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IN CELEBRATION OF OUR
20TH YEAR SPECIALIZING IN
MOONEY AIRCRAFT;
Get your BRAND NEW
PRE-PUBLISHED
BOOK AVAILABLE FOR YOU NOW!
"THOSE MOONEY AIRPLANES"
by Richard Zephro; studying the Mooney since 1974; 38 year private pilot/owner of Mooneyland and author
of the articles within this website.
FLYING IS NOT CHEAP! Within
this book we will discuss not only how to save money while owning your
own airplane, we will discuss ways to save big bucks on purchase,
ownership, maintenance,
appearance (lipstick), and upgrades.
Further; we will discuss matters of safely operating your prized BIRD,
why Mooney is the safest (by far) in its class, and aid in the pure FUN
of owning your own airplane. BOOK INCLUDES 25 CHAPTERS OF INFORMATION
FOR MOONEY ENTHUSIASTS, OWNERS, AND ASPIRING OWNERS OF MOONEY AIRCRAFT
IN PARTICULAR, APPLICABLE TO ALL AIRCRAFT OWNERS IN GENERAL AND INCLUDES
100 HOUR/ANNUAL INSPECTION GUIDE AND ALL ABOUT MOONEY AIRCRAFT; HOW TO
KEEP THEM SAFELY FLYING (ON THE CHEAP) DO IT YOURSELF STUFF, WHAT
TO WATCH FOR, AND INCLUDES 124 FULL SIZE PAGES OF INFORMATION AND
PHOTOS. (Includes some reprints
and references from Mooneyland and tons of NEW information at your
fingertips)
2 NEW CHAPTERS JUST ADDED:
"HOW MUCH DOES IS COST TO OWN AN AIRPLANE" and
"MEMOIRS OF A MOONEY BUYER".
GET YOUR PDF COPY IN
ADVANCE OF PUBLICATION EMAILED DIRECTLY TO YOU FOR $39.95;
A TEN DOLLAR SAVINGS PRIOR TO
PUBLICATION. CLICK ON THE "BUY NOW" PAYPAL LINK BELOW, PURCHASE THE BOOK
AND I WILL PERSONALLY EMAIL IT TO YOU IMMEDIATELY. (2MB) in size.
(this is the first of a series of must have books to come
by author; Richard Zephro and you will automatically receive any
updates, revisions, & additions to this BOOK).
See our dedicated new
website for Mooney information at: www.mooneybooks.com.
Enjoy
& learn, learn, and LEARN!
Richard "zef" Zephro
OR GO TO:
Please Indicate on
your order whether you have Earth/Beige or Grey Tones Interior. Each
order my vary in color but this will compliment your Tones.
FAA MANDATES PLASTIC PILOT CERTIFICATE
Still hanging onto your paper pilot certificate? You'll need to upgrade to a
plastic pilot certificate by March 31, 2010. The FAA released its final rule
Feb. 28, announcing the required switch to the certificate it deems is more
counterfeit resistant. When the FAA proposed this mandate in 2005, AOPA members
overwhelmingly supported the move to a more secure certificate. If you are
attached to your paper certificate and original issuance date (the plastic
certificate will have a new one), don't worry. You can keep your paper
certificate for nostalgia; you just can't use it to fly.
AOPA challenges Maine’s unfair tax system
By AOPA ePublishing staff
Some aircraft owners who fly to Maine for getaways are
getting a surprise in the mail—a bill for 5 percent of their
aircraft’s value if they purchased it in a state without a
sales tax.
AOPA is challenging the legal basis of the Maine Revenue
Services’ (MRS’) overly aggressive enforcement of the
state’s use tax law that changed Jan.1 this year.
“There has been no attempt to avoid Maine sales tax,
because these aircraft are owned, based, and largely
operated outside the state,”
wrote AOPA President Phil Boyer to Gov. John Baldacci
this week. “We urge you to ask your staff and the attorney
general’s office to carefully review the legal analysis that
was submitted to your office and reconsider and reverse the
MRS current policies.”
The new law exempted large aircraft from the use tax but
kept the tax on out-of-state private piston aircraft that
weigh less than 6,000 pounds and spend relatively little
time in the state. In some cases, out-of-state aircraft that
visited Maine prior to 2007 are being targeted.
Many aircraft owners who’ve been hit with a large,
unexpected bill for flying into the state before 2007 are
appealing the legal basis for the tax assessment.
“The MRS is currently reviewing these matters, and may
render decisions at any time,” Boyer wrote. “While these
matters are being further considered, we respectfully
suggest that you direct them to hold any additional
decisions or enforcement actions in abeyance.”
Boyer also told the governor that the MRS enforcement
policy is inconsistent with and could possibly violate the
commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. In addition, AOPA
pointed out that several other northeastern states have
recognized the economic boost to aviation that eliminating
these taxes brings.
AOPA has been working with the governor’s office and
state legislators to change the policy since June, when
Boyer first wrote the governor about the tax problem. AOPA
Vice President of Regional Affairs Greg Pecoraro was
scheduled to meet with state officials earlier this month
but was forced to postpone until mid-January because of a
snowstorm in the state.
That's
the question that Steve Kahn and dozens of other pilots are wondering about, after being hit by the
state of Maine with tax bills in the thousands of dollars for flying into the state. Kahn, an
investment advisor who lives in Boston, flies his Cirrus SR-22 frequently into Maine to visit a
summer home and other destinations, and as a volunteer with Angel Flight. He's been doing that since
2003, but this year, he got a tax bill from the state of Maine saying he owes them a "use tax" that
totals over $26,000 with interest. Kahn says he had no way of knowing that flying in Maine would
trigger the tax until he got the bill. "It's so unreasonable and unfair," he says. He has hired a
lawyer to appeal the assessment, but since the appeal is heard by the state tax division, he doesn't
have much hope of success. If the appeal is denied, he can take the matter to court, but then
expenses will pile up fast. "I'm willing to fight this on principle," he says. "But there is a point
where you just give up, even though you know you're right." AOPA has been talking with officials in
Maine.
A meeting was set up for this week, but was cancelled due to a snowstorm. "We're working now to
set up another meeting, probably in January," Greg Pecoraro, AOPA's vice president for regional
affairs, told AVweb on Wednesday. Some pilots who fly into Maine, even if just for a handful of
trips, have received tax bills up into the six figures, he says.
--
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.
-- Benjamin Franklin, 1759
HAVE YOU SWITCHED FROM PAPER TO PLASTIC? The FAA is reviewing comments on a
proposal that would require pilots to replace their paper pilot certificates with tamper-resistant
plastic certificates. The final rule is expected to be released early next year, and it's
anticipated that pilots will have two years to make the change. Beat the rush by requesting a
plastic pilot certificate online. You should keep your paper certificate, with your original
issuance date, for your records, because your plastic certificate will have a new issue date.
Ordering a new certificate costs $2, but if you want the FAA to remove your
Social Security number from the certificate or its records, you can get a plastic certificate
for free.
Industry sees big decline in GA accidents
By AOPA ePublishing staff
When the FAA announced this week that general aviation pilots had exceeded safety goals for the
fiscal year just completed, the success was due in a large part to industry-wide efforts.
The AOPA Air Safety Foundation played a significant role, reaching tens of thousands of pilots
who either attended one of more than 200 in-person safety seminars held around the country or
completing one or more of the foundation's nearly two dozen online safety courses. The foundation
recorded more than a quarter of a million course completions during the same fiscal year.
"For more than 55 years, we've been teaching pilots how to be safer in the air, helping to drive
down the accident numbers," said Bruce Landsberg, executive director of the AOPA Air Safety
Foundation. "Our in-person safety seminars set the standard in live safety education for decades.
And the rise of the Internet has let us expand our reach and teach tens of thousands more each
year."
The FAA had set a goal of not more than 331 fatal accidents for GA during fiscal year 2007 (Oct.
1, 2006, to Sept. 30, 2007). The actual number was 314. And the number of fatalities dropped
dramatically, from 676 in FY 2006 to 564 in FY 2007.
With courses like Weather Wise: Thunderstorms and ATC, Weather Wise: Ceiling and Visibility,
Runway Safety, and Single-Pilot IFR, the Air Safety Foundation has a solid history of
examining safety data, identifying problems and trends, and developing courses that teach pilots how
to stay out of trouble. And now, the foundation is taking steps with online course topics like aging
aircraft to address safety concerns before they become safety problems.
"The key to improving safety is to help pilots understand their ability, their aircraft and their
situation, and then take steps to mitigate any risks," said Landsberg.
November 1, 2007
Would you fly in this?
You may get the chance
......
Even though the Aeroscraft
dwarfs the largest commercial
airliners, it requires less net space on the ground than any plane because it doesn't need a runway.
The airship takes off and lands like a helicopter: straight up and down.
This is not a Blimp.
It's a sort of flying Queen Mary
2 that could change the way you think about air travel. It's the Aeroscraft, and when it's
completed, it will ferry pampered passengers across continents and oceans as they stroll leisurely
about the one-acre cabin or relax in their well-appointed staterooms.
Unlike its dirigible ancestors,
the Aeroscraft is not
lighter than air. Its 14 million cubic feet of helium hoist only two-thirds of the craft's weight.
The rigid and surprisingly aerodynamic body - driven by huge rearward propellers - generates enough
additional lift to keep the behemoth and its 400-ton payload aloft while cruising. During takeoff
and landing, six turbofan jet engines push the ship up or ease its descent.
This two football-fields-long
concept airship is the brainchild of Igor Pasternak, whose privately funded California firm,
Worldwide Aeros Corporation, is in the early stages of developing a prototype and expects to have
one completed by 2010. Pasternak says several cruise ship companies have expressed interest in the
project, and for good reason: The craft would have a range of several thousand miles and, with an
estimated top speed of 174 mph, coul! d traverse the continental U.S. in about 18 hours. During the
flight, passengers would peer at national landmarks just 8,000 feet below or, if they weren't
captivated by the view, the cavernous interior would easily accommodate such amenities as luxury
staterooms, restaurants, even a casino.
To minimize noise,
the aft-mounted propellers will
be electric, powered by a renewable source such as hydrogen fuel cells. A sophisticated
buoyancy-management system will serve the same purpose as trim on an airplane, allowing for precise
adjustments in flight dynamics to compensate for outside conditions and passenger movement. The
automated system will draw outside air into compartments throughout the ship and compress it to
manage onboard weight.
On a pressurized plane,
windows like these would explode
outward. The Aeroscraft does not fly high enough to need pressurization.
The company envisions a
cargo-carrying version!
that could deliver a store's worth of merchandise from a centralized distribution center straight to
a Wal-Mart parking lot or, because the helium-filled craft will float, a year's worth of supplies to
an offshore oil rig. "You can land on the snow, you can land on the water," Pasternak says. "It's a
new vision of what can be done in the air."
Why the 'copilot' does the
walk-around preflight inspection in Texas........
Mooney customer and friend; Nolan Harris recently added a future
Mooneyland pilot, and I must say, this little guy is a very sharp dresser!
How cute
can a little guy get?!
Victor Estrada's newest Mooney pilot addition just announced!
Meet Mia Estrada! Daddy Victor is Mooney owmer. customer, and King
Air/Citation driver for the DEA. (Victor, get a good dowry together and maybe I'll fix her up with
my seven Y.O. son, Sean (Seanster the Monster) or, maybe these two are a match? Ya think? :o)
z
God love the CHILDREN! The only "perfect" humans on earth!
PILOTS SHOULD PICK AN ELT THAT SUITS THEIR FLYING NEEDS The NTSB last week recommended that pilots be required to equip their aircraft with
406-MHz emergency locator transmitters (ELTs). This recommendation comes because satellites will no
longer monitor 121.5 MHz ELT signals after February 1, 2009. "Pilots should be able to decide which
ELT they want in their aircraft based upon their type of flying," said Melissa Rudinger, AOPA vice
president of regulatory affairs. "We've
written the FAA and the NTSB that we will oppose any attempt to require all pilots to equip with
406-MHz ELTs." See
AOPA Online.
Aspen
Avionics offers Evolution Flight Display Aspen Avionics now offers a glass
cockpit system for certified general aviation aircraft. The Evolution Flight Display is modular,
expandable, and upgradeable. It includes three models of primary flight displays (PFD), starting
at $5,995, and two models of multifunction displays (MFD), starting at $4,995. The Evolution
system enables aircraft owners to upgrade their primary flight instrument "six pack" to glass
cockpit technology all at once or in stages.
Hartzell prop to speed up
older Mooneys Hartzell Propeller announced that it has
received an STC to install a newly designed two-blade, 74-inch-diameter blended airfoil Top Prop
performance conversion kit onto Mooney M20A-G and M20J models. Hartzell optimized the new blended
airfoil design to deliver greater cruise performance at higher airspeeds. Flight tests with an M20F
have confirmed an increase of 2 to 4 knots in normal cruise over the original Hartzell two-blade
propeller while maintaining equivalent climb performance. The improvement in cruise was achieved at
the expense of a slightly longer takeoff roll that has been observed at about 3 percent.
Hartzell Offers a New
Top Prop™ Two-Bladed, Blended Airfoil Propeller for the Mooney M20 Family.
Kit provides Mooney M20A-G and M20J
operators with increased cruise performance.
A new 74" two-bladed blended airfoil Top Prop
Performance Propeller conversion kit is now available for Mooney M20A-G and M20J models. The
propeller delivers operators with increased cruise performance and reduced maintenance.
PIQUA, Ohio –July 23, 2007 – Hartzell Propeller Inc. announced
today that it has received an STC to install a newly designed, two- bladed 74" diameter blended
airfoil Top Prop performance conversion kit onto Mooney M20A-G and M20J models. Hartzell
optimized the new blended airfoil design to deliver greater cruise performance at higher
airspeeds. Flight tests with an M20F have confirmed an increase of 2-4 knots in normal cruise
over the original Hartzell 2- bladed propeller while maintaining equivalent climb performance.
The improvement in cruise was achieved at the expense of a slightly longer take-off roll that
has been observed at about an extra 3%.
"Tests also confirmed that performance levels increased along
with power settings and airspeed levels. So the higher the airspeed and the higher the power
settings the greater the performance improvement that we observed in cruise levels," said Mike
Trudeau, Director of Hartzell’s Top Prop Performance Conversion program.
Restrictive placards on the A-D, G and J aircraft have been
removed entirely while the restriction on the E and F models has been reduced to simply no
continuous operation above 24" of manifold between 2350 and 2550 RPM.
On all models of the aicraft, the repetitive inspections required
by AD2006-18-15 have been eliminated.
The new Mooney Top Prop kit comes complete with the propeller, a
highly-polished spinner, STC paperwork and the exclusive Hartzell Plus Three™ warranty, which
delivers a full three years or 1000 hours of coverage, at a list price of $6,995.
For more information about the new Mooney kit or any other Top
Prop performance conversion, visit the Top Prop section of the Hartzell Web site at
www.hartzellprop.com, or call toll free (800) 942-7767
or (937) 778-5726. Fax your request to Hartzell at (937) 778-4215 or email
topprop@hartzellprop.com.
With more than 14,000 kits sold, Hartzell Top Prop Propeller
Conversions offer pilots one of the easiest and most economical methods for improving the value
of their aircraft. 60 different Beech, Cessna, Commander, Diamond, Mooney, Piper, and SOCATA
kits are currently available, making the Top Prop family the largest and most complete propeller
conversion offering in the world.
Hartzell Propeller System to be
Standard on New Mooney Ovation GX … Prop Also Available For All M20R Ovations Through Hartzell's
Top Prop™ Program.
New Blended Airfoil Technology Provides
Performance Improvement Over Previous Two- and Three-Blade Ovation Propellers.
Hartzell’s new
propeller conversion for the Mooney M20R Ovation combines the best performance of the previously
used two and three-bladed models through the use of innovative “blended airfoil” technology.
PIQUA, Ohio – July 27, 2004 – Hartzell
Propeller Inc. announced today that it was awarded an FAA STC for a new blended airfoil
three-bladed propeller system applicable to all Mooney M20R Ovations. The propeller will be
standard equipment on all new Ovations from the factory and will also be available as a retrofit
through Hartzell’s successful Top Prop™ high performance propeller conversion program.
The 76" diameter 3-blade compact series
propeller utilizes Hartzell’s "blended airfoil" technology. This proprietary “blended” propeller
design allows for the incorporation of different airfoils along progressive sections of a blade.
In addition, the scimitar blade’s swept tips help to reduce noise and are highly twisted to
provide outstanding cruise efficiency at Ovation operating conditions.
Development of the new Ovation propeller
was accomplished in a cooperative venture with Mooney. Mooney wanted to combine the best
performance elements of both the two- and three-bladed props that had been fitted to the Ovation
over time. The new Hartzell achieved this goal while also reducing noise levels relative to the
2-blade … an increasingly important factor for operators in Europe.
The 3-blade Hartzell matches or exceeds
the 2-blade cruise performance during typical operating conditions. Take-off ground roll is 40%
shorter than with the 2-blade propeller and rate of climb is improved by more than 10%. In
addition the new propeller reduces cabin and flyover noise, meeting stringent German, Austrian
and Swiss guidelines. Initial acceleration and climb rates have even been improved over the
original three-bladed Ovation propeller, from 5 to 20% depending on altitude. Finally, the new
prop increases closed-throttle descents 7% which most pilots find helpful in reducing the
Mooney’s tendency to “float” on landing.
“The original 3-blade Ovation propeller
compromised cruise speed, the later 2-blade propeller compromised take-off performance. We
tasked Hartzell to provide a propeller with no compromises and they delivered. Pilots will now
be able to use the best performance charts in the POH for take-off, climb, and cruise,” said
Nelson Happy, President of Mooney.
The Top Prop kit for the Ovation includes
the three-bladed propeller, a polished spinner, and STC documentation. The price for the
conversion is $9,495. An anti-iced option is being developed by AS&T and is expected to be
available soon.
For more information about Hartzell’s
Mooney M20R Ovation propeller conversion kit or any other Top Prop performance conversion, visit
the Top Prop page,
or call toll free (800) 942-7767 or (937) 778-5726. Fax your request to Hartzell at (937)
778-4215 or email topprop@hartzellprop.com.
Hartzell Propeller Inc. is widely
recognized as the leader in advanced propeller design and manufacturing technology. NASA has
recognized Hartzell’s advanced design capability by naming it the exclusive propeller partner
for its General Aviation Propulsion (GAP) program. The company has recently developed the next
generation of propeller designs based upon innovative “blended airfoil” technology and is
manufacturing these blades on revolutionary machining centers to provide mission optimized
performance for its customers. Hartzell traces its beginnings in 1917 to a relationship with
Orville Wright and was founded on the principal of Built on Honor – a tradition that continues
today.
Andy's Airplanes debuts an
aviation-themed children's series
Andy's Airplanes LLC and the Entity launched its animated series aimed at bringing aviation and
learning to children ages 3 to 8. The series, which features Andy, an adventurous young pilot who
flies every airplane under the sun to every destination on the map, comes in 30-minute segments. The
first segment will be available by September 1; the show's
Web site allows kids to interact with
Andy and his friends and play games centered on aviation, geography, cultures, and more. Jon Pierre
Francia, creator of the series and flight instructor, hopes to push aviation into more children's
lives and give them a positive role model to emulate while they learn. The programs will be
available first online, and then in DVD format at nationwide retailers and via the Web site.
and MORE!
How cute
can a little guy get?!
You know dats right! 
Thanks! Zef
NAVIGATION
GO HERE:
