Schllc

If budgetary constraints are hard lines then I think renting is the only feasible option. If you decide to buy, you should buy the best that you can afford and have at least enough to replace an engine in reserve or available without jeopardizing your security. When I started looking for my first plane, the original plan was to get something for 60-90 (double that in todays dollars). After research and looking I ended up spending close to 300, and I don’t regret it one single second or cent. While I realize this isn’t an option for everyone the principle is the same. Your safety as well as convenience is a factor here, and you owe it to yourself and your family to buy the safest platform you can afford. If you can swing it, and get a Mooney you will never regret it! Mooney rules!

AGREED!! If you love it you will use it!

perhaps. people also say the two happiest days of a boat owners life are the day they buy and the day they sell. I have not had that experience. I have loved all of my boats and airplanes. If i don't "love" them, i don't buy them. my reasoning is that its a large discretionary purchase and if you don't love it, every time you write a check you will resent it. But if you love it you will do it very joyfully. buy the plane you love and you wont regret it.

My advice would be to get the plane you plan to fly as soon as you can afford to, and do as much of your training in that platform. There is no reason to spend all the time getting proficient through training in an aircraft only to hop into a completely different platform you have to learn and get comfortable with all over again. This seems counter intuitive to me. I got my first mooney, a g1000 ovation 3 with about 30 hours total, and I had not taken my ppl checkride. I finished my ppl and did all of my IFR in that mooney and I am very proficient in the platform. A few years later, I sold the ovation and bought an acclaim. I would advise you to get feedback from people who have owned turbo planes, or someone who has actually owned the model that you are considering. There are an awful lot of people willing to share anecdotal stories about what things cost, or how they perform, but they have not actually owned the model in question. I have owned several turbo mooney's and do not enjoy being in one without the added capability, a turbo's benefits are not only top speed, and I have also not found the turbos to be significantly more money to maintain either. To be clear, I have only owned g1000 ovations and acclaims, and have right at 1000 hours over 8 years, so my experience is nowhere near as deep as others like @LANCECASPER. He has had turbo mooneys for probably 3x as long. Everything in aviation is a tradeoff, determine your mission, as well as what you want, and of course what you can afford and go for it!

I don’t believe it’s prohibited because they sell front windows and even windshields that are tinted, but I do believe applying auto tint to plexiglass can cause thermal expansion issues. I’ve always used the Gila static cling tint. Works really well. input it on the back windows and leave it there, then I cut four or five 12x12 pieces and move them around as needed. Sometimes I put them three or four thick to bock certain points. works very well, just have to put them on before high altitude because they don’t stick so well when cold.

There is an aftermarket maker of AC that is approved for the Mooney made by Kelley aerospace. Its actually what Mooney put in a few of their last models. It’s installed in Alabama somewhere but it isn’t cheap. Around 30k is what I recall.

I know, it was a tongue in cheek comment. I think the title of the thread is what piqued my comment. Why would one have to ask the question of why you would want to “linger in icing”? Icing conditions are unpredictable and vary wildly. It may be a small risk, and I may have won the lottery with my encounter, but I don’t want to get lucky again. I also don’t fly for a living, and don’t have to be anywhere badly enough to plan to go into those conditions. I’m quite familiar with the tks system on my plane and have had to use it inadvertently a few times. I didn’t buy a fiki equipped plane to change how I plan, I bought it for inadvertent ice. I bought a FIKI twin, and I doubt I’ll plan to fly that into those conditions either. It’s just a personal decision, I don’t think those who do it are foolish or irresponsible, they just have a different risk tolerance.

I agree with you, it does limit the use of my plane. I don’t judge or disparage people who utilize the system. It’s obviously proven and capable. I just personally don’t wish to experience that again, and since all of my flying is discretionary, I’ll wait for favorable conditions, or buy a twin, which is what I did…. I doubt I will take that into known ice either!! I’m a big ole chicken!!

Anyone who has had a real encounter with icing, has no desire to relive the experience. Even asking the question seemed somewhat crazy to me, but then I realized not everyone has had the experience. Those who have not are probably pretty sure, as I was, that there was some embellishment, and/or exaggeration. My experience took all of about 3-5 seconds to go from completely clean to accumulating 3”+ on the wings, enough to completely block the windshield, and cut my rate of climb by two thirds. I saw rain drops on the windshield, looked at the wings, looked back at the windshield which was completely covered in ice, looked back at the wings to see the 3”+. It took me longer to type this than it did to actually happen. I can honestly say it was the scariest experience of my life, and the thought of “lingering” in conditions that could reproduce that experience is just unfathomable. I would NEVER intentionally take a single engine piston, with or without FIKI knowingly into icing conditions. But to each their own….

I’m heavily biased for a turbo so I say the k, bravo or an acclaim. It’s kind of like growing up eating sirloin and calling that steak. Then one day someone serves you a waygu ribeye. Do you need to eat that to eat a steak? Nope. But, every time you eat one you will think about it… Turbos provide options you just don’t have in a NA plane. Do you “need” it? Probably not, but once you have it you won’t enjoy life without it.. maybe it’s better to not try the waygu.

@LANCECASPER said it perfectly… Your “rote” isn’t appropriate anymore. Assume you are flying a new plane. it will come with practice.

What kinda numbers do you see in a typical profile? speeds, fuel burn, altitude etc? @MtnMann

I’ve landed on a 35’ runway before, it isn’t as intimidating as you would imagine. your perspective changes as you approach anyway so your just dialed in further out,or your going around because you know it. You also, without thinking about it get real slow instead of all those little hedges. Again, I think it’s the perspective and sight picture.

I don’t know how to answer the first questions. Discussing the conditions, and options for decisions is different. I like reading accident reports because I prefer to learn the easy way. I try my best not to second guess a pilots decisions simply because one never really knows how they will react until they have to…. Monday morning quarterbacking an accident with injury or death is pretty crappy.

The effects of the pandemic have distorted the GA market like we have never seen, and the change in the cost of gas is a pretty minor part of ownership cost. Anyone who flies commercial has a nightmare story to tell. I myself will not fly commercial at all unless it’s a non stop to my destination. I personally know at least eight people who have gotten involved in GA, either in ownership or just jet cards or partnering simply because of the hassle and unreliability of commercial travel. Remember, it doesn’t have to be a lot of people for it to affect our market. In 2018 there were only 173,000 piston planes registered in the US. To put that into perspective 373,000 Toyota Camrys were imported/made into the US in 2021. I don’t think GA will crash with the same timing as normal recessions, simply because there aren’t that many airplanes and there are enough people willing to pay for the convenience. That’s my two cents anyway… Time will tell and I am glad I am debt free, keeping my powder dry and waiting for the opportunity to start buying again. “Bad times make strong men, strong men make good times, good times make weak men, and weak men make bad times…” It’s the natural cycle…

To block users on a mobile device click on the “hamburger” icon at the top right of the mooneyspsce page, then go to “account”, then to “ignored users” and add the name to block. thank goodness… some folks are just toxic.

I have been the service center several times, and the entire experience is everything that you could wish for. The people are competent, efficient, courteous and great to deal with. Mike is one of the nicest, most knowledgeable and decent people I’ve ever met I haven’t heard anything different from anyone who has actually been there for service. The comments with no first hand experience are neither helpful or necessary. Can someone remind me how to block someone using an iPad?

Was the decision to leave gear up based on trying to stop quicker than if you were rolling on the gear? For what it’s worth, I am in no way questioning your decision, I hope to never have to make those decisions, and think if you walk away without a scratch you absolutely made all the right choices.

After flying into an uncontrolled field I would rank myself pretty highly compared to others. But flying into Dulles, or Atlanta maybe I’m not so cocky. I think the ranking has to happen on the inner 80% of the bell curve. Those in the bottom 10 really give pilots a bad rap, and those at the upper ten we should aspire to emulate. Regardless of where I rank myself, I have never felt that I am “good enough”. Always room for improvement…

Given the many accidents over the years due to running out of fuel, intentionally starving an engine of fuel to check the veracity of a gauge seems to be, to me, an extreme method. I don’t plan any trip that close, but to each their own… I haven’t found any gauges dependable enough to give me comfort to within a gallon, but the totalizers have been accurate. All the ones I’ve used, have been well within that range. Most being down to within 2/10ths, which could easily be a rounding error from refueling.

I’ve done 6 hours, that was enough. It wasn’t the time in the seat for me, it’s the noise. My ears rang for weeks after that trip, the noise takes more out of me than anything else.

Why is that? I like the spacing and control the bigger ones provide, and can’t stand the shenanigans that happens at uncontrolled fields. I try to stick to anything with a tower, and the big airports are usually well organized and safer in my experience. I seldom fly without filing or flight following.

Some movies don’t age well, it was very good when it came out, less so when i watched it over again a few weeks ago. but the actors, music and tech are either your era or not so I get why you didn’t like the first one. I have heard nothing but good about the new one, and I appreciate cruise’s ability to shut up and act.

I love that retro color scheme and was always fond of the stinger tail. I’ve never seen the rudder trim tab(if that’s what it is). Why would they not put it parallel to air flow? I would love to find one of these in the project plane price range, I didn’t know only twelve were out there either Good luck!! What a pretty bird!

Difficult to pick one in that succinct of an answer. Florida Everglades, X01 is 2400 with zero displaced threshold and water on both ends. I have landed on shorter with much longer displaced thresholds. That is as short as I would like to try outside of an emergency.