exM20K

This has been my way, too. Primary nav/wx/traffic is G1000. The iPad is in a portfolio-style case between my calves and the seat front. It comes out to run a checklist, do an approach, or check weather at individual airports. These are things it does better than G1000. -dan

I doubt the 1 Knot = 100' of landing roll rule of thumb extends that far, but if so, you're looking at an extra 2000' of runway. FIKI planes are limited to takeoff flaps only after an icing encounter and minimum airspeed of 130KIAS. Obviously nobody comes over the fence at 130 KIAS, but the partial flaps restriction means I'm adding 15 knots to my over the fence speed, which can get up towards 90 KIAS. I've done that a bunch, and it's NBD with 4000' of runway. Example. I tried to count the stripesafter the thousand foot marker. looks like about 3200' to taxi speed, and that was likely with minimal braking. -dan

Right. Otherwise, there is no way to access the connector for the stall warning switch w/o drilling t(e rivets.

Yup. My FIKI Acclaim has the rivets, and as an added bonus, the leads for the stall warning are zip tied tightly to the TKS supply tubes. Which, themselves, have almost no service loops. At least the stupid expensive heated stall warning sits on top of the TKS panel. -dan

It’s a very simple to do, but it’s much easier with two people, one to run the airplane and the other to observe the readings. If there are any cirrus shops around you, they should be familiar with how to do this. For what it’s worth, the shop in Apalachicola has done mine very quickly and successfully. -de

Really the best way to get comfortable with this is to practice slow flight at altitude in landing configuration and power. You should be able to maintain 4-500 FPM descent rate at 70KIAS mid weight. Experiment with power changes, and you’ll see that while IAS does go up and down immediately, the plane returns to trimmed airspeed very quickly. You’re in the region of reversed control here, so pitch up increases descent rate and pitch down decreases it. I really try not to mess with pitch but am pretty aggressive with power changes. None evident on this flight because it was dead calm. -dan

This 100%. Our runway 36 is 2300’ and has a 3.7* VASI. Oh, and it slopes down at 0.12%. Trim for 1.2 Vso, 11-13” MAP depending on weight and wind, don’t touch anything until the ground effect, and sometimes it all works out great. @Shadrach, With the steeper approach path, I do need the full 1.2x to arrest the descent rate. Ask me how I know, lol. I didn’t know my wife was going to be out videoing my landing after my 7 hours of flying Thursday, but I’m glad she did. Put on a bit of a landing clinic :-) -dan

Agree. I think that's what I had in my 231. -dan

Sporty’s posted this a couple of days ago… https://www.sportys.com/blog/whats-range-portable-aviation-radios/ The article includes a link to this switch Maybe they will have a smoking deal on these at OSH -dan

Agree, and when Sirius/XM finally decommissions the old XM satellites, those of us who own legacy GLD69A datalink units will see what the two companies are made of with respect to subsidizing a transition to the newer Sirius units. -dan

Do you have a link? Unless normalized by cycles/hours flown/fleet size over the survey period, the numbers don’t mean much. -dan

Many (most?) transactions of this nature are done as asset sales rather than stock sales for just this reason. The liabilities don’t convey in an asset sale. Some will decide the customer goodwill and company reputation warrant performing on the previous company’s promises. Some won’t. -dan

“Lifetime Sumscription” and “Lifetime Memberships” endure for the lifetime of the company, not of the buyer. Changes in ownership or control don’t always (often?) bring improvements for customers, vendors, or employees, but rather benefit with certainty only the sellers. Releasing partial or complete control to an investor means that there is now someone in the room with a loud voice who is not necessarily aligned with the organization’s vision, history or values. Sometimes, it all works out to the better or at least neutral. Boeing’s acquisition of ForeFlight has been mostly a neutral event from my perspective, something I consider a minor miracle. -dan

Without an exterior antenna connection, I think you'll find the handheld mostly useless in flight other than maybe picking up a clearance before engine start. I did have an antenna lead for the handheld in my 231, and it worked pretty well within class D range IIRC. -dan

My Sporty's PJ2 drained the battery pack when stored. Replacement did the same. So now I store it with the battery pack removed. I never had an issue with ICOM equipment and would buy one of those instead of the PJ2 if I could do-over. -dan

Yes, but neither should be a big deal. Also needs the $6000 heated stall warning. These are solvable problems, with money. So, too, is the lack of useful load that would result (Encore conversion). I replaced the heated prop on my 231 with the slinger when I added no hazard TKS to my 231 a long time ago and am glad I did. -dan

252 is 24v and FIKI eligible.

Thought I edited that to 1200, which is what I see. I don’t math or type well in the morning :-)

It’s not just cruise speed that matters. I suspect, but do not know, that a Bravo, with its extra HP, out climbs an encore. Going to 17,000 at 1000FPM vs 6-800 is almost a half hour from sea level. The pathetic climb rate of the piston PA46 has kept me in the Acclaim. -dan

In this environment of long lead times, one sensible spend might be a factory or well-regarded field overhaul if an engine is high time or making metal/consuming oil. Having someone else carry the plane for 12-20+ weeks waiting on an engine, bearing all the risks of discovered discrepancies, etc is worth something. Engines are a lease, really, so they should get capitalized predictably and at near cost/pain. Paint and interior, not so much. I’m sure real estate salespeople love it when they can talk a seller into expensive improvements… they get their vig on a bigger ticket. -dan

“Yes, dear. The airplane is listed for sale….” -dan

right. that's what I have. and so far, no pressure issues in climb to 17,000, though it's probably a good idea to crack the seal from time to time on the way up. -dan

It depends…. really, the right question to ask is, “how will the candidate models perform on my 70-80-90% mission?” https://fltplan.com Has performance models built in which I found in the past to be very good, and I’m a big fan of what ForeFlight does (at a price) with the flight planning performance, including runway performance. FWIW, I owned a 231 a long time ago, and when I returned to the Mooney fold in 2016, I sought a FIKI Encore, but there were none for sale. I like LOP operations, and the continental models are simply better in this mode. I have less than one hour in a bravo. -dan

I hate having water bottles rolling around in the plane, and they do represent something of a safety hazard. I discovered recently that the Yeti 18oz Rambler fits perfectly in the modern cup holders. It is snug, has straight sides, won’t come out even with my most sporty landings, and of course keeps your drinks hot or cold forever. Link -dan