MAC

[DaV8or]

Quote: Mitch

Hi aerobat95.

Pursue your A&P.  I am considering such myself.   Just a thought.

[AndyFromCB]

Just to let everyone know, Mr Maxwell has fixed the voltage regulator, as promissed and on time. Amazing. Guess where the Bravo will head for its next annual?

[scottfromiowa]

Excellent!  Glad it worked out well.

 

[jetdriven]

These A&P schools require something like 1900 hours of class time, and most take 2 years to do. Some have 12 month programs. http://forums.jetcareers.com/mx-hangar-p-amt/79964-12-month-p-schools.html

Another way is to work in a shop full time for 30 months and you can get signed off to take the test based on experience.  Building a homebuilt does not count.

Quote: DaV8or

There are two ways towards an A&P certificate. Spend loads of money, go to a flight academy and get it done quick, like in a year or less, or go to a city college and get it done in about 2-3 years on the cheap. After that you really need to go and get the IA because that's what you really need to sign off on your own work. It's a lot of time or money. If you don't have either, it's best to find and A&P with IA to just sign off on your work. This is what I'm pursuing.

[Shadrach]

Quote: astelmaszek

KSMoniac,

It's exactly this attitude that got us where we are today: just be glad is semi available. At $1860 a pop for what at most is $100 of eletronic components is wrong. I have no problem paying $1860 or $1890 or whatever it is, but at that price I want it on my door step the same day and since I pay my bills and don't complain, I want my A&P to install it yesterday. No, I am not kidding, that is how the rest of world works in this stratosphere. This is what I deliver to my clients hence I can afford to fly and I expect the same. What is the point, here is the breakdown:

-$2000 monthly payment

-$250 a month in insurance

-$240 a month for a hangar full of frogs

-$875 a month for avgas

-$1750 a month in maintenance and parts

-databases, XM weather, training, etc at $300 a month

That's $66K a year to fly 75 hours a year not including my time at $400 or so an hour, include that in there, and I am better of with 30 hours of jet charter per year and yes, I can aford it, the problem is I like to fly and for the money spent, I would like to be treated like I am around a jag and/or a lexus dealership.

[Shadrach]

Quote: DaV8or

[John Pleisse]

3 Schools of thought re MAC:

1) They have come and gone so many times, don't worry, they'll be back

2) China is in the game, composites (Diamond and Cirrus) are in the game and the economy is in the tank, so this really might be it

3) Who cares, there are 8 thousand Mooneys in Service, an infrastructure of service centers and a lot of great owners, so the type will survive and flourish.

Legendary designs endure. I am hoping for one, two is possible and three will be the likely end result.

[jetdriven]

there were 10K mooneys built I thought, dunno how many are still in service.  Thats a lot of 3500$ ailerons, though.

[Parker_Woodruff]

Over 11,000 Mooneys delivered and by my best guess it appears +/- 7500-8000 still in the FAA registry.

 

I would bet that 3000-4500 of them flew last year.

[jlunseth]

We recently had a thread on engine-outs and it prompted me to look at the Nall Report statistics on accidents caused by mechanical failures in flight.  It was a little disturbing to me on a number of fronts.  Two-thirds of the "GA" accidents were experimental aircraft, even though experimentals are a fraction of the number of total GA aircraft.  I put GA in quotes because one things that bothers me about the Nall Report numbers on GA accidents, is that "GA," which includes both type-certificated and professionally maintained aircraft, and home builts, gets brushed with the accident rate of the home builts. 

Those numbers were enough to put me off the idea of being my own mechanic.  The career is too short for me.

[John Pleisse]

Quote: jetdriven

there were 10K mooneys built I thought, dunno how many are still in service.  Thats a lot of 3500$ ailerons, though.

[AndyFromCB]

I agree, I'm too young, with too much going on in my life between work, significant other, her social schedule, my social schedule to be hands on involved in aircraft maintenance. My goal has always been to understand the systems and be proactive working with my mechanic. Plus there is nothing like experience and with 4 guys in my shop (with the top guy being a longtime Mooney owner), I trust them to a point. Now, how my Arrow ended being filled with W100 instead 20W-50W in October is a whole another question. Getting kind of chilly for that weight of oil. Maybe when I get older with more time on my hands, I'd get more involved but quite frankly I'd rather make furniture and sail when old than deal with grease.

[jetdriven]

you can add 20W50 as make up oil for your W100, that wil thin  it out..

[AndyFromCB]

Shadrach,

Try KJAC at $6.70, KMDW at $6.67 or KCBF, my home base at $5.99. Pumping it yourself is not an option at any one of these airports. I'd say 21 an hour would be more accurate than 19.

The maintenance budget might be a bit over blown after first year, but first year on a 21 year old airplane, I'd say it's pretty accurate if you want everything to be perfect again. Then include engine ($30 an hour), prop ($5 an hour), paint ($5 an hour) and interior reserves ($5 an hour) and it really adds up. I've always counted on 1 hour of maintenance per 1 hour of flight in a complex, turbo'd single plus half the hourly amount in parts. I mean an oil change alone is going to run 2 hours plus 12 quarts so about $250. 4 of them a year is $1000. Now throw in a King Gyro and Autopilot issue and you're easily writting a check for $5000 and that's if you're lucky before all is said and done to ferry the airplane, get it fixed, ferry it back. I've seen annuals blow thru $10K with just a few 'minor' issues. Look at the $1890 price for a voltage regulator. Better have that budget and not spend it (I know I will eventually) than sweat at annuals and maintenance events. Most people underestimate costs of ownership, I'd rather do the opposite and occasionally be pleasantly surprised.

It's kind of a like getting a $200 dollar bill from your attorney, you're starting to wonder if it's time to look for a new one because this one is apparently going senile, forgetting to tripple bill ;-)

Andy

[jetdriven]

You can change your own oil, and a whole host of other things under part 43.   Writing checks and telling them to call you when it's done is frightfully expensive, and as we found out, is no safer than a rental outfit.

[Shadrach]

Quote: astelmaszek

Shadrach,

Try KJAC at $6.70, KMDW at $6.67 or KCBF, my home base at $5.99. Pumping it yourself is not an option at any one of these airports. I'd say 21 an hour would be more accurate than 19.

The maintenance budget might be a bit over blown after first year, but first year on a 21 year old airplane, I'd say it's pretty accurate if you want everything to be perfect again. Then include engine ($30 an hour), prop ($5 an hour), paint ($5 an hour) and interior reserves ($5 an hour) and it really adds up. I've always counted on 1 hour of maintenance per 1 hour of flight in a complex, turbo'd single plus half the hourly amount in parts. I mean an oil change alone is going to run 2 hours plus 12 quarts so about $250. 4 of them a year is $1000. Now throw in a King Gyro and Autopilot issue and you're easily writting a check for $5000 and that's if you're lucky before all is said and done to ferry the airplane, get it fixed, ferry it back. I've seen annuals blow thru $10K with just a few 'minor' issues. Look at the $1890 price for a voltage regulator. Better have that budget and not spend it (I know I will eventually) than sweat at annuals and maintenance events. Most people underestimate costs of ownership, I'd rather do the opposite and occasionally be pleasantly surprised.

It's kind of a like getting a $200 dollar bill from your attorney, you're starting to wonder if it's time to look for a new one because this one is apparently going senile, forgetting to tripple bill ;-)

Andy

[AndyFromCB]

I don't have the time to change oil. I woke up at 6:30am this morning, was at work at 7:30am, took an hour and  a half to excersise and eat lunch at home, got back home at 8:30pm. That's a 13 hour day. Eating bean chile I pulled from my freezer we made a few months ago as in not to eat junk. So during the week, I don't have the time. During the weekened, I'd rather enjoy my time and cook and freeze so I don't have to eat crap during the week, in the long run should save me a lot more than oil changes as in $400,000 heart surgery ;-)

Bravo is that thristy if you want the keep the CHTs below 380 during the summer.