Oscar Avalle

Yes, and put some masking tape on the doors and sign over it so that if somebody opens the door of your plane you know it… seriously. In one stop somebody tried to open the door of my plane and that is how I realized that this had happened. I had the plane inspected and somebody had left a little something.. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Right on the money… be nice and patient… say gracias, tip well but don’t think that because you have dollars you can do what you want… that does not take you anywhere. Being nice and polite gets you much farther than a huge tip. Just be careful with the weather… Oscar Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

The cost to unlock the GTN750 was around 2k if I remember correctly.. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Ahhh, one more thing… weather and weather reporting. NEXRAD (FIS does stop at the end of US territorial waters. I does not cover Mexico. But If you only fly to Cancun it is not too bad. So weather wise you are back to the 90s… which is ok… so a stormscope is of great help. Forecasts in Mexico are OK, outside Mexico…. Not so great and your experience varies in Central America. However for planning purposes Garmin Pilot and Foreflight cover your needs. Last thing… ATC works well in English. controllers know their stuff, but be nice to them greet them and thank them! It takes you a long way!!! Don’t worry about crowding frequency too much…Gracias and buenos días are always welcomed. In San Salvador they ended up greeting me with good morning Don Oscar where are you going to fly to today… and how can we help you? Priceless. However, be careful with deviations !!! They can be VERY STRICT if they want to get you… that is why the basic rule is: BE NICE. Once I was flying around San Salvador and I saw one of these big drones at 5,500 feet… not fun if you see that thing… Evasive action, call ATC for a PIREP… not a big deal… that is what I thought… but, I landed and ATC asks me to stop my plane at the ramp and report in person to the airport control center… long story short I had reported that the drone was close to the US Embassy and that was a prohibited airspace… so they were telling me that I had breached the airspace!!! They wanted to ground me and investigate me… I saw myself spending hours in a cell and paying lawyers to explain that I had done nothing wrong… I just wanted to alert them to a (F…) drone… luckily I had my GPS track, I showed it to them and I called the tower… they said to the guy at the counter… no… this is Don Oscar the Mooney guy… he did not breach anything…. He is just a nice naïf capi… So is flying life in the tropics… Oscar (el capi) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Nice summary! I am using the iridium go. It works well. I get email, SOS and connect my iPhone to it. I was hoping to link it to my air weather app, but air weather app sucks…so no weather. On subscriptions I have a GTN 750 and 650 and just renewed my subscription with Jeppesen for 1200 (approach charts, navigation, terrain etc) for US, Canada, Central America and Mexico. Considering that there are no many IFR or VFR charts available outside the US. I think that the Jepp subscription and Garmin Pilot or foreflight are important. Another nice thing to have is Synthetic Vision and terrain alert… ATC is not always very careful and it is good to know where you are going. I agree with having a Handler! Makes life SO MUCH easier. Once I arrived in Managua, Nicaragua, and after I landed I was greater by a bunch of young soldiers with M16 pointing at this gringo plane certainly part of the imperial fleet! I was told to tell them immediately before leaving the plane that I was Pedro’s friend ( the handler, who just happened to work for the local Airport authority) and once I said that they relaxed and pointed their M16 (or whatever they had) to the ground. Oscar Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Flying internationally is fun, but it has its wrinkles. For example, get to know your insurance policy really well. Make sure the ir covers Mexico… Also bring Mexican pesos… Cozumel’s credit card machine sometimes does not work… and then you end up paying gas in US dollars at an outrages exchange rate. Also, make sure that you know the rules!!! For example even if you don’t fly over Cuba you may be talking to their controllers. Very nice and professional. They may ask you to dial in 29 92 in your altimeter if you are above 3,000 feet. I did not know it and I got asked about my altitude! Until they reminded me of their rules… Be patient!!! Mexico, in particular Cozumel has their own timing… and it is not New York… time should be seen as a Géstalt not as something CEO chronological! BTW: make sure that you pay ALL your fees! You may get a bill later for usage of Mexican airspace (only about us$ 3 dollar/) and ir can only be paid in Mexico!!! Unless you hire a Handler and it would cost you 100 dollars. If you don’t pay the fee you may be denied access to their airspace… which is not good if you are trying to cross Mexico… Handlers, I did not use handlers in Cozumel, but I am a strong supporter of hiring them! You pay a fee (not cheap) but you don’t have to hazle over paperwork and red tape!!! Really great. For me worth every penny…. Rafts… I bought one… not cheap but now I have it and don’t have to think about renting one. Regardless know how to use it!!! Life vests: yes, I also bought a set… wear them!!! They are worthless on the backseat! Danger: one thing I do is to ensure that it is VFR all the way from my starting point until destination… you don’t want to hassle with weather over the Gulf of Mexico.. Also you will see a lot of ships in the gulf… so you know they can fish you out of the water…in case you may need it One thing I also do, is take a satellite phone with me… just in case your radio fails…. Just make sure you have all the numbers and know how to use it. Iridium has some nice units that you can link via Wifi to your iPhone. But again know how to use it!!! Another aspect that helps is to wear a pilot’s shirt and a pilot picture ID. You become immediately capitan!! They don’t mess around with you. As my plane is registered Under a LLC I used that as my company’s name and under my name I put captain… that helped me tremendously in Nicaragua… and sometimes you don’t get charged fees… it also helps if you have to go through security… So I may be forgetting many other aspects, but enjoy it! It is fun…. Oscar Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

No overflight permit is needed. Just file an international flight plan and the equivalente a EAPIS for México. Take Mexican pesos with you. BTW the airport of entry foe GA is Cozumel, not Cancun. So fly to Cozumel and from there to Cancun. Otherwise it is an easy flight. BTW you will need a raft. Did I tell you to take Mexican pesos with you? Enjoy the flight!!! Oscar Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Given the current context I would pay it myself. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I would also like a set Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Got mine too and if works great! One little issue I flew into a cloud and it started to announce 10 feet… Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Great fun....

Where can I purchase 9 feet of M5086/2-4. The only places I found want to sell me 100 feet for 724... Any suggestions?

Really nice!! Thanks for sharing. What cameras do you use? Software?

Alan, do you have a boot available for my M20C?

Aspen can drive de autopilot?

It works ok. The Limitation is that it needs a place where the compressor can push the air to the outside. Without that outlet it can’t really cool the air so well. But it is a cool unit... Also, it has its own battery so no issue there Oscar Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Really nice! What camera are you using? How did you copyright your videos...? Just interested to know how to do it.

Indeed, I had a MT prop installed on my M20C. Not a big deal. Call Larry Schlasinger MT rep for the US. He can assist you. My experience with the MT Prop has been great. Much quieter and smoother operation. No more RPM limitations.

Matt thank you! I am going to the airport today and I will check on this.

Yes, there was an option to get a doghouse from airform. Unfortunate they stopped selling them Oscar Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Can you send me some more detailed pictures? I really like this and I would love to adapt it to my mooney Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Clarence, I have a JPI 900. I have done everything by the book. Changed even the doghouse and got a new one! Inner baffles are fine... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Don Please do so! I have the ARI mod I would love to see what you did Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Thanks, I have the same issue and I did the same things you did and the dam thing is running ultra hot Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Thank you! I just got that carburator. I discovered that I had the wrong one.