Mooney.
Got it home safely (though definitely appreciated having ADS-B weather in the cockpit! Also AHRS, courtesy of a new-to-me Stratus 2 I picked up for this trip). Mounted the iPad from underneath the yoke (first with the claw, now with a U-bolt).
Carried a handheld (Yaesu FTA-550) that came in handy (it comes with a headset adapter, along with some RAM pieces (RAP-B-201U-A; RAM-HOL-BC1; ) so I could stick it on the window for the best-possible reception and easy tuning, etc., plus a PTT switch I could yoke mount (I figured, if I'm in flight and relying on a handheld, things are going to be stressful enough, didn't want to add "fumbling with the radio" to my workload). Pro tip I picked up from Josh: Get ATIS with the handheld; it's an "every flight" test that ensures it's still working and will catch, e.g., low batteries, before they become an issue. (The 550 uses six AAs, which I carry a bunch of spares for anyway, for my flashlight and Bose headset.)
The plane flew IFR fine with the Terra NAV radios and Tri-Nav ECDIs; COM1 received only and controllers complained about COM2's transmission abilities maybe one time out of twenty.
Added a Griffin BlueTrip for in-flight music and ForeFlight alerts (patched into the PM-2000 Aux input). Also added a voltage meter / internal temperature gauge, though it seems to have died after a couple of weeks. Provided useful information while it worked (pro tip: as this M20E is still equipped with a generator (albeit with an upgrade to a Zeftronics controller and Concorde RG-35AXC battery), keep the RPMs at or above 1100 rpm to keep the electrical system charging). Added an Anker 4.8A 12V adapter to keep devices charged in flight, works perfectly. (Have the Stratus setup to turn on with plane power. Right now it's suction-cup mounted in the rear window, though I kinda want to mount it out of sight without a suction cup (it keeps falling off, which plays merry hobb with the AHRS), with external antenna.)
The GPS works and is autopilot linked (though not with GPSS). I updated the database through Jeppesen. The autopilot (S-Tec System 30 with Altitude Hold) works perfectly. The stormscope works perfectly. So far so good.
Swapping the radios for a Garmin SL30 (which will basically take the place of all four radios, what with standby monitoring etc) with an IND-351, that single device will replace basically the entire Terra stack (won't need an audio panel - though I have a GMA340 - until I have another audio source). Got a quote for the GTN-650 ($16,000!). Transponder, I had thought GTX-345, but I think the KT76A and/or the blind encoder is flaky (ATC said it appeared to drop out, but noted it might have been their radar, I was in the mountains), and I've got a line on a GTX-327 I can pick up now for free (or close to it), so I may just go GDL-88 and FlightStream 210 with the '327...
I'm really tempted to put in a CGR-30P ASAP, as the existing “power” instruments are ... Meh. (Original tachometer, manifold/fuel pressure gauge, and Garwin 6-pack (left/right fuel quantity, single-probe CHT, oil pressure, oil temperature, ammeter); EI E-1 EGT single-probe digital EGT gauge.) Really looking forward to redoing the panel in a standard 6-pack (“T”) arrangement.
Oh, and, Garmin just announced G5 integration with autopilots (heading bug)! Huzzah! The Aspen has a few tricks the G5 series doesn't (in-flight wind, synthetic vision), but not for the $thousands additional it would cost (including the nickel-and-dime upgrades from Aspen).
Carried a handheld (Yaesu FTA-550) that came in handy (it comes with a headset adapter, along with some RAM pieces (RAP-B-201U-A; RAM-HOL-BC1; ) so I could stick it on the window for the best-possible reception and easy tuning, etc., plus a PTT switch I could yoke mount (I figured, if I'm in flight and relying on a handheld, things are going to be stressful enough, didn't want to add "fumbling with the radio" to my workload). Pro tip I picked up from Josh: Get ATIS with the handheld; it's an "every flight" test that ensures it's still working and will catch, e.g., low batteries, before they become an issue. (The 550 uses six AAs, which I carry a bunch of spares for anyway, for my flashlight and Bose headset.)
The plane flew IFR fine with the Terra NAV radios and Tri-Nav ECDIs; COM1 received only and controllers complained about COM2's transmission abilities maybe one time out of twenty.
Added a Griffin BlueTrip for in-flight music and ForeFlight alerts (patched into the PM-2000 Aux input). Also added a voltage meter / internal temperature gauge, though it seems to have died after a couple of weeks. Provided useful information while it worked (pro tip: as this M20E is still equipped with a generator (albeit with an upgrade to a Zeftronics controller and Concorde RG-35AXC battery), keep the RPMs at or above 1100 rpm to keep the electrical system charging). Added an Anker 4.8A 12V adapter to keep devices charged in flight, works perfectly. (Have the Stratus setup to turn on with plane power. Right now it's suction-cup mounted in the rear window, though I kinda want to mount it out of sight without a suction cup (it keeps falling off, which plays merry hobb with the AHRS), with external antenna.)
The GPS works and is autopilot linked (though not with GPSS). I updated the database through Jeppesen. The autopilot (S-Tec System 30 with Altitude Hold) works perfectly. The stormscope works perfectly. So far so good.
Swapping the radios for a Garmin SL30 (which will basically take the place of all four radios, what with standby monitoring etc) with an IND-351, that single device will replace basically the entire Terra stack (won't need an audio panel - though I have a GMA340 - until I have another audio source). Got a quote for the GTN-650 ($16,000!). Transponder, I had thought GTX-345, but I think the KT76A and/or the blind encoder is flaky (ATC said it appeared to drop out, but noted it might have been their radar, I was in the mountains), and I've got a line on a GTX-327 I can pick up now for free (or close to it), so I may just go GDL-88 and FlightStream 210 with the '327...
I'm really tempted to put in a CGR-30P ASAP, as the existing “power” instruments are ... Meh. (Original tachometer, manifold/fuel pressure gauge, and Garwin 6-pack (left/right fuel quantity, single-probe CHT, oil pressure, oil temperature, ammeter); EI E-1 EGT single-probe digital EGT gauge.) Really looking forward to redoing the panel in a standard 6-pack (“T”) arrangement.
Oh, and, Garmin just announced G5 integration with autopilots (heading bug)! Huzzah! The Aspen has a few tricks the G5 series doesn't (in-flight wind, synthetic vision), but not for the $thousands additional it would cost (including the nickel-and-dime upgrades from Aspen).
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