Davidv

Definitely doing it on an economy fuel setting. Certainly would be tough at best power settings in the Acclaim.

Take a look at this flight and some of the other endurance trips: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N142KR apologies if this has already been covered but do you think there is some further modification to the fuel tanks or possibly a ferry tank?

Here's my theory. First, there is a finite group of people who can afford to spend $800k-$1M on a new airplane. While you could divide this group up many ways, I'm going to segment it in two groups. The first group are the people who are flying enthusiasts and want to take the $100 hamburger run as well as fly their families around. Let's call these the Cirrus buyers, since, let's be honest, if one of these people were to make an unemotional and rational decision comparing features, speed, ect... Cirrus is going to win 9 times out of 10 (or if you look at the 2018 GAMA report 97 times out of 100). These buyers don't care about going 242 knots because they are never going to fly up to 25K and strap full oxygen masks on half their family (they had to leave a kid or two behind for weight reasons). The Cirrus is plenty fast for them at 8-10K feet. The second group is performance seekers who want a plane that can exceed Cirrus speeds by a decent margin for business or other Ricky Bobby type reasons. My contention is that this second group of people either by virtue of a well functioning stock market over the last 10 or so years or other reasons has decided to trade up. I know it's apples and oranges but look at the price of buying a used turbine with 500-600 hours vs. a new Mooney. Sure, you have a not so new aircraft but now it's pressurized, has more all weather capability, and you can beat commercial door to door times on a trip like NY to Miami. Don't get me wrong, I love Mooney and could never see myself buying a Cirrus. Even with all of the boxes the Cirrus checks, there's something emotional for me about the look and feel of a Mooney. However, if I wanted to spend $1M, I may be looking at some nice used options...

Pretty sure its not a 12 person airplane...Also returning from hunting trip so maybe bringing back even more weight.

I find that “checking” things on an airplane is usually an expensive endeavor .

The good news here in south Florida is that in the rare occasions it’s IFR, you’re not going to want to fly to the beach anyway! Unlike a lot of other parts of the country we need to do a rain dance to get actual IMC to do practice approaches without the hood. Except for rare occasions, most of our IMC is in or around thunderstorms which of course no one can fly through.

@DXB great photo "a contributing factor was the pilot's inability to focus on one single task for more than two seconds"

Ahh, the same airport and flight school where I got my PPL... I'm often surprised there aren't more incidents like this given that the school is sort of a pilot puppy mill for a huge amount younger foreign students they train (who will be flying an Airbus as soon as they return home). Not saying anything negative about them being "foreign", just the process of these students becoming instructors with the bare min time only to pass on bad habits to their students.

Sounds good, if you are going to be in the Miami area I used to rent an archer from Pilot Training Center in KTMB. Unless it’s changed the price isn’t too bad and it’s a 2007 with A/C, 530/430 for about $170?/hr. It’s usually available since most students don’t rent that plane. not Mooney speeds but better than most beat up 172s for rent here in south Florida!

Where in Florida are planning to go?

Agreed @donkaye, my comment was mostly due to the club element. Short runway but with one person flying it who is well trained and knows the plane is no problem.

Wow, 2460 ft AND putting it in a club, the phrase “Prop strike assured” comes to mind.

I’m a little confused about the speed brakes interacting with the long range tanks... I’ve taken the brakes out and put them back in several times and they have their own compartment that doesn’t seem to touch or interact with anything around them (unless I’m missing something). The basically screw into the top wing area as well as two screws at the bottom near the access panel and that’s it. I have the long range tanks.

Looks like all American has one too, question for the one in MI would be whether it has Bravo conversion since the engine is original...

Great airport and best fuel prices around!

Yes it has always shown traffic and weather for me.

Given the neighborhoods at the end of the runways here in south Florida hitting a house would not be that tough. Think about a narrow street with cars parked, power lines, maybe a stop light. Despite your best intentions to aim for a strip of pavement with no obstacles you’re doing it under no power in a extremely high stress situation. It would be extremely likely that you would miss your aiming point, now maybe there’s a car parked where you didn’t expect to be, so you try to turn slightly right but now your right wing tip strikes an object you didn’t think about hitting and all bets are off... Unfortunately, the case at a lot of airports is extremely densely populated narrow roads at the departure end of the runway. Even the best pilot in the world would need some luck to walk away from this type of situation.

Yes, unlike my GTN where I can plug in whatever hex code I want. I know this because one day my unit was programmed incorrectly so I was emitting the code from another aircraft and being tracked via ATC and flightaware as if I was the other plane.

That's correct, I can change my code to represent any other N number in the setup mode of my Garmin. Just to be clear, I was completely joking about changing the code and would definitely not recommend it!

Although I would say the key is doing it in airspace where you aren’t going to get a missile fired at you!

Haha

if there’s a guy on your field that you don’t like, you could always change to his tail number then fly right through a bravo :).

I find there is no "secret" and I went from a 172 to a long body. At first, I would get the occasional bounced landing because I was overly concerned about being too slow on final so I would carry just a little too much speed on short final on probably what was a too shallow of a profile. After getting a little bit of time in the plane (and speaking with @donkaye) I realized that making slower approaches at steeper descent profiles on short final would give me the safety and speed I need to flare just off the runway and hold a nose high attitude until touchdown. (Knock on wood), I'm able to settle it down pretty gently most of the time. In my limited experience, the airplane gives you multiple clues that it's going too slow before you put yourself into a dangerous situation. But above all else, to quote @Shadrach, wheelies.

If there is no A&P where the plane is based with good Mooney experience, I would just look for the best A&P on the field (or immediate area) and then do your own research on the specific things to look for based on the model you are buying. The people on MS are usually more than happy to give you some pointers if asked. What kind of Mooney are you looking at?

Of everything I see out there,this would be my choice: https://www.controller.com/listings/aircraft/for-sale/155264785/1997-mooney-m20m-bravo Only issue I see here is the 430w. They have everything you need but not sure about indefinite support... Also, I’m no aircraft appraiser but considering the 430’s and everything else, feels like there is some room in the price. Yes, those aspens aren’t cheap but neither are 750s and 650s. Don’t want to be selling the equivalent of a KLN-94 to someone else if you want to get out of the plane in the next 3-4 years.