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Mooney down in Alabama?


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KALX is my home field. Couldn't tell from pictures on the web at work what kind of plane it was, looked upside down. 

There's been a frequent visiting Mooney this year. Need better pictures to know who / what this is.

But no, it wasn't me!

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8 minutes ago, Hank said:

KALX is my home field. Couldn't tell from pictures on the web at work what kind of plane it was, looked upside down. 

There's been a frequent visiting Mooney this year. Need better pictures to know who / what this is.

But no, it wasn't me!

It’s a Mooney. The N number was blurred in the news photos. B model “arrived” at 10:26 this morning.

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23 minutes ago, Hank said:

KALX is my home field. Couldn't tell from pictures on the web at work what kind of plane it was, looked upside down. 

There's been a frequent visiting Mooney this year. Need better pictures to know who / what this is.

But no, it wasn't me!

It’s got a gray checkerboard paint scheme on the body back near the tail.

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3 minutes ago, Shadrach said:

That checkerboard looks like an intentional artifact to block the N number, not part of the paint job.

I think you’re right. There are some TAP photos that don’t show it. But, it’s a cool graphic. Hope the pilot recovers quickly.

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12 minutes ago, 0TreeLemur said:

The weather has been IFR to LIFR over the entire southeast for two weeks.

That is very true, but is that a sufficient reason to explain 4 Mooney crashes within days of each other? Maybe it is, but  nevertheless is very disheartening. The Texas crash was due to an engine failure though it was low ceilings. I landed in DFW myself just before midnight and the weather was crummy, but so many more tools at our disposal in the big airplanes including an extra engine!

I am grateful no lives were lost, but I am getting a real feel for just how dangerous this GA flying can be. Frankly it’s not giving me a warm and fuzzy. 

Wife and I are flying the Mooney to Branson tomorrow. I wonder if I will be sweating bullets the whole trip! LOL!

 

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10 minutes ago, T. Peterson said:

 The Texas crash was due to an engine failure though it was low ceilings. I landed in DFW myself just before midnight and the weather was crummy, but so many more tools at our disposal in the big airplanes including an extra engine!

Wife and I are flying the Mooney to Branson tomorrow. I wonder if I will be sweating bullets the whole trip! LOL!

 

A single pilot flying IFR in a GA airplane without a lot of automation on board is always near task saturation.   Ceilings of 800' or more give us lots more time to detect/correct mistakes or find a place to aim for in the case of an engine problem than when ceilings are 600' or 400' or god forbid, 220'.  

Interestingly I just answered a question that's been bothering me for a while.  Why do we need personal minimums?   We always train to go all the way to the DA.  The answer is: your present skill level and equipment and your ability to use it automatically determine your personal minimums.  An honest assessment is key.

Good luck on your trip.  Hope the weather cooperates.

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4 minutes ago, 0TreeLemur said:

A single pilot flying IFR in a GA airplane without a lot of automation on board is always near task saturation.   Ceilings of 800' or more give us lots more time to detect/correct mistakes or find a place to aim for in the case of an engine problem than when ceilings are 600' or 400' or god forbid, 220'.  

Interestingly I just answered a question that's been bothering me for a while.  Why do we need personal minimums?   We always train to go all the way to the DA.  The answer is: your present skill level and equipment and your ability to use it automatically determine your personal minimums.  An honest assessment is key.

Good luck on your trip.  Hope the weather cooperates.

Very well said. Your take on personal minimums is spot on. You mentioned the ability to automatically use your equipment and that really registers with me as I know I am not nearly as comfortable with my 430W as I am the avionics in the big airplane. Plus I don’t have a First Officer to fly while I figure it out!

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53 minutes ago, T. Peterson said:

Very well said. Your take on personal minimums is spot on. You mentioned the ability to automatically use your equipment and that really registers with me as I know I am not nearly as comfortable with my 430W as I am the avionics in the big airplane. Plus I don’t have a First Officer to fly while I figure it out!

I think it’s really important for those of us that fly other (more capable) airplanes for work to keep in mind the limitations of an older GA aircraft.  Additionally, our personal limits should be different between work/GA.  Even if I’m comfortable flying to mins in both, I won’t fly my Mooney at night over the mountains for example.  Or over a large, low weather system.  Or maybe night, ifr in complex airspace.  We may be current and proficient, but still need to be cognizant of the limitations on ourselves and our aircraft as well as the differences between work/leisure.

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