kortopates

Perfect then!

You also don't need a handler at San Jose (MMSD) either if you know what your doing. But your probably thinking of Cabo San Lucas (MMSL) which because its a private airport you can't use it without a handler. Since that became the rule a couple decades ago, I have never returned to MMSL, and use San Jose for essentially free. None of these destinations are for a newbee though. A smart newbee would land at La Paz and visit the cape in a rental car!

Where do you live, fly out of? Been into Punta Pescadero many times and stayed Los Barriles multiple times too - used to have friends down there with a house. Lots of fun. The small white general aviation building is next door to the yellow FBO which is the old terminal. Anyway, real prices are not expensive nor getting concerned about. Gas is cheaper in Mexico than the US, except for some private airports like San Felipe. The only expensive fee is the AIU - entrance fee which is good for 6 months which you can make multiple trips into Mexico on one permit after buying it and it cost 2182 pesos as of Jan 1 2024. Join Bajabush and get educated about the process. As an instructor, I take lots of pilots down to San Felipe for the day to get your permit and learn the process crossing the border south and back north, so that you'll feel comfortable doing it on your own. If interested in that, feel free to PM me.

There is no airport tax when you do your own handling. But a lot of those fees are for you to clear in Mexico and I seriously doubt that you'll do that arriving in a C model. More likely you'll clear in San Felipe or Puerta Penasco. Where ever you do clear, you will pays fees in the lower half, the AIU Permit for 2182 and the Immigration fee for a passenger (its free for crew upto 7 days) - for those they are quoting last years prices and they have gone up little. And you'll likely exit further north too and just pay domestic parking rates when there. Bottom line is you don't need any services from the FBO to fly down to Loreto but you do have a fair bit to learn before going down.

Most of those fees are purely for using the FBO. Their fees are ridiculous. Learn to handle yourself or fly commercial. There are only a couple airports where handlers/FBO are not optional and I simply don't use them.

Hope you didn't talk to the FBO versus Operations in the GA terminal. I paid just under a thousand Pesos yesterday when I departed for Loreo, 400 pesos for landing fee and bit more than 500 pesos for parking for about 3 days. But if you use the FBO and they add handling fees expect to pay several hundred more dollars for the handling fees. I avoid FBO's like the plaque since they're super expensive in Mexico, they cater to Jet's with pilots that rely on dispatchers and the Cirrus crowd exactly!

I take pilots all the time to Mexico, usually as a day trip to San Felipe to get their entry permit and go through all the procedures in both directions. Then after having gone thorough the process, the pilot is ready to take their family down without the stress.

Not really, I am sure it's on every page of the STC to make it clear the STC is only valid for that aircraft and is not transferable to anyone else. Nor is it unusual that the STC is good for a lot a different TSIO-360's - as it is for many of the early TSIO-360's without wastegates.

My wife and I love traveling with our Mooney and we're both pilots which really helps. We just got back from spending New Years down in Baja, visiting La Paz and Loreto. Cleared in La Paz and exited out of Loreto. We've flown all over Mexico and Central America - went to Panama last January, and I've been able to go down to San Salvador to give Mooney instruction. And of course flown in the Bahama's which is barely leaving the US since your still talking to US controllers most of the time anyway. And love to fly to Alaska via Canada. Even flown to Cuba back when it was easier. Every country has their own requirements that we must learn and meet, but Ken is right on. Of the all the minor hassles I've been exposed too, which have been very few, the biggest by far have been with our very own CBP. I've seen American's get into some trouble with Mexican authorities for doing stupid stuff they should have know better and for complaining they were some how being ripped off when they weren't. But I've seen first hand the Mexican authorities are far more forgiving with newbie Americans than our CBP folks. The talk about Mexico right now is the changes in the entry permit process. Its a bit more hassle and lots of folks complaining about the changes but a little paper works isn't going to slow us down! BTW, towered airports have just as good security in Mexico as the US, after all they're going by the same ICAO rules everyone is. But its a pretty novel experience to fly into a uncontrolled strip in Baja and park a few meters from your hotel room. Even then, there are few National Guard troops looking after the airport as there is in almost every licensed strip. Order the decal so you have it when you need it. You need the decal number to file your eAPIS. But no need to put it on your plane till you need it. I didn't put my 2024 decal on my till after I landed and was waiting in the customs box for the CBP folks to walk out.

Rosie's restaurant has long since closed or in actuality moved off the airport to the down area but too far of a walk. This may have been even before the pandemic.

I am pretty sure everyone flying a -KB follows this, but you're flying a -GB or -LB.

It says no such thing. The engine is rated for continuous full HP. Full power climb is cooler for the engine but be sure to pitch for Vy+10-20 kts. if the fuel flow is set up properly it will climb cooler that way all the way to the flight levels. you may have been thinking of the TSIO-520 with 5 min limit at full power. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If controls are heavy on landing, then the plane isn’t properly trimmed for hands off at approach speed. Until mastering trim your much more likely to prop strike it and will have very inconsistent landings as you hunt for the proper flare pitch. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well stated with the wisdom and knowledge of experience. But i think the biggest challenge for Mooney stems from the not so distant past when we saw the same issue with the waas upgrades for the G1000’s. A handful of owners pressured and convinced Mooney, while they were still in production mode, to provide the retrofit engineering to upgrade earlier G1000’s to WAAS. But in the end very few owners took advantage of it when Mooney offered the kit and probably more were updated using salvage or used GIA63W’s obtained from sources other than Mooney without allowing Mooney to recoup on their engineering cost. You have to wonder if you were Mooney why you would risk such a poor investment at a time when the factory is likely barely surviving. Seems they can’t really afford to be so altruistic at this time. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He was a big proponent of WD-40 as well. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Some owners go to great lengths to clean their engines before putting in fresh oil. Remember Jose aka originally Piloto? He filled the sump with avgas after draining the oil and swore by it. A half quart of MMO 30 min before oil change sounds pretty conservative in comparison Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Watch out with this. When i attended Continentals school for A&P’s years ago they warned us all not to do this and told a story of an engine that failed in flight because some filter debris got inside the engine and then blocked an oil galley bringing down the plane. They warn that if you really want to puncture an oil filter to drain it, to only do it with the approved Tempest tool and then let it just drain by gravity and never use something like a screwdriver. An engine will keep draining out oil for week or so and you’ll never get all the oil out of the prop and oil cooler. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

LASAR used to offer these exchange and beefed up a bit. Don’t know if the new owners are. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As a very active CFI, I’ve never been a fan of accelerated training for the instrument ticket. The commercial is perfect for it and many experienced pilots can pull off the commercial maneuvers in a weekend. But not an instrument rating in a week or 10 days and learn enough instrument survival skills. Of course people still do it and those that do and are wise enough to treat only as license to learn will probably do fine. But IMO Instrument training shouldn’t be limited to just flying approaches and holds. IMO it’s essential to ensure every one gets lots of actual IMC flown partial panel, in lots of less than VFR weather while learning about weather first hand and is mentored in aeronautical decision making. As an example of the pitfalls of accelerated training, years ago here on Mooneyspace we all learned about a new pilot that purchased a J model then got a 10 day instrument ticket just in time to fly to Jackson Hole for a wedding. He signed up for the training just to be able to make the trip IFR as he figured correctly he would need it. The pilot made a lot bad choices on his return trip that got himself and two of his kids killed exceeding the capabilities of both the plane and pilot. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s a very fine line between compressing the springs to get the required pre-load and fully compressing the springs. I recall the MM calling for 1/4 to 3/8” gap in adjusting the mechanical down stop. That’s a big enough gap that when the limit switch fails it could still fully compress the springs and bow a tube. Because of the geometry, the left tube will be first to bow so you won’t necessarily loose both tubes. plus limit switches don’t necessarily fail completely but may require further throw and pressure to close. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just my opinion but an aluminum glare shield sounds too likely to result in a fatal injury in an off field landing. I wouldn’t want one. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Indeed it happens a lot more than you'd think. But these tubes aren't that hard to source from the factory, same tubes are used by many models and I've been able to get them in 2-6 weeks. In fact I don't think it actually took upto 6 weeks.

they don’t appreciably slow the plane but they make a major improvement in stall handling. One needs to experience it for themselves to really appreciate them. I don’t have them on my plane but have been very impressed by clients planes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Exactly! 150K per person doesn’t go very far these days hence the desire for smooth limits. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

no sub-limits constraint. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk