DanM20C

At the time of my accident I know I had 16 gallons in the left tank but the FAA investigator swears I had zero, with no signs of spillage/leakage. @Alan Foxmentioned he has seen that before, just because there wasn't a fire or they don't find fuel doesn't mean he was empty. The NTSB report stated "Carbon monoxide and cyanide testing was not performed." Probably unlikely, but it's my job to throw the possibility of CO out there. I believe CO has been a contributing factor in a lot more accidents than previously thought. It wasn't (isn't?) always tested for, especially in non fatal accidents. I was surprised to see they didn't test this pilot. Your theory of running a tank dry paired with CO could be a plausible scenario. Many CO crashes are preceded by erratic flying that result in loss of control or CFIT. I can imagine being CO impaired and flying relativity straight and level. When the tank runs dry they would be overwhelmed quickly and not be able to handle the situation. The pilot is their own worst enemy when CO impaired. I was lucky I took a nap before I could mess things up. Cheers, Dan

Getting ready for my avionics/panel upgrade and I decided to use the PMA450B's "flightmate" feature in lieu of this AV-17. The Av-17 will give you voice annunciation (Bitchin Betty) for gear, stall, voltage, timer, etc.. If you have EI engine monitoring or instruments it will provide most engine parameter warnings too. This is new, open box. SOLD Cheers, Dan

Stephen, Good luck with your future sailing endeavor! If it were not for airplanes my family and I would be out bobbing around someplace right now. It's something I/we have been thinking about since I was a kid. But I have yet to figure out how to afford to live on a boat and own an airplane at the same time. I came really close to buying a 55' Tayana after I lost my C with my little run in with CO. But I bought a K and am back in the same "boat", I just can't give up the airplane.. Yet.. We will be out there someday. I have had loads of little sailboats and still have a Chysler 22. If your are looking for any first hand advice you should look up Dave and Ruth Taisch in Florida. They lived aboard and cruised for many years and are now Mooney owners. Great people that love to talk sailing, but beware, Dave will try to talk you out of a cat. For those of you not into sailing, catameran vs monohull is debated with more passion than LOP vs ROP. Remember to bring along your CO detector on the boat! Cheers, Dan

I thought all 231's came equipped with a factory fuel flow. Am I mistaken? If I am not you should have a transducer mounted just above the fuel pump, shown above in Paul's diagram. If you don't have one there that is where you should mount this one. Glad you are performing the SB, the diverter valve is a overly complicated fix to a problem that never existed. Cheers, Dan

Mike beat me to it. 800hrs with my old Stec 30 and I never left heading mode, just used GPSS or the bug. My 30 was rock solid in both axis, once I had pitch oscillations and it was fixed with Mike's servo cleaning recommendation. I loved that autopilot, If I were you I would OH the 30. Cheers, Dan

I do that too! Cheers, Dan

I discussed the dangers of clogged vents with a student of mine and the next time we met up he had a clever device that he fabricated. It was just a rubber plunger type thing with a short bit of small hose attached to it. During preflight, with the fuel cap off he presses this thing down over the opening and gently blows into the tube. We experimented with plugging the fuel vent with our finger and the additional resistance when blowing was very apparent. I was going to make one for my self and completely forgot until this thread. I'm off to the hardware store. Cheers, Dan

A few weeks ago the FAA revoked my special issuance medical due to a internal paperwork error at the FAA. It took my AME a few days to get it reinstated. He said the FAA will send a new certificate via certified mail and I will be legal again when I receive it. Knowing how fast the FAA moves I asked if there was another way. A few hours later I received an email from the FAA with my medical attached. They said to print it and use until my new one arrives. It still hasn’t shown up. So I’m sure copies would be accepted as that is essentially what I have now blessed by the feds. In the email they did apologize for their mistake. How many people can say they got an apology from the FAA. Cheers, Dan

Spruce still lists it in stock and has the msds there. But Spruce doesn't provide the msds for Carbon X and I can't find it on thee Arrow Magnoilia's website so I can't compare. Not that it really maters, I like Mach 1 but it sounds like Carbon X is as good or better based on the reviews. I'll give it a shot. Cheers, Dan

I have been using Mach 1 with good results. I see Carbon-X is from the same company. It's nearing time for me to order another jug, anyone know if there is a benefit to Carbon-X over Mach 1? Cheers, Dan

Doctor? that would be nice, if that were the case I would be getting in a Ovation. Unfortunately my K was engine-less when we shot this, the fancy plane is @ThorFlight's J. I hope Lightspeed's production will keep up with the sudden increase in demand! Cheers, Dan

I can't speak for Richard but I think this article was about when and how to speak up to other pilots. Not about the dangers of low passes. Low passes in them self's are not more dangerous than any other takeoff and landing. I'm guessing Richard did a poor job articulating what he and his friend saw, if we were there we may have felt the same. The problem is when a low passe is done to impress, usually with a steep pull up at the end. There are plenty of NTSB reports featuring this maneuver, often with very experienced pilots. I have spoke at several events that Richard has spoke at, as well as been on his podcast. I know plenty of pompous ass's and Richard isn't one of them. I found him to be a very nice and humble guy that truly cares about promoting GA safety. This! cheers, Dan

If it weren't for covid we could have calibrated it this past weekend at the Summit. I have calibration gas that I was intending to bring to Airventure. Too bad we didn't think of it when Scott flew here a few months ago. If you really need it done you can send it to me or back to Sensorcon. Otherwise you can wait until the next time we cross paths, Airventure, Summit, stop in KONA, etc.. Cheers, Dan

Very nice mount! great spot to keep an eye on it and hopefully hear it. Congratulations on the O! For those of you with Sensorcons they are working on a mount that works with their standard clip on the unit itself. I just received a prototype version and it's very nice. Hopefully they will be offering it in the next few months. Cheers, Dan

I love hearing this.. Well not the part about you needing to buy a new muffler. Which CO detector do you have? Cheers, Dan

I have a Guardian as well as a Sensorcon. I think they complement each other nicely. The Guardian is always on, and has an audible alert thought the headset. The Sensorcon is more sensitive allowing you to use it to catch problems well before they are serious problems. Being portable it works as a great troubleshooting tool used to find where the CO is entering the cabin. Cheers, Dan

I misread that and thought you said "owner". For a minute I thought you lost your mind and jumped ship to brand B. I was hoping better for Peter and the Raptor program. But I didn't have high expectations. I could never understand why he would pursue a clean sheet air-frame and power plant together. Either be an aircraft designer/builder or engine designer/builder. Very few (if any) in history has been able to pull both off. At least at a level of complexity like the raptor. Peter has done the impossible getting it this far. It's damn admirable. But I hope he enlists help for the next phase of testing and remains objective without emotion getting in the way. I do have my doubts that the engine will ever be a success. Cheers, Dan

I was given room number 201 at the hotel in Madison for the Mooney Caravan 2018. I thought there must be a mistake as I fly a 231. I entered the room and there was this photo of a 310 on the wall. They are all mixed up at that hotel. -Dan

I think he has the GB/LB, but I could be wrong. The return from the turbo could pose a problem with the left mag depending on how it is routed. Cheers, Dan

An Ercoupe would be a great choice. As noted by @philiplane keep a close eye on the center section for corrosion. A friend of mine just grounded his immaculate 415C because of hidden center section corrosion. It can be fixed but it is a very involved and expensive job. Only the 415C is LSA eligible. Once it is converted to a D it can not be reverted back to a C and be a legal LSA. So when buying you will need to look over the logs carefully. There are a lot of D's out there that are claimed to be C's today. Mine is registered with the FAA as a C but it has been converted to a D, the change is only noted on the data plate and a 337. It's a ridiculous rule. There is a 1320lb gross weight stc for the C that essentially converts it to a D (1400lbs gross) yet retains the LSA qualification. The O-200 is a great match for the Ercoupe, I have one one mine. But the original STC required the airplane to be converted to a D. 415C's with the O200 are rare, but they are out there. Cheers, Dan

I always recommend having it in view at all times and include it in your scan. You can catch a small rise and troubleshoot early. Your symptoms do sound like it could be CO. In a way I hope it is because it's an easy answer to what is going on. Lots of great advice here. I also second having a second SPO2 and a second CO monitor. Both are inexpensive enough to easily justify the extra redundancy. I hope you are feeling better soon and get to the bottom of this. Cheers, Dan

It does seem a bit slow. I too have a merlyn and intercooler, with the original prop I'm 160-165kts at that alt and power settings. When I'm LOP @ 9.0gph I see around 150kts at 9-10K. I follow @jrwilsonon Instagram and he occasionally posts photos of his Aspen, he does have a fast one. For some reason our Mooneys seem to vary 10kts from airplane to airplane. Hopefully you can figure out what is slowing you down, I'd be interested to know what you find. Cheers, Dan

Yes the 540 will display and control the remote lynx. I like clean, simple panel’s and like the idea of going remote. I’m choosing a G5 for my hsi because it’s an inexpensive way to get GPSS and get ahrs for back up. Attitude info for the C41 will still come from my vacuum ai. If I decide to go Dynon down the road I have another plane I could stick the g5 in. If I go gfc500 route I would continue to use the g5. Cheers, Dan

Lance and Paul are spot on with their advice. Some things to consider. The Dynon can't give the C41 attitude info so if you installed a skyview you would still need to retain your AI. If you have a flight director (you probably do), I think you need to keep that front and center to stay legal. But I have seen plenty of installs ignore this so I might be wrong. So waiting for the Dynon autopilot makes sense. In my opinion Dynon doesn't offer much until the autopilot is certified. Cheep adsb solutions like the Tailbeacon are UAT only so you are only good up to 17,999. Even if you intend to only cruise in the mid-teens there will be times you will want/need to go to 18 or above. If it were me, and it sort of is I as I'm in a similar situation. I'm going with an IFD540 with a remote NGT9000 and a G5 for my HSI. I will fly this hopefully for a very long time, until my C41 throws in the towel. When it does I will look at my autopilot options, Dynon will get a hard look if it's certified by then. You didn't mention an engine monitor. If there isn't one that should go to the top of the list, right with the adsb and navigator. The first thing I did with my 231 was install a JPI900. Cheers, Dan

Hi Glen! Glad to see you entering Mooney ownership. We met briefly years ago at some sort of Ercoupe gathering. Possibly Wawsau/Osh 2008. That was the last coupe thing I participated in, If I remember correctly you had that beautiful black and white coupe. If you can't find anyone I could possibly fly with you in a month or so. I really can't get away for the next few weeks. I'm in SE Minnesota, about 2hr(Mooney) 3:45(Ercoupe) away. Cheers, Dan