donkaye, MCFI

As a test, see if the Watsonville VOR A Approach is in your database. If it is, then it will have a DME ARC IAF that can be flown with the KLN 89B. The KLN90B and GTNs do. Apparently not all DME ARC approaches are in GPS databases. I'm not sure what the current criteria is for them to be in a database or where to find that information. Maybe someone else does.

For an approach to be an Overlay and be in the GPS database, its title must say VOR RWY(XX) OR GPS RNY (XX). Most, if not all of them, are gone. However, the KLN90B had the capability to fly DME ARCS. For example, the VOR-A Approach into KWVI. It was in my KLN90B database and the arc was displayed, could be intercepted, and could be flown on the AP. It is also in the GTN 750 with the ARC and can be flown on the AP.

A careful reading of Page 5.5 shows the approach to be a VOR or GPS RWY 25R approach. That means it is one of the older 1st generation Overlay approaches where a GPS approach was overlaid on a VOR approach. The FAA did that to get some GPS approaches out there quickly. A look at the current approaches into KLAX shows that all the Overlay approaches into KLAX have been eliminated. This topic was extensively discussed in AC 90-94 dated 12/14/94. This AC has since been cancelled, since it is highly outdated now.

I got my instrument rating with a 6 pack and 2 VORS (one included an ILS capability). I flew many times across the country in a student's Ovation with basically the same items, but with a GPS. I didn't think much of it. In fact on smooth occasions with him, in the clouds, I would cover, one at a time all six pack instruments, except the altimeter. GPS for navigation and bank by watching TRK and DTK. It actually made scanning a lot easier. When the cheap Castleberry backup AI became available I installed one and had him install one. It didn't take much time before I realized that having a backup AI with a different source would prevent the type of LOC accidents I was always reading about. No matter how good you are at needle, ball and airspeed, it doesn't take the pressure off of an emergency situation like having a 2nd AI would. Ever since the cheap electronic AIs became available, I've decided in the interest of safety, including mine, I wouldn't teach instruments in actual conditions in any airplane without a backup AI. My first experience with glass was reading the G1000 manual and ferrying a New Acclaim half way across the country alone. That gave me plenty of time to push and twist all the buttons to see what was available. Loving button pushing with a purpose, I loved the trip, and learned the system. The value of glass over the basic panel became very evident in reduced time to scan all instruments. In spite of this, I kept my basic panel, except for installing the backup AI, for 22 years until the Symbol Generator box of my EFIS 40 broke. Honeywell wanted $18,000 to repair it. For 20 year all technology---no way. I found one to rent for about 4 months so I could fly to Oshkosh and have the time to read about all the new avionics that was available at the time. Yes, I read all the manuals, too. I decided after all the reading that I would go all in for an all glass panel. Since I told myself this would be the last major upgrade to the panel I would make, I decided to go all Garmin, not because I thought the G500 was better than the Aspen, but because I thought the interface would be easier--meaning everything would talk to each other without having to get multiple companies involved if there were problems. That proved to be a good decision. I have an Aera 796 on the yoke and 2 iPads, all for backup. For the most part I don't open the iPads much in flight; just too much information, but for those who don't have all the stuff I have it's a good way to go. I think I've pretty much seen it all and used most of the avionics and glass out there (except for the IFDs because none of my students have had one). The basic 6 pack with a backup AI would be the minimum equipment I would recommends for serious IFR flight. I find glass easy to use, and if you can afford it, you will quickly grow to love it. So there you have it. One person's transition from 6 pack to glass.

With the ESI-500 all legacy instruments can be removed. I don't have one legacy instrument in my panel.

Time to split for the Alpha Systems AOA. Pitch to the donut; glance at the airspeed. Perfect landings if perfect slope.

The picture is 24 years old. I still have the airplane, still have the color coordinated car... and still have the girl.

When we're young many of us think of that expression as a "cliche", until later in life we wake up and realize it is not. Steve Jobs said in a speech he gave to the graduating class at Stanford in 2005, that if you wake up not looking forward to what you will do that day, it's time to change. That was good advice. All we really have is our time...

Bob, that is really ironic that you should mention Apple, because that company is the reason that a lot of the real estate has gone up so much. In a fluke of luck Apple built its "Spaceship" a block away from many of those houses I bought long ago. Regarding RE in other parts of the country, the only thing that those people wouldn't have experienced was the large value increase. But, as I mentioned I don't care about that increase. All I care about is the cashflow that lets me support my airplane . Those other people would still have increased rents, free and clear property, and substantial cashflow for the rest of their lives on each property--without working and without the emotional roller coaster ride of many other types of investments.

The stock market is great if you can control the investment and are a part of management, an owner, or you can just invest and wait 40 years without ever becoming upset with the ups and downs. I didn't have the personality to do that. Luckily, with real estate you can't look at its value every day and you can't get out of it quickly if you get scared for some reason, so the investment is damped from emotion. In my area my typical house was purchased for about $31,000 with $4,000 down, rented for $250 and made $25/mo cashflow. Today, 45 years later, that house is valued near $2,000,000, is free and clear, and rents for $3,850/mo. I think that makes the return on initial investment infinite and the cashflow will go on for the rest of my life. Some would say take the money and leverage it into a greater return on current value. At my age the risk isn't worth it. The additional really good news is that while all of this was happening with very little input from me, I was having a great time flight instructing and going places in my Mooney. I wish good investing for "not retirement", but older age to all my Mooney and non Mooney friends.

Real estate doesn't have to have explosive growth. You just need to buy early enough in your life cycle to have time for the tenants to pay off any loan you might have on the property. Then you have free and clear property and income for life. Appreciation is a bonus. In my area it was a big bonus, but when I bought that certainly wasn't a known quantity. Luck does play an unknown part, so the sooner you buy the better to capture that luck if it's going to happen. For me, except for net worth calculations, I don't care what the values of the property are because I don't intend to sell in my lifetime, just collect the income. One other thing. To be able to sleep comfortably at night, I'd keep the value of the toys including airplanes at 10% of your net worth. This number can get very large by the time you're in your 60's and make it so that a new engine, any avionics you could possibly want, and all other costs associated with your airplane become so small as to not even be a consideration in your life.

The word "Retirement" is not in my vocabulary. It conjures up the image of being an unproductive person. Having said that, I haven't worked for anyone since 1975. I started buying houses when I was 26 thinking that in 25 years they would be mostly paid off. After buying a few I tried to talk my engineering cohorts into doing the same--unsuccessfully. (They're probably still having to go to a job they may not like). That time and many, many more years have passed, so I have the perspective of much of a lifetime. As Bob Brinker would say, I reached "Critical Mass" (not have to work at a job) by age 38. Getting started on an investment plan early in life works. Compounding works and inflation continues. Be frugal until you don't have to. Doing those things means that later in life you will not have to worry about whether you can keep your toys or have to give them up. It also means you can have all the toys you want, and do whatever you want. Planned properly, while others may have to work, you will have more income coming in than you would ever need without having to work at a job. I also got my Private at age 26, but it wasn't until I was 49 that I decided to devote the "time" part of my life to aviation, and what a ride it has been and continues to be. I chose to become an expert in one specific area of flying and that was the Mooney. As a result, I think I have more teaching time in Mooneys than anyone else in the Country, and have never had to go looking for students. Of course time was needed for that. And I have met and worked with so many great people, and feel I have helped most. So Retire? Never!

Forgetting about the new technical skills developed as a result of working on the instrument rating, there's a whole other area of expertise that is developed during the course of the training, and that is the learning the whole ATC system and how it works. When I was a Private Pilot, I really didn't get the whole perspective of our System and how to best utilized it to accomplish what I wanted. Working on the instrument rating opened up new vistas of understanding on how to work the System. That benefit should not be underestimated.

Yes it is. I've adapted it to every airplane I've flown since it came out--including twins.

This Weight and Balance Program was elegantly designed by a student of mine. "Read me" describes how it works and is very simple to understand. This program accounts for seat movement forward and backward. Weight and Balance N201NB 0 M20J V3.9.xlsx

127.3 around Carlsbad a BIG THUMBS DOWN.

I flew down to San Diego (Ramona) last Friday to celebrate my birthday with family, and came back on Saturday. The weather was some of the best ever with a temperature of 80° in Ramona. I didn't file either direction. No problem on the way down, but a real problem on the way back. I like flight following, especially in the LA Basin. Ramona is a Contract Tower and you just can't get flight following out of there, although I've tried numerous times. You need to contact SoCal after you get out of Ramona airspace. I knew the frequency, but the Controller just wouldn't answer me, even though I knew I was transmitting and there were large open spaces in the frequency. He was just plain nasty (I could tell it by his voice) and showed no courtesy even to tell me he was too busy to handle VFR traffic, although he wasn't. Looking at the nearest ATC frequencies on the 796 I tried other frequencies. The next one said I was on a high altitude frequency and said to call someone else (so much for the 796 frequency recommendations), but gave no help as to what frequency to call. As I flew past John Wayne, I called SoCal on a frequency on one of the approach charts. Finally, they answered and they gave me another frequency to call. I tried to get in on that frequency for 10 minutes before a Controller answered me, and had me call another frequency. Again, it was hard to get someone to respond, but after flying past the LA approach corridor, someone on that frequency finally answered and gave me a code. He couldn't find me. I repeated where I was, and he told me he saw me outside his airspace when he scaled out his display (Mooneys are FAST). He gave me another frequency to call. Finally, when flying over the Rose Bowl I was in the System. The purpose of this discussion? When you're IFR you're a 1st Class Citizen. ATC has to talk to you. When VFR many times you are not. For this reason and so many more, if you can see a way to acquiring the Instrument Rating, you will be so much better off in your flying adventures.

Knock on wood, the reliability of glass has been phenomenal. My KI256 had to be overhauled every 1,000 hours or less and even after the overhaul would not show level when rolling out of a left turn from base to final. While I never had a vacuum pump failure, I changed the main one every 500 hours. The backup vacuum pump was electrically actuated and weighed a ton--in addition to being expensive. Alternators on the Bravo seem to put out enough juice that they need to be overhauled only at TBO. With the glass so far, I've needed to replace the fan on the G500; $50 plus 15 minute install time. Garmin discovered they needed a more powerful one, so this one makes a lot of noise. I have seen many G1000 displays that become dim after a few years. Not good. Still thumbs up for all glass.

Your Avionics shop is behind the curve. They need to look at this and then do your install--or find another shop who will:

To me it's an apples to oranges comparison. Once you've flown the G500 (the G500TXi isn't out yet) you wouldn't want to fly anything else, but those with dual Aspens might say differently. Since my airplane is stuffed full of Garmin stuff, I'm a little biased. The paint job on that airplane has me confused. Why did they go back to an early paint scheme? At first I didn't think it was an Ovation, but it is.

Cross controlled stalls aren't prohibited in a Mooney, but spins are prohibited. Cross controlled stalls should be taught in primary training, especially those out of a skid where the bottom wing stalls first. At the time, the FAA had placed emphasis on LOC from base to final, so I thought I'd have students "practice" that situation. Most recovered immediately with no issue. The last one did not. At least I was smart enough to start the practice at 6,000 feet. That was 21 years ago, and I haven't had any students do one since that time---and won't. http://www.donkaye.com/donkaye.com/Inadvertent_Spins_in_a_Mooney.html

As you're spinning down out of a cross controlled stall in a Mooney and normal recovery techniques aren't working, I'd like you to calmly say that again.

Practicing slow flight and stalls are very important. The only stall that should NOT and I repeat NOT be practiced in a Mooney is the cross controlled stall. I did a writeup about my experience with one about 15 years ago. I think it is on my website. I have experienced out of rig older Mooneys that have the desire to go into a spin at the stall. That's why I aways do the first stall with a student before we practice them. I've never experienced a long body having a tendency to enter a spin at the stall. Each airplane has been test flown at the Factory to set up the stall strips for a perfect straight ahead stall. I do power on stalls at the Commercial recommend power setting of 65%. Any higher power setting gets the Mooney into a very high nose attitude, and at full power probably an attitude defined as aerobatic. Being able to fly all the range of power settings enables you to accommodate ATC directives without flying a cross country. For example if ATC tells you to follow a Boeing 737 5 miles out, number 2 cleared to land, Caution Wake Turbulence, it would be a good idea to go to slow flight to kill time before turning base rather than flying a downwind cross country.

I've decided that I don't like any of the iComs. They don't have a battery indicator until it is empty. I need a new unit.

No, just a lot more comfortable and much, much less stressful.