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Mike, If you get back into town by Monday morning I have a 91' Bravo that is based at FNL (just recently moved from LMO) you could sit in. Ironically I'm taking it down to David and Jimmy at All American Aircraft Monday as I have purchased a 58P Baron. Sorry I didn't get to you sooner but I don't spend as much time on social sites these days and just stumbled on your post. I think the Bravo is a great bird especially for the western U.S. It pains me to sell mine but I'm willing to pay at the pump for the mission capability and performance. I don't like oxygen masks, or cannulas for that matter, and if you want to take advantage of the real capabilities of a Bravo that's a fact of life for you and your pax. Below 12,500' its faster than the plastic airplanes but the fuel specifics aren't great. I'll p.m. you my number If you want to visit. Best, Brian Postle

I would suggest Dan Garzelloni www.milehighmoney.com. He's a loan broker which i would highly recommend for a couple of reasons: 1. they work with a number of different banks and can shop your loan around (best rate/terms) 2. He will only run your credit once vs. applying at different banks yourself and each running a credit search which could ding your score 3. Alot of banks only look at your monthly income/expenses and don't consider assets. If you're a business owner and reinvest income to grow your business while minimizing income taxes they consider you poor and won't lend. Brokers know and work with banks that are willing to look at your whole financial picture. 4. They get paid to represent you and a good one should and will. As far as minimum loan amount, if i'm not mistaken with alot of lenders its 80,000, some maybe 50,000. I will vouch for Dan, he's a good guy.

You bet. In the bravo you can even speed back to up 165 KIAS once the gear is extended. Is it sloppy airmanship to drop the gear 13 miles out?...not in this case.

Sure. In the case of an approach into Aspen if crossing Red Table at 12,500 you are less than 1000 agl so you can't establish radio contact with the tower until that point, at which often times the tower will clear you for the visual to 15. At this point you are roughly 12 miles from the threshold and over four thousand feet above the airport elevation...which requires a descent rate well in excess of 1000 fpm to be able to make the descent and slow to Vref and execute a normal landing. On most days this would require a rapid power reduction and increase in airspeed to make it. Ideally what I wanted top see was the pilot anticipate this descent and begin to slow and dirty up before/as reaching DBL. I was often surprised too see folks get taken completely by surprise on this one. But that in itself wasn't a bust. If the pilot did get him/herself caught high, I wanted to see him/her come up with a solution other than just chop (rapid power reduction to idle/prop drive engine) and push the nose over to VNE. Tower controllers can be terse and impatient. Often times they have jet traffic coming down the valley and they don't want us little guys getting in the way. What I want to see is the PIC exercise command authority and tell the tower that S-turns, a 360, or maneuvering is required to make the descent at this point. Its basically an admission that 'I screwed up by not planning effectively, but I'm not going to exceed the limitations of my aircraft, so help me out a little'. You may have a tailwind coming off the Mesa, you may find some strong updrafts hindering your ability to descend. It happens. Finding oneself on a one-mile final with a shock cooled engine and too high to make it with a Learjet 2 miles in trail is the scenario I wanted to help them avoid. Because now were in a situation of having to perform a go-around with rapidly rising terrain with an engine we've just abused. Make sense? I once had a guy in a fixed gear 182 on the very same checkout i just described... He big-time forward slipped the airplane almost all the way down, but he made incremental power reductions, never went below 15" MP, caught the profile from above, remembered his GUMPPS, and made a safe landing in the touchdown zone...we taxied to the ramp and shut down and he said "Man I really got hung out to dry there, that was really sloppy wasn't it?" My reply was "I loved it, you Pass, lets go get a hamburger." Brian

I went Aspen with the Lifesaver gyro, lost 10+ pounds (the airplane... but my wallet is lighter too), and eliminated my vacuum system and its associated ADs (significant in the Bravo) entirely. Vacuum systems suck. ha ha For what its worth my Aspen hasn't missed a beat in 18 mos now. My old, low hour, electric standby system is available for sale cheap...somebody paid big $ for that a few short years ago. Brian

I instructed at BDU in the early 90s and taught mountain flying. We required a mandatory mountain checkout for all renters regardless of experience. Shock cooling was one of the reasons for this. I'm not going to bore anyone with the details of some of my experiences with some of these checkouts, especially going into ASE via DBL, but i will say this... The reason for implementing our required mountain checkout regardless of experience was the result of numerous cylinder replacements on our rental aircraft, among other things. So, I'm gonna have to go with Lycoming on this one 100%. If you wanna chop and drop, I would suggest you switch to burning kerosene. On a side, I flew from LMO to C08 and on to ALS today. The colors are amazing right now and the weather today and tomorrow is ideal for enjoyable mountain flying. Cheers. Brian

So, after a sleepless night wondering if my hangers are flooded out or not (I still don't know) I check the Longmont Airport facebook page for information and see this company has found it necessary to make a post there joking about seaplane ratings. LMO is an entirely GA airport full of the most passionate aviators in the world. Such a remark in the midst of a natural disaster I find absolutely unacceptable. If you can't figure out how to do a title and records search on your own maybe you shouldn't be buying an airplane, or perhaps you just don't care. Boo Hiss, Plane Fax, Newport beach, CA

Good to hear John. Sounds like you're doing it right. The 601P is a very sweet airplane...i'm jealous. Post some pics would ya? Brian

True. If you get on the list Avidyne is guaranteeing a $2000 upgrade for current TAS owners for ADS-B in. ADS-B out, which will be required in 2020 at the earliest if I'm not mistaken, will require me only to replace my transponder because I already have a WAAS GPS. I hope sometime before its mandated to upgrade to the GTN750 or IFD540, with a remote transponder, which will free up the extra space needed needed in the panel for the bigger unit compared to my 430W. The Avidyne system will work with the ADS-B in and the active interrogation signals, decipher the inputs and paint one target, as I understand it. That covers all the bases except for non transponder equipped aircraft, and of course the one that didn't get turned on. Most importantly it works when either I and/or the threat aircraft are below radar coverage, which is often the case as I fly in, around and over mountainous terrain constantly, living in Colorado. A passive system can't and won't. How well will ADS-B traffic actually work? When will it be available with full coverage? How reliable will it be?...I'd be interested to know. For my families safety I wasn't willing to wait. I don't think you would be wasting your money investing in a TAS. Its here now and it works. I think with the advent of ADS-B it will just work that much better, not become obsolete. I would bet even with ADS-B the airlines will still be required to keep TCAS. Its just amazing to me this kind of technology is available and affordable for GA. Easily, in my opinion, the biggest safety achievements for GA I've seen in my lifetime. Brian

After an actual fatal midair in close proximity to my home base a year or so ago I decided to make the investment in the TAS-605 active system for my Bravo. At the time I considered it to be the best investment in safety that any potential upgrade could provide. After having it installed for over a year now I will say that sentiment has multiplied tenfold. Last week I had a warning, scanned where the callout said, instantly found a cherokee on a collision course at my altitude, initiated and aggressive avoidance manuever, and averted a very close one. Time after time the system has called out traffic that I may or may not have seen otherwise. Often times when being followed by ATC I'll see a target on my system and wait to see curiously if or when the controller calls it out. I'm sure other companies active systems work well too, i'm not trying to just pimp Avidyne. But I will say now that I won't leave home without it, period. In hindsight I would have installed that system before any of the gee whiz boxes that marginally improve situational awareness and/or decrease workload. That stuff is fun and looks cool, but the active traffic system is effective and will save your bacon. Even without the Aspen to display it on, or even on the 430W, as in my case, I'd put one in and worry about the TV screens later. I feel that strongly about it. Brian

I'll PM it. I'm just afraid the crooked SOB would try to sue me if I posted it for all to see. I don't doubt that this shop treats their own customers fairly, but apparently doesn't play well with others including others MSCs.

The 2nd annual since my purchase of N800MS was recently completed at Arapahoe Aero MSC. I'm pleased to report it was another rather trouble free year. The only single MX downtime I experienced was when my Planepower LW stater blew itself up unexpectedly. Luckily that happened at my home base, LMO, and so i just shoved it back into the hanger and dropped off the keys at Air West, who had the starter replaced the next day, thanks guys. The annual itself again didn't uncover any major discrepancies, and as usual, I told Scott to fix everything period. We elected to overhaul the prop on time in service as a precaution. It was done by Rocky Mountain Propellers, and it was dynamically balanced by Arapahoe Aero. I must say that I was pleasantly suprised with the noticable improvement in vibration. I mean it's almost 'turbine smooth' now...Lovin it. We also replaced the alternator belts and prop deice contact brushes while the prop was off. This was the first big AMU part of the annual. The second big AMU part of the annual still has my "manifold pressure" up a bit. I reported that the fuel pressure indication was erratic at times...and they determined that my fuel pressure transducer was Tango Uniform. They contacted Mooney and were quoted...Are you sitting down???...1,652 AMU for a replacement fuel pressure transducer! Oh yea, and they were six weeks out too. Soooo, we elected to try and find an alternative and we ended up with one. Actually to be fair to my MSC here, I took it upon myself to find it. It came from another MSC which will go unnamed, although i will say I see it Raved about on the site all the time. It was 600 AMU and change. When we recieved it I was told it just wasn't going to work, non TSO'd, whole different animal, etc. So we checked to see if the unnamed MSC would be willing to take it back minus a restocking charge, of course, and I would eat the shipping to boot. Said unnamed MSC would not return emails or phone calls. So to make a long story short we ended up buying the one from Mooney, which somehow magically found one that was ready to ship. The unusable part was returned to unnamed MSC with a note, and again no response. I take full responsibility for that snafu, but Boo Hiss to unnamed MSC. There is no excuse for not being willing to return correspondence to say 'no, I won't give you your money back'. So due to a partially self inflicted hiccup, I now have a fully function fuel pressure guage that all said and done cost...oh forget it, it's shameful. Anyway, I guess it's now fodder for the Beechcraft forum. Anyway, other than the two biggies, just some progressive stuff, hydrostatic O2 test, some gear hardware, some tail tightening, the ever persistent fuel quantity indicators, but it all adds up. I ended spending about 6,900 AMU on this annual, so not bad. I did not include the prop overhaul in that figure as I elected to do it, it wasn't required..and I didn't include the fuel pressure fiasco either, that's just from another world. Every once in a while you just get kicked in the shorts and you gotta take it like a man, that's how I rationalize it. I will say that I'm thrilled with my Bravo. It was a bit of a sleeper when I found it. It had been inactive for a spell, which was well documented... but after 3 consecutive open checkbook MSC annuals I think I've got a real winner, my families little Air Force One if you will. And although we've had clean up a bunch of little stuff, the ship has been incredibly reliable and I've had no big ticket downtime yet. I'm looking forward to seeing a whole lot of country go by at 200kts this summer! I would like to say thanks to Arapahoe Aero. They are in my opinion a first rate shop and a pleasure to deal with. Give them a try, I highly recommend them. Cheers, Brian

There were earlier models before Piper bought them I believe that were non-pressurized too, and substantially cheaper to operate.

I did look over the fact that 'non-pressurized' was part of the parameters...but wouldn't it be nice to get rid off the rubber jungle?.., except for emergencies that is. A nice 601P or a Superstar 700...zoom, zoom! Brian

John, If you still wanna go fast and your thinking big twin, have you looked at a Piper Aerostar?

Good Luck John. If I ever decided to make a move it would likely be to a Baron as well. I flew one quite a bit way back in my instructing days, a Colemill Conversion 55 I belive it was...and Oh baby, what a ride!... It'll look just a sexy struting across the ramp as the Bravo does too! Brian

The thing that has me reflecting and posting on MooneySpace when I should be working is 'Complacency', which has me giving deep thought to how i operate my airplane, and everything else in my life for that matter. here's why...may I digress... My daughter has become a very experienced and accomplished young horsewoman. So much so that all she ever hears from everyone who sees her ride is how great she is. And she truly is gifted and makes it look easy for sure. Lately, ironically, I have been somewhat concerned that this might go to her head...that she may let her guard down a little. Well, guess who got to go to the ER last week because she got kicked by a horse...yep you guessed it. It wasn't the newbie that's still a little afraid of them still, it's the unlikeliest of victims according to conventional wisdom. That's why when I hear terms like 'no-brainer' and 'that only happens to the other guy' I cringe. Luckily the whole experience has me hitting the books again. I'm determined not to get caught with my pants down. I've survived alot of hours without a ding, and will use the experiences of others shared here and elsewhere to try and keep it that way. And yes my daughter will be fine after we straighten her nose and get her a couple new teeth, Thank You. She got lucky, some don't get a second chance. Brian

Shooting an approach in icing conditions is another scenario in which i would certainly consider using some flaps and delaying gear extension to FAF inbound. I'm not 'known ice approved' nor would i consider flying a light single in icing conditions even if I was, but some do.

I agree 100%. In my example that's the main point I was trying to make. If I had descended below pattern altitude on the visual i would have treated it as a go around and gone back to the beginning. But because I was still at or above pattern when the approach was changed on me I left the gear down, which led to my CHTs climbing do to my unplanned tour of north Phoenix. When I did retract the gear I remember putting my chart clip on the glareshield to remind myself I had departed from SOP. In hindsight I would have treated being called off the approach as go-around irrespective of my altitude. It happens. Brian

Also as i recall in my example, the other gotcha was the fact that i was being asked to follow a much slower aircraft in the pattern and found myself in a very high nose up attitude which made it very difficult to see the aircraft I was supposed to follow over the long nose of my M. Which is why i went for the flaps to lower my pitch attitude. It worked very well in fact, but as I turned final with the flaps out (between 10 and 20 degrees i'm guessing) and a 20+ knot headwind it masked the fact that I hadn't re-lowered my gear yet. I did redo my checklist, and double checked again over the fence, and all ended well...but it made me think. To patently say that one should never use any flaps until the gear is down in my opinion doesn't always work. There are instances when the use of "approach flaps" without the gear being down is entirely appropriate...In My Opinion.

Could happen to anyone. The over the fence check should never be ommited. I too would think 'how would you not notice the gears not down, it won't land without it down', but I found myself in just a situation that it could've happened a few months ago... Descending into DVT (deer valley phoenix) approach held me up high for traffic and then dumped me and handed me off to tower in the same radio call. I knew i was gonna be way high so I slowed to 140, extended the gear, and about that time is when approach dumped me and handed me off. The pattern was full and when I finally got thru to tower he cleared me directly to a visual check point over a dam, for a right base for 25L (25R closed). Upon reaching the check point tower instructed me to level at 2600, turn right to fly overhead 25R expect a right 270 over the departure end to enter a left downwind for 25L (airplanes everywhere and my active traffic system squacking away). Somewhere during this time I noticed my CHTs climbing due to high OATs (90F), and around 25" MP to maintain altitude with the gear down (had already opened cowl flaps in anticipation of this but it wasnt enough) so I retracted the gear. About that time tower wedged me into downwind between a 172 and a citabria. He turned me on base to follow the 172 about 3 miles out at 2600', winds 280 @ 20, moderate turbulence, and cleared me to land. At about 1 mi out with partial flaps in and 15" MP I was following the VASI nicely. What now...oh yea, GUMPS...I had already done it once on right base for 25L, but have since retracted the gear...gotcha! Time to do it again (nonstandard) Gear Down? Nope...OOOPS, Now it is...Over the fence...GEAR DOWN, yes, sigh. Uneventful landing. Anyway, I found myself in the scenario that I didn't think existed (pattern full and then some, unfamiliar airport with unfamiliar procedures, strong headwinds on final, moderated turbulence, constant radio chatter...mostly from foriegn pilot trainees I couldn't understand). Everything was happening real fast. That's as close as I Hope I ever get to committing the ultimate sin. I have 6,000 hours In retractable gear airplanes. It can happen to anyone.

No it's very straight forward. The wiring harness runs along the top of the crankcase except for the sump pad wire. The main thing is to follow the instructions carefully regarding the epoxying the sump pad so it remains attached. This time of the year renting a space in a heated hanger for a night to install it and let the epoxy cure properly might be the trick way to go. Brian

Halo's. Had them for a year and love them. My wife loves the fact that she no longer gets a headache from the 'headclamps' as she calls them.

I have the reiff XP system with sump pads installed on both of my airplanes in conjunction with pilotportraits remote cell phone activated controllers. I generally "call my airplane" the night before and when I arrive and start the engine the oil temp immediately indicates 100F plus, the case and cylinders are warm to the touch with no cowl plugs or blankets used. I am very happy with this setup. I used to race open wheel cars called Midgets. The powerplant was a 4-cylinder Ford with aluminum block and heads that we turned as high as 10,000+rpm. The engine builder, Esslinger Engineering, actually hones the blocks in a heated oil tank to account for the distortion of the block at operating temp vs. ambient. if you set the valve lash on the cold engine and then heat it to operating temp, the lash will tighten by .003 to .006 in. That is huge since the recommended lash is .008-.010. We would always preheat and prime the oil pump before starting it per Esslinger's recommendations. I therefore always preheat my airplane engines below 40F. In the event I called my airplane the night before and then subsequently have to scrub due to weather, I will at the least pull the airplane out and due a ground run to circulate the oil in case of any condensation in the case cause by preheating. maybe I'm a little overboard, but that's my SOP.

No worries John. Sorry I missed the replies. It would be nice if MS would email you when a reply is made to a post you've made. Believe it or not I don't check this board daily. Wish I had time to but I don't. Anyway, The Mooney Service and Maintenance Manual, revised 2006, section 4-00-00 - Airworthiness Limitations - Model M20M reads as follows: "4-10-00 - Time limited components; It is recommended that replacement of components should be accomplished not later than the specified period of operation for that component or in accordance with the manufacturers service data or airworthiness directives." "4-10-01 - Replacement Schedule, Item; Check Valve Manifolds, Check Valves and Regulator - Replace Time Limits; 10 Years from the date of maunufacture (date of manufacture encoded in serial number - refer to Parker service literature)." It was of the opinion of my AI after consultation with the Denver FSDO that an airworhtiness limitation in the service and maintenance manual is a mandatory complince issue, same as an AD...end of story. What my AI was willing to do was sign the annual off with an open discrepancy allowing me to operate Day VFR only, since its allowable per the required equipment list in the AFM, provided the instrument panel is placarded as such and an entry is made in the logbook detailing the restriction as well. I flew 800MS to ALS in said conditions where the entire vacuum system is being removed to install an ASPEN1000PFD along with a mid-continent lifesaver gyro. Thats how I remedied the situation, it just moved my avionics upgrade to the front burner thats all. I was just glad there were no other suprises. Brian