exM20K

sounds like a Keeper!

The non-flying spouse/significant other is usually a big part of the decision-making process. It's not just engine failure or mid-air collisions - think: pilot has a medical event in flight; now I have a way out. the non-flying spouse often is unenthusiastically playing along with the flying spouse's dangerous hobby, and not relying on him/her but rather on "technology" is often the difference between making the sale and not. It's about feels, not careful risk analysis. -de

I don’t think the V2 release is a sign of strength. Quite the opposite: the company was contractually bound to deliver 500 airframes at $1.3 million plus escalators. That worked out to about $1.5 million. I am very familiar with the economics of a single engine jet, having lived through the D jet saga, and it does not take a very sharp pencil to conclude that they were likely losing money on every example going out the door at $1.5 million. The version to chat is a couple of very marginal changes to the airframe and a $1 million boost in price. The contract for the serous chat stipulates that the company is obligated to deliver whatever the current production model is. While this is likely a disappointment for position holders who believed that they had $1 million of equity sitting on the table, my guess is the company did this because they had to. To continue delivering the balance of 400+ airframes at a loss would be more than even their Chinese owners could absorb

Another advantage for us G1000 owners: no such dilema! ADS-B no worky! Seriously.... I keep the XM weather and entertainment going year round. I do, like most, have a protable ADS-B WX solution (Stratus 2s), and I find it useful. But the quality, update frequency, preflight availablilty, and range of coverage with SiriusXM is worth it for me. Cost? Doesn't even make the needle quiver. Plane TCO excluding cost of funds is ~$30,000 per year. Sirius XM is < $500 per year, which includes: Aviator LT weather, but getting a lot of features of the higher tier (winds aloft, freezing levels, etc) dunno why. Entertainment (plane) 2 cars (all the channels) 1 motorcycle (150ish channels). There are some different plans available depending on the hardware - XM or Sirius. this or for us legacy folks This The LT with the extra features for free is a pretty good value IMHO. Family discounts and haggling w/ SXM can get pricing down.

Actually, it’s in the event of oil pressure loss, not power outage. The former does usually precede the latter, but an engine will run for a bit without oil pressure. There are circumstances, mostly close to the ground, when the traditional behavior would be preferable. -de

The pre-GX & DX planes do have a very tall panel that yields an”tank driver” feeling. The G1000 and DX birds are much better in this respect. I have a lot of DA40 & DA42 time, and IMHO these have about the best visibility available. I find the Acclaim to be close se to the DA40 in visibility. I wonder if any of the old panel redo’s an shorten the panel height? The seating position is what it is. Some like it and some don’t. Chocolate and vanilla, I guess.

cowl flaps look like 231, prop looks like a rocket

Regarding jet pilots reporting icing, we had a relevant round-trip this weekend - LL10 (Naperville, IL) to KMIE (Muncie, IN). On top both ways, tops 4000 ish, temp -6C. Reported negative ice on the approach (which was a mess the way I flew it). on the return, got only a trace south of MDW in the descent, but a Delta pilot reported light ice in the tops in the same area. sometimes it is *very* localized. Jet must have passed through a glob of very moist air. I didn't. For the OP: I lean heavily on the icing models available at aviation weather dot gov. My plane is FIKI, and as I've stated here before, I think going into previously identified or forecast icing conditions in a non-protected aircraft is foolish. The flight as described sounds like a true inadvertent flight if no airmets or pireps. With good VFR above freezing below you, you had an out. I would have made the PIREP of ice, though in an unprotected plane, the characterization of the ice worse than trace or maybe light don't really have any meaning. Some things to consider if you've encountered icing: Minimum airspeed is 120 KIAS, and this applies to an approach as much as to a climb. I don't know if this limit is only for TKS coverage or not, but why do what they say not to in FIKI planes? If ice has been encountered and is suspected to be on the plane, max flaps setting is t/o. This is for FIKI long bodies, and i believe it is about the full flaps blanking out the ice contaminated elevator and causing your plane to lawn dart. Pitot heat is easy to forget. Twins vs singles for FIKI? I'll stick with my Acclaim S over a legacy twin with old radios, vacuum pumps keeping me ice free and upright, and twice the likelihood of engine failure. Diffrent strokes for different folks. DA42/62, G58 Baron, or Glass panel legacy twin? Probably prefer those (especially the Diamond or Baron) . But it's more the avionics and situational awareness than number of engines for me. -de

Their house, their rules, I guess. We’re I in that situation, I’d keep the stuff at home or in another heated storage place during the cold months. Plexus, dry wash, and some spare oil are really the only “essentials” especially when one is disinclined to linger in a freezing hangar. i wouldn’t be happy, of course. Perhaps a friendly visit with the fire chief or whoever is making this call would be worthwhile. If it’s in the municipal code, you probably won’t get anywhere, but if it’s not, maybe you can. This policy would preclude, for example, a refrigerator in a hangar or detached garage, for example. It would also preclude most overhead door lift systems.

WX here in northern illinois has been FZUP'd for the last three weeks. Wicked cold, snow, then ice. Another ice storm last night. Our little airport is basically unusable as there isn't enough to plow but too much to have a go at 2500x30' runway. I'm grateful that i was able to get the plane up for a couple hours last weekend.

Not applicable for Acclaim.

dunno - plane went Houston to California and back in a couple days. My old 231 is three serial numbers from this one. Sad. Nothing on LiveATC.net, but little GA traffic on the frequencies they record.

Every ferry permit I’ve pulled is VMC and required crew only. -dan

another factor in the fly/don't fly decision when it's really cold is the condition of the runways and taxiways/ramps on both ends of the trip. Really cold wx winds up with really bad coditions at non Class-D airports. My home drome has been basically unusable since this time last week when the freezing rain coated everything. Add some compacted snow and persistent cold, and you've got a recipe for a really bad FICON number.

I don't remember if it was Buffalo or Rochester, but Roadway Freight recruited heavily from my Central NY college. The brought me out there for an interview, and what stays with me to this day is the image of the employee on the modified fork lift whose whole job it was to push snow back out of the terminal when the lake effect really got wound up. -de

I’m waiting for something I was expecting from that branch in Dec. if certification is truly shut down, won’t this start to eat away at the airlines’ capacity?

Tom, When I sold our 231 in 2008, we had owned it for 12 years, through various chapters of life: Commuting long distance Couple going on weekend trips. Young family doing the same and visiting grandparents It is a remarkable and versatile machine. I don't regret selling it then, as it would have fallen into disuse, and the buyer is a great guy (sometimes on this forum) who appreciates the plane for what it is and can do. Fast forward to 2016, and I needed a fast, FIKI bird for my business, so here I am with the M20TN, a mooniac all over again. It felt like i never left. Thanks for your contributions to this forum, and maybe we will bump into you at the Creek some day. -dan

Scott, when you do a kindle version, please do a “true” kindle ebook, and not a pdf/image upload. I’ve bought a couple (Mike Busch’s engines book for example) that were pdf or image uploads from the print version. The resulting print was so small and not resizable on the kindle, that I had to revert to the iPad. The book was otherwise excellent, but the delivery frustrating. -dan

Sorting through all the click bait on youtube is getting harder and harder. One showed up for me as recommended: EMERGENCY SR22 over Illinois. 75k views, lots of fanboy comments. The emergency? Alternator failure while VMC. GADZOOKS,!, PULL THE CHUTE!!!

Our local airport uses beet juice. The town has a big press and does the streets w/ it, too. Pro-tip: TKS fluid will lower the coefficient of friction of ice as it sits uselessly on top.

Really sorry to hear that. I hope Mooney will choose to do the right thing.

Correct, at least for the TN. Mine is s/n 125 (whew!) and was one of the last ones completed before the shutdown. There were eight or so airframes partially completed sitting around during the shutdown, but I think paint is done after the plane is fully assembled.

I have on several occasions hired developers via Upwork.com. Pretty robust rating qualification, and payment system. Been using it since it was called eLance.com

Avoid the Seneca 1 at all cost. It is the single most horrible, scary plane I’ve flown in 30 years of flying. I will forever Romberg short final over the trees at Flying W in NJ. Both engines operating, bumpy but not extraordinarily so, right wing coming up, full rudder, full aileron. Right wing still coming up. I couldn’t get those hours in that wretched plane over with soon enough. highly recommend any operator using DA42. A little away from you, but Midwest Corporate Air in Bellfountaine, OH operates three and has a very active program. -dan

I have a couple hundred hours in an hk36 motorglider, and let me tell you: stopped prop vs windmilling is a huge difference. Admittedly, the HK would feather, but it’s not the blade angle so much as the work a spinning prop will do that consumes energy. Contemplate how difficult it would be to pull a prop through at windmilling speed. You are working against all the compression strokes each turn. ill have to look for the AFM or my notes to see if it’s measured for the motorglider. one caveat: stopping the prop requires flying very slowly, and a stall on top of an engine out would be sporty. i use the published chart as an “easily achievable” distance. -dan