larryb

While I don't know the innards of the KC192, replacing a capacitor on a board is not difficult for a skilled electronics technician. The particular capacitor is not generally critical. Just match the capacitance rating. Voltage rating can be >= the old part. Pretty much any replacement capacitor that is able to physically fit should work. www.mouser.com has thousands of different capacitors in stock. I would try to find a technician willing to do it before buying a whole replacement unit.

What’s wrong with 180 knots?

For me the source of that problem was the pillow bearing for the trim tube in the rear avionics compartment. Just needed a shot of tri flow.

The panels and pumps are different as already mentioned. When I was shopping for my own TKS Mooney I wanted FIKI only. I figured if I was paying to own and maintain it, it may as well be full FIKI. I rejected a couple candidates that were not FIKI.

I would give the exhaust system a good visual looking over. Look for white or tan deposits which indicate leaks. As long as the system looks good I would not worry about what you saw. I have seen similar behavior on the ground with a tailwind.

Tailwind or headwind in the ground? I had this happen one time on the ground with a stiff tailwind.

For mine I 3D printed seat rail attachment mounts. Even though plastic they failed at 700 lb pull and I use 4. Should be strong enough. The upper section of the net clips to the shoulder harness attach points.

In this case we just have to depend on the Aspen to properly manage the battery charge state. The user does not have any control over the battery. The battery is made of 2 18650 cells, which can be purchased for around $5 each. In theory, the existing pack could be overhauled with new cells. I buy Samsung cells from https://www.18650batterystore.com. I don't buy unknown cells off of Amazon. Equipment needed is a battery spot welder, nickel strips, and shrink wrap.

For electronics the colder the better as long as it is not colder than the design spec. Computer chips close the timing spec in a defined temp range. Outside this range the design may not work. Other than this it does not matter. The equipment spec will tell you what it was designed and tested to. Spinning gyros don’t like very cold environment.

The shop had to do it. While I don’t know for sure, I expect that when TKS is initially installed they install the slinger ring to your existing bulkhead.

When I needed a new spinner bulkhead the shop moved my TKS ring from the old one to the new one. That only took a couple hours.

Good lighting. I had a single dim bulb like that. I asked for and received permission from the airport to upgrade to LED lighting. I used 3 high power UFO style LEDs.

First, congratulations on what sounds like a great trip. On my trips I like to use mid-size regional airports. These airports have at least regional airline service, as well as FBO's, cars and reasonably priced fuel. For the hotel I have two sources, Airnav.com and the FBO itself. I've found that FBO's often have great local hotel rates and can hook you up with a local hotel that at least has an airport shuttle van. The person that knows this stuff however generally works M-F 8-5. So if you call late at night or on the weekend you just get a random line person answering who doesn't know anything. The FBO's are used to dealing with crews from the visiting jets so they are very used to doing this sort of service. Airnav.com has a hotels tab and they sort the hotels by distance from FBO. I've gotten some outstanding rates through them as well. Larry

I like to cross through Salt Lake City, Rock Springs, KRKS, and Casper WY, KCPR. Terrain is relatively flat.

In my Mooney there is a circular connector in the open space, behind the fairing, between the fuselage and the tail. This connector is not water proof but it is in an are where it gets wet. When my plane had it's LED strobe upgrade this connector still worked but was found to be corroded. It's another place to check. What you are looking for is a high resistance connection. For the ground you can test this easily by measuring the resistance between the body of the socket and the airframe. It should be well under 1 ohm. I doubt it's the ground because even if the wire is bad, the light should work if the socket is mounted to the tail. Mounting it would complete the ground connection.

If it says 1000 watts that is the total for the whole unit. And it’ll probably struggle to get that 1000 watts. Also remember that 1000 watts at 13.8 volts is 72 amps. Add 10% for inefficiency. 80 amps is a big number. You won’t make that number with a car alternator at idle. I’d just buy a 2000 watt inverter generator and be done with it.

I never leave it connected except while actively using it. I’ve read too many stories about severe damage resulting.

It's best to measure your power draw and then buy an inverter that can handle 50% more. Amazon sells a number of inexpensive watt meters. After you use it to measure your engine heater you can use it to tell you how much it costs to keep that old spare fridge in the garage. My Reiff is 700 watts. So 115 volts X 2 amps = 230 watts for the tanis sounds a bit low. At that low power it would take a long time to heat the engine up. https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU/ref=sr_1_5?crid=10B9NCA802ADA&keywords=kill%2Ba%2Bwatt&qid=1701709994&sprefix=kill%2Ba%2Bwatt%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-5&th=1

I’ve received the monthly rate a few times when it resulted in a cheaper bill. I’ve never had that refused.

I have a similar setup, GTN650, Aspen, KFC150. My understanding is that NAV mode works by keeping the deviation bar centered. So if you are navigating to a point, and you are on-course, this will work fine and keep you on-course. The problem comes when you reach the waypoint and want to turn. In NAV mode you will keep going straight over the waypoint until the deviation bar shows off course, then the AP will try to correct and re-center the deviation bar. In Heading mode, combined with GPSS mode on the Aspen, the Aspen will direct the AP to turn before you get to the waypoint, anticipating the turn and flying a more accurate course.

I kept records of every fill for a number of trips and fillups, a few hundred gallons worth. The default K reading was within a couple %. It’s too hard to get an accurate number in one fillup.

Serious question: Does it really help? I’m thinking that it takes probably 5 minutes to pull the plane out of the hangar, put away the car, and close the door. By then has the cabin already cooled to ambient? I fly out of Truckee in the winter. The engine is heated, the cabin is not. I just wear a down jacket and have fingerless gloves.

I had a J for 5 years and a K for 6 years. The K is only slightly more expensive to operate. On my standard 150nm 1.2 hour flight I went from about 14 to 15 gallons per trip. Average cross country speed as shown in Garmin Pilot logbook function is 15 to 20 kt faster for the K. The K could be faster still but I don't fly it aggressively. Maintenance has been similar. Both engines have required 1 cylinder during my ownership, so that's a wash. The K did require a scavenger pump repair. The scavenger pump is only found on a turbo engine, so that was an extra cost related to the turbo. But the maintenance expenses have been overshadowed by the other aviation costs such as hangar, insurance, fuel, etc. So it's a little more but doesn't really move the needle. For me the turbo is well worth the minor extra cost.

Encores can be FIKI. I have one.