Was very clear yesterday:




Left mag is starting to shit the bed, you lose 2 AMUs.

10/17/2018 10:48:07 AM

ouch. i didn't know mags were quite that much.

how hard is it to go with one electronic mag on a certified airplane?

10/17/2018 8:56:42 PM

It's probably going to be about 1k if I'm lucky. Having the mechanic look at it created a shit show of a day. He thought there was Jet A in it even though I flew it most of the day yesterday and filled up at a place with no Jet A on airport. We got security footage and other statements from the other two places it's been fueled.

Some reason the gas at this place just smells like jet a. Another plane that had filled up at the same airport happened to be at my mechanic, and his tank smelled the same too.

Planes are frustrating.

10/17/2018 10:59:09 PM

who gives a fuck if the mechanic thinks it smells like Jet-A?

(assuming it's not in for an annual or something)

[Edited on October 18, 2018 at 12:27 AM. Reason : given that you're totally satisfied that it isn't]

10/18/2018 12:26:40 AM

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/07/11/Chevron-sends-out-claim-procedure/9069773899200/

Apparently, if it turned out to be Jet A he can be liable if something happens. He's going to pay for the test himself just to be sure. Still a shit show and makes the plane down when I was supposed to be getting my commercial ticket. Good thing I scheduled time to be off between jobs!

10/18/2018 11:51:12 PM

Just picked up this bad boy for a song. 1/5 Su-31 with a Saito 180!

10/23/2018 6:28:24 PM

https://youtu.be/EwaPrTmwGSg

Expect this under the free expression tunnel.

10/23/2018 11:26:54 PM

How close to real market value are aircraft appraisals?

We’re at a deal that represents me being about $500-700 better than 1/4 equity value in that Bonanza...trying to decide if I should really try to push him harder, or just be happy with abpretty decent deal, stroke the check, and have a sweet airplane.

10/25/2018 2:06:44 PM

Quote :

"How close to real market value are aircraft appraisals? We’re at a deal that represents me being about $500-700 better than 1/4 equity value in that Bonanza...trying to decide if I should really try to push him harder, or just be happy with abpretty decent deal, stroke the check, and have a sweet airplane."

Depends on how much work they've put into it recently. The problem with equity value in the plane is it could be a situation, like my current plane, where we've spent $140K on it but could probably get $110K for it on the market. In that case it's a great buy because everything is fixed. The inverse is the situation we bought into where it needs a bunch of investment to get to tip-top shape. If they've kept up with the maintenance be happy with the deal.

If you know them and trust them it's probably going to be a great situation for you.

[Edited on October 25, 2018 at 11:22 PM. Reason : a]

10/25/2018 11:17:15 PM

Yeah, they had a $13k annual a couple of years ago and fixed everything. I think they stay on top of everything.

At any rate, this appraisal wasn't just a simple V-Ref lookup or something...this was a professional appraisal--it's 9 pages long, where the appraiser picked through the airplane in great detail.

[Edited on October 27, 2018 at 2:13 AM. Reason : ]

10/27/2018 2:04:47 AM

Friends Bonanza had an engine out that was from wear in the fuel line behind the insulation in the interior side panel.

Some hose that has metal wire around it sits up against the metal fuel line in the side panel near the floor. Eventually a hole developed in the fuel line from vibration. Somehow the hole would plug and unplug from the rubber in the hose until the point it vulcanized and started letting air through.

It's on the passenger side, if you smell fuel.have it looked at.

10/27/2018 10:28:23 AM

yow, that sounds about as fun as a case of AIDS. if i buy, i'll definitely take a look. another friend of a friend just had a catastrophic failure (internals through the block, etc) due to wrong oil line installed by A&P. He was on the way home from CA to FL.

I think we're getting pretty close to a deal here. Just need to look over a few things (compression checks, utilization history in google calendar going back a ways, confirm that the IO-550 is one documented with TBO extended from 1700 up to 1900, and meet the other 2 partners.

180 kts flat-out at altitude (165 on 12 gph or just a tick more), 104 gallons of fuel, and I believe 1200 lbs useful load. I know one of the guys got four 200 lb dudes and four sets of golf clubs in it, and stayed within W&B by wedging two of the golf bags up in the backseat, and only taking maybe 75% fuel load (which is still a good bit of gas).

[Edited on October 28, 2018 at 12:28 AM. Reason : ]

10/28/2018 12:27:00 AM

My joke is that everyone has Bonanzas to carry golf clubs. Thanks for confirming my stereo type

10/28/2018 12:31:58 AM

haha. Golf sucks. I'd throw some skis or SCUBA gear or rifles in it, though. I plan on doing just that...except I sold my skis when I moved to FL, so I'll just rent those.

[Edited on October 28, 2018 at 1:23 AM. Reason : ]

10/28/2018 1:22:43 AM

2% contamination. At least insurance is covering all of it... Will be down for at least two months. Maybe I should sell it and buy a 911?

11/5/2018 11:01:13 PM

holy shit. down 2 months over 2% Jet-A in your 100LL?

11/5/2018 11:58:16 PM

Yeah the teardown at one super reputable shop was 3 months. I may luck out and get it back in a month but who knows. Will just have 7 more months till annual when it's back.

That flight above was the flight I decided to let my mechanic look at it for the mags. It was allegedly running 2% Jet A there.

[Edited on November 6, 2018 at 12:13 AM. Reason : A]

11/6/2018 12:12:30 AM

if you checked 100 aircraft on the ramp and in the hangars at various airports, I wonder how many would have similar contamination...

[Edited on November 6, 2018 at 12:22 AM. Reason : what kind of teardown?]

11/6/2018 12:22:32 AM

Logged a 2.2 yesterday in a Grob 102 glider, from a 2500' tow.

11/18/2018 7:37:18 PM

Where at? Never saw any gliders on the east coast.

Yeah I bet if you check a bunch of planes randomly you'd find a few with contamination that low. Engine is out and waiting on inspection.

Someone sent me this: https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/USAFAA/2018/11/16/file_attachments/1108616/SAFO18015.pdf

11/18/2018 8:13:32 PM

a little private grass strip in the alabama panhandle.

there's no slope lift or anything like there is in places out west...you just find thermals.

11/18/2018 11:23:26 PM

Caught a ride in this puppy a few weeks ago:

12/20/2018 7:13:17 PM

Sweet. I love DH stuff.

Looks like I might finally be buying into that S35 Bonanza this weekend.

12/20/2018 10:25:43 PM

Bam. Got it.




The other new partner and I met one of the other owners today and flew it to Lakefront New Orleans and back, doing the river run on the way. Nothing crazy, but we did about 180 kias at 500'. I flew it back, but had to take it easy (first guy's fiancee would have probably yacked if we'd done the river run again...a little turbulent down low.)



[Edited on December 22, 2018 at 5:39 PM. Reason : nola]

12/22/2018 5:39:22 PM

flew from Pensacola to St Augustine today. Got lunch. Flew home.

1/21/2019 11:35:19 PM

Back to Lakefront on Saturday. The restaurant in the restored Art Deco terminal is a fantastic place to grab some airport food.




____________
I’m up in VA Beach for the week, so I wasn’t out there...but guys in the glider club were climbing at 500 fpm, thermaling up to 5500’ today and staying up for > 1.5 hours. If there was that kind of lift, I imagine they could have stayed up much longer, but just got tired of flying. From that altitude, you could stay up for 45 minutes with no lift at all. Pretty awesome for winter.

[Edited on January 29, 2019 at 12:14 AM. Reason : ]

1/29/2019 12:13:53 AM

did my check rides with the DPE yesterday and got my glider rating.

2/17/2019 12:02:56 PM

https://m.imgur.com/a/safnzVt

Engine breakin number two going well. Flew to Santa Barbara and around the area. Got to buzz the Goodyear Blimp, did not read Ice Cubes a pimp.

224kts on the return flight home.

Duke, you live in Pensacola?

2/17/2019 2:57:35 PM

Re: JetA. Turned out to have come from the airport that had no JetA on the field. My insurance is currently suing Shell. There were other effected planes at the time.

Since the engine was torn down already we paid an extra $2K to do the bottom end. So now we have a new engine. Got it back mid to late January. So took two months.

2/17/2019 3:11:06 PM

^ holy shit, that would have affected who knows how many people.

^^ Yes, or at least in the greater pensacola area.

2/17/2019 10:29:47 PM

I've put almost 33 hours on the Bonanza in the last 3.5-4 months. Unfortunately, it looks like my Bonanza ownership experience is going to be short lived, at least for this one. One of the guys just got orders to Cannon AFB and wants to buy the other 3 of us out. I don't really want to sell, another guy is probably lukewarm in favor of selling, and the other guy already has his share on the market. That kinda makes me the odd man out. I'm not gonna be a pain in the ass about it, although I'm not gonna cut anyone any sweetheart deals on my share (and neither is one of the other guys).

On the bright side, the kinda lukewarm-on-selling guy and I have, I think, basically decided to buy something like an RV-4, Mustang II, or Glasair once we're out of the Bonanza.

4/13/2019 7:23:28 PM

the stratolaunch flight was cool

4/15/2019 10:48:24 AM

Was in Mojave for a fly in and unexpectedly got to see the first flight.

4/26/2019 11:22:43 PM

Found a Mustang II...looks like the 3 of us remaining in the partnership might buy it. ~500 hours on an O-320 (160 hp), basic IFR with non-precision IFR GPS, autopilot, already certified by the builder for most basic aerobatics. Slider canopy. 4-probe EGT & CHT.

Builder says he cruises at 155 kts at 7.5 gph. It would certainly go faster, but probably not worth the fuel burn most of the time.

One of the partners and I are already batting around the idea of flying just the M2 for a couple of years, then adding a 6-place hauler to the partnership fleet. We'll see. That would be awesome, but it would take some money and might be tough to keep a partnership together with 4 dudes wanting to field 2 airplanes.


This isn't it, but it looks very similar. Paint schemes are very close.





[Edited on April 29, 2019 at 1:32 AM. Reason : ]

4/29/2019 1:24:00 AM

^ I don't imagine that has any climate control or pressurization, is that actually comfortable to fly for longer durations?

4/29/2019 10:29:14 PM

haha almost nothing that mere mortals can afford has pressurization; not many have climate control. Pressurization doesn't much matter for these types of airplanes; naturally-aspirated (i.e., not turbocharged) piston-engined airplanes aren't really operated above the low/mid teens, and for continuous operation above 12,500', you need supplemental oxygen. So, for practical purposes, the majority of GA airplanes are operated no higher than 10-12k. Many pressurized airplanes are pressurized to a cabin altitude of ~8k', so you're not much higher than that.

General aviation airplanes typically have heat; a very few have air conditioning. Typically they're in the >$200k price bracket, and even then it's not the norm.

Air temp declines at an average of 3 degrees per 1000', so once you get up to altitude, it's usually pretty comfortable. My plane is hot on deck in the summer, but overall, yeah, it's comfortable to travel in. I left FL and got lunch in New Orleans over the weekend...I went to Tampa and got lunch a few weeks ago. I've been to Jacksonville, FL (from Pensacola) with one of my partners to drop off his daughter with her mother. We're planning on taking it to Las Vegas in a few weeks.


Climate controlled, pressurized airplanes are often in 7-figure price territory.

4/30/2019 1:11:17 AM

The reddish taildragger in my previous post...it's not a serious cross-country machine like my current airplane. In car terms, it would be like a grand tourer--a sports car that is also a decent high-speed road tripper.

I haven't flown it yet; the limitations with using it for long-distance, comfortable travel aren't climate control or pressurization. It's that it's only a 2-seater and only has enough cargo room for, like, a few small duffel bags, and the 2 passengers will be shoulder-to-shoulder, like flying coach in an airliner. It also has OK fuel range, maybe 400 miles or so, but that's only about 1/3 of what my current plane would manage if you really wanted to (although 1200 miles is really long range for a GA airplane).

The red one will be good for going out and doing aerobatics, or flying somewhere an hour or two or three away for lunch or a day trip, or taking a 4-day weekend with the wife somewhere, like Key West, or up to Raleigh, or San Antonio, or Chicago, and doing it pretty rapidly and relatively cost effectively, as long as we pack really lightly.

The ideal solution is to own 2 different airplanes. We'll see if that works out. I'd never do it myself, unless I started making a LOT more money, but it would be easily doable as part of a group of 4-5 people.

4/30/2019 1:32:58 AM

i think pressurized 210's exist, not really sure why anyone would want one though

4/30/2019 11:12:31 AM

yeah i think so, and yeah i agree

4/30/2019 9:33:31 PM

Probably to spend enough in maintenance that would have bought something way more expensive?

Can't imagine the burn on a 210. The gears are enough of a bitch to maintain. Know people who spent $40K on the retract repair.

5/13/2019 10:34:22 PM

The burn wouldn't be any worse than my Bonanza, unless you got a turbo-normalized one (which a pressurized model would be), but even then, it wouldn't be that bad.

The landing gear are reason enough to stay away from retractable single Cessnas, in my book. As far as a pressurized 210, I just don't see the utility. Are you really going to fly high enough, often enough in a 210 to warrant that over just having oxygen?

5/14/2019 9:26:51 PM

This guy I follow on youtube flew around the world in a 210, it looked a lot less comfortable than a bonanza

https://youtu.be/BwgyzNIw4eI

5/17/2019 9:09:19 AM

^interesting. that would scare the shit out of me.

As an inactive pilot, this thread excites me, but also makes me sad. Wish I had time and money to get back into flying.

5/21/2019 7:12:07 AM

this guy did it in a bonanza at 19 years old
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoruKoPAfKKhQ67mXhKWtppxcEDvEMgWA

5/21/2019 9:55:03 AM

^^ co-ownership, dude. Round up another pilot or two and split up an airplane. Even my S35 Bonanza, kept in a hangar, is affordable since it's split 4-ways. If you were to go buy a $25-40k airplane and split it between a few partners, it would cost almost nothing. If it was fixed-gear and fixed-prop,it would really be cheap. Cheaper still if VFR-only and/or experimental.


You and 2 other people could have a very decent plane to fly for a few thousand bucks upfront each, plus about $200/month (give or take) for annual/hangar/insurance, and probably $50/hour operating cost (including engine reserve!) Costs would even be less if you just kept it tied down outside.
_____________

got a trip from FL panhandle to Vegas planned for next week with one of my partners, his fiancee, and my wife...then hopefully up to NC for a long weekend a week later...then the plan is for the one partner to buy the other 3 of us out of the Bonanza a few days after that.

[Edited on May 29, 2019 at 1:49 AM. Reason : ]

5/29/2019 1:41:23 AM

^ was supposed to do Vegas next week but just cancelled it. How long and when? TWW fly-in?

Commercial checkride was yesterday but my night cross country didn't count. Was 4.5 hours 4 at night and takeoff during the day. Had to reschedule for next week.

5/29/2019 11:46:59 PM

godammit, just cancelled vegas, too. my partner's fucking fiancee just decided she didn't want to go. shit's been planned since february. wife has already taken off work.

5/30/2019 11:53:02 PM

Got my commercial on Friday and celebrated by doing the ILS into McCarran instead of Henderson like I usual. Ramp fees are a bitch, but at least it's close to the strip.

Almost made enough money to cover the dinners and hotel playing Omaha.

https://m.imgur.com/a/ysbZ11B

[Edited on June 10, 2019 at 10:23 AM. Reason : A]

6/10/2019 10:21:27 AM

Sweet!

6/10/2019 9:25:13 PM

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/28409/the-mysterious-and-potentially-revolutionary-celera-500l-aircraft-may-fly-soon

the patent for this plane claims, "460 and 510 miles per hour at an altitude of up to 65,000 feet, yielding a fuel efficiency rate of between 30 and 42 miles per gallon."

6/11/2019 10:03:29 AM