Today's flight for 2017

[MHemperly]

@Skates97 thanks for being my eyes today! I hope I didn't suck too bad! Lol! Glad you had fun! 

Edited January 16, 2017 by MHemperly

[mpg]

thanks for another fine write up...

I hope that the stories continue even though it seems our young man is all growed up now.

It just must be so neat to fly any time your wife lets you!

Edited January 16, 2017 by mpg

[Hank]

Another good write up, Richard.

The next time you are fast on final, just hold the plane off in the flare, keep the nose up and stay centered on the runway. You will experience the Mooney float, just don't let the wind blow you to the side. Expect about 100' of float for every 1 mph you are fast . . . Eventually the excess speed will bleed off and you will land. So don't do this if the runway is short.

Having the wisdom to do a go around is a good thing, not something to be embarrassed by. If something isn't right, go around and try again, that's how pilots stay alive and airplanes stay undamaged.

[Raptor05121]

26 minutes ago, Hank said:

Another good write up, Richard.

The next time you are fast on final, just hold the plane off in the flare, keep the nose up and stay centered on the runway. You will experience the Mooney float, just don't let the wind blow you to the side. Expect about 100' of float for every 1 mph you are fast . . . Eventually the excess speed will bleed off and you will land. So don't do this if the runway is short.

Having the wisdom to do a go around is a good thing, not something to be embarrassed by. If something isn't right, go around and try again, that's how pilots stay alive and airplanes stay undamaged.

 

x2. I pounded the pattern yesterday when I was solo. First time I was sloppy and came in at 80mph Vref and floated well past the 1,000' mark. I dropped gear and flaps much earlier next time around, 75 over numbers and I had it down about 300' past the numbers.

[aviatoreb]

10 hours ago, bradp said:

 

If you're south in Boston there is one place I'd recommend
- Neptune Oyster in Little Italy. Last meal kind of good. Wife and I agree on that. Warm style labsta roll. The fact that they have a great rah bah makes it even betah.

Ok no more accents...



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Wicked accent Brad.

...one of my sons is a redsox fan - and I always indulge him a game at fenway every year.  Maybe I'll check out Neptune!

Edited January 16, 2017 by aviatoreb

[carusoam]

It's the Season to be a Pats fan!

-a-

[Yooper Rocketman]

10 minutes ago, carusoam said:

It's the Season to be a Pats fan!

-a-

and a Packer Fan!

[Yooper Rocketman]

3 hours ago, Hank said:

Having the wisdom to do a go around is a good thing, not something to be embarrassed by. If something isn't right, go around and try again, that's how pilots stay alive and airplanes stay undamaged.

Although a go around is rare for me, I have still done them, one within the last year (in my Mooney,  got several in the Lancair).  Hank's advice is dead on.  I have made zero opinions on the negative side when I see a pilot elect to go around.  It clearly demonstrates good decision making by the guy behind the yoke.

Tom

Edited January 16, 2017 by Yooper Rocketman

[N6758N]

12 hours ago, Yooper Rocketman said:

That was 15 years ago but I believe it had older King radios and a Loran.  No GPS.

I bought it from Bill Bain out of Falcon Field (Mesa, AZ) on April Fools Day 1996 with 1900 hours SMOH and got 2400 hours exactly before replacing the engine. The N number was his birthday 9/29 and PG was for papa & grandma.   Sold it and delivered it to a doctor based at Griffin GA with 800 hours on a Factory Reman in 2001 when I bought the Rocket.

I've checked many times over the years on Flight Aware and thought it ended up in South America.  

Is it still tan and brown?   

Tom

It was painted about 5ish years ago to look like an Ovation, red and black stripes. Someone did the whole panel over to include a 530W, Stec 60-2 and one of the older style digital engine monitors. I was always curious about the panel, it looked like someone had overlayed on top of the original structure which made it stick into your face. Wasn't my favorite to fly due to that. I do not think I have any pictures unfortunately. 

[Skates97]

4 hours ago, Hank said:

Another good write up, Richard.

The next time you are fast on final, just hold the plane off in the flare, keep the nose up and stay centered on the runway. You will experience the Mooney float, just don't let the wind blow you to the side. Expect about 100' of float for every 1 mph you are fast . . . Eventually the excess speed will bleed off and you will land. So don't do this if the runway is short.

Having the wisdom to do a go around is a good thing, not something to be embarrassed by. If something isn't right, go around and try again, that's how pilots stay alive and airplanes stay undamaged.

 

1 hour ago, Yooper Rocketman said:

Although a go around is rare for me, I have still done them, one within the last year (in my Mooney,  got several in the Lancair).  Hank's advice is dead on.  I have made zero opinions on the negative side when I see a pilot elect to go around.  It clearly demonstrates good decision making by the guy behind the yoke.

Tom

Thanks guys. Hank, in looking back on it while driving home I saw that if I would have just held it off in the float I would have been fine. The problem was I tried to let it touch down at the higher speed. The going around wasn't that I was embarrassed, it was more annoyed at myself for not being set up right. I was pleased with the go around and working through cleaning up the plane quickly. There was only one other go around that we did in my transition training and that was when I was coming in high and fast and made the decision early while still on short final. Making the decision and executing after a couple bounces was different that that, but I was happy with the way that I handled it.

[gsxrpilot]

Hey Richard,

Nice write up as usual. And well done on the go around. There are two useful skills to practice when you happen to botch an approach and come in way too fast.  I'll mention here that when the Mooney Caravan flies (and we hope you'll join us on a flight to Oshkosh soon), we fly our approach at 90 knots and no flaps. And yet we all land just fine. All that's required is enough runway. 

So when you find yourself coming in hot, use the event to practice either 1) a go around, as you did or 2) landing by holding the plane in ground effect until it just can't fly any longer and rolls on. The key is with power off, hold the plane off the runway as long as possible.

Both are good skills to have. And of course, the available runway might determine your choice of 1 or 2.

[Skates97]

29 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

Hey Richard,

Nice write up as usual. And well done on the go around. There are two useful skills to practice when you happen to botch an approach and come in way too fast.  I'll mention here that when the Mooney Caravan flies (and we hope you'll join us on a flight to Oshkosh soon), we fly our approach at 90 knots and no flaps. And yet we all land just fine. All that's required is enough runway. 

So when you find yourself coming in hot, use the event to practice either 1) a go around, as you did or 2) landing by holding the plane in ground effect until it just can't fly any longer and rolls on. The key is with power off, hold the plane off the runway as long as possible.

Both are good skills to have. And of course, the available runway might determine your choice of 1 or 2.

The next time I go up I'm going to hop over to Chino with it's 4,858' and 7,000' runways where I have plenty of room to try holding it off longer. I know that Corona is plenty long with its 3,200' runway and I generally just tap the brakes when exiting at the end where my hangar is, but there is something subconscious about watching those trees at the far end come closer while still floating along... Just need more practice.

[Yooper Rocketman]

2 hours ago, N6758N said:

It was painted about 5ish years ago to look like an Ovation, red and black stripes. Someone did the whole panel over to include a 530W, Stec 60-2 and one of the older style digital engine monitors. I was always curious about the panel, it looked like someone had overlayed on top of the original structure which made it stick into your face. Wasn't my favorite to fly due to that. I do not think I have any pictures unfortunately. 

Oh man, If you ever get a chance I would really appreciate a current picture of it.

Tom

 

[Skates97]

53 minutes ago, Hyett6420 said:

Don't let the extra long runway confuse your sight picture Richard.  You won't be the first to do that. 

It's where I did all of my PPL training so I'm used to it there.

[kevinw]

Richard,

I've bounced my plane twice since I've owned it and both times i was coming in a little fast and light on fuel and payload; both were also early in ownership of my Mooney. I think it's something every Mooney pilot should experience so you know what to expect and how to handle it. Nice work handling yours. As you know a bounce occurs when there is too much airspeed so I now fly precisely 70 knots over the numbers when heavy, -5 knots when 300 lbs or more under gross and +5 in gusty wind conditions. I learned this from Don Kaye after I purchased his landing DVD and materials that came with it. I've never bounced a landing since. My CFI still thinks 70 is too slow but I think that's a common mistake some CFIs that are unfamiliar with Mooneys make.

Kevin

[Hank]

70 is a good speed when light, 75 heavy, plus any gust factor required.

Except Richard and I use MPH!

[Browncbr1]

On January 16, 2017 at 6:20 AM, Hank said:

Another good write up, Richard.

The next time you are fast on final, just hold the plane off in the flare, keep the nose up and stay centered on the runway. You will experience the Mooney float, just don't let the wind blow you to the side. Expect about 100' of float for every 1 mph you are fast . . . Eventually the excess speed will bleed off and you will land. So don't do this if the runway is short.

Having the wisdom to do a go around is a good thing, not something to be embarrassed by. If something isn't right, go around and try again, that's how pilots stay alive and airplanes stay undamaged.

I find that if fast, I level off 20' or so off the ground until slow enough, then descend to ground effect for flare.  This allows you to slow down much quicker than if you go into ground effect at the same speed.  It also reduces the chance for a bounce

[211º]

The first day in a looooong time where I was home and the ceilings weren't jump-up-and-touchable. Nothing like a 45 minute flight around the neighborhood as a place of refuge from news and drama. Topped by a fun ride down the ILS wire to 21L. Win!


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[bonal]

Bad weather and a real bad cold have kept me grounded for over two weeks and now I've come down with a case of tendinitis bad news is it's left shoulder and I'm left handed good news is Johnson bar is on the right. Man I can't wait to fly again.

[bonal]

Weather and health  still keeping things grounded but stopped by 1o2 as there is a Ford Tri motor that is touring around thanks to the EAA and we stopped by for a look. He departed with a load of passengers and was real cool to watch. Right after he left the ceiling dropped to almost zero and the rain came turning into slushy snow. I hope he was able to get back in. There is only one  approach and I imagine the minimums can't be very low.

[carusoam]

Nice pic of Lasar in the background.

They have a nice O listed for sale on their site and a mite too. In case you are interested in things for sale in that neighborhood?

20 amu for the mite if anyone is interested in a single seater.

Best regards,

-a-

[BradB]

I took a  nice weekend trip to Toronto (CTYZ) this weekend.  The return trip to Erie (KERI) took an interesting turn.  The departure from CYTZ was IFR and the weather into Erie was forecast to be around 1100 broken.   When I grabbed the ATIS, Erie was 400 bkn with reasonable visibility.  As I prepared to shoot the ILS 6 into Erie, I was above a layer and didn't enter the cloud/fog layer until 600 AGL.  At minimums, I was still in dense fog with nothing visible.   Missed approach and head around for one more shot.  The fog was just over the airport, 2 miles south was sunny skies.  West, the fog was patchy.  I thought it might be worth another try.  But, as I was being vectored around for another shot, the controller kept reporting a falling ceiling and decreasing RVR to about 1200.  The United flight behind me went to hold for a bit before trying the approach.   I didn't see it getting good enough for me to go in anytime soon, so I diverted to my alternate KCLE.  

There were several airports VFR that were much closer, but I had originated in Canada on a Sunday afternoon.  I had a customs appointment at KERI at 4:30 PM.  Erie approach was kind enough to call and notify Erie customs that I would not be making it in.  On the way to KCLE, I was able to get time to get in touch with flight service.  They were able to call Cleveland customs and inform them about our situation and ETA (about 20 minutes).   Customs at Cleveland is located in the main terminal at gate A-14.  I taxied up to the main terminal between a Frontier and American Airlines jet parked at the adjacent gates.   The jet bridge workers gave me some funny looks.  The customs at Cleveland was very friendly and efficient.  I was a little worried about the hassles that the diversion would create, but there were none.  They thanked us for the advanced warning and said the we were the fourth diversion there that day (the others diverted from Detroit).  Within minutes, we were taxiing to Atlantic Aviation to grab rental and drive the 90 minutes home.   I'll try to go back and grab the plane on Tuesday.

I knew that I had the customs issue hanging over me after the first missed approach.  My first priority was to set up and go to a suitable alternate and then worry about the customs when I had time.   There was an IFR mastery series about a similar issue regarding a weather diversion and customs.  Much of the expert discussion on the scenario was centered on the customs issue and it led them to suggest some things that they otherwise would not have done.   After this experience, I would say, that diversion to another airport of entry was a total non-event.   

And no, they didn't pull the jet bridge out for me.  I had to walk in.

Brad.

 

[carusoam]

They probably would have used the Jetway if You stayed on the yellow line.  Finding the proper stop marking for the nose wheel would require the line guys to find M20 along with the B737 and MD80 markings...

Thanks for sharing the details. Flying international in the winter really adds to the challenges.

Best regards,

-a-

[Hank]

Brad, what was your pushback experience like???  

Good story, it's something that would not have occurred to me. I've heard too many tales of bad experiences with US Customs and flight delays.

[XXX]

57 minutes ago, Hyett6420 said:

Todays flight was not in a Mooney, but it will be the next time I go to this place.  For my birthday we went to Helsinki to visit a friends, partake in the local sauna culture and generally sightsee.  Ive posted a few pics for you.  We used Norwegian Airlines, a very good brand and they now fly US to UK as well in a 787.

Southern Sweden.  I have no idea why it is upside down, and couldn't correct it either.

Helsinki Tube station.  Andrew 2 checking out the architecture as usual.

Just go and sit on that bench he said.  It was chucking it down with snow, but hey one has to do as one is told.  (20 seconds later I was back in the nice warm car!)  Later we watched some kids playing ice hockey on the lake, so sweet.  The weather has steadily been getting warmer over the past 10 years we have been going there.  ten years ago the snow here would have been about 1-2 foot deep.

Our home while we were there.  Lovely homely place.  Very Finnish. (all the windows  were on the other sides for some reason.)

Malmi Airport.  This is the original Helsinki airport.  Lovely place and now under threat of "development" as is so typical these days.  Very busy place as well.  We will be flying AL there in the summer, its only 1000 miles as the Mooney flies.  I did manage to get frostbite on my toes when visiting as I didn't wear my snow boots, just normal UK shoes with no felt liners.  Hmm, fortunately the black bits went away so I was lucky and only froze little bits that the body could still get blood to.  I was only walking around for an hour, but it was enough.  Heater on full blast on my feet in the car I think saved the day.

Malmi again with a DA62 getting ready to depart.

The obligatory selfie. 

 

 

Looks awesome Andrew. Frostbite though? That sounds frightful! Glad you didn't lose any parts.