Joe Zuffoletto

Yes, they do. It's not so unusual these days I've noticed.

Mooney Aircraft is cautiously optimistic as it prepares to resume production. Faced with excess inventory at the onset of the economic downturn, Mooney halted production in November 2008 and furloughed all but 60 of its employees. Mooney is now taking deposits on 2014 models, providing some indication the manufacturer expects there will be enough demand to warrant restarting production by the end of this year. (The above was plagiarized and slightly modified from this source. My apologies to the original author. But I wanted this APRIL FOOLS joke to sound plausible so I stole it.)

I use Microsoft FSX along with Flight 1's G1000 simulator to familiarize myself with unfamiliar approaches and to stay sharp on G1000 ops. Can't log any of it but it really has improved my G1000 proficiency. I also use the CH Products yoke and throttle quadrant. Never bothered with rudder pedals because they never felt realistic in FSX. One of the flying clubs at my airport has a G1000 Redbird that I'm going to go see this week.

Aviation Consumer's Used Aircraft Guide is seeking feedback on Mooney Ovations. According to their solicitation: ------------------- For the June 2013 issue of Aviation Consumer, our Used Aircraft Guide will be on the Mooney Ovation, the big-bore, normally-aspirated speedster from the land of Texas. We want to hear from owners and users about what it's like to fly and own these planes, how much they cost to operate, maintain and insure. If you'd like your airplane to appear in the magazine, send us any photographs you'd care to share. We accept digital photos e-mailed to the address below. We welcome information on mods, support organizations or any other pertinent comments. Please send correspondence on the Mooney Ovation by May 1, 2013, to: ConsumerEditor@hotmail.com ------------------- Edit: The due date is May 1, as confirmed by Aviation Consumer.

I'm still trying to figure it out myself! I use an NFlightcam+ mounted to the steel tubing above the compass. You can see the camera and accessories at http://nflightcam.com/. I use the XL Bar Mount to clamp it to the tube. The camera generates a series of 30-minute clips (MOV files) that I copy to my computer and stitch together in QuickTime. Then I use Final Cut Pro X on the Mac to speed up the flight 20x. You can refer to this post to learn more about the trials and tribulations I've had with my setup. Good luck!

Here's the only video that came out from my recent trip from Denver to Cabo: The first leg from Denver to El Paso, TX. Here's the flight track: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N3833T/history/20130314/1300Z/KAPA/KELP

Ran the legs through ForeFlight under current conditions. These numbers are for my Acclaim at 19,000' and 190KTAS, running 50LOP (15gph): KAPA-KLRD: 770nm; 3h50m; 58gal (10kt tailwind) KLRD-MMVR: 535nm; 2h45m; 41gal (5kt tailwind) MMVR-MGGT: 425nm; 2h09m; 32gal (7kt tailwind) Total: 1730nm; 8h44m; 131gal

+1

Did a little poking around in JeppView and a good route from Denver appears to be KAPA-KLRD-MMVR-MGGT (Denver Centennial - Laredo, TX - Veracruz, MX - Guatemala City).

Oscar, I'm in!

Thanks, Jared. I do format the card before each trip and also start with freshly charged batteries. All good advice. Like you, I think I'll ditch the iPhone app. It LIES!

I think this is the right line of thinking. Either there is a voltage/amperage mismatch, or it could be as simple as a loose connection causing power to be lost intermittently as the plane vibrates in flight.

I typically fly long cross countries - 2.5 hours or more per leg. All I want to do is to film each flight in its entirety - takeoff to touchdown - for later reference and entertainment. A camera mounted on the steel tubing above my compass, looking down over the nose, is the vantage point I want. I've experimented with every model of the GoPro (including the latest Hero3 Black Edition) and the NFlightcam+. I like the NFlightcam because it really does minimize the prop effect in most conditions, which the GoPro does not. It's also much easier to mount. According to Contour (the makers of the camera) and NFlightcam (the outfit that adds the lens that reduces prop effect), I should be able to film indefinitely (or until my memory card fills up) with the camera plugged into ship power, so I bought the Contour car adapter for this purpose. 4 trips later I have encountered mostly failure, with the exception of my most recent Denver-El Paso leg, which filmed flawlessly. On every other occasion either the camera doesn't start, or it starts and then prematurely quits. I just can't figure out why. Before my most recent trip to Cabo, I did a lot of experimenting at home and discovered that if I installed a fresh battery, then started the camera on battery power before plugging in the car charger a couple minutes later, everything seemed to work fine. I made 3 different 3-hour movies with no problems. However, after filming the battery would be almost totally discharged and I couldn't make another movie until recharging it. I thought the car charger would keep the battery charged but apparently not. So I ordered a second battery so I would have both legs of my trip covered. Leaving Denver, I started the camera shortly after takeoff on battery power only. Once I determined filming had begun, I plugged in the car charger. The rest of the trip to El Paso filmed flawlessly. Before leaving El Paso, I switched to the second battery (fully charged), started the camera on battery power once in position on the runway, then plugged in the car charger after getting safely established in my climb after takeoff. Everything seemed to be working OK. After landing in Cabo I discovered that I had filmed... absolutely nothing. The camera apparently never started, even though their iPhone app indicated it was filming the entire trip. This can't be this difficult. Maybe there's something wrong with the power plug in my aircraft. I guess I'll try to test that next. Meanwhile, has anyone else had consistent success filming 2+ hour flights with the NFlightcam+?

Believe it or not, there were airports within gliding distance the whole way, including Montrose, Gunnison, Buena Vista and Leadville. Go to FlightAware and check my track overlaid on the sectional and you'll see what I mean. I usually depart the LA Basin VFR to save time and then get a popup IFR clearance to Denver once out of the congested airspace. I prefer to cross the Rockies in the 20's but the winds in the flight levels yesterday sucked. Hence 17,500.'

Nothing fancy here... just a couple iPhone clips stitched together from my final leg home from Cabo yesterday. Clear, smooth day over the Rockies on a sunny Spring afternoon. And a quick reminder to Oscar of what snow looks like.

Nice work, Oscar. I agree with Pirate!

Hello from Cabo, everyone! First time I've been able to get online since arriving here the other day. Did FlightAware show my progress on the leg from El Paso to Cabo? I wasn't sure if that leg would show, even though I was on an IFR flight plan. Lucked out with favorable winds, clear skies and a smooth ride the entire way. Hopefully the in-flight video camera worked and I'll be able to post some vids when I get back.

I'm going to bed now, have to get up early tomorrow for a flight to Cabo. I appreciate your comments... go to www.zuffoletto.com for more pix of the plane, including a couple interior pix.

New Jersey and its neighbors were great places to fly. Although I'm a Westerner at heart, I very much enjoyed the two years I flew back East. Thanks to you all for your comments. Here's what I look like today. Still love Mooneys!

No, I got my PPL at San Diego Montgomery (KMYF) in 1985. While at Princeton I flew out of Trenton-Robbinsville (N87), which is where the Princeton Flying Club kept their aircraft.

This is me at Bader Field in Atlantic City, NJ, on May 9th, 1987. I was a senior at Princeton and this plane was in our flying club. I was the only member checked out in Mooneys so I had her to myself my entire senior year. Anyone here on MooneySpace own this bird? She was a beauty and hooked me on Mooneys forever.

He was Clarence's copilot.

Have a great trip! Have you flown to Baja before? BBP are having their Whales '13 trip with everyone arriving in Lareto the same day I'm flying to Cabo. They have 50 planes heading down there. The sky over Baja will be filled with gringos that day!

I have. MMSL works better for me for a number of reasons, but I appreciate your post.

Time for my second annual flight to Cabo. Departing on Thursday. The trip is planned, paperwork's in order, EAPIS manifests submitted... all that's left to do is fly. Can't wait! I'm pretty excited that my wife summoned the courage to join me this year. She's modeling her brand new life vest as we speak. Unlike last year, where I did a KAPA-KELP-MMSL round trip, this time I'm returning via Southern California, where I plan to spend some time with my folks before returning to Denver. Very much looking forward to the flight from Cabo to Brown Field in San Diego... right up the spine of the Baja Peninsula. So the entire trip routing will be: KAPA-KELP-MMSL-KSDM-KSNA-KAPA. Weather forecasts look excellent so it should be a great flight.