carqwik

Gills only lasted 2 years max...switch to the Concordes with the right BatteryMinder and you'll get five years.

Wow...good thing no one was fueling at that time. Imagine sitting in the restaurant there watching this unfold...yikes! Glad all are ok.

Having flown the 201,205, 231, 252...and now owning a M20M, I'd say yes. Not hard to land, just different enough from the others that transition training is likely a good idea.

Like others above said, get the transition training. Very non-tolerant of excess speed on landing...

Does the 375 do VNAV descents? My understanding is that it can't be programmed as such (unlike its big brothers the -650/7500) but I could live without it as long as it has a similar function to the KLN-94 which can be set up for a single VNAV point. Does it offer that?

All I want is for Garmin to produce a box so the G5 can talk to the KFC150 - so I can eliminate the vacuum system and the KI256.

In 18 years of ownership - other than the mandatory crank exchange for some - the biggest issues which required dollars are the following: Exhaust system rebuild Speed brakes overhaul Battery replacement x 2 (every 4-5 years) Certain gauges need work/overhaul Electric boost pump rebuild Prop governor overhaul Prop overhaul Strobe light replacement Alternator replace Starter replace O2 tank replace (15 year life, 5 year hydrostatic inspections) O2 regulator rebuild etc etc. Keep in mind this is over a 18 year period and doesn't include overhaul of the KI-256 (twice) and some fixes to some other instruments/radios from time to time. So likely this is typical for most owners. The turbo system has been pretty reliable but the V-band clamp has to be replaced after 3 times removed/reinstalled. And oil/filter changes are pretty much mandatory after 25 hours. BTW, mine's a 1998, the last built before the switch to the Moritz gauges. No TKS so can't help there.

The second video is kind of scary...do the pitch oscillations get worse at higher altitudes?

252 - Continental 360 Bravo - Lycoming 540 Bravo is a wee bit more demanding to fly (IMHO) than the 252 but depending on who you ask also 10-20 kts faster. I've flown them both - and both are great planes.

Not all airplanes of the same model with the same engines will fly at identical speeds. At least that's what I discovered in the late 1980s when there were about 7 different 252s available for rent at a few airports in SoCal. Each one (and I flew all of them at one point) - and using the same MP/RPM settings in all - flew at different IAS roughly +/-5 kts or so. The fastest was 252YX (totally loaded - sweet airplane but someone wrecked it years later) and the slowest IIRC was 252A (which lacked built in O2 and only had a single alternator). Other tail numbers in that pool included 252MC, 252NM, 252YA, 252ZA, and 252Y.

You, your wife, and bags + full fuel is pretty much gross weight in a Bravo. That said, I've done DVT (Phoenix) to PTK in two stops in the Bravo. I think it was 8.5 hour total eastbound..not great tailwinds as I remember.

Matrix - All the comfort of the PA46 except for the pressurization. If FL flying is required, skip it. But if that's not a criteria, it's super comfy, and climbs better that the pressurized version due to lower weight. My doc buddy had one before selling that and getting a early model P46T. After a $24k windshield, $30k annuals, and $2k for a single battery, he sold that and quit flying. He couldn't afford the maintenance (unless he ditched his wife which he ended up doing five years later anyways), and said he couldn't go back to a piston after flying a turbine.

Simple calc on the Bravo: 20/gph. With one hour reserve, leaves 70 gals useful. 3.5 hours. You'll never worry no matter how inaccurate the fuel gauges are (as long as you visually verified it's full to the bottom of the fuel neck.) Yes you can squeeze in about 5 more gal/side...even without the notch. But that takes time for the last few gallons.

Long article but basically concludes (correctly IMHO) that this was pilot suicide. Definitely worth reading. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/07/mh370-malaysia-airlines/590653/

Same as Danb