oldrockfan

No experience w Mooney but my Cherokee 140 has a leather airtex interior and it really is nice.

Concorde sealed got my money too. Costs a bit more but worth it based on what everyone reports for longer life

Guys, I'm a fan so in no way bashing... just trying to gather info on Mooney so I know what to expect. Ill have to call that shop to talk to them and see their thoughts on buying a c,d,f. Makes sense insurance goes down as hours go up. Been watching the adds and reading all I can.

One of the nice things about the older mooneys is the fact that cost wise... they are not too bad compared to most of the faster planes. I've been gathering more info on the mooneys and a couple of the down sides to them is they are quite a bit more expensive to insure for new pilots. The other one is annuals are both more expensive and less mechanics have experience with them than cessnas and pipers. I've talked to all three mechanics I know in my area and none of them have mooney experience. So anyone in the DFW area of texas know of a good mechanic that knows mooneys and doesn't charge too much?

Decatur, Texas- $3.99 Monday.

You guys who can swing the nice sportscars and airplanes... ok I admit I'm a bit jealous! I'm just an average Joe so have to look at the total cost which is why I am thinking a C, E or F mooney with mid time engine would be my best bet. rather than pick one model over the other... I am going to just look for the nicest features and condition plane I can get within my budget. I am already learning a lot from reading up on mooneys. really appreciate all who have taken the time to post up suggestions.

Are there some good things I should be aware of when it comes to looking at planes as good or bad issues? Is there a place where the mods are described as whether they are good or bad, etc. I see lots of planes that have 3 blade props for example. Is that a good thing or bad thing? I also see C and E model planes that have electric gear... good or bad?

cool to hear so many of you did similar jumps from Cherokee to mooney. Makes me feel a little more at ease about it to hear others did it successfully. Re speed management: I guess I better start working on that now. The Cherokee is so forgiving about speed at landing that I probably haven't focused on speed as much as I should but I will start working on that to see if I can tighten things up. Regardless of what I trade up to... speed management is always a good thing. I re-read thru the responses this morning and really appreciate all the great advice. Honestly, I think I could be happy with a C, E, or F model. Granted it will be tight in the back but like someone else shared... I'd say 90% of my flying will be solo or just wife and me. Now if I can find a good deal on an F model... it does give that extra space for the back seat which would be nice. The key for me is finding a plane with a good useful load and a mid time engine. So my ideal plane would have at least 940lbs and a mid time engine. I am not too wrapped up in fancy panels... just need a basic IFR capable plane and my Cherokee has a garmin 496 which I really like (will probably move to the new plane). So now for the grind of watching the adds. Finding a good deal on a plane is a pain. It took me almost 6 months to find my Cherokee and I did prebuys on two planes that I ended up rejecting before buying my current plane. It was worth the hassle though and my Cherokee has been a great one. Buying a plane is a big decision and this next one will probably be the last I ever buy so want to find a great one. In the spirit of full disclosure, I also have the piper archer II on my short list. Not as fast as the mooneys but fixed gear plane with useful load over 1000lbs and cruse of 125knots. The selling point for an archer is it is basically just a bigger and faster Cherokee so a simple transition and cheap to maintain. I'll be watching adds for both and get the best plane I can for the money. Oh and one final thing... a customer of mine in west texas has owned a mooney for years and he has already told me that a mooney is my best choice

thanks for all the great info so far guys. Re the Dakota: they are beautiful planes but the cost is out of my budget and that fuel burn would be pretty pricey too. One thing I like about the mooneys is that wonderful efficient fuel burn!

Re flap speed: funny you said that. The running joke with my instructor was the plane would have to be in a dive for me to get in trouble with flaps Not bashing the Cherokee though. It is a great plane and I'd keep it if it had a bit more speed and better useful load. In order for me to carry 4 standard people in my Cherokee... I'd have to figure out how to fly without fuel

Paul, I am 6' so space would be tight behind me. Wife on the other hand is only 5' 7" so she could run with seat up. Like you... most of my flying would be either solo or wife and me but I do want the option to fly with 4. A useful of 1000lbs would be fantastic, I was just hoping for 940lbs useful.

thanks guys, can you give me an idea on real world useful loads for the C and F. Also, anyone had one a while so they can share what the average annual has been running on a C or F? I'm thinking the F might be worth the extra money for the extra rear passenger space but I do see some good prices on barnstormers for C-E models so maybe I could live with the cramped back seat to save on purchase price.

Ok to use the buzzwords of the flying community... I guess I should have shared more on my mission. Keep in mind, I am brand new to all this flying stuff so still learning but let me post up what I will be using the plane for. I have my own consulting business that travels from the Dallas/fort worth area to other cities in Texas that range from 100-250 miles away. I average 2 longer trips per month so will probably be doing a decent amount of flying the plane solo for business. Wife and I are empty nesters and flying has been a lifelong dream of mine that I am finally getting to do. We plan to do lots of weekend trips but would like to limit flying time to about 3 hours at a time. I have two grown boys and would like to be able to fly all four of us on occasion. Not long distance but maybe 2 hour flights. We also have friends so would like to occasionally be able to fly with friends on weekends. I am not interesting in blazing fast... but like everyone, it would be nice if I could get further in my typical 3 hours flying time. My current Cherokee only gets me 105-110knots in cruise so I would thinking it would be good to get 125-150knots. I'd like to keep cost to purchase and cost to annual down so looking at what would be the best choice for someone on a fairly tight budget of 50k max and cheaper would be better.

new pilot here and new to the forum. I would like some honest feedback from you seasoned owners. I am a new pilot (4 hours from completing my ppl) and currently own a piper Cherokee 140. The Cherokee has been a great plane to learn on and is fun to fly. The two issues with it are 1) it has useful load of under 800lbs so even when fueled to tabs... it is just a 3 person plane. 2) it only cruises at 105-110knots which makes longer trips pretty slow. I knew when I bought the Cherokee that it would be my starter plane and I would want to upgrade once I got my PPL. So now the question is would a mooney be too much of a jump in performance from a Cherokee 140? Also, what are the real world specs on the mooneys? I'm looking for a plane that can do no less than 125knots in cruise and also can carry 4 people when needed even though usually just wife and me or me solo on business trips. I have been doing some preliminary searching on mooneys and don't think I can swing the cost of a J model so probably going to limit myself to the C-G with preference to the F-G so I get the extra room without the big jump in price. I was wondering how much I should plan on spending on annuals for the mooney. My Cherokee is dirt cheap with basic annual running about $1000. Thanks in advance! edited to add: what should I expect to spend on a C, E, F/G with mid time engines?