FloridaMan

I've written software that computes the total travel time and selects the nearest winds aloft across multiple points in the trip. I guess I should go ahead and publish it.

That was the first mooney I touched the controls in, thanks to Parker. Sent from my iPhone while intoxicated via Tapatalk

Where are you located? Chances are there is someone in the area who will introduce you. You should be able to find a well-equipped E or F model for under 60k all day long.

(Just musing) I think it could fit where the #2 VOR is, move that to where the tach is and remove the MP/FP. Here's where it is installed in my panel: http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36486-/

I went with the JPI in my M20F because it is also a replacement for the factory fuel level gauges, allowing me to remove that entire 6-pack of instruments. I don't believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, that the CGR30-P allows for primary replacement of fuel level.

I almost bought the CGR-30P; the reason against it was that the JPI had a special that made it around 400-500$ cheaper, and, more importantly, it was a certified primary replacement for the fuel level gauges and I was able to get rid of the entire six-pack of engine instruments. All-in-all, I was able to replace a total of 11 instruments (6-pack, mp/fp, tach, egt and OAT).

Your panel also lacks 4 cylinder EGT, CHT and a volt meter. I say this, not to be a dick, but as someone who purchased an M20F three years ago. These are the experiences that I had with my own Mooney after purchasing it that led to me biting the bullet and getting a JPI EDM-900. Had I purchased it earlier, it would have saved me time and money. On my initial flight home from Minneapolis, MN to Florida, with an instructor that I had paid to come along and help me meet insurance requirements, I had a magneto fail. There was minimal indication in flight and only after landing and the airplane was incredibly difficult to start did we discover the mag had failed. We landed at a small strip in the middle of TN and had to charter a limo to come pick us up and drive us to Nashville. I had to purchase a return ticket for the both of us, find a mechanic and leave my Mooney unattended in a strange location where I didn't know anyone. I had to take a commercial flight back up there, hire another instructor pilot and pay to get ferried out to that field to pick up my airplane. Total cost, likely around $2000. When departing Republic airport in Long Island, NY for an IFR departure, the tower gave us an invalid fix in our routing. We waited for several minutes on the field. I killed the engine and just monitored the radio. When I restarted the engine, my HSI had flags for Nav/Hdg; I spent a few minutes trying to diagnose that when the GNS530 went silent. There was a broken wire causing the alternator to not charge. The ammeter barely showed any indication of this; had I not gotten the bad fix, I would have likely departed in IFR/IMC and had a total comm failure in NYC airspace in IMC. The fuel line from the engine to the firewall was leaking onto the exhaust; this was discovered last annual. The fuel line from the firewall to the fuel pressure gauge was original from 1967. Flying to Wichita after getting a new cylinder installed I experienced a high indicated oil temperature. I made a precautionary landing, added some oil and continued my flight, babying my airplane to keep the temperature in the green. After several evenings of working to diagnose the issue and fix the problem and verifying temperatures with a laser thermometer, I discovered that it was a bad ground in the gauge in the panel. Pushing hard on it with my thumb fixed the issue. Leaving NC at 5AM, I climbed through a thick overcast layer from 2000ft to 10,000ft. Upon reaching the top, I opened the ram air and felt an odd surging in the engine. I closed the ram air and continued my flight to Florida. The next time I went to take off, the engine stumbled at 2500RPM and I canceled the trip. After a couple days of looking at all the plugs and inspecting fuel screens, et cetera, I found that the #3 injector had a piece of debris in it. I had a clogged injector the whole time. The 4cyl EGT/CHT would have immediately indicated this failure.

Update: I had Mike at Double-M at KLAL install my EDM-900 last month ( http://doublemaviation.com/). I was on a tight time constraint and I needed the EDM-900 install, the 500 hr mag service and prop reseal done. They were able to turn the plane around in a week; the EDM-900 was done in three days . He also took care of a lot of other items, worn alternator bolts, replaced old CAT hoses with SCAT, and, most impressively, he diagnosed and fixed an oil leak that the previous owner and I had been chasing for years. Their labor rate is slightly more than Phil's and the time estimate was a few hours more as well, so the "freebies" may have just fallen into him running ahead of schedule and wanting to win my business. He also came and picked me up to get my airplane in his Cessna 180 for the price of fuel. In short, after having a number of bad experiences with mechanics, I'm glad to have both Phil and Mike available here in Florida.

I don't trust panel mounted fuel gauges at all. Even my newly installed EDM-900 I believe will confidently read a precise, but inaccurate gallon value. The wing-mounted dials seem to be much more trustworthy, even in flight. In level cruise, they seem to read a couple gallons lower than when on the ground and stop reading at just under around 10 gallons. I periodically check them in cruise to validate against my totalizer and to verify there's fuel in the tank.

PA28s have had a very bad track record the past 2 years. I can think of 4 accidents in tampa bay, all pa28s in that time frame. One off of 60, one crashed on McMullen booth two fatalities, one at kvnc, two beachgoers killed and one in Vinoy park near kspg. Most are believed to be fuel management related.

From the preliminary, they reported that there was fuel in the fuel distributor and the detailed report of the twisting of the propellor blades, et cetera, seems to be evidence that the engine was making power, so I don't think that he ran out of gas, but I would bet he was concerned about it. There was also mention of the plane first impacting a tree at 80 ft and that the pilot had visually identified the runway. I think the pilot was north of the runway, had visually identified it and was heading towards it. I would bet that the fuel situation was such that he did not want to try to go for another approach and, having visually identified the runway, was making a run for it. He may have had things made and didn't even see that tree with the poor visibility.

I believe that I had one from 1967 that was removed that went from the firewall to fuel pressure gauge when the EDM-900 was installed last month.

I guess it's not much different than my current day job as a software developer. Politics come into play. It only takes one well-placed asshole to turn a wonderful job into an intolerable one. My jobs last between 3 months to five years typically. The pay is good and it's usually fairly flexible, but I have to hustle. I don't have any job security, but the pay makes up for it; we talk about "employability security" as opposed to job security. The retired fighter pilots tell the doctors that the doctors did things the right way -- make your own money and fly on your terms. The doctors envy the hardware the fighter pilots got to fly.

I have FCIIIs on mine. Is there any significant difference in traction between the different tires as well? In other words, could an unexpected gust when planted on a wet runway be more likely to relocate your airplane with different tires?

I'm not sure if I did things right, but I went up to 7500MSL with the ram air open (makes a difference with the lopresti cowling - ~2 inches). I selected "Lean Find" in the EDM-900 and set the mode to LOP so it would show me "Leanest" and then "Richest" cylinders. At 7500+ram air, it started flashing "Leanest" at 10.1 GPH and "Richest" at 9.1GPH and the engine started running rough. At 6500MSL with the ram air closed, it showed "LEANEST" at around 9GPH and I leaned it to < 8GPH, the engine started running rough and the EDM-900 never got to "RICHEST."

That price seems more like it. Just this morning I was thinking of taking the $10 software defined radios and making an accessory out of them, but if this is available, that'd be good enough.

I'd contact the FBO first and explain the situation. That's like saying your tanks were completely empty. Is there any chance that you have a leak or there was a sump drain stuck open? Given that it was Orlando, I would imagine that even if they pumped 48 gallons of fuel and charged you for 39 that they would still turn a profit. Most FBOs don't want people to be unhappy with them, especially the chains. It's my understanding that they teach their line crews that the person who arrives in the piston single may be flying his own plane that day, but his day job is flying a business jet that he makes the decisions for.

Is your dad adopting? Nice looking airplane. I've got a '67 and could not be happier with it. Does yours have any sort of autopilot / wing leveler? Make sure you get good transition training; I recommend you go with Bruce Jaeger; he's reasonable and very knowledgable about Mooneys. The retired 747 captain that I bought my Mooney from gave me a very good piece of advice: "If there's ever any doubt, don't go." Or, as my primary flight instructor gave an example, "you can have a smokin' hot blonde and brunette ready to go...I mean READY TO GO, and the weather isn't good for it and you have to say it's a 'no go.'"

You guys that fly for the airlines suppose I've got a chance at transitioning careers and flying for the majors? I'm concerned that I might be a little on the old side for a career change. Although it also seems that the majors are a bit top heavy and there may be a demand in the coming years. When I was working a technical contract at Koch Industries out in Kansas, I stayed at the same hotel where lots of airline crews stayed. The Southwest crews seemed to have the most fun out of any of them. Is flying for an airline something that's worth doing or enjoyable? I've had NetJets pilots tell me to not ever consider flying for a charter operation. I'm 34, have perfect vitals and eyesight, but am around 10 lbs overweight according to the BMI charts (6'1 @ 195 lbs). I graduated with my bachelor's in business at 19 (paid for by my father's social security after he passed away) and have been on my own since. Flight time wise, I'm in the neighborhood of 1000 hours, instrument rated, passed both my commercial and ATP written exam back before the ATP cutoff. Never been to jail, no FAA incidents, DUIs, or anything that I would consider to be a liability for an employer. I fly around 40 hours a month and should be able to get in under the wire for the ATP practical with the 1500 necessary hours. I'm not sure if the airlines offer the ATP to candidates or if I have to get it on my own, but I'm thinking that it might be safer to do it on my own terms and schedule.

Cameras in the cockpit? That sounds like potentially the end of topless water. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Is it the old 6-pack cluster gauge? If so, I am not sure how the current meter works, but I know that I had a high oil temp reading that made me uncomfortable. I noticed that the needle didn't go all the way to zero with the master off. Pressing firmly on the instrument with my thumb "fixed" the issue. I'm assuming it was a bad ground. A couple months later I bought an EDM-900 as that incident reduced my confidence in the old factory instruments.

I have started messing around with my new EDM-900. Even though my plane is equipped with GAMIjectors, I'm thinking that they may not be balanced correctly. When going through the "ROP" procedure in the manual in cruise at < 75% power, I find the "leanest" cylinder and then enrichen to say, 50 degrees ROP. I notice that when the display is cycling through the readings that it shows cylinders 2 and 4 with a difference of 80-100 degrees. I was under the impression that GAMIs were supposed to be closer to that. I also have tried the LOP procedure, but it seems like the engine likes to stumble after finding the richest cylinder.

I ended up stopping at BTR for fuel and turned back to TLH to stay out of range of the forecasted weather. I left this morning ahead of a pretty nasty system. Maybe next week...

Have you inspected your camshaft for wear? Read the caption for the top-right picture here: http://cujet.com/html/engine.html

Any suggestions on a low cost airport with cheap accommodations close by? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk