BradB

I'm a little late to the discussion, but I couldn't resist.

@Coolshotthe airframe is great. You will enjoy the room for the passengers. In the piston or turbine there are are few things to keep in mind with the PA46. I think the wing loading is higher on the Mooney and it seemed to handle the turbulence better. The GFC700 autopilot in my Mooney was light years better then the Magic1500. But both are better than me. There are a few extra fixed costs that you will need to endure. My hanger rent went up over $250/mo. For the first year at least, my insurance is 3x higher. I don’t have to buy TKS fluid anymore. But instead I get to buy agemaster protectant for the boots ($320+/quart) and icex so the ice doesn’t stick to the boots (well over $200/qt). But those do last a while. Someone on MMOPA estimated that each landing burns over $3 of rubber from the tires. Also, the PA-46 incurs higher landing and parking fees in many places than your Mooney used to I’m not saying this to dissuade you at all. Just supplying information that I think you will soon be learning. Always a Mooniac, brad.

I had nothing going on this evening and it was too nice not to fly. So, it is up to Toronto for the night.

@Coolshot , I went from my Acclaim to a Meridian 6 months ago. The pressurization is a game changer. The first few training flights were rather terrifying. The amount of power from the turbine engine took a few flights to get used to, but I quickly settled in. Expect some mandatory training from insurance as well as yearly recurrent training. My initial training was about 15 hours of sim and real flying over about 4 days. I think the ground school portion was about 20 hours. Legacyflighttraining.com has an online syllabus you can take a look at. Expect higher insurance costs, too. Consider joining MMOPA.com. There are quite a few over there that have made the transition from a Mooney. There are a few recent threads detailing some of the transitions. Some might be more relevant to your situation, as well. I have never flown the piston version of the PA-46. You are already used to being on top of your airspeed management. That will serve you well in the transition. If you can swing it, try out the turbine version. If you can’t swing it, make sure that you never fly in someone’s Meridian or TBM. Best to not even know. Let me know if I can answer something more specifically. Brad 2006 Meridian N951TB

I am in Boston every other weekend or so. I use KBED. In the Mooney, I would use Signature. There is a .50/gal discount on Avgas on the weekend that makes the fuel prices easier to swallow. In the Meridian, I use Rectrix as the fuel and ramp fees are a great deal for CAA members (but that won’t help for the Mooney). All three of the FBO’s have rental cars on site. And all three will forget to top you off before you leave if you don’t call and remind them. I used KOWD one time and the traffic was particularly bad into town. But using the T will avoid that. Brad 2006 Meridian N951TB

Sorry, I’m in Boston Friday to Sunday with my daughter. I have to be there Friday by 2:30 to pick her up from school. If you ever want to just go for a ride, I’d be happy to swing by on one of my Boston treks. But, as @Yooper Rocketman indicated, it could be a very expensive mistake on your part. Safe travels, Brad

@aviatoreb Great job. I am not too far away in Erie, PA. I can swing down and give you a lift home this evening if you want. I’m sure you’ll have a ton of offers. So glad that it worked out for you! Brad

@Mooneymite When I was shopping for my PA-46, they pointed out that there are small wheels built into the wings under small plastic covers that are meant to wear away in the event of a gear up. I think that they are to keep the fuel tanks off of the ground. But it is a neat idea that could easily be used to limit damage (but not to the prop obviously). Brad

I’ll second what everyone else here is saying. Definitely turbo. @M20Doc is right to bring up the subject of FIKI. Something that you should really consider. I had a FIKI acclaim. Both the turbo and the FIKI made many flights possible that otherwise would have been scrubbed. Where you live and at the altitudes that you are considering flying, you’ll face the possibility of icing at least 10 months out of the year. I was surprised the first year that I owned my acclaim, I was running the TKS in August. Just opinions from a learning pilot. Best of luck in your search. Enjoy the hunt, it is a part of the fun! Brad Former Acclaim. Now P46T.

Darn. Just a day or so late. I just checked today and I looks like Premier just sold my old FIKI Acclaim. Sorry. I know that doesn’t help. I may have missed it. Where you you based? That info may help somebody a come up with some more leads for you. Brad.

Erie, PA was hit by another good snowstorm last night - surprise, surprise. The power was out all day. My daughter’`s poor kitten was staying with me this week. Without any hair, it is hard for her to stay warm. By afternoon, the sky was clear. I flew myself to Chicago Executive from Erie. From there it was a 15 minute Uber ride to O’Hare to grab a commercial flight to Seattle. I’ll hang with friends there before reversing the trip. It was a great smooth day for flying. FL220. And compliments from the tower controller about helping out with speeds during the approach . Always makes you feel good. These plans were made at 11:30 PM last night. I am on the flight to Seattle now. Love the flexibility of GA. #whyifly

David, Keep in mind that you have an option to upgrade from ADSB compliance without upgrading the GIA63’s. Depending on the approaches at the airports you use, it could save you big bucks on the upgrade or allow you to upgrade over time depending on what is important to you. Brad

Probably really messes with your weight and balance when you have to take them with you to another field.

I’ve never hear of Erie airways, but I learned to fly in WV in 1992 and after a 20+yr break, picked it up again about 3 years ago - so there is a lot that I have missed.

I think the MSC was in Jamestown. The sales branch looks like they have planes in Dunkirk and Jamestown. The avionics shop at KJHW is Dunkirk avionics. Dunkirk and Jamestown are pretty close. I am sure there is some history there that I am unaware of. Brad

@Diver721KJHW in Jamestown, NY has a Mooney Service Center. I used them and was happy with them when I had my Acclaim. There were always several Mooneys in their hanger. It is probably an hour Mooney flight for you. Brad

My last flight in N708PJ. I was on the way to drop her off in Florida. Brad.

Meant to say that the turbo-prob climbs a little faster but it does so with much less drama - makes it seem effortless. It is so smooth and has so much extra power available that it seems to climb much faster. And yes, you still won’t find me hanging out in ice in the TP. (See TBM crash 2011 out of teterboro) I’ll leave that for the guys and girls who fly the big iron for a day job.

I just started flying a booted plane. If I am taking off into a known icing layer, I will cycle them during taxi/run-up to make sure that they are working. My Fiki acclaim did fairly well in the ice. But I was always paranoid about the panels filling out everywhere. It wasn't ever an issue, but it was a source of stress. In my very limited boot experience, I have been impressed. It also helps to have a PT-6 hanging out front rapidly climbing out. Although, the Mooney was no slouch and pretty much has the same climb (almost) as the PA-46T. But the PA-46T does it with so much less drama. No matter what the system, it is meant to get you out of ice, not fly in ice in the planes that we fly. Brad

If you are looking to add ADSB to an acclaim and want traffic displayed on the G1000, plan on a GTX345R. Was about 7AMU installed when I did it on mine. Maybe work that into any offer that you are considering on making. Brad

Pulling the breaker in the winter in IMC is a good idea. I have accidentally hit mine in icing on decent to an approach with the same results as above - one stuck up and one down. Luckily it retracted within 20 seconds, but I was a lot more careful around the speed brake button after that. Brad

And once you get the IFR rating, the learning continues. I just got my butt kicked doing an IPC (I didn’t need one, but figured it would be good to do) as part of my transition training. Hand flying partial panel VOR DME arc approaches to minimums Practice, practice, practice.

I have been doing transition training at Legacy in Vero this week. Today is the first day that I got to fly my new bird. Even stopped by KFXE for a bit and saw my (was my) Acclaim. The speed is a little faster. The extra power is slightly terrifying and addictive at the same time. A shout out to Legacy for the training. I am pretty sure that if you gave me a couple of scrap VW’s Beatles and a PT-6, I could build one of these now (might take me as long as @Yooper Rocketman). brad

Yesterday was my last flight with N708PJ (my other redhead). I flew her down from Erie, PA to Fort Lauderdale Executive. She is now in the care of Premier Airtcraft while awaiting a new forever home. Brad PA46-500TP N951TB Former M20-TN N708PJ