Skyatty

Dave, weird question for you, does Reveille mean anything to you?

On a related point, if you are flying into an airport where the plane will be on the ground for one or more overnights, do you generally hangar your plane or tie down. North Las Vegas charged me $50 per day for hangar space and so did an FBO at Addison Texas. Fuel was additional. I choose a hangar to safeguard against avionics theft. Paranoia? Is the tie-down rate substantially less than the hangar rate (I admit I didn't check)? Also, is the fee waiver for gas customary but you have to ask to get the waiver?

I'm planning on pursuing the IR this year too. I have started with the ASA IP Trainer and ASA Instrument Flying book. So far seems like a pretty good program. I've been grounded by weather for awhile (such is life in a mountain environment in Utah) so the IP Trainer program lets me fly a little each day and start experiencing some of the IR procedures before I start burning fuel. I found an instructor that seems very competent so I hope to get in the plane and start that work in another 4-6 weeks. Wouldn't this be so much easier if we all had the Redbird full motion flight simulators in the basement?

Outstanding Lee!

First and foremost, my condolences to the families; their losses are particularly hard at this time of year. I look at the weather picture that he faced and the two attempted approaches in those conditions and wish he had made a different decision. AOPA is constantly publishing materials that recommend against the additional attempt at an approach when the initial attempt revealed a below minimums situation. It's just not worth it; divert to your well-planned alternate and figure out another way to get to the final destination. Moreover, a pilot and his passengers' lives are always worth the expense of last minute commercial tickets when the weather makes a safe and shiny arrival too challenging. Merry Christmas to all of you and great wishes for a New Year filled with blue skies and many hours of safe flying.

My '77 M20J is hangered in Salt Lake City where the average temps for November through March are 41, 30, 28, 34 and 41 and the average minimum temperatures over that period are 31, 22, 19, 25 and 31 (and yes, for your people in Texas, those temps reflect Fahrenheit not Celsius). The aircraft does not have an engine heater and the hangar is not heated. What can you tell me about engine heaters versus space heaters or other means of getting the engine ready to fly? How long before takeoff do you need to preheat the engine (I expect it depends on the device being used)? Also, Don Maxwell recommended 15W50 oil for my airplane, should I change grades in the winter (I have an oil change coming up so now would be the time to make the change).

I did my checkout a month ago with Grant ("Roundout") Rubinson and thought he was thorough and great. Also found a great barbecue spot in the process.

There you go Cruiser. Yep, there are a few pictures posted at the top of this chain.

Nice!

Sorry for the delay, but I was in Mexico for a week; Grant, I got your message and I’ll catch up with you shortly. Here are a few pictures of the panel. I didn’t take a photo of the MFD and Ryan 8800 Gold TCAD, but I will try to get one and put it up as well. One of the few things I want to add is a digital fuel gauge that shows remaining fuel. The plane has an EI UBG-16 analyzer that will display fuel flow, but I want to have something reliable that tells me what remains. TRJYMR, the terrain was not too challenging but I spent quite a bit of time before I ever picked up the plan and then again with Grant reviewing the charts to pick the best route to deal with terrain. I could have cut at least an hour off the trip by flying direct, but that would have taken me over the highest part of the Rockies and I was not interested. Also, the route I chose took me over some beautiful terrain that the people cruising at the flight levels can’t enjoy in the same way. That said, there were still times where there was terrain ahead of me that I was not comfortable challenging, particularly since there was a layer of cumulus over me from Santa Fe until shortly crossing into Arizona, which prevented me from moving much higher than 10,500. In those instances, it was a matter of looking for lower terrain and consulting the chart to verify what was on the other side. I think one of the most interesting parts of the trip for me was verifying how relatively accurate the charts are when it comes to terrain. I did some bobbing and weaving and was able to keep good separation. Also, be aware, that it is not just terrain, there is an awful lot of flat ground out West that is not made for landing airplanes. I scanned a lot for places to set down if the need arose and could not imagine that it would have been very good for the underside in most instances. Quite a few dirt roads but having grown up in the desert, I could only imagine what would happen to the fillings in my teeth setting it down at 60+ on some of those roads. As for the desert night flying, I would concur except if you have night experience and there is a full moon. One of my greatest memories is a flight from Tehachapi, California to Burbank under a full moon. Really beautiful and the horizon is not much of a problem then. Hope you make the trip.

Well, I finally took the plunge and bought a J-model. Well cared for and well outfitted with a prebuy by Don Maxwell. I picked up the airplane in Longview, TX on Friday the 6th and did my checkout with Grant Rubinson all around the Dallas area, including a great stop for BBQ in Stephensville, TX. Terrific. Launched out of Addison Airport on the 9th for the flight home to SLC, with stops in Santa Fe, NM and Cedar City, TX. Interesting weather but amazing views of Monument Valley and Lake Powell. Thanks to Parker Woodruff for pointing out the airplane to me originally, Don Maxwell for a very thorough prebuy inspection and excellent training from Grant. By the way, the photos were all taken with an iPhone in some pretty good chop; I was surprised at the quality.

Quote: smitty9006 Again, congratulations on your new Mooney. Are you opposed to saying which one you bought? I am sure I'm not the only one who would like to see it. Thanks.

Parker, yep, it's the one you are thinking of. Thanks for the guidance to it. I will call you about the instruction, but I figure to be in the area several days and will want to get in a few days worth of flying, which could be problematic given your location.

Thanks Mitch.

Don seems to be the guy and will be performing the prebuy for me. Thanks.

Well it looks like I found my Mooney and I will have the prebuy handled by Don Maxwell in Longview. I will be staying in the Allen area and I am looking for a flight instructor near there with expertise in Mooneys. Any recommendations?

Looking at a Mooney located in Oklahoma and need to locate a Mooney mechanic for the prebuy. Don Maxwell has been one recommendation. Any recommendations closer to Oklahoma City?

Quote: LFOD Can you tell us what kind of J model you are looking for? I bet a lot of folks on this board have the inside line on excellent aircraft for sale. No need to pay a broker, you have MooneySpace!