Bravoman

For 500 feet I think I would just fire the plane up and taxi it down to the pump. Seems like a long trip to have to deal with most any type of tow.

Very nice plane, looks reasonably priced as well.

Joey Cole uses a sidewinder at his shop and I have to say that it works pretty darn good. Whether it’s worth $1500, I don’t know.

I may know of someone at KRYY ( Cobb County) who might rent you a T hanger for a while. I would have to check with him. How long do you need it?

I live on the East Coast and always heard for years that there is no need to have a turbocharged aircraft if you do most of your flying in the east. Personally, although I still own a normally aspirated fixed gear Saratoga, I would never again get non-turbo charged piston aircraft. I do most of my trips in the Bravo in the mid to high teens, and it is great to get up in the cool smooth air, have the ability to get over much of the weather, catch favorable winds, etc. I know that there are some that might not like strapping on a cannula, but it really doesn’t bother me. You also have a nice block of semi private air space with not many other aircraft operating in that altitude range since the big iron operates higher and most of the general aviation fleet operates lower.

With due respect, I think you are thinking about it the wrong way. Having LPV approaches available to you increases your margin of safety immeasurably.

Just out of curiosity what do you think the approximate market value hit is on these planes? If the upgrade path was still available it is probably fair to assume the delta would be about the cost of the upgrade. But assume these last model Bravos would be worth 230-250k if wass enabled, so what are they worth without?

I didn’t write that particularly clearly. I meant that what piper used to produce that was affordable to the typical GA buyer is no longer their mainstay. I was never suggesting that the PA 46 line was ever affordable to the masses.

Unfortunately, I think this is correct. Of the legacy manufacturers, Piper seems to be doing OK, but it’s bread and butter ( the PA-46 line)is no longer the aircraft that most GA folks can afford, particularly anything new or nearly new.

No expert on Mooneys of this vintage but to me the kind of recent damage history described and the lack of an IRAN on the most recent event it would have to be a way more significant reduction off whatever market value is than 3 or 4 grand. I would pass on it, but then again I wouldn’t buy any aircraft with any significant damage history.

I thought all Englishmen were rich!

I just saw the GAMA numbers posted on the Beech forum and wish I knew how to repost it here. Mooney’s Billings for all of last year were about 10 mil for the 14 aircraft it sold. Cirrus sold well over 400 planes factoring in their jet. The pilot population is on the uptick due to the demand for ATPs. Unfortunately these new pilots for the most part won’t be buying general aviation aircraft for some time. I truly believed and still do that the only way Mooney could have done it was to have a trainer to tap into this market, flight schools, university programs, etc. This would also have the secondary benefit of putting the brand out there as the step up oncept is very important for getting repeat customers. I always had Pipers because I learned to fly in a traumahawk.

For what it’s worth, I did not view Clarence’s comment, which was in response to my post, to be a jab at the US. Just part of normal discourse about how Cuba got to be where it is and has been for a very long time.

I would love to be able to do that but what if the line crew has to move it any appreciable distance? I always caution them about no more then a 20 deg turn radius or it will damage the nose gear and most assure me they know about the Mooneys. Still makes me nervous.

If you can allot the time you might consider a training system such as PIC where an instructor comes to you and you work intensively over a 10 day period to train and then take the check ride. That approach appeals to me because you don’t spend unnecessary time relearning what you learned in the last lesson two weeks back, don’t have to worry about scheduling the next lesson, etc. Plus you’re immersed for 10 days and knock it out. You can look at it as an aviation vacation. As with any training the ticket the DPE hands you is a license to learn. Good luck!