donkaye, MCFI

Let me expand on my above comment. You can get to Jeppesen Technical Support 24/7. Call 800-621-5377. They discourage you by telling you they are closed, but that is just sales. Wait and wait and wait through all the menus. Finally, at the very end there will be an option for technical support and you will immediately get a first class response from a real person--at least I have every time I have called.

While I only have US Coverage, I have no problems displaying Jepp Charts on the Aera 760. Worked the first time.

I can only discuss this by Private Email.

I made a trip to Kerrville last week in hopes of finding out why I have had 4 links on the right inner gear door break over the past several years when the doors have been rigged properly. I found out the answer. If you have a Bravo serial number before 27-0107 and have upgraded the brakes with a kit for the new brake system that came standard with Bravos starting with 27-0107, then send me a private email to discuss the solution.

On this trip I have been using the Apple Maps extensively. It seems much better than Google Maps, but I'm not sure if it adjusts for traffic as Google Maps does. I haven't used it enough in traffic. Filing IFR flight plans and getting preflight briefings in the middle of nowhere requires the cellular iPad. I use it every time. Of course, you could use the Hotspot on your phone, but that is a pain and uses power from 2 devices.

After watching a student try unsuccessfully to write a clearance with the Apple Pencil, I chose not to buy one. I keep a record of every flight whether it is a flight with a student or a flight of mine alone. I keep a paper copy of them and have found myself going back to review them periodically to confirm either a date of some other factor. For every flight of mine I record at a minimum, the Date, Start time (from the GTN 650), Air time (from the MVP-50), fuel used (MVP-50 read directly without computation needed), the Ending Tach Time (from the MVP-50), From Location, To Location, if an IFR flight, the Clearance and any Amendments.

The iPad is an excellent backup and how I use it depends on the flight. Most of the time I use it for North Up big picture weather and as a large approach chart. As such, I just keep it on my lap. This flight I used it for XM weather from the GDL 69A through the FS210 and overlayed Approach Charts, where with one tap they could be changed from Track Up to North Up for easy reading (no upside down characters). I used the GTN 650 for the Stormscope, the 750 for XM weather and Stormscope, and the TXi for Stormscope. Periodically, I would use the 750 for ADS-B weather, but I find it inferior to XM weather. I have so many options for weather that I might change the above division as appropriate. While there still is some stress when flying weather, this flexibility still makes for a little less stressful flight.

I bought my previous iPad Air in 2014. Over the past year it has become slow with the larger app updates, goes blank with charge indications of 35%, bombs out of Garmin Pilot more and more often, and was generally undependable. It was apparent that the battery was gone among other things. It was time to buy a new one. A week ago I bought the new iPad Pro 11" version. Over the past 2 days I was able to really put it to the test in that I decided to fly to Kerrville to try and solve a problem I've been having with my plane over the past several years. The right inner gear door small rod has broken 4 times, and even though the rigging has been done numerous times by the book, it still keeps breaking. I am going to do another posting after the fix has been confirmed, but it turns out it may have been a known issue that hadn't been communicated to those of us that upgraded our brake system to the 4 puck system. At any rate, the trip to Kerrville involved 7 flight hours with numerous weather decisions needing to be made along the way. The new iPad Pro exceeded all my expectations with its speed, size, and reliability.

For those who had thought about using the grey masking tape to tape anything going through 140 knot wind, I can save you the trouble. It doesn't work. It was torn to shreds when I inspected it after getting out of the plane at my hangar. On Thursday I got the idea to call some other famous Mooney Service Centers to see if they had the part in stock. I struck gold on the first call. Chandler Aviation in Phoenix had one. They shipped it overnight and I flew over to Top Gun early this afternoon. One hour later I was on my way with gear and doors that retracted properly. Great service from both Mooney Service Centers!

It's like progressive lenses; it takes awhile to get used to them, then you appreciate how valuable they are.

Well done video and nicely flown. However, I personally think using speed brakes as part of an approach configuration could be problematic if living in places other than Florida. In cold conditions they WILL freeze in the up position. I think a power setting and configuration (gear and approach flaps) without them would be better suited.

I flew over to Byron late yesterday afternoon to get fuel in preparation for my Wings Program Flight Review today. On takeoff from Byron I heard a "clink" just as the gear was at the end of its retraction cycle. I knew what that probably meant; the right inner gear door rod had broken---again. It was 4:00. I was 10 minutes from Stockton, so flew over there to check it out. I got out of the plane to look at the gear with my fingers crossed. Well, that was useless, since in fact the rod WAS broken. I taxied over to Top Gun at 4:15. They close at 4:30. Mark got right on it to try a wielded repair, since they didn't have the rod in stock. That was completed and tested at 5:00. I took off again and as I raised the gear again I heard the "clink". By now it was 5:15 and all of the mechanics had gone home. Mark was still there and brought out the masking tape to temporally tie it open, while he fabricates a temporary rod this weekend. Mooney will have to make one over the next couple of weeks. They had none in stock. As you can tell, what I'm trying to say is Top Gun it top notch and will go the extra mile for you in a pinch. I've been using them since I bought my airplane 29 years ago. In fact they did the prebuy. How's that for a testimonial?

All I can say to use an old saying is, "You can lead a horse to water, but can't make it drink." I guess each person has their own special in-flight requirements. The pluses for me of a dedicated in-flight handheld GPS like the 760 in the way I use it far outweigh any negatives of which, for me, I can't think of any. The 760 is the most advanced of the previous series of handhelds. To get the full benefit of using it does require a commitment to study the manual and physically go through all of the menus. Most people won't do that, so the unit is of marginal benefit to them.

You are correct. No EIS. If you have an Engine Monitor in the panel, is that really a necessity?

The issues you seem concerned about have nothing to do with the actual in flight use of the 760. I, too, use Jeppesen Charts and just download the updates to the mini SD Card. I plug it in and it just works. Jeppesen support works 24/7. I've had no problem reaching them when one of my downloads failed. Call the main number at any time. After they say they are closed, another option will be presented to speak with support. They answer immediately and have provided excellent support. They just give me another download and I'm off and running. Monthly, the updates download via WiFi. The Maps take awhile to download and install. While I use GP, at least for my older iPad Air, it is slow and clunky in flight and bombs out frequently just when it would be useful. Foreflight does not. I have both. Even with my soon to buy new iPad, it will be a backup to the 760.

Have you used the Aera 760 extensively? I have. I'm an Apple Computer user since its beginning and I will finally be upgrading from an Android phone to an Apple Pro 13 and also an iPad Pro (I'd been waiting to see if a new Pro would be coming out. It didn't), but when it comes to the flexibility, brightness, and speed of inflight use, it's the special use Aera 760 all the way. I recently flew with a student who had just purchased an Acclaim ultra with the G1000 NXi. We were doing transition training. We flew from Fredricksburg (T82) to San Jose (KSJC) where we did the training. Prior to the flight he asked me about purchasing the 760. I said let's talk about it after the flight where he could see how I used it. While I can't tell you all the different ways it was used, by the end of the flight he was a believer.

Well, you have me confused because the GTX 330ES (GTX 335) has ADS-B Out only and no ADS-B In. In my situation I have ADS-B Out on both the GTX 335 for 1090 and GDL 88 for 978. ADSB-In on both 1090 and 978 comes from the GDL 88.

Here it is.

OK. I don't need to comment which is which.

As I was preparing for a student tomorrow, I came upon an article I wrote for the MAPA Log in 1993, a year after I bought my airplane. Have times ever changed! I thought I had the greatest panel ever devised for a GA airplane at the time--and I did. But compared to what I have today, it was nearly the dark ages with only the most primitive of displays. I had praise for the MAPA Safety Foundation back then, and even now look back fondly on taking the PPP because I was introduced to Bob Goldin, my mentor instructor, and a person who single handedly changed the course of my life, although I don't think it was intentional. Some people just have that impact, though. Through his mentoring and encouragement to become a CFI and CFII, I changed my life's orientation from Real Estate to Aviation. Of course Real Estate continues to be important in my life but Aviation has taken center stage. Bob recommended me as an instructor for the PPP and I enjoyed teaching for them for eight years until the management changed with the death of Don Bymaster. Bob was forced out due to age and after I tried to make some recommendations for improvement to the Program, I was out. I am not a fan of politics. Luckily, I make my own path in life. Through flight instruction I have met so many interesting people I never would have met otherwise. I've attached that article for anyone who wants to take the time to read it. It's funny to see how excited I was over things that seem so trivial today. Also, I've totally changed my opinion on the use of speed brakes, and have written on their use in another article on my website. Time does march on. Mooney N9148W Mooney of the Month.pdf

Subtle? Hardly.

TOGO is preset to 7½° fixed and cannot be changed. If I were to be going IMC immediately I'd probably use it. For VFR flight I don't use the FD, since the climb angle I use doesn't match. The term VNAV is for descent only. An IAS climb is safer than an V/S climb, but is a little more finicky in pitch, varying a few knots either way. V/S is pretty much rock solid. The YD always goes on at 800'AGL. If I'm on a SID in instrument conditions out of KSJC, I'll use the AP after 800'AGL, but in VFR conditions I just hand fly a departure. One of the nice things about the GFC 500 is the ability to use its built in GPSS for NAV mode to intercept a course. That did not work with the emulated GPSS on the KFC 150.

Well, obviously you're the expert here, however, looking at the Airport Chart and actually being there are two different things regarding this airport. Taxiway L is short and not well marked among one mass of asphalt. As mentioned, there are hotspots to contend with, any one of which could get you violated if you should screw up. In the interest of both safety and time, I unhesitatingly took the easy way out with a Progressive Taxi.

While I suppose you could do that, what is an A&P going to be able to do in flight? It's pretty obvious when recording all the parameters if there is an anomaly. I circle the airport up to 4,000 feet, then set up a holding pattern on the Aera 760 or, if a GTN 750 is available, do it on the 750 and fly the hold a couple of miles to the side of the runway. If there were to be an issue, just circle down and land. I have done all my break-ins with flight following in combination with traffic and weather on the above avionics. The spreadsheet goes to the Shop after I land.

That's the one I had installed a few months ago to replace a BK trim switch. It is PMA'd per the attached file. Check for applicability.