Any plans on flying somewhere for the holidays?
Jim

> Any plans on flying somewhere for the holidays?

Nope -- we're gonna leave Montblack in peace this Thanksgiving...

;-)

You?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

ROFL
Me/Us? I don't know yet. Tami has some kind of family reunion/early
Christmas thing December 2 & 3, so we've got tentative plans on flying to
GRR. Nothing for Thanksgiving though.
Jim

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> > Any plans on flying somewhere for the holidays?
>
> Nope -- we're gonna leave Montblack in peace this Thanksgiving...
>
> ;-)
>
> You?
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

"Jim Burns" wrote:

> Any plans on flying somewhere for the holidays?

Flying to Houston to see the folks.

Haven't made up my mind if I'll land at Sugar Land or Hobby. Hobby is
closer to Mom's and has more ILS approaches, but Sugar Land has fewer ground
hassles and spam cans don't get vectors all over the county to get there.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Ahh... another guy that got married near or on a holiday so he wouldn't
forget! :) hehe
Jim
(married on St. Patricks Day)
(in a snow storm)
(and a power outage)
See? I remember! :)

"B A R R Y" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 15:49:34 -0600, "Jim Burns"
> > wrote:
>
>>Any plans on flying somewhere for the holidays?
>
> I'm taking the wife to Provincetown, MA for a winter beach walk and
> seafood. I was married the day after Thanksgiving.

Flying to Santa Fe for four days- should be a good trip. Meeting some
friends there as well. Have the O2 tank already filled and ready to go.

I'm telling ya Jim...You and Jay should have made the dash to Palm
Springs last weekend. Missed opportunity (to burn a ton of avgas)! :-)


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane

"To become a Jedi knight, you must master a single force. To become
a private pilot you must strive to master four of them"
- Rod Machado

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Nope, everyone is planning to be in our neck of the woods. Planning to
take Dad flying though.


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane

"To become a Jedi knight, you must master a single force. To become
a private pilot you must strive to master four of them"
- Rod Machado

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Sounds like a fun and warm escape from WI. Just leave the north door open,
I promise we'll restock the beer and leave the Extra in one piece! :)
Jim

Jim Burns wrote:
> Any plans on flying somewhere for the holidays?
> Jim

I'll be flying a Cutlass (172 RG) from Denver to West Palm Beach, FL in
December with my brother. Should take roughly 11 hrs each way, and I'm
planning on at least 2 days for each leg. It's going to be a great
experience, and should get me close to my comm time requirements.

("Jay Honeck" wrote)
>> Any plans on flying somewhere for the holidays?

> Nope -- we're gonna leave Montblack in peace this Thanksgiving...


Hey, we're old pros at it now! However...

5-day (VFR) weather forecast looks iffy starting Thanksgiving Day, thru
next weekend. This next 5 days look good, though ...so, come up early. Stay
late if need be. Beat the MOA rush. Visit the Water Park of America this
time. Take a day to see frozen dead people at the Science Museum of
Minnesota. Park your plane in an available (warm?) hangar ...this time. And
lest we forget, mmmm ...grazing at "Old Country Barf-et".

You could even see ..."The Full Monty" :-)
(Bloomington Civic Theatre - striking the set after the last show, tomorrow
afternoon)

http://www.smm.org/bodyworlds/about/
Science Museum of Minnesota - Body Worlds

http://www.bloomingtoncivictheatre.org/
The Full Monty - Closing Sunday the 19th.

http://www.waterparkofamerica.com/
Water Park of America (Why are all water park sites set up this way? Why?
Why?)


Montblack

In article >,
"Montblack" > wrote:

> Beat the MOA rush.

Please do not mix you TLA's between usegroups.
MOA (aviation usage)... Military Operations Area
MOA (ground mode)... Mall of America
(MoA might be acceptable)

In article . com>,
wrote:

> Jim Burns wrote:
> > Any plans on flying somewhere for the holidays?
> > Jim
>
> I'll be flying a Cutlass (172 RG) from Denver to West Palm Beach, FL in
> December with my brother. Should take roughly 11 hrs each way, and I'm
> planning on at least 2 days for each leg. It's going to be a great
> experience, and should get me close to my comm time requirements.

Are you landing KPBI?
Which FBO do you plan to use?
I have used both Galaxy and Signature in the last three years.
I prefer Signature.
I have received tremendously better service as a single-engine piston
pilot!

No, I was going to LNA, but the weekly tie-downs are actually cheaper
at F45 (and it's closer to where I want to go anyway - Jupiter).

Thanks for the tips though... I used Galaxy up at SUA once when I had
a weather divert. They were pretty nice, but mind blowingly expensive
for everything.

john smith wrote:
> In article >,
> "Montblack" > wrote:
>
>> Beat the MOA rush.
>
> Please do not mix you TLA's between usegroups.
> MOA (aviation usage)... Military Operations Area
> MOA (ground mode)... Mall of America
> (MoA might be acceptable)
Hmmm, can MontBlack drive the airplane of minivans through an (aviation
usage) MOA? But...never through the (ground mode) MoA. Sure, park *at*
the MoA...but please Paul, we beg you, we don't want to read about you
on the news. :-)


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane

"To become a Jedi knight, you must master a single force. To become
a private pilot you must strive to master four of them"
- Rod Machado

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

> >> Beat the MOA rush.
> >
> > Please do not mix you TLA's between usegroups.
> > MOA (aviation usage)... Military Operations Area
> > MOA (ground mode)... Mall of America
> > (MoA might be acceptable)
> Hmmm, can MontBlack drive the airplane of minivans through an (aviation
> usage) MOA? But...never through the (ground mode) MoA. Sure, park *at*
> the MoA...but please Paul, we beg you, we don't want to read about you
> on the news. :-)

In five days, the MoA will become the site of more real battles than any
MOA. So if you are in the MoA within the next four days, yes, you will
beat the rush.

> In five days, the MoA will become the site of more real battles than any
> MOA. So if you are in the MoA within the next four days, yes, you will
> beat the rush.

Actually, last year, during our Thanksgiving visit to Mr. & Mrs.
Montblack, we did the unthinkable: We braved the MoA on the day before
Turkey Day!

We were very surprised to find it busy, but not crazy. I was, quite
frankly, expecting a shopping conflagration of epic proportions, and
was actually a little disappointed that there weren't hordes of
blue-haired old ladies beating each other with canes to get at the
sale-priced support hose...

Of course, the crowds may have been dampened a bit by the snow that was
falling...although, you would THINK Minnesotans would be used to the
white stuff.

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

("Jay Honeck" wrote)
> Actually, last year, during our Thanksgiving visit to Mr. & Mrs.
> Montblack, we did the unthinkable: We braved the MoA on the day before
> Turkey Day!


You flew the family up to Minnesota ON Thanksgiving Day.

The M#% was the day AFTER Thanksgiving.


Montblack :-)
This year we're serving .....potato.

"Jay Honeck" > wrote

> Actually, last year, during our Thanksgiving visit to Mr. & Mrs.
> Montblack, we did the unthinkable: We braved the MoA on the day before
> Turkey Day!
>
> We were very surprised to find it busy, but not crazy. I was, quite
> frankly, expecting a shopping conflagration of epic proportions, and
> was actually a little disappointed that there weren't hordes of
> blue-haired old ladies beating each other with canes to get at the
> sale-priced support hose...
>
> Of course, the crowds may have been dampened a bit by the snow that was
> falling...although, you would THINK Minnesotans would be used to the
> white stuff.

Ahhh, grasshopper. You were two days early, to see the beginning of the real
battles. Shopping as a form of war does not commence until the wee hours of the
day _after_ Thanksgiving!

Then the carnage begins.
--
Jim in NC

> Ahhh, grasshopper. You were two days early, to see the beginning of the real
> battles. Shopping as a form of war does not commence until the wee hours of the
> day _after_ Thanksgiving!
>
> Then the carnage begins.

Of course, Montblack is right. We were there the day AFTER
Thanksgiving, as he stated. And things were under control, amazingly.

Not like the lunatics that are camped out at our Best Buy, awaiting the
PlayStation 3. Those dudes are CRAZY.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Why would any self respecting male voluntarily go to any mall, let alone one
during the holiday rush?

"Viperdoc" wrote:

> Why would any self respecting male voluntarily go to any mall, let alone
> one during the holiday rush?

Amen.

Xmas shopping? That's what the web's for.


--
Dan

"Almost all the matter that came out of the Big Bang was two specific sorts;
hydrogen, and stupidity."

-Robert Carnegie in talk.origins

"Dan Luke" > wrote in message
...
> Flying to Houston to see the folks.
>
> Haven't made up my mind if I'll land at Sugar Land or Hobby. Hobby is
> closer to Mom's and has more ILS approaches, but Sugar Land has fewer
ground
> hassles and spam cans don't get vectors all over the county to get there.

I used to have my plane based out of Hobby... It's not that bad of an
airport for GA... I was based over on the south side of the airport at
FletchAir and it was usually a short taxi to a midfield 12R (at Kilo) or 04
(at Juliet) for takeoff... Landings usually ended with a turnoff at Kilo
from 12R or 12L, from Hotel on 18/35, or from Juliet or Mike on 04/22... The
way the weather has been lately, you probably won't need an ILS approach
anyway...

Traffic near SGR sucks due to road construction if you are heading south on
TX-6... Seems that there always is a train at the intersection of TX-6 and
US-90 every time I go that way... Another option might be AXH... I base my
plane there... There's also Manvel (nice grass strip) and Pearland... If you
are renting a car, some of the airports are going to be easier to arrange
that at than others...

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 15:30:18 GMT, Viperdoc wrote:

>Why would any self respecting male voluntarily go to any mall, let alone one
>during the holiday rush?

'cause there is an Apple Store?

#m
--
Enemy Combatant <http://itsnotallbad.com/>

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 15:30:18 +0000, Viperdoc wrote:
> Why would any self respecting male voluntarily go to any mall, let alone one
> during the holiday rush?

The key word here is "voluntarily", of course... What I've found that
works for me is to make a trip out of it to one of the outlet malls
instead... I'll sit in my vehicle with my laptop... I'll either work on
something that I would have been doing at the house, or I'll find an open
WiFi connection and connect to the internet... Grace and Kaitlyn will shop
and periodically they will give me a call to pick up the things that they
have purchased... I don't have to walk around stores that I have no desire
to even be in nor do I end up having to carry a bunch of packages / bags
that they have bought... I'm so good at it that they actually think that
I'm being *considerate*... Damn, do I have them fooled... <evil-grin>

--
"Is it possible for the voices in my head to use email from now on?"

In article >,
Martin Hotze > wrote:

> >Why would any self respecting male voluntarily go to any mall, let alone one
> >during the holiday rush?
>
> 'cause there is an Apple Store?

excellent point!

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

"Grumman-581" wrote:


>> Flying to Houston to see the folks.
>>
>> Haven't made up my mind if I'll land at Sugar Land or Hobby. Hobby is
>> closer to Mom's and has more ILS approaches, but Sugar Land has fewer
> ground
>> hassles and spam cans don't get vectors all over the county to get
>> there.
>
> I used to have my plane based out of Hobby... It's not that bad of an
> airport for GA... I was based over on the south side of the airport at
> FletchAir and it was usually a short taxi to a midfield 12R (at Kilo) or
> 04
> (at Juliet) for takeoff... Landings usually ended with a turnoff at Kilo
> from 12R or 12L, from Hotel on 18/35, or from Juliet or Mike on 04/22...
> The
> way the weather has been lately, you probably won't need an ILS approach
> anyway...
>
> Traffic near SGR sucks due to road construction if you are heading south
> on
> TX-6... Seems that there always is a train at the intersection of TX-6 and
> US-90 every time I go that way... Another option might be AXH... I base my
> plane there... There's also Manvel (nice grass strip) and Pearland... If
> you
> are renting a car, some of the airports are going to be easier to arrange
> that at than others...


Cheapest fuel at HOU: $4.22. Fuel at SGR: $3.58.

Even when I cancel IFR early, I always get a bunch of vectors going into
HOU. And at Wilson (used to be Fletcher), there's only one choice of rent
car companies and security gates to deal with.

Going into SGR, I can take a pretty straight shot VFR under the south shelf
of the Class B. SGR has any kind of rent car you want and it's easy to
drive out of.

That Hwy 6 traffic can be tough, though.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Eye candy. Pure and simple. "you have fun shopping hun, I'll just sit here
in this massage chair and watch the girls walk by, er' I mean take a nap
until you get back."
Jim

"Viperdoc" > wrote in message
. com...
> Why would any self respecting male voluntarily go to any mall, let alone
one
> during the holiday rush?
>
>
>

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 18:45:59 -0600, "Dan Luke"
> wrote:
> Cheapest fuel at HOU: $4.22. Fuel at SGR: $3.58.

Where you flying in from and what part of town are you heading
towards? If I'm flying in from the NE, I usually refuel over at
Anahuac (T00) -- current price for 100LL of $2.97... If your
destination is more towards the south of Houston, Brazoria Country /
Angleton (LBX) might even be an option with fuel at $2.99...

> Even when I cancel IFR early, I always get a bunch of vectors going into
> HOU. And at Wilson (used to be Fletcher), there's only one choice of rent
> car companies and security gates to deal with.

I haven't been there since Fletcher sold out, but back when I used to
be based there, I could just walk through the hangar with my gear
(including a shotgun) and no one would bother me... I also had the
combination for the side gate in case no one was in the front office
to unlock the front door after hours...

> Going into SGR, I can take a pretty straight shot VFR under the south shelf
> of the Class B. SGR has any kind of rent car you want and it's easy to
> drive out of.

As always, you have to make compromises on convenience and cost...
Since you say that you are flying straight across south side of the
Class B, that must mean that you're coming in from the east, possibly
somewhere else along the Gulf Coast... There are probably better
airports for your intended destination, but they might not have rental
cars available at that airport... Personally, if I'm over on the east
side of the Houston area, I try to fill up at T00 or T90... T90 often
has cheaper fuel than T00, but they don't update their prices on
AirNav that often... Hell, if you look at the Chambers County web
page, you'll see that the last time they updated those prices was back
on 5/16/2003...
http://www.co.chambers.tx.us/offices/airport.html
They don't have anyone over at T90 right now, but I called T00 and
they said that the county has the prices the same at both airports at
the present time...

Jim Burns wrote:
> Any plans on flying somewhere for the holidays?
> Jim

20 minute flight over to visit my parents on Lake LBJ.
www.airnav.com/airport/44te

Cheers,
John Clonts
Temple, Texas
N7NZ

"Grumman-581" wrote:

>> Cheapest fuel at HOU: $4.22. Fuel at SGR: $3.58.
>
> Where you flying in from and what part of town are you heading
> towards? If I'm flying in from the NE, I usually refuel over at
> Anahuac (T00) -- current price for 100LL of $2.97... If your
> destination is more towards the south of Houston, Brazoria Country /
> Angleton (LBX) might even be an option with fuel at $2.99...

Yeah, but that's an extra stop which burns up the difference.

>
> As always, you have to make compromises on convenience and cost...

Exactly.

> Since you say that you are flying straight across south side of the
> Class B, that must mean that you're coming in from the east, possibly
> somewhere else along the Gulf Coast...

Mobile.

> There are probably better
> airports for your intended destination, but they might not have rental
> cars available at that airport...

Yep, and too far from Mom's.

> Personally, if I'm over on the east
> side of the Houston area, I try to fill up at T00 or T90... T90 often
> has cheaper fuel than T00, but they don't update their prices on
> AirNav that often... Hell, if you look at the Chambers County web
> page, you'll see that the last time they updated those prices was back
> on 5/16/2003...
> http://www.co.chambers.tx.us/offices/airport.html
> They don't have anyone over at T90 right now, but I called T00 and
> they said that the county has the prices the same at both airports at
> the present time...

That's a lot cheaper than around here. Cheapest around Mobile is $3.90 at
Gulf Shores.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 18:45:42 -0600, "Dan Luke"
> wrote:
> Yeah, but that's an extra stop which burns up the difference.

Perhaps... I've never really calculated it out... If I'm in the area,
I fill up over there... Since I'm just boring holes in the sky anyway,
I might as well bore holes near places with cheap fuel... <grin>

> Mobile.

Flight planning for that should be easy -- FOLLOW I-10 to TX-6, right
on TX-6 to SGR... <grin>

> That's a lot cheaper than around here. Cheapest around Mobile is $3.90 at
> Gulf Shores.

Seems that Chambers County is trying to get people to fly into their
county and do business... All in all, it's a fairly rural area...
Close enough to Houston that you could live out there and commute to
work in downtown Houston, but far enough that most people aren't
willing... Elevation above sea level is probably the reason that they
haven't created any major housing developments out there yet since
there are still other places to expand without having to deal with
that problem...

I would suggest that you give me a shout once you get here, but I'm
headed out to CYYZ tomorrow...

"Grumman-581" wrote:

>> Yeah, but that's an extra stop which burns up the difference.
>
> Perhaps... I've never really calculated it out... If I'm in the area,
> I fill up over there... Since I'm just boring holes in the sky anyway,
> I might as well bore holes near places with cheap fuel... <grin>

Yeah. My "warm up the oil" flight is a hop down to Gulf Shores for fuel,
with a quick side trip along the beach to check for sharks.

>> Mobile.
>
> Flight planning for that should be easy -- FOLLOW I-10 to TX-6, right
> on TX-6 to SGR... <grin>

I get a great deal of smug satisfaction flying over the holiday traffic on
I-10 thinking "If it wasn't for flying, we'd be stuck in that!"

>> That's a lot cheaper than around here. Cheapest around Mobile is $3.90
>> at
>> Gulf Shores.
>
> Seems that Chambers County is trying to get people to fly into their
> county and do business... All in all, it's a fairly rural area...
> Close enough to Houston that you could live out there and commute to
> work in downtown Houston, but far enough that most people aren't
> willing... Elevation above sea level is probably the reason that they
> haven't created any major housing developments out there yet since
> there are still other places to expand without having to deal with
> that problem...
>
> I would suggest that you give me a shout once you get here, but I'm
> headed out to CYYZ tomorrow...

Next time.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Dan Luke wrote:
> Next time.

It's a bit cooler up here... I've seen a few aircraft flying along the
coast yesterday... It seemed to take quite a bit of time for the
overcast to burn off... I flew commercial up here... It's always such
fun going through the TSA checkpoint and seeing the looks on their
faces when they see some of the stuff I put in my carryon luggage... I
have a sealed lead acid battery pack that I made up awhile back that
has a small trickle charger and and power strip inside the carrying
enclosure... That always raises an eyebrow or two...

"Grumman-581" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Dan Luke wrote:
>> Next time.
>
> It's a bit cooler up here... I've seen a few aircraft flying along the
> coast yesterday... It seemed to take quite a bit of time for the
> overcast to burn off... I flew commercial up here... It's always such
> fun going through the TSA checkpoint and seeing the looks on their
> faces when they see some of the stuff I put in my carryon luggage... I
> have a sealed lead acid battery pack that I made up awhile back that
> has a small trickle charger and and power strip inside the carrying
> enclosure... That always raises an eyebrow or two...

The power strip has an inverter, I suppose, or do you use it to power laptops
and such?
--
Jim in NC

Morgans wrote:
> The power strip has an inverter, I suppose, or do you use it to power laptops
> and such?

I use it to power devices that accept a 12VDC power source... Some
laptops allow that... Grace has a small portable DVD player that uses
it... With an 8 amp-hr battery, it will play quite a few DVDs on a
charge... I don't think that I've ever run it down... There's enough
room in the enclosure that I could wire up a small inverter and put a
110VAC plug on the outside of the enclosure... I cannot find anything
in the TSA prohibited items list that would prevent me from carrying an
inverter and come to think of it, I probably have carried an inverter
with me on various flights, albeit without the rest of my 8 amp-hr
power supply... The enclosure has a cigarette lighter type receptacle
and a female power plug like you see on the back of your PC's power
supply... The enclosure has a power strip with the charger plugged into
it and a PC power cable for plugging the entire device into the wall...
The enclosure is waterproof, so you could say that the battery is
double sealed against possible leakage... Come to think of it, you are
not allowed to bring a stun gun on an aircraft, but it appears that one
could bring the parts for an 110VAC power supply... For the TSA to
prevent this though, they would need to also ban laptop batteries from
aircraft -- I've seen laptop batteries with about the same number of
watt-hours rated...

"Grumman-581" > wrote

> I use it to power devices that accept a 12VDC power source... Some
> laptops allow that... Grace has a small portable DVD player that uses
> it... With an 8 amp-hr battery, it will play quite a few DVDs on a
> charge... I don't think that I've ever run it down...

I've got one I wired up with two 7 amp-hour gel cell batteries. It has a carry
handle, and 3 cigarette power outlets on it. I also have a 700 watt inverter
that I hang on the side, when I need it. Efficiency sucks, though. I figure it
is a little under 50% efficient.

I'll have to see about putting my charger on it, too. I have a 2 amp auto
cut-off charger/trickle maintainer that I use. It isn't very big, and it would
be nice to have it wired up permanently. I'll have to steal a computer plug
receptacle to put on it.

I have not used it for airlines, but it makes the trip to OSH every year, for
charging camera, cell, radio, ect and lights the tent at night. Other times of
year, it gets used for starting RC motors and charging rec/tranny batteries, and
running a small TV while away from home and wanting to watch a game or race. It
is also damn handy for when the power goes out in a storm.

On top of all that, it makes a dandy paper-weight! <g>
--
Jim in NC

Morgans wrote:
> I've got one I wired up with two 7 amp-hour gel cell batteries. It has a carry
> handle, and 3 cigarette power outlets on it. I also have a 700 watt inverter
> that I hang on the side, when I need it. Efficiency sucks, though. I figure it
> is a little under 50% efficient.

I made mine out of one of the plastic dry / ammo boxes that you find in
various sporting goods stores... It has a hinged lid and a thick enough
handle that the weight of a couple of batteries wouldn't be too bad
from a standpoint of the handle starting to cut into your hand...

> I'll have to see about putting my charger on it, too. I have a 2 amp auto
> cut-off charger/trickle maintainer that I use. It isn't very big, and it would
> be nice to have it wired up permanently. I'll have to steal a computer plug
> receptacle to put on it.

That's the size charger that I have on mine... You don't really want to
overdo it with a small battery like that... It best to just use the
trickle charger to let it charge overnight than to use the one you
would use for a regular car battery...

I had a dead computer power supply and before throwing it away, I had
scavenged some of the parts from it in case I ever had a project that
might need them... Well, turns out that I did end up with such a
project and I even able to still find the parts... <grin> The 12VDC
receptacle is one of the ones from a boating supply store, so it comes
with a flange and gasket... I use some epoxy to glue it to the plastic
of the box in addition to some very small stainless steel bolts /
machine screws and nuts to ensure that it is attached very well... The
computer power cord receptacle is also attached that way...

> I have not used it for airlines, but it makes the trip to OSH every year, for
> charging camera, cell, radio, ect and lights the tent at night. Other times of
> year, it gets used for starting RC motors and charging rec/tranny batteries, and
> running a small TV while away from home and wanting to watch a game or race. It
> is also damn handy for when the power goes out in a storm.

I've used mine with a 750,000 candlepower spotlight... Makes for a
*serious* flashlight... <grin>

For trips in my plane, I'm more likely to just grab the deep cycle
battery out of my boat and put it behind the seats and clip an inverter
to it so that I can run my laptop or whatever without needing to attach
it to the electrical system on my plane... If I'm just using the PDA
with the moving map on it, I will probably just use the small power
supply that I created out of the ammo / dry box... Since my inverter
has a fan on it for cooling, I am not so certain that I would want to
enclose it in the ammo / dry box without adding some vents to it
perhaps a small case fan, but that would tend to defeat the idea of
having a redundant nonspillable enclosure for the battery... I don't
think that my current inverter would fit in my existing ammo / dry box
enclosure... The enclosure is of the smaller type (i.e. slightly larger
than a shoe box) -- perfect size for what the charger, battery, and
carrying a couple of cables and cords, but not much else... A deeper
model enclosure might be needed for installing an inverter inside of
it... Before you know it though, you might end up with something the
size of this:
http://www.amazon.com/Station-Starter-Inverter-Worklights-Compressor/dp/B000BMAGYM

"Grumman-581" > wrote

> A deeper
> model enclosure might be needed for installing an inverter inside of
> it... Before you know it though, you might end up with something the
> size of this:
> http://www.amazon.com/Station-Starter-Inverter-Worklights-Compressor/dp/B000BMAGYM

That is rather large, huh? Plus 150 watt inverter isn't much inverter. I have
found that it takes at least 400 watts to run a laptop, if it is running very
much processor load.

But at 60 bucks, for that large of a gel cell battery, and the other stuff?
What a deal!
--
Jim in NC

"Grumman-581" > wrote:

>> Next time.
>
> It's a bit cooler up here...

Beautiful weather in Houston--sunshine and 70s.

At Xmas I'll use Hobby, though. That Hwy 6 traffic is worse than ever.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Morgans wrote:
> That is rather large, huh? Plus 150 watt inverter isn't much inverter. I have
> found that it takes at least 400 watts to run a laptop, if it is running very
> much processor load.

A 150 watt inverter should be larger enough for a laptop... There is
usually a higher initial rating for initial startup surges -- not that
there should be much of that with a laptop...

> But at 60 bucks, for that large of a gel cell battery, and the other stuff?
> What a deal!

Not really though once you consider the average lifespan of batteries
and trying to find a possible oddball size battery to fit back in
there... With the homemade solution, you just use standard size
components that will be easy to replace...

Dan Luke wrote:
> Beautiful weather in Houston--sunshine and 70s.
>
> At Xmas I'll use Hobby, though. That Hwy 6 traffic is worse than ever.

Oh well... You can't say that I didn't warn you... Hell, I've seen
parking lots move faster than TX-6 at US-90 lately...

"Grumman-581" > wrote

> A 150 watt inverter should be larger enough for a laptop...

My son's Sony Vio imust be a big power hog. 400 watt inverter will not keep up,
if it is running anything demanding.

> Not really though once you consider the average lifespan of batteries
> and trying to find a possible oddball size battery to fit back in
> there... With the homemade solution, you just use standard size
> components that will be easy to replace...

I usually get at least 5 or 6 years out of a gel cell battery.

One thing I have read, is do not charge them with the car's charging system.
The voltage is too high. With the car turned off, it is not as bad, if that is
all you have available.

Also, don't let them sit around dead and don't drain them down too far. They
hate that.

I do agree that the homemade version is more convenient. I was commenting that
the amp hours for the buck, and the added items make it a good bargain.
--
Jim in NC

Morgans wrote:
> My son's Sony Vio imust be a big power hog. 400
> watt inverter will not keep up, if it is running anything
> demanding.

Look on the Sony power supply that is on the cord and see what it is
rated for... Mine looks to have a maximum rating of 1.3A at 110VAC...
It probably doesn't need that much unless I had the two PCMCIA slots
filled with two power hungry cards in addition to using a couple of
power hungry USB powered devices...

> I usually get at least 5 or 6 years out of a gel cell battery.

I always figure 2 years for a lead acid battery... If I get more, I
feel that I'm lucky...

> I do agree that the homemade version is more convenient.
> I was commenting that the amp hours for the buck, and
> the added items make it a good bargain.

Don't get two impressed with the air compressor though... Probably good
enough for airing up the small tires that most of us have on our
aircraft, but not so good for car tires... They usually just don't have
the cu-ft per minute to make them useful... There's a similar unit that
I've seen that uses a boat deep cycle battery in a large plastic
enclosure with wheels and a handle like you might see on rolling
luggage... As you can probably guess, it's a bit heavy to be picking up
and putting over the seats into the rear foot area of the cockpit...