AndyFromCB

I used to be able to smoke two packs a day at 18,000 all day long. Which is really hard, because you more or less constantly have a cigarette in your mouth as they burn really slow at that altitude. Need to dig up some photos of me smoking on top of El Pico de Orizaba, which is pretty close to 19,000 IIRC. Now, that was 15 years ago, but I'm pretty positive I can still cruise all day long at FL180 without oxygen (not that I would do that, mind you, but 30 minutes of consciousness sounds a bit alarmists to me). For the record, I've always worn oxygen in non-pressurized planes over 10,000 feet because lord knows I could use all the help I can get. But I've also flown at FL220 with cannulas only and I am a strong believer they do just fine up to and including FL250 and many European glider pilots will back me up on that. But you have to remember and make an effort not to mouth breathe. Afrin is your friend. Always keep a bottle in the plane. Supposedly my 206 has a ceiling of FL270. I have no desire to test that. And no, I don't smoke anymore.

Laminar flow doesn't make any difference, I'm pretty positive the way TKS is implemented on Mooney, you don't have any due to the leading edge protrusion hence the speed penalty hit you don't get on a FIKI Cirrus for example where the TKS does not change the shape of the wing. The way boots are done on TBM/Pilatus preserves laminar flow, they are inset on special leading edges as to be flush with the wing skins thus preserving laminar flow:

issue with any sort of coating is the whole frame has to be covered because the last thing you want it super cooled water flowing back into various hinges on the your flight controls.

Smooth air maybe, little summer microbumps continuously slow you down by a few knots? That's my theory.

Better yet, get a standby gyro or electronic standby like the Garming G5 if you're planning on flying real IFR. Proficient in training doesn't always translate into proficient under helmet fire. That would be the first thing I'd put in any aircraft that doesn't have one yet. Plenty of other things to kill you while aviating, no reason why a blown vacuum pump should be one of them.

You'll never get the job. Sharp knives are wrong tool for the job. You need a paint brush instead. Tape must remain, the color will simply be changed until all red tape has been eliminated.

I think that fellow, Marcus Schrenker, that jumped out of his Meridian to avoid financial fraud charges would be a good fit to run FAA for next 4 years. Problem is he won't be out for another 4 years, but isn't that why we have the power of pardon granted to the executive.

Breakups, or breakups attributed to being over gross? You'd have to take off at twice the legal weight in a J in order to even stand a chance to breaking up due to G loading. I'm pretty positive Mooney breakups are due to overspeed events not overloading events. The K that got into a TS over Lincoln, NE was so bent when it landed that Mooney factory was called in and stated the aircraft experienced an 11G upset. Wing tips were a foot higher upon landing than they were on takeoff. Don't overspeed and you will not lose your tail. You'll never lose your wings in a Mooney. They'll be there to help you make a larger crater in the ground. As to departing overgross, ever seen a Beech A36 depart at 4024 (legal weight with 300hp engine and short, fat wings). I see no reason why a long body Mooney cannot do the same considerably more safely than a A36. Now, I would not want to land one over gross, whereas a Beech A36 can probably land at 5500lb without an issue being the gear is same as the Baron. An 310hp Acclaim still has a better power to weight ratio at 4000lb than a J at 2740lb, so it will out climb it. My old Bravo never had issues departing with 3 fatties aboard and full fuel and never used up more than 2500ft on take off (that was always my cut power and start breaking point, never even came close). The issue is landing gear. Replace it with struts and Mooney would have a hell of a plane that could compete against Cirrus. 4 fatties and full fuel. Do what Piper did and install VGs in order to keep stall speed below 61knots at 4000lb. There are many different ways to die in a GA aircraft, being few hundred pounds over gross on a typical long runway is the least of one's worries.

Just observant...And gentleman I described above actually does exist, and he did actually pee in the mop bucket...And he still thinks he's getting his medical back. I'm not a total dick though, I do enjoy taking him flying. Other than of course listening to old fart telling me everything that is wrong with the young people today.

Are you still a pilot though if you medical lapsed ten years ago? And you've been fighting the man to get it back because you clearly have no neurological issues even as the FBO staff has to remind you weekly that the mop bucket in the cleaning closet is not in fact the urinal and they are not part of the queer liberal conspiracy designed to deprive you of your rights. I'll think I'll pass. The only thing they are good for is the pastries they bring to the table.

I don't understand the how an annual can be performed according to the mooney manual for $800. Aircraft with many of these annuals are the ones with worn control systems with lots of slop, way out spec landing gear, etc, etc, etc. I've never found a competent mechanic capable of supporting a shop in $20 an hour. I don't see how you could even heat a large hangar for that much in winter, or cool it in the summer. Just keeping a set of updated manuals (not that the $800 annual shop would have them) probably costs more than that per year.

Yeap, it's not about saving money but learning all about the systems. Might come in handy one day, whether in making a go/no decision, or dealing with an emergency in the air, but it always comes in handy in ability to describe an issue to a mechanic and pointing them in a right starting direction, saves a ton of money in the long run.

Oh, it can be done, but only at a large repair station. I've seen a King Air in and out in of a phase in a day, but that's with 8 people running around the aircraft. Never seen it done on a smaller aircraft. MU2 guys fly into Green Bay and are usually out in one day as well unless their props are due.

Don't forget about the liability and why should he be able to buy insurance so that his kids don't starve when some dumb ass pilot buys the farm and widow includes the mechanic in the suit.

Nothing stops you from running them LOP and still getting respectable speed. SR22T can be almost as efficient as J if you're willing to slow down to J speeds, 155knots are doable on 11GPH LOP at 12,000FT. It will never touch the Acclaim in top speed, good 30knots slower for same fuel flow on the top end, but you're right, people don't spend 700K to go slow, so the burn up cylinders, but once again, in the grand scheme of ownership, that mid life top is not that much. Most people who fly the SR22, especially new ones, are not very price sensitive, so cost per hour does not matter as much as comfort, reliability, superior avionics and integration to anything else in GA other than Piper M350 and the perceived safety of the parachute which does come in handy when you run your engine hot at 85% power ROP ;-) Many people with SR22 own a faster, bigger aircraft for business and family trips, it's their personal toy. GA is very quickly become like the rest of US of A, not much middle ground, which is sad. I don't know too many younger people interested in spending the time required to maintain an older airframe chasing used parts, so I don't see the ranks of pilots growing much. It's the 50+ old guys keeping these amazing old airframes in the air, after them, I suspect they will just rot away. You mean the lowest rate in the industry by an aircraft that actually spends the most time in the air traveling, as opposed sitting in hangar being worked on.

I agree, I'm talking about overhauling your own at a shop like central cylinder or many other reputable shops around. That's another reason why I hate factory overhauled or rebuilt engines, especially if yours makes TBO or beyond. You're not getting back the engine you know and trust, you're getting back a parts bin. Now, slowly but surly it all will not matter as both Textron and Continental are doing their best to price out small shops with ridiculous parts pricing on engine parts. Granted, nowhere near as bad as what they are doing with airframe parts with 5x to 10x inflation during the last 5 years, but steep increases non the less. General aviation is screwed.

I disagree with you on cylinders. Depends who does the cylinders and how they have been in service. If it's first run cylinders, you might actually get much better units from a custom shop than what you will get from Lycoming. I said you might. Now with Continental, it's 100% guaranteed you will get better cylinders from a good overhaul shop. As long as the cylinder is overhauled with all new valves, springs, and guides, pistons and rings, etc, you can save quite a bit of money (especially on the Bravo or angled engines) and end up with a better product with considerably better seat between valves and guides and that's what matters. On a Bravo, that's a difference of $1500 per cylinder. On my Bravo the barrels looked new at 1,600 hours and met new specs, no reason to throw them away. As to cams, you probably won't make it to 2000 with a Lycoming cam either unless you fly 150 hours a year or more. It will rust/pit.

Doesn't that rob you of power to accelerate down runway? It's been a long, long time since I've flown a non-turbo engine, but I recall having much better results leaning than not leaning taking off in CO and WY when I had my Arrow.

Percent of fuel flow based on your standard day, sea level max climb fuel flow is how I've always done it. Pull out your air pressure table, calculate percent of available air/oxygen, set mixture to that fuel flow on roll out.

Spreadsheets or didn't happen, because I know it didn't happen unless you fly around 300 hours a year or so, closer to 600 actually. Did you take engine reserves into account? Of course not, what is it to overhaul an IO360 these days, $50K with R&R and accessories. That's another $25 an hour if your Lycoming doesn't eat your camshaft first. Never meet a private owner where a camshaft made TBO. Flight schools yes, private owners, almost never. So most engines get yanked out at least once during ownership, there goes another $10K to $15K depending on the issue. 100 hours a year at $150 an hour is $15,000. The poster is already into that with sales tax (that he somehow thinks he will avoid), luxury tax, payments, insurance and annual. That's without an hour of flying, an hour of maintenance, etc. I'm not saying don't own, I'm saying don't do it to save money because you will not. Show me your spreadsheets, and not the ones you show to your spouse. If you don't have spreadsheets, you don't know what you are talking about. I have them for 6 aircraft (4 pistons, 2 turboprops), charter would have been considerably cheaper. Only way to save money is to turn the wrench yourself, but that only makes sense if you make less than what your mechanic charges. If you do, then you can't afford the payments. I'm sitting here dealing with a crying kid in the middle of the night, last thing I want to be doing tomorrow is turning wrenches on my plane. Does your airplane have an autopilot? Show me your invoices just for that piece of equipment, because I know precisely to a penny that keeping a KFC150/200/225 unit going runs about another 25 an hour if you add up all overhauls on gyros, servos and head units. Everything needs overhauling at least once every 500 to 800 hours. $2500 a piece for gyro, hsi and 3 servos. If you head unit dies, well, how about cutting another check for $15K. Now, if it's a TBM, make that $60K for the KFC325. So unless you're flying a basic 172, you're either lying to yourself, or turning your own wrenches on a C, E or F with no avionics. Sold your airplane yet? How much is that going to cost you purchase price - sale price - $ opportunity cost. This isn't the 80s and 90s anymore, aircraft actually lose value with time due to ever growing Cirrus fleet. Here you go, here is CA shop prices for engine R&R (does not include engine mount R&R) http://www.victor-aviation.com/Engine_Removal.php Looks like I got quite a bargain

Each and every aircraft you will find will have an un airworthy engine mount. I have never seen one that was not chafed somewhere beyond limits. Most mechanics don't care. It does not mean the airplane is airworthy or that I would fly it. Will it matter on most flights no? Will it matter when you hit a gust over Red Table mountain, hit 5Gs, lose your engine and tail spin into the ground. It mattered to me. Like I said, most pilots are CSOBs. As to finding these things on probuys, you might, you may not. Good luck getting sellers of $75K aircraft spending $50K it would cost to get them airworthy, really airworthy. Also, don't forget, unless you annual each aircraft and pay for it, prebuys are not that in depth, so you might do 5 to 7 annuals before you find your bird, so there goes another $10K to $14K. Get back to me after a year and tell me how much that first 100 hours set you back.

Well, by that calculation, buy a Gulfstream. You're trying to save money compared to renting, so compare flying hour to flying hour, rented vs owned.

No savings at all, mechanic simply could not find them, Mooney factory was out business at that time.

72 cents a what hour? Sitting on the ground, 356/24 a day? Are you smoking some of that good CA weed? By that factor, you should buy Gulfstream, I mean that rental at 150 an hour is costing you 1.3 million a year. At least compare apples to apples.

No, You just found a ton of airplanes that are not airworthy. That engine mount was in a bad shape, a known M20M problem, most keep on flying like that. I keep my aircraft in compliance with TC. And TC allows for 10% of tube thickness and no more. And 50 hours for engine R&R, plus engine mount R&R is far from excessive, actually fairly reasonable. Ever tried putting together Bravo's exhaust? You can spend 2 days on that alone. You sound like someone who never turned a wrench on an aircraft. How quickly can you R&R engine, mount and landing gear components attached to said mount. Here you go, here is CA shop prices for engine R&R (does not include engine mount R&R) http://www.victor-aviation.com/Engine_Removal.php Looks like I got quite a bargain