leesh

Thanks for that link, kurtsnyder! I ordered one and installed it yesterday in my '67 M20F. It works great! My initial motivation was that the switch fuse was blowing consistently after a few minutes (often on final). My A&P mentioned an LED lamp might prevent the need to change the fuse. I flew it for an hour and a half yesterday evening and the switch didn't blow. Nice to have a lamp I can leave on. Alisha Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free

I'll be interested in any responses. I live in western MA and keep my '67 M20F at Northampton (7B2). I bought my plane last December, and haven't yet had a need to go to an official Mooney A&P yet, but should be doing so soon since I want to have the plane rigged. The closest place I've heard of is AirMods at the Robbinsville, NJ airport. I went down there before I bought my Mooney and the friendly people there took me for a test flight in an M20C they had just so I could get a sense of whether I really wanted a Mooney. They were very helpful, and I have been planning to go there for the rigging, but would be interested in hearing if there are any closer resources. Alisha

Quote: WardHolbrook Don't buy either one of those units until you check out the GNS 5870. We just bought two for our crews and after the first trip we're buying two more. Great units and the bluetooth connectivity works extremely well and we put ours all of the way back in the aft passenger cabin - about 35 feet or so back from the cockpit. (The gps signal is attenuated by the electrical grid in all of the cockpit window glass.) Shop around, we bought ours at amazon.com for a bit less than Sporty's. Together with ForeFlight HD app they make a killer combination. (I love the geo-referenced charts and maps on the ForeFlight app.) The GNS5870 will shutdown automatically after you shut down the iPad. Battery life is around 10 hours. http://sportys.com/PilotShop/product/16133

No need to apologize, Scott. You spoke on my behalf very well. As a pilot, I'd love to be able to honestly say that flying is as safe as driving, but the evidence doesn't support that. If a pilot isn't honest with themselves about the risks, how can they take the proper action to minimize them? Here's an article from Avweb that claims the margin between flying and driving is even greater than what I came up with: http://www.avweb.com/blogs/insider/AVwebInsider_SAFERecommendationsTwo_204629-1.html Fly Safe! Alisha (Leesh) Quote: scottfromiowa Randy, I am going to defend Leesh...whom I do NOT believe (as SHE is a fellow pilot) believes that flying is inherantly dangerous. She simply as I did stated a fact that general aviation is NOT safer than operating an automobile. Period. This is based on statistics that yes can be manipulated. Attitudes are deeply seated and difficult to change...risk avoidance...BEHAVIORS which are observable and measurable CAN more redily be impacted sometimes resulting in the end effect of changing an attitude..."Afraid of flying" (attitude) that may be based on actual experience (learned behavior) or may be the result of seeing every aviation crash chronicled on the various media outlets giving the perception that aviation is INHERANTLY DANGEROUS. Why attack her and state that she believes flying is really dangerous when she merely corrected a wrong statement that GA is "safer" than driving a motor vehicle? Yes we as pilots can practice safe behaviors and "tip" the experience/exposure to accident/injury/fatality in our favor. We do a dis-service by communicating that general aviation is "safer" than driving. It's NOT. Commercial aviation IS. There are many reasons for this. I have successfully modified my wife's attitude toward general aviation flight in my Mooney by practicing safe behavior and consistently erring on the side of caution...safety...avoiding risk. Your experience/success may vary...Leesh, I apologize for speaking on your behalf. Randy, if you find my response offensive I appologize. I welcome PM's that agree or disagree, but will NOT defend/respond any more on this subject.

*(#&^ -- I just spent way too much time responding to George's stats, but when I posted it, everything was gone except the quote. George, your numbers are right for GA, but wrong for auto fatalities. Look at http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx . The fatality rate for autos in 2009 was 1.13 per 100 million miles. Let's say we drive 50 mph avg. That makes it 1.13 per 2 million hours, or a rate of 0.056 per 100,000 hours. Thus GA is 20 times more dangerous at 1.33 deaths per 100,000 hours. The motorcycle fatality rate is 30 times more than autos, so GA is more dangerous than autos, but safer than motorcycles. I recently saw an article that supported these numbers (I believe it was in AOPA or AvWeb, but can't find it). My father flew and owned a Cherokee Six when I was very young. I remember a flight over the Rockies when I was about 13, where the engine cut out. It turned out to be fuel exhaustion in one of the tanks, and it started up again when he switched tanks, but I remember vividly the tension while he went through the checklist (my mother was terrified and praying). Shortly after that flight he sold the plane and bought a motorhome -- never flying again. I don't blame them for that decision with a young family. I got my license 30 years later, and have decided I'm willing to take the risks, but it would be a tougher decision if my kids weren't grown. We don't do any service to ourselves or our passengers by sugarcoating or lying about the risks. Flying is potentially very dangerous. Personally, I don't feel I have the right to make the decision for my passengers. I try to discuss the risks honestly with them, and also explain what I do to try to minimize the risks, but if they don't want to take the risk, I have no right to force them into it. I know it's tough if you love flying but have a significant other who doesn't want to, but you should respect their wishes when it comes to deciding what risks they want to take. Alisha Quote: GeorgePerry I respectfully disagree. Here are some statistics from the national highway safey adimistration and the FAA. In 2009, 34,000 Americans died on US highways. In that same year the U.S. had a population of 307,006,550. Studies show the average American conservatively spends 100+ hours per year in a car. Those numbers equate to a vehicle-based fatality rate of 9.02 deaths per 100,000 hours of driving. During the same year, General Aviation aircraft flew 20,456,000 hours with only 272 Fatalities. That equates to a General Aviation aircraft fatality rate of 1.33 deaths per 100,000 hours of flying. So it’s factually accurate to say travelers are 6.5 times more likely to die in a car than a General Aviation aircraft. Statistics clearly show the most dangerous part of going somewhere in a GA aircraft is getting to the airport in a car.

Quote: GeorgePerry I respectfully disagree. Here are some statistics from the national highway safey adimistration and the FAA. In 2009, 34,000 Americans died on US highways. In that same year the U.S. had a population of 307,006,550. Studies show the average American conservatively spends 100+ hours per year in a car. Those numbers equate to a vehicle-based fatality rate of 9.02 deaths per 100,000 hours of driving. During the same year, General Aviation aircraft flew 20,456,000 hours with only 272 Fatalities. That equates to a General Aviation aircraft fatality rate of 1.33 deaths per 100,000 hours of flying. So it’s factually accurate to say travelers are 6.5 times more likely to die in a car than a General Aviation aircraft. Statistics clearly show the most dangerous part of going somewhere in a GA aircraft is getting to the airport in a car.

Oops! This was my post, not Chris'. This bug is frustrating! Quote: cwright27 I'm not sure I would want to hear my A&P sing. Thanks for the suggestions. That's kind of what I thought, but I wasn't sure.

This has happened to me a couple of times. I've worked with websites like this that are based on 'content management' software (Joomla, Droopal,etc.), and there should be a fix from the vendor. It may be as easy as installing the latest update, but they don't show the credits of what software package they're using for this site.

This last posting was mine, not Chris'. The web admins really need to fix this problem where posters pick up another user's logon. Quote: cwright27

Hi All, I was flying back from Sun 'n Fun yesterday (survived), and when I stopped at Suffolk, VA on the way back to Massachusetts, I noticed that the piece of metal covering the retracting foot step had broken free from the screw at the front and bent backward, doubling over. I don't know if this was aggravated by the Tornado there at SNF. It may have just been a coincidence that it gave out at this time. Has anyone had this problem? If so, how did you replace that sheet metal? Is it necessary to get an A&P and file a 337, or could I simply use the old piece to cut out a replacement? Thanks,

I was there and just got back to Massachusetts yesterday evening. Fortunately my plane survived. The only "possible damage" I had from the event is that when stopping at KSFQ on the way back, I noticed that the little piece of sheet metal covering the retracting foot step on my '67 Mooney had torn loose from the screw at the front and was bent back. However, it could just be a coincidence that it broke off at that time, but it might have been weakened from the storm. I'm going to post a question on the vintage forum for suggestions on fixing that. Our tent was destroyed, and we grabbed what we could and slept in a hotel the night after the storm. I feel fortunate to have made it through unscathed.

I couldn't find any indication in the video or the description, of which GPS source they're using for their iPad. I'm guessing they're only using the internal GPS of the 3G model, but you're absolutely right that the iPad should not be relied on for primary nav. I had my first opportunity to try out the geo-referenced approach plates in ForeFlight with a Bad Elf gps during some practice approaches the other day. My primary nav was the Garmin 430W in my plane, but Foreflight was always right on when compared to the 430. As with any hand-held GPS, the signal can vary significantly depending on the aircraft you're in and the position of the gps receiver in the plane. Apple announced the iPad 2 yesterday, and it's shipping March 11th. It will be interesting to hear reports of whether it does a better job tracking, since the processor is supposedly 2x faster. Alisha Quote: Immelman Also, here's a video someone posted to the AOPA forum exhibiting this:

Quote: gsengle Hi Alisha! Any pictures of your aircraft here? Hope to see you and it on the field again soon

Quote: Mitch Hi Alisha. Posting under someone else's ID has happened to me before too. What seems to be the issue is making sure that your ID is displayed in red in the upper right hand corner of the page.............where it says Logout. If not, just log out and start over. I always enjoy reading your posts too. How did your elevator trim stiffness get resolved? Happy Mooney flying!

Even without a caravan and without a formal event for Mooney pilots, there's no reason we can't set up our own plans to meet up somewhere. If someone here is familiar with the layout of the fly-in, perhaps they could suggest a place to meet.

Good suggestion Hank! I'll have to watch for one I can attend. Alisha

Jeff, I just ordered 'The Claw' for the reason you mentioned. After Anthony's commend about the hard sandy soil I thought the auger style tie-downs might not work well. I don't know how often I'll need to tie down on grass, but decided to make the investment. I would still consider a caravan in if it's allowed. However, I was looking at the NOTAM document that was just posted on the Sun-n-fun site last week, and it apparently involves visual sequencing of planes from a ground station over a nearby lake (don't have the document with me), where they call you out based on description and you acknowledge by rocking your wings. I don't know if that's the same as previously, but if there are a number of mooneys coming in at the same time it might confuse their process unless it's worked out with them ahead of time. Alisha

I get the impression from discussions like this about stall characteristics, that the definition of a 'stall' for purposes of practice are somewhat subjective. I bought a dvd from a Florida flight school about flying the M20C at the time I bought my M20F (it was only $20). They were going through a checkride with a student. When doing the stall, it seemed like as soon as the stall warning went off, the instructor had the student put the nose down and declared it as the stall. That certainly wasn't the experience I had with my instructor when getting my Mooney this past December. The first stall I tried scared the *&)# out of me when the left wing dropped. He then proceeded to show me how it's done and did the very same thing. Of course, I think it was exacerbated by the fact that the rudder was definitely out of rig. But the instructor insisted that we practice it until I could hold it at that mushy point working the rudders back and forth (after the rudder trim had been adjusted somewhat) and then recover from the full stall. I feel better about doing stalls after that, but frankly I'm still somewhat nervous about doing them and it made me more vigilant about making sure I don't accidentally go into a stall. Someday I hope to go through some training on recovery from unusual attitudes (spins, etc) recovery (not in the Mooney) -- just so I'll feel more confident about handling a situation like that. Alisha

Anyone have suggestions for camping at Sun-n-Fun this year? From what I've found, I'm thinking of using the GAC (General Aviation Camping) area. One question I have is whether there are tie down rings or whether I would need to buy some auger style tie down spikes for tying the M20F down on grass. This will be my first Sun-n-Fun experience, so any advice is appreciated. Alisha

I'll be flying my new (to me) Mooney down to Sun N Fun from Massachusetts this year. Can't wait. I haven't been to it previously. If there's a caravan somewhere along the route I'd be interested. Alisha

Quote: flyboy0681 Interesting feedback from everyone. They all have a common thread, how "unreal" the actual feel of the simulator is yet it's good for instrument basics. Does anybody have experience in a Redbird sim?

Quote: Parker_Woodruff Who says you need 15 hours dual prior to solo? If it's the insurance company, that's one thing. But not regulatory. Also, if you want to get in the Mooney, get in the Mooney. Find a Mooney-experienced CFI / CFI-I and go for it. You don't have to fly solo until you feel comfortable!! My landings in the Mooneys are still consistently better than any day in a Cessna. (I'm an 835 hour CFI/ CFI-I with probably 475 hours in Cessnas!). A Mooney is a great instrument platform. I'm down in Texas, but if you need any help with Instrument stuff or just airplane acquisition stuff, shoot me an email.

Wow, it's amazing to see the variety of opinions. Here's one more from someone still getting familiar with the Mooney. I had a 12 yr. hiatus from flying after building 270 hours and in instrument rating in Piper Warriors and C172s. Now in a better situation to fly and own a plane, I jumped back in any got my flight review in a Warrior and then immediately bought an M20F in December. Prior to the trip down to FL from MA to pick up the plane, I had about 3 hours of complex time in an Arrow. My insurance required that I have 15 hrs dual in the Mooney before taking off the training wheels. My instructor went down with me to FL to pick up the plane and I spent the first 9 hrs on the flight back (very strong headwinds and a conservative 24x24 cruise setting), which gave me 3 to/ldgs and a lot of straight & level practice. I got the complex endorsement and sign-off to fly it on my own after another 7 hours with the instructor. Since then I've been able to get in only about 5 hours of solo time due to the weather, and am now just starting to get a refresher on my instrument rating. While I'm getting comfortable with the plane, I feel like I'm still learning and will continue to learn more about this plane for some time. While it's true you don't come in much faster than a 172, it's definitely much less forgiving if you don't keep it right in the numbers. It's much harder to slow down the plane if you're a bit too fast in the pattern or on final. One of the biggest challenges for me is in knowing when to start the descent and start getting the speed down to enter the pattern. In addition, with an additional 30-40kts of cruise speed you have to plan ahead better. I agree with Hank and those who suggest getting the PPL and some time under your belt before jumping into a Mooney. You may also want to check with some insurance companies to see what you would be dealing with if you buy a Mooney. There's a guy at my airport who bought his M20C right after getting his PPL (mostly in C152s) who had to fly 40 hrs with the instructor (insurance requirement) before he could solo it. I would imagine that his rate was pretty high also. I love learning with an instructor, but would have gone nuts if I had to spend 40 hrs. with him before flying the plane on my own. Alisha

Jeff, I'm in western MA and keep my plane at Northampton (7B2). I'm loving the plane. The only problem I found was that the Collins VOR head attached to the 430 wasn't working properly. I'm replacing it with a Garmin head that is better suited for the GPS. Alisha

Jeff, I don't have anywhere near the experience as most of the people who have replied, but my purchase experience was very recent (bought my M20F two months ago). Also, I was in the same boat (airplane)... I could pay cash for a $30k plane and keep my completely debt free status without a mortgage or car loan. I looked at a C very similar to that one but with a bit less time on the engine and SMOH for the same amount. In the end I decided to go for a '67 M20F for $57k with 300 SMOH and a total time of 3100 hours. It also has a new interior and panel redo with a Garmin 430W. I ended up taking out a home equity loan to buy it and am really glad I made that choice. It's a buyers market right now, and my impression was that most planes are selling below the vref price. In my case, vref came out around $73k. However, the "cheap" Mooneys seemed to be selling right at or above vref. My theory is that they may be grabbed up faster since they're affordable to a larger segment of the population. So I figured it would be a better investment to get something a bit better. Just from my limited experience, you won't regret spending a bit more to get the plane you want with the panel you want (much more expensive if you try to upgrade it later) now. Alisha