Alex's M20D (continuous thread)

[Raptor05121]

So some friends wanted to meet up in St. Pete for some dinner and walk on the beach. Mapquest says 3 hrs 30 mins. Skyvector says 55 minutes. So away we go!

VFR on top. 8500ft near Crystal River. 147KTAS.

Descending into St. Pete

Great little place, got Tampa Class B clearance in and out. Going out was kinda scary, took off at 11pm on runway 7 with winds gusting 19. 30 seconds later, out over the bay, holding at 900 feet waiting on approach to give me clearance higher. Got 20 min north and sky cleared up, winds died down and temps dropped. Was chilly last night when we got back at midnight.

[steingar]

Chilly.  Florida, chilly.  Yeah right.

[kpaul]

1 hour ago, steingar said:

Chilly.  Florida, chilly.  Yeah right.

Yeah, "Florida-Chilly" Everyone on the panhandle dug out their coats, I think the lows dipped into the upper 50s with highs in the 70s.  It cracks me up, having grown up in Montana.

[steingar]

2 hours ago, kpaul said:

Yeah, "Florida-Chilly" Everyone on the panhandle dug out their coats, I think the lows dipped into the upper 50s with highs in the 70s.  It cracks me up, having grown up in Montana.

What we're having here with me in my shirt sleeves and sandals.  Florida.

[Raptor05121]

Hey it was perfect flying weather!

[Hank]

8 hours ago, steingar said:

What we're having here with me in my shirt sleeves and sandals.

But Steiney, everybody knows Buckeyes ain't right!   

I ran heat in the truck going to work the last couple mornings, temp ~50°F.

Edited October 20, 2017 by Hank

[steingar]

Just now, Hank said:

But Steiney, everybody knows Buckeyes ain't right!   

Buckeyes are strong and mostly right. We’ve beatened Alabama in football!

[Hank]

Just now, steingar said:

Buckeyes are strong and mostly right. We’ve beatened Alabama in football!

My two favorite teams are Auburn and whoever's playing Alabama. 

[xcrmckenna]

But Steiney, everybody knows Buckeyes ain't right!   
I ran heat in the truck going to work the last couple mornings, temp ~50°F.

We've already had snow twice.


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[Hank]

8 hours ago, xcrmckenna said:

We've already had snow twice.


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Life in the mountains is different . . . . 

After four Ohio winters and 9 years in West-by-God, Virginny, I'm done with snow! Work closed once last winter, a State of Emergency was declared, everybody hunkered down because we were forecast to get a couple of inches. The snow stopped over 50 miles away . . . My kind of snowstorm!  

This weekend we're suposed to reach the low 80s again, then fall another 10-15° next week. It will be great flying weather! DAs will be coming down, takeoff rolls shortening and climb rates picking back up.

Edited October 20, 2017 by Hank

[steingar]

I picked up my Mooney and did transition training in August in Georgia.  I'd prefer to suffer 100 Ohio winters to those 3 days!  I've never been so hot!  I have no idea how anyone put up with it other than hiding in air conditioning.  When is cold you can put on a coat.  When its hot there isn't a whole lot you can do, other than jump into the AC.

[xcrmckenna]

I picked up my Mooney and did transition training in August in Georgia.  I'd prefer to suffer 100 Ohio winters to those 3 days!  I've never been so hot!  I have no idea how anyone put up with it other than hiding in air conditioning.  When is cold you can put on a coat.  When its hot there isn't a whole lot you can do, other than jump into the AC.

The first Mooney I looked at in Texas was in August of 2015. I thought I was going to die....... glad I didn't buy it and have to fly it out of there, I would of been flying in my underwear.


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[Hank]

2 hours ago, xcrmckenna said:

The first Mooney I looked at in Texas was in August of 2015. I thought I was going to die....... glad I didn't buy it and have to fly it out of there, I would of been flying in my underwear.


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Nah, altitude provides great air conditioning! It may be 98 on the ground, warmer out on the runway, but at 9500 I sometimes run a little heat and my wife sits under a blanket. 

[steingar]

Just now, Hank said:

Nah, altitude provides great air conditioning! It may be 98 on the ground, warmer out on the runway, but at 9500 I sometimes run a little heat and my wife sits under a blanket. 

You don't get very high doing transition training, since its mostly landings.  The only good thing about the 10 hours of flying in that heat is I don't have to do it again.

[gsxrpilot]

August is the month for annuals here in Texas. It's not the time for flying.

[xcrmckenna]

August is the month for annuals here in Texas. It's not the time for flying.

I believe it. It was much nicer on the third one I looked at and flew home in March.


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[Hank]

1 hour ago, gsxrpilot said:

August is the month for annuals here in Texas. It's not the time for flying.

Too dad blamed hot in the hangar! Sweat runs down my arms and hands, drips off my nose, just messy and uncomfortable. January is a great time to spend three days in the hangar, knocking it out.

[bradp]

Alex I flew from North Carolina to KGIF (Winter Haven) on Wednesday and it was great flying Weather.  Arrived about 6:30 pm. Nice airport.  Cheaper gas, really cheap overnight parking.  I’ll post about it shortly but it’s a lively GA airport.  

[Hank]

6 hours ago, Hyett6420 said:

Knocking it out?   I do love the way that some things over ther mean something COMPLETELY different over here, like Aveda's product "hand relief".  

I'm afraid to ask . . . .

[Raptor05121]

My annual runs out at the end of November. Nail biting has commenced. I'm going to use the older mechanic I've been using. He's cheaper and lets me do most of the work. I ordered a set of tires and have an appointment with my local powercoat shop for the wheel halves and yokes. I'm going gloss white on the wheels and flat white on the yokes. Then I'm going to cut out the metal Mooney logos that were sent out and then seal them onto the yoke in jewler's epoxy. 

[Yetti]

I am always scared to open this thread to see what broke next.  At some point you will have a new plane part by part and things will stop breaking.

[DonMuncy]

4 hours ago, Yetti said:

I am always scared to open this thread to see what broke next.  At some point you will have a new plane part by part and things will stop breaking.

No. By the time you get them all replaced, the first ones will be ready to break again.  

[Raptor05121]

Ah she's a sweetheart though. Today we flew down to Williston to watch Jason Schappert's presentation on crew resource management. Free pancakes!

 

Going through my logbook, I have 150 hours in my plane so far. That's not bad considering with the exhaust, alternator, and governor, its been down for about 6 months collectively. So averaging about 200 hours a year. I need to get my IFR cert done and finish my IFR training.

[Raptor05121]

 

So today I took a high school friend flying who is in the midst of getting his PPL. We went up for an hour over to Quincy, FL. Nice little airport and not very far from where I bought my plane. Three of the old timers outside sitting in rocking chairs watching a couple of Stearmans pound the pattern recognized my plane and we chatted for over an hour about it. It was the first "cool" day of the flying season for me so it was nice.

 

[Raptor05121]

1/3rd of my flying is at night. We went to Quincy, FL the other afternoon and by the time we came back, it was dark. My 250W halogen blew on the previous flight. So I upgraded to a new LED landing light. 55W @ 4,500lm (200k candlepower). No more alternator noise and the ammeter barely moves going from 19A to 4A of draw

I tried to take it up this morning but the winds were gusting to 17 across the runway. I think I might need to aim it a bit down.

The clock is now ticking for annual #2. It has almost been a full year since I've started flying 44U. So far the short list of things I need to accomplish in addition to standard annual items (fingers crossed nothing major comes up).

Install LASAR landing light lens
Strip & resurface wing walk
Remove wheels and send off to powder coating (gloss white)
Remove yokes, fill drill holes, and send off to powder coating (flat white). Install new aluminum emblems and finish in jeweler's epoxy. 
Install new tubes and tires
Repack wheel bearings
Couple of time-limited AD's per inspection.

Trying to decide what to do about rerigging my plane. It has a right-turning tendency when you let go of the yoke. The right flap hangs down about a half inch and has a bit of slop.