donkaye

32 Years and never a regret.

Yes, which is why I asked Tom in the first place.

No. Any and all flaps only below the white arc. I just said that you may not harm the flaps if you accidentally had approach flaps below gear speed. It's not something you should deliberately do. I just gave a little background. A number of high performance airplanes and jets permit approach flaps above gear speed. Mooney doesn't permit it until below the white arc.

Alsolutely---NOT! ANY flap extension should be below the White Arc. A number of years ago I had the same question so had a long discussion with Tom Bowen, Chief Engineer at the time. While I can't remember everything he told me, the basic issue was torsion and loads throughout the CG range of the plane. They did do tests showing that approach flaps could be extended below gear speed in the long body, but never got it approved. So, if you forget to retract the flaps on takeoff you are not likely to do damage to the flaps if you're below gear speed, but they are not approved for extension above the white arc, notwithstanding apparently some J models.

1. Went into Annual with a working normal and hot starting engine. 2. Came out of Annual with an engine that would not hot start. Found out some parts that had been changed on the 500 hour left mag overhaul last year, while legal PMA's parts, were not Slick parts. Changed to Slick parts. Changed the ignition switch. Got a nice new key. Helped, but still didn't hot start reliably. Gave up on the old mag and ordered a new one. After it was put on, but before it was started, we discussed the SureFly SIM. Had them halt everything and replaced the new unused mag with a SureFly and sent the new mag back. I think some parts on the original mag that should have been changed were not last year. 3. The SureFly SIM is unbelievable. The plane has never started better, either hot or cold. In fact, it seems to start like a turbine; turn the key and it just starts. As I have a turbo, there is no advance. I don't care. Attended MooneyMax 2024 this year and the salesman from Electroair said the SureFly was just a mag replacement. I thought, "well, that's what I want". The Electroair was much more expensive and with an experienced installer, 3 days to install. The SureFly installs just like a mag with the exception of needing a wire to the battery and a different resistor to the ignition switch for the MVP-50 engine monitor. Add 6 hours. 4. The cost of the Surefly is a little less than the cost of a new "regular" mag. 5. Bottom line, one of the best things I have done for my airplane this year.

At least on the Bravo the glare fence is effective in preventing light from getting through to the pilot. In fact there is a small space where the fence connects to the wing where a sliver of light gets through and I can confirm that the light is working. It definitely doesn't interfere with my flying. Melting of the wing tip plastic is gone with this LED addition, installation is under an hour for both lights, and the cost is reasonable. I highly recommend them. Edit: Yes, the inboard 2 lights are hidden by the wing, but the other 4 are still brighter than the old single light that would melt the plastic if left on by mistake.

I have been flying Mooneys since 1990 and teaching in them since 1994 when I got my CFI. I've had my Bravo for 32 years. I've flown the E, M, R, TN, V across the US, with the M, R, being flown across more times than I can remember. I mean across being from Florida to California. The longest day with weather cooperating was a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Colorado Springs. It took over 10 hours in the Bravo. Of my nearly 13,000 hours, nearly 11,000 have been in Mooneys. So you can see I really love Mooneys. I say the above because, although I love the Mooney, it is NOT the right airplane for what you want to do. If you were to base it in Columbia and use it to fly around South America, maybe. A once in a lifetime trip? OK, but even then I would have considerations. In my opinion you really need a mid sized jet.

Those were sold long ago. The experimental plane was the one used in the certification of the Acclaim ultra. Jonny is a very "UP" kind of person. I did not sense that this time.

Definitely not true. We saw it all and there were no airplanes on the line except for the experimental Acclaim in the Service Center that they are getting certified and readying to sell.

Your vision should be normal after 1 day. Your eye was dilated by drops that, unlike simple dilation usually done when a doctor examines your eyes that lasts for a couple of hours, this one lasts a day. You might as well throw your old glasses away after the first eye. The brain seems to adjust with one eye done and the other not. In fact some people permanently have one eye implanted with a far vision iol and one with a close vision iol. The eyes take around a month to settle down according to the Opthamologist, so they don't do prescriptions until 4 weeks after the last eye is done. Knowing what each of the eye drops did, I religiously adhered to the protocol, particularly those for the 1st week, one of which was an antibiotic. When I asked the Doctor when I could fly, he said I could fly when I could meet the requirements of a medical. They did a quick exam right after the 2nd surgery and my sight was so good I started flying a week after the 2nd eye was done.

I've attached the article I wrote for the Mooney Flyer a couple of months ago. For me I wanted to get off a Special Issuance and get my 2nd Class Medical back. I got a Special Issuance 2nd class after a Medical Flight Test the 1st year that I had 20/20 in one eye corrected but only 20/25 in the 2nd eye corrected. The next year both eyes were 20/25 corrected and not only did the FAA refuse the second class, but they issued the 3rd class requiring a yearly Opthomology exam and said I couldn't get a medical through my AME, but only through the FAA. That did it. They basically bullied me into having Cataract Surgery. After the fact I'm glad they did. A month after the surgery I had an eye exam showing both eyes 20/20 corrected and I was immediately issued a 2nd Class Medical and taken off Special Issuance. I read too many places where the multifocal lenses were not satisfactory, especially for pilots. They took time and many appointments over a period of a month for adjustment before they were locked in. I chose the monofocal Toric far distance lens due to astigmatism. I did one eye at a time. The surgery was easy taking only about 15 minutes for each eye. The eye drop requirement required a spreadsheet to keep track of drop times, especially after the 2nd surgery, where each eye was on a different schedule. The eye drops were needed for 5 weeks. I've worn glasses since I was 10 or 11. I don't need glasses for far vision now. I love it! I definitely need them for medium and close vision, but with the astigmatism corrected, the close vision is better than ever. Although I got Progressive glasses from the Doctor, the best medium and close vision I get is from a $35 pair of Foster Grant multi focus glasses 2.5 strength. Medicare won't pay for anything other than standard lenses. The Toric lens at my location was $2,000 each. Although I didn't notice the mild cataract, as others have said, the vision difference now is amazing. I have to thank the FAA for their bullying. I should have done it immediately and not gone through the hassle of the Special Issuance. Special Issuance and the Long Road Back.pdf

From the POH landing speed at gross weight for short field, take off 5 knots for each 300 pounds that you are under gross.

We started going to Oshkosh in 1999. Since then we've missed 2; One in 2020 AirVenture cancelled due to Covid and another in 2023. During the early years there were some AirVentures where the weather was hot and humid. For some lucky reason for the last 5 years that we have attended the weather has been dry and cool for the most part. This year, after a lot of arm twisting, I was finally able to convince Shirley to rent a scooter for $80/day. I walked, she rode. After the fact she really liked it. I figured I walked about 5 or 6 miles per day. I tried to get the exact mileage but the app I was using took so much battery that after 3 hours and 3.5 miles my phone was down to 22%. Being a life member of EAA allows you to use the Oasis where everything is free; drinks, candy, chips, etc. Even better is being a donor where you can use the PHP house. We had invitations there to a very good breakfast and late afternoon get togethers where a lot of food is served. Also, the AOPA dinner at the Waters is one of the highlights of AirVenture (see photo)

Levels of Learning per the Instructor's Handbook from lowest to highest: Rote, Understanding, Application, Correlation. Rote: Read the operator's manual several times. Understanding: Watch Youtube videos of the products you are interested in learning about. Application: Watch Youtube videos of the products you are interested in learning about with examples, read postings on forums such as this or Beechtalk, practice with Apps if there is one, and practice in your airplane. Correlation: Practice in your airplane in the real world with ATC throwing the inevitable curve balls at you. It happened to me today on a student's Instrument Cross Country. Except for the multimillion dollar simulators like operators such as Flight Safety have, I never thought much of inexpensive sims. If you're going to spend in excess of $100,000 for a modern panel upgrade, you need to spend the time and read the manuals from cover to cover--several times. While it may seem boring to some, most of the information needed to competently use the equipment is in the manual. And each of the manufacturers has their own design philosophy. Once you understand the philosophy, I've found that you can usually pretty quickly find a solution to a problem by going to the right menu. Finding the menu quickly is philosophy dependent. I do find it is challenging to learn many philosophies. I feel like I'm an expert in the Garmin world. Not so much in the Avidyne world, although I find I can get around pretty well even there, since the most used actions are fairly obvious. The more complicated actions in any of the worlds such as VNAV as an example, or loading Airways, which is device dependent, require a YouTube video, or an instructor who has "been there, done that". I have found that there is no substitute for practicing with your own avionics. If something doesn't go as planned, it's back to the manual for guidance, then back to the plane to try it out. Unfortunately, company support is usually worthless from my experience. These people seem to be trained to a level that is barely Rote. So set aside some time sit down in a cosy chair, and start your "Adventures Through the Manuals". You'll be surprised how much you can learn.

See 2 posts that Bob Krommer made to the Mooney List in December 2005: https://donkaye.com/useful-aviation-articles Needing to slip the Mooney on final usually indicates failure to have established a stabilized approach. There are times where a slip to final may be useful. I've had ATC ask if I could do a short approach when on downwind with no time to widen the downwind. A turning full slip (NOT SKID) in the landing configuration to final at 85 knots (no less per Bob Krommer) worked great. Don't do it with passengers. Or sometimes I've had a student misjudge the slope for the base turn and a slipping turn slightly above 85 knots solved the problem. I'm not advocating doing slipping turns in the normal course of events; just that its another item in your bag of alternatives.

Each to his own, but the short cross controlled stall practice I did with 5 students in the mid 1990s was a non aggressive skidding left turn with right aileron smoothly added until the the left wing would start to drop. Recovery for the first 4 was unremarkable. The cross controlled stall that convinced me to stop that training was when the stall was carried to the "break" with the last student in his 231. The plane didn't "snap" into a spin, it just rolled over and entered it before I said "I have the airplane". Luckily were were, I think, at 6,000 feet. Applying normal spin recovery technique, the rotation didn't stop for several rotations. We lost several thousand feet and there was a moment before the rotation stopped when I thought recovery may not be assured.

Regarding basic flying skills, I think one of the most important skills that should be practiced would be soft field takeoffs. Perfecting this skill would help prevent many go around accidents and get the pilot comfortable with operating in the critical low speed portion of the aircraft's envelope. It would also help in getting rid of "locked and frozen right leg" when it comes to rudder control (or lack thereof). From experience I'd say 100% of the people I ask to do a soft field takeoff can't do one properly in a Mooney. Another area that should be practiced would be precision flight control. I find that most people don't really understand the relationship between pitch and power and which should be primary in any given situation. And then there is landing practice. While most people I fly with can make "safe" landings, nearly 100% don't fly them with any observed structure (at any rate the way I want them to be flown). Avionics training needs to be individually tailored to each aircraft configuration and none are the same nowadays.

Being based at KSJC, if you don't want to be vectored around for awhile waiting for the line of jets to land and you have a Bravo or Bravo+, then it's fly a constant slope variable airspeed approach. When I check in, I preemptively tell Approach as part of the checkin that once on descent on final I can give them 160 knots to 5 miles. They usually slide me right in. The procedure that works is at 5 miles and 160 knots; Speed Brakes (this give an immediate speed reduction to 140 knots); Gear Down (speed brakes still extended. Speed reduced to 110 knots); Flaps to Approach, Speed brakes retracted, Flaps to full when landing is assured. Using this procedure speed can be reduced from 160 knots to 75 knots over 5 miles.

Background: 32 Years Mooney M20M Ownership. Instructing for 30 years. For Detailed Flight Background See PDF Attached. I do stalls in all transition trainings and Commercial ratings. Every new Mooney was test flown before sale and the stall strips adjusted for straight ahead power off stalls. I do the first stall per the Commercial standards. I establish approach speed and a 500 ft/min descent rate, then reduces the power to idle and raise the nose at approximately 1° per second until the stall break. I've never experienced a Mooney that "snapped" into any stall. The Mooney will let you know close to the stall if it is going to drop a wing. If so, we won't go to the break. Since it stalled straight ahead when it was new, that means that something is out of rig and should be fixed. In my airplane I can hold the yoke full back and the nose will bounce up and down stalling and unstalling without dropping a wing. Yours should, too. Power on stalls should be done at no greater than 65% power to keep deck angle reasonable. Turning stalls at 20°, if coordinated, should present no more difficulty than straight ahead stalls. The only time I got into an unintentional spin was in a Mooney 231 and has been documented on my website. It occurred many years ago at the stall break doing cross controlled stalls. Do not go out and practice cross controlled stalls in a Mooney. See my writeup at https://donkaye.com/useful-aviation-articles. Bottom line; From my experience the Mooney stall characteristics are superior to those of other aircraft like Cessnas and Pipers that I have flown and in which I have taught. Background Flight Summary for Donald E. Kaye as of 8:17:2024.pdf

Pacific Coast Avionics in Aurora, Oregon near Portland did mine after the fact. I flew up there in the morning and back in the afternoon. It's a swap and some reconfiguring. You're right, though, with one Xi you may be able to get Smart Glide.

Given the changes you are making, for a little more money you should consider trading the GTN 750 for the Xi version to pick up Smart Glide.

I think the Mooney Caravan is one of the most professionally run, most organized and safety conscious groups I have had the privilege of flying with. I've flown into Oshkosh with them a number of times. No one is permitted to participate without training. My main reason for not flying the Caravan the past few years has to do with my weekly logistics, the fact that I don't want to taxi on grass, and I want my airplane hangared for the week. As such, I land in Madison, rent a car for the week, and drive through some beautiful country for an hour and fifteen minutes on my way to Oshkosh.

I did my upgrade in 2014 with additional upgrades to the upgrade since that time. I spent a month full time researching what was available and reading the details of each piece of avionics (I was previously a display electrical engineer, now a full time flight instructor). For my purposes I'm satisfied with the speed of my plane so was not interested in "upgrading" to a turboprop or jet. Therefore, I wanted the best of the best. We're all concerned with monetary input, but for me not over the avionics I wanted. However, that didn't mean I didn't want a good deal. The best deals seem to be had by going to AirVenture. I've been going for the past 24 years and looking at anything new. At the time Garmin had just come out with some of the best to me avionics I could have wanted. They had some extremely good deals there when buying multiple units. I saved a bundle in that way. Selling all my old avionics also proved very valuable in reducing the overall cost of the upgrade. Garmin did not have their EIS at the time, but even now I wouldn't have chosen it over the EI MVP-50 that for me does everything that I want and doesn't take up valuable real estate on the display. Except for the upload to an iPad I think the MVP-50 provides more information than the Garmin EIS. Of course there is the competition like Aspen or Dynon, but again for me I didn't want to worry about inter connectivity so for the most part I went all Garmin. To me they are the Rolls Royce of the avionics world. That doesn't mean you won't like the others. It just means that I like the Garmin interface and displays best. Even given the avionics market today, I wouldn't change a thing I have done so far and I don't think there is anything else I could add that would give me more capability with a single engine turbocharged airplane. On my trip to AirVenture this year i made use of everything including the Stormscope WX-500, my active traffic GTS 800, GDL 69A, and Aera 760 among other things. Done by one person 10 years ago the upgrade took 6 months, an excruciatingly long time. A bigger shop could most likely do it quicker, but when mine was done there were no mistakes. The upgrades to the upgrade include the G500 to the G500 TXi, the GTN 750 and GTN 650 to the Xi models, Alpha Systems Eagle AOA, Microkits LHS, conversion to all LED lights, and lastly conversion of the KFC 150 to the GFC 500 4 servo autopilot. You're in for quite a ride, one that I would NOT like to do again.

I'm sorry I can't provide the manual because it is copywrited material used for the Mooney PPP that people pay money to attend. An analogy would be a car going down a steep slope. You would accelerate and need to step on the brakes if you didn't put the car in low gear. Low gear would be low RPM. I personally use low RPM when coming into my home airport, San Jose, at say 170 knots and wanting to slow down rapidly without damaging my engine with MP below 15". We have lots of alternatives for slowing down, but I like to be most efficient. Rather than increasing drag too soon by using the speed brakes and gear, I'd rather slow down rapidly without hurting the engine by reducing MP over time to 15" and rpm to 2000 to make sure the engine is running the prop and not vise versa. When I'm close in, if I'm above 140 kts gear speed, I'll add speed brakes to slow to 140 kts then on downwind put the gear down keeping the speed brakes out to slow to flap speed, then go to approach flaps, slow to 90 kts and retract the speed brakes. At the 3° slope to my aim point I'll reduce power to nominally 15", go to full flaps and turn base, do the gumps check and verify 80 kts on base. Turn final and establish 75 kts nominally and make the landing. Anyway, that's the procedure I've been using for the past 32 years of M20M ownership. If you're interested in any other credentials just go to my website, www.donkaye.com. I've written some articles that you might find useful.