Chris / Dave
Fair enough. A fierce discussion is good for the soul. I just felt that Dave's rant needed a response.
>I still like the idea of a turbo so, if I ever do fly <sigh>, I can get higher, should I choose.
I know you're fairly entrenched in the 13B approach, but for the sake of discussion, I'm not sure that's a valid reason.
How high do you want to go? I think Tracy's been over 15k with an NA 13B. I'd be willing to bet that a Velocity with an NA 20B could get well over 18k without a problem. I admit that it's nice to push the throttle forward at 12k and climb at 1500 fpm to get over some weather, but an NA 20B would probably do quite well at those altitudes too. I'd be interested to hear from a 20b flier on that.
Regarding flying at altitude in general, I can't go over 18k unless I get an IFR rating. I prefer to travel at around 12k (with ox). I ran out of oxygen on my last long flight and came down to 8k for the last leg. Replenishing your O2 can be a pain, which is one reason I don't go so high. I guess I should carry a spare tank. The only place around here that'll fill my tank is at Boca, and they want $90 to do it. I take it to the local welding store and get it filled for $13 (just don't tell them its for breathing). You can buy a fitting from Mountainair (good place to get the entire system) to hook up to a welding bottle. The local welding store will see you a full bottle for $200 and fill it for $25 or so.
Just a few thoughts for you as you move onward....
John Slade