Joe Zuffoletto

Funny, I rode right seat in FlyDave's Bravo over the weekend and was thinking the exact same thing.

I successfully fired off a text at FL220 over Ely, Nevada. I also received a phone call once at FL180 somewhere out west.

Well, you thanked us in advance for advice good and bad, so I'll chime in with some bad advice: Come on up to Denver and go for a ride in my Acclaim. Then you'll divorce your wife, mortgage your house, and get deeper into Mooney ownership than you ever dreamed.

+2! I really like trip reports with nice photos and narration. I try to contribute when I can. I also like carusoam's disclaimer: "PPL, not a <whatever>"

I've been making one or two trips annually from Denver to Petaluma (northern CA), but that will soon end when I move the Acclaim to Petaluma next month. I've also made several trips from Denver to Cabo over the years and I look forward to making that trip down the West Coast in the future.

I posted this once before, but I think it's pretty cool so I'll post it again. I've read the book and highly recommend it to anyone in the Mooney community. In the early pages of this book Al mentions that he was born at 1223 S. Lincoln Street in Denver. That's about 15 minutes from my house, so I drove over to take a look. Sure enough, the old house is still there. The weather was lousy that day so I didn't take a picture, but here's a picture from Google Street View: BTW, I'm proud to be a third-generation Denver native, which is pretty unusual. Al was born here in 1906 and my grandmother was born here in 1908. The house she was born in also still stands.

I flew a TB-20 for years and although I liked it, I would never go back to one after owning two Mooneys. My annuals run between about $4,200 and $6,000 US, depending on squawks and the need for periodic items like transponder tests, IFR certs, etc. I fly between FL180 and FL210. Whether ROP or LOP I use 28" and 2,400rpm. ROP I see 210KTAS at 18.5gph. LOP I see 200KTAS at 14.5gph. My Acclaim is by far the most awesome traveling machine I have ever owned!

Awesome and congratulations! Where in Brazil are you?

Thanks, Jolie! Never been to SnF. Maybe next year.

Wow, she's amazing. We need a LOT more like her.

A great honor for a great man and a champion of Mooneys: http://www.wctrib.com/news/business/4248815-jaeger-chosen-aviation-hall-fame Congratulations, Bruce!

I'd sure like to make the Harris Ranch trip. I used to grab a steak there every couple of years when I lived in the Bay Area. Fun fly in and great steaks... what's not to like? But May 6th is my birthday and my stepson is giving me an awesome present: He's graduating from college that day! He attends the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, which shares the Harris Ranch stench. Lots of feed lots. No great steak houses, though.

I had a phenomenal steak in Buenos Aires back in 1994 but can't remember the name of the restaurant. Which one do you recommend? Might be the same one.

My longtime tenant sold his Mooney to buy a twin and my hangar's not big enough for that, so it's now available. Would love to see another Mooney move in! It's a Port-a-Port T-hangar. Good location on the east ramp, just south of the tower. Faces east so no snow or ice issues most of the time. Sorry, no heat or power.$450/month, available immediately.

52. PPL at 21. Mooney owner since 2000.

When descending into Northern CA from the east, I shoot for 500fpm. When descending into Denver from the west it's whatever ATC gives me, and it's often quite steep, sometimes up to 2000fpm crossing the Front Range.

Canada and the US are apples and oranges when it comes to traffic volumes, but I'd be curious to hear from those who've flown extensively in both systems about which one is "better." I've only flown to Canada once, but it was way back in 2000 and only to one airport (Victoria, BC).

I've been very lucky with my airplane purchases, and I chalk it up to a serious buyer meeting a serious seller in every case. I found my first plane, a Piper Archer II, posted on the bulletin board at an airport near my home. Closed in less than 30 days, and even got a hangar out of the deal. Traded that plane one year later for my Mooney Encore. Found the Encore on the Internet; I was in San Francisco and the airplane was in Minneapolis. Worked out a trade and rolled the Encore into my hangar in less than 30 days. Traded the Encore for my Acclaim. Negotiated directly with the seller and we worked out a trade in about a half hour. As the OP said, experimentals are different. I spent about two years looking at a lot of clunky RV-8s before I found the one I bought. However, once I found the one I bought, the seller and I made a deal within 2 weeks.

Back in 2009 I went on a tandem hang glider ride in Rio de Janeiro. Upon meeting the pilot, who was about my age and about 150 lbs., he became concerned about my weight, which was 220 lbs. at the time. He asked me more than once on the drive up to the launch area if I would be able to sprint for the takeoff. I assured him I could, but at the launch site he harnessed us up and we made a couple practice runs across the parking lot before he was satisfied we could do it. We launched off a downward-sloping ramp into a 2,600' abyss. Once the wing filled with air, the pilot sighed with relief and told me that some days it's better to be the passenger than the pilot. We soared over the coastal jungle, then over houses, and finally over high-rise hotels before landing softly on the beach 15 minutes later. I checked my watch and complained that he advertised the flight to be at least 20 minutes. He said, "Lose 20 kilos and then we'll go for 20 minutes." Despite that humiliation I count it as one of the best flying experiences of my life. Nothing beats soaring like a bird, with only the sound of the wind in your ears.

No doubt! I had a close call with a hang glider at 14,000' MSL near Gorman years ago. Scared the s**t out of me. Those wingovers and spins look fun but I'd probably hurl....

4 weeks! Holy cow! I just got my Acclaim back from annual last Friday. No repairs, took 10 days. 10-14 days is typical.

Names and addresses are valuable to identity thieves as well.

Actually makes sense to do this when traveling, and I do. When someone finds your home address in the seat pocket of an airliner they instantly know that you're away from home and may try to coordinate a burglary of your property.

My beautiful Mooney and I made the cover of MAPA Log this month! My thanks to Trey Hughes, et. al, for the honor!