Marauder

I would definitely look to simplify the panel with multi-function instruments. You can put all the steam stuff in the correct order but you can eliminate much of it with a couple of instruments.

I have the Icom. Still have a Vertex as well. One issue with some of these units is being affected by electronic interference. My Vertex will break squelch when my hangar LED lights are on, the Icom doesn't. Same for driving around in my Jeep. I put lithium batteries in the Icom and it looks like the battery life is more than double than alkalines.

I don't think you're being overly cautious. I've seen firsthand how fast a prop governor can go from symptoms to complete failure. I think "preemptive" is when you change something out BEFORE it shows signs of needing to be replaced. I have a preventative maintenance schedule that includes vacuum pumps (when I had one), mags, tires, blah, blah, blah.

Amen brother! Well said.

Yeah, I was just pointing out what FlightAware had captured and where that was relative to the airport. The sad part is that the registration for the new owner was filed at the end of March.

The airport looks really familiar. Hey Stinky Pants or Rob, is this the airport we had a Mooney get together at? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

FlightAware got the tail end of the flight. Looks like he was just off the departure end of the airport.

Plus you’ll get the roller tappets. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Peter Garmin. Remember him saying they work like a fine Swiss watch? Apparently they have jewel movement and gold lettering. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

My sister is a retired physician (internal medicine & ER). She was called back out of retirement by the state of New York to help with COVID cases. She had an interesting comment on the cases she treated. She said that there doesn’t seem to be a constant demographic with cases that will turn out bad. She has seen people in their 20s die while a 90 year with similar initial symptoms recover well. And on another day, the opposite is true. Are you seeing the same in your cases? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

I agree with the others on the 60 versus 70 amp alternator advantages. When I went to an all glass cockpit and modern navigation radios, I did a load assessment. My concern was that if I lost the alternator, what would I need to unload and how long would things continue to function operating off of the battery (let's keep the health of the battery out of the conversation). What I discovered was the load draw wasn't that much. So unless you are trying to start with everything switched on, there should be no reason your battery can't handle even a hard start. I think you should look whether or not the battery is getting a full charge with the 60 amp alternator and more importantly, you are not dealing with some sort of current loss from the battery to the starter. As for your original question, I have the Plane Power alternator installed (your AL12-P70 part number). I have it paired with a new Zeftronics voltage regulator. Rock solid alternator for me. Been using it for 2.5 years.

Third day after the second Moderna vaccine and not only do I feel good, I think I am better looking.

For some COVID survivors, it wasn’t the long term effects… https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/03/22/texas-roadhouse-kent-taylor-suicide/ Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

I'm not sure what all of this complaining is about. I just got my second Moderna shot and I feel fine. My Dad never spoke about WWII much. But I got to think that sitting behind a mask is a hell a lot of less inconvenient than sitting in the Ardennes forest for 3 weeks with your top teeth shot out. Suck it up...

You didn’t say which window mod you had. The SWTA 201 windshield mod has two small access panels. Those panels need to be tightly sealed or water will leak into the areas up by the foot wells. Good luck with the repair. As Andy says, “Don’t despair, it can be repaired!” Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

You didn’t say what model Mooney you are flying. I have seen my old senders hang up in my F model with O&N bladders. It had nothing to do with the bladders, just the sender hanging. Is the sender a rebuilt or new sender? Also, did you get the orientation right when you reinstalled it? When I replaced my senders with CiES senders, I had to invert 2 of them to clear the bladder side walls (their label was on upside down). Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

I’m a 30 year owner of a 75 F model. The late model Fs are pretty refined and were used as the airframe for the first J models. There are few ADs with the late F models. If the F you are looking at has a solid airframe and you intended to keep the plane for a while, it would be a good platform to add upgrades as you need them. Let me know if need any advice on the F you are looking at. I’ve pretty much seen it all. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

All of them [emoji1787] From my experience, both Garmin shops reused the RG-58 that was in my plane for the GTN 650 and the GNC 255B. The exception being new RG-400 that was used for the GPS antenna on my GTN. When I had issues with the new radios I ran all new RG-400 and had the shop make up new connectors. The only time I saw all new RG-400 run was when I had the Lynx installed. I suspect reusing coax, even with new radios, is pretty prevalent. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

That is the way to go. And also going with a good shop helps too. Most of the delays on my last upgrade was the quality shop fixing what was done incorrectly from the first two upgrades.

I can tell you what happens when they are overtightened. You end up declaring an emergency and doing an impromptu landing.

My experience (3 major upgrades) is that most avionic upgrades are measured in months. What usually happens is discovered issues, suggested modifications to your agreed upon planned upgrade or interruptions from emergency work (warranty repairs or a major customer comes in with a pressing issue).

When you sent me your personal information, Allan was one of the guys I reached out to. He is in Florida and I will ping him and the other guy again. Unfortunately, these travel boards are like gold bars. No one wants to let them out of their site, let alone their sight.

I think the rest have spoken volumes about the justification. As a long time owner of the same F model, when I made the investment to modernize the avionics, I was certain this was the plane that would see me through my retirement years. But let me add another perspective that might help. I had flown for YEARS with steam gauges before I made the first investment - an STEC 60-2 autopilot. In the world of single pilot IFR, an autopilot is IMHO a necessity. Don't let the rhetoric of "real pilots don't need autopilots" sway you. Even in the majors, the majority of their flying is with the autopilot on and that is with two trained pilots on board and not Aunt Emma sitting in the co-pilot seat wanting to know why the light is blinking red. Having the ability to let George handle the flying while you are briefing an approach with Aunt Emma talking about how much her bunions are hurting, really helps with the workload. Moving from the standard 6 pack to a glass configuration, you might hear some arguments that with the introduction of EFBs, the need for a full glass panel is minimized. I found flying behind a glass panel that my scan is much easier and I can get everything I need from the display (traffic, weather and of course the always needed flight information - attitude, airspeed, heck, even a notification that my GPS wants my attention). The flip side is that for some pilots having this much technology is a distraction and even worse a risk since they struggle to know the correct way to use the technology. I have really enjoyed the avionic upgrades I have done. But as others have said, make sure you are doing it on a plane that you plan on holding on for a bit.

And I bet some large ladies are starting to look real fine too...

I've owned my F since 1991. With a 201 windshield, gap seals, step removed, lower cowl enclosure and PROPERLY rigged, I see consistently 152 KTAS with 65% power. Cold winter days, it will creep up to the 155 range, hot summer days closer to 149. These numbers are cross checked using both mechanical means (Aspen reported TAS and TAS calculated using the airspeed from the ESI-500 applying the old factory CAS adjustments and the TAS calculator on the Garmin) and the ground course calculation using ground speeds. I think the predominate factors that play a role are the rigging, quality of the paint and the health of the engine. When I added the lower cowl enclosure, I don't think I saw much change in airspeed (less than 1 knot) but did see better uniform CHTs. A "YAHOO!" day below.