Bob_Belville

The old AI must be retained as a backup. In my installation it is the only vacuum instrument. I have a STEC50. The Aspen provides GPSS to the A/P from either NAV1 (GPS/VLOC) or NAV2 (VLOC) without a separate GPSS box. The Aspen receives info from Both NAVs and has 3 needles to simultaneously display GPS, VLOC1, VLOC2. The old Nav head displays VLOC2 & GL. There is no subscription required for the Aspen1000PRO for the functions I describe. (I pay Garmin for the GTN750 and the GPS696 for navdata and charts.)

Okay, registered and paid. Fired up!

Thanks again! We have a well qualified, experienced formation flying instructor here - Brandon NeSmith - who is willing to help us if that is any use to Mooney Caravan folks. http://tablerockaviation.com/pages/flight-training/ Clarification - should I register and pay the $100 before we get set up for training?

Introduced in 1960: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Commander_100 Of course the C172 did not get a swept tail until 1960. Their original tail did not look much like a Mooney's.

Chris, this is from yesterday. At cruise, feet on the floor. To center the ball (on the Aspen display) on my E I have to put slight pressure on the right rudder. (When I first got the plane we did a lot of trim tweaking including the trailing edge on the short rudder. But that was 4 years ago.)

Only 4 seats... OTOH, with a useful load of ~1500 pounds you can fill them!

Of course that's 65 gallons per every 200 hp.

I took my 50 year old E up for an hour today. Leveled out at 7500 before doing a hold and a GPS approach. 157 KTAS was as much as I could milk out of her on an 85 deg day.

It is very possible the rear seat seat belt was not long enough to buckle around a big guy...

I tell newbies that they won't hurt the flap but it will give way if they step on it and they might hurt themselves when their foot slips off the trailing edge.

For a complete restoration a quart of compound will do at least 2 planes. My A&P had me use a small roller instead of a brush and to be sure to keep the material stirred up as the grit sinks pretty quickly. No need to strip old just clean surface, mask edges, roll on. Easy project. Pics are before and after. http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/randolphwingwalk.php

Glenn, gotta love 50 AMU panels in 50 year old Mooneys with Johnson Bars. Got a pic of the after?

Follow the instructions that should come with the lens. Any tension due to over tightening or torquing can lead to the lens developing cracks where you've drilled the plexi.

Dave, thanks for your and Adam's willingness to help me get proficient before Oshkosh! Maybe there are several folks who are missing out on next week's B2OSH and have a conflict with the 5/21 dates to work out a small group?

Specifically, my 2015 annual was $528. (Not counting oil, repairs. upgrades.)

Well, I didn't pay $700,000 for a new Mooney and I did not pay $2000 for a new tug. I paid $300 to a local pilot who had sold his plane. (That's why I'm using 2 old batteries - the 24V on the tug was bad after sitting a couple of years.) But the tug is great.

+1 on the time for the inspection. Perhaps a little more if it is the first time the IA is seeing the plane and the logs, AD records are not well done. I am able to do at least 1/2 those hours in my hangar. I can remove cowl, access panels, seats, carpet, side panels, change the oil, filter, lube Heim bearings, hinges and more, e.g. jack up the plane. And I put it all back together. My IA has a lot better things to do than to r&r access panels. As I do my thing I can note stuff to ask the real mechanic about. And since I am not flying 250 hours per year I have plenty of opportunity to do maintenance work through the year rather than holding off until annual time.

My Nose Dragger Dragger is perfect for a Mooney. http://dragger.com/Nose-Dragger-DRAGGER/ I use 2 12V batteries in series for their 24V model.

You make no distinction between a manual gear C model and a long body, turbo, built in O2, Acclaim? 50 hours for $1850? That's a $37 hourly shop rate?

Oh, flashlight! I resemble that remark.

The original ASI is technically the required backup for the aspen which is primary. I admit I look at the analog quite a bit while landing. I can't find a pic of a close up of the 2 but this shot is pretty high res and you can view fill size and move around.

My avionics shop would not program my Aspen in knots for the reason discussed above. But my hangar seems to be infested with elves.

I suspect this very thorough article was linked in the earlier thread. It answers all the questions being asked by folks getting started and it deals with using welding O2. "Having problems finding Aviator's Breathing Oxygen to refill your bottle? Upset about the rip-off prices some FBOs charge for an O2 fill? Don't put up with it, says AVweb's John Deakin, who explains why it's perfectly safe — and perfectly legal — to use cheap welder's oxygen, and tells you exactly what you need to know to buy it in bulk and do your own refills." http://www.avweb.com/news/pelican/182079-1.html

Yes, selected Tractor Supplies stores have tanks. They operate it about like convenience stores handle propane tanks for your gas grill. I could have gone that route but the industrial gas was a good bit cheaper for a starter tank and exchange and had more choice of sizes. Jeff, for what's it's worth, my 91 year old mother-in-law who lives with us was on O2 for a while after a hospital stay. The medical supply outfit provided a concentrator for use at home and small tanks for while away. Fitting conventions are different and I'm sure much more expensive unless it's covered by health insurance.