WardHolbrook

Ross, I tried that but no joy. Oh well, the point I'm trying to make is that, in professionally flown cockpits - in aircraft of all sizes and types - they are seldom if ever seen being used. That's not to say that using one is some way a negative, but among the group of pilots who fly IFR as a matter of course, on a daily basis they're not frequently encountered. What you'll find in these cockpits are pilots who have eliminated most, if not all, of the unnecessary "fluff" associated with IFR flight. Organization is critical when you're flying IFR and even more so in a high performance airplane. Simplesity is also important. Carusoam asked how I do it. I do it the same way every one else I know does it. We keep normally jot ATIS and our clearance on our navigation log printout. This is typically done up to 30 minutes prior to engine start. You are able to receive your ATC clearance routing via text or e-mail 2 hours prior to your filed departure time, so there are seldom any surprises here. Many of you guys carry handheld tranceiver in your flight bag. They're a great idea and can be used as more than a back up in case of electrical failure. They are great when it comes to picking up ATIS and getting your clearance prior to engine start. Your clearance is good for 2 hours after you've received it from ATC and with a little coordination with them it can be extended almost indefinatily. But once our engines are started and we've accomplished our pre-taxi checks we're moving. Sitting around with the engine running while copying stuff like clearances costs money. As far as frequencies go, many of us are flying around with "flip flop" tuning heads on our NAV/COM radios. That's the same way we do it in the jets. That way, your last frequency is always available should it be needed. Even without flip/flop tuning capability, all of us have dual nav/coms that allow of the same technique. Altitude clearances are handled via the altitude preselector. Not all aircraft have preselectors, but most of them have an ADF and the ADF frequency selector makes a handy altitude reminder. Short of that Sportys sells a couple of inexpensive ones that I've used that work quite well. That just leaves the occassional rerouting and they can be written next to the departure ATIS and your original clearance. In other words, it's simply not a big deal. It's not that there's something wrong with you if you use a kneeboard, but like I said, I simply don't see the need - it's just fluff that can be easily eliminated. Oh well, that's just my style of flying. There's nothing wrong if your style includes its use.

Quote: carusoam Ward, How do you do it? I use a simple clip board, turned sideways. One sheet of paper marked with columns. Approach/Center, Freq.,altimeter, altitude, heading, other When ATC gives me data, if I don't write it down, I can't get it right. Maybe it's cause I am right handed... Best regards, -a-

I'm a lefty and I've never used a kneeboard. In 15000 hours I've only flown with one guy who did. Personally, I don't see the point. There are many "work arounds" for them. They are so rare in professionally flown cockpits that I'm pretty safe to say that no one uses them. They seem to be just a fighter and private pilot thing.

Quote: Hank I just use SAFETY: S = Seatbelts--how they work, and they are required for taxi/takeoff/landing. A = Air vents--how to increase/decrease cabin air & heat to be comfortable F = Fire extinguisher--where it is, if you have one E = Exit--how to get out, and to keep it open for taxi in hot weather until I close it for them T = i don't remember. Anybody? Y = Your questions. Just try to make your passenger comfortable, briefly explain what you are doing, and to not talk to you from when you pull onto the runway until you tell them it OK, and to always point out any other planes they may see in the air. Quick, easy, and can be done while getting in, putting on headset and taxiing.

Quote: Hank Hmmm . . . parker's a popular guy today! But I'm me, and I fly my [single-engine] Mooney at night, from the Carolinas to WV and back. VFR with flight following, no problem; on an IFR flight plan, no problem. In IMC? Probably not, but it hasn't come up yet.

Parker and Eric need to log out and log back in.

Quote: Kris_Adams This solves a lot of the crashes: 1) do not run out of gas 2) no controlled flight into terrain. Just getting your instrument rating doesn't prevent this 100% (I am IR). Amazing at how many people continue on when the weather gets too bad. It's just not worth it. 3) fly the plane (as stated above). Kris N4679H

Quote: N4352H The examiner (Ross- Neil Samante from HGR) who did my commercial ride, had a 300hp V-Tail. After passing the test, we both departed FDK...me first. I started turning crosswind and looked behind me to see the thin profile of this Bo climbing behind me about to chew my tail off. I quickly leveled off to avoid the embarrassment, build some speed and not let him get me, to no avail. He caught up and blew by me at easily 170KTAS. I always tell Bonanza guys, that for the 12 KTAS they get....they also get a top OH at 750 hours, a sloppy CG creating less payload than a Mooney and burn $16 more per hour. That typically shuts them up quick. If they persist, I begin to discuss the front carry through spar AD and the fact that the American Bonanza Society is lving in denial. That usually caps it.

Quote: carusoam Too soon... www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrO6MNvvSHE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

When it comes to airplanes, it's normally poor form to use the words "always" or "never". I'll say right up front that there are exceptions to each and every rule. That being said, when I'm flying piston-powered SE aircraft with retractable gear, I "normally" will leave the gear extended as long as I've got usable runway beneath me. Of course there are exceptions, but that's the rule as far as I'm concerned. I've lost an engine in a Mooney M20C a few moments after liftoff and I'm grateful that the gear was still out. I was able to simply lower the nose and land on the remaining runway. It was absolutely no big deal. I understand that the manual gear cycles very quickly, but you've got your hands very full at that point and having one more thing to do under those conditions doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I'm not buying the arguement that getting the gear up ASAP makes any kind of significant difference in altitude achieved vs leaving it extended for those few additional moments. Again, there will always be the 10,000' long runway exceptions, but I'm talking general practice. I always shake my head when I see the Bozos in their SE retracts rotate, get the gear coming up and pull the power back in one seemingly continous motion. (A stunt normally performed when they think they have an audience watching them excersizing their superior flying skills.) It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure out what they are setting themselves up for. As always, this is just my personal opinion and of course, your mileage may vary.

Just ask the girl behind the counter if she has a quart of prop wash.

Quote: Shadrach I have a bone stock 67F, if I were you I would have my plane checked out... Something is wrong. I easily get over 500FPM at 5000'DA... I climbed out yesterday at over 1000FPM (after accelerating to a cruise climb 115-120mph) with two 200 pounders and 40gals of fuel - field elevation 704'msl with a DA 3200' . We went to 5500msl and never saw less than 700FPM wide open throttle (WOT), ram air open (RAO)... OAT 36C+ at field elevation. My plane under roughly standard conditions will cruise 153kts true at 7000' 100ROP WOTRAO... How are you flying your plane on climb out? I would lean for take off at a DA of 5000ft... Yours appears to be a bit on the doggy side. I don't think you need a different type of plane, maybe you just need to get yours to perform as it should...

Quote: Bennett ...My only "complaint" is that sometimes I have a hard time turning it on or off - it is accomplished with the slide of a finger - no direct switches, and my rate of swiping is not always optimum...

One can only base their informed opinions upon their personal experience. I have 4000 hours in aircraft that had TCs/T&Bs and 11,000+ hours in aircraft that have 3 AIs and no TCs. I have also given several hundred hours of instrument dual and many ICCs over the past 35 or so years. Finally, I have had two total vacuum failures while in solid IFR conditions that resulted in me having to hand-fly N/B/A for an extended period of time. Having a vacuum/pressure pump failure is only a matter of time - dry pumps have a MTBF of what? 600 hours of so? Wet pumps will do a bit better, but they don't last forever either. Based upon my personal experience and based upon my experience as a CFII I can say that most folks don’t do very well using N/B/A because they don’t practice it enough to maintain proficiency with it. For this simple reason alone, I strongly recommend the installation of a 2nd AI - unless you regularly cover up both the AI and HI and spend some quality time flying N/B/A. It’s a matter of discipline and most folks simply don’t do it enough to be proficient with it. When a gyro fails or your vacuum source(s) decides to go south on you that's probably not the best time to be trying to renew long lost skills. On the other hand, most of us do tend to spend significant amounts of time staring at an AI, so in the event of a primary AI failure, it’s just a matter of adjusting your scan when the inevitable happens. Not a big deal either way. As for standard rate turns without a turn rate indicator, in a light plane, just take airspeed, drop the last digit, and add 7 to get bank angle for standard rate (or close enough for that purpose), e.g., 120 knots, drop zero to get 12, add 7 to get 19 degrees bank for standard rate. That's my reasoning for the opinion that I have, but as always, it's just my opinion and your mileage may vary.

One of the tricks I use after a long flight at altitude is to take a few drags on the O2 prior to descent. Most of our flights we're at FL390 or above and our cabin altitude is in the 6000' range. I'm a non-smoker and 6000 is pretty low, but I'm amazed at how a little O2 perks you up. At night the colors will get noticeably brighter. When in doubt, use it.

Quote: jetdriven ...The TC does nothing unless you count saving your butt in IMC...

Don't buy either one of those units until you check out the GNS 5870. We just bought two for our crews and after the first trip we're buying two more. Great units and the bluetooth connectivity works extremely well and we put ours all of the way back in the aft passenger cabin - about 35 feet or so back from the cockpit. (The gps signal is attenuated by the electrical grid in all of the cockpit window glass.) Shop around, we bought ours at amazon.com for a bit less than Sporty's. Together with ForeFlight HD app they make a killer combination. (I love the geo-referenced charts and maps on the ForeFlight app.) The GNS5870 will shutdown automatically after you shut down the iPad. Battery life is around 10 hours. http://sportys.com/PilotShop/product/16133

Quote: sleepingsquirrel I'll bet you only forget to stow the anchor one time!

Jetdriven, Personally, unless you need the TC for the autopilot input, I'd go with the second AI. Let's face it, who needs a TC? They don't even install them in our jets and if you ever lost your primary AI, life is a whole lot less complicated with a backup AI instead of screwing around IFR with just N/B/A. At this point in our careers, easy and simple is always better. Even if you need a TC to drive the AP, you can always mount a blind TC and still get the safety backup of the 2nd AI. Like Dave said, you would want one to be vacuum and the other electric. Ward

I've got the ASES, but I live in SOCAL. Nobody in SOCAL needs to have their ASES - this is Santa Barbara for Pete's sake, not Unalakleet. That being said, I've got to admit that some of the funnest flying I ever did was getting the seaplane rating and someday, I'm going after after the AMEL - another useless (for me) rating. There's a place in AZ or NV that has a Twin Beech on floats, so I probably won't be able to help myself.

Mooney has risen from the ashes several times in the past - the proverbial Phoenix. However, I'm afraid that that was then and this is now. Merely having the best perfoming airplane in your class doesn't guarantee on going marketing success. Look at the turboprop market back to the mid '80s. No one would call the King Air 90s and 200s the best performers in their class. The smaller and faster Conquest IIs and MU-2s would outperform them day in and day out. However, it was (and is) tought to beat a King Air in all around performance and utility. They aren't the best in any particular category, but they're at least "good enough" in all all of them. This all around utility, has served them well and they've been in continous production since the mid-60's with no end in sight. Couple that with a strong financial statement and you've got the winning recipe for continued production. All of the other twin-engine competitors, as good as they were, couldn't withstand the enviroment and withered and died. As much as I love Mooneys, they're facing stiff direct competition from Cirrus and Cessna and it's becoming obvious which aircraft the marketplace is choosing as the better purchase. Look at the problems that Cirrus is having and the glass Cessnas are exactly flying out off the factory. (No pun intended.) Mooney will live on, but only as a shadow of its former self. I think you have to look no further than Aerostar Aircraft Corporation up in Idaho to see the future of Mooney. I really hope I'm wrong, but it's going to take a "Hail Mary" play to avoid the inevitable. I just can't see it happening in today's environment. These things are cyclic, but there are always some casualities. Like I said, I really hope I'm wrong.

Quote: Newguy I need to pick someone up at a reasonable sized class C airport. Was planning to fly in. There are no services short of a taxi to get someone from the commercial side of things to the GA side of the airport. Does anyone know if its possible to fly in, sit out somewhere out of the way near the arrival gate and get my passenger? Or taxi over once they land and pick up? Seems like this would be an impossible scenario but wondered if anyone has done this. Thanks.

I think that the answer to the question totally depends upon the type of flying you do and where you do it. Someone once asked Bob Hoover why he had given up instrument flying. His answer was something along the lines of something would have to suffer - either his instrument flying or his aerobatic flying. We all know which one he ended up choosing. That being said, if your main flying is limited local flights or limited cross countries for those $100 hamburgers, then I can't see where an instrument ticket would be of any use. You're not going to exercise it enough to keep current nor proficient. An instrument rating only makes sense if your flying involves a "need" to get some place. It takes a certain amount of effort to keep it up once you've got it. I don't buy into the philosophy that simply having the ratings somehow innoculates you against some future encounter with less than VMC weather. Take our fellow aviators up in Alaska. Those guys are managing to kill themselves in less than VMC CFIT accidents on a regular basis inspite the the requirement that Commercial pilots be instrument rated. Yes you can be a competent non-instrument rated pilot, but part of that competentcy would require the recognition of the need to get that instrument rating if your flying changes.

Quote: Hank Remember--birds will dive if you get too close, so always aim above them.

Quote: piperpainter I tell you what its worth your life....if that makes a difference. I am lucky to have been to this class 2 times now. (we get refreshers every 5 years) and its great to know what my symptons of hypoxia are. Check this video out on youtube...its part 1 of 5...it'll take you about 30-40 min of watching but it just shows what can happen to a pilot that doesn't know or understand his symtoms of hypoxia. Do you know yours? My body gets warm, my feet and tingle, vision starts to get hazy and its just all down hill from there! video very tragic: