nels

Don. I had a Lindey years ago and hated it. About 25 yrs ago I bought a Miller 220 Volt. Mig welding is pretty easy. If you have a bottle you can typically run .035 wire or .023 for thinner stuff like sheet metal. This type unit is pricey but worth it if you intend to use it a lot. Probably in your case, and I'm only guessing, a cheap Harbor Freight flux core unit would suffice. If you you decide you like welding with the mig you can sell the cheap one for a slight loss and buy a substantial unit. Personally I love the mig. It beats the heck out of a stick welder and the oxy acetylene units.

I noticed some drift in the directional gyro during a cross country last week. Not sure how much but after reading up on it it should be no more than 3 degrees every 15 minutes. Does too much vacuum influence the amount of drift? Also, what is the overhaul cost and what is typical turn around time to expect? The plane is a 78 J with autopilot so the gyro has a heading bug.

You know, it is a great feeling getting so far that quick. What got me is Im certain I could have made it back home on one load of fuel with at least an hours worth of fuel in reserve. These Mooneys are impressive!

i just figured it out. Thanks for the offer.

I left Tuesday morning for Denver and arrived late afternoon Denver time. Visited my son Wednesday and the two of us flew home yesterday. Out was at 8500 ft. First stop and with plenty of wind on lading was LXT on the east side of Kansas City, about a 3 hr 45 min flight. From there I flew on to FTG in Denver. A little bumpy for the last 100 miles but not terrible. The runway was wide and long which was why I picked it as it was my first landing at an elevated airport. The visit was great as we toured Denver a little on Wednesday, had a beer in Golden and a nice supper in the evening with my son and his future wife; my son even picked up the tab. My son Adam decided to fly home with me so we planned to leave Thursday early, about 8 am. He wanted to finish a video interview he started several months ago with his 96 year old grandfather back in Cincinnati. Well, he had lots of cameras, tripods etc which he had estimated at about 50 lbs the night before but was probably well over 100 once he had it all together. Borrowed a scale from the FBO and promptly broke it. We had just fueled the plane the night before so had a full load of fuel on board. End result was we left my tool kit, the tripod, bottles of water etc behind as an insurance policy on not being over gross at 5000 ft. Finally heading home at 9500 ft we were cruising at a ground speed of 132 knots and 6.7 gph running lop. I was amazed at this but was afraid to keep it up so rolled it up to 7.4 gph. I'm pretty certain we could have made it home without fueling but I decide to stop at Omar Bradley field in Missouri and fill up at $3.75/gal rather than 5.22 at my home field. Left KMBY and up to 7500 where we picked up a heavy tailwind and 175 knots cruise on the remaining leg. Used flight following all the way out and back; that was great. Gas at LXT as 4.08, at FTG 4.48, at KMBY 3.75 and my home field 5.22.

Did "flightaware" ever track flight following.

Make sure all cables are tight.

Thanks for the offer. I had written a reply yesterday but it got deleted with the rest. Definitely appreciate the thought though. I ended up flying into Front Range as it had two perpendicular runways to cover the potential wind problem and they were both incredibly long and very wide. Their 100 LL is under 4.50/gal and the tie down is $5 /day. I got in the air about 9:15 AM this morning, stopped on the east side of Kansas City, Lees Summit (boy was it windy) and gas was 4.08/gal, then flew into Denver Front Range. Did flight following the entire trip which was reassuring. Probably head home with my son Thursday morning. I'll post more when I get home. So far a great experience!

Jim, thanks, that makes sense.

Well, I screwed that up. I tried to cancel a response I started and walla, the entire post is gone!! Damn! Oh well, I appreciate all the information you guys provided. I'll probably pick a Denver airport when I stop for fuel about half way through the trip. Depending on winds and runway direction. Also, my son is willing to pick me up at any airport, even if it's 50 miles away. Another couple questions: is there a rule of thumb for leaning while landing and taking off at the 5000 ft altitude. Also, should I be concerned about runway length when taking off with a full tank of fuel and my son on board? Between the two of us and luggage we won't be over 400 lbs.

Have your tanks been patched before and if so, how many times? Personally I think you should just repair them yourself if they are fairly virgin.

Is the pickup at the rear of the tank in all Mooneys??

I agree with you. I also think it's time to just forget it.

How does Arizona treat the aircraft owner/snowbird in an airpark?

Bob, I take it you are agreeing with me?

Dave. I noticed the center at ear level is the quietest section of the interior also. I also notice that readucing the rpm significantly reduces the noise but I haven't dwelled on that yet. Your E noise levels seem to compare well with the my J.

There are a total of four pages from the FAA on hearing protection. I could only get page one to copy. Look them up and read them. You will start using foam plugs inside the ears with noise cancelling on top unless you are young and invincible like I once was.

You are kidding yourself if you think noise canceling headsets are the answer. I thought the same thing but noticed rapid hearing loss over the period of two years while using them. They ONLY protect low frequency range leaving the high frequency range of hearing vulnerable! Simple foam ear plugs combined with noise canceling headsets will take care of the high range and low range frequencies. Try it, you will hear the tower better when communicating also. Once your high range is gone conversation in a room full of talking people is very difficult, hard to isolate the voice you are trying to hear. You won't notice hearing loss until it's too late. It doesn't fix itself or grow back! The FAA agrees with me on this and has published a good three page article on the matter. To quote: Combinations of protection devices. The combination of earplugs with earmuffs or communication headsets is recommended when ambient noise levels are above 115dB. Earplugs, combined with active noise reduction headsets, provide the maximum level of individual hearing protection that can be achieved with current technolog.

I had mine up again the other day and again at 24x24 and 7k. I checked the noise between the glare shield and the windshield......pretty loud at 103 decibels.

Took my Mooney from I69, Cincinnati area, up to Dunkirk, NY yesterday. I flew up at 7500 and back at 6500 ft. 2400 squared and took some noise samples with my new meter. The center of the cabin at ear level was about 97 decibels. This reading changed very little through the cruise altitude range. I had tightened up the cowl doors before I left as one was open about an inch when closed. In doing so I noticed at cruise the interior noise seemed to actually have gone up with the doors closed. Before adjusting them I seem to have noticed a reduction in noise when closed but don't have any measurement to tell me this was the case. However, I think when closed tight against the cowling they probably vibrate against the cowling increasing the noise. The increase was hard to measure but was there so I'd say it was about a half decibel. The passenger floor area was a solid 99 decibels with an occasional 100 reading. The pilot floor was about a 98 decibels. I assume this is due to the exhaust being on the passenger side near the floor. Maybe cushioning the engine cowling from the airframe and gear and flap doors from the cowling could lesson the mechanical vibrations and noise translated through the tube structure to the cockpit? I will probably play with this idea over the next few weeks.

Eric, I have been looking at Arizona. Anguila airpark looks pretty nice but is sure out in the sticks. Property is reasonable around Phoenix but building cost in Arizona or at least Phoenix area, seem to be stupid expensive. Property taxes are a mixed bag that I have a problem figuring out. I'd like to winter in Phoenix but not do the summers there. I've actually bought property there but just can't justify the building cost.

This is about how found I could regularly get my hot J going. At least this method doesn't start off flooding the engine. I also found I need to "gently" push the mixture forward. If I move it too quickly the engine stumbles and quits. Then it's flooded.

Interesting. I'm sure the "aircraft" stipulation would negate lots of what you have done but maybe not all of it. Do you have any before and after sound measurements?

Thought you were off today so I'm at home.

I know what you mean and I want to be careful for sure. I think I would like to re epoxy coat all those frame tubes and possibly install a closed cell foam product possibly glued lightly to the skin? I really hate to do anything until I know where the bulk of the noise comes from.