gsxrpilot

I think the question about mission is around what type of flying do you want to do. If the flights are local, less than 50 mile trips, then the Mooney is probably overkill. But you also mention trips to Colorado or the mountains out west? One flight with the kids from the east coast to Colorado in the SR20 or C182 will probably cure you of flying. It would not be fun and will probably take a few days. The Mooney will put just about everything east of the Mississippi in range for lunch and the rest of the country in range for dinner. From my perspective, the SR20 is going to be like flying a newer Cessna 172. It's nice to look at and has a very nice interior, but is like a trainer. The Cessna 182 is like buying an F150 pickup truck. It's pretty basic, easy to fly, but slow. Everyone will tell you how it will haul so much more than the Mooneys, but if you stop for fuel in the Mooney as often as you'll stop for fuel in the C182, the Mooney will actually carry more weight. And you won't really need to worry about high altitude with either the Cirrus or the Cessna because you won't want to fly either one of them that far. They'll go that far, but it will take a lot of time and frequent stops for gas, diversions for weather, etc. A friend of mine here in Denver is selling a 182 to buy into a Mooney. He made one trip in his 182 from Denver to Florida and said never again, it took three days and was a long slow bumpy flight. The Mooney is the most efficient traveling machine of all of them. But it's a serious traveling airplane demanding serious attention. It's a wonderful IFR platform with the added benefit of speed and range to get around weather when that's a better option. It will take a few hours to get comfortable in an Ovation (what you'll need to get a G1000), but you can do it. And once you're comfortable in the Mooney, you'll never think about the SR20 or the 182 ever again. I for one don't agree with the step by step method. Start with a 182 and then move up to an Ovation. I don't like that at all, but then if you're not sure about the whole ownership thing, then a 182 is less of a mistake than an Ovation is. But no one knows you better than you. And if you're eventually going to want a serious traveling machine like an Ovation, then the time in a 182 will be miserable and wasted. Of course if you live in Idaho and all your friends fly bush planes, then the Ovation might not be the best choice. But for getting up and down the east coast and only landing at airports with crew cars and paved runways, the Mooney is the machine you want. Don't waste the time or the money on the others. We'll find someone with an Ovation in the Mass area for you to go fly with. That will help you with your decision.

CAPS min alt is 400 ft. But I would be a little hesitant to pull the chute on my base to final turn. That would be pretty low.

I shouldn't say "all" traffic. But there is a lot of airspace under various controls stretching to the north east. So my experience has been that coming from the east or specifically north east, I have to either fly south and then join the left downwind for 17R or even if IFR, cross KDEN right over the center of the airport and then an approach from the north. I have come from the east by staying under the Bravo (6500) but above the grass (5800) and then through the AFB Delta. But it's a tight squeeze.

I like the K model Mooneys and think they are the right plane for almost everyone. Maybe that's why I own one. So if you have the opportunity to buy a good one, not a cheap one, but a really nice one, because they are rare, then do it. Really nice K's don't come around often, so if you can buy one, do. Then find someone to fly it and keep it in nice running condition while you keep learning to fly in the Cessna or Piper, or whatever you are using today. Get your Private, and then start transitioning into that wonderful Mooney. You'll still be money ahead.

How much is the plane insured for? If it's insured for $50K or less, it will most likely be totaled. If insured for over $50K it will probably get repaired. If it gets totaled by the insurance company, he will have the option to buy the wreck back from them. They will give him a check for the insured value and he will likely be able to buy it back for some figure less than that. This same thing happened to a friend of mine. The plane was insured for $50K. It was totaled by a gear up. He could have bought the plane back for $37K. That would have left him $13K to do the repairs. He calculated he'd have to add $11K to get it done. But he decided, rightly so, that if he took that $61K and added $10K to it, he could buy a much nicer Mooney. And that's what he did. We talk about this all the time around here. Any Mooney needs to be insured for at least $60K or it will get totaled by a gear up landing.

I've flown visual approaches to both of these runways more than a few times. And my home airport, the other extremely busy GA airport in the Denver area, also has parallel runways with both in use 90% of the time. At BJC it's right traffic for one runway and left traffic for the other. At APA, the runway thresholds are different by almost 2000 ft. So with a tower managing traffic, a right base to 17R should be at least 2000 ft inside someone on a right base to 17L. And this wasn't the issue in this accident either. One other note is that when landing south at APA, all traffic has to come from the West. The approach from the East is blocked by the Delta around Buckley AFB, the Delta around KCFO, and the KDEN Bravo to the surface. It's inconceivable to me that the Cirrus pilot would be unfamiliar with the airport. We know it was a rental plane and so there would have had to be a check out involved and likely fairly extensive. Also at APA, land marks are heavily used by the tower. Tower will have you report over the lake, the dam, I25, etc. Any check out would involve familiarization with these procedures and the various approaches to the airport. But I could be wrong. It could be a visiting Cirrus pilot from out of town with a zillion Cirrus hours and they just tossed him the keys.

I know. I hit enter and the other post popped up.

https://coloradosun.com/2021/05/12/two-planes-collide-cherry-creek-reservoir/?fbclid=IwAR21gVUL3aqRWnC-n2YvwuIMKY7sXqVX6k-TvWKhUyM6RtKyrBl-gUGWu_A +1 for CAPS and +1000 for the kid flying the Metro. Evidently the Cirrus pilot blew through his base to final turn even though he'd been told of the Metro on final for the parallel runway. My base to final turn nearly always involves traffic for the parallel runway. I either see it, or make damn sure I don't overshoot final. In fact I'll probably roll out lined up on the taxiway and then have to gently side step to actually land on the runway. Glad everyone's ok, but no excuse for sloppy flying.

https://coloradosun.com/2021/05/12/two-planes-collide-cherry-creek-reservoir/?fbclid=IwAR21gVUL3aqRWnC-n2YvwuIMKY7sXqVX6k-TvWKhUyM6RtKyrBl-gUGWu_A So this happened today. +1 for CAPS and +1000 for the kid flying the Metro. Evidently the Cirrus pilot blew through his base to final turn even though he'd been told of the Metro on final for the parallel runway. My base to final turn nearly always involves traffic for the parallel runway. I either see it, or make damn sure I don't overshoot final. In fact I'll probably roll out lined up on the taxiway and then have to gently side step to actually land on the runway. Glad everyone's ok, but no excuse for sloppy flying.

Wow! I'm glad everything worked out alright! I'm sure there will be a lot of responses on this and lots of advice. I'm pretty sure my take on this will be panned by many as well. But in my cockpit I like to fly based on the feel of the airplane and less on the numbers. As you noticed, the wing will tell you when it's ready to fly. It will take longer to get there with high DA, and you'd better be sure you have enough runway. But there's no use trying to make it fly before it's ready. So notice the feel of the wing ready to fly, as it will always be the same regardless of DA. Experience helps a lot with this as well. I've been fortunate to be able to get lots of experience with various high DA take offs. I've taken off with DA's nearly 12,000 ft. I've been able to note the take off roll to see how long it COULD be in a heavy and high DA situation. My 252 has never still been on the ground at 2000 ft. So that tells me that as long as I have say 4000 ft of runway, I can easily get out, regardless of the DA. Fortunately most of the high altitude airports in the West, have long runways. If I'm making full power, (I'll know in the first 100 ft or so), I know I won't be on the ground at 3000 ft. But I'll let it stay on the ground until the wing tells me it's ready to fly.

There's an M20B sitting on the ramp in Smithville, TX (84R) and the home of SWTA. Reach out to JD for details. (he's not the one selling the plane, but knows the owner).

If you're really a proper CB... This was really one of the best mounts I've ever used for an iPad mini.

You're getting bad information somewhere. Or maybe it's just confusing. When updating Navigators, there are two types of updates. The monthly Nav updates which come as part of a Jep subscription, are updatable by the pilot for both Garmin and Avidyne. Garmin can update over bluetooth/wifi with the FlightStream box installed. Avidyne's are updated using a USB stick. Updates can be sent from Mac or Windows machines for both Garmin and Avidyne. The second type of update is a software or firmware update. Both Garmin and Avidyne required dealers to do this update. Avidyne has often bowed to pressure from us pilots and released updates to customers to install themselves. The software update for Avidyne is via a USB stick and can be programmed from either a Mac or Windows machine.

Just put distance to destination in a data block on the screen, and you'll have DME all the time. No need to push a button to get it.

That's what I do.

The new platform is great! Such an improvement over the Google forms we used in the past. I particularly like that after registering, you can see who else is attending.

No, I don't. I was thinking that someone flying a twin, might also like to have access to a single for those solo trips when the redundant engine and associated fuel burn isn't needed. Of course I'm a long way from being rated, much less insurable in a twin. I would do this with other airplanes as well. With airplane partnerships being such a common situation, I would think that it wouldn't be all that difficult to have a small group of owners, each with their own airplane, a Mooney, a twin, a taildragger, something aerobatic, etc. And then share airplanes within the group, depending on the mission at the time. Everyone would be listed on everyone's insurance and paying a simple dry rate. It seems like a good idea, but not one I've managed to pull off yet. But I haven't given up on the idea yet...

Two things I really like about the PJ2. No Nav radio. That's just wasted functionality while cluttering up the unit. Built in headset jacks so no need for extra adaptors, dongles, etc.

I've thought about doing this...

It took awhile, but super happy to see this picture and know you've got a Mooney.

I was where you are now, back in 2014. I bought an M20C for $47K which everyone though was an outrageous amount to spend on a C. But it was flying, current, and had a great panel with autopilot and WAAS GPS. I flew it for two years and 400 hours. Annuals were about $2K each. And I spent a little bit more on some upgrades. Insurance was $800/yr, hangar was $250/month. Other than that, just gas and oil. I sold it for $50K. It was the best first airplane I could have hoped for. We flew it all over the country and loved every minute of it. I probably shouldn't have sold it. Although I like my 252 even better.

I'll say the same thing I always say. Get the best equipped, flying Mooney in your budget. For $72K I wouldn't be looking at J's. A J that can be bought for $72K is not one you want to fly and will probably need a bit of work. Personally, I'd be looking for the best equipped M20C or M20E you can find for that budget. I know you say avionics don't matter, but finding a regularly flying M20C with a WAAS GPS and Stec 30 autopilot installed, would be my first choice. Unless you can get the same in an E for that budget. There is no guarantee against that surprise $10,000 expense. But finding a Mooney that flies every week, is currently in annual, has been maintained to good flying standard, will go a long way to reducing the possibility you get hit with that unfortunate surprise. I posted this somewhere before: To own an airplane... $1000 in your pocket for whatever/whenever $5000 to $10,000 in the bank for a bad/first annual Access to the price of an engine either credit, second mortgage, cousin Vinny, etc. Worst case scenario be able to walk away from the plane without it ruining your financial situation.

Yep, 14% from LOP and 20% from reduced power = 34% fuel saving. I'm also in the camp of "I didn't buy a Mooney to go slow" But if a 34% fuel saving allows me to skip the fuel stop, I'm a lot faster A to B than if I was running higher power/higher fuel burn. A typical flight for me is Denver Austin. At 65% power and 9.5 GPH its a 4 hour flight. At 75% power and 14.5 gph it's a 5 hour flight. (fuel stop)

I agree and follow your SOP running my engine at low enough power that I can't hurt it no matter what. When I flew a naturally aspirated engine, I just made sure I was at a high enough altitude that the engine would only make 60 or 65% power. With the turbo, I have to set the power at 65%. If your engine runs smooth at the LOP setting you want, then obviously your GAMI spread is small. And often the IO360's do that well with factory injectors. But sometimes they don't. And its nice to know why and what to do about it. If the difference in fuel flow between the first cylinder to peak and the last cylinder to peak is half a gallon per hour or less, you're probably very happy with the way it runs LOP. If the difference in fuel flow is more than half a gallon per hour, you're probably not able to get LOP and still run smooth. If the situation is the latter, then GAMI injectors can help. But if they're not needed, they're not needed. At the same low power setting, the difference between LOP and ROP full settings is not huge. But my practical application is to use ROP to be able to run high power, and therefore go as fast as possible without prematurely killing my engine. My go fast settings would be around 75% power and 100° ROP. The other setting for me is economy cruise which would be about 65% power and 25° to 30° LOP. I figure if I'm going slow, I might as well do it on the least amount of fuel possible. I can't say for sure this was the reason, but my turbo Continental did go past TBO without needing any cylinders or turbo work. The difference between my "go fast" and my "economy cruise" is 10% to 12% speed and 30% to 35% fuel.

Hi @Jim Peace I have the PJ2. I also wanted a hand held radio that didn't have a nav function. It's wasted capability and not something I wanted to pay for. I've been using the PJ2 for about 6 months and are still on the first set of batteries. This is probably because, when I'm in the car, or just listening in the hangar, I have the radio plugged into power. When I'm talking on the radio, which is pretty limited, I'm usually on battery power. I'm just using regular Duracell batteries.