FloridaMan

Then why does it cost the same to drop off a passenger at Boca Raton as it does to stay over night as KLAS, and even more to land at Charleston to divert for weather? I call BS on arbitrary fees for using the field. Recoup it out of fuel prices. If you can't cut it, leave and either the city drops the rent or someone else will come in that can make it work. From what I've seen, it looks more like the big FBO chains are bribing their way in and the politicians are the ones who are profiting, not the municipalities. To put it another way, KFMY keeps the grass mowed, the FBO clean, provides top rate services, free parking for your first three days and charges $4.70/gallon for avgas. How is it that since Sheltair took over KSPG, a field a fraction of the size, there is now a $10 landing fee, fuel has gone up more than $1/gallon ($6.80 last I checked) and that, when I have tried to buy fuel at that premium price to save time, it takes less time for me to fly elsewhere for cheaper fuel than it does for the same line employees who used to meet me at my hangar when I landed with fuel?

What gives a local government the right to grant exclusive control to an FBO at federally funded public use airports? I mean in regards to ramp fees charged on the ramp that wasn't constructed by or paid for by the FBO itself. To me, this is the same thing as a local government leasing a stretch of interstate highway running through their town to a local gas station and allowing them to put up a toll booth. With all of the resources that AOPA has, have they made any effort to address this parasitic practice?

We're thankful too.

It's ridiculous that things cost so much. My first replacement was one that had been repaired. It started to crack within 10 hours and a stop-drill held it until I found a replacement months later. Don't get one that's been repaired. On any parts such as this, while they feel rigid in our hands, they are constantly flexing. The engine flywheel sometimes moves differently from the propellor hub and cracks like to form where stress risers are present (think of a candybar wrapper where it has the jagged edge where you tear the plastic. If that jagged edge wasn't there, it would be very difficult to tear; stress risers are bad news in stressed components). I found my replacement through another Mooneyspace member who had one left over after he did a prop upgrade. It's just that this part is not all that common since most of the M20J's came with McCauley propellors, except for a few early ones that shipped with Hartzell Q-Tip props. The part is supposedly made by Globe and rumor has it that Globe has them sitting on the shelf; now that Mooney is back in business, it might be worth seeing if they can pursue that option. I know that I spent some time on the phone with Mooney during my search and they found an assembly for the McCauley prop with no part number. They sent me a picture for me to identify if it was the right part and still wanted $2000+ for that assembly. That Cheek plate will run you 300-400$ as well. *if* you can find the bulkhead, you may realistically be looking at over $1000 for the used parts and they may still be prone to failure. Another option I considered was replacing the prop with a Top Prop at around $9000 -- something that I might consider if the prop needed a full overhaul and that bulkhead since your prop probably has some value to somebody. Bottom line is that this issue really, really sucked for me. After having been through this ordeal, if my current bulkhead cracks, I will purchase a new spinner from Hartzell.

Also, I've found that one hour before sunrise and one hour after sunset, just as the last and first bits of sunlight start to show up that you are are in IMC even if the skies are clear. The slight amount of light from the last remaining sun is just enough to keep your eyes from adjusting and you won't be able to see shit in front of you. This is especially true when the sun is behind you.

Microburst. That's some carnage there.

I experienced the same issue. I eventually found a bulkhead after looking for months, purchasing repaired ones that later failed and several instances of removing and reinstalling the prop. In hindsight, I would have been better off and it would have been significantly cheaper to have just spent $2500 for the replacement spinner assembly from Hartzell. The new assembly bolts to the hub itself and not the flywheel.

You're in Florida. It will cost you less to fly your airplane every week than it will to not fly it. It sounds like a contact somewhere got a little fuzzy in the humidity. My #2 radio got weak and died on me once. Simply removing and plugging it back in fixed it. (for your 530, there is a tiny hole dead center at the bottom, a long allen wrench [i cannot remember the size] fits it) I'd also verify that your alternator(s) is/are working. I had a lead to my regulator break on my alternator and I had the weirdest electrical issues as symptoms.

80 here. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I put 52 hours on my M20F last month.

Aerox is the way to go. I bought the 22cf "2M" kit so I don't have to refill it often and it was at the point just before diminishing returns on price. It's a big tank to carry, doesn't weigh much and is stocky so it stands up on its base easily. Also, add it to your cart from the Spruce website. It's a lot cheaper than the price listed on the page. http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/aeroxsys.php

Same in my F. The LoPresti ram air adds between 1" and 2"

Nevermind. Just saw that you're using a JPI. I guess reading is fundamental.

We lost a guy in the next row of hangars; he'd wave at me every time he taxied by and had probably done countless banner pickups. http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2014/09/donald-thomasson-pilot-remembered-as.html I saw the plane on the ramp after they dragged it out of the water; it looks like he went in nose-first in a stall.

While we're on it, this one shares experiences in similar weather, in Germany, butin a different aircraft: http://www.wingsoverkansas.com/alford/a980/

Compared to the $8,000+ price tags I remember just two years ago, competition has brought the prices down. It's still too much money for what they are. I'm pretty sure I could build a one-off for less than that if I didn't pay myself. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am leaning (no pun intended) towards the EI instrument. Another thing is that, in spite of one of my professional roles being a data architect, I do not like having to read numbers that change frequently. Interpreting numeric values is fatiguing when they change frequently; I prefer things to be stable like a clock face as opposed to a numeric RPM that is constantly changing.

It looks like it's time that I upgrade to something better than my 50 year old instruments. I was surprised to see how inexpensive full STC replacement engine instruments have become with JPI and Electronics International both offering monitors that replace all instruments in the $3500 range with the EDM 900 Primary and the Electronics International CGR-30P. The Insight 4G also appears to offer a number of additional features, such as vibration monitoring, but is only TSO'd to replace factory EGT/CHT instruments. The EI user interface looks to be the most attractive of the three. The Insight feature list, with EGT graphs for noting cyclical high EGTs, seems to be more comprehensive and possibly more useful, but the reviews of the Insight GEM claim that the instrument doesn't work as well as advertised (one has to wonder, given JPI's reputation for slamming the competition, if the reviews are genuine). The word on the street is that JPI has the best and most reliable probes. Here's what I gather from marketing materials and reviews on each. All are in the same price range: JPI: Pros: Reputable for product quality and probe reliability. TSO replacement for all engine instruments Cons: Also reputable for aggressive marketing, so I take the pros with a grain of salt. Smallest feature list of the engine monitors EI: Pros: Most attractive user interface, feature list, TSO replacement for all engine instruments. Cons: Unknown reliability. Insight: Pros: Strongest feature list, with vibration monitoring and the ability to see graphs of historical EGTs, et cetera. Cons: User interface looks like it was designed by a programmer. Reviews on aircraft spruce claim reliability issues (I have to take this with caution, given the claims that JPI's competition makes about JPI being unscrupulous about commenting on the quality of others' products)

I use the clock method for crosswind computations. For landing, I just slip and it's a non-issue; if it's really windy and gusty, carry some speed and go half or less flaps, though I always use full flaps. Think of the wind angle like a clock face. At 60 degrees, it's just about 100% crosswind. At 30 degrees, it's about half.

I'd be concerned with an airplane that needed all of that. These are the items that you're aware of and it seems the plane may have had other items neglected as well. Airplanes don't like to sit and if the pucks and tanks have dried out, I'd be concerned about the electronics and avionics as well as the engine internals being in similar condition.

FL to NC is 8-9k for me as well. I seem to see 11gph total, which makes sense with the initial climb.

I know some of you guys fly higher than the 8-10,000 ft that I usually x/c at. What sort of efficiency and speed do you guys get up high? Is it worth getting O2 and going up above 14,000 for long trips? I've occasionally pushed up to 13,500 for weather and noticed that my Mooney has no trouble getting up that high with just me in it, though I can certainly feel the effects of the altitude.

I do mine with an aerobatics guy who has thousands of Mooney hours. He makes me accelerate the yoke to my lap and has me do stalls at full power around 4500 AGL/MSL (FL, so it's about the same). He demonstrated holding the stall in a falling leaf with full power and keeping it right-side up while using the rudder. It reminded me of those skilled kayak guys. I still won't stall mine without someone who's qualified to recover with me even though I've never experienced anything out of the ordinary.

It'll fit snugly.