I love my mooney

Salty

Salty

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Salty
Just got back home between thunderstorms from airport hopping a bunch of places I hadn't had a chance to stop at yet. Finally took the time to land down in Lakeland, it's close enough to me to not be a destination, so I just hadn't bothered. Followed up that huge runway with my shortest landing yet at Umatilla. Everybody made me nervous about short runways in the mooney, but if you keep it on speed, it's a piece of cake.

I like this plane more every time I fly it.
 
Let's see some pics of that thing!
 
I'll have to dig some up. My avatar is a close up of it. ;)
 
Awesome... and I'm a little jealous. I've decided that when I eventually buy a plane (which is always "just 2-3 years away") it will be either Mooney or TB-21. Why? Because I want something built like a rock that is fast and efficient
 
Salty said:
Just got back home between thunderstorms from airport hopping a bunch of places I hadn't had a chance to stop at yet. Finally took the time to land down in Lakeland, it's close enough to me to not be a destination, so I just hadn't bothered. Followed up that huge runway with my shortest landing yet at Umatilla. Everybody made me nervous about short runways in the mooney, but if you keep it on speed, it's a piece of cake.

I like this plane more every time I fly it.
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I love Mooneys too. I'm not experienced enough to fly them yet. I'm going to be big and slow for awhile.
 
Salty said:
Ha! I only had 72 hours when I bought this thing. Best way to learn is to do.

Let me know if you want to take a ride sometime.
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THAT advice is more valuable to me than you realize......Thank You!
 
FloridaPilot said:
THAT advice is more valuable to me than you realize......Thank You!
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Don't get me wrong. It intimidated me for a long time. I'd say it took another 72 hours in the mooney before I felt confident flying it.
 
I have no time in one in fortunately, so I don't have any first-hand experience, but I'm wondering what it is that most people find so intimidating about them?

They are fast planes, but are they particularly difficult to land, or have hidden elements up their sleeves you have to watch out for?

I hope to own one someday
 
Tantalum said:
I have no time in one in fortunately, so I don't have any first-hand experience, but I'm wondering what it is that most people find so intimidating about them?

They are fast planes, but are they particularly difficult to land, or have hidden elements up their sleeves you have to watch out for?

I hope to own one someday
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For me it was just mental, not real. They don't like to slow down, and if you come in too fast they will bounce. and bounce until you hit the prop if you don't deal with it. You just have to manage your energy, which you should be doing in any plane, but a 172 will let you make mistakes and learn bad habits.

It can be tricky to descend and get slowed down enough to put the gear down before landing. When descending, they don't want to slow down.

At first I would over compensate and have the gear down 10 miles from the airport..... I had a good buddy unmercilessly make fun of me until I fixed that habit.
 
Nice room in that hangar. Time for a fridge & then invite a few of us over for some 'hangar flying'.
 
Salty said:
Don't get me wrong. It intimidated me for a long time. I'd say it took another 72 hours in the mooney before I felt confident flying it.
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Nah...I know it's going to take me a bit because I'm not flying full time just a few hours on the weekends. I will get to 100 hours before transitioning.

I was referring to other aspects of my life that I won't include here. ;)
 
Salty said:
These were actually pictures to show off the new lighting in the hangar, but she's the reason for the lighting right?

...
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:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

V. nice!
Do you Florida pilots prefer those big numbers so you don't accidentally get intercepted by the DEA? :eek:
 
Tantalum said:
I have no time in one in fortunately, so I don't have any first-hand experience, but I'm wondering what it is that most people find so intimidating about them?

They are fast planes, but are they particularly difficult to land, or have hidden elements up their sleeves you have to watch out for?

I hope to own one someday
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They are not difficult to fly, but they are somewhat unforgiving of sloppy pilots. They are slippery, and the early ones have a fairly low gear and flap speed. This means you can use neither as brakes because normal cruise is about 25-30kts higher than flap speed, and gear speed is another 5 knots slower than that. Planning your descent is important because you can basically either go down, or slow down, but not both.

The thing that gets more people into trouble though is landing fast. Mooneys float, especially if they are moving fast. They say every 10 knots extra will eat 1000' of runway, I'd actually bet on more. If you try to force it down you'll hit nose wheel first and start bouncing. First 2 are usually free, third one buys you a prop.

If you're on speed and have the right sight picture they are a piece of cake. The problem is so many people come from aircraft that are much more forgiving of poor technique and don't take the time to learn the airplane. Generally those are the guys on forums saying how you can't land a mooney on short fields and that they are a beast to fly.
 
I have about four hours in a Mooney, very nice plane.
Yours = pretty.
Hey, that hangar roof is awesome too.
 
Sigh... I haven't even bought my first plane yet, but have already identified a Mooney as my likely "step-up" plane once the mortgage and all that fun stuff is done. Yours is looking sharp!
 
Nice plane and panel
 
Todd82 said:
Sigh... I haven't even bought my first plane yet, but have already identified a Mooney as my likely "step-up" plane once the mortgage and all that fun stuff is done. Yours is looking sharp!
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lol I have not even started flight lessons yet and I have identified a Mooney as the best plane to fit my mission. I have a wait ahead of me.
 
Mooneys have their quirks, but a pilot with enough discipline to keep the airspeed needle where it belongs on approach should have no trouble at all. It looks sporty, but the controls feel solid and even a bit heavy, probably due in part to the fact that there are pushrods instead of cables in the control system.

The cabin is plenty wide and there is lots of legroom (Camaro drivers will feel at home with the seating posture), but can seem cramped in the front because the rounded cabin roof reduces headroom somewhat and the original small windshield is close to your face. The short-body models (up through M20E) are really short on legroom in the back; the "mid-size" models (M20F through M20K) can accommodate four in reasonable comfort.

In the certified world, at least, it's hard to beat the efficiency of a Mooney in cruise.
 
StinkBug said:
They are not difficult to fly, but they are somewhat unforgiving of sloppy pilots. They are slippery, and the early ones have a fairly low gear and flap speed. This means you can use neither as brakes because normal cruise is about 25-30kts higher than flap speed, and gear speed is another 5 knots slower than that. Planning your descent is important because you can basically either go down, or slow down, but not both.
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Welcome to my world...in my RV-9A, it's about 60-65 kts between cruise and Vfe! You really have to plan to slow waaaaay down.

Lovely Mooney. I've always been a fan of them.
 
I love our Mooney. Way easier to fly and land (!!!) than our Cessna 172. Our home airport's runway is 2,300 ft - no issue either. You definitely want to have a good transition training.
 
Mooney: it's Texan for "fast." And strong. Great value.

I ended up in a Bonanza, but I love me some Kerrville gold.
 
I considered a Mooney, but couldn't get past the not having 2 doors. I ended up with a TB20. I bought mine while still working on my private. Found it easier to land than the 172 I was training in. Speed mgt is key, especially in the pattern.

My advise would be to get whatever fits your mission early on. Better to learn in what you'll be spending your time in.
 
GBSoren said:
I ended up with a TB20
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LOVE that plane, and I too am torn between the Mooney and a TB 20 or 21 just depending on how the piecescome together in the next few years. You don't hear much about the Socatas but there are some really nice examples for sale on the market for a very reasonable price for what you're getting, like Mooneys
 
Tantalum said:
LOVE that plane, and I too am torn between the Mooney and a TB 20 or 21 just depending on how the piecescome together in the next few years. You don't hear much about the Socatas but there are some really nice examples for sale on the market for a very reasonable price for what you're getting, like Mooneys
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I've never flown a Mooney but have looked at them. They seem much smaller inside that the TB20 (50" cabin width). But, the Mooney's are faster from what I've gathered. Control feel is probably similar, both use pushrods I believe. Mine has a heavier control feel than a 172 for sure.
 
Beautiful plane... Sounds like you are enjoying it...:rollercoaster:
 
Salty said:
Followed up that huge runway with my shortest landing yet at Umatilla. Everybody made me nervous about short runways in the mooney, but if you keep it on speed, it's a piece of cake.

I like this plane more every time I fly it.
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Umatilla? Your map doesn't show Oregon. Or is there another Umatilla in the country? :)
 
Hank S said:
I bought my Mooney with 62 hours, just 5 weeks after my checkride. The key is to have good transition training, and fly by the (right) numbers.
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I love Mooneys but it's not going to transport my families fat butts anywhere. I would love to use it as a second airplane tho...

Skywalker said:
I love our Mooney. Way easier to fly and land (!!!) than our Cessna 172. Our home airport's runway is 2,300 ft - no issue either. You definitely want to have a good transition training.
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Are you saying that a Mooney is easier to land than a Cessna 172?

SCCutler said:
Mooney: it's Texan for "fast." And strong. Great value.

I ended up in a Bonanza, but I love me some Kerrville gold.
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Love Bonanza's too, V tail are nice and my favorite the A36 All nice airplanes, you can't go wrong with any of them.

GBSoren said:
I considered a Mooney, but couldn't get past the not having 2 doors. I ended up with a TB20. I bought mine while still working on my private. Found it easier to land than the 172 I was training in. Speed mgt is key, especially in the pattern.

TB20's have dual doors as well as the Cessna line? I didn't know that. What other Single engine Piston airplane has two doors? Not many of em out there.

My advise would be to get whatever fits your mission early on. Better to learn in what you'll be spending your time in.
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I agree...so it's back to big and slow for me....It was good to dream.:(

Ghery said:
Umatilla? Your map doesn't show Oregon. Or is there another Umatilla in the country? :)
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Yes, there is a Umatilla Florida...No Nuclear stuff going on there tho..;)
 
+1 for Mooney. IMHO one of the most versatile aircraft ever built!

FloridaPilot said:
[...] Are you saying that a Mooney is easier to land than a Cessna 172? [...]
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I would agree. Precise, responsive, short travel of the yoke to control the elevator
 
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