hobbit64

I sure would like to have that GNS-480!

I am looking to pick the 'Hive Mind' for ideas on how y'all are tracking maintenance requirements, i.e. Oil, Prop, Fuel Injector Fuel Lines, inspection / maintenance intervals etc. What are the masses using to track the calendar and flight time intervals? Spreadsheets, Apps, Google calendars? I am up for all ideas. My formative years were spent in a large part 141 school and flying Uncle Sam's green whirly birds where I always had a good maintenance tracking system in place. My first thought is the ubiquitous dry erase board but I think a nice spread sheet in the flight time log me and my partner use would be more applicable. We might go several months and not see each other as our schedules are pretty much opposite. I am worried that we'll possibly miss something and would like to see how the rest of the pack is capturing this data Thanks in advance Matt

Thanks! Please let me know. We've contacted McFarlane and I think that is the route I will go.

We need the whole cables. Seems the inner wires are binding

Thanks! I’ll reach out to them.

Thank Robert, I gave them a call. No luck this time but now I know another place to look in the future for other parts

Does anyone here have a spare set of flap and pitch trim indicator cables? Or have an idea of whom to contact in my search for them? I’m looking for #43 & #46 in the attached picture Thanks!

Thanks

How much is FCI charging? PHF is currently $250 for a smaller hangar with manual doors and I think $450 for the larger/newer ones with an powered door. I was at Harnett County last week and the FBO manager told me that he thinks the airport charges $125. I about fell over and wanted to start looking for real estate nearby.

I was flying -64’s from ‘98 to late ‘03. I was in 1/2 Attack at Camp Page, Korea and then to Fort Bragg for the rest of my time. Well, my stuff was at Bragg but I was usually not there with my stuff. It was a busy time for us all.

I have very early memories as a 'little one' of climbing into the back of our station wagon (well before seat belt laws and when kids freely roamed vehicles) with my face pressed against the side rear window as we drove by the local airport hoping I would see an airplane taking off or landing. I have had the bug since I can remember. Airplanes are just cool. People who work around them are even cooler. I guess I am just Pink Floyd's 'Earth Bound Misfit'. My journey started with Tamiya remote control cars which were great and a whole lot of fun. After I learned to assemble, operate and rebuild them, I figured I should tackle Remote Control Airplanes. Flying was my first true love of course, so why not?! I started in middle school with a 3 channel off brand airplane and then was on to Carl Goldberg's 'Eagle 63', a Great Plane's P-51 (sweet Bird), the Great Plane's Tiger 60 (souped-up with with retracts and a Big Ole 4 stroke swingin' a huge prop) etc. When I started R/C flying, my R/C Instructor wouldn't solo me. So after a while I decided to solo myself while my dad was at work... in our front yard and over our horse pasture. I was successful the first few times. Thank God I didn't hit one of my sister's horses... Sheesh, this story would have ended very abruptly! Shortly thereafter, my Dad and I began repairing and building RC planes together. It was a great way for us to bond and share a common interest in spite of my exuberant teenage year's dramas. He loved the craftmanship of the kits and I loved to fly them. We still have 7+ surviving R/C planes hanging up in their house which always remind me of how aviation saved the relationship between me and my Dad. My Dad still to this day, 30+ years later will stop everything and ask me questions about flying and listen for as long as I can talk. What is just 'work' to me is an adventurous story to him. To have my Dad hang on every word about my travels and experiences is still shocking to me.... I was the twerp that broke all his stuff while I was growing up and here he is hanging on my tales...?! Flying gave this bond to us. I solo'd in a C-152 (N65427) my junior year of high school and I basically gave up everything for flying. I was hooked! High school ended and I had to do something. I was very fortunate that my Mom and Dad sent me to a small aviation university in Florida. I still think they were more surprised that I got into a university than I was. I got an 'Airline Pilot' degree and.... took it to the Army and learned to fly Attack Helicopters. My poor parents! I always wanted to serve our country, I was a Pilot at heart and the Army (unwisely) took me in and taught me to fly AH-64's. What an experience. The Army is really, *Really* good at training - I am proof. The instructors & mentors I was lucky enough to encounter there are national treasures in my humble opinion. The Apache will always be my true love. She was a veritable Magic Carpet Ride. Fun, honest and always brought me home. Special place in my heart for Her! After active duty I have flown my old Thorp T-18, Twin Comanche's, Seminole's, EC-120's, Bell 206's more General Aviation (my therapy), Regional Jets (CRJ-200's & ERJ-145XR's), OH-58's, UH-72's, Army King Air's and a Boeing 73 for my current beLUVed civilian job. During college, I flew M20J's and earned a few of my certificates in them. Comm ASEL, INST rating, and CFII. I was always amazed at the grace and finesse of a Mooney's handling during precision instrument flying. Aerodynamically they are amazing when you consider their engineering, efficiency and craftmanship. It was only a matter of time before I got back into Mooney's. Apache's will always have my heart, but Mooney's will be my therapy. Part of the reason to get back into Mooney's is to travel our Beautiful country with my daughter. When I logically assessed the airframe needed to do this, Mooney's were the only choice. Their safety (4130 Chromoly Tubing Frame), efficiency (NM/gal), and my sentimental attachment made it an easy choice. [Ramble Switch - OFF]

Please don't tell any of my Army buddies that I regularly reference the 'Squid Book of All Things Aeronautical Stuff'! (We'll just keep it between us -- Shhh!)

I appreciate all of your replies! Good Google Search hack , Thanks! I will have to look into Air Wolf's model, heck if an Apache pilot thinks it's good... it's gotta be worth it. I had not thought of the extra scrutiny I'd be afforded in the filter at oil change time.

I have spent several hours looking into (...and using the MooneySpace search function...) the oil filter add-on. I have not specifically found write up's with respect to the Lycoming adapter vs After Market/Non-OEM devices. There is a significant cost difference from what I have been able to ascertain, and I am wondering if there is a benefit to proceeding down the Lycoming route. Thanks for the link, I will look into those threads. The PVC no spill technique looks great. --Professional Pilot thoughts, not a well trained A&P or computer sleuth

I've been searching for topics regarding the addition of an Oil Filter to the engine and was wondering what the group thinks. Have any of you installed an Oil Filter adapter? I saw that M20Doc suggested the Lycoming option over the remote install, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere other than Aircraft Spruce where it is ~$1800 vs some of the remote options elsewhere that are in the $600-800 ranges. Am I incorrect in my initial parts prices? I am looking for the Pro's & Con's from those who've been through this process. Thanks in advance. Matt

Ok... I really wish I hadn't looked at the Lasar listings! I just lost an hour of my life drooling on my keyboard.

RW flying is not difficult or exceptional. Like some one else said, they're like a Bike vs. Car. You never stop working. Similar to the taxiing a Tail dragger. Hovering comes with practice. Most folks I knew 'Broke The Code' and it just happened one day. You struggle for a while and then it just happens and voila! I've made money flying RW on and off for 15 years. It is by far my favorite and chosen form of monetary acquisition. I would never even entertain owning one. If I was independently wealthy (read Lotto winner), I would rent one. Come to think of it, I'd just keep flying RW for a living and get my fix that way. They way I view the world: If I want to 'zoom in' and look at something close in - RW. If I need to get somewhere with a long concrete strip-FW. If someone needs to be dropped off (or picked up) in a field-RW. RW flying is like being a bumble bee. Take off go over here and stop, look around, then zoom over there... They are awesome and like anything, each type usually performs it's design purpose well. Covering ground efficiently is not one of them. I'm Army trained and flew the -64A while I was Active Duty. Fun. Max ~140ktas with the missile racks and rocket launchers. Cruise was 100-120. I've heard they'll make ~170ktas with the pylons removed but I never experienced that. It was like a magic carpet ride. I will always remember the last day I flew it. Bitter-Sweet memory. Everything I do from here on will pale in comparison. Since then, I have flown an R-22 (neat. felt like the RW version of the C-152) and a S-300CB (same feeling) Both fine A/C but slow, S-300 Vh was ~70kias. EC-120's are kind of like, EuroCopters version of the Jet Ranger but a little faster, more comfortable, but they have more plastic. Still Nice. I Liked it. Jet Rangers or OH-58A/C's, are fun and easy to fly. 80-90 kias-ish. short on legs, simple design, last long. My last '206' flight was in an OH-58A+ that was made in 1970. It was older that me. It flew like a champ. There are vintage helicopters. Just not Fly-In's EC-145's are really nice. You can carry 2 pilots, and 5 people or ~1200lbs of cargo in the back. Lots of capability, relatively speaking. Full up 2 axis Autopilot with glass and 2 G-430W's. It will fly it all if programmed correctly. All you have to do is move the collective. Or, you can enjoy the flying it yourself. Up at altitude, you may get 135-145ktas. Down low I plan for 115-120 comfortably. For a helicopter it has longer legs. Most others I flew (without external or internal aux tanks) carried ~2+30 in gas. The 145 will give about 3+20. I'd love to fly a -60L or -60M, but that's not in the cards. I have never heard an ill word about 'Hawks. Amazing machines. On 'my' high end of the FW side, having flown small (53,000# MTOW) Turbo-jets was exhilarating, until I got the hang of it. Instead of thinking a few miles ahead, I was thinking 80+ miles ahead. (think TS avoidance) After getting comfortable, I was extremely bored at cruise. Great for moving around the country but little stimulus. I felt catatonic. The closest thing I have found on the FW side are King Airs. Fun and they keep you engaged. You're only moving ~4 miles/minute but they are good honest airplanes. I truly enjoy them. Plus, they don't take you far away from your family... IMHO, the best mix of moving across terra firma and getting to enjoy the scenery scroll by is light FW GA . If you need to turn a nut and open your toolbox; you pick the best tool for the job. Some times it's a box end, a ratchet or vise-grips. RW is something I highly encourage people to try. Going out and giving it an honest try will dispel all the wives tails you hear about it. Funny, you only hear the wives tales from the people with the least experience.

*!Thread drift alert!* Flying mag just had a write up on a company mounting jet engines on Aerostars.... Two Thumbs Up!

"Those who have, and Those who will." The loudest critics among us have a short memory of their close calls and mistakes. Or they don't yet have enough experience/knowledge to know that they are one minor distraction away from a gotcha moment building up to an accident/incident.

Slam dunks frustrated the heck out of me when I was flying little jets. Those things are slicker than.. and getting hung up high was frequent in some areas. I hated spoliers and chop and drops as they sometimes startled the uneasy sheeple in the back. I tried to fly like someones Grandma was back there, it wasn't always easy. Like other said, you start to get a feel for the places it happens. ATC has a whole set of constraints we'll never get to see. A simple inquirie may provide the the answers or push you back up in his/her list of priorities. 99% of controllers are GREAT and team oriented, let them know your needs when appropriate and they'll probably do their best to make it work in their plans. My humble $0.02 on cancelling: Make sure that if you cancel your IFR clearance that you can maintain VFR cloud clearances. In the rare circumstance that you are on an IFR flight plan and executing visual approach in wx just 'skoash' enough to be less than 91.155 and you cnxl ifr, you are open for a bad day if certain folks are around. I always do my best to help out ATC (this goes a LONG way), but you need to be assertive (they may not know that the WX at your Class G just went south) and pick your battles. Frustrated voices may not be directed precisely (sp?) at you, just their continual need to stuff 10 lbs of @#$% into a 5 pound bag.

Ok, thanks.

Sorry, but what is an 'AMU'?

CFI/II-MEI, CFI-RH. I earned my Comm ASEL, Inst, and CFII in M20J's... of course that was ~20 years ago. I still miss flying them. I'm a lurker here and, hopefully, someday I'll become an owner and treat my Wife and Girl to the sights I've seen and people I met flying around our beautiful country. I'm currently in the Virginia area.

Quote: maropers I'll preface my post with the fact that I'm not IFR rated but in the beginning stages - Does no one use flightwatch? I find it a bit odd it isn't mentioned in any post thus far. I've used it on the way from Alabama to Texas about 45 minutes out to confirm my expectations of conditions at the home field