Marauder

It is always difficult to put yourself into the accident pilot's place. I think all of us want to know what caused the accident and more importantly what learnings we can take away from it. I will mention one topic related to pilot proficiency. And PLEASE don't read into this that I think this was a pilot proficiency issue that caused this accident. We just don't know at this point. Pre-COVID, I did a fair amount of safety pilot flying. I've seen it all. Some of the pilots I flew with were heavily dependent on the autopilot. It usually starts with "I know how to hand fly an approach but I find it safer to use the autopilot." Sitting in the dummy seat, on some planes it is pretty easy to flick the AP breaker discretely and watch how "safer" evolves. I also see a fair number of pilots who fly well until something goes wrong or gets changed unexpectedly. One thing I have seen that bears mentioning is fixation. It is a pretty common problem. I flew with one pilot who wouldn't divide his attention between flying the plane and looking at his iPad. I timed him multiple times looking at his lap based iPad for an average of 9 seconds each time he looked down. A lot of bad things can happen in 9 seconds (and it did). Hopefully a clear cause will be revealed.

Bryan - As someone who has gone through the process you are going through, I think the important first step is listing out what you really need, what you really want and then seeing how this works from a budget perspective. From my experience, if you can't afford what you need and what you want now, I would hold off on doing partial upgrades. Every time an avionics shop cuts into your panel, it is almost like starting over. My upgrades started in late 2012 and the last upgrade was done in 2017. An example of "do overs" was the addition of a GNC 255B. I already had a GTN 650 installed with a new PS Engineering audio panel. Adding in the 255 required rewiring the audio panel and the Aspens to accept the new radio outputs. Had I done this over, I would have pulled that second dated Nav/Com and had it installed with the 650. It is also important to find a quality avionics shop. I was fortunate that the last shop I used was honest and showed me all of the short cuts the previous 2 shops had done. This included notching the radio stack to make things fit and leaving old wiring. The last shop corrected all of the defects, removed excess wiring and even made up a new panel at no charge because "we couldn't let your plane out of the shop with a chopped up panel". When you get to decision time, come back and let us know how you are doing.

I wondered about an over torque or runaway prop situation. Is it possible that he lost rudder authority and that allowed it to roll off to the P factor side? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

The gust lock on this plane involves a gizmo that locks both the control stick and applies the brakes. It is mounted in the front cockpit and is very noticeable. Also impossible to use the rudders while taxing and conduct a “free and control” control stick check. If you look closely at the video, GeeBee is correct. There appears to be no control deflection and there is a close-up photo after the crash that shows the trim tab in the neutral position. I think this model has an electric trim system. The flaps also appear to be extended to some level. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I seem to recall an AD was issued around 2012 for tail attachment issues. Anyone remember the specifics and if it would apply to this plane? Looking at the pictures, it does look like the left horizontal stabilizer is missing. What a loss of life. Two doctors and another person involved in the healthcare field. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Being a resident expert on overweight people, judging by his pot belly and the size of the owner of the plane, pretty close. If you add in the weight of his ego, they were over.

I was recently asked about how much I would sell my 1975 F for. Using my best Dr. Evil voice I replied "1 million dollars" If these prices keep going up, I may need to consider selling!

Dev - I’m not a big fan of him either. I watched a few of his videos and the ones he was flying with Josh from Aviation 101. I think this video is more telling of his real intent. It’s clear he is interested in the monetizing aspect of his channel and doesn’t like the negative comments. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Dev - I’m not a big fan of him either. I watched a few of his videos and the ones he was flying with Josh from Aviation 101. I think this video is more telling of his real intent. It’s clear he is interested in the monetizing aspect of his channel and doesn’t like the negative comments. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I got into the drone thing when I saw one used at my daughter’s wedding. Pretty cool technology. My drone has an onboard ADS-B sensor and will warn me of nearby airplanes. And show them on the map you can pull up from the operations screen. The FAA is requiring drones I think in 2023 to be equipped to do ADS-B out. I think mine already has the hardware but hasn’t been activated by the firmware. The FAA even created an app called B4UFLY that shows you the restricted airspace. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

You got that right. And it sucks. We were told by the Secret Service they were building a helipad at his beach house. We took that to mean he would be there most of the summer. He made one trip so far to the beach. My guess is the locals got out their pitchforks. When he is in town, a lot of roads are blocked off. That would not go well in a beach town where they survive on the summer business. We are hopeful he would take up fly fishing or some other hobby that gets him out of Dodge more frequently. The biggest issue has been the time changes he makes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Where is Peter Garmin when these discussions happen? Heard he just had a second GI-275 installed. Personally, I never bought into same manufacturer backup strategy. Whether it is my Aspen’s or Garmin’s. That’s why I love the ESI-500. Now that’s a Swiss watch. [emoji13] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

It’s been 30+ years since I have flown a Cessna 172 with 40° flaps. Never flew in a 150. Just couldn’t fit. But I do remember getting checked out in a 172 that had 40° flap capability and 150 HP. The instructor told me never, ever use the 40° setting. I remember him saying “it’ll bite you one day”. It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds. And having seen his videos, if he will do a post crash analysis on his own crash. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

My airport is in the 12nm inner ring. We have had a few “overnight” guests since Biden came into office. The weirdest one was a guy doing a relocation of a plane from New Jersey to an airport out west. He was talking to Philly and they actually cleared him into the inner ring. He was intercepted and landed at our airport. Philly acknowledged their mistake but the guy was forced to stay the whole weekend. Fortunately none of the intercepts were from our airport. There have been several from airports in the outer ring and a few from airports just outside. A realtor friend of mine did tell me that the Secret Service snagged a drone operator who was taking an aerial shot of house being put on the market and inside the inner ring. Must have been an older drone. Mine won’t let me take off when I am in restricted airspace. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Those of you who know who Dan Gryder is, you will find this interesting. I’m curious why he had full flaps out. Go around? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

You ain’t living unless you do a nice deep exhaust borescope exam. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

SB 208 was issued to address a specific problem. If you didn't find corrosion there, it doesn't mean corrosion wouldn't be found elsewhere. What we are advocating is that due to what you showed us, I would proceed cautiously. The areas you need to be concerned with are not the easily accessible areas. It is in areas like the rear spar and other locations that you need to work to get a better view of. M20Doc and other IAs can give you an idea of where to look. As for IA opinions, I think IAs are like any other professions, you can ask 3 of them and get 3 different opinions. The one I trust is the one who understands the limits of when something is considered a problem.

And BTW, who’s idea was it to use glue to hold down the rug??!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Amen brother. My CO meter would always show a low background level. I had already pulled and replaced the duct tape under the rear seat with high quality waterproof 3M aluminum tape. When I did my rugs, I found a bunch of seams and little holes that were covered with duct tape as well. I spent that day sealing all of those as well. I now see CO values at 0 in cruise. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

It’s tied to the configuration module. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

The thing that people don’t realized is that Al Mooney had 44 inch arms. Who else would design a plane with a fuel selector in that area?! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Service bulletin 208 came out when it was discovered that water was seeping down from the Windows into the fiberglass surrounding the roll cage underneath them. Part of the SB is a visual inspection of the tubular structure. My shop pulls the panels and inspects them at the annual. My point was that if you don’t see the foil backed insulation, there is a good chance that the SB was never done (or at least correctly). As for the saltine cracker comment. Planes that spend time near the ocean are more likely to be exposed to sea spray. Unfortunately the inspection panels are not airtight and salt can enter the plane this way. I think you indicated this plane spent a good portion of its life near the ocean. If they didn’t treat it with Corrosion X, Boeshield or some other anti-corrosion treatment, what you are seeing is probably an indicator of other corrosion that you can’t see. I know you have a financial commitment (if not already an emotion one) to this plane. That’s a fair amount of corrosion in an area where you shouldn’t see much. As the Doc said, the skin is structural and I would be weary of assuming that it isn’t. I would be looking deeper into the fuselage and wings for further evidence of the extent of corrosion. Not trying tear down your enthusiasm. Rather just trying to avoid what we have seen here numerous times before. An owner posting on the site their plane is trash due to corrosion. Good luck with the decision. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I went with Zeftronics as well. Really like the stability of its regulation. Rock solid at 14.1 volts. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

It will be fairly obvious if the 208 was done. The front (under the windows) fiberglass insulation would have been removed and replaced with foil backed insulation. As for the tanks, I would be suspicious if there was no logbook entry. If there is no current entry, you need to assume that the last reseal (if there was one) was the last logbook entry or that it was never done. Corrosion of any kind isn’t good. I think you will be hard pressed to find a 40 or 50 year old plane without some level of corrosion. That said, when I look at the level of corrosion in this plane, it sure looks like it spent a part of it’s life as a saltine cracker. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I think it comes down to the owner. There are some who are selling their last plane and will give you everything related (and even not related) to the plane. As others have mentioned, you can't expect to get tugs and other peripheral items, but it does happen from time to time.