Geoff

Speaking of out of the box, to generate some cash flow Mooney could go way down market and offer an updated VFR M10 Cadet LSA with a Rotax 912 in it. By updated I mean aluminum tail/wings and carbon fiber/fiberglass fuselage with G3X like avionics. Could be a viable alternative to the beat down piper tomohawks and C152's we all learned in and prove to be more resilient than the current crop of "plastic" LSA's. Might even offer it as a homebuilt with "factory assist" builder programs. Heck, at the right price I might even buy one for my kids to learn on or when I get too old and the FAA threatens my medical! Ahh, a mooney for the golden years...

Congratulations Jolie. This is a great opportunity for the Abassadors and to put a positive perspective on GA. I believe if we all told just one non-pilot one story about how our aircraft improved our lives or our families lives we would generate some much needed good will in the public's mind.

I think Dave is onto something but nothing in GA will get better until we get the pilot population growing again. Here are my ideas: 1. Keep focusing on AOPA's "young eagles" concept as the medium/long term future 2. Outreach to other "powersports" customers who have the inclination and disposable income for flying, i.e. you know those risk taking folks, boaters, motorcyclists, wave runner pilots. 3. Outreach to the RC aircraft folks who obviously like airplanes but can't seem to get off the ground. For Mooney, here are my ideas: Short run, get some cash flow going: 1. Look at the refurb market. Buy up run out M20F/M20J models, throw in a new engine/interior with a standardized basic IFR instrument package (i.e. no customization), repaint in modern style, wrap it with a 1 year factory warranty sell for ~$150k. This could keep the workers skills current, not to mention employed, and generate a modest cashflow. 2. Start offering reasonable prices on upgrades to existing customers, i.e. interior, avionics, etc. 3. Promote club ownership through factory sponsored networking and club formation. Medium/Long term 1. Product evolution. Keep the wings exactly as they are. 2 door fuselage in Carbon fiber with same basic profile, with an eye to potential future pressurization. This does 3 things, first it improves ingress/egress which is a problem for many older/heavier pilots; second, it updates the airframe to the future "composite" technology as well as providing experience for CF use in other components; third, provides a pathway to pressurization. Benefits would be enhanced speed/efficiency in current product line. Updated image for marketing purposes, and greater utility for he mobility challenged. 2. Use lessons learned in #1 to develop small turboprop capability (RR500). Think a Moonified Epic Escape.

Aero Comfort in San Antonio sells a "compass post cover" which is leather with a velcro closure for $26 and if you want one embroidered with your N# its $42.

Got a pic of that AeroComfort cover you could post?

I have them on my K and was talking to the guys at Dugosh who used to work at the factory. I asked why the new models, i.e. Acclaim, didnt have them and his reply was that they found in flight testing that they added no top end speed. I am actually considering removing them when I do a repait. YMMV.

Anyone out there as frustrated as I am about the paint chipping off the center windshield downtube? Does anyone have any suggestions other than repaint? Somewhere a long time ago I saw a velcro cover for that tube but now I can't find it anywhere.

Amelia, I have a GEM 603 with a harness, but no probes I just removed from my 231. Thing is the TIT display doesnt show the numbers, I always used by anolog guage for that anyway. The bar graphs for CHT and EGT are fine and the LF function works fine. Let me know if you are interested. On GAMI, I have been poking around that idea as well. I did the lean test on my last flight and found a 0.9 gph difference between the first and last cylinder to peak. Not horrible but not optimal either. So far I can run LOP without roughness. I talked to the guys at GAMI, who are great, and they said the main benefit of the injectors is to run smooth LOP. I figure if I can run smooth LOP why spend the $? My suggestion is that once you get your engine monitor situation fixed, do the lean test they have on their website to see if you can operate your engine smoothly LOP and go from there. Geoff Reid