GeneS

Coming from the east, enter at PHIPS and exit at VARRE. Call Tyndall Approach (Jax Center late at night) on 120.82. Coming from the west, enter at VARRE and exit at PHIPS. Call Pensacola Approach on 119.0

If you are going for the cheap gas it is best to fill out the advance notice on their web page: http://redbirdskyport.com/flymore/ This is really going to be a ton of fun. I just wish I was close enough to go more than once. Also, Brian Kendrick, formerly with Mooney, is based at San Marcos now. He's an awesome Mooney mechanic. If I still had a Mooney I would take advantage of the cheap gas to get some work done. Gene

last time I was in Gulfport, MS there was an all white 757 shooting touch and gos. Seems like a bad idea to me.

Joe Gaar, Jr of Lafayette, LA is the happy new owner of N513DR.

SOLD Hate to see it go but it's going to a good home. Gene Schmidt

My son-in-law works for Redbird. His name is Josh. Go say hello to him and check out their new desktop sim. It's very cool. Gene

Brian Kendrick is currently doing the annual in San Marcos and can answer any questions about this plane. Brian was the Chief Inspector at the factory in Kerrville and was my factory contact for the three trips there for repairs. Gene

I kind of expected that I would be needing cylinders about now but it's currently in for the annual and all compressions are good and it doesn't burn a lot of oil so no cylinders this time.

There are instances of "damage" that I think are keeping it from selling. Right after I got it, the NACA vent on the left side started vibrating and tore the skin about 1". It went back to Kerrville for repairs at the factory. Then, about a year later, while it was tied down in Gainesville, Fl a storm blew an unrestrained Aztec into the right wing. That bent the flap and broke the fiberglass tip so, again, back to Kerrville for repairs. AND THEN a freaking little bird dinged the leading edge of the right wing, so again, back to Kerrville. All repairs were done at the factory by the same people who built it, no expense spared because it was all covered by insurance. So, it's got "damage history", hence, the low price. What would be awesome is if someone would by it for $289,000 to protect the value of everyone else's Ovation. I think that's a great idea. Y'all talk about it and get back to me. Gene

Agreed, but the '05 G1000/STEC has GPSS and will fly all turns and holding with just the normal button pushing. The only thing it doesn't do is the LPV part of a GPS approach. If your home field has a GPS approach with LPV minimums and no ILS or if you frequently fly into an airport like this, then maybe the upgrade is important to you. Whether you are upgrading a G1000 to WAAS or a 530/430 to WAAS or a 530/430 to a 750/650 it's going to be at least $25,000. For me, it would not be worth the money to upgrade. When I first bought the Baron it had RNAV and a Loran. Now it has the WAAS 530/430. It still goes the same speed, burns the same gas, carries the same load and accesses the same airports in the same weather. The new moving maps are fun to look at and make flying safer and easier but they add no capability to the aircraft. oh, and somebody please buy my Mooney!! I love it but I just can't justify two airplanes anymore. It's fast, efficient and sexy. Where else are you going to find that? Plus, I'm 6'4 and 250lbs and I fit just fine. Gene

My personal experience is that in actual flying, WAAS has made little difference. I fly a Baron with a 530/430 both with WAAS and the Mooney above with the G1000 without WAAS. I put the WAAS in the Baron as soon as it became available for the 530/430. I fly about 300 hrs per year, mostly business trips. There is not one trip since I've had the WAAS in the Baron where I can say that the WAAS was a factor in my go/no go decision. I've flown several WAAS approaches to minimums but in every case there was an ILS alternate. I'm pretty sure there'll be ILS approaches for at least another ten years. And at some point in this next ten years everyone who has a panel today, Garmin or otherwise, with or without WAAS, will likely upgrade it to a more modern panel with features, other than WAAS, that are not currently available. So, my experience is, in real flying, WAAS is not an issue. As far as being economically feasible to upgrade the '05 G1000 to WAAS, it costs about the same as installing a new 530/430 WAAS in any other airplane. If it's economically feasible to spend $40,000 on a panel upgrade in a $100,000 airplane then its certainly economically feasible to spend the same about in a $250,000 airplane. My point is that it's just unnecessary.

No! Don't stay away! In fact, buy mine! A 2005 Ovation 2 GX with the G1000/STEC. Brian Kendrick is right now doing the most awesome annual ever and it can be yours for $229k. Wha? No, seriously. http://www.controller.com/listingsdetail/aircraft-for-sale/MOONEY-M20R-OVATION2-GX/2005-MOONEY-M20R-OVATION2-GX/1266877.htm The lack of WAAS is not an issue and not worth the price of the upgrade, in any airplane, ever. Gene

Somebody please buy this beautiful airplane. http://www.controller.com/listingsdetail/aircraft-for-sale/MOONEY-M20R-OVATION2-GX/2005-MOONEY-M20R-OVATION2-GX/1266877.htm

Quote: Jvancecpa Gene, Do you have Gamis or the original injectors?

Quote: Jvancecpa Who did the drilling? My mechanic says that if he was to drill the hole he could get in trouble because it is not authorized by Mooney, blah, blah, blah. Is the hole 1" in diameter and how difficult is it to do? I will pick my plane up on the 30th of November and will fly it back home which will be 4 hours of flight. I will monitor the cht on #5 closely. If I get a large differential in temps, then I will do something and it looks like the pixie hole is the way to go. Thanks for help.

ugh. why is this so difficult?

Crap. I tried to post it from my eyefone. I'll get it up as soon as I get to a real computer.

The four photos were taken yesterday on a flight out of KSMS to KPNS at 8000 ft. OAT on the ground was about 65F. The first picture is full power climb out. The second is cruise at 80F ROP for 182 kts at 18.1 gph. The third is cruise at 50F ROP for 182 kts at 17.1 gph. The last is cruise at 50 LOP for 173 kts at 13.2 gph. In all cases, the CHT on the #5 cylinder was lower than before so I'm happy with the pixie holes. Seems to be an effective solution to a common problem. This was not meant to be a LOP/ROP thread. I run both ways as far as that goes. I rarely need to stretch my range,but when I do, I'll run LOP. Usually, I just run fast and lean to 50 deg or a little more ROP. Normally, I'm at 8000 + so I'm WOT. If I'm lower, I limit the MP to 23" and run ROP, keeping CHT under 380F. That's how I do it and I haven't had a problem with cylinders, ever. Thanks to everyone for the assistance on the pixie fix. Gene Schmidt

I've got a 2.5 hr trip this afternoon. I'll run at different power settings and record temps and TAS. I'll report back.

Quote: KSMooniac (now go educate yourself why 50 ROP is about the hottest setting you can possible run, along with the the highest internal cylinder pressure! There are much better settings.... )

I couldn't get a photo of the hole without taking the cowl off but here's the result. I is definately an improvement and probably good enough. In the photo, I'm at 9000 ft and 50F ROP.

Pixie hole has been drilled per instructions from a helpful member. I haven't seen it yet but I'm leaving for a 3 hr flight tomorrow at 4am. I'll take pictures of the hole and the results. Pictures of pixies are not likely. Gene