DaV8or

Just look at short field performance and emergency off field performance. That's all it took for me to write off velocities. If you do nothing but fly into long runways and you are absolutely sure the motor will never quit, go for the Velocity.

Me too. One of the best choices I've ever made. No amount of PT was going to fix it as a piece of the disc had broken off and lodged against the nerves. I was hunched over and in a wheelchair at the end. I still have back issues, but I can live with it so far. After all the responses here and the fact that I have no hardware pictures to show, I wasn't even going to mention it, but since you did...

Nice! So, the dimmer you have is the original rheostat, correct? Does it dim all the way down, or just a little and then shut off? Did you have to do anything, like put in a resistor or anything like that to get it to work, or is it just plug and play?

I ask a question and I'm a "hater"?? OK... You're little comment about Harley Davidson above sounds a lot more like a hater to me. Just saying'...

I have a vintage F, so it may be different for your J, but years ago I made a special mounting plate that went in place of the ash tray just to the left of the yoke to affix the little CO dot cards. This is where I plan to put mine with velcro when I get it. I will post a picture when I get it done.

Aren't those images from the POH?

Everybody keeps assuming this plane needs a rebuilt engine. What's wrong with a good used engine? I'll bet there are engines out there in great shape that are hanging on condemned, corroded airframes. A used engine should cost a lot less than a rebuild, even a field overhaul, no? Seriously, I think that's this plane's only hope. A used engine, DIY strip and reseal and then enjoy. Otherwise, part it out. It has reached the intersection of cost to repair vs. value that kills most machines of any type. We shouldn't kid ourselves. Any of us flying vintage planes are only one major failure away from having to make this same decision.

I salute this man! Somebody who was aware of what was really going on at that time, in that place in history and acted on it.

It's too bad somebody didn't have the foresight to cut the skins with the art work and mission count off for future generations. A huge undertaking and storage problem for sure, but what a museum that would make today!!

Yeah, the pump at Byron is run by the county. They're not in it to make a bunch of money, just to keep the tenants happy and the airport working. It's priced to keep airplanes moving in and out of the place. Needless to say, it's where I buy my gas too!

I'm at Byron, CA. (C83) Runway 30 is 4500 x 100 and runway 23 is 3000 x 75. Elevation 78' I use them both frequently and shoot for 73mph in my F. I use that speed pretty much everywhere I go. I think this picture may have been taken from some kind of WWII bomber!

Done. Mine's on the way. Thanks for posting the story and getting this discount together. I've been meaning to get away from the little dot card for years and this thread made it easy to get 'er done.

Is there any advantage in the "alarm adjust" feature of the Industrial Pro? I guess you can set the low and high thresholds. Lets face it, our birds are hardly gas tight and there are so many ways gasses can get in the cabin, I wouldn't even know where to start to plug them. Often I can smell exhaust when taxiing around and sometimes in flight if I forget and run it too rich. My fear is, the thing will be going off a lot because it is so sensitive, the adjustability seems desirable. Anybody with one have it go off under ordinary operating? Is the basic model ideal and work OK with our planes? Thanks!

It's pretty screwed up, isn't it?

I was told by someone who has a few STCs that getting the PMA and I thought he meant the STCs too, is all but impossible right now. This was in reference to California here locally, but I know that FAA cooperation varies quite a bit around the country, so maybe it isn't so dire elsewhere, I don't know.

This is a tough one. If the employees don't want it, that says something right there. Clearly if the business is profitable, the Lowens could run the business absentee and enjoy the income in retirement. My guess is it breaks close to even and if you had to hire someone to replace Paul, it might break the bank. I have since learned that the STC side of the business is nearly worthless. Anybody taking over control of those STCs, will have to reapply to the FAA for PMA and also the STCs themselves. The current state of the FAA discourages awarding new PMA or STCs. One might notice that our own Sabermech here seems to have hit that wall too. That leaves the repair and parts business. The repair business as we know, is fraught with high overhead between the high cost of labor, regulatory compliance and insurance. It's tough to make a living and tough to keep good people. The business gets caught between the consumer demanding lower prices and the employees needing higher wages. The parts side of the business might be attractive with potential. The in-depth knowledge of Dan, a storied reputation in the Mooney community, combined with a great online website with online ordering might make for a compelling business case. Here again though, there is liability in the used and refurbished parts they sell. I wonder what the insurance on just that business would be? Do you need PMA to refurbish certified parts? I don't know. Tough nut. My guess is LASAR will dissolve at some point. Sad.

I suspect it will eventually. It's just going to require Paul to be realistic and do a lot of letting go. With declining health and a motivated wife, this is more likely to come together now.

There a many successful airport restaurants in California, but from what I've seen it all comes down to location, location, location with good food and good service. However the location is most important. If the airport is located too far away from town, towns people won't make the drive no matter how good the food. If the building doesn't have a good view of the runway and ramp, then what's the point in driving out to the airport? If the town is too small to support it, it will flounder. The towns people, or location in a terminal where there is scheduled air carrier service is key. Pilots flying in is likely less than 5% of the business, however their ability to land, taxi up and park in front of the diners is a draw for non pilots and kids. Folks that work on the airport will only frequent if the prices are super cheap. The same goes for many of the CB airplane owners based there they really can't depend on the locals to survive. The one creative solution I've seen is at Merced Muni. The restaurant there has struggled for years and changed hands many times. It is located a ways from town and there is little local airport activity. The solution that has worked so far is, they are open for lunch, but they have turned it into a destination at night. It's at the airport, so they have plenty of room and they can make as much noise as they want, so they put in an outdoor band shell, tables and chairs, outdoor bathrooms and of course a full bar. They have live performing acts there regularly. Loyalty to the bar, seems to be bringing in daytime drinkers from what I can tell. Pouring lots of beers now. The place is now well attended even during the day even though the food is bad, the service poor and has a poor view of the runway and ramp. It is now very much a local's hang out for some of the folks in Merced and it just happens to be at the airport. I admire the creative thinking and the effort they put in to make it a success. I just wish the food was better.

I have spoken to some of the employees about the transfer of LASAR. There is interest, but as to date the Lowens haven't been realistic about it. The business has "been for sale" for years now, but just like the guy that can't let go of the plane but knows he should sell, they have over valued the business. In addition, they don't want to break it up (service vs. parts sales vs. aftermarket mods) and they don't want it to move. They want it to continue on as it is for the sake of the employees and frankly I think so Paul can still hang around. He's not really the retiring sort of guy I think. Anyhow, the word I have heard is they just want too much money for it, but maybe they are now getting more serious. If it were closer to me, like Livermore, or Tracy, or Rio Vista, or Concord, or Stockton (although that would be weird with Top Gun there) I would consider inquiring about it, but there is no way I'm going to move to Lake county and there is no way I'm going to commute to Lakeport and without the employees, you just have a bunch of parts and a name people have heard of, but not much else.

Good to know. The OEM Milwaukee battery isn't all that good IMO. I'm on my second.

Sure, OK. But did the fiancé and grandkids get a choice in the matter? Sadly, too many pilots have this attitude that if they take a risk, they are only risking their own lives and their own equipment, but many, many times it's much more than that. In addition to other people's lives and property, they also risk every pilot's freedoms.

For a different perspective, I thought I would slip this one in sideways-

There never was such an official proposal. Only web forums from people like us. There never was to be any new categories.

It's sad to see, but I can understand Textron's decision. They tried to sell them and nobody wanted them. Fire saying them just to get rid of them does them no favors and just burns those customers that did actually buy them. Scraping them eliminates all potential future liability. Cessna knows a thing or two about what it's like to be sued. Those engines have been sitting how long? Selling them is just more liability. Basically selling any of this stuff is just liability. It is what it is. They made a mistake and now they made it go away. In spite of recent Supreme Court decisions, corporations are not people and they have no emotions. They have bottom lines, that's it.

I have proposed this for years on pilot forums. I am constantly reminded as to why it is either impossible, or a really bad idea. I personally still champion the idea.