yvesg

It is a 1977 J model. Serial 24-0297 Yves

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-droit/actualites/justice-et-faits-divers/gatineau/201406/16/01-4776317-atterrissage-durgence-a-gatineau.php I was able to talk to the pilot who happens to be a friend. He was training doing some IFR approaches with his instructor when the gear refused to go down. The emergency manual gear down did not work. He said as he turned it, there would not be any friction that he was used to when trying using this before. Any clue what could cause this? They flew around getting rid of excess fuel for a few hours while the firemen foamed the runway. The landing was a non event. He was surprised on how little damage this has caused to his plane. Yves

Last December, I went to get my GPS installed and as I landed at the airport where the avionics shop is, all my electrical went dead as I put the wheels on the runway on landing. The negatine lug connector sheered due to vibration...metal fatigue Yves

FlyTester, welcome to the group. Was our first time last year and we got addicted! I am counting 33 participants in the registered list. If this keeps going up we might have twice the number of airplanes we had last year! Good thing. Yves

I usually switch tanks in the vicinity of an airport... lets say while doing this I break something while turning that lever and shut off all fuel supply... I will be able to glide and land safely. Yves

The IFR plates format is changing in Canada. Here is the new version for one of the approaches at my home field. What do you think about it? Yves

You forgot the taxes Clarence, you forgot the taxes. Guys who can afford a Mooney (and service at a Mooney service center thereof) would fall in the 5% top income and would be paying over 50% tax all together, if you account everything. And it is particularly worst in Quebec where I live. City taxes (I live in the country so it is low here): $2000 on a $225K house yearly School taxes: $600 yearly Sales taxes: 14% on everything except groceries Fuel price: Virtually double what you have in USA, specifically on aircraft fuel Car plates: $275 yearly times 2 Driving License: $85 yearly times 2 Mandatory drugs insurance $600 yearly (times 2) and Viagra is not even covered... pilots typically don't take any medication Insurance rates for 2 cars, aircraft and house I pay around $4K yearly And I am not listing everything still... Yves

You forgot the cold Clarence, you forgot the cold. I would trade places anytime with someone living near Phoenix, AZ just to avoid these 6 cold months we get here near Ottawa. Yves

Question: What does it take to own an aircraft and have a small fortune? Answer: A large fortune Yves

My previous BBQ grill burner lasted only a few years. I got a new one this year using my Visa card points. In order to make it last longer shall I stop running it LOP?

I did that flight in my C last winter after a very nice evening with Lacee and Billie. My first leg from El Paso to Phoenix was IFR and I did continue to L.A. with flight following VFR after a fuel stop. Have not seen any difference beyween the two. Yves

I have Slicks on my C and a few months ago when the aircraft was undergoing its annual, I asked the mechanic to do the 500 hours mag inspection. I don't know how old they are but this is at least the second time it happens. Verdict : Less than $50 of parts And a few hours labor. He re-ajusted the timing and I immediately noticed some extra power.

What I have realized with the years is that when your kids are getting big enough so you have trouble fitting all this in the aircraft (size and/or weight) this also becomes the time when they prefer to stay home (and are old enough so they don't need a babysitter anymore) and go sleep to their friends house etc. I have 5 children and one day a friend told me: This airplane is way too small to carry your wife and kids... I replied promptly: You don't get it.... this is to get away from them! lolll Flying for my kids at one point became no more motivating than coming with me to the hardware store.... One nice thing is that eventually you become a grand-parent... grand-kids fit perfectly in any Mooney... and by the way, one of my 3 daughters just announced us yesterday that she is pregnant... good timing.... Welcome aboard. Yves

Even after an annual I would stick around the airport for a bit. However the field I take off from is near a small town and the country all around is full of emergency fields AND frozen rivers... Lets hope that your plane is ready for the upcoming Mooney Caravan :-) Yves

One of the preflight checks I do after runup is ask any passenger who can reach it to push on the baggage door from inside to see if it will open. I added this many years ago after I cancelled a takeoff where the thinghy opened on the takeoff run. Yves

The spikes are made of electrical fence wire that I cut. Each part is about 2.5 inches long. Yes I need something to climb on to put back or remove. I decided to keep a 3 steps ladder in the trunk of the car for this purpose. I also had to open an inspection panel in the tail to remove a nest. There were 3 chicks in there that will not survive. After I plugged the holes in the tail early spring, the bird found a way via the hole where the retractable step would rest in the up position. I had to make a plug for there too yesterday. I had hay all the way from the acçess hole to the pack of the tail... quite a mess... Yves

I got fed up cleaning the tail this week-end. Made one of those spike things. Here is a picture. Yves

Can anyone tell me how much was the fee last year? And if available how much it will be this year? I was asked the question by another local Mooney driver but completely forgot how much I paid last year. Regards, Yves

What I have a problem with is that one: "Google will steer the balloons using wind as they ride the 40th parallel. " As if they will be able to control this... humm I am very sceptical. Yves

Completely agree with you Larry... this is how we did it. Also, use time in the air, not engine time to calculate costs... this prevents people from rushing to take off or shutdown. Yves

Before I acquired my Mooney completely I did get into a partnership on it. Most of the time it was with one other fellow and also two other fellows. I did not invent the system they used but adapted it to a three way partnership at one point. In a nutshell: - It used a virtual bank account - Fixed costs were split evenly - Fuel costs were split according to usage - There was no hourly rate paid as such - Engine overhaul reserve was more like: Whoever used the airplane most had to pay more in the case where the engine gets overhauled or the share got sold. An engine overhaul hourly rate was decided and put into the agreement. Here is an example: If it was set to $20 If I flew 100 hours more than the partner when the engine gets overhauled, I would have to pay $2000 more then him for the overhaul. If I sold my share of the aircraft instead of needing the engine work, same thing would happen: I would need to pay $2000 to the partner. The nice thing about this system is that there is no need to put money aside for the future events, you pay as you go. This system also works if one of the flyers is only renting hours and does not pay fixed costs. Let me know if you have any questions about this system. Yves

As a law abiding foreigner, last year when me and the wife went to visit my good friend Matt in New Hampshire, when returning I did a departing eAPIS submission from his home computer. When I got to the airport, I still did not get the "you are free to depart" email from them.... I called Burlington and they could not find it so I had to submit at the last minute via my iPAD another one...the CBP officer on the phone finally gave the thumbs-up Now gess what... at the time I was VFR only. I had to divert to Vermont due to bad enroute weather. We landed at night and there was no-one on the ground... I called the FSS to cancel the flight plan and then called a cab to get to a motel. The next day the runway was NOTAM closed due to painting on the runway... we rented a car and drove home. 3 days later I drove back to retrieve the aircraft and return the rental car. When I submitted a departing eAPIS, I was the only soul on board. I had no question from the CBP officer about the fact that when I entered the USA we were two and now I am alone... did I loose one passenger there? I had another weird exchange from a CBP officer in Michigan last summer returning from Oshkosh. I called a second time to correct a departing time error and the officer was quite upset and said that they did not care and that I should contact Canadian border people instead. So my final conclusion is that when you depart USA, they don't verify if you actually did and they don't seem to care either. Yves

Same here. I do not know how much did the eAPIS costs to get established, and how much it costs to maintain... but it is a waste of money. The worst is about asking permission to leave the U.S. I have no clue why they instated this. Can anyone explain to me the security this provides? Yves

Over a month ago, they said that the plane could have taken two possible paths... north or south...see the following: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/14/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-plane/ Looks like someone decided then to focus the search on the south... why didn't they also searched on the north path? I guess the British guys that did the analysis missed something.... Yves

OK Ned, you are currently the closest one among us to that spot... do you see or ear any action from your point of view? Too bad you don't have your Mooney around cause you would have been able to go take a peek.... Yves