exM20K

GFC700 was a big driver in my decision, and that is G1000-only. It is a vastly superior AFCS to anything else out there. I am also very familia with the G1000, having flown behind that system for nearly 10 years, and I like the system a lot: it's intuitive, capable, and keeps the cockpit&spaniel clutter under control However, if Garmin's new autopilot will play nicely with a G500/GNS750 setup, that could be the better setup. G500, while smaller, has twice the pixel density of the G1000, so it is easier to read. And since this panel mount stuff can be swapped out, you're not locked in forever to G1000. The G1000 Mooneys have a much shorter panel, and I really like this feature, especially on final and landing. If an Acclaim is what you're after, then obviously there's no choice other than G1000. Ovations and Bravo offer some choice, though the G1000/Bravo won't allow GFC700, so you're left with the inferior S-Tec. The economics of retrofit vs. OEM are a little more tricky. G1000 is known and will retain value less normal depreciation. How much of an $80,000 panel will you recover in resale on a less expensive plane? Maybe half?

-1 for me. Maintenance issue....

The Aviation Consumer came by the Diamond booth after the tornado to marvel at our tiedowns and their performance. We used (and continue to use) 3/4" steel rod with a "T" welded to the top of the 24" shaft. They are heavy and a pain to put in, but they won't budge. There's an article in AvCon from right after that fiasco describing the various solutions: Click here if you're a subscriber. "Claw" type tiedown performance is variable in their tests, and it deteriorates with very wet or very dry ground. We use the 24" rod because it penetrates well below the wet (or dry) level. At home, I use swingset anchors, available at any Farm&Fleet shop. The one near me carries lengths up to 18", and they are made of thick steel rod with an auger blade at the bottom. The only thing that will bend straight under load is the top, which is formed into a loop but not welded. They look something like this:

Jlunseth probably has it right WRT bootstrapping. A few knots of IAS will do this to MP. I'd be very conscious of CDT in the 231 running high MP especially at high altitudes.

I'll be there -dan

There will be peak/off peak/weekend/special event changes or imposition/suspension of fees, so calling every FBO will be a non-comprehensive snapshot. What AOPA is trying to do is to document the really outrageous fees when they are charged, and I believe it's a worthwhile effort.

Not for sale. Decided to keep it. This was super-useful in our 231 when the kids were little. It has lots of pockets, and the grommets on top are well-spaced for at least the 231 headrest holes. https://www.dropbox.com/s/3ubx2pes28pa8ob/IMG_1803 (1).JPG -dan

Does anyone here know how to suppress bitchin' Betty's "STALL...STALL...STALL" warning of impending doom? She is at least 5 KIAS faster than the normal stall warning, and this early warning is not especially helpful. I spent 15 minutes in the aux and configure pages to no avail. Thanks in advance.

In addition to the other good advice above: Stay upwind of the porta-potties Be mindful of the ultra-llight emergency strip; you shouldn't drive on it and definitely don't set up there. If you are south of Elm, the ultralight parade every evening is fun to watch. if there is rain forecast, look for higher ground and look at the road into and out of your row. If it won't be really hot, stay away from the 24 hour generator section: noisy and stinky. Definitely look for a spot in the 40's. Those do empty out some. The really close in stuff will be full till Sunday. This will be my 10th year in a Diesel Pusher at OSH. I did do the caravan in 1999 and had a ball, but an all-week stay really is easier in an RV. Especially with little ones... -de

It was a Concord RG24-15, and I believe it was original to the aircraft (2009), so I can't be too upset about that lifespan. My A&P said there was one or more cells shorting out - don't know much more than that, and it failed a load test miserably. Basically, it was done. -de

Update - sorry for not doing this earlier: i hate squawk posts w/o resolution... It was the #1 battery shorting out. Apparently one battery shorting is sufficient to show this sort of draw even when the faulty battery is not selected and receiving only a trickle charge. Anyway, one new battery and 35 trouble-free hours since. -de

sold and shipped. -de

pm responded to. -dan

Only the GPS has been used (in an Airgizmo dock in my motorglider for a year or two). Everything else is unused so far as I can tell. $400 plus shipping before it goes up on eBay next week.

Premium is based on exposure, not current year sales, and that makes sense: if the manufacturer has a huge fleet (and/or a lot of parts) that fall in the 18 year window, then that's the risk the underwriter has to assess, along with the additional partial-year risk of the current production. This is one thing that made life very difficult for Cirrus, Diamond, etc when the world went pear-shaped in 2009: sharply reduced production/sales, but same or increasing insurance premium. -dan

Current-production isn't the problem. The issue is that the manufacturer has liability for the whole fleet as well as parts for, I believe, 18 years. Fewer units means that whole fleet premium cost is charged against a small number of current-year sales. -dan

You originally wrote: The arrogance that they only need to sel [sic and sic] to the USA is a load of bollocks. It's this assumption of facts (or motives) not in evidence, as the lawyers say, that is unfair. Do you know what their order book looks like vs production schedule this year? I don't. Do you know what it cost to produce a credible trade show display? I do. I've done it several times. Do you know what it costs to ferry a new aircraft across the Atlantic? I do. I've imported several dozen new aircraft. Do they have sales representation throughout the EU? The website lists only one rep in France, so I'll call that a "no." So based on what I know, not on my "feelings," I'd say it's a smart move to skip AERO Friedrichshafen this year. If a credible domestic trade show display costs $250,000 for space, supplies, and people here, then for a US manufacturer, it's probably 1.5x that at AERO. Add another $20-40,000 over and back for the ferry cost. Consider they probably haven't figured out how to price in €, and that setting up a proper salesforce in the EU (https://cirrusaircraft.com/wp-content/themes/cirrus_aircraft_v1.5/locator/img/InternationalSalesCenterList.pdf ) is non-trivial. For Mooney to drop half a million dollars as a business development/marketing spend in a market that will not yield any sales for the foreseeable future would be, as you say, "bollocks." Should they go about developing their EU/ME/Africa/Asia sales and marketing strategy? Most definitely, but that's not this year's problem. Like most everyone here, I wish Mooney to succeed and prosper; expending vast (to mooney) sums of money in markets yet to be developed while rolling out a new product domestically does not raise the likelihood of success or prosperity. Happy Easter to all.

I think this is unfair. The plane is not certified by EASA so far as I know, resources are scarce, and the cost of moving an aircraft, trade show booth, and people to Europe for a show where they cannot sell their product is far in excess of any likely return. As for S&F, it's becoming more and more a regional show. There have been years recently that Cirrus hasn't participated, and Diamond had only a demo plane at Plant City this year. -de

Have you looked at CMI's pricing for new/rebuilt TSIO550G? $85,000/$75,000. Yikes. I made the same decision wrt waas/gfc700/G1000. The TN is a great package.

I have lots of Mooney time, lots of Diamond single and twin time, and a little SR22 time. When it came time for me to purchase a biz use aircraft last year, the cirrus wasn't even a contender. Perhaps because I've lived with a mooney for 12 years and know what it does well/poorly, and I'm comfortable with the compromises, the Acclaim S was a no-brained for a single. The diamond singles hand-fly about as nicely as any plane I've flown, and the moneys are pretty good here as well. The sr22 is an autopilot plane that one cannot trim to hold an airspeed. The side yoke sucks and is spring-loaded, not aerodynamically loaded to return to center. This destroys the fun of slowflight and is IMHO. an important contributor to the stall/spin crash in the pattern pattern sen with Cirrus aircraft. The Cirrus plane is masterfully marketed to pilots disengaged from flying, it seems to me, and I'm not. Oh, and $750,000 will buy you just more than half an equipped DA62. There's value in the new Mooney.

Joe: It's indistinguishable when flying, What's a real pain is getting bills from Nav Canada for landing fees etc months after the fact. The numbers aren't life-changing, but in my case, since I'm flying dozens of different planes yearly into and out of Canada, it does cause me to go back to my logbook all the time to see if, indeed, I made that flight or it was someone else.

I spent the weekend at the APS seminar in Ada, OK (more on that in another post, perhaps) with a very experienced insurance agent who I've known for years. We were talking about cabin class, pressurized twins, and he told me that it would be difficult and expensive to get me (5000+TT, CMEL, IR, 250 multi) insured in a 340, 414, or 421. He says the underwriters currently hate them. PA46? no problem. PA46T? no problem. TBM? No problem. I'd not heard this before but have no reason to disbelieve him. The SETP's along with various FSDO's requiring 135 operators to adhere to Cessna's maintenance program, have really destroyed the cabin class pressurized twin market. There are bargains out there, but these planes are difficult to sell, so you may have to be patient if you decide it's not for you. The economics of a Meridian, TBM, or PC12 are simply better, and if your business can take the 179 expensing allowance, the high capital cost will dramatically help your cash flows. In your position, if I couldn't make the SETP pencil, I'd get a PA46. -de

My K would exhibit a tail buffet in a full-flap, moderately aggressive slip. I straightened up and went around. -de

Pretty close to the same place, coming back from Vegas: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N676JM/history/20170120/1530Z/KVGT/KWWR/tracklog Probably should have turned up the power a bit to get a >300 Kt groundspeed for a few minutes! This was at 65% LOP. 5.5 hours flying time with a fuel stop Vegas -> Chicago. These machines are remarkable. Regarding the OP's original question: I'm not a low-time pilot, but regardless of experience, the length/width/proximity of trees alongside the runway will for sure raise or lower my comfort level. I cancelled a flight with a well-known master flight instructor yesterday because the winds were 15kts 45* offset from our bitty runway of 2250x30. I've done it plenty of times in the 231 and a few in the Acclaim, but it's not really useful for what we wanted to do. -dan

The guy who was promoting the Rocket conversions in the Midwest and Northeast during the late 90's (can't remember his name - last name started with an "E") had boots on his plane, so it has been done. -dan