exM20K

I did tell ATC, but I'd forgotten about that link. thanks. Line service earned a nice tip cleaning it up during my meeting, so no remains to send. Plus... duck season not open till the 20th... -dan

Never saw this one. 5000’ over Ft. Wayne. 2nd bird I’ve stayed with this plane this year. Appears to be a grass eater but more precise identification difficult.

Crazy. Layered STC’s and OEM equipment that doesn’t conflict in any way.... I get that you can’t throw an Allison turbine on a Cessna 210 and retain the FIKI cert, but the a/p thing is just a sad artifact of an inefficient certification world. Thanks for showing me this example.

Unlikely that there would be any conflict between FIKI and Avionics. Major airframe, engine, or prop changes obviously do need to be accounted for. When I bought the Acclaim, I was cross shopping a TN/FIKI G36 or A36 bonanza, and I recall there was a specific order in which one has to sequence the mods (eg: FIKI, then tip tanks, and then TN, or some such dance). Even on the G1000 pre-ultra Mooney’s, the TKS is stand alone and n no way integrated into the avionics.

Prop is the same as Acclaim Type S only. Ovation 310 HP STC is available from Mooney. Acclaim 310HP STC is available from Bob Minnis. Mooney elected not to buy that one from the author, and I've heard several explanations for this, none of which sound sensible. -de

it is. I sent them the POH and worked with them to get it right. For my TKS bird, I reduce book speed by 5% and generally wind up spot on for trip fuel. LL10 ->KCRG and back KCRG -> LL10 last week was spot on at 68 gallons. Amazing. -dan

Stumbled on this today on the Web version of foreflight: https://blog.foreflight.com/2018/09/12/foreflight-trip-assistant-door-to-door-flight-and-fuel-stop-planner/ Plan trip legs based on available fuel load, time, or $. This is very useful to those of us that fly useful load constrained planes like FIKI Acclaim. Fltplan has had a fuel stop finder for a while, but it is not really well implemented. Bravo foreflight

I had the privilege of pulling and re-honing all six because of high oil consumption due to corrosion this year. On the 231, I had one replaced at 15 hours after a factory engine was installed in 1999 or thereabouts. Bad valve seat grind. Supposedly CMI has improved their processes a bunch since. -dan

I worked with ForeFlight to get the M20TN model in their library, and they were very responsive in modifying some of what I sent them. Since I have TKS and am fat :-) my plane is 8-12 knots below book. Maybe it’s a little closer with the 3 knot add-back for the step and ASI errors, but... whatever... one of the great features of their performance modeling is the slider for fuel flow or cruise. I just peel off 5% and call it close enough. This is something fltplan.com can’t do.

And you know this report to be false how? I’d expect someone throwing around acccusations of tortious slander or libel against another individual to include links and references to hard clad (sic) evidence. See how that works? -dan

So, should I check with you before I recount a bad experience with a mechanic or other service provider? I didn’t see @cujet launching ad hominems like,, for example, you did. I’m glad he or she told their tale, and were I contemplating doing business with dmax, I’d ask him about it. My understanding of defamation is that it requires a false statement. You know his or her report to be false? -dan

The video is from Gary’s personal account and likely done at the customer’s request. It wouldn’t be how I’d want to deliver or receive a new plane, but different strokes for different folks. Gary used to cover Illinois for Cirrus, and he’s a solid guy. I wouldn’t read anything negative into this video. we did try the fanfare delivery stuff at the diamond factory 8n Ontario, and it simply didn’t work: too hard to get everyone there on a day that people are working at the factory and which allowed VFR Departures etc.. -dan

I’m just glad Garmin didn’t buy ForeFlight.

I did the DIY method for my 231: Take a piece of Lexan or plexi (don't remember which i did) approximately the right size, lay it in a warm oven in a disposable foil container (like the one under a weber grill), and it will sag nicely into the compound curve you're looking for. -dan

A couple of observations from a 20+ year mooney owner and someone involved in the aviation business: communication matters, and good help is nearly impossible to find right now. Communication: most of the unhappy customers seem to be first time and PPI customers, while most of the happy people seem to be long-time customers. This is unsurprising. I don’t doubt that these experiences, good and bad, are accurately reported. I do believe that when you have a long time relationship with a shop (or any vendor), then both parties communicate expectations better. I’ve used Air Mods since the mid 90’s, and I’ve found that Dave speaks my language. We have a clear understanding of the scope of work before it’s done. Ditto the late Kevin Surrell, who I really miss. Good people are hard to find: it’s not just CFI’s that are scarce because of airline hiring. A&P’s and IA’s are also in very high demand. The shop owners are probably not turning wrenches any more and rely on hired staff. I’ve seen very high turnover at a large local shop here in the Chicago market first hand when they made absolute hash of a top overhaul. We settled up on the excess labor and unneeded repairs and are still friends, but it was a level of frustration that is new to me and which I attribute to the inexperience of the line techs. Unfortunately, there is no immediate solution to the drain of experienced techs to the airlines, other than shop owners recognizing that they have to work extra hard to retain their experienced help.

I do both (flaps and speed brakes) out of habit. The placement of the gear handle in the K models and Ultras (high on the panel)is definitely preferable to the standard G1000 birds, (behind hhe yoke) , but it is fortunately very awkward to get to and unlikely to be confused with the flaps.

So far as I know, it is not adjustable. If you know otherwise, please share :-)

I'm pretty sure the G1000 "Stall, Stall, Stall" annunciation is based on an indicated airspeed number, and it's really annoying when landing at normal (light) weights. Flew to Northern WI to pick up a plane with three guys and 30 gallons, and the stall warning, for the first time in my recollection, actually sounded before she piped up: I hate having that annunciation well in advance of the real stall warning and wish it could be suppressed. -de

Nantucket is awesome for LIFR! I flew in there a bunch before and after the TDZ lights were installed (late 90's?), and the heat generated by them was often enough to lift the fog a bit. Number of missed approaches went way down post-TDZ lighting. Of course, a switch to LED's will ruin this effect. -dan

The unheated stall warning vane *will* accumulate ice between the top of the vane and the housing. It will look like a nice little marble.

There goes my productivity for the next hour or so....

That's a different feature set than the wing-level button. GarminESP is showing up on more and more new planes. It includes a "stick pusher" functionality when pilot exceeds some bank angle. I've flown with it on DA62, and it works, though I not sure how well it would work at pattern altitude if the pilot suddenly cranks in a bunch of bank and/or excessive yaw. -dan

this has happened to Kathryn's Report before - last time, a few months ago, it was an error that was resolved quickly. FWIW.

At what oil temp?

Thread drift warning.... Interesting that Mooney did the full t/o and climb documentation for the M20R 310HP. Mooney elected not to purchase the M20TN 310HP STC from Kenin (RIP), and it is now sold and supported by Bob Minnis. This has good and bad aspects: good: STC holder was able to include JPI mini-tach as an approved installation so I didn't have to put some butt-ugly EI unit in the panel. Bad: performance documentation is basically: "Meets or exceeds original spec." -dan