TWinter

One sentence.. "I'm glad I earned my PPL in the 80s era in a 152". This is some crazy stuff! Overly complicated IMO. If SH knew in advance that this program was this complicated and so structured would you still have opted for the same school and this format? I know things have changed over the years, but I still see local newbies in this area go from start to PPL in the old fashion method. Most MS members did ground school (much had to be learned on our own), flight training w/ instructor, onto a solo requirements after the traditional solo three T/G, then XC requirements, next is examiner oral and finally examiner practical demonstration. One thing about the route you have taken..SH should be one hell of a pilot when you finally do get the Golden Ticket -Tom

When I first moved here the I was looking for a business equipment loan. The bank said they would do the loan, but required that I have a life insurance policy. I thought that was odd. Never had a bank require that. That was many years ago and at the time I had no prior relationship with this bank. I just bought a generic policy and it sufficed. Many years later and after several other loans over the years I've never had them ask me if the policy was current or still existed. I think they are just protecting their interest. -Tom

Thanks for the heads-up..We are still on track as far as going so any info is helpful. We will be leaving the May 30th and coming back the June 2nd. Still looking at KORL and Deland. KORL has the edge being closer. I'll compare fuel refill, daily aircraft parking, rental car and travel to and from Deland vs. KORL and see how it shakes out $ wise. Thanks, -Tom

I'll be in Portsmouth (PSM) for a few days in July.. Have not nailed the dates exactly and things may change between now and then, but you are welcome to keep me on the radar. I don't have a F or a C, but I do have a E you are welcome check out. -Tom

Just flew over this airport last week. Prayers for the families. http://www.wapt.com/news/mississippi/4-killed-in-tupelo-plane-crash/39567646 Other news sources said the flight originated out of Kerrville, TX and landed in Tupelo this past weekend. Departed this morning and had engine trouble right after take-off. RIP -Tom

It's looking like KORL or KDED. Both have good resources. My brother said Deland is about 4o minutes out, Exec is just around the corner. -Tom

Yokes SOLD.. Thanks

When it comes to food I'm sure his family will have heard of it I'll put my vote in for Prato. -Tom

That's funny right there!!

The changes will be in the avionics panel mostly. The seats are nearly new and in good shape (done by AeroComfort). They were done new about three years ago as well. I am having some other cosmetics redone, side panels, glare shield and armrest. The Yokes will be changed to black with a silver trim Mooney logo in the center, they are the thicker 201 style to accommodate the new switches for PTT, AP and electric trim.

This will be our first visit. He retired from the Navy last year after living in Coronado, CA. He and his family are now living in Winter Park and he's flying for JetBlue and based out of Orlando. Looking forward to a nice visit to Winter Park and Orlando for a few days. -Tom

That's alright..I always get it confused and had to look his address up to make sure I was right

Not had a problem with it. It's snugged up so the side kind of rests against the edge of the glare shield so it stays pretty stable. I used it primarily for XM weather and radio unless I'm really heading someplace I rarely program flights into it. I just leave weather displayed. It takes a few tries to get the cup at the correct angle to get a good bite of the windshield. This was a picture from a few years ago. I now have a 796, but use the same method. -Tom

I'm lost on this one..lol. I did some snow skiing when I lived up north. I swim like a rock, so water ski as kid twice. So not so much in the water. No idea where this is going? -Tom

Hey Florida guys and gals.. We are heading to Winter Park FL at the end of the month for a birthday and Nephew's graduation. I've looked at airports on the outskirts of Orlando (not wanting to deal with that much hassle and air traffic). We will rent a car at the FBO and drive to Winter Park. Any suggestions as far as a quick easy airport to get into and out of easy. It will be a VFR flight, about 4 hrs from TN to FL. My passengers are not real avid flyers so the less traffic and activity the more comfortable they will feel. We don't mind driving in from the outskirts, but looking for suggestions. Leaving the May 30th until probably June 1st or 2nd.. Just a few days. Thanks in advance, Tom

My E is a 74 model. I think all the earlier models were the same diameter. I'm sure someone will chime in if I wrong. The J models went to a larger diameter. I'm still getting things lined up for the swap to the J style. They were covered about 3 years ago by AeroComfort. -Tom

Split rear reclining on my 74E It's actually pretty interesting looking at so many different configurations. Seems like some years there was a mix/match of different options. I'm assuming it would have been out of the ordinary for customers to spec order planes, but sometimes there seems to be some oddball mixes that came out of the factory. My E has split rear seat, has emergency gear extension in the center between the seats and quad control. It was kind of a mix of E-F and J. This was the period when Mooney was bankrupt, changing ownership and production..You wonder if they were using current supply while still maintaining the builds within specs trying to keep costs to a minimum. I like my configuration, especially since I prefer the quad controls. -Tom

It is the Pro Plus unit..They are showing a retail $13,995 then a $2000 rebate..Then whatever dealer mark-up is.. I'm sure between everything else I have him doing he is making up some of the difference on the other upgrades. Over the years of upgrades I'm sure he has come out far enough ahead even on a slim margin with this that he is still pays the light bills. -Tom

If it sounds any better he did call me this morning and told me he miscalculated his pricing when he took off the GPSS module from the STec and we added the Aspen, he inadvertently applied the rebate discount as well. This calculated to be about a $4k mistake for him. He did say he would stand behind the price he quoted though. He asked if we could split half of the resale on some of the removed items and let him recoup just $2K of the $4K mistake. I'll be removing the Stec 30 Alt Hold, AccuTrak 2 and all components, PM6000 audio panel, JPI 830 and whatever else..He has always done me right and in return if he made mistake in his figures and it only takes $2K from the resale to keep him straight then I'd rather do the right thing. From what I've seen it looks like he treated me very fair. I'd want to do the right thing. I can PM you exact numbers of the breakdown, but pretty much posted what they were here. -Tom

Had my shop not wanted to do all of my upgrade as a one package deal this would have been a great opportunity. GLWS:)

In about 6 weeks she will totally different..Thanks!

Not all shops are created equal. I have the deposit on the new work with my regular shop for all the upgrades so there is no going back from here. One of the shops I initially called looking for quotes finally called back today..it's been over a week and they are located in east TN. This was before I decided on the Aspen route, but at the time they were quoting the same project. My local shop was about 13K for the Stec 30 w/ GPSS and new DG. A east Tennessee shop finally called back today. It took over a week to get me a quote. They called today quoting the same parts, same work as my local shop, they quoted a crazy $25K for Stec 30 w/ GPSS and that did not include a new DG. His comment "STec thinks highly of their stuff". He was in the mid $30k for the Stec50 series. Not all shops are created equal I guess. I should have known the guy in east TN would be high. When he called he spent 10 minutes telling me he was so sorry for the delay in getting the quote, they've been so very busy. Shop, shop and compare..I want quality work and I won't beat a shop up as long as I get reasonable pricing and quality work, but wow, a $12K between shops for the same install. -Tom

I'm going to be changing my yokes to the 201 style. These were covered by AeroComfort about three years ago. Includes Yokes, Clock, PTTs and working PC switch. It will be about a month before the shop gets my plane, just thought I would put these out there for you to think about if you are needing to replace what you have. I'll get better pics within the next few weeks. They will not be available for about six weeks, but it will give someone a chance to think about it. Includes Yoke, PTT switch (both sides), shafts and clock. Check AeroComforts site and they charge about $800 for covering (you supply your yoke) in leather with just a single cover, no two-tone, no switch, no shaft, no clock and no embroidery. No need to pay until they are ready to ship. Just the word that you want them and I'll hold them for you. SOLD

I'm hanging on the fence at 70% being able to attend.. -Tom

http://www.bsfairpark.com/?gclid=CN26x_bAz8wCFZA2aQodO-8MDg Retirement home.. Here you go..lol I have not been here yet, but I'm on their email lists. Looks like they have been selling pretty well. Hills of Tennnessee Should have multi quoted all these replies, I forgot about that option and was answering one at a time while drinking morning java..