djkling

how do you guys locate the continuing ed and mooney recurrent training places?

Yeah the FRZ/SFRA is going to be something I need to get used to. Unfortunately I have limited Bravo training so far; I have to figure out when I depart Suburban how I get clearance through Bravo AND the SFRA/FRZ. Its going to be interesting for sure. That is why I plan on heading in with my CFI, he used to fly a Pilatus out of... I think its Ft Meade? just south of BWI, so he was in the same situation and has done it MANY times, thus we will do a few runs. It will be presumably easier with an IR since we can do an IFR flight plan which seems like it would make more sense. It is a busy place, but I can't help where family lives Staying ahead of the airplane is not an easy task... I hope with another 50-100 hours it should be easier, i'll be hitting the Boston Bravo a few times to transit to Cape Cod and the Vineyard just to practice. Still much to learn... so much to learn..

I'm in Chester, do my training out of KASH (Nashua) but am right next to Manchester (well, 20 minutes). I didn't know anything specific was going on! SOunds fun! I'll take a look at the Ovations as well then!

On it

Hello all and THANK YOU! for all this. I'll try to reply to everyone here in a go so far... I didn't mean safety as much on the 305 per se as being an "incredibly safe and forgiving plane". Lets face it, this is a high performance airplane. I wouldn't put a new driver in my Tesla S or Ferrari and say its "safe". With that in mind I meant more safer to operate in terms of the waste gate and not ruining the engine. Safer for the plane I guess is what I mean. Sorry for not being clear. In no way do I consider the Mooney "safer" than say a 172, but at the end of the day I also don't drive a Yugo to commute to work. But the sentiment is very much appreciated there and thank you. I'm sorry about the lost pilot. That is awful. Fortunately for the foreseeable future any Mooney flying will be done with a mooney trainer and then my CFI or my ATP friend who combined have probably well over 10,000 hours. Like I said, I'm risk averse as much as someone who flies can be. Next... I want a Mooney specific instructor for sure. So does my former ATP friend. We both want to take a week and take a man-cation to a place that can train us preferably on the model in question. With that in mind, I want to get my IR and maybe even some retractable gear time prior to that. I do not want to get "everything new" at once. Last year I bought a new paraglider and new paramotor; throttle in right hand instead of left, reflex wing over standard, heavy 4-stroke motor, under seat reserve... everything was new. Know what I did? Put a line through the prop. Yes, its only a $15 mistake, but it was the principle that too many changes at once was not good. I want to get proficient in the 172 to the point that safety and flying are routine; then get my IR until IFR flying is routine. I don't plan on flying in IMC if i can avoid it (which normally one can) but if I end up VMC->IMC becuase something went wrong I want to know I can deal with it. Or at least be able to get out of it. right now I'm at 50 hours to whom asked. Although technically I have met all my requirements, I am going a couple mock-check-rides, few more solo and dual XC flights, and going to space it to about 65-70 hours I think. I'm not in a rush and honestly... the cost isn't an issue. My CFI is a nice guy, and he wants to just do some flying after my license and start my IR when ready. He flies executives around so he has an open schedule which makes it easy to get a lesson on a random day every week. Oh, and I do plan on trying to get some time in a Mooney (thus the instruction) prior to purchase. The only disadvantage is I'm not sure it will be the same model but I assume I can get a fair sense from say... 231 vs 253 vs Bravo? I think there are some body length differences and such but I wouldnt buy a car without having driven one either, and everyone in the "fabric wing" world always test jumps/flies gear before they buy it. Its very routine. I think that is all I have so far for replies. I'll hit those resources. I'm very methodical and slow so this process may take a year, it may take 2, before I'm even at the point of selecting a plane. Right now its find options, get all the training possible, fly the heck out of the school plane(s), get VFR and IFR flying to "second nature", and then get into one of my own. I have a lot of responsibility with my job, mymarriage, my animal rescue... I can't be stupid, and that's why I'm picking all your collective brains

Hey guys, New to the forums so a little background: I'm 38 about to finish my private pilot license and then will be jumping rather quickly into my instrument rating. I'm a doc and have a very good friend who is a former airline pilot who went into nursing and we are considering going in on a plane together. I have been nosing around several planes that all fit my XC type flying (I spent most of my adult life in Reno, NV and now live in New Hampshire, and wife wants to be able to travel the country and maybe someday outside) and settled into the SR22, Cessna P210, Mooney M20K 252 (or the 305) conversion, or the Maule MX-T-7 series. After talking with my friend he really wants to get a Mooney. Mostly he hates composite airplanes like the SR22 and thinks the P210 will be a lot of maintenance and issues (he had a T210 and is an A&P and seen many problems over time with it). The 231 has some finicky bits with the fixed waste gate and overboosting so the 252 or 305 conversion seemed the best bang-for-buck and safety profile. Some things we were trying to figure out: I haven't ever flown one and he hasn't flown one for about 15 years. Is there any transition training programmes for mooney pilots? I realize I'm still about a year out from purchase with my instrument rating and getting complex/HP endorsements but that also means I need to start saving. Are there other aircraft (Mooney or other) that I should be looking for in the $125-$175k range? I could go higher if needed but that is a sweet spot in my budget. What is after the 252 in terms of the M20's and are they any "better"? Thanks for hearing out all my very pedestrian questions but I'm trying to get some real world answers from people who fly these planes since (and please dont kill me here) I had never heard of Mooney until my friend brought them up. I did read the entire other thread on this after searching and 15 pages in I see many of the issues so to patch some up: 1) will be plodding though instrument ratings since my instructor right now is a major fan of "fly IFR plans everywhere, its a better way when you're going far" 2) Between my co-buyer and my instructor I wont be alone in the plane for a long time once we acquire it (again, future planning, not any time soon) 3) I plan on doing all of my training here-on-out in the same 172SP I've been using and the owner is allowing me to continue to rent the plane "post student" at a good rate with my instructor. I need to learn how to fly into the controlled airspace around DC since my wife has family there; there are going to be a lot of XC flights with my instructor for that. 4) Planning on 300 ish hours before purchasing the Mooney, prior to which I want to do some significant transition training. I'll be swapping over to a 182RG for the complex/HP training at the local FBO and using that for quite a while before even the transition. Hope that clears up any worries. What I'm more wondering is what I should be looking at (I'm a real stickler for details so i'll be pulling every airplane quirk to reference later and make sure is not present when I buy) and plan on spending a substantial time looking for the proper plane, whatever it may be. The folks on here seemed very willing to recommend non Mooney planes as well on some posts which was very nice to see and as such I felt I could get a better opinion than on other sites where they seem to refer more within-the-brand. Also, I'm very risk averse in general (I'm the guy who scrubs his jump when the winds are bad or won't launch my paraglider when conditions are poor) despite some risky sports (skydiving, paramotoring and paragliding, etc). The other good thing is that the plane will not be used for any time-sensitive travel, more for leisure trips. I'll be flying commercial for anything time sensitive. Thanks for your input in advance.

As a physician I can tell you with certainty that a six-figure claim is nothing. Especially low six figures. Insurance pays that pretty fast. Most are $1mil/$3min policies. His non-renewal means a lot more. Either it was a "sentinel event" and he expected more, he didnt have insurance (no hospital will allow you to operate without insurance though), or his practice took a lot of hits. you can look him up on the state medical board if you like. I know docs with as many as 9 claims who still have a VERY easy time getting insurance. Believe it or not, lawsuits (usually frivolous) are so common that it barely registers when we hear about them. Best guess: he left medicine. Lots of docs cant handle the suit or the current medical climate and are leaving at a record rate. Most just go into other fields since having a doctoral degree is pretty remarkable to almost any employer. But if he was allowing a reposession I can tell you one thing: he didnt care about it, didnt maintenance it, and certainly didn't fly it. I would probably not take the risk unless you can find him and get the logs.