exM20K

Why get a degree? Get the ratings and hours at a pro pilot training center like this or this with the option of college credit. If she is hired as an airline pilot, she'll have plenty of time to do an online degree, if that's what she really wants. But, she should be aware that there are presently, I'm told, 10,000 type-rated PIC turbine ATP's on the street. And there will likely be more layoffs after the government cheese goes away at the end of September. It is remarkable how COVID Fears and government reactions have destroyed the travel and leisure industry. -dan

....unless you need to depart IFR. Maybe not so bad now with the reduced flow out of ORD, but in normal times, there were indefinitedelays getting a release, esp if ORD was departing West. -dan

And... it’s not driven by the accessory drive on the fragile, expensive starter adapter. -dan

Hey Glen. Neighbor Dan from Hudson St. here will call a little later. Should be able to assist. Also ping @mike_elliott as he may know someone in Hoosier-land. i believe the MAPA Safety Foundation classes have been COVOIDED this year. another resource: https://themooneyflyer.com/cfi.html -dan

I hope they don't. It was a very competitive space last year with some strong incumbents. Now, it's hopeless. The trainer market was driven by the pro-pilot "puppy mills." They bought tons of planes (and parts). They are now dying or dead. 10,000 type rated, turbine, pic pilots are w/o work right now. After the Government Cheese the airlines have been living on goes away at the end of the month, that number is likely to grow. Many of the US "puppy mills" catered to Chinese and other foreign students. How's that looking now? There are enough trainer aircraft out there to satisfy that market for some time. -dan

Count me in -dan

If you can find one, a FIKI Encore is probably the best plane Mooney ever made. I was looking for one when I bought the Acclaim, but there were none for sale. -de

1. no difference. you are correct. 2. Yes, my 231 was painted w/ TKS installed. no biggy to mask off the panels. 3. Yes, but most (all?) are authorized by Cav. 4. both. installed on 231 by shoreline aviation in MA and bought a FIKI Acclaim. Is it worth the investment? for me: yes. 5. My acclaim is 5% below book cruise LOP using FF tp determine power. Not a meaningful degradation in speed given the added capabilities. I flew your plane when my friend Jim Murphy owned it. NIce bird and well cared for by him. For where you are geographically, if it were me, i'd add the TKS. I have first hand experience w/ summertime icing crossing the Cascades in the 231 w/ a no-hazard system, and I'm glad I had it. -dan

I’ve flown both Acclaim and bravo but owned only Acclaim. Main differences: *bravo is a little slower •bravo is a little thirstier *Acclaim runs smoother *Acclaim runs LOP Both power plants are hideously expensive. Not so with the 201. Most bravo’s have a very tall panel. Otherwise, they fly similarly No idea why the bravos are perceived to be languishing on the market. Correctly priced planes should move. Maybe owners too fond of their birds. -dan

ForeFlight has an extensive library of aircraft performance profiles, many with TO & Landing data https://foreflight.com/products/performance-directory/#/ -dan

1083 vs 1089 (bulkhead vs G1000) for mine. Perhaps the G1000 doesn't record below a threshold rpm. Hardly worth noting.... I use G1000 for logging and MX. What section of POH addresses these gauges? -dan

also, if battery voltage drops low enough during storage, the DA40 hobbs will run on its own. ask me how i know:-)

pH is what I’d be most worried about. fluid specs. it can get acidic with age. pH testers are cheap insurance. specific gravity should tell you if the water and alcohol have evaporated out. -dan

That dolly is slick. I wrestle the 30 gallon barrel onto standard wheeled dolly, and it's not fun. Be careful that the pump is ok for corrosives. I ruined a barrel with one of these, which corroded very quickly. -dan

Interesting. The stock Iskra motor doesn't release the shaft - you can tell because the prop is difficult to rotate backwards. This risks damage to the starter adapter if there is a kick-back on a failed start. The ST-4 is a high-torque version like the ST-5, and equipped with a clutch. Prop is now easy to rotate. The ST-3 lacked the torque to seize the shaft well for starting. Poplar Grove recommended the ST-4 motor in place of my working Iskra, and for $700ish, why not? Time will tell, I guess... Precious little useful load in the Acclaim..... -dan

Just switched out the brand I starter motor for sky tech st4. Starter adaptor was worn and leaking oil. Repaired in one day by poplar grove aeromotive -dan

Close, but that would be too easy. It’s a TIO 540 J2B if memory serves. Navajo power plant. Easy engine to kaboom. the demo is very useful in showing the ICP to CHT correlation. ive been a GAMI fan since the 90’s in my 231, and more recently made the trip to ADA for the live class. I was looking Forward to the advanced class, but the three principals had some IP dispute. Sadly, Walter passed away recently, and it remains to be seen if the two survivors can agree on a way to re-start the live classes. I hope they can as the classes are excellent and significantly advance aviation safety. -dan

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N676JM/history/20200727/2130Z/KAAF/LL10 Clearing the last of the weather north of Terre Haute.... out of the murk and into this:

The rent-seekers at Disney still have their TFR, which was illegitimate from day 1. The parks have been closed for how long now?

@OHAEDO pm on the way. -dan

If you can send them a soft copy of the POH, they may cook a few up for you. That’s how we got the TN profiles in the library. -dan

You're not helping, Mike. In addition to better short field landing performance (approx 50% of my flights) lowering the Vso by 6 KIAS (10-ish %) offers a pretty impressive (17% ish) energy reduction in a forced landing. -dan

You may have just cost me $1600. Thanks. :-) -dan

@Bentonck I pretty much disregard the factory power settings, and I agree that they run at temps that could put a real hurt on an exhaust system long term. Finding peak takes a little time - it's not just the big pull, enrichen, and lean. that quick look shows a peak TIT that is often 15-20* lower than what it will settle at if you fiddle around the peak for a while. so true 50*LOP can be 1690-1700 - at 2500rpm, it's not too hard to show a 1740+ peak tit. Compression readings tell only part of the story. borescope and oil consumption will tell you a lot more about a sick cylinder, and CMI is pretty liberal with what's allowable on compressions. 250 STOH and 1150TT. My top was for corroded jugs and resultant high oil consumption. The received wisdom is that 30.5x2500 ROP increases wear. I choose not to run there because it is horrendously inefficient (25% more gas for 5-10% more speed), and I'm a CB. Plus range.... and useful load.

@Bentonck I don’t care much about absolute EGT readings, only how far below peak each cyl is. I do care about TIT for exhaust system life. The pictures are snapshots I take at peak so I can be sure all are at least 50 LOP. IUSUALLY WIND UP 65 ish LOP in TIT, which has all cylinders where I want them. on today’s trip to Florida, I tried running 2400 to lower the TIT. The attached picture shows the power setting, and I found a few knots vs 2500 with a cooler exhaust. That was 17,000 and about 200 KTAS. Not too shabby on 16.2GPH. not book speed, but that’s the toll of TKS. CHTs are great in the acclaim. Max 330 at those settings and ISA +5