FlyFstr

The February 2011 Aviation Consumer just published a review of the Monroy ATD-300, Zaon and others. In summary, they liked the Zaon with a Garmin best. They liked the display of the Monroy ATD 300 "but were less impressed with the units performance." I suggest that you visit thier website for more information about why the performance was not as good as it could be.

Daniel, thanks for sharing that story.

Take a look at the Socata Trinidad and see if that's what you observed. http://www.aso.com/listings/spec/ViewAd.aspx?id=132859&listingType=true&IsInternal=True&dealerid=

Quote: scottfromiowa That's a raccoon, my friend...

Sleeping....forgot to ask. Whats up with that possum in your pick?

Sleepingsquirrel that was really fun to read! Please keep us informed. I forecast that your wife will settle down a bit and enjoy the stupid things "us guys" rationalize to justify our self serving desires. Heck, we could die tommorow. Save for tommorow but enjoy it now.

DaV8or makes a good point withthe wind playing a role. I had an airplane with a trim issue (it felt stuck) that only manifested itself while in flight. On the ground with no wind, it was no problem. My A&P/IA figured it out quickly. In my case it turned out to be a simple lubrication fix on the linkage (but it was a Beechcraft, not Mooney). Please let us know how this issue was resolved.

That is a beautiful airplane and a beautiful family! Best wishes for many safe and enjoyable traveling adventures without having to have the TSA throw out the baby bottles.

I'm pretty sure (99%) that Eagle was for sale for a quite while by a small dealer in Vero Beach. FL with ~760 hours on it. I made a visit and observed evidence of a fuel tank leak (right tank if I recall) and also found out there were repairs to the tail ( I think the tail may have hit from a hand landing) . I suspect that this bird probably sold for about $160-165K, then flew not too many hours, went back on the market and the price jumped. I have to I wonder why the new owner flew so little and is asking so much more than the guy that sold it to him? If, so there is nothing wrong with making a good profit, and in spite of a few concerns, it was a pretty Eagle.

My suggestion is to buy an airplane that has most or all of the avionics you'll need for IFR flying. Then get your instrument rating. Then use it. VFR has too many limitations for cross country flying. Consider your mission profile for the majority of your flights and purchase the airplane that fits your mission profile. I loved flying a turbo (in the past) but IMO you don't need a turbo if most of your flights are at 8000 ft. And you will never need TKS as a VFR pilot unless you are looking to break the rules (and endanger yourself and others). You'll find that on board weather information is very important while IMC and/or on an IFR FP. Lastly, if you fly in high traffic areas I strongly recommend traffic information (TIS or other).