Mooneymite

I think this is a good place to start. In my limited experience, squelch issues turn out to be headset issues.

The decision to ignore TBO is based on "condition inspections" at each annual. Whether we overhaul at some point beyond, or short of the manufacturer's recommendation is contingent on various parameters such as compression, oil consumption, oil analysis, etc. Without knowing much about your engine, I'd say that your engine is displaying warning signs such that a thorough, close and critical evaluation be made by a knowlegdeable engine person. Doing a "top" may just be treating the symptoms of an engine about to fail. But we're speculating.

I can't imagine anyone taking offence at a "cold call". They might say, "no" for a variety of reasons, but I suspect most Mooney owners would welcome the chance to tell you why their Mooney is the best and offer to show it off. Go for it.

Be sure to explain that to your wife!

Just always invite your wife to go flying with you when you need fuel.

Yes, it looks like it is a totally different place than when my son flew out of there.. I also checked out the comments about the new facility on Airnav.com and found this gem: I fly many different aircraft into AUO. I recently performed a maintenance flight on a Baron and decided to go there. With no notice....... Check Notams and the AirNav site............. They have recently implemented a ramp fee on ALL aircraft landing at AUO. This is ridiculous in my opinion and should be stopped. I will in the future go elsewhere if possible. FYI.............. TCL for the Alabama folks you are NOT charged a ramp fee.........

All you Auburn graduates probably remember that Auburn was talking seriously about closing down flight training with various plans to modify/close the aviation degree programs. Apparently, the flight school graduates were pulling down the "average starting salary" numbers for the business school. ($19/hr for aspiring regional first officers!) Happily a donor stepped up with a $70 million inducement to the Business school to keep the aviation programs alive. The donor just happens to operate a flight department out of BHM. I haven't flown to AUO in quite awhile. Has the airport shown signs of reinvigoration?

Aircraft Spruce shows this one has a Mooney application, but it's pricey! Inline Air Filter CV1J4

Ah, so..... Thanks. Any idea what the part # is?

Uh, oh! This is not a good thing. People will think I'm on the same pills you take!

Perhaps the "file footage" they show of the search area was taken on a calmer day when the search aircraft were flying. With a high sea state, search conditions are terrible. A low flying recon aircraft's windows get encrusted with salt spray so thick you can't see out. (And you think you have corrosion problems in your Mooney!) I suspect there are weather charts for surface winds that would confirm that the wind was howling on any given day at most locations of interest.

ELT's, even the newer 406's don't have much range when underwater.

Maybe, maybe not. 30 days is a minimum. I suspect the pingers are still sounding, but just weaker. While much has been speculated, there is actually not much hard evidence. I have two questions: Has anyone heard anything about deployment of Global Hawks in the Indian Ocean? The only place I've heard of Global Hawks deployed in any significant number is not in the current "area of probability" for Flt 370. Has anyone heard any reports from the US Navy which maintains a "listening watch" over much of the earth's oceans. Back in the day, the U. S. Navy knew when a Soviet Sub flushed a toilet. The official silence from the two best sources of information seems strange to me. However, there may be an official reason for not divulging capabilites. Either that, or the location is well known and this search is just cover-drama.

SE-Mooney mailing list SE-Mooney@southeastmooney.org http://www.southeastmooney.org/mailman/listinfo/se-mooney Hank, you better be careful....there might be an Alabama fan lurking somewhere in that organization!

The sound source can be triangulated, but because of the way sound travels, it might be detected clearly from one location 10 miles away, but can't be detected from another, even closer location. The towed arrays can get rough bearing lines on various sound frequencies, but water can be a difficult medium. While it is a difficult medium, the science is well known and practiced.

Ha! You need to study the way that sound is propagated in the ocean.... Ask those folk who flew ASW in P-3's. Sound does crazy things in the water. Sub skippers know their oceanography very well and know how to mask their presence by hiding either above or below the layer where the thermocline goes iso-thermal. Sounds can be detected hundreds of miles away if the hydrophone is located properly with respect to the source and the water conditions are right. Yes, under certain circumstances, a pinger might only be detectable 3 miles, but that would be a minimum under adverse conditions.

The lack of flotsam/jetsam leads to the possibility that the aircraft landed in one piece and did not break up, but just sank taking all the pieces/parts with it. Think of how little separated from the USAir jet on the Hudson. Two scenarios: it was dead-stick landed by a human, or it was on autopilot and entered the water wings level and in a reasonable attitude. However, there is a larger possibility that the wreckage just hasn't been located....or that it is in a hangar somewhere.

Yes, the first valve is the original pneumatic pilot valve that is (on my plane) mounted on the firewall and contolled by the yoke button. I thought (incorrectly, apparently) that the BI 805 was the electric replacement. Do you know the nomenclature/part number for the electrical replacement valve? I know the BI 805 is a very pricey part. I'm hoping that the electical PC disable switch is a bit cheaper. Is it absolutely necessary to upgrade to the new yokes, or can an electrical switch be added to the original style yoke?

So, true. However, not all planes are "born and bred" in Arizona. Pity the poor guy who buys a dry, Arizona aircraft only to discover it spent the first 15 years of it's life in a sea-side resort and has intergranular corrosion in all the wrong places.

When I first got the plane, I looked frequently. However, now that I've had the plane for years, keep the plane in the hangar, and haven't found corrosion in other places, I check "periodically". To me, it's kind of like SB 208B (called for annually)....how often is "often enough" depends a lot on the environnment and the general condition of your aircraft.

Yes, you are correct. The BI 805 is part of an Accutrak II system. I thought that the 805 valve controlled the vacuum to the entire PC system....

There are several iterations of the Basic Brittain wing leveler, or PC. The one in my '74 C model is very different from others I have seen, though it seems to work pretty much the same. My question pertains to PC's of my PC's vintage. I would like to switch out the basic pneumatic control valve which is mounted on the interior side of the firewall with the BI-805 electric control valve . Has anyone here on Mooneyspace made this switch? Was it a worthwhile modification? Do you have any pictures of the installation? Where did you locate the BI-805? Where did you put the "disconnect" switch? Any other advice?

Actually, every Mooney owner should ALSO have a Husky. That way he's got all his bases covered....slow, fast, low, high. Think "well rounded".

Absolutely, correct. Pulling the back seat and looking at the spar is probably the very first thing done on an inspection. If corrosion is found, there's no sense in doing any other lookin'. You're done.

Jeff is correct. Just stay below the Class B by at least 500' and do whatever you like. The only caviat is that if you're going through the final approach course on the west side when ATL is landing east, you might want to be 1000' below the B to avoid any possible blow down wake turbulence from the heavy iron. +2 on Rob's suggestion that we get together.