MichaelMollenhauer

Yeah, I never considered non-stop, at least not Westbound. Maybe East with good weather and a big push. Always thought 2 legs dodging weather as necessary. Remember that the long east west trips aren't with family. This is my mission challenge. Most travel will be solo east west for biz. My issue is that i want a plane that can do my primary mission and enough of the family/fun mission to make it work. I think the Bravo is as close as it gets. I love all the feedback from this pilot community - thanks to all who have chimed in. I think you've solidified (through your real world experience and comments) what I'd already figured out. I still have people saying i'll want a TN Bo. Haven't seen one for less than half TBO in similar price range 'cept a few suspect examples. Anyway, thanks again for all your input. Think I'm in the market for a Bravo. Now to find the right bird.

My daughter is 17 and son is 14, the whole family is reasonably trim - the 4 of us are 540 lbs or so. . After hearing lots of feedback i'm less worried about gross weight.. I think we can make that work. That perception of tightness thing is a tough one. My wife can get a little nervous in tight spaces but i think less so if its windows or not feeling totally closed in anyway. Not sure how to judge that one. We'll just have to try it I think and thats why I want a look. We've checked out a T210 and A36TC. Those work for her but personally i like the Bravo for a variety of performance reasons but as I mentioned, i haven't flown one. Having flown the T210 and A36, i think they feel much more stable (but in different ways) than what i'm used to in a Cardinal RG and other smaller aircraft I've flown. I assume the Bravo is similar? My airports will be FNL (home base), HEF, BCB, CHO, ROA, RIC, GSO, CAE, occasionally DET, MYR (fun), CID (family). Mostly its a long run out to BCB or ROA, then day trips to the other East Coast stops. My schedule is pretty flexible so i think i can just wait for my good flying days in the challenging months due to icing (he says naively). I can always jump back on commercial if necessary in the bad months if it looks like a long stretch of weather but I'm ready to have some fun and adventure with my travel and am ready to move to new levels as a pilot I have very accommodating family about half way between FNL and BCB in CID. I figure i can use that as a stopover if facing terrible weather and need a nest. Also have family in Kansas City that would do same. The economics are a concern to me of course but almost all of my travel is reimbursed and is legit business. i'm still concerned about repeated bigger hits on the maintenance side. Do you all have super deep pockets or is that a common fear? Mike

Walt, That sounds like a great offer. I'd love to join. So I'll be on the East coast through this coming weekend but I can get down there the following weekend maybe on the 4th if that doesn't conflict with your annual. Please send me an email offline with details. mmollen@vt.edu . Thanks Again. MIke

Thanks AndyFromCB and BuzzProc. I recently was approved by my company to travel between my remote office here in Fort Collins and the main office in Southwest VA. That will result in a lot of long solo IFR trips. I think I've researched all I can research on spec sheets and flying magazine articles. I need to see it and be comfortable with it. I was a midwest kid growing up and everything was Cessna. I've spent a lot of time in a Cardinal RG which is a simple comfortable airplane but the performance isn't there for regular long trips. The performance of the Bravo seems hard to believe but exactly what i'm looking for. Most that I see for sale also seem well outfitted for cross country travel without a lot of mods. All that being said, I also have a wife and 2 kids that I'd like to take along on the fun trips. A few examples I've seen for sale will work given their useful load and my family's 2-3 hr stamina. What about cabin size? All the reports I read online are that the cabin feel is tight. That doesn't bother me solo but I think i have to have a look to get a feel for whether it'll work for 4 lighter individuals with light bags. 90% of my travel will be business so that will have priority. I don't have any qualms about quality or performance numbers - they all sound great. My problem is that I don't know anybody that has a Bravo and haven't been able to connect with one locally. Buzz, if you're passing through, I'll buy lunch, pay for fuel, etc to get a good look and your thoughts on the ownership experience. Thanks again for all your input. Mike

I'm looking into purchasing an aircraft for longer range business travel and I've done a fair amount of research on different makes and models. My research keeps pointing me towards a Mooney M20M Bravo. My time is mostly in Cessna and Piper retracts. My issue is that I have never flown or been around a Bravo and would like to get a better look before I invest the time and effort into pursuing a purchase on one. I fly out of KFNL. Are there any Brovo owners out there in the Northern Colorado or front range area I could talk with or perhaps take a look at your plane? I'd love to get your first hand thoughts on owning one. Or, if you have suggestions for better ways to get myself up to speed on the Bravo, please chime in. Thanks, Mike