tshugart3

With the vac system and old avionics ripped out, my UL is 1007, or about 720 with full tanks.

Thanks for the great reply. I've been honestly surprised at how fast my Archer is given many who'd had similar experiences to yours, but it does an honest 128 TAS in cruise. I think the last couple of years of the Archer II were a bit faster with better wheel pants, and prop pitch went from 60 to 62. YMMV of course. What is it about seating position that feel less natural in the Mooney?

Hello Mooniacs! My situation: I currently own a nice 1980 Piper Archer II, pretty nicely equipped (2 G5s, GFC500 A/P, GNX375, etc.). It was my first airplane, owned it for about 2 years at this point. I've had decent success keeping on leaseback to flight schools. They've maintained it well, it's been basically free for me and I get to fly it when I want. I'm thinking about selling the Archer and buying a Mooney, probably an M20J, mostly for the speed and additional range, understanding that it will not be appropriate for leaseback and I'll have to pay all the bills. The Archer can do about 128kts TAS at 9 gph, 48 gal tanks. Mission is me and the wife, maybe a couple of small dogs, taking trips to wherever. Perhaps an occasional biz trip for me. I live in Central TX (KILE) with very limited maintenance on field, and I'm on a very long waiting list for a hangar. We'll be moving in 2 yrs (for wife's work) to location TBD. I'm 5-6, pretty light, 600 hr comm pilot and CFI, 50 or so hrs in retracts, 1 hr in a M20J a few years back. To me the advantages of the Archer are that it's a done deal, super easy to fly, cheap and very simple to maintain, great avionics, and it's pretty comfortable. Disadvantages are basically speed and range relative to the Mooney as far as I can tell. Thoughts from the crowd? Is the Mooney speed and wow factor worth it for casual trips and buzzing around given the extra expense and complexity? (Insurance will be double at least from the quotes I've gotten.) Any thoughts appreciated, thanks!