jetdriven

Check the winds aloft and the clouds. I prefer the southern route as you don't have to fly as high therefore less headwind. But since you are going from Little Rock, El Paso is too far out of the way. Tucamcari is a nice stop. Holbrook, AZ was an interesting little FBO and will give you a car to go into town.

Swimming pools kill more children than guns in the house or airplanes, yet airplanes and guns are percieved to be more dangerous than pools.

Half of all discretionary spending is the military. http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm I wonder how much we could give back to the people or how much we could lower taxes if we weren't fighting two wars and smothering the planet with our military. Quote: Skywarrior "Given half the federal budget goes to the military, the government got you a pretty good start in life." Actual Percentage of Federal Budget spent on Defense: 15%

I suppose old Herman might be dead if insurance companies could drop him, after all, cancer is a "pre-existing condition." However, he is still wealthy enough to afford his own coverage. he never said what his premiums are, either. Quote: N4352H Any person who beats stage 4 colon and liver cancer and can run for president, deserves a nod. Health Care? He's lived it. Flat Tax? Somebody more charismatic than Steve Forbes has to sell it. His message has kinks, but I hope he ends up being a player.....in any capacity. The Man is a winner.

I suppose old Herman might be dead if insurance companies could drop him, after all, cancer is a "pre-existing condition." However, he is still wealthy enough to afford his own coverage. he never said what his premiums are, either. Quote: N4352H Any person who beats stage 4 colon and liver cancer and can run for president, deserves a nod. Health Care? He's lived it. Flat Tax? Somebody more charismatic than Steve Forbes has to sell it. His message has kinks, but I hope he ends up being a player.....in any capacity. The Man is a winner.

Are all brokers the same?

interestingly its on left base to the airport. Look how close he was.

The idea that lowering regulation or taxes will cause corporations to "take more risk" and "create jobs" is a fallacy. Corporations are sitting more cash than any time in history, 2 Trillion dollars, give or take. Are they "using this to create jobs"? No, they are sitting on it, creating jobs overseas, or buyign their own stock back, perhaps the biggest waste of all. Dont fall for it, folks. http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2011/06/21/a-trillion-in-corporate-cash-will-help-shareholders-create-no-new-jobs/

"In a moment of quiet reflection, they'll concede that the other brand is a broken down piece of crap that never should have gotten loose from the factory." -- Aviation Consumer on the rivalry between Mooney and Bonanza owners, December, 1999. 'Twin Cessna 4344R, be advised traffic at 6 o'clock, 3 miles, a Mooney, overtaking,' said ATC. I could just see the twin driver lower his nose and push the throttles forward." -- Michael Williams, Mooney 252 owner, quoted in Aviation Consumer, 1989. “The Mark 21 has been dived in excess of 330 mph and withstood static tests in excess of six G's without failure as well as withstanding the flutter test at over 200 mph." -- Norman Hoffman, president, Mooney Aircraft, in Flying Magazine, 1961, about the new all-metal M20B (Thanks to Brian Newman, N78898 '65 M20C for this quote) taken from: http://www.mooneyevents.com/quotes.htm

The winds in Houston are L + V the last few days !

We arent the only ones discussing it. http://www.mooney.org.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=68&view=previous

AIM 7-2-3. You cna calibrate an altimeter at a instrument shop but you cannot account for temperature and pressure variables. So the AIM suggests 75 feet as a reference to suspect it as being innacurate. http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim/Chap7/aim0702.html ""3. Note the variation between the known field elevation and the altimeter indication. If this variation is in the order of plus or minus 75 feet, the accuracy of the altimeter is questionable and the problem should be referred to an appropriately rated repair station for evaluation and possible correction.""

Our bag door key and ignition are different, but on the same ring. The latch on ours feels cheesy, it doesnt exactly snap closed. It feels springy even when locked. I can see it vibrating open in flight.

Perhaps the unfamiliarity and uncomfortableness of running a tank dry to extend range is part of the cause of fuel mismanagement? And if it does happen, its an event becuase they dont know how to handle it. Inadvertenlty running a tank dry is different than doing it on purpose. Same with Stalls. The reason we practice stalls, for example is not to stall the airplane, but to recognize the conditions, symptoms, and to deal with the situation and recover from it. One could make a point that doing full stalls in a Mooney is risky, as a spin can cause a crash. But we do them anyway becuase a pilot needs to experience it.

Within +/- 75 feet is legal. The static port is on the rear fuselage.

Jared, that looks different than mine does and I have a J. Come to think of it, I haven't seen this style of latch on any other J either, is it the wrong one for the plane?

That brings up another thing that I always do, switch to fullest tank at top of descent. I try to time it to where it is empty then or nearly so, but switch then anyways to not forget later. I hear you, Ross. I drained my right tank with the gascolator pull on the ground, and it takes 2 Hours to drain out 20 gallons. Forever, really.

I put a used Troll FN-300 in our 1977 J for 100$. FN-200 would be more than enough. New is aroud 250$~~. It blows like a hurricane.

I guess Palmdale didn't work out so well.

You may know you have 8-9 gallons on board, and that is a fine legal VFR reserve. The average C-J Mooney can run for over an hour on that. Without an accurate totalizer add a couple more for margin of error. The problem is that you cannot accurately know how many gallons are in each tank. The fuel guages both indicate empty or nearly so. So, you may guess its 3 gallons in the L and 5 gallons in the R. It might be the opposite, or it might be 2 gallons in the L and 6 in the R. You are now turning downwind with a tank that has 2 gallons in it rather than the 5. Ask Ross how it feels to run a tank dry on short final. Better to do it controlled and at a higher altitude than near thge ground where you are dead. If it was 7 gallons in one tank, then well, you could even make a "prolonged severse sideslip" feeding from the low tank and still be alright. Its called fuel management. Half of all planes that crash from fuel starvation still have fuel on board. Procedures. Training. Proficiency. Confidence. Knowledge.

Jim, glad you enjoy the Mooney. I as a rule will NOT let them tow my J, its a 1000$ repair, and there is no way to get them to admit it. I will just taxi it to where it will rest for the week. In this case, fuel is cheap. The one exception is a Lectro tug, they lift the nose wheel in a bucket and by design, won't turn the nose wheel. I have a J so I cannot comment on climb power settings. Most M20J pilots wil climb full throttle 2700 RPM. This plane is not known for climbing ability and in ours, 2500 RPM cuts the climb by 1/3rd.

Most midair collisions occur at low altitude near VOR's and uncontrolled airports. That said, the more time spent "manuevering" in the airport area is more exposure time, like riding a motorcycle without a helmet. Less is better. Anyways, FWIW, I would monitor CTAF from 15 miles or more out, determine if there is any traffic. Anounce frequently. If only one other plane, or none, make a 5+ mile final, or a base entry. Make yourself known and dont hesitate to query other trafic and coordinate your arrival. This isnt "bucking the pattern", its entering it legally. Netjets and other professional pilots do that as well. If congested, fly to the south at least 5 miles east of the airport (clear of airport traffic) , and set up for a 45 entry. This of course adds 5 or 6 air miels to your trip and 3 minutes, but may be the only way to clear yourself if congested. I have never done a 45 degree entry in a 747. We fly to a lot of uncontrolled fields too. You could make an argument the 45 degree entry itself is a violation, as all turns must be made to the left, and the turn from 45 to downwind is a right turn.

turn coordinator?

i cant believe you got a mechanic to sign that one off. Its not an aircraft, or even automotive, part. Quote: Skybrd My former E model Mooney had a load meter to show electrical current and it was almost worthless. I found an inexpensive digital voltmeter (only about 1.5 inches long) that worked perfectly. It only required hooking up two wires and easy to install. I made a small angle bracket and mounted the meter to it. Then pushed it under a piece of metal near the 6 pack instrument cluster. Martel web site page is http://www.martelmeters.com/products.php?cat=1&action=detail&id=55 best regards to you and your flying.

We just used a 1/4" X 1/2" clevis pin and a small cotter pin. Cost is 1$ each instead of 12$. (X4)