dcrogers11

Glad to hear LASAR is firing back up on the mod. The only way, up to this point to get the mod, was to find the parts that were unavailable from Mooney (cowl deck and retaining trim) and send them to Dan at LASAR. That is what I am presently doing after finding them from another Mooney. He will add the WS and other components and sell you the kit with the STC. I would like to hear how many hours the install will actually take. I was having a hard time believing it took the 40 hours that I heard before.

John, Thanks, I'll go down to the Sherwood Williams store next week and discuss it with them. I'll buy the avgas, beer, and pizza if you want to come down to 0TX1 to practice before your next project. Sounds like you've had plenty though. I'm at least a month away before I can do anything as I want this to be the last thing I do prior to rolling 543UC into her new home so it will give me some time to examine all these options. I'll post pictures when its finally done. Thanks, Don

Holy Cow! What an awsome video. I've had my Private sense '82 and I get up tight about landing on a paved mile long strip in Ruidoso, NM at 7,000' elv. Can you give specifics on the camera and mount and where you have it attached? I didn't see bar down middle of windshield, but it looks like the camera is almost in the center. Good job.

Thanks for the input. I was approaching this as a DIY project as this was above and beyond what was bid out in my new home and hangar project. The hangar is attached to my home so wanted it to be nice looking and as well as functional. A portion of the hangar also will funtion as a shop so duribility is also a plus. The paint or epoxy coatings are what looks to be the way to go. I'll check out the Sherwood Williams guys and see what they have. I don't mind the sweat aspect of it and will make it a family project. Thanks again. Don

I'm about 2 months away from moving into my new hangar. I have 2500 sq. ft. to cover. Has anyone used a product they were happy with. Thanks, Don

Saw the GCA ANR headset advertized in AOPA Pilot on page 39 for $185. Seems like a good option for a passenger or standby ANR headset especially when my Bose A20's were a grand. Anyone had any experience with them. Here is the link to GCA's site for them- http://www.gulfcoastavionics.com/products/3583-gca-anr.aspx Thanks, Don

Just ran across this Mooney on Ebay- http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ULTIMATE-MOONEY-HAS-IT-ALL-AND-FREE-DELIVERY-/271000141830?pt=Motors_Aircraft&hash=item3f18de0006#ht_1678wt_1152 Looks like a ton of goodies for the price and I wish I had the cash if it were everthing it said it was. Don

Joel, Congrats on your acquisition and I hope things go well with your project. There is hope that planes can fly after sitting for extended periods, although considerably deep pockets will most likely be required. My '64 C model sat unflown in a closed hangar from 1991 until the owner decided to sell it in 2009. Fortunately, the exterior was painted in 1990 by Poploski in Ennis, Tx and after clearing layers of dust, retained its sheen. The engine, on the other hand, had rust on the inside and required a major overhual and i would be really surprised if yours is not in the same shape. The interior is vintage '64 and needs a complete upholstry makeover, but it's not horrible for a 48 YO plane. I installed used avionics to get it up to speed. I plan on further upgrades to the radios and panel along with getting the non-functional AP replaced. This sounds like a project to be documented and could be of interest to any of the aviation publications with the story that you have told and its history. You can then go to some of the big name suppliers out there for sponsorship and parts. You might also continue to post here on items that you might need and there may be those on this forum that could have them laying around collecting dust. Good luck! Don

Thanks for all the input. I believe that SHV looks the best for us at this point. I called the FBO there and they say all the casinos pick up there at their place. One downside against WIndstar in OK is that you pay .50 to the house per hand on blackjack just to play. I loose enough sometimes without having to pay an ante.

Looks like next week is going to be a great week to fly in Texas and I have a few days off. Does anyone know of a pilot friendly destination to fly with airport pickup services to a local casino. I was thinking about Louisana or OK as I am in the DFW area. Otherwise I guess we can just rent a car. Thanks, Don

I turn off WingX on my Ipad and play a movie on it.

I just had my BFR performed 2 weeks ago with the same instructor that I am working on my Instrument rating with. He has had two off field landings and he is sensitive to this being a big part of the review and about 30 minutes of the almost two hours total time was spent on emergency procedures including multiple power off (no throttle) landings from various altitudes to a hypothitical point on the runway which he called the bobwire fenceline that I had to clear then stop before hitting trees which was another point on the runway. Its was good proctice and I hit the "bobwire fence" twice before getting it right. I agree with the complacency comments and I try to fly with that in mind with part of my scan pattern and thought process during flight spending my cruise time going over the scenarios that could happen to me should the hamsters quit rowing in the Mooney's powerplant.

I've carried my small cordless Black & Decker screw gun and had to use it twice when away from home. Saved me tons of time pulling the cowl to change a sparkplug. Since I've changed over to fine wires i've never had pull a plug since.

Ray, What's next on your upgrade list? Can you tell me if you are pleased with the last mods done and did you get what you were thinking you would get on airspeed? Don

Either I have grown decreasingly weak in the last few weeks or my Johnson Bar is getting harder to latch back into the gear down position. My plan is to raise the plane on jacks and see what is going on and have the A&P check things out. It has just started in the last few flights. Can the adjustment change that quickly. We installed new disks on the two main gear in April and had done a fairly extensive check on the gear then. I have no problem retracting the gear and is as easy as it always has been. Any ideas or suggestions?

My dog Max commutes with me wearing his body harness attached to the lap belt and his ear protection. He doesn't seem to mind now as much as he did the first time he went with me.

I just read that WingX now can get traffic from Zaon units via a $100.00 wifi unit which attaches to the Zaon device. So much for my trying to keep a sterile cockpit. This was the announcement from the AOPA Summit- Hilton Software, maker of the popular WingX Pro7 iPad app, announced at AOPA Summit that it’s now supporting connectivity with the XRX PCAS Traffic System from Zaon Flight Systems. The app connects wirelessly to the portable XRX traffic system to provide real-time display of traffic threats on its moving map. WingX Pro7 is compatible with both new and existing Zaon XRX systems. A small Wi-Fi unit costing less than $100 is required for connectivity, the company said. I hope I can hard wire some of my gadgets as I am quickly running out of places to hook them up.

I never pay a lot of attention to the miles out, but instead look at minutes from destination on my Garmin. For a 500 fpm decent my simple math is Cruise Altitude - Pattern Altitude / 500. (ex. (8000-1500)/500=13 minutes out that I start my 500 fpm decent. Or easier yet, just subtract the cruise and pattern alts and multiply the number by 2 and take the resulting number's two first digits as the minutes. (ex. (8000-1500) x 2= 13,000). After doing it a few times it becomes pretty easy.

I'll have to plug Pecan Plantation (0TX1) here in Texas where my plane and I reside. It's a unique subdivision about an hour SW of the DFW area. We have two airparks and runways where you may either choose to live right on a runway or several blocks away and taxi your plane from you home on one of the dedicated taxiways leading through the subdivision. We have a lot of active and retired aviators from the industry, mostly airline pilots and a very active EAA chapter. I think at last count there were about 120+ aircraft located here and probably half have been built here by their owners. The Landings is the newest edition and runway where they have just opened up and new lots are available. If you're a golfer, we have two courses. You can check out www.ppoaweb.com. Granbury is our nearest town and is a lakeside community with quaint feel to it and lots of attractions in all directions within an hours drive. There are no public hangers in the subdivision as everyone has a hanger on their lot. I'm renting from a friend at present, but i'm in the process of purchasing a lot to build on. Granbury Municiple is full right now, but I think Cleburne Municple which is about 20 minutes away has a few spots. Good luck in your search. PM me if you have any questions. Don

Ray-I considered the same thing and wondering what the reg's would say about getting the section of exhaust past the muffler ceramic coated. I've had some street rod headers coated at Jet-Hot in OKC and they turned out great. They can coat anything. BTW-Windshield mod looks good.

Can anyone suggest a place to have my Dukes fuel pump overhauled or exchanged? It has started sounding a bit rough and during my startup this morning, it sounded like it wanted to stop all together. It still engaged and brought the pressure up, but it just doesn't sound right to me. I haven't contacted my A&P yet to schedule the work and was just trying to stay ahead of any problems. In my 64C, the fuel pump has always sounded louder than other planes I have flown over the years but today, it sounded really rough. Thanks, Don

Sorry, I see now that the date was not added. Yes, September 10th is the date although we would sure love to be rained out and move it to the 17th. We really need the rain. We all will be parking on dead grass right now.

Pecan Plantation is a subdivision near Granbury, TX (SW of DFW area) with two separate private airstrips and a unique place for aviators to come visit or live. Our annual fly-in info is below. Would love to have some fellow Mooney pilots come if interested. Video of landing at 0TX1 can be seen at- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPCFLVe3ddI Pecan Plantation Airpark & VAF Fly-In. OTX1. Granbury, TX NOTE: UNICOM FREQ NOW 122.975; Now West Traffic Pattern ALL runways Time: 9:30 – 16:00; Rain date if needed is 17 Sept. Free Admission. Sponsored by EAA Chapter 983 & Vans Air Force. Everyone is invited and there is something for all ages. Raffle for Apple Ipad with Fore-Flight App. Lunch served for a small fee. “Showcase Of Airplanes” 100 +Static aircraft display & lots of aircraft operations. Patches the Clown (balloons tricks for young kids). Young Eagles Program, Free plane rides kids 8-17 yrs. Adult Orientation Rides Flight times 1:00-2:30, First Come, first Scheduled & flown. Must Sign Up- PARENTAL SIGNATURE REQUIRED. POC: DOUG CRUMRINE, ftrflyboy@charter.net, 817 559-4665

I have the Bad Elf and works fine, but I would have bought the XGPS150 had I known about it. Advantages seem to be that the XGP can be set up on the glare shield for unobstructed view of the sky, and the Bad Elf can't. I've had occasions where i've lost signal. The XGPS150 uses it own power, the Bad Elf draws from IPad. The XPGS150 has app that tells you how many sats are located, the Bad Elf does not. Also, you don't have to explain to your wife that your not surfing porno when you constantly get emails from a website called "Bad Elf".

The last speed check in my 64C. 2400/22 MP and not pushing it too hard.....