stayed the night. That night I got on the phone with someone at Mooney and we came to the conclusion that it was ice in the fuel. The temperature at altitude was -23°C. The next morning I circled the airport for 15 minutes to get comfortable with the plane before heading uneventfully on to San Antonio. Currently, I have 6,959 entries in 12 logbooks. Some flights, no matter how long ago they occurred, remain unforgettable.

If this helps one person, it will be worth having posted it. At some point during a transition training, after landings are becoming consistently satisfactory, I do something that about 90% of students fail to catch. During takeoff and in the crosswind turn, as the students reaches for the gear handle and puts it down, I will start talking while at the same time pulling the gear actuator circuit breaker and stall and gear warning cbs. I casually cover them with my hand. Then wait an see what happens. Even though Pitch+Power+Configuration=Performance, this goes unnoticed. I've had people check the gear handle on base and final. On final I'll wait and finally ask if anything is wrong. They'll sometimes check the gear handle is down, and then say no. At that point I'll have to point at the gear down light not being on and reengage the cbs. Most are grateful for the exercise.

From my experience the standard pattern procedure can be taught in a couple of hours. Where the hangup usually appears with a good number of transitioning pilots is the last 5 seconds. Too many people incorrectly think and act as though the transition from approach to flare can be done rote. It cannot. So I spend a lot of time going around the pattern waiting for the last 5 seconds. It is simple for me to see when they "get it". Too often this takes many more hours than I think it should. After the "get it" and signoff, with a little more solo time a person may modify their "approach" to landings. I don't usually fly a pattern like I teach it. I teach for simplicity. Get the rote first, combine that with understanding, go for application, then correlation after signoff. Doing it this way, adapting to the variations of things that can happen on a cross country are much more manageable.

Questions to ask yourself: 1. What control is primary in any phase of flight? 2. Can I maintain airspeed within 1 or 2 knots in all phases of flight; level, climb, descent using the answer to question 1? 3. Am I as attentive to slope management as I am to airspeed during landings? 3. Do I understand mixture control management during all phases of flight including on the ground? 4. Do I understand the most effective use of the speed brakes? 5. Can I smoothly execute a go-around from a bounced landing or understand the energy management of the M20M to know when I can land after a bounce? 6. Can I easily handle crosswinds of 20-25 knots and the methods used to be able to safely land in crosswinds in excess of those? 7. Can I efficiently slow the plane down from 160 knots to 75 knots over a 5 mile distance on an instrument approach without harming the engine? 8. Do I understand my avionics and autopilot so well that it never surprises me? These are just a few questions off the top of my head that, if answered in the affirmative, make the proficient Bravo pilot. This is not experience gained over a couple of hours of transition training.

My friend at 160 hours TT and 40 hours in type, you don't know what you don't know. A couple of hours of transition training is insufficient no matter what you think. I say that having been a Mooney Specific Instructor for 31 years with over 7,100 hours of instruction given.

It does.

Bottom line, it was certified with the G1000Nxi and that's all that counts. Mooney did that when they were viable. They are not now, so no upgrades to legacy G1000s.