donkaye, MCFI

2200 feet in a long body airplane like mine with a strong crosswind is basically a non starter. You just can't do it successfully--too much speed is necessary. The C model is different. That model can be landed as short as a Cessna 150.

Here's why not. A few years ago coming back from Oshkosh one of our stops was Ogden, Utah. I pulled up the ATIS, but apparently didn't listen well enough. They were advertising 0G20. I'd never heard that before. On final I applied full flaps. There really wasn't a crosswind, it wasn't bumpy, and there wasn't any variation in airspeed as I came down final. Then it happened. I was in the flare and was just touching down when the gust hit. Instantly we were pushed up about 20 feet in the nose high landing attitude without the benefit of ground effect. Anyone who has flown with me knows that I'm a "fly for the passenger" kind of person. That's how ATPs are supposed to fly. That means every control movement is done gently and smoothly so as not to alarm the passenger. That was NOT called for in this situation. Without thinking I pushed the nose down and crammed the throttle full forward, not a good thing to do with a turbocharged engine. I figured it was a prop strike for sure, and possibly worse. Somehow the speed at which the nose was lowered and power added saved the day, as we hit the ground somewhat hard, but not hard enough to do any damage. I could have salvaged the landing at that point, but decided to go around and do it again--this time with approach flaps. The second approach and landing went uneventfully. Shirley was still upset as we pulled up to the self service fuel pump and got out of the airplane. As I was pumping the gas in no wind conditions, all of a sudden a huge gust came up and nearly blew me over. Shirley looked at me and we knew what had happened only minutes before. I know that had there been a prop strike and I said a big gust came up and caused the problem no one would have believed me. I wouldn't have believed me. The moral of this story is that there are times when full flaps are NOT appropriate.

As a Moooney instructor for 23 years with nearly 6,000 of instruction given in nearly all models of Mooneys, I agree with the above.

My rule of thumb is if the crab angle to maintain runway center line is greater than about 15°, I will go to approach flaps at a minimum and possibly no flaps if I can't hold 15° with subsequent increase in speed to that associated with the flaps applied. The increase in speed should be about 10 knots or 10 mph depending on how your ASI is labeled. The increase in speed gives a higher stall speed and more rudder authority. Therefore, you can touch down faster and yet the airplane will be done flying sooner. That's good. The plane should be flown onto the runway, which means that at the higher speed there is more chance of bouncing, so it is important to fly it on smoothly. I choose to make life easy on myself while constantly seeing the magnitude of the crosswind by crabbing all the way to the flare, where I transition to align to the centerline with rudder for directional control and use the aileron for drift. So far in 24 years I haven't found a crosswind that the plane couldn't handle. I've done 35 knots, but I probably wouldn't go at 40 knots direct crosswind. At that magnitude the ride would just be too uncomfortable. At 35 knots I touched down at over 100 knots. By slowly reducing power while maintaining control, it is possible to either come to a complete stop under control or applying immediate full power at a point where even with full aileron the runway couldn't be held. Winds like that are definitely not for the pilot who hasn't practiced a lot of crosswind landings and worked up to it. It also requires a long runway. The day I made my landing video I flew over to Oceano (L52), the crosswind was strong, but variable. The runway is also reasonably short at 2,360 feet. I went around twice. I told my SO that if I couldn't make it on the third attempt we'd go to Santa Barbara. On that attempt the winds straightened out enough to be able to make a successful landing. Others have not been so fortunate. I once saw a Bonanza dug into the mud off the end of the runway. If the wind on takeoff is such the you have to ask yourself whether it is safe, then for you the decision is easy, don't go. On landing, if you feel uncertain, same thing. Go somewhere else.

Larry, I personally like Jeppesen plates better than government plates. So I purchased a Jeppesen subscription for the iPad and for an additional $60 got it for the 796. This also gives Jeppesen Charts for Garmin Pilot in addition to JeppFD for the iPad. Since I went the slightly more expensive route, I now have Flightcharts for the 750 and G500 in addition to the iPad, and Jeppesen for the 796 and iPad. Coming back from Hawaii yesterday, I put up Garmin Pilot and watched the plane fly the Jeppesen ILS 30L overlay into San Jose on Garmin Pilot.

It certainly would have been nice had the designers of the KFC 150 designed for automatic adjustment of the ALT when the altimeter setting is changed, as is done in the GFC 700.

A good avionics shop should know. On my panel upgrade all old wiring was removed and replaced. This is the hardware in the back of my plane and how a good avionics shop's work should look like.

From experience I have found that Speed brakes should be used in the manner I described in the writeup on my website.

The 796 has Bluetooth and the 696 does not. So the 796 can make use of the FS 210 and FS 510. That's the only benefit.

I have the 796 and to the best of my knowledge Database Concierge and Sync doesn't include the 796 (so I have to update the 796 manually). It would be nice if it did.

Tim, I don't remember, but I do know it was easy. You can get it for sure by calling Garmin and pushing 1 for databases.

Garmin had a deal on the FS 510 for owners of the FS 210 that was good until the end of December. $500 off the FS 510. Maybe you could talk them into giving it to you for that reduced price. I'll bet you could make that deal. I have both, and use them both for different purposes at the same time. I have the 510 feeding the iPad and the 210 feeding the 796. It could be reversed, too.

However, Garmin data can be downloaded multiple times for your backup cards, while Jeppesen cannot. With the new Concierge, all data is download in the background to the iPad and transferred through the FS 510 in a couple of minutes except for charts that takes about 10 minutes.

I feel I have the best best of both worlds and support both companies. I, too, like Jeppesen Charts much better than the government charts. So this is what I do: 1. Garmin OnePak for G500/GTN 750/ GTN 650. This solution gives Flight Charts on both the G500 and GTN 750. It give the complete data package including Flight Charts to the Aera 796 (used to cost $499 and then was reduced too $199). It also gives the Premium IFR package fro Garmin Pilot. (You still have to purchase the Garmin Pilot Basic Package). 2. I buy the Jeppesen iPad Subscription, which for an extra $60 gives me Jeppesen Charts for the Aera 796. It also gives Jeppesen Charts (overlayed on the Map) to Garmin Pilot as part of a deal Garmin and Jeppesen made. 3. For the new price of $210 Jeppesen supplies all the databases for the L3 ESI 500. So with the above I have Jepp Charts on the 796 and on the iPad for both Jepp FD and Garmin Pilot. Those are my primary source of charts in IMC. I have Flight Charts displayed on both the G500 and GTN 750 so no $4500 unlock fee to display Jepp Charts on those instruments. The charts on those displays are of marginal use in my opinion anyway. All other databases are available on all the other boxes that require data bases. Total yearly cost as this time: $799 (Onepak) + $299 (iPad) +$60 (796) + $210 (ESI 500) + $79 (Garmin Pilot Basic) = $1,447. Not inexpensive, but the best buy for a complete package for everything I have in the cockpit.

That's the way I'll be renewing again this year. The Garmin Nav data is not as complete as the Jeppesen Nav data, but not enough incomplete to out weigh the extra benefits of using the OnePac. Private airports are still not shown, and just today the airport data on 3O1, Gustine, a small airport, did not have the runway layout or pattern that I believe Jeppesen had. Still, overall, the Garmin Nav data is acceptable.

TargetTrend should be provided on the iPad from the GTX 345.

Some work, some don't. Maybe you will be one of the lucky ones. Ultimately, Garmin will fix the problem. Meanwhile, expect to possibly be a beta tester. Until the issue is definitely resolved, I personally wouldn't trust it in IMC. I don't have a G5, but have read all about it's issues on BeechTalk.

There is nothing like target trend. I can have 30 targets on the screen, and if no trend line is crossing the ownship icon, I'm feeling pretty comfortable. There is no comparison with the absolute vector. I have easily seen targets out the window that I would never have seen. The most interesting ones are the ones on a collision course but at a different altitude. It is amazing to watch as they intercept the aircraft and pass overhead exactly at the collision point shown on the screen. It's one of the most valuable additions to my upgrade.

If you also get the GMA 35, a great audio panel, then you rarely have to touch the screen. There are 300 verbal commands.

My recommendation: If he offered it to you for free, I'd take it and resell it on eBay then take that money and buy either the GTN 750 or GTN 650. If you have to pay FMV for it and pay for the upgrade to WAAS, I would save up for either the GTN 750 or GTN 650. The 750 is in another class with the 650 coming in behind it. Both the newer versions with their full MAP terrain presentation (the 530 doesn't have that, just a black screen) are light years ahead of the 530.

On the left side: PTT, Audio Playback, Speed brakes, CWS, Trim, AP Disconnect On the Right side: Transponder Ident, Dual Switch: Up = Traffic mute; Down = Audio Push to Command

Even my MVP 50 installation was only 40 hours.

Yes, Absolute motion, but NOT Relative motion, a big, big difference.

That is the one function Garmin left out of the GTX 345.

I was shocked and saddened when I opened up and read the latest issue of the MAPA Log and saw that Cleon Biter “Flew West” last month after a battle with cancer. I’ve known him since I first started teaching for the Mooney Pilot Proficiency Program as a new Mooney instructor over 20 years ago. He was one of the best pilots I have ever flown with. He was one of the first Master Flight Instructors. As a meteorologist, he really knew and understood Weather, and every time I taught for the PPP and would sit in and listen to his weather presentations I learned something new. After one PPP in Jefferson City a number of years ago, he took Wayne Fisher, another great instructor, and me back to Kansas City where we got our flight back to our home cities. He flew with perfection. While in the FBO I asked him to review how he did a preflight weather briefing. We headed to the computer and he took the time to detail how he did it. Since he was in Colorado, I recommended many students in his area to get their transition and other training from him. I always got positive feedback from them. The flying community and especially the Mooney flying community lost a great teacher. He will be greatly missed…