Gordon Freeman

First off, thanks to everyone that took the time and effort to reply to my post. I really value your time and expertise. I can tell that this is a polarizing topic. I didn't mean to come off as a new pilot looking to fast track his way into a Mooney. The aircraft sits at the top of general aviation fleet, and is certainly a joy to fly for the few who are privileged enough to own one Ah, a worthy point. LPV approaches would certainly open-up the possibilities on those iffy weather days. Something to consider and factor into potential "upgrade" budget. Indeed! I've been a gearhead since my teenage years, and seldom owned a vehicle (or a motorcycle) that I haven't modified (or troubleshot) in one way or another. A day does not feel complete for me unless I've burned some gasoline! It sounds like you're really enjoying yours. In the end, a plane might be the most financially demanding purchase, but it's also very much an emotional one as well. Well, that's one thing I've been hearing oftentimes from veteran GA pilots. I don't know my mission well enough to define what it is. It might be weekend trips with my 10 and 12 year-olds, it might be making quick trips up to Vermont and back. We may purchase a weekend home in the Carolina - and if so - this would certainly get us there on our own schedule. Yes, they are all different planes, but in many respects they're also quite similar: They share a relatively similar useful load, performance and seating capacity. I'm certainly not comparing a multi-engine floatplane to a light-sport with a Rotax. I haven't gotten to where I am in life without knowing a thing or two about fiscal responsibility. However, just because I can afford it doesn't mean I need to be wasteful with it. If I intend to fly once a week, and some of the unused days can be allocated to another Mooney-rated pilot who doesn't wish to commit himself to a purchase, then I see nothing wrong with sharing some of the expenses of ownership. There is a local pilot at HPN who purchased an SR-22, and has found 3 other PPL/IFR pilots who have taken Cirrus transition training (10hrs, as mandated by his insurance policy), and now rent his plane on a regular basis. I don't intend to treat it like a Camry from AVIS, and just hand over the keys to anyone. Personality, trust, and having the proper qualifications are a must. Thank you for sharing that. I was budgeting about $4000/annum for maintenance of an SR-20, with an additional $3000 for inspection. But a Mooney is a high-performance and complex aircraft, so adjusting for my region (one of the priciest in the country), I'd reckon it'd be closer to $10k/year. Good point! The quotes I've received from AVEMCO for a SR-20 that would be rented to other pilots (so long as they meet insurance-imposed requirements) was about $7200/annum. I have yet to receive one for a Mooney. Part of me is beginning to realize that as some of you have noted, a Mooney may not be the best first plane. I may very-well end-up going for the Skylane, owning it for 5-6 years and add experience and high-performance time to my logbook before upgrading to a set of wings that can hit FL240. My goal was to get some initial impressions from fellow Mooney owners. Thank you again for your insight. Do you think some of those issues could have been resolved by a more thorough pre-purchase inspection? Potentially giving you some wiggle room in negotiating the final price? $30k in the first year is some serious coin to drop on non-essentials! That statement carries a lot of weight. Perhaps it's better I re-evaluate my goals in trying to shoot for the very top GA aircraft and get there step-by-step. Thanks for sharing. This. There are dozens of private-jet owners at HPN who are waiting for hangars. I'd sure like to hangar my plane, but at $1100/mo, I'll stick with a tie-down, and stick another $200/mo into a paint savings fund. Thanks for sharing those points. In IFR, it's probably easy to let the aircraft get ahead of you, especially with those cruise speeds. Going from an aircraft that cruises at 115tas to 200tas requires your brain to work twice as fast during the crucial phases of flight. Some of the common points people do make about the SR-20 is that it feels underpowered, and you can pretty much forget about flying one on hot, humid summer days, when it climbs no better than a loaded 172. A local flight club owned one for less than a year before one of their pilots slammed it on the runway so hard it was totaled. A thought process that I'm beginning to align with. Thank you. Haha, not in the slightest. Four kids, two of which are toddlers, a business to run, and balancing it all is what eats up my day. I did squeeze in some time on my Can-Am Spyder today (swapped out the exhaust for a high-performance one), and my 4yo fell asleep right at 7pm - as she should - so I'd say it was a good day. I'll keep checking this thread and reply to comments, all of which (positive and negative) I value. It's certainly a big commitment, both in terms of time and finance. The last thing I'd want to do is rush into an impulsive purchase only to be left scratching my head months later. So feel free to keep those comments going. But my pendulum is swinging moreso towards the 182 at this point. An old, unimpressive design, but a proven track record with a bulletproof engine that gets you where you need to go so long as icing or 14,000 foot mountain peaks aren't in the way. Cheers gentlemen

Allow me to introduce myself. A relatively new pilot (130hrs). I got my PPL last year, and have my IFR checkride scheduled for next week. I am looking to fly on a regular basis, especially on spur-of-the-moment trips with my older 2 kids (10 and 12yo). Local flying clubs have waiting lists, and the one club I did successfully join has a lengthy bureaucratic process to get me into a simple Arrow (30+ hours complex time, multiple checkouts, etc.). I'm also not a big fan of their ancient avionics. I trained on a G1000 and would love to stay that way. I've been contemplating the purchase of a used SR-20, 182, or a Mooney M20R. Year 2004 to 2010. There seem to be a number of relatively low-hour models for sale in each model category. I've spoken at length to SR-20 owners and 182 owners, but this would be my first time asking Mooney owners what type of ownership experience I can expect. 182 is obviously the slowest of the bunch, but has respectable climb rate (this would come in handy when flying out west in Colorado, etc.), and great useful load. SR-20 is the faster one, but I've heard complains of its less-than-stellar climb rate and takeoff performance in hot, high-altitude airport. Thus far, the SR-20 is the lowest on my list. Now, for the Mooney. Since I've flown Microsoft Flight Simulator in 1994, the Mooney was the only single-engine piston that could actually get you to your destination in a respectable amount of time. I would certainly want to log some complex and high performance time with a CFI before committing to a purchase, but with the aforementioned options, I would love it if some of you Mooney owners would weigh in with your opinions (which, I expect to be naturally biased :-) Are there particular sticker-shock maintenance costs that I should be aware of? I already know of the $18k cost to repack the ballistic chute on the SR-20, and I'd factor that into the fixed expenses. Any particular ADs that certain model years suffer from that I should avoid when shopping? While the plane would be owned by me, I would most likely structure the ownership (and insurance) and rent it to 4-5 local IFR-rated pilots to help me cover its cost of ownership. The aircraft would most likely be tied-down at HPN (hangars here have a years-long waitlist and go for $1100/mo), and would be flown primarily throughout the northeast, and up and down the east coast. I'm assuming the aircraft performs better than an SR-22 at a slightly lower cost of ownership. Would I be correct in this assumption? Many thanks for all your input. If I end-up being an owner/operator, I'll most likely be frequenting these forums on a regular basis.