Cirrus Pilot Proficiency Program (CPPP)-Conroe, KCXO

Mooney Enters the Training Market with the Mooney M10

ByHank Gibson November 19, 2014December 5, 2014

Earlier this week, Mooney announced they would be following competitors Piper (with their Archer DX) and Redbird (with their retrofitted 172 known as the Redhawk) into the training market with the Mooney M10 T and Mooney M10 J.  Mooney, which hasn’t manufactured a primary trainer since the Mooney M10 Cadet in 1970, is planning on putting Jet A burning Continental Engines in the new aircraft.  The mockup was unveiled at Airshow China.

The Mooney M10 T is a 3 seat, fixed gear trainer sporting a Continental CD-135 engine.  At 135 HP, the initial design data claims the Mooney M10 T will be able to cruise at 140 KTAS at 75% power, allowing the Jet A engine to burn between 4-5 gallons per hour while holding 42 gallons of fuel.  As with other Jet A piston powered airplanes, the Mooney M10 T will have a Fully Automated Digital Engine Control (or FADEC) system.  This leaves just a single power lever in the cockpit, allowing the pilot to set a percent power and the FADEC computer will set the manifold pressure, prop speed, and mixture.

The Mooney M10 J has a slightly bigger engine, the 155 HP Continental CD-155.  It also is equipped with retractable gear.  Initially, Mooney is predicting 160 KTAS at 75% power for the Mooney  M10 J.  The airplane will come as a two-seater, but will have a third seat as an option.  Mooney says that the Mooney M10 J will allow pilots to make an easy transition to the bigger and faster M20J that has been popular for many years amongst “Mooniacs.”

In a new direction for Mooney, the Mooney M10 T Mooney M10 J will both be composite airplanes with side sticks, instead of the traditional sheet metal exterior with a yoke as Mooney aircraft have been in the past. Also venturing from the more powerful Mooney aircraft is the fact that the Mooney M10 T and Mooney M10 J will have two doors.  Remaining, though, is the swept tail that Mooney aircraft are known for.  Both airplanes will be equipped with Garmin G1000 panels, while the Mooney M10 J will also have the GFC 700 autopilot, marketing more toward aircraft owners rather than students.

The only downside that I read about was the time between replacements for the engines.  For the CD-135 engine in the Mooney M10 T, time between replacement is 1,500 hours, whereas the CD-155 only has a 1,200 hour replacement time.

Mooney expects certification and deliveries to begin for the Mooney M10 T and Mooney M10 J in 2017.

Information courtesy of AOPA and Mooney International.  Images courtesy of Mooney International.

Preventing Gear Up Landings

ByAndrew Robinson September 27, 2016April 5, 2017

On the evening of November 3rd, 2015, I was returning to my home airport of Lancaster from Pittsburgh in my company’s Aerostar, after being out on charter all day. It was dark out as I entered the traffic pattern at Lancaster. After an uneventful approach, I was cleared to land behind a Mooney. The spacing looked good as I turned final, but, as I was nearing the threshold, I started to become concerned that the Mooney wouldn’t be clear of the runway in time for me to land. At that moment, over the radio I heard an uncomfortable transmission from the Mooney pilot: “Tower, Mooney ABC has landed gear up.”

It took the tower controller a minute to grasp what was going on, and I was on about a 1-2 mile final when I was instructed to go around. Thankfully, the Mooney came to a stop in such a position that I was able to use the other intersecting runway, and was on the ground only a few minutes later. I can assure you, however, that I’ve never checked my “3 green” so many times in one traffic pattern as after that incident. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but there sure was an impressive amount of emergency equipment on the runway as I taxied back to my hangar.

In aviation, there’s a saying that goes: “There are two types of pilots. Those who have landed with their gear up, and those that will.” I don’t like that saying. The potential of a gear up landing (as a result of pilot error) is something that has always been a risk that I have worked hard to avoid. Not only is a gear up landing embarrassing; but it’s also an extremely expensive black mark on any pilot’s career.

According to a July 2006, article in Aviation Consumer, the estimated cost of repairs following a gear up landing for an A-36 Bonanza would be about $27,000 and about 3 weeks of down time. 25 years ago, even my beloved E33 Bonanza was the victim of a gear up landing. While it was neither me nor my dad flying our airplane that day, the event stays in its history and reduces its value should the time ever come to sell it.

That incident in 1990 resulted in approximately $25,000-30,000 in repairs. The cause of the incident was classic: the pilot put the gear down at the normal time, but then had his downwind extended by tower. He brought the gear back up to fly the longer downwind, but forgot to put it back down later when he was cleared to land. Like many pilots, he had a set routine time when he normally put the gear down, and when his routine was changed, he didn’t remember to lower the gear once more.

Unfortunately, no matter what experience level one may be at, no pilot is immune to the possibility of such a mistake. The following are 5 tips that I have learned in my time flying that have helped myself and others minimize the chance of a gear-up landing occurring:

1. Know your aircraft systems: What are the operating perimeters on your airplane’s gear warning system? Most airplanes have a designated speed or power setting at which the gear warning horn will sound in the event that the gear isn’t down and locked. In the Aerostar that I was flying, the gear horn was supposed to come on at 15” of manifold pressure with the gear up, but in practice, it didn’t come on until much lower than that. It has since been adjusted, but at the time it was important for me to know that if I had left the gear up, the horn wouldn’t have sounded in a timely enough manner for me to go around, much less lower it prior to touchdown. Most likely it would have just added to the noise of metal on concrete as I pulled the power all the way back in the landing flare.
2. Don’t override gear-up warning systems: They were put there for a reason! Even if you’re out doing maneuvers and the horn is blasting in your ear for half an hour, resist the temptation to simply pull the circuit breaker or push the warning silencer to make it shut up. If a pilot disables the gear-up warning horn and then later forgets to put the gear down on landing, he or she will have a much worse headache on their hands than the one that the horn would have given them.
3. Use your checklists and memory items: It doesn’t matter how much a pilot knows about his or her airplane, or the procedures for it. Distractions happen. Mistakes Happen. Always consult the checklist for confirmation that you’ve accomplished all the essential tasks before landing. Additionally, if you haven’t already, work on developing call outs which you perform out loud regardless of whether you are alone in the airplane or not. Whenever I’m landing an airplane, I start with my flows, go through my GUMPS (Gas-Under carriage- mixture- props- seat belt) checks, then do the printed checklist, and finally when on short final I call out “short final, cleared to land, three green.” I’ve had several passengers tease me about doing the “three green” call out while I was flying aircraft that didn’t have retractable landing gear. But, I’d much rather be in the habit of checking every time regardless of what I’m flying than forgetting to check when it is necessary.
4. Use your available resources and develop healthy habits: If I have someone riding with me, I generally ask them to confirm that there are 3 green lights glowing on the instrument panel. Even if that person isn’t a pilot, they will probably enjoy the opportunity to be involved, and it’s a good way for me to stay in the habit of checking the gear lights to ensure that everything is properly down and locked. I’ve also found that intentionally leaving your hand on the gear lever until you have gear safe lights is a good idea. Forcing yourself to keep your hand on the handle until you have the all important lights obligates you to actually observe the indications instead of simply throwing the lever and moving onto something else. This way, if you only get an indication of 2 greens you’ll be aware of it right away and have more time to respond appropriately. It also helps you to learn the normal length of time it takes for the gear to extend or retract, which will be helpful to you to be aware of any abnormalities in the gear system.
5. Upgrade your aircraft’s gear-up warnings: There’s a variety of ways you can improve your aircraft’s ability to warn you of a potential gear-up landing. For student pilots or pilots new to complex aircraft, it could be something as simple as a red post-it note on the panel to remind you to verify the gear position prior to landing. Or, if you own an aircraft that doesn’t have an effective way to warn the pilot of a gear-up landing, consider investing in an aftermarket gear-up warning system – surely the extra price of such an upgrade is a small amount next to the cost of repairing the damage from a gear-up landing!

Always remember, regardless of experience, no pilot is immune to the possibility of a gear up landing. The best way to safeguard yourself is to discipline yourself in the use of flows, checklists, and call outs. Things like gear warning horns, visual reminders, and other systems are a useful back up, but they shouldn’t be relied upon to save your bacon if you don’t get the gear down at the proper time. Fortunately, in most gear up landings, the pilot and passengers are able to walk away uninjured – but that doesn’t lessen the embarrassment or financial burden of the event. So, keep your chin up, your gear down, and remember….THREE GREEN

MODAERO NextGen Aviation Festival

ByHank Gibson March 8, 2016March 7, 2016

Looking for something different to do this Spring Break week?

Consider checking out the First Annual MODAERO NextGen Aviation Festival in Conroe, TX.  It’s a fly in event, complete with camping opportunities, at the Lone Star Executive Airport, KCXO.  The festival itself is being held right next door to the airport at the Lone Star Convention Center.

What’s the draw, do you ask?  Not only are there going to be representatives from all the major aircraft manufacturer’s (along with tons of airplanes), there will be a multitude of speakers and live music.  There are even drone races!  The live music sets the event apart from the well known national fly in events like Osh Kosh and Sun N Fun.  It’s a different type of Festival, geared toward the younger generation of pilots.

For more information or to register, check out MODAERO’s website.  The festival runs from Wednesday through Saturday, March 16-19.

Building An Airplane

ByHank Gibson August 3, 2018August 3, 2018

Randy Vanstory, a long-time customer of Texas Top Aviation, decided in early 2017 to build his own airplane. Randy currently owns a Mooney M20J and has been active in aviation for a number of years.  He took on the Vans RV 10, starting in February 2017.  He’s about halfway through right now, with an estimated completion of mid-2020.

I asked Randy what gave him the desire to build his own plane.  “I love building things, learning new things, and working on things” he said.  “This satisfies those desires all in one project.”  Randy had a desire to work with his hands, to create something of his own, and building an airplane put several of his passions together in one project.

Lots of pilots out there dream of building their own airplane in their garage.  There is a certain cool factor to putting together an RV or a Lancair in a garage, then trucking it out to an airport, attaching the wings, then flying a personal creation for the first time.  An airplane unique to you, since there isn’t one quite like it any where else.

That’s the beauty of a homebuilt.

Here is a link to Randy’s build video done by Kobalt Tools.