Joe Zuffoletto

Ignorance of the law is no excuse. I learned about the rule for arrivals from the Caribbean or South America during my flight planning process, even though I was flight planning for going to Baja from the US. Also, if he was on a Caribbean Flying Adventures trip, you'd think that someone from CFA would have known about this rule and would have briefed the pilots. Doesn't add up. Still, it's quite sh*tty for the Mexican controllers to clear these planes to land at Cancun, knowing they're in violation of the law, and the treatment they got while there was out of line as well. But that's Mexico. They don't have any tolerance for coloring outside the lines.

Have a great trip! I'm jealous. Los Mochis is an unusual destination. Are you heading up the Copper Canyon?

Maybe a little (5-7 knots), but the primary purpose of the mod is to reduce takeoff roll and increase climb rate. Stock Acclaim redlines at 2,500rpm. The mod replaces the propeller governor and bumps the redline to 2,700rpm. 2,700rpm at cruise is awfully noisy, so I dial it back to 2,400 or 2,500rpm... same as I've always done... so I should get my usual numbers in cruise. However, I'll try it once going all out to see if there's much of a difference. Roberto Tohme posted detailed before and after performance figures a few years ago here on MooneySpace but I can't find them at the moment. His findings supported the premise that the mod is primarily for takeoff and climb performance, not increased cruise speed.

FINALLY flew my Acclaim for the first time after getting the 310hp STC installed last December. All I can say is... WOW! I didn't do any formal testing or timing or measurements, but it definitely pinned me back in my seat more than usual on the takeoff roll, which was noticeably shorter. The climbout was breathtaking. With me, half tanks and 7,100' DA I was leaving the pattern at 2000fpm, and that was 15-20 knots over Vy just so I could see over the nose while in the class D. Once I got out over the prairie I was seeing 2,250fpm at Vy up to about 9,000', then it gradually decreased to "only" 1,800fpm at 13,000'. Too bad Denver Centennial is pinned beneath the Denver Class B. It would be so awesome to be able to climb unrestricted to the flight levels when I head west. I'll have to go make some friends at Denver Approach.

Will definitely try. May/June is when I make my annual Mooney trip to California!

All's well that ends well. Sounds like everything but the wind was in your favor: giant runway, another pilot onboard, etc. I'd say you were probably pretty close to the edge of your Mooney's crosswind envelope, so now you know what it's like. Similar conditions are common at my airport here in Denver. We fly with 5-15 knot gusting crosswinds quite a lot. We have big runways too, and that helps. But anything gusting perpendicular to the runway more than about 15-20 keeps me on the ground.

Bad weather, maintenance and a busy (commercial) travel schedule.

First plane was a 1980 Piper Archer II. Nice starter plane for aircraft ownership. That was in 1999. Couldn't get over the Sierras and Rockies with enough spare altitude for my tastes, so I traded it for a 1998 Encore in 2000. Traded the Encore for a 2008 TN in 2011 to get more speed and range. Love the TN!

Nice Acclaim. Only 2 serial numbers before mine. Hope you get what you want for it... lot of Type S's on Controller right now.

Thanks for the PIREP on MMSD. What a friggin' nightmare! I'll stick with MMSL if I ever fly my Mooney down there again. I hope you have MUCH better luck at MMPR. Are you a member of Bush Pilots International? They would very much appreciate your PIREP on their board. Throw back some tequila and try to have a good time in spite of all this.

How about that! I guess he got his passport situation sorted out, and Mexico will be getting some of his considerable tourist dollars after all! I'm jealous. That flight down the peninsula is AWESOME.

I've heard it's a great film but I watched a couple clips on the interwebs yesterday and couldn't figure out why they had the captain and FO sitting in each other's seats.

Was the guy who cut you off on frequency? If so, he should have been aware of your position and he was indeed rude to cut you off. If not, then you needed to be prepared for anything, which you were. I don't think you did anything wrong, and I certainly don't think you were being rude for practicing approaches when there was other traffic in the pattern.

Great info! Thanks for posting.

This is a real eye-opener for me. We have UH-60's visiting KAPA quite often, plus the normal helo activity, so this will really boost my awareness. Just what I needed to add to my longstanding paranoia about wake turbulence from larger fixed wing aircraft!

Actually Sebastian Romo, the owner of the airport, does set the fees. MMSL is privately owned by him. And he sees all the emails that come through. Part of the problem is that Cabo is a major destination for the Hollywood crowd, so the fees are set with their private jets in mind. Same crapola that happened in KLAS, KSNA, etc. over the past 10-15 years. We small piston guys have been all but priced out of those airports. I'm heading down in early March (on a commercial flight) and I'll try to bend Sebastian's ear about this issue while I'm down there. Maybe I can talk him into implementing a tiered fee structure based on aircraft weight, turbine vs. piston, or whatever. I'm not saying I'll be successful, but I do know the guy and have parked there enough recently that maybe he'll listen.

Mexico has become a lot less welcoming of GA in the past 3-5 years. It's a shame.

OK, just got my quote back from this year. Here is the comparison to 2013; all figures US dollars: February, 2015 Landing: $4.29 Embarking/Disembarking: $2 Parking: $10.56/day Boarding Passenger: $31 Handling: $130 DSM (Immigration Departing Fee): $36.30 DNI (Immigration Arriving Fee): $30.82 DGAC: $133.81 March, 2013: Landing: $5 Embarking/Disembarking: $2.34 Parking: $12.48/day Boarding Passenger: $26 Handling: $83.33 DSM (Immigration Departing Fee): $6.40 DNI (Immigration Arriving Fee): $31.96 DGAC: $76.05 Note that DSM, DNI and DGAC are waived if you have purchased a Multiple Entry Permit for the year. I don't know how much those cost this year. I asked why the handling fee jumped so much but got the typical Mexican non-response: "Some fees have increased since 2013." No duh. They're still giving free pictures. My most recent visit one of them was even framed.

Yes, "$" signifies pesos or dollars in Mexico. Major source of confusion for gringos. "What do you mean, $18 for a beer???"

I never minded paying the handling fee because they don't inspect your luggage and I often mule stuff down there for my vacation home for which I would normally owe duty (e.g., mucho Scotch ). I know the fees have gone up but I didn't realize how much. Also, I thought there was only one FBO at MMSL. Never heard of Manny Aviation Services. Cabo is the most expensive destination on the Peninsula by far. Some guys at Baja Bush Pilots are flying into La Paz and driving down these days.

Here are my fees from March, 2013, in US dollars: Landing: $5 Embarking/Disembarking: $2.34 Parking for one week, including 20% discount: $100 Boarding for one pax (in addition to me): $26 Handling: $83 Total: $217 I just sent them an RFQ for my Mooney for later this spring. I'll post what I get back.

Bruce Jaeger is a great Mooney instructor based out of Wilmar, MN. He trained me in my K and TN models. He's also an expert in engine management.

I'm skeptical it was a drone at 7,000'. There are lots of idiots posting long distance and high altitude drone flights, but I've not seen anyone get above 3,000' on YouTube. Maybe someone has and I missed it. I have a Phantom Vision 2+ and not only is 7,000' beyond the range of the controller, but the battery would die before you could get that high.

M20TN with 310hp conversion. Conversion affects takeoff distance and climb rate, but not cruise speeds. At FL180, 70LOP I see 205KTAS at 14.5gph. At FL180, 50ROP I see 215KTAS at 17.3gph.

I saw that documentary too. It was amazing.