Wow, that sounds like quite the day!
Well done.
So.. breakfast in Albuquerque?

Yesterday we went non stop from Orlando to Denton where I bought Jet A for under $2!. Original plan was to land at KADS but there was a runway closure minutes before our arrival so we ended up at KDTO. 70+ head winds the entire route. A little over 4 hours at FL220. We got into IMC at altitude and got to kick on the icing equipment. It was good to get that experience and go through the changes in the engine performance with everything on. Great trip and my mentor time is complete. Took my first solo flight back to KTME and got home in time for dinner with the kids. Hopefully I can make it to PROP in Dallas next week. Now the real adventure begins.

What are those tabs on the glareshield?

Checklists.

Don't show that to the checklist police.

At PROP, you may hear a lot of discussion about checklists, particularly in reference to the Inhofe crash. The implication, if not said outright by the presenters, is that he crashed due to the "unapproved" checklist. The mere presence of the unofficial checklist on board the aircraft seems to be all they require to conclude it was involved somehow. I don't believe that, of course.

I'm not a member of the ultra orthodox church of the blue checklist, but you will get some preaching from the clergy at PROP about it.

Mike C.

Don't show that to the checklist police.

At PROP, you may hear a lot of discussion about checklists, particularly in reference to the Inhofe crash. The implication, if not said outright by the presenters, is that he crashed due to the "unapproved" checklist. The mere presence of the unofficial checklist on board the aircraft seems to be all they require to conclude it was involved somehow. I don't believe that, of course.

I'm not a member of the ultra orthodox church of the blue checklist, but you will get some preaching from the clergy at PROP about it.

Mike C.

James,

Next time you are in Orlando let me know. I can at least buy you a beer!

Congratulations by the way!

Carlos

Roger that caveat on "out of trim", I have about 15 hours in the right seat, and thought the Mitzi was the "squirrelly bird" until I finally figured out how to get it in trim, once I did get it trimmed out, it was wonderful on the gauges.

I would add that all of my hours were at night, and some in weather, most of the cruise was in auto-pilot, but my last leg in it was from Kansas City Downtown, to Jacksonville, IL @ 19,000ft with a 100knt tailwind on a very dark VFR night mostly on the gauges. Hand flown, was probably my best flight in the airplane.

Unfortunately my best friend was killed in that beautiful Marquise about two weeks later.

I would contend that the Mits isn't that much more sensitive to trim than say an older pc12. Both hand fly poorly when out of trim and I felt the Mits was much more stable when trimmed out. It will literally fly an ILS on one engine hands off when trimmed right. Very neat air airplanes.

Once trimmed, you really can't tell you are on one engine.

Only when you change power or airspeed, then it becomes pretty obvious!

The secret in OEI flight is to move the feet about as much as you move the power lever. More power, push the rudder on that side. Less power, push the rudder on the other side. It really is about an inch of power lever is an inch of rudder pedal. Then trim off the rudder forces and some minor adjustment to roll trim.

Once you get the hang of it, it isn't that difficult and you can make power changes OEI quite smoothly.

Mike C.

First trip with family on board Friday to Dallas and back today. Awesome. I love this thing!

Cool James, I just had my in laws on the plane.

Flight went perfect, they loved it.

Very rewarding.

I have put 60 hours on the MU2 since March. Here are some observations and thoughts about the plane and the transition from the Baron.

It's easy to fly. Easier than I anticipated and a lot more fun.
It's a really tough plane. The build quality and sturdiness of the plane is unlike anything I've seen. I share a hanger with several King Airs and structurally, the MU2 looks and feels more solid. Maybe I'm biased...
It rides through rough air with ease and I've yet to get beat up.
The cabin size is so comfortable for the 6 of us, I am looking for reasons to fly places.
The 30% speed increase makes long trips much easier. (I wish I could afford a -10 because I already want to go faster). Anyone in the market should skip the earlier models and go for a Solitaire or -10 K or M. If you're like me and you have a limit financially, an F model is pretty spectacular for low to mid $200k. That will get you 260kts @ FL220 - FL250 burning about 60gph.
My insurance is $4k per year which is a little less than double the Baron.
The support from Tubine Aircraft Services and Chuck Walton for the little things has been terrific.
I have flown with too much fuel and climb and TAS is impacted a lot when you are tankering fuel. I think about 30 gallons in the tips is optimal for performance.
I think my MX costs will be better than expected. November is the 600 hr. which will tell me a lot about what to expect in the future.
Training makes a huge difference. My hope is that when HSI is due, I can find a matched set of -1's and keep flying for another 10-15 years.
Anyone considering an MU2 should buy one. You won't be dissappointed.

Congratulations. With the MU2 you do have world class support. I saw that at PROP. Fly it like you stole it, as they say.

An engineer from Cessna saw the fuselage structure opened up in a shop and they could not believe the beefiness of the frame members. It was way stronger at 6 PSI than what they do in Citations for nearly 9 PSI.

The beefiness comes at a cost in increased weight. For as small as the MU2 is, it weighs a lot empty.


The AIN support survey results are not wrong.


The F model is more affected by weight than others due to losing power more quickly as you go higher. This causes a high angle of attack for slower indicated airspeed, and more induced drag. My plane has enough power to keep IAS up and is not as affected by weight. But even so, if I am heavy and go to FL280, the weight does slow you down. I can pick up 10 knots on a long flight sometimes as the fuel burns off.


The 600 hr/3 year inspection is the "big" recurring one. Usually nothing major is found, but the inspection is fairly invasive (interior out, etc).

Last I knew, Chuck charges about $4K for the 600 hr/3 year items, which isn't too bad.


Yes, it does. Keep it up. Get some sim time. Until you've had some sim time, consider your training provisional.


Why not HSI your engines? I think that is still a reasonable thing to do on -1 engines.

Mike C.