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Or the aspen mfd could display engine parameters .. that would solve my problem of paying twice for two glass things (JPI and Aspen) when technically just the MFD is all I need to display maps and engine parameters. I dont see engine instrumentation listed as one of their features, however, a press release says they will add that functionality.

I have seen aircraft with handheld gps mounts in the panel that receive power and antenna signals from the panel. Or nowadays there are ipad panel mounts. By the same token, is providing power and sensor input to a garmin g3x MFD also legal? It seems to be a matter of degree. The non-certified MFD is not replacing any required gauges, but its an addition to the panel. If it is indeed legal, then the gdu 375/ g3x is a very affordable MFD compared to the aspen. It can even display engine parameters. I suspect the problem with this approach will lie with interfacing the sensors to the engine etc. since those are not certified / STCed.

Arent most panel rocker switches standard fitting? Or are mooney's switches special and hence $$ ?

You cannot increase average chord without a bigger wing. You just increased chord at the root but not at the tips. Total lift stays the same I would think as a rectangular wing with average chord.

Very informative article and just as complicated !

Yeah thats the whole reason for sweepback in wings .. The velocity component perpendicular to the wing span is reduced to increase the margin from supersonic speeds

Interesting to think that rockets going into space have to be designed especially carefully given the TAS they reach while passing through the atmosphere !! Our mooney speeds pale in comparison.

Holy cow! That's some video! Hopefully that's a test pilot with a parachute on his back

I wasn't trying to instill doubt into the safety of airframes. I just thought that theoretically it was curious that flutter is dependent on TAS and not IAS. Your Mooney will not experience airframe flutter unless you go outside its limits. Having said that - according to your explanation the Tacoma narrows bridge should have never violently oscillated and crashed. It had very strong steel supports. Propellers can also induce flutter although they are very strongly attached and balanced to the engine .. that's why experimental folks prefer to use known engine prop combinations if they value their lives because the airframe engineers on certified aircraft have done the design work of which props are flutter free with which engines. I think you are thinking of flutter as the dictionary would describe it - like you said motion of something that is out of balance. The correct term according to this thread should be resonance. Wikipedia explains a bit of that if you search for resonance.

As I see it - the rocket gives you flexibility - an owner can fly it at ovation speeds and get a better fuel burn ROP. Don't know about LOP operations since rocket hasn't posted those figures. I am comparing Rockets ROP figures with MAPA's test flights in ovations at 50 ROP - no I don't fly at 50 ROP before anyone cries out Or an owner can go WOT and show the headwinds who is boss. Not to mention flexibility with altitude. I never understand the - "I wont fly at xyz altitude" - I had that frame of thinking when I was learning in Cessna 152 - but then that was because the plane could barely climb up to 5000 feet and it was time to come down by the time it made it there. I measure altitude by minutes instead - what percentage of my trip time will be spent in climb versus cruise - and that's where the rocket beats the 252s in my humble opinion - safety factors aside.

Yes I go by the how long can I stay in the plane metric to calculate range. However there have been cases where the north east has been blanketed with low clouds all the way to west Virginia and beyond on my way from boston to new Orleans - but all clear south of there. The tanks would help in having the flexibility of not landing in the weather. However maybe it can be managed with LOP operations - extend range at cost of speed - it certainly wont be comfortable sitting in there for a long time - but it is possible. aviatorweb - I think the motor probably needs a top - looks like almost everyone needs a top at the 1000 hour mark with the continentals. Only a pre-buy will tell the full story though. If the plane is really in San Antonio, then its easy to get Don Maxwell on it I think unless he is booked for a year or something

Can you say why you like the 430 better or in which area e.g. User interface or features etc

That seems to be old news, since its cheaper to add moisture at the patient's bed side rather than in the tanks. Apparently now all tanks just carry pure oxygen with the welding supply oxygen being the most pure. The easiest thing to do seems to be to lease huge cylinders from praxair and refill the portable tanks from those. When the cylinder empties praxair or airgas delivers new filled cylinders. Lease cost is 160 for 5 years ( one data point, varies with region a bit) plus filling cost which is about 25 or so per 300 cu ft bottle.

The FAA says only aviation grade oxygen should be used apparently. I wonder why or maybe the FAA wants to certify god's work ...

I think the other big thing in favor of portables is the ability to recharge it anywhere (most medical places or dive shops etc) .... I think.

I am seeing around 2000 unless you get a carbon fiber tank, then those are good for 15 years apparently. But I am guessing you still need to recertify valves etc in a shorter period. Yes the convenience of not having tubes around is certainly nice .. Not to mention accidentally unplugging somebody by shaking a line loose or something (if thats possible to do)

Now that the problem of a costly tank recertification comes up, I also prefer a portable system

Germs, dirt, pollen hiding in the system

Aah .. so its from UPS. Once upon a time when the lancair ES came out, it was decked out in UPS avionics. It looked so advanced in that cockpit compared to anything flying then and still does in my opinion. I think the cockpit design with sidestick controllers and clean panel was part of NASA's AGATE initiative. And the history of the CX80 is sad indeed. The better product just got killed although for the life of me, i cant figure out why it took garmin till now (gns650) to give us victor airway routing!!

Damn! You guys are a knowledgable bunch! Yeah I found it hard to believe it was TAS too ...

Can the O2 system be retrofitted or can it only be done by the factory?

Interesting. Thanks for the heads up. Did they start having built-in oxygen after a certain model year?

I am hoping for a 50/50 split on this one and no googling please

There is another one with a gear up for less than 100k, however, this one has a much higher useful load. Actually now that I think about it, we always want a break after 2-3 hous of flying .. so maybe the long range tank is not that big a deal .. but it would be nice to have that option. Btw vref prices that aircraft at 99k despite the rocket mod.. its cheap mostly because of the number of hours flown etc, as far as I can tell.

I am looking at a 1979 mooney rocket for sale on controller.com that does not have the long range tanks. Any idea it costs to install those? I am thinking it will be a significant amount because of wing work etc... http://www.controller.com/listingsdetail/aircraft-for-sale/MOONEY-M20K-231/1979-MOONEY-M20K-231/1270275.htm Thanks