schule

Nice day for a short XC. $4.20 in Iuka, MS. Gotta love spending less than $40/hr in fuel.

A local airport uses a fully functioning police car and they have the best gas price most of the time.

I had a similar problem in pitch and it was a bad servo. Autopilots Central sent it out for rebuild vs. $16K for a new one from King. Good luck.

There are only a handful of Mooneys in Anchorage. If you haven't made contact by the end of Sept PM me and I might be able to stop by to ask her directly.

Even a less efficient TSIO-360 can get 115 KIAS on 6.5 gph @2100 RPM. The old IO-360 could do some where around 110 MIAS on 5ish gph @ 1900 RPM. A light weight C should be able to hang out around 110 MIAS on 5ish gph with no problem.

Mooney is one of the wider cabins in GA. It will hold two 240 lbs guys in the front seats with little problem. Just yesterday on a 7hr XC had a Cirrus guy tell me how surprised he was about the comfort of a 231. The leg room and width is great. We started in a NA Mooney, but quickly found a Turbo to be great for our long trip to get up high enough to see and avoid WX and bumps which are always present some where on a 500-1000 NM trip. Fuel mileage is the same and MX has been about the same, but the buy in is a small bit more. 4.5% loans make it still just a nice car payment and operational cost far exceeds the monthly payment. The fold down or removable seats have been a godsend on several trips. We have a UL of 940# with a similar need to yours and it has usually been enough, but we usually have a LOT more baggage. Planes are either pay now or pay later affairs. 1st annual is normally a big one so I recommend get now what will last vice trading up through several 1st annuals. Good luck. PM me if you want to get more detail.

Might try to call All American Aircraft in San Antonio, TX. They might have a nice airplane that meets your needs. In any case Jimmy and David have a good idea what current market prices are. -Mark

Might try to message TestWest from this forum about techniques revolving around Carson's Speed. Then go flying to find the speed and power settings required to cruise there. Remember to add extra fuel for reserves. 620NM straight from Miami Executive to MTPP. Considering the best route is not a straight shot over open water and Cuba, you might be better off routing over the Bahamas. -Mark

The next time you have a CFI with you have them show you a TRIM STALL from the CFI PTS. You will find out what can happen if you get distracted on a go around/missed approach and Spatial Disorientation sets in. -Mark

An Ipad with GPS geo-referenced charts is nice. Very much feels like cheating compared to the good old days. God forbid it lie to you though. -Mark

Everyone, Thank you for the inputs. Our major points of interest are SF and Wine Country. Napa and Concord look like the easiest to deal with to avoid SFO traffic, but San Carlos is closer. Any issues getting into or out of San Carlos IFR? VFR with flight following could be a back up if SFO approach tends to work well with light GA. -Mark

It seems the Bo pilot was very lucky. Be careful going too fast in any airplane, especially with turbulence. -Mark On May 5, 1998, at 0930 hours Pacific daylight time, a Mooney M20K (305 Rocket), N231BY, owned and operated by the pilot, experienced an in-flight breakup while descending. The airplane crashed into an open field about 11 nautical miles southwest of Bakersfield, California. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed in the vicinity of the accident site, and an instrument flight plan was filed. The airplane was destroyed and the private pilot was fatally injured. During a discussion regarding flutter, the participants indicated that the onset of elevator flutter in this model airplane occurs at speeds in excess of about 241 knots calibrated airspeed. Based upon the FAA's recorded radar data, between 0920 and 0923 while cruising at 19,100 feet, the airplane's ground speed was 191 knots. During the airplane's last 24 seconds of recorded flight, while descending between 9,600 and 8,200 feet, the airplane's ground speed increased to 240 knots. Also during this time interval, the airplane's average rate of descent was approximately 3,500 feet per minute. At 0956, Bakersfield's weather was reported as follows: Wind 260 degrees at 8 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; light rain; few clouds at 1,700, broken 5,500 feet, broken 7,000 feet; temperature/dew point 17/14 degrees Celsius, respectively; and altimeter 29.86 inches of mercury.

As might be expected the winters in Alaska are cold, so my wife and I are considering a trip to Florida and are thinking of stopping through the SF Bay Area around the end of March on our way back to Alaska. I have been looking at either Half Moon Bay or Napa. Any PIREPs or other suggested aerodromes? -Mark

Hangar - $5100/yr (out of the way) - $9600 (in town) --- Tie downs in snow $450/yr Insurance - $2800/yr ($1M/$300k) 100LL - $5.65/gal @ 8.5 gph Annual - $3000 Garmin Americas Updates - $550 US CBP Sticker - $30 Biennial Taxes - $70 Sales Tax - $0 100 Hour Inspection - $1000 WingX - $200 DIY Oil Changes - $100 ea. Misc MX/Cleaning - $750 130 hours last year cost around $20k plus upgrades --- $155/hr Flying in Alaska without TSA probing - Priceless -Mark

Second on Country Club Plaza in KC. Easy trip from the downtown airport (KMKC), and includes all manor of shopping and dining options to backdrop the Christmas lights. Picking your arrival or departure times would also allow viewing from the air. Should be right at a 3 hour trip. -Mark

While browsing for a Rocket upgrade I came across N252AN for sale by Island Aircraft Sales in Sarasota, FL. Cal was a sales rep for Mooney Mart and the aircraft/hangar are still the same from when I took photos as I started looking in 2009. Looks like an engine rebuild, repaint, and interior panels on the airplane which came out of the mid-Atlanic coast around spring of 2009. Not to start a Mooney Mart bashing contest, but rather to see if anyone has current information on the status of this new company. Is this a Phoenix trying to comeback or did the staff execute a hostile takeover and kill off Mooney Mart? -Mark

Tim You might try Hutchinson, KS. Depending upon your time of arrival and desire there is a descent space themed museum called Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center which has several displays worth seeing. Looks like the only FBO is Wells Aircraft, no PIREP but midwestern folks are typically friendly unless you happen to strike them as arrogant at which point all bets are off. You could go slightly south or north and watch a good basketball game. Or stop through Dodge City and get a picture at Boot Hill prior to playing against the house odds at the small Casino if you enjoy gambling. -Mark

LASAR Visor example on 67 F.

Thanks guys. -Mark

The Lycoming service manual has some methods for long term engine preservation. Does anyone have experience with the best method of preserving an engine for 6-9 months? My Mooney will be in a heated hangar in a cold dry climate. Thanks, -Mark

Byron - the Electroair timing set up details are in the installation instructions. You are correct it is not easy to find on the main website. As I am learning with an install of this STC there are also a couple other issues each particular install has to work through. Jim - good luck with you upgrade. The A3B6 upgrade to my Mooney was STC #SA250GL and Installation Instructions MW2030 arroding to the 337. It was completed by Midwest M20. The new owner running the shop in IL may be able to give a couple of pointers. He has been very helpful to me in the past when I was broken in NM. -Mark

Might try Bob Cabe. He lives a fair drive north of San Antonio. All American Aircraft (Dave or Jimmy) can put you in touch with him. -Mark

Electroair sets the timing to your engine placard timing. This is one of the many questions required to order an STC'ed kit. Once at altitude/below 24" manifold pressure the spark will start to advance. -Mark

On a short local flight today to Talkeetna for a West Rib Burger we saw this crazy house. This house upon a house upon a house upon a house upon a house with a tree house on top was almost as tall as the Seward's Folly Caribou Burger you get for lunch...almost. The trees around the house are approximately 75 feet tall. The tree house on top appears to be stabilized like an antenna with cables to the ground. I guess the cables also could make for a great zip line fire escape system if you are not in to BASE jumping. The clear strip just behind the house in the second picture is a private airstrip. This house is only a couple miles from the Parks Highway, but you cannot see it from the highway. By air works nicely. -Mark

All, Thanks for the ideas. I will start checking the spark plugs and go from there. Thanks for the clarification that FIRST to PEAK = LEANEST (#2) and LAST to PEAK = RICHEST (#3). After months of waiting it is nice to finally have my bird home where the real learning can begin. -Mark