Marauder

It's actually a pretty common practice in propriety firmware. In my industry we charge money to allow access to our control codes. If it weren't for customer pressures, we probably wouldn't sell it. Falls under the intellectual property category. Garmin appears to be trying to protect their G500/G600 market by making it difficult for a competitor of that technology to get access to the code. Aspen has consistently pitched their open hierarchy and the interface capability with multiple platforms. They are in active collaboration with current or future competitors of Garmin for the GPS business. I suspect this also may be behind some of this. It is a shame because Garmin makes decent products, but being a bully in the market doesn't make me want to run out and buy more of their stuff.

Here is the letter from Aspen: 25 October 2012 To Aspen Customers: Aspen Avionics has determined that the GNS 400W / 500W Series Unit Software Version 5.0, released on October 16, 2012, causes flight plan cross-fill issues with Aspen's Connected Panel systems. The GNS 400W / 500W cross-fill interface is based on a Garmin-proprietary language, and while Aspen has successfully interpreted the GNS-to-GNS data in previous Garmin software versions, we are at present unable to reach an agreement with Garmin to provide a functional interface with this latest version 5.0 release. Aspen recommends that our dealers and customers who have already installed, or are planning to install, Connected Panel systems in their aircraft refrain from updating their GNS 400W / 500W systems until a functional flight plan cross-fill capability for Garmin's version 5.0 platform has been developed. It's also important for our dealers and customers to understand that once a GNS 400W / 500W unit has been upgraded to the version 5.0 software it cannot be restored with pre-5.0 software. In addition, Aspen has been unable to obtain integration specifications that enable the EFD1000/500 products to display ADS-B data from the Garmin GDL-88 receiver. If you are considering ADS-B functionality, we advise you to wait to purchase products that are based on open, easy-to-integrate architecture. You are encouraged to contact Garmin to request that open integration specifications be provided to Aspen and other manufacturers to ensure broad industry compatibility. You can be assured that your Evolution Flight Displays will be easily upgradable to display ADS-B data from compatible, affordable receivers that will be brought to market in the coming months, well before the mandate. As an Aspen customer, you understand that the power of the Evolution Flight Display Systems and the Connected Panel product lines reside within their compatibility with a wide range of old and new avionics products. This interoperability among all avionics manufacturers reduces aircraft owners' overall equipment and installation costs, while guaranteeing the investments made in aircraft panels. Aspen will continue to foster an open integration philosophy within the avionics industry and urges all manufacturers to follow such an approach for the common good of general aviation.

Mine is a 75. Was there any changes in fuselage length between our years?

Someone who is willing to invest over time might find this plane is the way to go. If you redo the engine and begin a steady update process when budget permits, it might allow someone on a fixed budget to get into a long body. It has a 530 which is a plus, the rest of the stack is okay but your will want more current stuff over time.

Aspen sent out an email to owners talking about the issue. I will see if I can find it and publish it.

My F models shows 32.75 in forward position, 39 in aft position.

I've flown my F for a lot of years and do get envious of the higher gear speeds on the J models. With the lower flap and gear speeds on earlier models, I found it always easier as Hank suggests to set up a stabilized approach by getting down to flap extension speed, throwing out approach flaps and stabilizing at 100 knots prior to the FAF. At the FAF, drop gear and depending if I am flying a precision approach or dropping to the MDA adjust power accordingly. The last thing I want to do is be above VFe or VLo at the FAF. Just really hard to get down to those speeds while descending.

I remember speaking with Bill Wheat from Mooney about how these crosswind speeds were determined. I wish I could remember the details of that conversation but it had nothing to do with some sort of formula, it had to do with the test flights and the amount of cross wind they experienced during the flights. I know personally what my Mooney can do in a crosswind. I once landed after a flight in a 90 degree crosswind blowing a steady 25 knots. I remember it clearly because the CFII I was with was pushing on the rudder too. We were drifting ever so slowly and I think he didn't think i had the rudder completely in. I needed to land a little bit diagonally on the runway to knock a few degrees of cross wind. It was unusual since it was a steady wind, not the normally gusty winds you see when the winds hit that high.

Do you know if the transponder and DME antennae are interchangeable?

Thanks! I remember reading something about them years ago. Did they do the paint on one of the AOPA giveaway planes?

Thanks for the lead. He is in my backyard. I will look him up. I hope it isn't like the avionic shops. Quotes for the same work had an $8k spread between the high and low quotes. My wife has been pretty accommodating on the plane lately. I've flown it for a lot of years and spend a lot on maintaining it, but never upgrading it until this year. Like my wife, it's a keeper.

Same on mine. Works great. Only problem I have had was self inflicted. Cleaning the belly you can snag your clothing on it and break it.

Been thinking about having my plane's interior redone and the exterior painted. Can you recommend some shops on the eastern side of the country. I'm in the mid Atlantic area. Also, are there ballpark numbers you can throw out for cost? I know the kind of interior and paint scheme will have a significant impact, but looking to see if I should ask my wife to file the divorce papers now or after... Also, has anyone had to deal with hail damage? I have some on the airelons and a little bit on the fuselage. As for the exterior, I want a more modern paint scheme and would be happy with a cloth interior, unless you think leather is the way to go. The Mooney has been with me a LONG time and it is my keeper. I just want to be able to have enough money left over afterwards to fly it.

I thi I know what you are talking about. On my GEM, I had to use a different probe on the cylinder that has the factory required CHT probe. That could explain a difference. Was it different before you had the top overhauled or did you not have the engine analyzer on it?

It sounds like you are seeing all the temps so I am guessing you have an engine analyzer of some sort. It could be something as simple as a bad probe. You could switch probes around and see if it follows the probe. If EGTs are normal, it is suggesting that normal combustion is happening. That could point to bad baffling around the cylinder (getting much more cooling around that cylinder than the rest. I guess you could have other internal problems (like poor seating rings), but I will leave it up to the people in the know to comment on these kind of things.

I think a few things are keeping the price up; No competition, so if don't buy a used 430 or a new 650, what do you buy? People are willing to spend $7k for a used box so they don't need to spend $9k+ on a new box. If another manufacturer made a new box that sold for $7k, what do you think would happen to the 430 prices? Support at this point is not an issue. Garmin received a lot of pressure to keep the support of the 430/530 from fleet operators. Garmin stepped back from a "discontinued" approach to a limited availability and continued support until part available becomes an issue. Supply & Demand 101: the used equipment that is coming up for sale are from mostly from upgrades. They pop up and sell for what the market will bear. My only concern with buying a used Garmin product is the length of time they will support the platform. I have gone through a number of Garmin portables dating all the way back to the 55. Granted they are portables, but they weren't cheap. I kept migrating from one to the next because of features and because Garmin stopped providing database updates or support on them. The panel mounted stuff I hope will be supported much longer. Time will tell.

Exactly why I went with the 650. My biggest concern is how long will the 430//530 be supported for. Garmin is a consumer electronics company and my biggest fear is that they would go down that path. They certainly did it with the portables.

Ok. Time for more pictures! Still waiting for some detail work to be finished. For those who are interested in the reversionary feature. If you opt for an MFD 1000, make sure to ask for the autopilot redundancy functionality. These switches are used to migrate full AP functionality over to the MFD from the PFD during reversionary mode. Essentially, the MFD becomes a full function PFD.

It's encrypted! All we need now is an Enigma machine.

This is all theoretical and i am not sure i buy into my own theory. If it were a function of cooling efficiency based on volume of oil to cool, I would think that 7 quarts would run cooler. With 7 quarts you would have 1 additional quart of oil to thermally adsorb the internal engine heat. And passing the oil through the cooler at the same rate whether it was 6 or 7 quarts, I would think less oil being in the engine would run hotter since you can only run oil through the cooler at a fixed rate. With less volume and the same heat, there is less thermal adsorbing mass. My theory falls apart at the boiling water hypothesis. Think of it in terms of heating two containers of water on a stove, one has 8 ounces of water, the other 10. Heat the water to boiling. The 8 ounces reaches boiling faster, but the 10 will boil as well. Now throw 1 ounce of 40 degree water in each (this is the cooler), the now 11 ounce container will be hotter than the now 9 ounce container. More mass to cool. I'm more of the belief that density altitude would play a bigger role. Where the heck is a physicist when you need one?

I have flown with a few pilots who have what I call "whereistherunwayitis". It's when they get close to the MDA or DA (couple of hundred feet) and for some unknown reason begin looking more outside than inside. Those are the guys who scare me...

Mike, if you have access to an ohm meter, you may want to compare resistance with the other probes. Unfortunately, it sounds like if the probe is the problem, it was only failing in flight, i.e. at a higher temp. That said, I would expect the probes to be within a range for resistance at one temp. The other option you have, if you suspect a higher temp related problem is to switch probes around between cylinders. Hopefully you have enough lead wire to do that.

After you nail the airspeed part (78 mph is what I shoot for, others may disagree), the feel is different in that you are lower to the ground in the Mooney than a Cessan 172. After a while, it feels natural and you know when it is not right.

I have owned the same Mooney for the past 21 years. I had been flying behind really old stuff for a while and it was time. I have a great wife who uttered the magical words "you only live once". I didn't have the heart to tell her living once could mean living in the poor house after the upgrade. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm impressed with the Aspen flexibility to bolt to almost anything you have in the plane. I was flying behind a DG connected to my STEC 60-2 and two ILS CDIs both able to fly coupled through a switch. I had always dreamed of an HSI and with the Aspen, I got an HSI, an RMI, full GPSS steering, backup GPS, flight director and altitude alerter among other things all in 1 upgrade. I really like the way they kept the aftermarket customer in mind.

Exactly why I went with the Aspen. I had no GPS prior to the 650, but I couldn't afford to add a second GPS at this time. I elected to get the Aspen to allow me to continue to use my Narco 12D+ with glide slope for ILS redundancy. On the Aspen, you can bring over either signal.