Mooneymite

I have an Auburn educated son, and a Georgia educated daughter and when they speak to one another, I think all either of them studied was football! Woe is me. Yes, this is "Thread Creep".

But his spelling and grammar? And not every sentence ends with "War Eagle". I'd never guessed.

OMG! I sent a son to school there! I didn't know it was a cult. He now wears strange colors and speaks of War Eagles and Tigers. I think there is something in the water. Be careful.

Just happened I was in ECP on Tuesday, talking to Mike Lerma, the FBO manager (Sheltair). He's a Mooney lover, but not an owner. He says he'd love a nice C model. He's going to give us .75 off on avgas...$5.92/gallon. Free first night tie-down and $12 thereafter. Let's find Mike a nice C model, so he can join in! For those who haven't been there before, Sheltair is at the _very_ end of RWY 16.

In your dreams! More like this:

Doesn't matter what you have tuned in....if you are concentrating outside the cockpit on a visual. There's a lesson there. These pilots were not 3000 hour newbies. They were among the best pilots SWA could hire. If they can make that mistake, any of us can.

Weather seems to be cooperating: http://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/launch/code.cgi?Submit=Go&sta=KPFN&state=FL

The switch kicks off when resistance reaches a certain point. While the chances are good that the switch is going bad, you might try cleaning all the electrical connection points including the bulb bases and sockets. Cumulative corrosion may be the culprit. Low tech, low cost solution.

No!! I told you to get bladders..... (Just stirring the pot, sorry.) :-)

With ADS-B looming, you may want a WAAS capable GPS. Spend a little more now, save a little later. And you'd enjoy the stand-alone utility. Even the 430/530 are getting long-in-the-tooth. Older GPS's may be tough to support. Just a thought.

My 430W is up and running with a new antenna. Everything is back to normal. Because my local Garmin dealer told me that Garmin would not replace it under warranty, I ordered one from the manufacturer shipped to me. After Trek posted, I re-contacted my local Garmin dealer and he changed his story. However, since I'd already ordered from Aero Antenna, I ended up taking the replacement cost on the chin. Lesson....don't necessarily trust what your local Garmin dealer tells you. I hope my new antenna (List price of $352 + installation) is an improvement over the original.

Yeah....I religiously check that thing every time I pull the engine. I can pull it out of the engine far enough to check for metal chunks, but there's not enough room to completely pull it on my plane....unless the engine is drooped forward.

I thought the ammeter on my 74 C was inop....and it was, but just becase the connections at the shunt were loose/corroded. An ammeter is a pretty simple/reliable device.

Thanks for posting that, Parker. That's how we hope it works. However, it does not explain why for the past 12 years, whoever I use as an agent starts out with a competitive rate (that's why I go with him/her!), but after the second renewal, they are no longer competitive. When I shop with my N#, I get almost penny for penny quotes of what my agent gave me. When I shop other agents without my N#, I get new, better quotes! I'm sure there's "something else", I just don't understand. In the previously cited case, where I grounded my airplane for 45 days, all the quotes were about $1600, but the new quote was $960. Parker, that's a huge flag that there's something else going on. Thanks again for the explanation.

Parker, since I'm not an insurance professional, I'm not privy to what goes on behind the scenes. However, that was certainly my experience early on. I have not shopped under my N# for years, so I don't know what the practice is today. However, one time when I was shopping under my N#, I was quoted the same rediculously high price by 4 different agents. Rather than pay, I let my coverage lapse for about 45 days (my Mooney was in my hangar for maintenance). I re-shopped without the N# and my first (fresh) quote was more than $500 less! I don't know what the "inner workings" are, I only know what worked for me. It would be nice if the process was transparent to the consummer. Maybe someone will explain it.

I would think you'd want a ferry pilot with at least those qualifications! Where's it being ferried from? Is it far?

In my experience this has more to do with the agent, than the underwriters. My experience has been that after the first renewal, your agent figures they've "got you" and you won't bother shopping the market any more and the quotes go up. When you DO shop the market, DO NOT use an 'N' number; it will lock you in. It's rigged so agents won't compete against each other with price. You have to keep 'em honest by looking around.

One of my neighbors who recently moved south, was an exec with Starr. Apparently quite legitimate. My agent querried Starr on a couple of quotes, but they weren't competitive at that time. I'd have gone with them if they were.

Good luck with the interview! Are you interviewing with one of the majors? Hang onto your plane if you can. That airline flying won't scratch your Mooney itch. Besides the airlines won't give you an airplane for that trip to grandma's.

Welcome to Mooneyspace! Whatever you decide on fuel tanks, buy the airplane that already has a fresh re-seal, or bladders. Avoid the initial shock of having to do either after you buy your "baby". I own a Mooney and I've owned an RV. Once you get used to the lower maintenance costs of an experimental, it's hard to adjust your thinking back to the cost of "certified" maintenance. Once again, welcome to Mooneyspace!

I prefer the word "exorbitant". I complained to Garmin about the cost once, the rep assured me that these data cards were "special". After reviewing the specs of the memory chip, they are about the sorriest chips now available on the market....I guess that does make them "special".

1. Aviate. 2. Navigate. 3. Communicate... If in doubt, concentrate on #1.

Actually, I want a spare card. I have access to a reader.

If Hank gets one, and there's another out there, I'd like to get in line for it.

I don't think that there will ever be pilotless airliners in our lifetimes, but I do believe that we will see a push for single pilot ops in the 135/121 world. The ground computers, aircraft guidance systems and data-link are already in place. Pilots are doing less and less flying and more and more monitoring. At some point, the question will be asked, "do we need two pilots?" When I started, the raging question was, "Can a turbo-jet aircraft be flown by (just) two pilots?"